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at Harvard
Story Craft
Narrative + investigative: tips from IRE 2012, Part 1
@williams_paige
Adam Goldman Associated Press Caitlin Ginley Carol Marbin Miller CBC Charles Lewis Chicago Tribune DART Center for Journalism & Trauma Doug Haddix Elizabeth Ritvo
At last month’s Investigative Reporters & Editors conference, in Boston, hundreds of reporters attended dozens of sessions on everything from analyzing unstructured data to working with the coolest web tools and building a digital newsroom. The conference, which started in the 1970s, after a Phoenix reporter died in a car bomb while covering the mob, is usually considered an investigative-only playground, but narrative writers can learn a lot from these journalists’ techniques and resources.
When might a narrative writer need investigative skills? A few possible scenarios:
• When developing a character’s timeline and activities beyond the basic backgrounding
• When navigating precarious relationships with sources
• When organizing large and potentially complicated amounts of material
• When gathering data and documents that might provide storytelling context – geopolitical, financial, etc.
We asked This Land correspondent Kiera Feldman to cover the conference with an eye for material that might be particularly useful in narrative. She netted a range of ideas, tips and resources. Today, in Part 1, she covers areas including documents and data, online research and source relationships. Check back tomorrow for Part 2, “Writing the Investigative Story,” with best practices from Ken Armstrong of the Seattle Times and Steve Fainaru of ESPN.
Documents/data
• “Everything you want to know is written down somewhere. And you’ve got to believe that with every fiber of your being.” – Walt Bogdanich, the New York Times
• An alternative to filing a Freedom of Information Act request: archives. “In my experience, archivists – unlike government FOIA officers – like to hear from journalists; their culture is to disclose rather than deny. Has your topic touched the White House? Presidential archives are vast and precisely catalogued. Their websites list findings aids (also called inventories or folder-title lists), oral histories, and previously processed materials.” – Jeff Neff, the Seattle Times
• The “first stop” for federal records: the National Archives.
• Be resourceful. Harvey Cashore headed up a CBC investigation into sex abuse in Scouts Canada. The organization would not even divulge the number of abuse cases it had seen. “We thought, ‘Well, we’ll make our own list then,’” Cashore said. His CBC team spent two months calling and visiting courthouses across Canada, compiling a list of perpetrators and victims.
• Using public records laws is an art form. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is an invaluable resource. (Here’s a handy Freedom of Information Act letter generator.) FOIA largely applies to the executive branch, meaning it doesn’t cover Congress, the federal courts, private corporations, state/local governments. (For a state-by-state assessment of local open records laws, the Center for Public Integrity’s Caitlin Ginley directed us to a survey by the Center for Public Integrity.) First Amendment attorney Elizabeth Ritvo advised:
When you have a FOIA request, ask for a document. There’s such a temptation to ask a question. The government doesn’t have to answer your question – they give documents. They have no obligation to create a document that doesn’t exist. Do your homework before you draft (a FOIA request). Look at what documents an agency is required to create by law. Don’t waste your time and resources on documents that are already out there. You should also find out what branch or office has the records that you want.
• “Be a pain in the ass,” said media law attorney Jeff Pyle. Suing for access to public documents can be expensive and time consuming, but blogging and editorializing can yield results. “The government responds to embarrassment more than anything.”
• “I think the best journalists on the planet earth have this document fetish.” – Charles Lewis, Center for Public Integrity founder, in the panel “Investigating Power”
Advanced web
• To get the most out of Google, a company rep suggested Basic Search Help. A simple yet handy tip that I’d never tried: Conduct a search, and then click the “more” tab on the left side of the page. One of the menu options is “blogs,” which I now use all the time to peruse commenter gossip. Plus: do a search with “.pdf” or “.doc,” and good stuff often turns up.
• With his two presentations, “Social Media Sleuthing” and “Social Media Tools,” IRE’s Doug Haddix made me simultaneously grateful to be a reporter in the Internet age – and terrified to be a citizen. (Both presentations are online.) Socialmention.com/ is useful for culling multiple sites at once. And there’s snapbird.org to search Twitter more effectively, along with the Archivist to save Twitter searches and export them to Excel (before people wisely decide to delete their tweets). Facebook, of course, is invaluable for finding sources – friends, relatives, colleagues, classmates, photos – especially for people who don’t have much of a paper trail otherwise.
• Former employees (disgruntled or otherwise) make terrific sources. Haddix and many other panelists recommend LinkedIn Pro. If you attend a 35-minute online training, LinkedIn will reward you with a free one-year upgrade. The next session is July 26 at noon EDT. Join the “LinkedIn for Journalists” group and register here.
Source relationships
• “You need to know as much as your sources know, and then they’ll trust you.” Make yourself into “the expert” and people will talk to you. “There’s really no shortcut for that.” – Gary Marx, the Chicago Tribune
• “Build your bridges in peace time. Don’t wait for the crisis.” – Carol Marbin Miller, the Miami Herald
• Like many IRE presenters, Miller suggested hanging out wherever it is that “your” people (in her case, child welfare sources) are found. (Josh Bernstein, who covers national security for The Daily, said that he found the bar where FBI agents and cops drank on Thursday nights, and where they’d inevitably gossip about work, and started going there to eavesdrop.) Spending time in the courthouse, Miller said, “You’d be surprised at how much bailiffs and bailiffs’ assistants know and want to help.” Same with psychologists, expert witnesses, etc. Start slowly and build relationships, she advised. They might not pan out right away, “but under the right circumstances those sources will talk,” like when something happens that offends their sense of ethics.
• Miller had a final tip that I liked: Take the calls that your instincts might warn you against (e.g. church people, overly involved community members). “Much of the time they’ll keep you on the phone for two hours and they’re crazy,” Miller said, “but a lot of the time they’re right, and have a good story for you.”
• I missed “The Art of Source Development” with the AP’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Adam Goldman and others, but here are some useful selections from the notes of Stan Alcorn, a journalist friend:
Adam Goldman: Don’t be afraid of losing sources; rebuild. If you make sources you will lose them. He lost sources over his NYPD series, including one relationship that had taken years to establish.
How to deal with walkouts: It happened when a source came just to ask how he got his cell phone number and he bungled a response. Prepare for the unexpected.
Building trust: “I tend to spend time with people that I like.” Doesn’t mean the person is your friend, or you have things in common.
Do your homework: Study your potential source.
Notebook: Don’t slap it down on the table when you meet with people. Sometimes don’t even bring it out. He’s migrated to the less off-putting Moleskin (a small one) and fills it up.
Organization: Microsoft OneNote will change your life.
Kimberly Kindy of the Washington Post: Be an honest broker. Give, don’t just take. Don’t make sources feel like a one-night stand.
• If you contact a guy in solitary, you may be the only person who’s contacted him in years. When you embark on this kind of work, whether it’s visits or calls – you need to pick up (if they call) and you need to write back. Because they will call you. That relationship is a very big relationship to them. You are their lifeline in many ways. It’s not a relationship you should take lightly. I may be one of the few people they write to, and there’s a weight to that, and I think we need to understand the gravity of that weight. – independent journalist Susan Greene, on working with vulnerable sources. She discussed her story on long-term solitary confinement, on a DART Center for Journalism and Trauma-sponsored panel on covering prison abuse.
IRE blogs, highlights and tip sheets (membership required for many tip sheets) are now live on IRE’s site, and you’ll find videos of some presentations on YouTube. And here, courtesy of Margot Williams, NPR news investigations databases correspondent, are widely useful research links:
Effective Googling
• Advanced search: http://www.google.com/advanced_search
• Translated search: http://www.google.com/language_tools
• Advanced News Search: http://www.google.com/news/advanced_news_search
• Google Dashboard (to keep track of all your personal Docs, blogs, etc.): https://www.google.com/dashboard/
Find a person: phones
• AnyWho: http://www.anywho.com
• InfoBel: http://www.infobel.com/en/world
• Numberway: http://www.numberway.com/
• MelissaData (free lookups): http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/index.htm
Find a person: work
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com
• America’s Career InfoNet database: http://www.acinet.org/acinet/licensedoccupations/lois_state.asp
• FAA: https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/
• U.N. aid workers: http://3w.unocha.org/WhoWhatWhere/
• Federal inmate lookup: http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp
• Finra BrokerCheck: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/
• BRBPub.com, free: http://www.brbpub.com/free-public-records/
• Search Systems, free: http://publicrecords.searchsystems.net/
• Free Public Records Directory (search by state): http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/
• CourtReference (by state): http://www.courtreference.com/
• NETR Online (real estate record directory): http://www.netronline.com/
• VineLink (Victim Information and Notification Everyday): https://www.vinelink.com/vinelink/initMap.do
Watchlists, wanted and missing-persons lists
• Corporate Intelligence Project: http://www.corpsearch.net/watchlists.html
• Interpol wanted persons: http://www.interpol.int/Wanted-Persons
• OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control): http://sdnsearch.ofac.treas.gov/
• EPLS (Excluded Parties List System, debarred business with U.S.): https://www.epls.gov/epls/search.do
• Denied-persons list: http://export.gov/ecr/eg_main_023148.asp
• ICRC (Red Cross; missing in Somalia): http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/eng/missing-somalia
Corporation research
• Worldwide Company Data directory: http://www.datatracker.org/category/wwd/
• OpenCorporates.com: http://opencorporates.com
• Open Data for Journalists (slideshow): http://www.slideshare.net/countculture
• GlobalEdge: http://globaledge.msu.edu/Global-Resources
• BizNar deep web business search: http://biznar.com/biznar/about.html
Nonprofits/charities
• Guidestar: http://www.guidestar.org
• OpenCharities.org (U.K. charities register): http://opencharities.org/
• Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/
• National Center for Charitable Statistics: http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/
• Foundation Finder: http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/foundfinder/
• Global think-tank directory: http://www.gotothinktank.com/
Data/statistics
• Guardian DataStore world government data: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world-government-data
• Wolfram Alpha “computational knowledge engine”: http://www.wolframalpha.com/
• Official Statistics on the Web (University of Auckland Library): http://www.offstats.auckland.ac.nz
• Population Reference Bureau DataFinder: http://prb.org/datafinder.aspx
International planes & ships finders
• NATO daily piracy update: http://www.shipping.nato.int/operations/OS/Pages/DailyPiracyUpdate.aspx
• Ecoterra: http://bit.ly/FWtQb0
• Equasis: http://www.equasis.org
• MarineTraffic.com: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
• Ship-to-shore phone directory: http://www.inmarsat.com/Support/Ships_Directory
• FlightAware (live flight tracking): http://www.flightaware.com
• Flightwise (flight tracking): http://flightwise.com/
• FAA Aircraft registry: http://1.usa.gov/Necz0L
• Landings (airport advisories, directives, etc.): http://www.landings.com
• Airport Codes: http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/aptcodesearch.asp
Interesting misc.
• TRACE Compendium (corruption, anti-bribery): https://secure.traceinternational.org/Knowledge/Compendium.html
• U.S. work visas database: http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CaseH1B.aspx
• Aid worker security database: https://aidworkersecurity.org
• Iran Trade & Business: http://en.tpo.ir/documents/document/0/12228/Exporters-Directory.aspx
• Iran Trade & Traders: http://www.ittc.ir/agencylist.php
FOIAs, leaks, deletes, archives
• Government Attic (warehoused FOIA results): http://www.governmentattic.org/
• JunketSleuth (“exposing government travel excesses”): http://junketsleuth.com/
• Public Intelligence (research aggregator): http://publicintelligence.net/
• Archive-it: http://archive-it.org/explore?show=Collections
• netpreserve.org (archives): http://netpreserve.org/about/archiveList.php
• CyberCemetery (defunct government websites): http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/
• Internet Archive Wayback Machine: http://www.archive.org
• ArchivesBlogs (international news, for archivists): http://archivesblogs.com/
• National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
• Guantanamo docket (New York Times/NPR): http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo
• Document Cloud: http://www.documentcloud.org
Lobbying for U.S. and non-U.S. interests
• Senate Office of Public Records Lobbying Disclosure Act: http://1.usa.gov/OiM23A
• Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): http://www.fara.gov/
U.S. lawmakers disclosure
• Ethics.data.gov: http://ethics.data.gov
• Legistorm: http://www.legistorm.com
• Center for Responsive Politics: http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/
• Campaign Finance FEC: http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml
• Toddington International (free tools): http://www.toddington.com/resources/
• InfoDocket: http://infodocket.com/
• FullTextReports: http://fulltextreports.com/
• PI Buzz (private eye research links): http://pibuzz.com/
Most popular articles from Nieman Storyboard
The intersection of “Breaking Bad,” Marty Robbins and “El Paso”
“Telling true stories: Is it worth it?” by Tom Junod
Interview with Ed Kashi: Taking it beyond the media
Show comments / Leave a commentHide comments
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One Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138
© 2020 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Whatever It Takes: Connor McDavid documentary to debut Friday
In the final game of the 2018-19 season, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid suffered what could’ve been a career-ending injury when he slid hard into the Calgary Flames net. “I felt my leg slam into the metal post and thought it was in two pieces,” McDavid said. “I was terrified to stand up… wondering if my career would be over.” The official diagnosis was a PCL tear in his left knee and the injury would set McDavid off on one of the most advanced non-surgical rehabilitation pr
Kassian talks road to sobriety: 'You've got to be willing to help yourself'
Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian candidly discussed his past struggles with substance abuse and his road to sobriety with former teammates Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa on "The Kes & Juice" podcast. The trio played together with the Vancouver Canucks, a portion of Kassian's career when he battled alcoholism. During the discussion, Kassian credited Kesler and Kassian for their efforts to help but said the only way he could ultimately recover was to look inward. "One thing I've learned th
Source: The Score
Edmonton Oilers get through rough patch of schedule to get back in division race
A few weeks ago things were looking bleak for the Edmonton Oilers. Read More
Sam Gagner looks to gain traction with Edmonton Oilers
A goal against the Arizona Coyotes had Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Gagner in good spirits heading into the bye week. Read More
2 Guys and a Goalie pres. by Odds Shark Ep. 32 f/Scott Hastings- “Cape Breton Shuffle”
Welcome to “2 Guys and a Goalie,” starring Dustin Nielson, Joaquin Gage, and Matt Kassian and presented by Odds Shark, Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken, and Sport Clips Haircuts. The show focuses on stories, notes, transactions, and everything else happening all around the NHL and the world of hockey. Kass is back in studio! Dusty gets his thoughts on the BOA drama that he missed out on last week, and what might happen when the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames meet again on January 29th. They
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Tag Archives: Beast
Best of 2018 Pt. 1: Film
Belated Happy 2019! It’s been a long while for a post as I had an incredibly busy fall. Apologies for those who follow! I have a number of posts half-finished, including Breakfast Fried Rice and Heaven In A Bowl… let’s see how much I can keep on track this year. First, though, we begin with the requisite ‘best of’ posts.
Below are my favorite films of the year. I have more movies listed than usual this year which surprised me because at the end of summer there were only a few movies I was excited about. But it was a strong fall for features. Not all are ‘great films’ but each achieved something wonderful, moved me deeply or took unusual risks that made the film worth mentioning. In no particular order:
Ben Is Back slayed me. I’ve seen it twice, fell apart each time and will watch it again soon. It’s unfortunately one of those movies the studio can’t seem to pay people to go see. But I loved it and encourage you to see it. Julia Roberts give the best performance of her career, which is saying a lot, and Lucas Hedges meets her head on. (What a banner year for Julia, who will also appear in the next post.) I’m a big fan of the writer/director, Peter Hedges – yes, he and Lucas are father and son. See this movie.
A gorgeous, stunning film I can’t imagine working on TV at home, so Netflix’s decision to leave Roma in theatres for only a few weeks around Thanksgiving is incomprehensible. If you tried to watch it at home and turned it off, I understand. It starts very, very slow and certainly is never a wild ride. But the beauty of the directing, the cinematography (whoa!), the performances and the setting make Roma, for many of us, the best movie of the year. Spellbinding.
If even two weeks ago you said to me I would pay money to see Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, much less put it on my ‘best of’ list, I’d have laughed in your face. Yet here we are. Ha ha indeed. Thank goodness friends I trust forced me to go see it. Easily the most original and creative movie of the year, this visual feast is a blast from start to finish. It’s also surprisingly moving. Great film.
Another movie most people missed, Searching is another extremely inventive movie, a sharp thriller depicted entirely on social media, a narrative device that would seemingly get old but in these capable young filmmakers’ hands, never does. Anchored by a terrific performance by John Cho, this is another ‘find this movie and watch it’ recommendation from me. Terrific.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE VI: FALLOUT
Mission Impossible VI is not only the best action movie of the year (decade) it’s one of my top 5 of the year. Unlike any other series, MI gets better and better with each movie, meaning MI VI reaches pinnacles rarely seen in this genre. Filled with dazzling actions sequences and stunts done real time — take that, CGI! — the movie in the final act also has an emotional impact rare for actions movies. Director McQuarrie and star/producer Cruise, in top form as always, also were smart enough to bring back Rebecca Ferguson from MI V. May I have an enormous swoon for Rebecca Ferguson? Damn. In love. (Even with a porn-stache, I’ll also give a well deserved swoon to Henry Cavill. Oh my.) Movies don’t get much better than this.
I love this movie! I first saw Game Night on a plane, annoying everyone around me as I cackled with pleasure the entire time. I’ve shown it to others numerous times since, laughing just as much each time through. An extremely clever comedy unafraid to push boundaries and go to some dark places, Game Night is smart and clever; the first five minutes are so well done I taught this opening in my screenwriting class last Monday. It stays sharp all the way through, is at times wonderfully shocking and the entire cast is outstanding. (Rachel McAdams also makes me swoon. Damn.) I loved it.
If Glenn Close doesn’t win every acting award for her performance in The Wife, there’s no justice in the world. By my count, she should already have two Oscars on her shelf. Yet she has none. Please let this be her year. She gives a master class in screen acting in this small but powerful movie. You can’t take your eyes off her. Close’s gifts are so strong she can do absolutely ‘nothing’… such as sit and listen to a speech… and be intensely riveting. The movie is also excellent. Sony Pictures Classics is expanding The Wife back into more theatres this weekend. Go see it!
The classic Hollywood story remade yet again but this time with depth and empathy. Usually filmed in grand fashion, Bradley Cooper’s decision to shoot the movie in an extremely intimate fashion pays off beautifully. His performance also blew me away, he completely transformed into someone else. And he can sing. Loser! Lady Gaga also is terrific and I love the music. The incredible popularity of the movie seems to have people turning on it as the award season ramps up. I guess that’s what comes with popularity. Awards or none, Cooper and Co. have the last laugh. A Star Is Born remains one of the best movies of the year.
It may not be a great movie but Black Panther has many great elements and performances. More importantly, seeing this in the theatre felt like an enormous cultural event. And it was. There are movies that are of their time and movies that transcend time. Both are important so while Black Panther may be the former, being of its time in no way takes away from the movie. It was also a very enjoyable movie to watch.
A documentary as riveting and suspenseful as MI VI, Free Solo is a stunner. A fascinating character study combined with intense thriller, Free Solo is also a beautifully crafted documentary. The less you know the better. Find it.
A delight from start to finish. I know people obsessed with the original who balked at Mary Poppins Returns but I loved it and am glad it is performing well, given the filmmakers daring decision in the modern era to embrace the look and sound of both the original and classic movie musicals in general. Emily Blunt is practically perfect. Her performance seems so effortless I think a lot of people don’ recognize how damn good it is. (Biggest swoon of the day for Emily, btw. Lord.) Anchored by Emily and wonderful performances across the board, Mary Poppins Returns creates a glorious world you don’t want to leave. I myself love the songs – whoa, amazing orchestrations, so incredibly lush and beautiful – and you’d have to have a heart of stone to be unmoved at the end when both Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury turn up to create even more magic. Infinitely better than it had any right to be.
Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation is one of my favorite movies of the last few years so I was excited to see her follow up, Destroyer. It doesn’t disappoint. An ultra dark Los Angeles neo-noir, Destroyer is getting a lot of attention for Nicole Kidman’s performance, which is amazing. The entire cast is superb, however; Bradley Whitford, for instance, is hilariously, deliciously slimy in one of many great scenes. Not perfect but Destroyer keeps you leaning forward the entire time. Definitely worthy of any list.
There are numerous beasts in this stunning debut from writer/director Michael Pearce. Only by the end of Beast can one figure out to whom the title refers and, actually, friends and I are still debating which character deserves the moniker. Moody and creepy, Beast slowly draws you into a beautiful yet disturbing world and Jessie Buckley, as the main character Moll, gives one of the best performances of the year.
Okay, yes Annihilation has a lot of problems. But when this daring movie is working, it works so damn well, and takes so many risks, it makes my list. Based on what I considered an unfilmable novel, Annihilation is beautiful and disturbing and thought provoking and often shocking. You can’t take your eyes off it. Alex Garland, who also made the terrific Ex Machina, is bold enough to challenge the audience, asking a lot of us while also asking big questions with his narrative. Stunning visually, this is a movie well worth a look.
Also worth a mention: Bohemian Rhapsody, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Three Identical Strangers, The Favorite, BlacKkKlansman, Cold War, If Beale Street Could Talk
What were your own favorites? What have I forgotten? (Books and TV next week)… Let us know!
Tags: A Star Is Born, Annihilation, Beast, Ben Is Back, Best Films, Best Movies, Best of 2018, Black Panther, Bradley Cooper, Destroyer, Emily Blunt, Free Solo, Julia Roberts, Lady Gaga, Mary Poppins Returns, Mission Impossible VI: Fallout, movies, Nicole Kidman, Rebecca Ferguson, Roma, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Tom Cruise
Categories Movies, Uncategorized
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'Target Tori' receives over $30K in donations after angry...
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THE STARR REPORT
By Michael Starr
August 7, 2000 | 4:00am
A real sister act
Actress and pop songstress Jennifer Lopez could be stopping by “The WB11 Morning News” later this month for a sitdown interview with sister Lynda Lopez.
Insiders say nothing is definite yet, but Jennifer – girlfriend of Sean “Puffy” Combs – has indicated she’d like to stop by and chat with Lynda, who covers entertainment for the morning show (6-8 a.m. on Ch. 11) co-hosted by Lynne White, John Muller and Linda Church.
Ryan time
Ryan O’Neal – who got his Hollywood start on TV as bad boy Rodney Harrington on “Peyton Place” 36 years ago – is taking a recurring role in the new series about Wall Street, “Bull.”
It sounds suspiciously like his career has come full circle from the description we got of his new role.
He’ll play an oft-married, recovering alcoholic – and the father of one of the series go-getter brokers.
“Bull” – which debuts this fall – is cable TNT’s most serious push yet to create a weekly dramatic series, the kind of show that can do for the channel what “The Sopranos” has done for HBO.
A Little too Rich
Impressionist Rich Little, a talk-show staple in the ’70s and host of “The Rich Little Show” on NBC, is on the road starring in “The Presidents,” a show co-written by Ron Nessen and Loren Paul-Caplin.
Nessen was President Gerald Ford’s press secretary famous for once hosting “Saturday Night Live” back in the Chevy Chase days.
In “The Presidents,” opening Sept. 23 at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack – Little impersonates all the Chief Executives from JFK to Bill Clinton.
This just in . . .
* The Boyz II Men concert sponsored by Universal, Time Warner Cable and VH1 – which I wrote about Friday – will take place Sept. 11 at The Beacon Theater.
* On tonight’s “Vanished” (10 p.m. on Ch. 7), Elizabeth Vargas on the search for missing (since 1995) Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit.
* Ice-T joining the cast of “Special Victims Unit” as Munch’s partner.
* English musical heartthrob Michael Ball – live in WLIW/Ch. 21’s studios tomorrow! (8 p.m.).
CHURRASCARIA CRAZE
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The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), also known as the Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Australasia, and 1993 in South America. In Japan, the system is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic.
You can browse and download most available games for free below, but you will need an emulator also to play them. For SNES I recommend https://www.zsnes.com/ but you can use any emulator of your choice and even original hardware if you have the know how!
2020 Super Baseball (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
Super Nintendo Entertainment System Roms 21st June 2019 Download
3 Ninjas Kick Back (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
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A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
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Aero Fighters (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
Aero the Acro-Bat (U) [!] – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
Aerobiz (U) – Super Nintendo Entertainment System.zip
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Herbal Snapshots
Herbs by Symptom
Herbal Actions Index
Herbal Property Index
16th Aug 2016 23rd Feb 2019 Online Herbalist Herbal Snapshots
Velvet Bean Benefits: Snapshot
Velvet Bean (Mucuna) is renown for its practical use in Parkinson’s Disease due to its innate content of L-Dopa, which ranges from 3 – 10%. However, it’s also a highly popular supplement to help with sexual dysfunction, muscle building and mood disorders. Whether taken as capsules for convenience or drunk as a coffee substitute, Velvet Bean is seriously regarded legume with potent beneficial properties.
For Parkinson’s, combines well with EGCG from Green Tea
For ED, blends well with Muira Puama
Part Used
cowitch, cowhage, horse-eye nut; nipay (Phillipines); ojo de venado (Mexico and Central America); pica-pica (Panama); Kapikachchha (Sanskrit); Dolichos pruriens; Stizolobium pruriens; Mucuna prurita; Setae Siliquae Hirsutae; Couhage, Kiwach; Cadjuet, Pois velus, Pois à grater, Liane à grater, Pois pouilleux, Ceil de bourrique (French); Kratzbohnen; Kuhkratze (German)
The name of the genus, Mucuna, is that of a Brazilian species mentioned by Marggraf in 1648, and pruriens refers to the itching caused on the skin by the hairs. The popular name, variously spelt, is from the Hindustani. The green pods are cooked as a vegetable; the mature seeds are considered
aphrodisiac, carried as good luck charms in Mexico and Central America, made into buttons, and ground into flour; the roots are used to treat cholera; the hairs covering the pods are used to kill intestinal worms; the seeds contain dimethyltryptamine and according to a herbal seed supplier; a dopaminergic effect might account for the reputed aphrodisiac qualities; the names pruriens and prurita refer to the itching caused by the velvety hairs on the pods
Prefers well-drained, moist, humus-rich soil in sun or partial shade, minimum 64F. Sow seed in spring 1⁄2 inch deep and keep warm and moist. Requires a long growing season to mature fruit, so it is recommended to start early in the greenhouse and transplant out after all danger of frost is passed. Space 2 feet apart and provide a trellis. Can also be propagated by layering in late summer. Remove crowded branches in winter and cut back flowered shoots to within 2-3 inches of the base. Spider mite and whitefly may attack plants under cover. Roots are lifted as required and dried for decoctions and powders. Pods are collected when ripe and scraped to remove hairs, which are powdered and mixed with honey or added to ointment. Seeds are removed from mature pods, cooked and ground to a paste.
alkaloids, alkylamines, arachidic acid, behenic acid, beta-carboline, beta-sitosterol, bufotenine, cystine, dopamine, fatty acids, flavones, galactose d, gallic acid, genistein, glutamic acid, glutathione, glycine, histidine, hydroxygenistein, 5-hydroxytryptamine, isoleucine, l-dopa, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, lysine, mannose d, methionine, 6-methoxyharman, mucunadine, mucunain, mucunine, myristic acid, niacin, nicotine, oleic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, phenylalanine, prurienidine, prurienine, riboflavin, saponins, serine, serotonin, stearic acid, stizolamine, threonine, trypsin, tryptamine, tyrosine, valine, and vernolic acid.
Therapeutic Properties
Anti-Parkinson’s, androgenic, aphrodisiac, hypoglycemic, anabolic.
Vitalist Properties
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Drying
Parkinson’s disease (contains natural L-dopa), ED, Weight-loss, Muscle building, aphrodisiac.
Primary Uses
Parkinson’s Disease; Neurological Disorders
Velvet bean is now being considered as an alternative to the pharmaceutical medication levodopa. In one case study, it was given to a Parkinson’s patient for 12 years instead of the pharmaceutical L-dopa medication. It was found to slow the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms (such as tremors, rigidity, slurring, drooling, and balance), and to have none of the side-effects of the current pharmaceutical L-dopa. Numerous in vivo studies also have been conducted in rats and humans.
ED; Libido; Aphrodisiac
Velvet bean has a long history of traditional use in Brazil and India as an aphrodisiac. It also has reported with anabolic and growth hormone stimulant properties. The anabolic effect of the seed is due to its ability to increase testosterone. In 2002, a U.S. patent was filed on the use of velvet bean to stimulate the release of growth hormone in humans. Research cited in the patent indicated that the high levels of L-dopa in mucuna seed were converted to dopamine which stimulated the release of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. L-dopa and dopamine are also effective inhibitors of prolactin. Prolactin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland; increased levels are considered to cause erection failure in males.
In one human study, the bean powder was given to 60 patients (26 previously treated with L-dopa and 34 had never taken L-dopa). There were statistically significant reductions in Parkinson’s symptoms in all study subjects. Also, a (2002) U.S. patent was awarded on Velvet bean citing its use “for the treatment of disorders of the nervous system, including Parkinson’s disease.”
In one study, oral intake of the seeds in 56 human males was able to improve erection, duration of coitus, and post-coital satisfaction after only four weeks of treatment. The seed also has documented fertility promoting and sperm-producing effects in human males (being able to improve sperm count and motility).
The seeds of Mucuna pruriens in a dose of 3 g was tried in India as an anti-depressant herb in 25 cases of depressive illness. Results suggested that the herb increased the level of dopamine, serotonin and other catecholamines in the brain and body to the extent that it induced mood elevation and relieved depression. Ashwagandha powder (3 g) daily was also prescribed to add sedative, tranquilising and tonic effect to the treatment, as most of the patients were having symptoms of sleep disturbance, anxiety, and weight loss. Only the cases of endogenous and neurotic type depression were included in the study. After two months of treatment, 48% were cured, 36% improved, 8% did not show any improvement and relapse was reported in 8 %.
In another study, 32 cases of depressive neurosis were treated with Mucuna pruriens (6 g once a day) along with Withania somnifera powder (10 g once a day). Results were quite encouraging. Significant reduction in the degree of clinical anxiety and depression was observed.
Dosage (Divided Daily)
• Dried Powder: 2,000 – 6,000mg
• Ratio Extract: 750 – 1,500mg
• Decoction: 1 – 2 Cups
Velvet Bean (Mucuna) Powder
The seed may cause birth defects and has uterine stimulant activity. It should not be used during pregnancy.
Those with hypoglycemia or diabetes should only use Velvet bean under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Velvet bean is contraindicated in combination with M.A.O. inhibitors.
Persons with excessive androgen syndromes should avoid using Velvet bean.
Velvet bean inhibits prolactin. If you have a medical condition resulting in inadequate levels of prolactin in the body, do not use Velvet bean unless under the direction or your healthcare practitioner.
Those with Parkinson’s should only use velvet bean under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Most side effects are minor gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea, which are usually resolved when the herb is taken with meals.
Interactions with other drugs
May potentiate androgenic medications.
May potentiate insulin and antidiabetic medications.
Will potentiate levodopa medications.
Khare, C. P. (2004). Indian herbal remedies: rational Western therapy, ayurvedic, and other traditional usage, botany. Berlin; New York: Springer.
Herbalpedia (2013)
Taylor, L. (2005). The healing power of rainforest herbs: a guide to understanding and using herbal medicinals. Garden City Park, NY: Square One Publishers.
Tropical Plant Database entry for Velvet bean – Mucuna pruriens. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 August 2016, from http://www.rain-tree.com/velvetbean.htm
All material on this website, is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.
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Home River Thames Photographs & News Lord Mayor's "No": City of London pageant sinks Thames flotilla
Lord Mayor’s “No”: City of London pageant sinks Thames flotilla
Staff Writer February 22, 2018 News Leave a Comment
A flotilla of traditional Thames craft led by the Queen's row barge Gloriana has been axed from this year's Lord Mayor's Show.
QRB Gloriana and the Traditional Thames Rowing Association (TTRA) have been told they will not feature in the pageant which takes places in November.
The ancient tradition of carrying the new Lord Mayor of London down the river was revived following the building of Gloriana for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Since then, over twenty of the traditional Thames cutters have accompanied the new Lord Mayor in a colourful spectacle on the river on the morning of each of the yearly Lord Mayor's Shows.
Rower Joe Lane shared the news on Twitter: "Such a shame that they have decided to cancel Gloriana and the @citylordmayor thames flotilla. Another piece of London’s Livery showpiece sunk."
Such a shame that they have decided to cancel Gloriana and the @citylordmayor #thames flotilla. Another piece of London’s Livery showpiece sunk. @CityandLivery Hope someone has a rethink on this. @LoveLondonCity @TTRALondon pic.twitter.com/xI3H22ctO7
— Joe Lane (@rowjoelane) February 18, 2018
"It's too early in the day"
Asked if he had been told why the decision had been made, he replied: "It’s too early in the day. Strange when all aboard Gloriana and accompanying flotilla have never complained. Always good to see London’s Livery Companies afloat on the Thames."
The annual flotilla starts from Westminster Boating Base at Pimlico at 0830 and ends at HMS President an hour later.
Malcolm Knight, Events manager for Gloriana, told OnTheThames.net:
"Having organised The Lord Mayor’s Flotilla for the past seven years following the initial request by Alderman Wootton who asked “I’d like to arrive in the City by boat, can you arrange it for me?” it was with great disappointment that I received the call from the Pageant Master informing me that we would not be required in the future.
It has been a great honour and pleasure to carry the Lord Mayor and their party to the City of London on the morning of the Lord Mayor’s Show which links it back to the origins of the show when it was all afloat on the River Thames. November is maybe not the best time to be out on the river but with over twenty boats being entered each year there has always been wonderful support from within the Livery Companies and City Organisation who either own or charter boats to take part and in any case the date can’t be changed!
May I thank all those who supported the event and I look forward to seeing you out on the River Thames in London again very soon."
Tweeting from his personal account, Pageant Master of the Lord Mayor's Show Dominic Reid replied: "Looking forward to working with @TTRALondon and @GlorianaQRB to create an even better event at a sunnier time of year."
Looking forward to to working with @TTRALondon and @GlorianaQRB to create an even better event at a sunnier time of year
— Dominic Reid (@dominic_reid) February 18, 2018
The City of London Corporation has been approached for a comment.
No Gloriana but show goes on for Lord Mayor’s…
Up to 50 hot air balloons glide over the Thames at sunrise
Gloriana to lead Thames flotilla celebrating…
QRB Gloriana arrives at Denton, Kent, for winter storage
Thames salute to the Queen’s long reign
Gloriana bound for St Katharine Docks after winter storage
City of LondonQueen's row barge Gloriana
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Fiduciary rule 'in jeopardy' under Trump
November 30, 2016, 2:26 a.m. EST
Donald Trump's upset victory sets the stage to overturn signature aspects of President Obama's legacy on financial matters, including the Department of Labor's fiduciary regulation, which is set to be phased in starting in April.
"The rule could be in jeopardy," says Barbara Roper, director of Investor Protection at the Consumer Federation of America, an investor advocacy group.
Reversing the fiduciary standard on retirement accounts, which would upend firms’ costly efforts to comply with the regulation, is not a foregone conclusion. Although Trump stated his opposition repeatedly to Obama's policies, he often refrained from spelling out his proposals in detail during the campaign.
The Trump campaign says on its website it would put a moratorium on new regulations and require federal agencies to prepare a list of all regulations, from most to least critical. "Least-critical regulations will receive priority consideration for repeal," the website says.
"It's really hard to predict what a Trump administration would look like on these issues because there are so few specifics out there," Roper says.
Rolling back the regulation would upend the plans of many brokerage and advisory firms, which have been spending heavily to prepare their systems and advisers for it.
Merrill Lynch, which has said it will cease offering commission-based IRAs to comply with the rule, has even created a fiduciary-based advertising campaign: "This is a positive step forward for the industry and great news for investors. At Merrill Lynch we support it wholeheartedly."
DoL scores win in first legal challenge to fiduciary rule
A federal judge categorically rejects claims by an insurance group that the agency overreached. The ruling "sets the tone" for other suits nationwide, an investor advocate says.
By Ann Marsh
Recruiting deals under fire as fiduciary compels firms to adjust course
"There are ways to potentially be cute with it. You could potentially cut out retirement business from the back-end bonuses," says an ex-Merrill Lynch executive who works in the independent space. "Cute doesn't usually work when it comes to regulators."
Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch go in opposite directions on fiduciary rule
Unlike its rival, Morgan will keep commission-based retirement accounts under the new regulation's best interest contract exemption.
UPENDING OBAMA'S LEGACY
An appointment of new commissioners to the SEC is another early arena where the Trump administration could exercise its power and influence. The commission currently has two openings; in addition, Chairwoman Mary Jo White is likely to leave next year. Regardless, efforts to extend the fiduciary rule to non-retirement accounts, which the SEC was authorized to do by the Dodd-Frank Act, are a likely nonstarter.
Clients – as well as advisers – may at some point enjoy tax cuts under President Trump, who has promised "the biggest tax reform since Reagan," according to the candidate's website.
The markets could also be in for a period of volatility since investors tend to fear periods of uncertainty, and it’s unclear which of Trump’s policies will be emphasized or, potentially, enacted.
Of course, campaign promises are sometimes ditched once a president faces the reality of governing.
"It's hard to know in advance what'll be in a president's mind," says Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. "Who would have thought that Nixon would be the president to open up relations with China?"
Andrew Welsch
Senior Editor, Financial Planning
Fiduciary RuleFiduciary standardRegulatory actions and programsTax planningDonald TrumpHillary ClintonBarbara RoperKnut RostadSECDoLFINRAIndustry Leadership Forum
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Bring It on Home to Me
By Otis Redding, Carla Thomas
Featured on King & Queen
More by Otis Redding
Live at the Monterey International Pop Festival
Dock of the Bay Sessions
Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (50th Anniversary Edition)
Live in London And Paris
Good To Me: Recorded Live At The Whisky A Go Go Vol. 2
More Otis Redding
Listen to Otis Redding now.
Listen to Otis Redding in full in the Spotify app
© 1967 Atlantic Records.
℗ 1967 Atlantic Records. Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.
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The Use of Force in International Law - A Case-Based Approach edited by Ruys, Tom; Corten, Olivier; Hofer, Alexandra (17th May 2018)
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
Other International Instruments
Regional Instruments
Bilateral Instruments
1 Introduction: The Jus Contra Bellum and the Power of Precedent
2 The Caroline Incident—1837
I Facts and Context
II The Positions of the Main Protagonists and the Reaction of Third States and International Organizations
III Questions of Legality
IV Conclusion: Precedential Value
Part 1 The Cold War Era (1945–89)
3 The Korean War—1950–53
1 The initial conflict
2 Crossing the 38th parallel
3 Uniting for Peace
4 Chinese intervention
5 Armistice
1 Inter-state or civil war?
2 Collective self-defence or collective security?
3 Legality under the UN Charter
4 Intervention by the PRC
4 The Suez Crisis—1956
1 The first stage of the crisis: Israel invades Egypt
2 Second stage of the crisis: the French and British forces carry out their ultimatum
1 Israel’s self-defence claim
2 The Franco-British ‘police action’
5 The Soviet Intervention in Hungary—1956
1 Competence of the UN to address the crisis
2 Discussions in the UNSC prior to the 28 October shift in Hungary’s position
3 Discussions in the UNSC after the 28 October shift in Hungary’s position
4 Debates in the General Assembly after Hungary again changes its position on 4 November
5 Report of the Special Committee on Hungary
1 The Hungary intervention between strict abstentionism and government preference
2 Consent by Gerő, Nagy, or Hegedüs on 23/24 October
3 The Warsaw Pact as an Intervention Treaty
4 Retroactive consent by Nagy prior to the shift in his position
5 The 28 October shift and explicit withdrawal of consent
6 Kádár’s consent of 4 November
6 The U-2 Incident—1960
1 Position of the main protagonists
2 Reaction of third states and international organizations
1 Espionage
2 The principle of sovereignty over airspace
3 Definition of aggression
7 The Belgian Intervention in the Congo—1960 and 1964
1 The 1960 intervention
8 The Indian Intervention in Goa—1961
9 The Cuban Missile Crisis—1962
10 The Gulf of Tonkin Incident—1964
11 The US Intervention in the Dominican Republic—1965
1 Legality of the unilateral US action (28 April to 6 May 1965)
2 The legality of sending the IAPF by the OAS
1 The first phase of unilateral US action
(a) Intervention by invitation?
(b) Justification by a ‘no second Cuba-Doctrine’?
(c) Justification as a measure for the rescue of US or other foreign nationals
2 The IAPF in the second phase
12 The Six Day War—1967
1 Positions of the main protagonists
2 Reaction of the international community
13 The Intervention in Czechoslovakia—1968
1 The historical context and the political situation of Czechoslovakia
2 The ‘Prague Spring’
3 The decision-making in the Soviet Union and the reaction of the other socialist states at the eve of the invasion
4 Operation Danube
II The Positions of the Main Protagonists and the Reactions of Third States and International Organizations
1 The position of the main protagonists
(a) The consent
(b) The threat to the security of the ČSSR and other socialist states
(c) Defence against counter-revolutionary acts
(d) The duty to defend socialist internationalism
2 The reactions of third states and the discussions in the Security Council
1 General assessment
2 The refutation of the grounds of justification
(a) Consent
(b) Self-defence and counter-revolutionary activities
(c) Socialist international law
14 The USS Pueblo Incident—1968
1 Law of the sea
2 Jus ad bellum
15 The Indian Intervention into (East) Pakistan—1971
16 The Yom Kippur War—1973
2 Positions of third states and international organizations
17 Turkey’s Intervention in Cyprus—1974
1 Right to intervene under the Treaty of Guarantee
2 Self-defence
3 Right to protect nationals in another state
4 Humanitarian intervention
18 The Mayaguez Incident—1975
II The Position of the Main Protagonists and the Reaction of Third States and International Organizations
19 The Entebbe Raid—1976
20 The Larnaca Incident—1978
1 State consent
2 The concept protection of nationals abroad under international law
(a) Protection of nationals does not amount to a use of force ‘against the territorial integrity or political independence’ of a state
(b) Protection of nationals as an exercise of the right of self-defence
3 Applying the protection of nationals parameters
(a) An imminent threat to the hostages?
(b) Failure or inability of territorial state to protect the hostages?
(c) Measures strictly confined to protecting the hostages against injury?
21 The Vietnamese Intervention in Cambodia—1978
1 Reactions of the parties to the conflict
2 Reactions of third states and international organizations
2 Intervention by invitation
22 The Ugandan–Tanzanian War—1978–79
1 Uganda’s independence from British rule (1962–71)
2 The rise of Idi Amin Dada (1971–78)
3 The annexation of the Kagera Salient and Tanzania’s response (1978)
1 Tanzania’s position on the use of force against Uganda
2 The reaction of the international community
23 Operation Litani—1978
2 Lebanon
3 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
4 Jordan
6 Syria
10 The United Nations
1 Using force in anticipatory self-defence
2 Reprisals
3 Using force in response to acts of terrorism/attacks by armed bands
24 The Lebanon War—1982
3 The PLO
4 The United States
5 The United Nations
25 The Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan—1979–80
1 USSR
3 United Nations
4 Individual states
5 Reactions in other fora
2 Article 4 of the Treaty of Friendship between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan
3 Right of collective self-defence
4 Right of individual self-defence
26 The US Hostage Rescue Operation in Iran—1980
27 The Iran–Iraq War—1980–88
28 Israel’s Airstrike Against Iraq’s Osiraq Nuclear Reactor—1981
1 The right of self-defence
2 Alternative legal bases
29 The US Intervention in Nicaragua—1981–88
2 Facts
(a) Nicaraguan allegation of US breach of the prohibition of the threat or use of force
(b) United States claim of collective self-defence
(c) Nicaraguan claim denying the valid exercise of collective self-defence
1 Actus reus: the threat or use of force
2 Justification: self-defence
(a) The existence of an ‘armed attack’ as a precondition
(b) Types of armed attack
(c) Nicaragua’s relationship with the FMLN
(d) Requirements of collective self-defence
(e) Necessity and proportionality
(f) Security Council reporting requirement
30 The Falklands/Malvinas War—1982
1 The first stage of the crisis: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia
2 Second stage of the crisis: Britain recovers the occupied territories
1 The legality of the Argentinian invasion
2 The legality of the British reaction
31 South African Incursions into Lesotho—1982
32 The Intervention of the United States and other Eastern Caribbean States in Grenada—1983
1 Protection of citizens abroad
2 Activation of regional security mechanisms
33 The Israeli Raid Against the PLO Headquarters in Tunis—1985
34 The Killing of Khalil al-Wazir by Israeli Commandos in Tunis—1988
35 The US Strikes Against Libya—1986
1 The debate in the Security Council and failure to adopt a resolution
2 The adoption of a resolution in the General Assembly and position of states
36 The US Intervention in Panama—1989
1 Intervention to protect nationals
2 Intervention on the basis of the Panama Canal Treaties
Part 2 The Post-Cold War Era (1990–2000)
37 The ECOWAS Intervention in Liberia—1990–97
38 The Gulf War—1990–91
39 Intervention in Iraq’s Kurdish Region and the Creation of the No-Fly Zones in Northern and Southern Iraq—1991–2003
1 Safe haven
2 No-fly zones
40 The Intervention in Somalia—1992–95
1 Authority under the UN Charter
2 Peace enforcement and peacekeeping
3 The types of mandate and the execution of the mandates in the Somalia operations
41 The Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina—1992–95
2 Coercive military measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter in cooperation with regional organizations or arrangements
42 The US Airstrike Against the Iraqi Intelligence Headquarters—1993
1 The right to invoke Article 51
(a) ‘Armed attack’ ratione materiae
(i) The relevant ‘self’ in ‘self-defence’
(ii) Sufficient gravity?
(iii) Questions of evidence
(b) ‘Armed attack’ ratione temporis
2 Legality of the response: necessity and proportionality
(a) Necessity
(b) Proportionality
43 The ECOWAS Intervention in Sierra Leone—1997–99
1 Restoration of a democratically elected government
4 Intervention by invitation and consent to intervention
5 Retroactive authorization by the Security Council to a regional peacekeeping operation
6 An African exception to the prohibition on the use of force—delegation or assumption of Chapter VII powers by regional organizations
44 The US Strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan—1998
1 The justifications invoked by the United States
2 Reactions to the strikes
1 The legal qualification of the attacks: self-defence or reprisals?
2 The notion of pre-emptive forcible actions
3 The role of unilateral assessment
45 The Eritrean–Ethiopian War—1998–2000
1 The opening months of the conflict (May–June 1998)
2 Ensuing two-year conflict (June 1998–May 2000)
3 Ethiopian incursion into Eritrea (May–June 2000)
4 Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict
5 Cessation of hostilities (June 2000) and peace agreement (December 2000)
1 Ethiopia’s position
2 Eritrea’s position
1 Eritrea’s conduct violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
2 Eritrea’s conduct was not self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter
3 Eritrea was obligated to pay compensation to Ethiopia
46 The Great African War and the Intervention by Uganda and Rwanda in the Democratic Republic of Congo—1998–2003
1 The claims made by the DRC and the initiation of proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
2 The claims made by pro-Kabila states involved in the conflict: Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Chad
3 The claims made by anti-Kabila states involved in the conflict: Uganda and Rwanda (and Burundi)
4 The positions adopted by international organizations and states not involved in the conflict
1 The legality of the use of force by the anti-Kabila states
2 The legality of the use of force by the DRC
3 The legality of the use of force by the pro-Kabila states
47 The Kosovo Crisis—1999
1 The NATO position
2 The position of NATO member states
3 Reactions by other states and international organizations
4 The position of UN organs
(a) Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
(b) Authorization by the Security Council
(c) Self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter
2 Forcible unilateral humanitarian intervention under customary international law
(a) Existence of a right of forcible unilateral humanitarian intervention
(b) The conditions of an alleged right of forcible unilateral humanitarian intervention
Part 3 The Post 9/11-Era (2001–)
48 The Intervention in Afghanistan—2001–
1 Self-defence against Al Qaeda and the Taliban
2 Long-term use of self-defence to justify years of Operation Enduring Freedom
49 The Iraq War—2003
1 Legal background: the mandate contained in Resolution 678 (1990)
2 The origin of the ‘material breach argument’
3 Resolution 1441 and its implementation
1 Justification by the intervening states: United States
2 Justification of the intervening states: United Kingdom
50 Israeli Airstrikes in Syria—2003 and 2007
51 The Israeli Intervention in Lebanon—2006
1 The threshold question
2 The scope of self-defence
52 The Turkish Intervention Against the PKK in Northern Iraq—2007–08
1 De minimis threshold for ‘armed attack’?
2 The ratione personae element of Article 51
3 Necessity and proportionality
53 ‘Operation Phoenix’, the Colombian Raid Against the FARC in Ecuador—2008
54 The Conflict in Georgia—2008
55 Israeli Military Operations Against Gaza: Operation Cast Lead (2008–09), Operation Pillar of Defence (2012), and Operation Protective Edge (2014)
1 Operation Cast Lead
2 Operation Pillar of Defence
3 Operation Protective Edge
56 The NATO Intervention in Libya—2011
1 Uprising in Libya
2 The adoption of Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011)
3 NATO steps in
57 US Extra-Territorial Actions Against Individuals: Bin Laden, Al Awlaki, and Abu Khattalah—2011 and 2014
1 Osama Bin Laden
2 Anwar al Awlaki
3 Ahmed Abu Khattalah
1 Initial US statements and international reactions
2 The US legal position on extra-territorial use of force
1 Extra-territorial use of force against non-state actors
2 Al Awlaki
3 Bin Laden
(a) 9/11 armed attack and the right to use force in self-defence
(b) The non-international armed conflict between the United States and Al Qaeda and associated forces
(c) Bin Laden was a senior operative in Al Qaeda who posed an imminent threat
(d) Unwilling or unable
4 Abu Khattalah
58 The Intervention in Côte d’Ivoire—2011
1 Build up to the post-2010 election conflict
2 Dispute over the results of the second round of the elections
3 The use of force against Gbagbo
59 The Intervention of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain—2011
60 The Ethiopian Military Intervention in Somalia—2011
61 The Intervention of France and African Countries in Mali—2013
2 Military intervention by invitation
(a) The general legal framework
(b) The validity of the invitation: the ‘representativeness’ of the Malian authorities
(c) The legality of the purpose: permissibility of military assistance to Mali to fight terrorism
3 UNSC authorization
62 Threats of and Actual Military Strikes Against Syria—2013 and 2017
II The Threats of Force in Response to the Ghouta Attack in 2013
A The positions of the main protagonists and the reactions of third States and international organizations
B Questions of legality
1 French, UK, and US statements as threats of force falling within the scope of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
2 Threats of force in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
3 Can the threats of force be considered lawful even if the use of force contemplated was not?
C Conclusion: precedential value?
III The Actual Use of Force Resorted to in Response to the Khan Shaykhun Attack in 2017
A The positions of the main protagonists and the reaction of third states and international organizations
63 The Crisis in Ukraine—2014
1 Non-violent/treaty-based/self-defence
3 Self-determination/humanitarian intervention
64 The Military Operations Against the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIL or Da’esh)—2014
1 The consent of the Iraqi and the Syrian Governments
(a) Self-defence as invoked by the intervening states to justify operations in Syria and Iraq
(b) The ambiguous reaction by third states and international organizations
(c) The ambiguities of the UNSC resolutions
1 Interventions based on invitations?
2 Interventions authorized by the Security Council?
3 Actions in self-defence according to Article 51 of the UN Charter?
(a) The ‘unwilling or unable’ argument
(b) The ‘limited sovereignty’ argument
(c) The ‘necessity’ or ‘self-help’ argument
(d) Individual or collective self-defence?
65 The Saudi-led Military Intervention in Yemen’s Civil War—2015
1 Right to collective self-defence pursuant to armed attack(s) against Yemen?
2 Right to individual and collective self-defence pursuant to an (imminent) armed attack against Saudi Arabia?
66 The ECOWAS Intervention in The Gambia—2016
2 Pro-democratic intervention
3 Security Council authorization
4 The threat of the use of force
Part 3 The Post 9/11-Era (2001–), 64 The Military Operations Against the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIL or Da’esh)—2014
Olivier Corten
From: The Use of Force in International Law: A Case-Based Approach
Edited By: Tom Ruys, Olivier Corten, Alexandra Hofer
Terrorism — Necessity — Self-defence — Sovereignty — UN Charter — Military matters
This chapter discusses the military operations against the Islamic State (ISIL or Da’esh) in Iraq as in Syria. After recalling the relevant facts and the context, it exposes the legal positions of the intervening states as well as those of the other states. In a third section some doubts are expressed concerning the legality of the operations based on the argument of self-defence, particularly when it implies the bombing of the Syrian territory without the consent of its government. In the same vein, a final section shows that the majority of states has not accepted the ‘unwilling or unable’, ‘limited sovereignty’, or ‘self-help’ necessity arguments, or, for that matter, the permissibility of preventive or pre-emptive self-defence. Accepting such arguments would undoubtedly imply at the very least a new interpretation of the UN Charter.
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How Is Othello Presented In Act 1 A Level English Literature Essay
491 words - 2 pages
Which books would you compare The Handmaid’s Tale from dystopian literature?
I would compare the book “1984” by George Orwell, the book is an example of dystopian literature.
The dystopian novel was set in 1984 in which most of the population of the world have become victims of perpetual war (endless war), omnipresent government surveillance (the government is always watching them) and propaganda (biased and misleading information). In comparison to The Handmaid’s Tale which was set in 1984. The dystopian novel is set in England in a totalitarian state (A state with extremely high degree control of people and their private lives). This is similar to the situation in “1984” where the population are victims of omnipresent government surveillance.
Both novels are set in England.
Also both protagonists have some sort of relationship with a character that works for them, in “1984” Winston Smith has a forbidden relationship with a fellow employee Julia. Whereas in The Handmaid’s Tale Offred has a sexual relationship with her master in order for him to succeed an heir however the relationship between Offred and the master does not allow her to have any say in the matter. She is an echo of the master, we are to assume the master’s name is Fred and she is Offred.
In conclusion I would compare The Handmaid’s Tale to “1984” as they are both dystopian novels they are both set in England and they share similar scenarios.
What are the features of dystopian...
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HSUS betrays animals. Again.
Source Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary
This is a vigil for the billions of individuals whose lives are shattered for the palate pleasure and amusement of consumers whose taste for animal suffering trumps justice and compassion. It is a protest, a rejection of, and a necessary remedy for, the mockery that animal welfare advocates, “conscientious” consumers, and “humane” farmers have made of the word ‘respect’. It is a direct response to “RESPECT YOUR DINNER”, an HSUS sponsored event where participants are invited to experience the superior taste and texture of “humanely” enslaved, and “respectfully” murdered animals.
As participants will be “Hoofin it” around Denver for four consecutive days, savoring the burned remains of a different animal each day—a bison, a pig, a lamb, a calf—we will stand in solidarity, in sympathy, in outrage, and in deep sorrow with the animals whose lives, hearts, minds, memories, languages, and unique identities will have been obliterated into the ugliness of meat.
Join us in opposing the elitist notion that other animals exist for human use. Join us in celebrating the mind, the heart, the mystery that each sentient being brings to the world. Joins us in restoring the true meaning, practice, and moral significance of word ‘Respect’.
Live vegan and educate others about the vegan imperative.
A Follow Up To Our Four Night Vigil
It is with heavy hearts and exhausted souls that we had to shine the light of truth on the HSUS sponsored “Hoofin It” event which, as egregious as it was, was only one of countless events and partnerships that HSUS has had with animal killers for years.
HSUS’ crimes against the animals have been hidden in plain sight for anyone to see.
Although our original 4 night Vigil series was intended to present the “hoofed animal menu” victim’s perspective during each night’s horrific event, the entire Vigil was also meant to expose a much larger, more pervasive trend that not only the HSUS has been engaging in, but most major animal “rights” organizations, as well as major sanctuaries.
Their insistence on using the language of “factory farming” rather than “Animal Farming”, and their focus on “humane” reforms — which imply that animals can be enslaved, raped, kidnapped and murdered “humanely” — is what opened the flood gates for events like the HSUS sponsored “Hoofin It” atrocity, and many others.
This was not the first of its kind and will not be the last of its kind — sponsored by, sanctioned by, and created by the animals’ advocates’ refusal to include all animals in their advocacy.
What we’ve seen is a swapping out of one group of victims for another, and organizations calling it “progress”.
What we’ve seen is that huge multinational corporations (Tyson, Goodtimes Burgers, Chipotle…) are now using the language that animal protection organizations have given them, to promote the sale and consumption of “non factory farmed” animals.
What we know is that, when confronted with the horrors of factory farming, the public’s default response is now to look for products of animal misery that are labeled “humane”– thereby increasing the demand for animal suffering and death — instead of understanding that the only way to end this massive injustice is to become vegan.
At Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, we know the victims of all animal farming, and we know that our job as their advocates is to tell the public — and Vegans — the whole truth about the cruelty and injustice inherent in all animal farming/ use.
We call on all vegans to please realize that the consequences of opposing “factory farming” instead of “all animal farming” are devastating for the animals.
Promoting the feel-good lie that “humane” farming is, or can ever be, anything but an atrocity results only in increasing the demand for its blood products and, with it, in perpetuating the horror that the victims are forced to endure under the label “high welfare”.
Please tell the whole truth in your own advocacy, and call on all animal protection organizations and sanctuaries to do the same.
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/free-vegetarian-starter-kit.aspx
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
PETA: http://www.petacatalog.com/catalog/Literature-39-1.html
Action for Animals has a very low price : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
Have questions? Click HERE
kindness begins on your
dinner plate.
lives hang in the balance
and cannot wait.
there is no room for
not if we want to
save the souls
of humanity.
so those who
try to self deceive
in the end even
they do not
believe!!!
from → Animals Exploited for Food, Our Compass
← The Sadness and the Power of Knowing…
Animals Rights is the Greatest Social Justice Issue Since the Abolition of Slavery →
J. David Scott permalink
Would… no, COULD someone please explain to me how anyone can “humanely” cage or “respectfully” murder any animal? That is a concept the defies reason and reality and is perpetrated by liars and idiots. Jesus H. Christ, how brutal and how clueless can mankind be? It’s enough to make one cry…
Well-said, David, I agree. So many animal “rights” organizations have dropped the vegan message and are instead jumping on the welfarist propaganda bandwagon; they are essentially telling people that it is okay to eat “humanely-raised” meat and dairy. The only humane, though, is vegan. Any animal exploited, regardless of definition, can never be considered “humane”. Thanks, David.
Wonderful! Thank you so much, hon, it’s absolutely perfect.
You are welcome and thank you.
Most NGOs betray animals. I have a fight with them all.
It’s very sad and so disappointing. If not for these organizations, there would be far more vegans and those who believe in true animal rights. Thanks, Ann.
snowbird permalink
Wonderful post, and so good to hear people are spreading the word. I’ve never eaten meat and back in the day I was the only one, now it’s so good to see so many veggies and vegans, it’s a growing army.xxx
Yes, it is! Thank you so much, Snowbird. xoxo
Emy Will permalink
Absolutely snowbird, the vegan movement is growing. We will be visiting Liverpool at the end of the month. Are there any vegan restaurants that you can recommened?
The Egg is good off Bold Street, you take your own wine as they don’t have a bar and Mello Mello on Slater street is a little more upmarket. I frequent both and have never been disappointed.xxx
There is no such thing as the “humane” farming of nonhuman animals. Such suffering, just for a moment on the lips 😥
Exactly. These organizations want us to believe it, though, and so many do. 😦 Thanks, Emy.
lovegan permalink
I’m not surprised. HSUS for me means pacelle-vick, that is animal abuse 😦 These orgs are dangerous, animals have already too many enemies and deserve loyal defenders. Thanks Stacey
You are so right – they are very dangerous. They’re duplicitous and cruel, and the really sad thing is so many follow them and believe them. Remember the cult-like following after the Vick nightmare? Very dangerous!
After Many Decades, Algeria Set to Resume Bullfights: Please Send Sample Protest Letters
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John G. Lynch
University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
University of Colorado Distinguished Professor
Leeds School of Business
http://https://www.colorado.edu/business/john-g-lynch-jr
Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Downstream Financial Behaviors (full paper and web appendix)
Forthcoming in Management Science
Number of pages: 103 Posted: 02 Oct 2013 Last Revised: 09 Jan 2014
Daniel Fernandes, John G. Lynch and Richard G. Netemeyer
Catholic University of Portugal, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and University of Virginia - McIntire School of Commerce
Downloads 8,282 (648)
Keywords: behavioral economics, household finance, consumer behavior, education systems, public policy, government programs, statistics, causal effects, design of experiments, meta-analysis, financial education, financial literacy
Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths About Mediation Analysis
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 37, August 2010
Number of pages: 10 Posted: 20 Feb 2010
Xinshu Zhao, John G. Lynch and Qimei Chen
affiliation not provided to SSRN, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii
Downloads 1,169 (17,738)
Mediation Analysis, Methodology
Spotlights, Floodlights, and the Magic Number Zero: Simple Effects Tests in Moderated Regression
Journal of Marketing Research, 2012, doi: 10.1509/jmr.12.0420
Number of pages: 57 Posted: 28 Jan 2013
Stephen A. Spiller, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, John G. Lynch and Gary McClelland
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management, Duke University - Fuqua School of Business, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Psychology
moderated regression, spotlight analysis, simple effects tests
Wine Online: Search Costs and Competition on Price, Quality, and Distribution
MIT Sloan Working Paper No. 4191-01
Dan Ariely and John G. Lynch
Duke University - Fuqua School of Business and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
Downloads 770 (32,424)
Smart Agents: When Lower Search Costs for Quality Information Increase Price Sensitivity
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 30, June 2003
Kristin Diehl, Laura J. Kornish and John G. Lynch
University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business, University of Colorado at Boulder - Leeds School of Business and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
A Generalizable Scale of Propensity to Plan: The Long and the Short of Planning for Time and Money
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 37, No.1, pp.108-28, 2009
Number of pages: 21 Posted: 21 Sep 2009 Last Revised: 17 Mar 2011
John G. Lynch, Richard G. Netemeyer, Stephen A. Spiller and Alessandra Zammit
University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making, University of Virginia - McIntire School of Commerce, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management and University of Bologna - Department of Management
Planning, Scale development
How to Attract Customers by Giving Them the Short End of the Stick
Alison King Lo, John G. Lynch and Richard Staelin
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and Duke University - Fuqua School of Business
fairness, targeted promotion, consumer behavior, product quality
Expense Neglect in Forecasting Personal Finances
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 27 Dec 2014 Last Revised: 12 Nov 2019
Jonathan Berman, An Tran, John G. Lynch and Gal Zauberman
London Business School - Department of Marketing, University of La Verne - Department of Marketing, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and Yale
Forecasting, Financial Slack, Financial Decision-Making, Expense Neglect
On a Need-to-Know Basis: How the Distribution of Responsibility Between Couples Shapes Financial Literacy and Financial Outcomes
Number of pages: 124 Posted: 12 Jun 2015 Last Revised: 29 Sep 2017
Adrian Ward and John G. Lynch
The University of Texas at Austin and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
Financial Literacy, Financial Decision-Making, Information Search, Learning, Attention, Expertise, Education, Couples, Relationships, Transactive Memory, Cognitive Interdependence
Median Splits, Type II Errors, and False Positive Consumer Psychology: Don't Fight the Power
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 20 Mar 2015 Last Revised: 10 Apr 2015
Gary McClelland, John G. Lynch, Julie R. Irwin, Stephen A. Spiller and Gavan J. Fitzsimons
University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Psychology, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making, University of Texas - McCombs School of Business, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management and Duke University - Fuqua School of Business
ANOVA, regression, median split, dichotomize, power, Type II errors
Knowledge Creation in Consumer Research: Multiple Routes, Multiple Criteria
Journal of Consumer Psychology 22 (2012) 473-485
John G. Lynch, Joseph W. Alba, Aradhna Krishna, Vicki Morwitz and Zeynep Gurhan-Canli
University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making, University of Florida - Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, New York University (NYU) - Department of Marketing and Koc University
Resource Slack and Propensity to Discount Delayed Investments of Time Versus Money
Gal Zauberman and John G. Lynch
Yale and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
Time, intetemporal choice, hyperbolic discounting
Prior Knowledge and Complacency in New Product Learning
Forthcoming in Journal of Consumer Research
Stacy Wood and John G. Lynch
University of South Carolina - Darla Moore School of Business and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
The Effects of the Online and Offline Purchase Environment on Consumer Choice of Familiar and Unfamiliar Brands
Yvonne Saini and John G. Lynch
Wits Business School and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
Accessibility-diagnosticity model, Brand familiarity, shopping environment, consumer choice
Tis Not, Tis Not – Tis So, Tis So: Rebuttal of Rebuttal by Iacobucci, Posavac, Kardes, Schneider, and Popovich (2015) on the Appropriateness of Median Splits
Number of pages: 6 Posted: 27 Sep 2015 Last Revised: 28 Sep 2015
John G. Lynch, Gary McClelland, Julie R. Irwin, Stephen A. Spiller and Gavan J. Fitzsimons
University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making, University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Psychology, University of Texas - McCombs School of Business, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management and Duke University - Fuqua School of Business
median splits, false positive consumer psychology, power
Reflections on the Replication Corner: In Praise of Conceptual Replications
Columbia Business School Research Paper No. 15-88
John G. Lynch, Eric Bradlow, Joel C. Huber and Donald R. Lehmann
University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making, University of Pennsylvania - Marketing Department, Duke University - Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School - Marketing
Direct replication, conceptual replication, replication and extension, external validity
Creating Boundary-Breaking Marketing-Relevant Consumer Research
Deborah J. MacInnis, Vicki Morwitz, Simona Botti, Donna Hoffman, Robert Kozinets, Donald R. Lehmann, John G. Lynch and Cornelia Pechmann
University of Southern California - Marketing Department, Columbia University, London Business School, George Washington University, University of Southern California, Columbia Business School - Marketing, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and University of California Irvine
consumer research, marketing, breaking boundaries, broad impact, marketplace stakeholders
Unobserved Heterogeneity as an Alternative Explanation for 'Reversal' Effects in Behavioral Research
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 27, No. 3, 2000
J. Wesley Hutchinson, Wagner A. Kamakura and John G. Lynch
University of Pennsylvania - Marketing Department, Rice University and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
Generous to a Fault? The Effect of Generosity of Employers’ Retirement Plan Contributions on Leakage from Cashing Out at Job Separation
Yanwen Wang, Muxin Zhai and John G. Lynch
The University of British Columbia, Texas State University and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
How Am I Doing? Perceived Financial Well-Being, Its Potential Antecedents, and Its Relation to Overall Well-Being
Richard G. Netemeyer, Dee Warmath, Daniel Fernandes and John G. Lynch
University of Virginia - McIntire School of Commerce, University of Georgia, Catholic University of Portugal and University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
perceived financial well-being, scale development, well-being
As Time Goes By: Do Cold Feet Follow Warm Intentions for Really-New vs. Incrementally-New Products?
Journal of Marketing Research, 45 (3), pp. 307-319, 2008, DOI: 10.1509/jmkr.45.3.307
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 Last Revised: 28 Jun 2018
David L. Alexander, John G. Lynch and Qing Wang
University of St. Thomas, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
really-new products, purchase intentions, new product expectations, psychological distance, construal level theory
Learning by Collaborative and Individual-Based Recommendation Agents
Forthcoming in Journal of Consumer Psychology
Dan Ariely, John G. Lynch and Manuel Aparicio IV
Duke University - Fuqua School of Business, University of Colorado-Boulder, Leeds School of Business - Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and Saffron Technology, Inc.
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Tips for parents on helping your child cope with online trolls from Lucy Doyle
The world is full of weird and wonderful things, nice and nasty people. And the internet allows us to access all of it, including the good and, unfortunately, the bad.
Once your child is active on social media, there’s a good chance that people will comment on things they post. Most of the time, these comments will be positive. Sometimes they can be mean, as people who don’t agree with something they’ve said or done tell them so in an angry or less than diplomatic way.
Less common, but often more bewildering for a young person, is when someone goes out of their way to upset and unnerve them.
Trolling is one of the more negative behaviours that your child may encounter online, particularly, on social media where anonymity can offer the possibility of hurting or offending someone without consequence.
Trolling vs shaming
The term troll was born from both the verb ‘to troll’, a method of fishing (trawling), and the well-known monster from folklore.
A troll can refer either to the person posting the comments or the comment itself.
Trolls fish for conflict; their bait is an inflammatory or downright bizarre comment, expertly designed to irritate people. They want people to respond to their remarks and to involve them in an infuriating, and pointless, argument.
The terms trolling and shaming can sometimes be confusing, but there is a difference. Shaming is when a group of online, usually social media, users collectively attack a person or a company for their behaviour. The attacks are often insults, condemnations or threats to the victim of the attack. People can become quite self-righteous and put others down viciously.
People who shame others online aren’t necessarily trolls, who often argue a point they don’t actually believe in just to wind someone up. ‘Shamers’ are often ‘normal’ people who hold very strong views on a subject and want to hurt people they disagree with or don’t like.
Public shaming online has grown with the popularity of social media platforms in the past few years.
Where do trolls lurk?
As trolls tend to want to remain anonymous and keep their online and real personas separate, Twitter is their ideal playground – you can be anonymous and still access anyone whose Twitter account is public. But, you can come across them anywhere online.
The mysterious trolling culture
Trolls might say incredibly insulting things – they may even express sexist, racist or homophobic views that they don’t believe, with the sole aim of winding people up.
A complex online culture has developed around trolling, where people actually aspire to be trolls. Their main aim seems to be to cause as much havoc as possible.
Inventive and varied methods of trolling have been created, such as tactical (where the troll constructs a ‘credible persona’ and slowly reels in the ‘trollee’,) and strategic (wherein the troll forms a carefully thought out plan over a long period of time).
We found one website offering advice for aspiring trolls, including:
‘Drag [your victim] off-topic - the further off-topic the better. Remember, you are trying to waste their time.’
‘Remember… you are talking to an idiot. Treat them with the ill-respect they deserve.’
‘A troll's basic mission in life is to mischievously manufacture inflammatory opinions in an attempt to stir up disharmony and discord.’
Trolling or abuse?
Trolls generally want attention or interaction, and do this by posting silly, insulting or off-topic comments. But they can also be much more sinister and move into the territory of harassment or stalking.
In the last few years, there has been a lot of media attention around prominent female figures on Twitter – comedians, MPs, businesswomen, TV presenters – who have been attacked online by trolls seemingly just for being female and in the public eye. Sometimes, the comments are not only deeply rude and insulting but also graphically violent threats to hurt them in some way. Some ‘trolls’ have been successfully prosecuted.
‘Misogyny on Twitter is shockingly common’
Sadly, misogyny on Twitter is shockingly common. A report on the subject from the political think tank Demos showed that over 100,000 Tweets mentioned ‘rape’ between 26th December 2013 and 9th February 2014, and more than 1 in 10 appeared to be threatening in nature.
Campaigners have been fighting to raise awareness of the issue, which is a positive step forward.
Just empty threats?
It can be difficult to determine whether the troll is simply saying empty threats to upset others, or whether they are truly nasty people, who mean what they say and will attempt to carry out the threats they make. You don’t know who’s behind the account – they could be a convicted criminal. If you or your child receives any malicious threats or abuse online, it’s important to report it to the police.
Don’t feed the trolls
Common advice is to ignore and delete comments that are irrelevant, and if they’re abusive or upsetting to also report the user (to the social media platform, to the police, or both).
Remind your child that these people are saying these things to deliberately annoy or upset them, and they’re not worth their time.
Advise your child to tell you if they come across anyone like this online. You can then help them delete the comment, report and block the user. See how below.
The technical bit! Avoiding trolls on Twitter
Blocking, muting and reporting on Twitter
Blocking a user means they can't follow you and will no longer see your tweets. Muting them means you no longer see anything they post, but they don't know you have muted them (this can be useful if you feel blocking them may make them angry or simply encourage them to create a new account to start trolling you from.) Reporting a user means Twitter should investigate their conduct and warn or suspend them if they have broken the rules.
From a tweet:
On the tweet click on arrow at the top right of the tweet.
From the drop down menu, you can choose to mute this user, block the user, or report the tweet.
From a profile:
Go to the profile page of the account you wish to block.
Click or tap the gear icon on their profile page.
Select Block from the menu.
Click Block to confirm.
You can also share lists of your blocked tweeters with friends, allowing groups to mass-block any particularly disruptive users: https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2015/sharing-block-lists-to-help-make-twitter-safer.html.
For information on how to report and block comments or users on Facebook or YouTube, click on the links below:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/reportabuse
Check out Parent Zone's guides to social media and online platforms for information on blocking and reporting.
The advice published on Parent Info is provided by independent experts in their field and not necessarily the views of Parent Zone or NCA-CEOP.
Updated: May 2018
Article author
Article written by Lucy Doyle
Lucy is a former writer for Parent Zone. She studied Spanish at University College London and previously worked as an international events researcher, where she wrote content for conferences on topics such as cyber-security and the cloud. She writes in her spare time, with a particular interest in social issues and gender equality.
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Search PlayerScout Blog:
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How to Become a Football Agent
In modern football, we keep seeing big deals and contracts being signed by players and football clubs. Many wonder how a deal worth tens or hundreds of millions pounds is secured. But with the help of football agents, such deals can be secured and seen through.Football agents search, negotiate and secure contracts for their clients (players, managers or coaches). No major contracts can be signed without them. Of late, many people are considering a career as a football agent as it can be highly lucrative if one succeeds. From the outside looking in it may seem an easy job. But being a successful football agent requires more than is perceived. Apart from the professional skills, a passion for football is also a key necessity for success.
Other Football Agent Articles [catlist id=3911]
What are some of the main skills needed for a football agent? Patience, hard work and determination are also important virtues. You cannot expect to get a license today and wake up the following morning closing big deals for your clients.You may have to start small but with determination and hard work, your reputation will increase and soon big deals will be knocking at your door.Success is unlikely if you are untrustworthy. A football agent must ensure there is trust between him/her and the client.Financial Skills
Riches are likely to come your way as an agent. Not only you but also your client. It can be helpful and an added advantage if you have proper financial management skills. This means you may need to offer financial advice to your client. In modern football, being an agent is not just about business, agents nowadays are part of the client’s family.
A Player Agents Percentage
With many huge contracts being signed, the popularity of a career as a player agent has tremendously increased. A football agent can get in the range 3% to 10% of the player’s contract. However some deals may bring in even more than 10% with Juventus confirming that Mino Raiola (Pogba’s agent) pocketed £24.1M from the £89m transfer which saw the french return to Old Trafford.Seeing the likes of Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes (Ronaldo’s agent) success, many people are thinking of how they can enter into this career. So how do you start?
Step 1: Football Agent Registration
This is the first step to becoming a professional football agent. As of 2001, all football agents had to be registered by FIFA. Right now, it is required that you are registered by your country’s football association. In case of dual citizenship, then you will have to seek registration using the most recent citizenship. The applicant has to send a written application for a players’ agent’s license to the relevant association. Applicants that work as an employee or official at FIFA or any other football organization are ineligible as stated in FIFA regulations Players’ Agents.
Step 2: Football Agent Examination
After a successful application and the association has confirmed that all the requirements are met, you will be invited for an examination. You will be given twenty multi-choice questions that you shall have to answer under the surveillance of the association and FIFA.Examinations are usually held in the months of March and September. The exact dates are announced by FIFA in the months of January and June so that the applicant can get ample preparation time. The most essential knowledge tested is on football regulations (mostly concerning football transfers) ,civil law and law of obligations.
Step 3: Insurance
Once you have passed the examination and before issuing you a license, the association has to ensure that you have obtained professional liability insurance. This is the insurance that will cover the risks that could occur as a result of the agent’s activity. It will also cater for the damages that may incur in case of terminating the agent’s activity. The association will check the compliancy of the professional liability insurance with the regulations before issuing the license to the agent.The applicant can opt for a different way rather than the professional insurance liability. Although not common, he/she can provide a guarantee from Swiss bank. A minimum amount of CHF 100,000 is required for this option. Once the association is satisfied with the insurance, the agent will have to sign the Code of Professional Conduct. Afterwards, he/she will be issued the license.With the license, football agents can freely carry out their activities. By employing all the important virtues, the journey to a successful career will have started.
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London Bridge attack sparks terror sentence release review
By : Plumbers Fleet
Media captionVideo footage shows moment London Bridge attacker was apprehended
An urgent review of the licence conditions of people jailed for terror offences has been launched by the Ministry of Justice following Friday’s London Bridge attack.
Two people were killed and three were injured by Usman Khan, 28, a convicted terrorist who served half his time.
PM Boris Johnson claimed scrapping early release would have stopped him.
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will blame budget cuts for “missed chances to intervene” in a speech on Sunday.
As many as 70 people convicted of terror offences, who have been released from prison, could be the focus of the government review.
Khan, 28, who was shot by police during Friday’s attack, was jailed over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
He was sentenced to indeterminate detention for “public protection” with a minimum jail term of eight years.
This sentence would have allowed him to be kept in prison beyond the minimum term.
But in 2013, the Court of Appeal quashed the sentence, replacing it with a 16-year-fixed term of which Khan should serve half in prison.
Media captionMet Police: London Bridge attacker was ‘complying’ with license conditions
He was released on licence in December 2018 – subject to an “extensive list of licence conditions”, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said.
‘Repulsive’
The prime minister told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show it was “repulsive” that someone as “dangerous” as Usman Khan could be released from prison after “only serving eight years”.
He blamed Khan’s release on legislation introduced under “a leftie government”, insisting the automatic release scheme was introduced by Labour – but was challenged about what the Conservatives had done to change the law over the past 10 years in government.
“I opposed it both in 2003 and 2008, and now that I am prime minister I’m going to take steps to make sure that people are not released early when they commit… serious sexual, violent or terrorist offences,” Mr Johnson said.
“I absolutely deplore that fact that this man was out on the streets… and we are going to take action against it.”
Mr Johnson said there are “probably about 74 people” who had been subject to early release following serious offences, adding that action had been taken immediately following London Bridge attack “to ensure there is no threat to the public”.
How the law on early release changed
2003 – The Criminal Justice Act meant most offenders would be automatically released halfway through sentences, but the most “dangerous” would have their cases looked at by a Parole Board. Sentences with no fixed end point, called Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), were also introduced.
2008 – Criminal Justice and Immigration Act removed review process by Parole Boards, meaning more offenders were released automatically halfway through sentences. Judges could still hand down life sentences or IPPs for dangerous offenders.
2012 – Usman Khan was handed a sentence with no fixed end date because of the risk he posed to the public. In the same year, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act scrapped IPPs and reintroduced the role of the Parole Board for extended sentences of 10 years or more – this time after two-thirds of the sentence has passed. But that did not mean those already serving IPPs would have them lifted.
2013 – During an appeal, Lord Justice Leveson ruled that Khan’s indeterminate sentence should be substituted for an extended sentence with automatic release at the halfway point.
Also speaking on Sunday, Mr Corbyn told Sky terrorists should “not necessarily” serve their full sentences automatically, but that it “depends on circumstances”.
He called for more funding for prisons “so that prison officers are able to do their job” and for the Parole Board to be involved in the release decision.
He said UK needs a probation service “worthy of the name”, arguing probation services have been partly privatised and are now “not up to scratch”.
Both parties have been accused of politicising the attack.
Mr Davey, Liberal Democrat deputy leader, told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he was “alarmed” at Mr Johnson’s reaction to the London Bridge attack.
“In the middle of an election, we shouldn’t be making political capital out of a tragedy, and he’s doing that, and he’s doing that in a way which is misleading people about what the law actually says.”
Liberal Democrat candidate and former Labour MP Chuka Umunna criticised the two main parties for “seeking to use a terrorist incident as a political football”.
Media captionListen to Jack Merritt speak on a BBC podcast about his work helping inmates at a prison to study law.
The father of Jack Merritt, one of two victims who died in the attack, said in a now-deleted tweet that his son “would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily”.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said that David Merritt should be listened to, declaring “nobody wants to see the politicisation of this”.
But he added: “The question is, who is going to make sure that the overriding priority is avoiding any unnecessary risk to the public?”
“I think if you look at what we’re saying on sentencing… it is the Conservatives who are saying we will stop at nothing to keep people safe.”
Media captionUsman Khan speaking to the BBC in 2008: ‘I ain’t no terrorist’
Khan was living in Stafford and wearing a GPS police tag when he launched his attack inside Fishmongers’ Hall, where he was one of dozens of students and offenders attending a conference hosted by Learning Together, a prisoners’ rehabilitation programme.
The attack then continued onto London Bridge itself.
Mr Merritt, a course co-ordinator for Learning Together, was one of two people fatally stabbed. A woman who also died has not yet been named.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said three victims remained in hospital following the attack – two in a stable condition and one with less serious injuries.
Mr Basu said officers had been working “flat out” to try to establish the “full circumstances” of the stabbing.
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Ignacio town board agenda caused complaints among participants
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By Carole McWilliams Times senior staff writer
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 10:03 PM
Wednesday's Ignacio Town Board meeting agenda was very short. For some meeting participants, that was a problem.
Trustee Tom Atencio broke in to the start of a presentation of plans for the new grocery store. "I want to bring up an item of town business," he said. "Every item that we brought up that's being ignored has to be on the agenda" before it can be discussed? "I asked for an item last month. I also called and asked for it to be (on the agenda) this month. You can't talk about it? What's happening?"
Town Manager Lee San Miguel responded, "I'm trying to get all the items on the agenda."
Atencio persisted, "I've talked to you about a safety matter with the gas line. You said you would look at it to see if a 'hot tap' is safer. I brought it up three months ago."
He has challenged as unsafe the way town public works employees were cutting into a gas main to connect a new service line. San Miguel has said that employees were doing it the way they were trained.
Atencio asked, "Is somebody in this town likely to get burned before we look into safety matters?"
Former public works employee Robert Overturf, who has made separate complaints about allegedly improper or illegal practices, said, "Apparently that's what it's going to take. I've been coming (to board meetings) for four months."
San Miguel said, "We aren't doing that welding any more."
Atencio responded, "Hot tapping doesn't have anything to do with welding."
San Miguel said, "We've stopped doing it (taps into a gas main). When we have a connection, we'll bring in a contractor."
"Pass it on to the other guy," Atencio muttered.
At the start of the meeting, Overturf pressed for responses to his previous complaints about public works practices. He has said those are why he resigned.
"The town needs to take action now," he said and called for both the town manager and Public Works Director James Brown to resign. Brown wasn't at the meeting.
Changing the subject, audience member Kasey Correia asked, "As a business owner, is the board giving any consideration to becoming a home rule town instead of statutory?"
San Miguel said, "We'll get back to you. It's not on the agenda."
Correia then made that request to be on the agenda.
Later in the meeting, Town Clerk Georgann Valdez also wanted to discuss the meeting agenda "and how things are put off because they aren't on the agenda, so there's never a resolution." She cited Overturf's repeated complaints. "He's asked for an answer and hasn't gotten one," she said.
She also cited lack of a decision on any funding for training in the Character Counts program.
Agendas used to have a miscellaneous category, she said, or ongoing items under unfinished business.
Atencio agreed. "Things that aren't brought up because they aren't on the agenda. We need a way to bring up old business even if it's not on the agenda."
Valdez continued, "Tom asked three or four months ago to get a report on items that have been discussed... Especially if it's brought up in a public meeting, the answer should be public."
Trustee Alison deKay suggested that in some cases, such as some of Overturf's complaints, it's not that the matter wasn't resolved, but that it wasn't resolved the way he wanted.
Atencio said he got an e-mail from San Miguel about one of Overturf's issues, but Overturf didn't get that information. "He should get the same information. If we discuss it here and somebody in the community has a concern, we should have the decency to respond back, especially if it's been on the agenda."
Trustee Dixie Melton suggested, "If it's not resolved, it should automatically go on unfinished business, such as Character Counts."
Mayor Stella Cox added, "We should have some time frame for how long it will take to resolve some things."
A short time later, Valdez said, "Tom has asked three or four times to get things on the agenda, and it's dropped."
"Can I make a motion?" Atencio asked.
"It's not on the agenda," Valdez said.
"Put it on the next agenda," Atencio said.
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Published on Princeton Alumni Weekly (https://paw.princeton.edu)
Postseason Wrestling Updates
Published online March 19, 2014
Sophomore one of five Tiger placewinners at EIWA Championships
Abram Ayala ’16
Office of Athletic Communications
Abram Ayala ’16, Princeton’s top wrestler this season, had a rare opportunity on the opening day of the EIWA Championships March 8: If he won two matches, he would earn a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Ayala wrestles in the highly competitive 197-lb. weight class, in which seven bids were allocated to the EIWA. (Most weights had four or five bids this year.) But to punch an early ticket, the sixth-seeded sophomore needed to get past American’s Daniel Mitchell, the No. 3 seed.
Ayala pulled off the quarterfinal upset after trailing early in the match, edging Mitchell 4-3. In tournament wrestling, Princeton coach Chris Ayres said, “Those are the ones that you need.”
Day two did not go as well — for Ayala or his teammates. After losing his semifinal match to Cornell’s Jace Bennett and dropping another in the consolation bracket, Ayala finished 5th, joining four other Tigers who placed in the top eight of their weight classes: Adam Krop ’15 (5th, 149 lbs.), Brett Harner ’17 (5th, 184 lbs.), Kevin Moylan ’16 (8th, 157 lbs.), and Ray O’Donnell ’17 (8th, heavyweight). Krop and Harner each finished one spot shy of an NCAA bid.
All 10 of the Princeton wrestlers in the EIWA draw won at least one match — a testament to the team’s balance, Ayres said. In the team standings, Princeton placed 12th in the expanded 18-team field. Cornell coasted to the team title, outpacing second-place Lehigh by 64.5 points.
Relying on a relatively young lineup in 2013-14 (only two seniors, Garrett Frey and Ryan Callahan, were on the EIWA squad), Princeton finished the dual-meet season with an 11-4 record and tied for second in the Ivy League with a 3-2 mark in Ivy matches. Ayres said that his team was hoping for stronger results in the EIWA Tournament, but going forward, “expectations are high, and that’s what we want.”
READ MORE: Extra Point: Making the Impossible Look Routine: For Wrestlers, a Reversal of Fortune
Source URL: https://paw.princeton.edu/article/postseason-wrestling-updates
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Collectively punishing families through prisoners isolation
in Narrtives
Nisreen
posses next to a picture of her husband Samir in her home in Zeitoun
Murtaja, 35, lives in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza city in the house of
her husband’s family. In 1993, Nisreen’s husband, Samir, 41, was arrested from
his home in the presence of his family, just three months after his marriage. In
1994, an Israeli military court sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment. Since 2004,
Israel has prevented Nisreen from visiting her husband. “The last time I saw
Samir, 8 years ago, I did not know it was going to be our last visit. I have
kept applying to get the permission to see him again but the Israelis have
insisted on refusing it.”
there is now a comprehensive ban on families from Gaza to visit their relatives
in Israeli prisons, traditionally difficulties associated with the journey into
Israel also prevented families from visiting detained relatives. The hard
conditions under which these visits are conducted make it impossible for the
elderly or sick to undertake them. “The health conditions of Samir’s parents
prevented them from visiting him as the visits are very difficult and
exhausting. There is no facilitation for sick people. Samir’s mother died with
the suffering of not having seen her son throughout the 18 years of his
detention. His father also passed away after 13 years from his last visit to
Samir in jail.”
commented further on the visitation process, prior to the absolute prohibition.
“The visits represent a huge amount of suffering for us, we have the impression
that treatment we received from the Israeli soldiers is intended to persuade us
not to visit our relatives again. After crossing Erez [the only passenger
crossing point with Israel] and waiting for hours in the bus, we are subjected
to a humiliating body search in the prison. Some people refuse the visitations
due to the treatment we receive. Often, once there, people are refused entry or
discover that their relative has been transferred to another prison without
being previously informed of the transfer.”
ban on visits is complemented by a prohibition on phone communication and
difficulties associated with the letters sent via the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC). As Nisreen explains, “I have no way to communicate
with Samir. It is extremely hard not to know how he is, especially when I am
aware of the terrible prison conditions he is living in. The only way of
communication available to us is through the letters conveyed through the ICRC,
but this is useless. These letters take between 2 to 3 months to arrive, so
their content is outdated when we receive them. Sometimes they do not arrive at
all. We have finally decided not to send letters anymore.” There is no
exception to the absence of communication policy, as Nisreen sadly recounts,
“when Samir’s parents died, we did not know how to inform him. Which is the
harm done to Israelis by a call to our relatives in jail? ”
visits or any other means to communicate with the outside world, Palestinian
prisoners from Gaza are in practice isolated. According to Abed Al-Naser
Farwana, Prisoners Affairs Researcher, “with these practices Israel aims at
demoralising and punishing Palestinian prisoners and their families. This has a
profound effect in the cohesion of the family and the society in general. It is
not only the anxiety experienced by the relatives but when the prisoner returns
to their families they have to start a painful process of rebuilding their
relationships.”
the Murtaja’s family the most difficult experience of all has been to witness
the agony of Samir’s mother. “She was all the time talking about him. She
somehow hoped that Samir was going to be released as part of the Shalit
prisoners’ swap of October last year, she was devastated when she did not find
him in the list of prisoners to be released. We believe this sadness
contributed to her death 2 months after in January this year.”
visits for prisoners of the Gaza Strip have traditionally been subject to an
ostensibly arbitrary process of permits approval by Israel. However, since 6
June 2007 there is an absolute prohibition of visits. Today, this prohibition
affects the 473 prisoners from Gaza who are currently in Israeli jails and
their family members. It constitutes a publicly recognised form of collective
punishment enacted in response to the capture of Gilad Shalit.
banning of family visits constitutes a form of collective punishment prohibited
by Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention according to which “[n]o
protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally
committed.” Additionally, as per principle 19 of the Body of Principles for the
Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment “[a]
detained or imprisoned person shall have the right to be visited by and to
correspond with, in particular, members of his family and shall be given
adequate opportunity to communicate with the outside world.”
al-Walajah Village… under Settlement and Isolation
On the Palestinian Prisoners' Day, Prisoners'…
In Cooperation with Prisoners’ Committee of Islamic…
Under its Systematic Collective Punishment Policy…
PCHR Strongly Condemns Israeli Knesset’s Approval of…
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Xenophobia : Pres. Buhari Off to South Africa
PER SECOND NEWS - October 2, 2019 0
Following reported months of xenophobic violence in South Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday depart Abuja for a three-day state visit to the country. He is expected to discuss the welfare of Nigerians living in South Africa as hundreds...
Again Sowore May Be Re-arraigned on Monday
PER SECOND NEWS - September 29, 2019 0
By Kunle Akinsola After disobeying a lawful court order, the Federal Government concluded plans to re-arraign Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday at another Federal High Court in Abuja. This time around, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation...
Buhari arrives Tokyo As Japan Voice Concern Over African Nations’ Debt Issues at TICAD
PER SECOND NEWS - August 26, 2019 0
President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Tokyo on Monday for the start of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD. The seventh session of the conference, held once every three years, will take place from Aug. 28 through 30 with leaders...
President Buhari to visit Japan next week for TICAD Africa conference
President Muhammadu Buhari will visit Japan next week to attend a government-organized development conference and meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other leaders. Buhari will depart depart Abuja Sunday to participate in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development...
US President Donald Trump wishes Happy New Year to ‘haters’
PER SECOND NEWS - January 2, 2019 0
"HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA!" Trump tweeted Tuesday. In a twitter message the president said HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE...
Deadly tsunami sweeps Indonesia coast
PER SECOND NEWS - December 27, 2018 0
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia on Thursday widened the no-go zone around an island volcano that triggered a tsunami last weekend, killing at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java. The volcanology agency raised the...
India appoints Shaktikanta Das as central bank governor
Persecond News - December 12, 2018 0
India’s government has appointed Shaktikanta Das, 61, as the country’s central bank governor, after the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Urjit Patel. Patel’s two-year term at the helm of the Reserve Bank of India...
U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump’s request
PER SECOND NEWS - November 7, 2018 0
U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at President Donald Trump’s request on Wednesday, ending a tumultuous tenure marked by repeated public humiliations. The AGF's ouster came via Twitter post from President Trump, who thanked the former Alabama senator for his...
Woman who blocked neighbor from entering his home speaks out
PER SECOND NEWS - October 18, 2018 0
Hilary Thornton made national headlines in the US earlier this week when her neighbor, a black man named D’Arreion Toles, recorded her blocking his entry into his own apartment building before following him into the elevator and to his apartment door...
World Bank Provides $1bn for Indonesia’s post-disaster recovery, preparedness
The World Bank has announced funding of up to $1 billion for the Government of Indonesia to supplement relief and reconstruction efforts in the disaster-affected areas of Lombok and Sulawesi, and to bolster long-term resilience. The funding will be available...
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Muslim beauty contestant faces critics on all sides, she says
By Richard Allen Greene, CNN
Manchester, England (CNN) - Shanna Bukhari gets some pretty nasty messages through Facebook, she says. They call her a "dirty Muslim." They say England is a "white nationality country" and she shouldn't be allowed to represent it.
But that's just what she hopes to do at the Miss Universe beauty contest this year. If the Manchester, England-based fashion model wins the British contest next month, Bukhari will become the first Muslim to represent Britain at the international contest.
The idea isn't going down well with everyone - Bukhari says she has gotten hate mail from across the board.
"I've had racists, I've had a minority from Muslim community, I've had it from all religions and all communities that dislike what I'm doing," she said.
The most upsetting messages, she said, are video links suggesting she should be murdered.
Since she started getting threats, she has made a point of never being alone, and a private security firm guards her when she appears at charity events, she said.
Some of the abuse she gets is based on a misunderstanding, she said.
"I am not representing Islam and I am not the one that brought my religion into this," Bukhari said. "The minority out there should not use my religion to attack me."
She's not planning to wear a bikini, she said, explaining that her swimsuit will be a one-piece topped with a sarong.
"I don't think I would be comfortable wearing a bikini," she said.
Bukhari says she's a good Muslim.
"This competition does not define me as a person. It doesn't make me any less of a Muslim being in a pageant like this," she said. "Pageants like this are happening in Muslim countries as well."
And a British woman shouldn't have to defend herself from the sort of criticism she's getting from a few Muslims, she argued.
"We live in a Western society and there is a minority out there who is trying to dictate and control others... they need to start accepting England as a whole and treat it as their country."
One of her critics agrees with her on that point.
"As much as I may oppose the way a certain person dresses, I think it's important that people should have the right to dress the way they want to dress," said Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Manchester-based Muslim youth organization working to build cross-community understanding.
But, although he says Shanna Bukhari may have a right to enter a beauty contest he says she should not.
"Islam is very clear that women should dress in a modest way and guard their modesty, and certainly as a liberal Muslim myself, I do believe that she should do just that."
He objects to pageants "where women have to be paraded and idolized as sexual objects," and dismisses the argument that pageant winners do a lot of charity work.
"You can promote peace without having the title Mrs Universe or Mrs UK for that matter," he said.
Despite his objections to beauty contests, Shafiq says he bears Bukhari no ill will.
"I totally condemn the death threats she may have received and the hate mail she may have received," he said. "I've opposed her but it doesn't mean I'm full of hatred and I wish her well."
More people back Shanna Bukhari's quest to be Miss Universe than oppose it, she said.
"I've had so much support from all over, not just the United Kingdom ... Hong Kong, China, Pakistan, India, many Muslim countries - it's way more than the hate that I've received," she said.
On the streets of Manchester, where she lives, not a single person who spoke to CNN objected to what Bukhari was doing.
"Whether you're Muslim or whatever your religion is, you should be entitled to do what you like. You should be allowed to do it regardless of your religion," said David Yates.
"Why not?" asked Priya Baghani, who is not Muslim. "In Manchester there are a lot of Muslims, so that might be representative of this community, so why not?"
Several women wearing headscarves declined to answer CNN's questions about Bukhari.
But one of the world's best-known Muslim beauty queens is backing her.
Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih is both the first Arab-American and the first Muslim to win that title. She sought out Bukhari after hearing her story to offer advice and a gift.
"Be fearless, be proud of who you are and no matter what anyone tells you by using religion as a tool against you, don't let that affect you," she said.
"I sent Shanna a bracelet just like mine," Fakih said, jangling a wrist covered with good luck charms, "and I hope it's going to keep her safe."
Richard Allen Greene - Newsdesk editor, The CNN Wire
Filed under: Belief • Culture wars • Europe • Islam • Muslim • United Kingdom
Next entry »My Take: Why Islam needs Stephen Colbert
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http://muslim-marriage-events.blogspot.co.uk/2013_07_01_archive.html
Thank you for some other informative site. Where else could I am getting that type of info written in such a perfect way? I've a mission that I am just now operating on, and I have been on the glance out for such information.
July 27, 2013 at 9:14 am |
Chris Yonts
She's a beautiful woman and it's wholly appropriate for her to try this.
April 1, 2013 at 1:18 am |
Tough crap. I'm sick of these muslims coming to countries and whining about treatment. Most people DON"T want them in their country. No more hiding under the rug the trouble and chaos these people bring with them. Put up or shut up. The free world would be SO much safer without them, and that is the truth. I am sick of hearing them whine, and whine, and demand, and demand. What country is willing so sacrifice the safety of their homeland for these jerks? Not my country.....USA USA USA
May 7, 2011 at 5:56 pm |
soysauce
There is nothing "sinful" or "immodest" about a woman enjoying or flaunting her beautiful feminine attributes. Muslim men who can't control themselves are the only ones that are "offended". Women in bikinis are beautiful, women who are naked are beautiful, and women who are conservatively dressed are also beautiful. It doesn't matter.
Dywlf
Add mus lim hypo cryptes to the list.
Muneef
All about Women in Islam;
http://www.islamreligion.com/category/101/
April 30, 2011 at 6:45 pm |
With all that make up she is a harlot in any religion.
Christopher Hickman
Dear Ms. Bukhari, however unlikely it is that you will see this comment I feel compelled to wish you well and suggest that however difficult it may be to not allow the fringe elements to try and dictate how you live your life remember that the vast majority support you and your decision to live your life as you see fit. I am very weary of all the self appointed "Godly" people whether Muslim or Christian trying to dictate how people should live their lives. So I wish you Godspeed and fortunate times and my prayers that you succeed in all you do.
April 22, 2011 at 7:49 am |
C. Cantu
Muslims should convert to Christianity. They should open their eyes, minds, hearts and deeply analyze, discern and compare any of the Middle Eastern Christian Traditions which are much older than Islam to their Muslim faith. It is a fact that nowadays, violence, intolerance, hatred, terrorism, discrimination is much greater among Muslims than Christian Arabs. Anywhere in the world, the same conflicts arise caused by Islamic dogmas and practices. Most Islamic religious leaders are the main instigators of these violent actions, they seduce young people with their satanic teachings to commit all kinds of atrocities and justify these actions under their own Islamic dogmas. Muslims should compare their lives and ideology to their Christian Arab brethren and decide to take the first step to change their distorted mentality.
April 21, 2011 at 11:47 am |
Bif T
To each is own, but I honestly don't find her the least bit attractive. However, if I did I wouldn't care if she was Muslim, Christian, whatever.
If I were her, I'd worry about her fellow Muslims (extremist element at least) rather than some knucklheads taking swipes from behind a computer.
HappyyppaH
This is one of the reasons why I don't feel at all comfy being involved in any religion. I have my relationship with God and leave all the clutter of what to do and when and how behind.
Mekhong Kurt
As miniscule the use of beauty pageants are, IMHO, they are infinitely more useful than those who seek to impose their own preferences on others.
Don't like bikinis? - don't wear or even look at them, then. Think women in a country like England shouldn't enjoy the civil freedoms her country offers? - tough stuff; go to Afghanistan and live happily ever after in some cave.
Lord of the Universe:
Surprised to have seen many of you to state that God Allah is the Lord of the Moon ! When he is the Lord of the whole Universe and Creation ! You accuse Muslims of Worshiping of the Moon ! When the Quran clearly indicated that the Sun and the Moon are being used for knowing the number of days,other than that known or unknown forms of uses and needs for !
Now the only verse that in which God clearly has indicated that he is Lord of is the "The Planet of Sirius" that can be found within Q/S/V's 53:49
An-Najm (The Star) 53:
And that He it is Who is the Lord of Sirius; (49).
Pronounced in Arabic "El-Sherra".
Links for you to gain the knowledge of this opportunity which i feel thankful to those who drove me to search for it and research it, adding to that i became to understand that the planets are responsible for what ever goes on in the universe as to disasters on earth and to creations, i take it from the Quranic verse that this "Sirius Planet A&B" is or are the Head Star or Planet of all Group of universal Planets in being responsible as a Head Gear for the entire movement of all Gears of the the Ticking Clock of time "The Universal Life time Granted to it to work..!
The Question that we should be asking or looking for an answer for is:
Would time here haste for manking being hasty or would it be granted more time by becoming:
-a non corruptor to earth and sea.
-for holding right God Message of revelations and laws.
-for showing mercy and being charitable paying out the poor dues.
Wouldn't that make a change when majority become as that since as seems that the darker side overtaking the brighter side meaning Evil-being taking Over the Good-being in their deeds ? It is only when signs like that are shown the earth shake and maybe the whole universe shake that same shake ! After all "The head Key Planet of all those universal planets "The Sirius" is in the hand of God the creator and the lord who is either crediting or debiting our intentions and actions on what was deposited upon us to maintain uncorrupted but rather to go on spreading Justice,Respect even before Love since they say "Some Love do Kill more than hate kills" !!!
Sorry having got carried away kindly read the links that i found to be very interesting and very informative :
http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_39.html
http://www.harrypotterforseekers.com/articles/siriusforseekers.php
Who the heck accused you of worshipping the moon? Do tell.
... you are explained everything very calmly. Thank you, may Allah blessed you always
May 5, 2011 at 7:31 am |
In one of the meetings on TV programes an Islamic scholar was asked why mankind is so violent and all those killings ?
He simply answered because all mankind had derived from a criminal that had killed his brother,meaning that all mankind derived from the son of Adam named as Cain who killed Abel who had not performed any attack or even self defense;
The First Murder*
[5:27] Recite for them the true history of Adam's two sons. They made an offering, and it was accepted from one of them, but not from the other. He said, "I will surely kill you." He said, "GOD accepts only from the righteous.
[5:28] "If you extend your hand to kill me, I am not extending my hand to kill you. For I reverence GOD, Lord of the universe.
[5:29] "I want you, not me, to bear my sin and your sin, then you end up with the dwellers of Hell. Such is the requital for the transgressors."
[5:30] His ego provoked him into killing his brother. He killed him, and ended up with the losers.
Thanks to the Human Genome Project we can state with 100 % certainty that the story of Cain and Able, Adam and Eve, is just that a story, a fable, a myth, a fairytale if you will.
God is imaginary.
lanboodan
That scholar was an illiterate...All the generation that came forth from Cain were punished by God through flood...Read the history before presenting your knowledge..
PCissuchBS
Thank you "pnut"!!
I agree with your statement.
A book of mythology from any college has as much credence as any religious text.
Ferhan Mazher
Good Luck Shanna Bukhari !
The Quran says, "Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies." Surah 40:28. In the Hadith, Mohammed was also quoted as saying, "Be honest because honesty leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise. Beware of falsehood because it leads to immorality, and immorality leads to Hell."
April 16, 2011 at 12:14 pm |
ranee
muneef...who cares what your kuran says. if allah will not guide her, she will find another guide. You go wherever u want ...look for your paradise,
ranee.
God guides who look upon him for guidance,the closer one comes to him the more he becomes closer to one...any way don't worry about her this is all is as "a storm in cup on tea" just to be paid by the media for insulting an Islamic population for the purpose of having those who are rated as extremes to come out showing signs or saying out things or approach to attack the girl,maybe she is just being used as a bate for making catches ??
Have seen similar cases where Australian livestock vessels would be using a well groomed female sheep lead in front of male sheep for them to follow her on board or out board the livestock vessel.... Other than that I do not see why since she has nothing to deserve any stage of the beauty contest...unless British have no taste for beauty and longer...
Coriolana
Your heaven and your hell. Don't inflict it on anyone else.
We love for our neighbors what we love for our selves,we like to feed our neighbors on what we feed on,we like to share with our neighbors the stream of light that we enjoy.
FREEDOM USA
Taking 7 & 10 year old LITTLE GIRLS will not get you into paradise nor will murder in the name of any religion and I read that is what Mohammed did and the men who follow this Islamic faith still do. SHAME ON THEM !!!!!!! NONE OF YOU THAT DO THIS WILL GO TO PARADISE. This religion is full of hate and control!!!!
Muneef, you can try to feed your neighbors on what you feed and to share your light, but don't force it because not every neighbor likes your food and light.
klhklh
muslim+beauty queen. Oxymoron???
The Quran also says to subjugate the unbeliever (those who do not bow to Allah) and if unbeliever can not be enslaved then kill him.
I think she is an attractive woman, and if she wants to represent her country in the Miss Universe Pagaent, she has every right to. Having said that, who did her makeup for that interview??? Good Lord – what's with the extremely dark eye shadow and dark eyebrows?? Her hair is dark already – she is a little old to be going thru a "goth" stage!!
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Some misconceptions have spread as mindfulness moves from the monastery to the middle-class home.
4 myths about mindfulness meditation
By Jeff Wilson, special to CNN
(CNN) - Mindfulness meditation is a huge phenomenon – and a multibillion-dollar industry – in the United States.
It’s being used to help soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, to assist schoolchildren with attention difficulties and to bring stress relief from the hospital bed to the boardroom to the bedroom.
In fast-paced, multitasking modern America, mindfulness is used both to take a vacation from our hectic lives and to help us manage ever more work and stimulation in a mindful manner.
This mindfulness movement is diverse, but it traces back to Buddhist awareness techniques, especially as promoted by UMass Medical School researcher Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Essentially, mindfulness is a technique of open awareness without judgment, which allows the meditator to observe their physical and mental actions and reactions without attachment or aversion.
Once upon a time, mindfulness meditation conjured up images of an orange-robed monk with a shaven head, sitting quietly somewhere in a jungle cave.
But now, the average mindfulness practitioner is a suburban soccer mom who meditates in order to increase her work efficiency, deal with her kids’ needs, watch what she eats and keep her sanity,
Whenever a foreign practice becomes mainstream, naturally, some confusion occurs. Here’s a list of four common misunderstandings that have appeared as mindfulness spread from the monastery to the middle-class home.
Filed under: Asia • Buddhism • Health • Meditation • Trends
We're heading to Rishikesh in India, which is considered the yoga capital of the world.
'Eat, Pray, Love' ... minus the pizza and sex
By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
(CNN) Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, sits a magical place ripe for exploration. It’s called Rishikesh, and for the next two weeks it will be our spiritual playground.
I am going there thanks to a religion reporting fellowship, and I’d like to take you with me.
A holy spot for Hindus, Rishikesh is also a destination for Westerners hungering for a different and deeper kind of sustenance. Among the most renowned Rishikesh searchers: The Beatles, who came here in 1968 to study Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
It’s dotted with ashrams. Painted holy men roam the streets and sit in nearby caves. There are sunset ceremonies along the sacred Ganges River, and yoga classes flow as consistently as the hallowed waters. Pilgrims flock to temples. Visitors can surrender to ancient forms of medicine, find healing and be cleansed. Some are said to arrive in Rishikesh and never leave, losing themselves forever in the quest for enlightenment.
Jessica Ravitz - CNN Writer/Producer
Filed under: Hinduism • India • Journeys • Meditation • Yoga
The faux religion of Steve Jobs
Opinion by Brett Robinson, Special to CNN
(CNN)— Forget the forbidden fruit logo and the cult of Apple jokes. The legacy of Steve Jobs is anything but religious.
Apple was conceived in the heady days of the counterculture movement. While Jobs and friend Steve Wozniak were busy hacking into AT&T’s long-distance phone lines from a Berkeley dorm room in the 1970s, the culture was awash in New Age experimentation and social unrest. Traditional institutions were under siege by idealistic youth rejecting what they viewed as mass-marketed delusions.
At the top of the hit list was organized religion. When Jobs and Wozniak got the phone hacking device to work, their first call was to the Vatican. They proceeded to hang up on the pope’s personal secretary before he could connect the call to the Holy Father. Jobs the iconoclast relished the prank.
Filed under: Belief • Buddhism • Media • Meditation • Movies • Opinion • Technology
Explainer: How and why to practice compassion meditation
Editor's note: Video produced by Brandon Ancil. Shot by Jarrett Bellini and Mandy Carranza. Text by Dan Gilgoff.
Lobsang Tenzin Negi wears a lot of hats.
He’s a former Buddhist monk who presides over a Buddhist monastery in - of all places - Atlanta, Georgia. He directs Emory University’s unique partnership with Tibet's government-in-exile.
And he’s a highly regarded meditation teacher, designing meditation courses for much of the recent scientific study of the practice.
Like many Buddhists, Negi insists that a person doesn’t don’t have to be Buddhist to benefit from meditation.
Dan Gilgoff - CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor
Filed under: Buddhism • Georgia • Meditation • United States
Zen at your desk: how to meditate
More on meditation here.
Filed under: Buddhism • Journeys • Meditation • Work
Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can
From CNN's Dan Gilgoff:
Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?
Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation - a form of mental exercise, he says - insists that we can.
And Davidson, who has been meditating since visiting India as a Harvard grad student in the 1970s, has credibility on the subject beyond his own experience.
A trained psychologist based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he has become the leader of a relatively new field called contemplative neuroscience - the brain science of meditation.
Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.
Filed under: Buddhism • Culture & Science • Meditation
Meditation: Focus on now
Everyone has busy, stressful days and feels distracted by a multitude of tasks and obligations. Many people find stress reduction, as well as physical benefits, in meditation, as found in an ongoing study.
Here's the low-down on what meditation is and how to get started.
Meditation is training in concentration, mindfulness and compassion, says Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher and author who co-founded the prominent Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. It is not merely relaxing, but rather training the mind in specific skills.
Filed under: Meditation
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Method of grinding a workpiece and method for determining processing parameters
The present disclosure relates to a grinding method for grinding of non-circular workpieces with an improved productivity and quality of the resulting workpiece. The method comprises a first and a second stage. The rotational speed profile of the workpiece in the first stage is controlled with the purpose of maintaining a pre-selected maximum surface temperature of the workpiece during said first stage, and grinding of the workpiece in said second stage is performed while controlling an aggressiveness number of said second stage so as to achieve an intended final surface quality. The present disclosure also relates to a method for determining the processing parameters of such a grinding method wherein the first and the second stage of the grinding method are iterated to thereby determine the processing parameters leading to a high productivity and desired quality of the workpiece after grinding.
cam lobe
R. Drazumeric
Univerza V Ljubljani
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BC Liberal MLA: Why Preserve Indigenous Languages When You Can Hire ‘Hundreds’ of Police Instead?
BC Liberal MLA says funding to preserve Indigenous languages should be used to crack down on crime in ‘First Nations communities’ instead
February 27, 2018 Share Tweet
A BC Liberal MLA is doubling-down on his suggestion British Columbia should not invest in “Indigenous language preservation” because the money would be better spent hiring police to crackdown on crime in “First Nations communities” instead.
Speaking with a Prince George radio station about the province’s recently tabled 2018 Budget over the weekend, BC Liberal MLA Mike Morris said he was “astounded” by the new BC NDP government’s priorities.
In particular, Morris takes issue with a $50 million investment in Indigenous languages through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council to document and teach indigenous languages. The FPCC notes BC is home to 60% of Canada’s Indigenous languages and “they’re all severely endangered.”
The “revitalization and preservation” of Indigenous languages was among the top calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – one goal of Canada’s residential schools was to completely eradicate Indigenous languages.
But according to Morris, a better use of money would be to hire a “couple of hundred extra police officers” to crackdown on crime in “First Nations communities” instead:
“They’re spending 50 million dollars on indigenous language preservation, which I think is important, but at the same time the 50 million dollars would have paid for a couple of hundred extra police officers in rural BC and in our First Nations communities to help address the sexual violence and domestic abuse we have in those communities..”
If it wasn’t clear the first time, Morris doubled-down on his unique line of criticism again in the BC Legislature Monday during debate on the 2018 Budget, questioning why “preserving languages is a higher priority than putting that money into extra policing resources”?
Morris added that the government’s decision to fund a program for preserving Indigenous languages “really needs to be re-examined”:
“Here we have people suffering every day from alcohol abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and preserving languages is a higher priority than putting that money into extra policing resources? From a risk management perspective, I think that this really needs to be re-examined.”
While Morris might feel like putting more police on the beat in First Nations communities is a good idea, many experts and Indigenous groups caution it can be an inadequate and potentially counterproductive solution to complicated issues that have social, economic and historical dimensions.
A November 2017 interim report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls reported that “the most significant issue” identified during advisory meetings has been “the role that police forces and the criminal justice system play in perpetrating violence against Indigenous women and girls.”
“There is an overall lack of trust in the justice system – including the police,” the report notes. “People are afraid of retribution and bullying when reporting police complaints in small communities.”
Likewise, the Native Women’s Association of Canada suggests policing is among the “systemic causes” underlying the “ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of Indigenous women and girls in Canada.”
BC Liberals British Columbia Indigenous Mike Morris police
January 15, 2020 News Brief
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December 30, 2019 Analysis
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These Tax Loopholes for the Rich Cost Canada Billions. Here’s How We Could Invest That Money Instead.
What could Canada do with $12 billion lost to tax loopholes exploited by corporations and wealthy elites?
Canadians are losing out on up to twelve billion dollars in revenue every single year thanks to five tax loopholes exploited by corporations and the wealthy elites.
A recent report published by the Broadbent Institute identified Canada’s “filthy five tax loopholes” – some of the lowest-hanging fruit when it comes to tax reforms that would target inequalities created by Canada’s tax code and restore up to $12 billion in revenue.
How could Canada put that kind of money back…
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MAINEONLINEus
Portland GUIDE
portland.MAINEONLINEportland.
Popular in Portland
Covetrus Announces Financial Results for Third Quarter of 2019
GAAP net sales of $1.0 billion, an increase of 10% year-over-year; non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales increased 5% year-over-year
Net loss of $906 million, including a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $939 million; non-GAAP adjusted net income of $19 million, a decline of 10% year-over-year on a pro forma basis
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $49 million, a decline of 4% year-over-year on a pro forma basis
Non-GAAP 2019 pro forma adjusted EBITDA expected to be in a range of $190 million to $196 million
PORTLAND, Maine, Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Covetrus (Nasdaq: CVET), a global leader in animal-health technology and services, today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2019, which ended September 30, 2019.
"Our team is unified in our belief in the Covetrus business model and the power of our integrated platform to drive measurable value for our customers, shareholders, employees and partners," said Benjamin Wolin, Covetrus acting president and CEO. "We have the assets, we have the relationships, we have the technology tools our customers need, and we are in a growing market. With a relentless focus on execution and the core drivers of our business, we will continue to innovate and grow."
Summary Operating Results (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except per share data) 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net sales $ 1,018 $ 923 $ 2,968 $ 2,875
(Loss) income before taxes $ (969 ) $ 35 $ (992 ) $ 107
Net (loss) income attributable to Covetrus $ (906 ) $ 16 $ (929 ) $ 67
Diluted (loss) earnings per share (EPS) $ (8.09 ) $ 0.22 $ (8.76 ) $ 0.94
Non-GAAP Measures: (a)
Pro forma net sales $ 1,018 $ 976 $ 2,992 $ 3,024
Pro forma organic net sales growth 5 % n/a 2 % n/a
Pro forma adjusted EBITDA $ 49 $ 51 $ 153 $ 165
Pro forma adjusted net income $ 19 $ 21 $ 63 $ 73
(a) Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information provided in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations for non-GAAP financial items to the most directly comparable GAAP financial items are provided under Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this release.
On February 7, 2019, Covetrus became an independent company through the consummation of the spin-off by Henry Schein of its animal health business (Animal Health) and the completion of its acquisition of Vets First Choice. On February 8, 2019, Covetrus began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Accordingly, results provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP) reflect the operations of Animal Health from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019 and Vets First Choice for the period from February 8, 2019 to September 30, 2019.
To aid investors and analysts with year-over-year comparability for the combined businesses of Animal Health and Vets First Choice, Covetrus is including certain non-GAAP pro forma financial information that combines the stand-alone Animal Health and Vets First Choice financial information as if the acquisition had taken place on December 31, 2017. Non-GAAP adjusted results exclude costs directly associated with the spin-off and merger, the ongoing integration process, goodwill impairment charges and other special items. The tables in Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this release provide reconciliations from GAAP to non-GAAP pro forma and non-GAAP adjusted results.
Net sales for the third quarter of 2019 were $1.0 billion, an increase of 10% compared to the third quarter of 2018. On a pro forma basis, which includes Vets First Choice in the prior year period, net sales increased 4%. Foreign exchange was a 2% headwind to pro forma net sales growth during the period.
Non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales increased 5% year-over-year. Pro forma organic net sales growth includes a full quarter of Vets First Choice in both periods, excludes the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and M&A and normalizes for net sales adjustments for manufacturer switches from direct to agency sales in the United States, which can impact year-over-year comparisons.
In August 2019, Covetrus released results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, which failed to meet expectations, and included a downward revision to the company's full year guidance for the year ended December 31, 2019. As a result, Covetrus' market capitalization experienced a sustained decline in value that triggered an interim impairment review. Based on this analysis, Covetrus determined that the carrying value of the company’s reporting units, some of which were based on the initial valuation at the time of the spin-off and acquisition in early February, exceeded their fair market value and, as a result, recorded a non-tax-deductible goodwill impairment charge totaling $939 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019.
Net loss in the third quarter of 2019 was $906 million, or $8.09 per diluted share, which compared to net income of $16 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2018. Loss before taxes for the third quarter of 2019 was $969 million versus income before taxes of $35 million in the prior period. The primary driver of the decline in net income year-over-year was a result of the impact from the goodwill impairment charge, the costs tied to the spin-off and merger including incremental amortization of intangibles, share-based compensation and interest expense associated with our debt financing completed in February 2019 and lower operating earnings in North America.
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $49 million for the third quarter of 2019 versus $51 million in the prior year on a pro forma basis. Changes in foreign exchange negatively impacted pro forma adjusted EBITDA by $1 million year-over-year. Non-GAAP pro forma adjusted EBITDA excluding the impact of foreign exchange declined modestly year-over-year as a result of higher selling, general and administrative expense, which offset growth in gross profit.
Non-GAAP adjusted net income was $19 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $21 million in the prior year period on a pro forma basis, impacted by the same items. Adjusted net income and pro forma adjusted net income for all periods presented now excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets for all historical acquisitions versus the previous presentation that excluded amortization of acquired intangible assets for only the Vets First Choice acquisition.
Segment Operating Results (Unaudited)
The company’s operations are organized and reported by geography, including North America, Europe and APAC & Emerging Markets.
North America segment net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2019 of $543 million increased 13% compared to net sales from the same period of the prior year due primarily to the acquisition of Vets First Choice in February 2019. Normalizing for Vets First Choice in both periods and net sales adjustments for manufacturer switches from direct to agency sales, non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales increased 4% year-over-year.
Europe segment net sales of $384 million increased by 9% compared to net sales from the same period of the prior year. Normalizing for foreign exchange fluctuations and mergers and acquisitions, non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales increased 6% compared to the same period of the prior year.
APAC & Emerging Markets segment net sales of $94 million decreased by 1% compared to net sales from the same period of the prior year. Normalizing for foreign exchange fluctuations, non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales increased 3% compared to the same period of the prior year.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Covetrus generated $33 million of net cash from operating activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure that is defined as cash flow from operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, was $3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 as compared to $47 million in the prior year period. The year-over-year decline in free cash flow reflects the change in capital structure associated with the formation of Covetrus, increased transaction and transition expenses and lower operating earnings.
At quarter end, the company had $68 million in cash and cash equivalents, $1.2 billion in total debt and no outstanding borrowings on the company's $300 million revolving credit facility. Management believes Covetrus’ cash flows and access to ample liquidity provide substantial flexibility to manage the business, deleverage the balance sheet over time and invest in further innovation and other corporate needs.
2019 Guidance
Covetrus’ fiscal year 2019 financial guidance range is as follows:
Pro forma organic net sales growth, a non-GAAP financial metric, expected to be low single-digits and is unchanged from the company's prior outlook; and
Pro forma adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial metric, expected to be in a range of $190 to $196 million versus the company's prior outlook of at least $200 million.
“While our third quarter results demonstrated more stability in our business, they failed to live up to expectations and so we are taking action across our organization to drive greater focus and accountability," said Christine T. Komola, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "I anticipate the actions our team has taken, along with the renewed prioritization on core business activities, will help us in delivering on our short and long-term financial commitments.”
The Company has not reconciled its non-GAAP pro forma adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP net income because the reconciling items between such GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, including share-based compensation expense, restructuring costs and other special items tied to the formation of Covetrus, cannot be reasonably predicted due to the uncertainty and inherent difficulty predicting the occurrence, the financial impact, and the periods in which the non-GAAP adjustments may be recognized and therefore is not available without unreasonable effort. For more information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this release, please see the section titled Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures for the reconciliations of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures.
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results and 2019 guidance at 8:30 a.m. ET on November 12, 2019. Participating in the conference call will be:
Benjamin Wolin, acting president and chief executive officer
Christine T. Komola, executive vice president and chief financial officer
To access the live webcast of the conference call, individuals can visit the Investor Relations page of the Covetrus website: https://ir.covetrus.com/investors/events-and-presentations. An archived edition of the earnings conference call will also be posted on the Covetrus website later that day and will remain available to interested parties via the same link for one year.
The conference call can also be accessed by dialing 866-789-2492 for U.S./Canada participants, or 409-937-8901 for international participants, and referencing confirmation code 4896527. A replay of the conference call will be available for two weeks through November 26, 2019 by dialing 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406. The replay confirmation code is 4896527.
Audio webcasts will be available live and archived on the company’s Investor Relations website at https://ir.covetrus.com/investors/events-and-presentations. A complete listing of upcoming events for the investment community is available on the company’s Investor Relations website.
About Covetrus
Covetrus is a global animal-health technology and services company dedicated to empowering veterinary practice partners to drive improved health and financial outcomes. We are bringing together products, services, and technology into a single platform that connects our customers to the solutions and insights they need to work best. Our passion for the well-being of animals and those who care for them drives us to advance the world of veterinary medicine. Covetrus is headquartered in Portland, Maine with more than 5,500 employees serving over 100,000 customers around the globe. For more information about Covetrus visit https://www.covetrus.com/.
This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements about our future financial and operating results including 2019 guidance, plans, our value proposition, our objectives, expenses, expectations, trends and potential growth in our business, expected practices on our platform, intentions, our liquidity, product development and improvements, and other matters. We may, in some cases use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "continue," "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "likely," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks associated with our management transition; the ability to successfully integrate operations and employees; the ability to realize anticipated benefits and synergies of the transactions that created Covetrus; the potential impact of the consummation of the transactions on relationships, including with employees, customers and competitors; the ability to retain key personnel; the ability to achieve performance targets; changes in financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; changes in our market; the impact of litigation; the impact of Brexit; and those additional risks and factors discussed, including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 29, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, and in our other SEC filings. Our forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management team and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligations to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
COVETRUS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 (UNAUDITED)
COMBINED BALANCE SHEET AS OF DECEMBER 29, 2018
(In millions, except share amounts)
2019 December 29,
Cash and cash equivalents $ 68 $ 23
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $7 and $7 466 431
Inventory, net 598 564
Other receivables 77 49
Prepaid expenses and other 35 19
Total current assets 1,244 1,086
Non-current assets:
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $90 and $74 104 69
Operating lease right-of-use assets 75 —
Goodwill 1,156 750
Other intangibles, net of accumulated amortization of $328 and $241 679 208
Investments and other 70 120
Total assets $ 3,328 $ 2,233
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS, AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Accounts payable $ 483 $ 441
Current maturities of long-term debt and other borrowings 47 1
Accrued expenses:
Payroll and related 51 37
Taxes 26 17
Other 144 77
Total current liabilities 751 573
Long-term debt and other borrowings, net 1,141 24
Deferred taxes 11 16
Other liabilities 86 35
Total liabilities 1,989 648
Redeemable non-controlling interests 10 92
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value per share, 675,000,000 shares authorized as of September 30, 2019; 112,054,273 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2019 1 —
Net parent investment — 1,576
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (102 ) (83 )
Additional paid-in capital 2,369 —
Accumulated deficit (939 ) —
Total shareholders’ equity 1,329 1,493
Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interests, and shareholders’ equity $ 3,328 $ 2,233
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
COMBINED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2018
(In millions, except per share data) (Unaudited)
September 30, Nine Months Ended
Cost of sales 821 757 2,391 2,350
Gross profit 197 166 577 525
Selling, general and administrative 216 132 610 413
Restructuring costs — — — 8
Goodwill impairment 939 — 939 —
Operating (loss) income (958 ) 34 (972 ) 104
Other income (expense):
Interest income 1 1 4 4
Interest expense (16 ) — (42 ) (2 )
Other, net 4 — 18 1
(Loss) income before taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates (969 ) 35 (992 ) 107
Income tax benefit (expense) 60 (19 ) 60 (33 )
Equity in earnings of affiliates — — — 1
Net (loss) income $ (909 ) $ 16 $ (932 ) $ 75
Less: net loss (income) attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests 3 — 3 (8 )
(Loss) earnings per share attributable to Covetrus:
Basic $ (8.09 ) $ 0.22 $ (8.76 ) $ 0.94
Diluted $ (8.09 ) $ 0.22 $ (8.76 ) $ 0.94
Basic 112 71 106 71
Diluted 112 72 106 72
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
COMBINED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2018
(In millions) (Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended September 30,
Net (loss) income $ (932 ) $ 75
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 113 49
Amortization of right-of-use assets 16 —
Goodwill impairment 939 —
Share-based compensation 35 6
(Benefit) provision for deferred income taxes (72 ) 1
Equity in earnings of affiliates — (1 )
Other (3 ) —
Accounts receivable, net (25 ) (13 )
Inventory, net (23 ) 25
Other assets and liabilities (36 ) (52 )
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 21 (28 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 33 62
Purchases of property and equipment (30 ) (15 )
Payments related to equity investments and business acquisitions, net of cash acquired (26 ) (8 )
Net cash used for investing activities (56 ) (23 )
Proceeds from issuance of debt 1,220 —
Principal payments of debt (43 ) (2 )
Debt issuance costs (24 ) —
Dividend paid to Henry Schein (1,174 ) —
Issuance of common shares in connection with options 4 —
Net transfers from parent 165 359
Distributions to non-controlling shareholders — (10 )
Maravet acquisition payment (9 ) —
Acquisitions of non-controlling interests in subsidiaries (74 ) (380 )
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities 65 (33 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 3 (1 )
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 45 5
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 23 17
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 68 $ 22
Supplemental disclosure of cash paid for:
Interest $ 35 $ —
Income taxes $ 16 $ 7
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To aid investors and analysts with year-over-year comparability for the combined businesses of Animal Health and Vets First Choice, Covetrus is including certain non-GAAP pro forma financial information that combines the stand-alone Animal Health and Vets First Choice financial information as if the acquisition had taken place on December 31, 2017. These non-GAAP pro forma results include a full period of Animal Health and Vets First Choice results and assess the impact of interest, depreciation and amortization, restructuring charges, and other costs as if the spin-off and merger had occurred at the beginning of the period. Covetrus is also including non-GAAP adjusted results that exclude costs directly associated with the spin-off and merger, the ongoing integration process, goodwill impairment charges, and other items. Prior year non-GAAP adjusted results include allocations for direct costs and indirect costs which were attributed to the Animal Health business of Henry Schein, whereas 2019 is based on a direct cost associated with our stand-alone operations and not allocations, which are excluded in our non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA presentation as the company was incurring its own costs during this period tied to building out internal corporate infrastructure.
The following tables reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Covetrus management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful additional information to investors regarding Covetrus’ results of operations as they provide another measure of Covetrus’ profitability and ability to service its debt and are considered important to financial analysts covering Covetrus’ industry.
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytic tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for income from operations, net income or any other measure of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Covetrus’ non-GAAP measures may be calculated differently than similarly named measures reported by other companies. In addition, using non-GAAP measures may have limited value as they exclude certain items that may have a material impact on reported financial results and cash flows. When analyzing Covetrus’ performance, it is important to evaluate each adjustment in the reconciliation tables and use adjusted measures in addition to, and not as an alternative to, GAAP measures.
Non-GAAP Pro Forma Net Sales and Segment Net Sales (Unaudited)
Covetrus delivers software, technology-enabled services and products across the globe through three reportable segments: North America, Europe, and APAC & Emerging Markets.
Pro forma organic net sales growth is a non-GAAP measure that Covetrus uses to evaluate period-over-period financial performance. We believe this non-GAAP financial metric provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects and is a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business. Pro forma organic net sales growth includes a full quarter of Vets First Choice in both periods, excludes the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and M&A and normalizes for net sales adjustments for manufacturer switches from direct to agency sales in the United States, which can impact year-over-year comparisons.
The following tables summarize non-GAAP pro forma net sales and non-GAAP pro forma organic net sales growth for Covetrus and each reportable segment:
Non-GAAP Pro Forma Net Sales (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
(In millions) Covetrus Historical Vets First Choice Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined Historical Animal Health Historical Vets First Choice Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined
Net sales: $ 1,018 $ — $ 1,018 $ 923 $ 53 $ 976
North America 543 — 543 479 53 532
Europe 384 — 384 351 — 351
APAC & Emerging Markets 94 — 94 95 — 95
Eliminations (3 ) — (3 ) (2 ) — (2 )
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
(In millions) Covetrus Historical Vets First Choice (a) Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined Historical Animal Health Historical Vets First Choice Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined
Net sales: $ 2,968 $ 24 $ 2,992 $ 2,875 $ 149 $ 3,024
North America 1,592 24 1,616 1,479 149 1,628
Europe 1,114 — 1,114 1,113 — 1,113
APAC & Emerging Markets 270 — 270 291 — 291
(a) Historical Vets First Choice - 2019 - from January 1, 2019 to February 7, 2019
Non-GAAP Pro Forma Organic Net Sales Growth (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended September 30,
(In millions) Covetrus Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined Non-GAAP Pro Forma Y/Y Growth % Change from FX Switch from Direct to Agency Sales Model % Change from Mergers and Acquisitions Non-GAAP Pro Forma Organic Net Sales Growth
Net sales: $ 1,018 $ 976 4 % (2 )% (1 )% 3 % 5 %
North America 543 532 2 % — % (2 )% — % 4 %
Europe 384 351 9 % (5 )% — % 8 % 6 %
APAC & Emerging Markets 94 95 (1 )% (4 )% — % — % 3 %
Eliminations (3 ) (2 )
(In millions) Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined Non-GAAP Pro Forma Combined Non-GAAP Pro Forma Y/Y Growth % Change from FX Switch from Direct to Agency Sales Model % Change from Mergers and Acquisitions Non-GAAP Pro Forma Organic Net Sales Growth
Net sales: $ 2,992 $ 3,024 (1 )% (3 )% (1 )% 1 % 2 %
North America 1,616 1,628 (1 )% — % (3 )% — % 2 %
Europe 1,114 1,113 — % (6 )% — % 3 % 3 %
APAC & Emerging Markets 270 291 (7 )% (7 )% — % — % — %
(a) Numbers in tables may not foot or cross-foot due to rounding
Non-GAAP EBITDA, Pro Forma EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Pro Forma Adjusted Net Income (Unaudited)
EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, pro forma adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss) and pro forma adjusted net income (loss) are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information provided in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA adjustments include share-based compensation, formation of Covetrus expenses, IT infrastructure, goodwill impairment charges, and other costs tied to integration efforts of the Animal Health and Vets First Choice businesses, along with other items such legal, accounting and regulatory, re-branding and severance. Our pro forma adjusted net income also excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets tied to the company's acquisitions and changes in fair value of legacy Vets First Choice warrants and utilizes a normalized statutory tax rate. A reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, is as follows:
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 (Unaudited)
(In millions) Three Months Ended
Net loss attributable to Covetrus $ (906 )
Plus: Depreciation and amortization 41
Plus: Interest, net 16
Plus: Income tax (benefit) expense (60 )
EBITDA (909 )
Plus: Share-based compensation 10
Plus: Formation of Covetrus 14
Plus: IT infrastructure 2
Plus: Goodwill impairment 939
Less: Minority interest in goodwill impairment (3 )
Plus: Other (income) expense items (4 )
Adjusted EBITDA 49
Depreciation and amortization (41 )
Amortization of acquired intangibles 34
Interest expense, net (16 )
Adjusted income before taxes 26
Income tax expense (7 )
Adjusted net income attributable to Covetrus $ 19
Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 (Unaudited)
(In millions) Henry Schein Animal Health Business Vets First Choice Spin-off and Other Pro Forma Adjustments Purchase Price and Related Pro Forma Adjustments Pro Forma Covetrus
Net income (loss) attributable to Covetrus $ 16 $ (10 ) $ (7 ) $ (22 ) $ (23 )
Plus: Depreciation and amortization 16 4 — 22 42
Plus: Interest expense, net — — 14 — 14
Plus: Income tax (benefit) expense 19 (1 ) (3 ) (8 ) 7
EBITDA 51 (7 ) 4 (8 ) 40
Plus: Share-based compensation 2 1 — 8 11
Plus: Transaction costs — 4 (4 ) — —
Adjusted EBITDA 53 (2 ) — — 51
Adjusted income tax expense (8 )
Pro forma adjusted net income attributable to Covetrus $ 21
(a) Numbers in table may not foot or cross-foot due to rounding
Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 (Unaudited)
(In millions) Covetrus Vets First Choice (Jan. 1 to Feb. 7) Spin-off and Other Pro Forma Adjustments Purchase Price and Related Pro Forma Adjustments Pro Forma Covetrus
Net income (loss) attributable to Covetrus $ (929 ) $ (9 ) $ (2 ) $ 1 $ (939 )
Plus: Depreciation and amortization 113 2 — 9 124
Plus: Interest, net 41 1 3 — 45
Plus: Income tax (benefit) expense (60 ) — (1 ) — (61 )
EBITDA (835 ) (6 ) — 10 (831 )
Plus: Share-based compensation 35 — — (5 ) 30
Plus: Formation of Covetrus 27 6 — (6 ) 27
Plus: Carve-out operating expense 5 — — — 5
Plus: IT infrastructure 4 — — — 4
Plus: Goodwill impairment 939 — — — 939
Less: Minority interest in goodwill impairment (3 ) — — — (3 )
Plus: Other (income) expense items (18 ) (2 ) — 1 (18 )
Adjusted EBITDA 154 (2 ) — — 153
Depreciation and amortization (124 )
Amortization of acquired intangibles 102
Income tax expense (23 )
Net income (loss) attributable to Covetrus $ 67 $ (27 ) $ (17 ) $ (66 ) $ (43 )
Plus: Depreciation and amortization 49 12 — 67 128
Plus: Interest expense, net 1 — 42 — 43
Plus: Income tax (benefit) expense 33 (3 ) (10 ) (24 ) (4 )
EBITDA 150 (18 ) 15 (23 ) 124
Plus: Share-based compensation 6 3 — 23 31
Plus: Restructuring costs 8 — — — 8
Plus: Other (income) expense items — 2 — — 2
Adjusted EBITDA 164 (7 ) 8 — 165
Adjusted income tax expense (25 )
Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow (Unaudited)
Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information provided in accordance with GAAP. Free cash flow is the cash the company produces through its operations, less the cost of expenditures on assets. The company believes that it is an important measurement since it shows how efficient a company is at generating cash.
Free Cash Flow for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018
(In millions) 2019 2018
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 33 $ 62
Less: Purchases of property and equipment (30 ) (15 )
Free cash flow $ 3 $ 47
Nicholas Jansen | Investor Relations
207-550-8106 | nicholas.jansen@covetrus.com
Kiní Schoop | Public Relations
207-550-8018 | kini.schoop@covetrus.com
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Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.
Applications for course credit
A maximum of 48 units of credit will be available based on the following conditions:
• Applicants with at least 10 years’ work experience (including 5 years documented management experience) may be eligible for 24 units of credit.
• Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or international equivalent in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 24 units of credit (AQF level 7).
• Applicants with an Honours degree or postgraduate qualification in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 48 units of credit (AQF level 8/9).
Alternate Admin Requirements
Domestic Tuition Fees (DTF)
Graduate satisfaction and employment outcomes for Business & Management courses at Australian National University (ANU).
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Looking to Hire Top Talent? Follow These 5 Critical Steps in the Talent Acquisition Process
Matt Hunckler
CEO, Powderkeg
Many tech companies are struggling with the same issue: reaching the right talent for their positions. A recent study found that 87% of IT executives said it’s a struggle to find skilled pros. With this is mind, it’s obvious that the hiring process needs to innovate talent acquisition strategies, being both efficient and effective. We spoke to several thought leaders around the Midwest to learn their approach to talent acquisition strategy framework, dug through top journals on talent acquisition, and boiled these insights down into actionable steps for landing top talent that you can start using today.
Steps in the Talent Acquisition Process
Whether you’re building a team from the ground up, refocusing your workforce, or simply looking to fill gaps in positions, having a robust talent acquisition process is key. Establishing the steps in the right talent acquisition framework means setting your team up for success while searching for talent.
1. Define the Position
Before you even list a new position on job boards or hand it off to a recruiter, you need to first spend time understanding what your talent acquisition goals and objectives are. Chad Fife, the Chief Client and Marketing Officer for WorkHere, spoke with us about the importance of this early legwork.
“The number one step would be defining the knowledge, skills, and requirements of a job. What does a candidate require to be an asset?” said Fife. “A lot of companies don’t do that.”
2. Communicate Your Brand to Talent
Companies need to be strategic about their outreach and where they’re posting their job listings, like utilizing online communities or attending relevant networking events. But, at the very least, you need to be communicating your brand messaging at all times. Jacqueline Cooley, who leads HR and talent acquisition at DriverReach, says this well. “As long as everything that you’re saying matches up with the brand that you’re portraying for your company online, then you’re going to have some success.”
3. Screen and Narrow Candidate List
Nicole Bickett, VP of People and Administration at Springbuk says, “Talent acquisition has and will become more reliant on technology. With the future of AI and machine learning, it will become the norm for artificial intelligence platforms to screen candidates.”
If you’ve successfully defined the role and have marketed your company’s culture well, you should be able to quickly and easily create a shortlist of candidates, apply a screening software and manage the entire process in your ATS.
4. Conduct Interviews
Interviewing can be the most time-consuming of talent acquisition process steps, primarily because you’re working around candidate’s schedules. But when meeting with potential hires, time is truly of the essence. Glassdoor data shows that the average interview process in the United States takes 24 days. If you’re a startup, that’s a really long time!
Mike Seidle, COO and co-founder of recruiting platform WorkHere, commented on the importance of efficiency when it comes to the interview process. “What we’ve learned from working with companies is that speed’s underrated. One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is they go slow when they recruit.”
Julie McCorkle, the HR director at PERQ, elaborates on some strategies that can speed up the recruiting process, “It’s incredibly important to be proactive. Don’t just wait for a position to open up before looking for great people. Have a solid network and an appropriate pipeline of talent in place at all times to allow for quick, solid hires.”
5. Make an Offer
Once you’ve made a decision on a hire, it’s time to make an offer—quickly. According to CNBC, 70% of applicants lose interest in a job after a single week, so you can be sure that if they’re left waiting on a response following an interview, they’re gonna continue to seek out other positions.
But time isn’t the only factor driving a candidate’s decision to accept a job. Dennis Nash, who leads Employee Benefits at Witkemper Insurance, shares, “As many as 50% of employees cite benefits offerings as a major factor in their decision to accept a job, or not. Look at successful companies like Google and Starbucks with thriving cultures and engaged employees; they get it. Employee-centric perks and benefits make coming to work less of a job, and more of an experience, significantly impacting an employer’s ability to attract and retain the best talent.”
Talent Acquisition Process Map
Revamping your Talent Acquisition Strategy 2019 approach means making significant revisions to your Talent Acquisitions Strategies 2018 file. You may be engaging in a research process on talent acquisition. However, reading talent acquisition research papers can be dense and hard to apply. For that reason, a talent acquisition process flow chart is a great resource. While you can make the recruitment process flowchart editable, Karen Seketa, Vice President of Talent at Element Three, said it should still be built around the idea of a funnel.
“In my mind, I picture sort of like the sales funnel. It’s the entire process, from the awareness of your company, to the talent that’s out there. All the steps that go between point down to hiring and onboarding.”
How to Apply These Talent Acquisition Strategies
The best talent acquisition strategies encompass everything we’ve heard from our panel of experts, as well as the steps we’ve distilled from their insights. But how can we effectively apply this information in an actionable way? The process of creating a global talent acquisition strategy is more involved than simply searching for “Talent acquisition Wikipedia” or “talent acquisition definition by author.” Rather, it requires deeper insight into your own talent acquisition policies. One great way is to partner with a recruiter. Fife expressed how doing so early on in the hiring process can be a great help.
“Companies will just say they’re looking for a salesperson. Well, is at an SDR, or an account manager? Those have different skillsets. This is something a recruiter can help you with.”
Another effective way to employ these steps is to utilize Powderkeg’s recruitment marketing software to kickstart your process. Our online community helps talent and job-creators connect and make the hiring process more effective and efficient. To learn more about how to get started, contact Powderkeg today.
CATEGORY: Talent
Matt is the founder and CEO of Powderkeg, a network of local communities with global reach for tech entrepreneurs, investors, and top talent. Powderkeg entrepreneurs have collectively raised more than $1 Billion in capital and are disrupting industries, creating wealth, and changing the world from areas beyond Silicon Valley. Hunckler has led successful teams with his own ventures, as well as Inc. 500 companies and venture-funded tech startups. He's been named an Under 30 CEO Entrepreneur to Watch and an IBJ Forty Under 40 Honoree for his entrepreneurial endeavors. @hunckler
Believing and Investing in Underrepresented Founders with Anastasia Tarpeh-Ellis of Backstage Capital
Matt Hunckler | January 21, 2020
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Matt Hunckler | January 6, 2020
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July 31, 2015 by samuraimohel
Jews everywhere are reeling from a disgusting murder committed by a Jewish extremist fighting what he believed was immorality.
“He just went after them and killed both of them,” Mimri bat Shaul, the sister of the deceased man said. “His intolerance led to the murder of my brother and his girlfriend. And it must stop. We must teach our children that there is no such thing as right and wrong.”
Rabbis and Jewish leaders everywhere condemned the crime by Pinchas, who some have alleged was bitter at not having been made a Kohen.
“I don’t know where this troubled man got the idea that you can just kill someone committing an abomination in the eyes of God,” said Rabbi Hertzlich. “It certainly isn’t found anywhere in the Torah.”
Rabbi Hertzlich had visited Zimri in the hospital before he expired and spoke of holding the dying man’s hand.
“Whatever some have alleged, this man was a prince of Israel from a very nice family. Maybe he made a mistake, but who are we to judge? We are called on to love each other all the time.”
Other Jewish leaders expressed concern that the murder of a Midaanite princess would harm Israel in the eyes of the world and lead to a conflict with Midaan.
“What happens if the Midaanites attack us?” asked Baal Keri. “We need to send a diplomatic delegation to Midaan apologizing for our actions and offering them reparations and the promise that Pinchas will be punished.”
Some Jewish leaders used stronger words.
“We must vomit up this hatred from our midst,” Shaul, Zimri’s father, warned. “There can be no room in Judaism for intolerance. That is why we must find whoever gave this Pinchas his twisted ideas and drive him out of the Jewish people. Even if it goes right up to Moshe.”
Rabbi Hertzlich agreed that there was no room in Judaism for hatred. “That is why I am so deeply troubled by the reports that Moshe actually made Pinchas a Kohen. It sends the wrong message about our religion. I don’t know who this Hashem person is, but it’s time that He stopped perverting Judaism.”
Jewish Leaders Condemn Horrific Murder of Egyptian Babies
Shock and horror filled leaders of the Jewish community in the first hours after they learned that every single Egyptian first-born, including the infants, had been struck down at midnight.
“I don’t have the words to describe this crime,” said Machla Chalerya-Goldberg. “What happened makes me ashamed to be Jewish.”
While leading Jewish leaders from among the elders admitted that they had been involved in a dispute with the Egyptian government over centuries of slavery, none of them had ever wanted it to come to bloodshed.
“Just because they murdered our children, we should be happy that their children were killed?” asked Rabbi Hertzlich. “That is un-Jewish thinking. Now some of our people, chalila, are going into the homes of grieving families and shaking them down for their expensive jewelery as payment for our labor. Where were these animals raised?”
Instead Jewish leaders are taking up a collection for the grieving Egyptian families. Some of the money will be used to repair many of the idols that fell down during the horror that it being described as the final plague.
“Some people are actually happy about this atrocity,” Machla Chalerya-Goldberg said. “I don’t see anything Jewish about them. Formerly I wanted to leave slavery in Egypt, but now I have decided to stay and help the Egyptians rebuild rather than participate in some imperialistic journey into the desert to conquer and kill other people.”
“This tragedy has caused me to realize that my real home is here in Egypt. I call on all the Jews ungratefully leaving to appoint a new leader, turn around and return to Cairo.”
Rabbi Hertzlich refused to go that far. “I am willing to go along on this Exodus, but we must begin a dialogue with this Hashem person about acceptable and unacceptable tactics. I always wanted this liberation to be a non-violent protest movement. And now I’m worried about what He has in mind for Canaan. After all our suffering as Jews, we should be sensitive to the plight of the Jebusites and the many other people of Canaan. What good will it be if we leave slavery in Egypt only to enslave others in Canaan?”
While Rabbi Hertzlich packs for the trip into the desert, Machla Chalerya-Goldberg has organized a brigade of volunteers to begin rebuilding the pyramids.
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Trump Campaign Played By Its Own Rules on Sexual Harassment
Filed Under:2016 Campaign, Access Hollywood, Al Franken, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump Campaign 2016, Groping, Monica Lewinsky, politics, Pres. Trump, President Trump, Roy Moore, Sen. Al Franken, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual Harassment Allegations, Sexual Misconduct
WASHINGTON (AP) — “You can do anything,” Donald Trump once boasted, speaking of groping and kissing unsuspecting women.
Maybe he could, but not everyone can.
Donald Trump (left) arrived at the set of “Days of Our Lives” where he was greeted by actress Arianne Zucker. Trump was accompanied by a crew from “Access Hollywood” with host Billy Bush (not shown). (Photo 2005 via CBS Newspath)
The candidate who openly bragged about grabbing women’s private parts — but denied he really did so — was elected president months before the cascading sexual harassment allegations that have been toppling the careers of powerful men in Hollywood, business, the media and politics. He won even though more than a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, and roughly half of all voters said they were bothered by his treatment of women, according to exit polls.
Now, as one prominent figure after another takes a dive, the question remains: Why not Trump?
“A lot of people who voted for him recognized that he was what he was, but wanted a change and so they were willing to go along,” theorizes Jessica Leeds, one of the first women to step forward and accuse Trump of groping her, decades ago on an airplane.
The charges leveled against him emerged in the supercharged thick of the 2016 campaign, when there was so much noise and chaos that they were just another episode for gobsmacked voters to try to absorb — or tune out. “When you have a Mount Everest of allegations, any particular allegation is very hard to get traction on,” says political psychologist Stanley Renshon.
And Trump’s unconventional candidacy created an entirely different set of rules.
“Trump is immune to the laws of political physics because it’s not his job to be a politician, it’s his job to burn down the system,” says Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management expert in Washington.
Now Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, accused of assaulting teenage girls when he was in his 30s, is waving that same alternative rulebook.
Long a bane to establishment Republicans, Moore is thumbing his nose at calls by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP members of Congress to drop out of the campaign, and accusing them of trying to “steal” the race from his loyal insurgents.
As for Trump, the president who rarely sits out a feeding frenzy is selectively aiming his Twitter guns at those under scrutiny.
He quickly unloaded on Democrat Al Franken after the Minnesota senator was accused Thursday of forcibly kissing and groping a Fox TV sports correspondent, now a Los Angeles radio anchor, during a 2006 USO tour.
Yet Trump has been largely mum as Washington Republicans try to figure out what to do about Moore. McConnell and company have zero interest in welcoming an accused child molester to their ranks nor in seeing their slim 52-48 Senate majority grow even thinner should Moore lose to Democrat Doug Jones in a special election Dec. 12.
Trump did support moves by the national Republican Party to cut off money for Moore. But he hasn’t said whether he still backs Moore’s candidacy.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, pressed repeatedly on the matter this week, would say only that Trump “thinks that the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be.”
As for the allegations against Moore, Sanders said Trump finds them “very troubling.”
As for Franken, presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News that Trump had merely “weighed in as he does on the news of the day” when jabbing at the senator.
But Trump’s broadsides at Franken served as an open invitation for critics to revisit his own history of alleged sexual misconduct.
Leeds, for her part, called the president “the walking definition of hypocrisy.”
Look no further than the bipartisan howl that greeted Ivanka Trump’s statement this week about Moore for a demonstration of the perilous crosscurrents around Trump on the issue.
“There’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children,” Trump’s daughter told the AP, adding that she had “no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts.” She did not call for Moore to leave the race.
Liberals and conservatives both pounced. Those on the left noted she had waited a week to chime in and had never given similar credence to the claims of her father’s accusers. Some on the right faulted her for buying into unproven accusations.
Liberal movie director Rob Reiner tweeted: “Ivanka believes Roy Moore’s accusers. But the more than 12 women who accuse her father of sexual abuse are all liars. The difference is? …”
The sexual assault drama is playing out as a painful sequel for Leeds and other women who came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign to accuse Trump of harassment and more — only to see him elected president anyway.
“My pain is everyday,” Jill Harth, a former business associate who claimed Trump put his hands under her dress during a business dinner in 1992, tweeted in October. “No one gets it unless it happens to them. NO one!”
It’s the same for those who accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, their charges once written off as “bimbo eruptions.”
“I am now 73….it never goes away,” nurse Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Clinton of raping her in 1978, tweeted Friday.
Allegations of womanizing, extramarital affairs and abuse dogged Clinton over the course of his political life, culminating in his 1998 impeachment — and acquittal — over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He also agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Arkansas state worker Paula Jones, who had accused him of exposing himself and making indecent propositions when he was governor. The settlement included no apology or admission of guilt.
Leading feminists and Democratic-leaning groups stayed loyal to him throughout — though some are rethinking that stance now.
Even in the current charged environment, when every new allegation can produce screaming headlines, Trump may well be able to go his own way — and take a hands-off approach to Moore.
“Trump’s base likes him when he’s gratuitously ornery: Insulting war heroes, Gold Star families and the disabled have all been good for him, so what does he gain by strongly opining on Moore?” asks Dezenhall. “Nothing that I can see, so as a guideline, he doesn’t need to do all that much.”
© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
Jeff Friedman says:
Maybe the alternative is so much worse?
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San Bruno Police: Man Forced Woman Into Restroom In Sexual Battery Case
Filed Under:False imprisonment, Kidnapping, Mario Alberto Lopez Leon, San Bruno, Sexual assault, Sexual battery
SAN BRUNO (CBS SF) – A 38-year-old man was arrested after forcing a female victim into a bathroom and groping her against her will at a business in San Bruno early Sunday morning, police said.
Officers responded at 12:27 a.m. to the business in the 100 block of El Camino Real and learned that the suspect, identified as San Bruno resident Mario Alberto Lopez Leon, had tried to prevent the victim from escaping but she eventually freed herself, according to police.
Mario Alberto Lopez Leon. (San Bruno Police Department)
Officers located Lopez Leon, who was arrested and booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of sexual battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment, police said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact San Bruno police at (650) 616-7100 or sbpdtipline@sanbruno.ca.gov.
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QBI researcher to join landmark UNESCO education initiative
QBI neuroscientist Professor Ross Cunnington has been awarded a prestigious international fellowship into the science of learning. (Image credit: Patrick Hamilton / QBI)
A Queensland Brain Institute neuroscientist has been awarded a prestigious international fellowship in recognition of Australia’s research into how the brain learns.
QBI's Professor Ross Cunnington will travel to Switzerland next month as one of the first five people awarded a Science of Learning Fellowship worldwide, through a new program established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Bureau of Education and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).
The program is designed to address urgent educational concerns ranging from curriculum development and learning, to migration and equitable development.
Professor Cunnington said he would use the fellowship to help apply scientific findings to broader education policy.
“This fellowship gives us a crucial opportunity to take our science of learning research directly to governments around the world and influence education policy,” Professor Cunnington said.
“We have a wealth of knowledge from neuroscience about how the brain learns, but often that knowledge just stops in the scientific journals and is not easily accessible.
“My role will be to translate that research into public messages and strategies for education policy that can go out to governments of the 195 member-countries that UNESCO represents around the world.”
Professor Cunnington is one of 25 Chief Investigators within Australia’s Science of Learning Research Centre (SLRC).
The SLRC brings together more than 100 neuroscientists, psychologists and education researchers from across the country,
Researchers collaborate on programs to better understand learning and improve education, using a range of innovative experimental techniques and programs.
Media: Professor Ross Cunnington, r.cunnington@uq.edu.au; QBI Communications, communications@qbi.uq.edu.au.
Cunnington
New Science of Learning journal published
Cunnington: Cognitive Neuroscience
Global experts gather online to collaborate on science of learning
QBI research triggers fish vision discovery
Budgies provide crash course in flight safety
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Scott Ritter Sophia Narwitz Nebojsa Malic Michael C. Davis Dr Adnan Abu Amer Abhijit Majumder Damian Wilson Zachary Leeman Cary Huang Rogel Alpher Ramzy Baroud Helen Buyniski Finian Cunningham Ofer Aderet Malak Chabkoun Eva Bartlett Haaretz Editorial Gideon Levy George Galloway Yvonne Ridley Sergei Guriev Bryan Macdonald Marwan Bishara Graham Dockery Daniel B. Shapiro Ashish Shukla Darius Shahtahmasebi Ahmad Sadri Ibrahim Al-Marashi David A Love Denijal Jegic Natalie Fenton Editorial Ramona Wadi Robert Bridge Andre Vltchek Nanjala Nyabola Michael Mccaffrey Gina Benevento Shishir Upadhyaya Priyamvada Gopal Evan A. Laksmana Michael Rectenwald Martyn Andrews Neil Clark Belen Fernandez Jonathan S. Tobin Daniel J. Levy Jonathan Pollak Ruth H Hopkins
Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr
Protests a test: Can govt not read signs of times?
It’s too early to say whether the unschooled student protests at many of the nation’s universities will impact the country’s politics at a time...
The political highs and economic lows of Modi 2.0
The year 2019, which has just ended, was a bad year for the economy though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP managed to divert attention from...
Aggressive BJP shows symptoms of weakness
Union home minister and BJP president Amit Shah is the only man in the government and the party who stays calm in the face of all-round criticism and...
Towards pan-India NRC: Creating climate of fear?
Confusion persists over the National Register for Citizens in Assam, which was carried out in compliance with the directive of the Supreme Court, and...
BJP-Shiv Sena cracks, a sign of power imbalance
There should not have been any hiccups in the formation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena Maha Yuti coalition government after the...
Returns on rhetoric diminishing for BJP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah have turned the state Assembly elections...
J&K smokescreen won’t hide economic spasms
For a change, no one in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government or in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is talking about making India a $5...
J&K smokescreen won't hide economic spasms
Small gains for Modi, Trump from Houston
There is delirious delight all around over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s performance at a rally of 50,000 Indian Americans in Houston, Texas, at...
Does BJP desire to rule India like China's Reds?
Addressing the National Management Convention of the All India Management Association earlier this week, Union home minister Amit Shah, while...
Does BJP desire to rule India like China’s Reds?
Hurdles for Modi 2.0: Economy, J&K, NRC
Governments have to put on a brave face when they are facing problems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government does it very well. It does...
Signs of pragmatism in steps to boost economy
No government and no finance minister can afford to forget the ground realities. Reality hits back. It was but natural then that finance minister...
At home in court, Parliament, and the social circuit
For a politician, Arun Jaitley, who passed away seven minutes past noon on Saturday in New Delhi due to medical complications, was informal, even...
India-Pak wrangling on N-weapons dangerous
There was defence minister Rajnath Singh’s tweet about changing India’s “no first use” of nuclear weapons option in future “if the...
PM tries to inspire, but skirts the real anxieties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, delivering his sixth Independence Day address from the ramparts of Delhi’s historic Red Fort on Thursday morning,...
Can Delhi deliver vikas to post-370 Kashmir?
The legalities, the democratic niceties, political pros and cons regarding the abrogation of Article 370, the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and...
A true-grit achiever, she was capable of more
Sushma Swaraj, who had passed away suddenly in New Delhi on Tuesday night, had more in her than what she was able to do in the Bharatiya Janata Party...
Unnao: It's time to act, outrage is not enough
What is strikingly disturbing about the Unnao rape case, where the victim has been raped and gangraped, her father thrown into jail, beaten to death,...
Unnao: It’s time to act, outrage is not enough
No early end in sight to Karnataka turbulence
The Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government of chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had to fall sooner than later. The rebels MLAs — 13 from...
Can Speaker dictate terms of resignation?
When the Janata Dal (Secular) with 37 and the Congress with 78 seats formed the government last year around this time, it was clear that the two...
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Posts Tagged ‘atmospheric’
The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1
Title: The Walking Dead Compendium (Vol.1 issues 1-48)
Author: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
Genre: horror, comic
Geographic Setting: Georgia
Time Period: Post Apocalyptic
Series: yes- Walking Dead
Summary: Officer Rick Grimes and his family, as well as a rag-tag group of refugees, have to survive in a zombie infested world.
Subject Headings: zombie apocalypse
Appeal Terms: tense, suspenseful, dystopian world, horrific, supernatural, comic to tv show, survival, graphic, detailed, post-apocalyptic, zombies, bloody, atmospheric, character centered, dark, gritty, violent.
My Three: suspenseful, horrific, survival
Similar Fiction:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Crown:NewYork, 2006)
A Survivor-eye’s view of the conflict between zombies and humans. If you want a book that is a cross between fiction and nonfiction, and has a touch of history, this is one to try.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books, 2009)
The Jane Austen classic with a twist. For those who want to try something different when moving away from the tried and true.
Zombie, Ohio by Scott Kenemore (Skyhorse, 2011)
Told from the zombie’s point of view, Peter Mellor, a college professor, tries to solve his own murder. Interesting because the main character can still pass for human.
Similar Nonfiction:
So Now You’re a Zombie: A Handbook for the Newly Undead by John Austin (Chicago Review Press, 2010)
Like the title says, this is a guide to being a zombie. Not meant to be taken seriously, but could be a nice reference book.
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies! A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols by Michael P. Spradlin (William Morrow Publishing, 2009)
A spoof of favorite Christmas songs filled with zombies and other horrific bits. If you liked Nightmare Before Christmas, try this one for giggles.
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks (Three Rivers Press, 2003)
What started out as the basis of an SNL skit turned into a fully comprehensive guide to surviving a zombie attack. Deadpan humor and extremely detailed. Bonus points that this is written by Mel Brooks’ son.
Tags:atmospheric, bloody, character centered, comic to tv show, dark, detailed, dystopian world, graphic, gritty, horrific, post-apocalyptic, Supernatural, Survival, suspenseful, tense, violent, zombies
Posted in Adrenaline, Best Seller, Graphic Novel, Horror | Leave a Comment »
When the Emperor Was Divine
Author: Julie Otsuka
Title: When the Emperor Was Divine
Genre: Historical Fiction, Multi-cultural
Geographical Setting: California
Time Period: 1942-1945
Series (If applicable): N/A
Plot Summary: This is a historically detailed story about a family that was in the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II. The novel, which is written in third person, begins with the mother and two children still at home after their father was arrested. This was a few months before the rest of the family goes to the internment camp. The rest of the novel the characters reflect there unfortunate journey and lives while in the Japanese Internment Camp and their lives after the war. Even though living in the internment camps for over three years was horrible, it was bittersweet because they have pleasant moments and dreams. This family-centered novel provides the readers with a character-driven perspective of the lives in the internment camps in the United States during the Second World War
Subject Headings: Japanese-Americans – Mass internment, 1942-1945; World War II – California; Japanese-American families; concentration camps — California
Appeal: atmospheric; bittersweet; character-driven; closely observed; detailed setting; emotionally intense; family-centered; historical details; leisurely paced; multiple points of view; nostalgic; reflective; richly detailed; strong sense of place; thought-provoking
3 appeal terms that best describe this book: bittersweet; family-centered; historical details
Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?):
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
– Davenport, John C., The attack on Pearl Harbor: The United States enters World War II (explains the historical details of how and why the Japanese were put into the internment camps)
– Grant, Kimi Cunningham, Silver like dust: one family’s story of America’s Japanese internment (an actual individual family-centered account of the internment camps)
– Grapes, Bryan J., Japanese-American internment camps (several articles and stories of people who were in the internment camps)
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
– Appanah-Mouriquan, Nathacha, 1973-, The last brother (bittersweet, family-centered, World War II story)
– Finney, Ernest J., California time (family-centered story about a Japanese American families relationship with Portuguese and Italian families, and how World War II affected the relationship)
– Salisbury, Graham, Eyes of the emperor (thought-provoking, Japanese American story during World War II, story through the eyes of individual who fought in the war and was still discriminated against)
Name: Samantha Biegel
Tags:atmospheric, bittersweet, character driven, closely observed, detailed setting, Emotionally intense, family-centered, historical details, leisurely paced, multiple points of view, nostalgic, reflective, richly detailed, strong sense of place, thought provoking
Posted in Historical Fiction, multi-cultural | Leave a Comment »
Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace
Author: Kate Summerscale
Title: Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady
Geographical Setting: Scotland and England
Time Period: Victorian Era, 1850-1859
Plot Summary: Isabella Robinson was a 31 year-old widow with a young child when she met and married Henry Robinson in 1844. The Robinsons subsequently had two children of their own, and the family became firmly ensconced in upper middle class society in Scotland and England. Isabella ultimately grew unhappy with her aloof husband, and spent more and more of her time in the company of family friends and academics whom she admired. After stumbling upon and reading Isabella’s private diary in 1857, Henry Robinson promptly sued his wife for divorce in the English courts on charges of adultery. The resulting divorce hearings and trial erupted into in a scandal of massive proportion when The London Times printed a series of unedited excerpts from Isabella’s diary in which she described, in lurid detail, a series of intimate encounters with Edward Lane, a respected London doctor and friend to the Robinson family. Was Isabella really a bold, unrepentant adulteress or simply a discontented wife who wrote unashamedly about her sexual frustrations and fantasies? Why was Isabella subject to public scorn, while Dr. Lane was afforded greater sympathy? Summerscale provides readers with a moving portrait of Isabella’s life, details of her relationship with Edward Lane and his family, and an informative look at the moral and cultural influences of the Victorian era. This well-researched work includes excerpts from Isabella’s diary and letters, relevant court transcripts and news reports of the day, and excerpts from the personal letters of historical figures such as Charles Darwin and controversial phrenologist George Combe, both of whom were patients of Dr. Lane’s, and acquaintances of Isabella’s. Overall, this work offers a fascinating examination of the role of women in the Victorian era, and the inequalities afforded them by society and the courts.
Subject Headings: Robinson, Isabella (1813-1887)—Diaries; Middle class women—Scotland—Edinburgh—Diaries; Edinburgh—Scotland—Social life and customs—19th century; Divorce—England—19th century
Appeal: compelling, densely written, stately, atmospheric, dramatic, introspective, sophisticated, thoughtful, detailed, evocative, insightful, sympathetic characters, authentic, details of the Victorian era, complex, investigative, rich and famous, accessible, colorful, engaging, informative, journalistic, polished, well-researched
Three Appeal Terms that Best Describe this Book: compelling, insightful, well-researched
Three Fiction Read-alikes:
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
In Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace, Isabella Robinson is aware of the scandal surrounding the publication of Madame Bovary in France in 1856, and the charges of obscenity which prevented its publication in Scotland and England. Did the tale of Emma Bovary’s discontent and adultery influence Isabella’s behavior or simply spark her imagination? Flaubert’s classic novel mirrors Isabella’s life with its theme of a passionate woman dissatisfied with her marriage and way of life.
Readers of Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace interested in its examination of the effects a scandalous affair can have on a woman’s reputation may also enjoy this fictionalized account of the relationship between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress of many years, Mameh Cheney. Horan’s award-winning novel focuses on the impact their long-time affair had on Wright’s wife and family, and the public derision Cheney endured after she left her husband and children to make a new life with Wright.
Clara Callan by Richard Bruce Wright
Readers of Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace who enjoyed learning about societal expectations impacting women in a bygone era may also enjoy Wright’s novel about two sisters pursuing separate dreams against the backdrop of the political and social upheaval of the 1930’s. Written as a series of letters and diary entries, Wright’s novel offers a vivid portrait of the lives of the two women, one pursuing a career in glamorous New York City, while the other struggles with the limitations of a more traditional life in her small Canadian town. Interwoven throughout the story are real world events that shaped the era, including the effects of the Great Depression and the rising political tensions in pre-WWII Europe.
Three Relevant Non-Fiction Works:
Marriage, Feminism, and the Law in Victorian England, 1850-1895 by Mary Lyndon Shanley
In Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace, Isabella Robinson found herself a victim of society’s attitudes toward the role of women in Victorian era England, as well as antiquated and discriminatory divorce laws which afforded women few rights when a marriage was dissolved. Out of the struggles of married women like Isabella, a feminist movement was born. Shanley’s title examines the Victorian feminists’ battle for fundamental reforms to marriage law that ultimately transformed both the legal and social status of married women.
Hydotherapy: Simple Treatments for Common Ailments by Clarence Dail and Charles Thomas
Edward Lane, the doctor who was the object of Isabella Robinson’s passion in Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace, was the proprietor of a popular health retreat that specialized in hydrotherapy, a relatively new and fairly provocative medical treatment at the time. In addition to Isabella, his patients included upper class members of society, celebrities of the era, and historical figures such as Charles Darwin. This title by Dail and Thomas examines modern-day beliefs surrounding the healing powers of water.
Darwin: Portrait of a Genius by Paul Johnson
As one of many famous patients to take treatment at Dr. Lane’s health retreat throughout the 1850’s, influential scientist Charles Darwin makes several appearances in Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace, with his opinion regarding the scandal surrounding Dr. Lane and Isabella reflected in his writings of the time. Readers interested in learning more about Darwin will find much to enjoy in Johnson’s new biography, which details the life and times of the celebrated scientist, whose groundbreaking work Origin of the Species was published in 1859, just as the Robinson divorce case was reaching its conclusion.
Tags:accessible, atmospheric, authentic, colorful, compelling, complex, densely written, detailed, details of the Victorian era, dramatic, engaging, evocative, informative, insightful, introspective, investigative, journalistic, polished, rich and famous, sophisticated, stately, sympathetic characters, thoughtful, well-researched
Posted in Nonfiction | Leave a Comment »
Author: Shirley Jackson
Title: The Haunting of Hill House
Genre: Horror, Psychological Suspense
Geographical Setting: Hillshire, Undisclosed probably Eastern United States location
Time Period: Late 1950s
Plot Summary: When Eleanor receives a letter from a doctor inviting her to stay in a beautiful country mansion for the summer, she jumps at her chance to finally get away from her mundane life. Yet even as she approaches the house she can tell that something is off kilter. After meeting her companions for the stay at Hill House, Dr. Montague tells his fateful crew the haunting past of the mansion and its inhabitants. The longer they stay, the more terrifying their time becomes, until finally things spiral out of control. This is easily one of the most terrifying books I have ever read, and a sense of impending doom permeates from the first page. If you want to be haunted, this is the book for you.
Subject Headings: Haunted Houses, Ghosts, Interpersonal Relationships, Occult, Poltergeists, Paranormal Phenomenon, Loners, Single Women,
Appeal: Atmospheric, Chilling, Moody, Creepy, Menacing, Macabre, Suspenseful, Builds in intensity, Haunting, Menacing, Psychological, Dark, Dangerous, Elegant Writing Style,
3 appeal terms that best describe this book: Chilling, Atmospheric, Haunting
Hill, Susan. The Woman in Black
Sitting around the fire on Christmas Eve, a family begins to tell ghost stories. As they take turns, one family member recalls a true event of terrifying trauma experienced in his twenties of a visit to an English countryside estate and the horrifying events that passed there. A gothic and creepy tale written in beautiful prose, this story is sure to chill your bones.
James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw
When a new governess is hired to take care of two children on an old country estate, life seems peaceful. However, this peace is short lived as evil spirits of passed on servants begin to torment the new governess. This story has a similar atmospheric and creepy tone, and pushes the question of sanity as the haunting become increasingly terrifying.
Reardon, Joyce. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red
Written as a journal kept by a young wife, this novel tells the story of Ellen Rimbauer’s life in the haunted mansion Rose Red. The longer she stays living in the house, the more horrible events come to pass, and all are recorded in the diary that is so dear to her. Another creepy and atmospheric read about a terrifying house, this is sure to be a great read!
Boylan, Jennifer Finney. I’m Looking For You: Growing Up Haunted
An autobiographical story of Boylan’s life growing up in a haunted house, this story tells of several instances where ghosts and apparitions made an appearance in the Pennsylvania house she grew up in. While this is a ghost story, it also examines interpersonal relationships and the life of someone who feels to be more of an outsider.
Rule, Leslie. Ghosts in the Mirror: real cases of spirit encounters
This collection of true ghost stories is sure to haunt you! This collection of more than a dozen true ghost stories has been painstakingly researched and collected over many years. The variety of encounters, from haunted houses to ghostly travelers, is sure to chill anyone looking for some true to life paranormal tales.
Williams, Dorah L. Haunted: the incredible true story of a Canadian Family’s experience living in a haunted house
The title pretty much sums up what this book is about: a Canadian family who inhabits a haunted house. The story is chilling and the fact that it is supposedly true makes it all the more terrifying.
Tags:atmospheric, builds in intensity, chilling, Creepy, dangerous, dark, Elegant Writing Style, Haunting, macabre, menacing, moody, psychological, suspenseful
Posted in Horror, Psychological Suspense | Leave a Comment »
Title: Heart-Shaped Box
Author: Hill, Joe
Geographical Setting: New York, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia
Time Period: Present Day/Contemporary
Plot Summary: In this chilling tale that should be read with all the lights on, aging rock star Judas Coyne is no longer touring and releasing album. Instead he spends his time dating Goth chicks, such as his current lady Georgia, and expanding his bizarre, macabre collection of artifacts including a witch’s confession and a snuff film. So when his assistant Danny mentions an auction for the suit of a dead man that comes with a ghost, Judas is hooked and must have it. But when the suit arrives, danger and chilling nightmares enter Judas’ life. He begins to see the dead man everywhere swinging a deadly razor from a chain or rocking in a Shaker chair. Judas cannot escape the ghost’s hypnotizing presence or the haunting words about taking “a ride on the nightroad.” It turns out the ghost has a link to Judas’ past and it is out for revenge of the deadliest kind. As the terror and sense of dread builds, Judas and Georgia are eventually forced to hit the road to face their pasts and solve the mystery surrounding the dead man to avoid the dreaded “nightroad.” Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, it is a horror novel reminiscent of your favorite classic ghost stories but with a contemporary feel. You will be wary with each turn of the page as the uneasy, menacing atmosphere builds throughout the story until its satisfying conclusion. This is a great novel for both newcomers and seasoned veterans of the horror genre, and will have you rooting for its flawed, compelling characters to triumph over evil.
Subject Headings: Ghost stories, Rock Musicians, Suspense Fiction, Supernatural, Paranormal Phenomena, Apparitions, Men/Women Relations, Life after death
Appeal: builds in intensity, atmospheric, chilling, suspenseful, menacing atmosphere, flawed characters, plot twists, well-crafted, uneasy mood, character-driven, creepy, dangerous, haunting, macabre, sense of dread, compelling, violent, engaging characters, foreboding, vivid storyline, descriptive
Three Most Relevant Appeal Terms: Creepy, Flawed Characters, Suspenseful
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:
The best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre by H.P. Lovecraft
Horror fans and novices can enjoy this classic collection of ghostly stories from a pioneer of the genre. Here are 16 classic tales to chill the bones and haunt your dreams, and are just as menacing and creepy as The Heart-Shaped Box.
Christine by Stephen King
Go from haunted suit to a haunted car with this classic novel by Stephen King. Written by Joe Hill’s father, here is a similarly compelling and suspenseful horror novel where teen Arnie Cunningham falls in love with a 1958 Plymouth car dubbed “Christine.” This car is not as simple as it seems, and it starts to haunt and endanger Arnie as well as those around him. With Christine, you can get to know the work of Stephen King to whom Heart-Shaped Box was dedicated.
Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson
A horror story that also has hypnotism and a similar mood, Tom Wallace mockingly agrees to be hypnotized at his brother-in-law’s party. But when Tom awakens from the hypnotism, he discovers that he can hear the thoughts of those around him. Even more compelling and terrifying, through this new ability he receives a message from beyond the grave that leads Tom onto a dangerous, creepy path in order to solve the message.
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:
Crap I bought on eBay: 101 Crazy Bizarre, Seriously Weird, Ridiculously Raunchy Items Exposed by Cary McNeal and Beverly L. Jenkins
A great book for those fascinated by the macabre collection of character Judas Coyne. The book highlights 101 of the craziest things actually bought on eBay by the authors. Enjoy a mixture of laughter and shock as you browse these real-life items.
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars and Vince Neil
Get to know the crazy rock n’ roll world of Judas Coyne with this tell-all book about 80’s heavy metal group Motley Crue. Written by member of the band with the help of music writer Neil Strauss, this book reveals the tours, drugs and alcohol, rock music and sex. A fun glimpse into a crazy rocker’s world.
Hidden Depths: The Story of Hypnosis by Robin Waterfield
Hypnosis was featured throughout the novel, and with this book you can become more familiar with it. You will get to know the history, practice and modern uses of this controversial field.
Name: Margita Lidaka
Tags:atmospheric, builds in intensity, character driven, chilling, compelling, Creepy, dangerous, descriptive, engaging characters, flawed characters, foreboding, Haunting, macabre, menacing atmosphere, plot twists, sense of dread, suspenseful, uneasy mood, violent, vivid storyline, well-crafted
Posted in Horror | Leave a Comment »
The Night Circus (Audio Book)
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Title: The Night Circus
Geographical Setting: Predominately London and Concord, Massachusetts but several worldwide settings (traveling circus) as well.
Set in the late 19th century, The Night Circus tells the story of a darkly enchanting traveling circus that opens when the sun goes down. While the circus is made up of a large cast of workers and performers, the plot revolves around two young people skilled in magic- Celia, the circus’ illusionist who possesses the ability to manipulate the world around her, and Marco, a former orphan with a knack for altering physical settings. Due to an ancient feud between their instructors, Celia and Marco are bound to compete against each other in a magical challenge that will test their skill and endurance. Unsure of exactly how a winner will be determined, Celia and Marco approach the challenge with fear and distrust of their less than noble mentors and complicate their arrangement further by falling in love. While the story of the young lovers skilled in magic is at the heart of the plot, Morgenstern includes a slue of additional characters who are strangely bound to the circus itself. Memorable secondary characters include the Murray twins whose birth on circus grounds results in their own magical abilities and Tsukiko, a mysterious contortionist with secrets of her own. Morgenstern writes an engrossing tale that includes multiple plot lines and smoothly vacillates between the past and the future. Celia and Marco’s romance is as endearing as it is heartbreaking and the mysterious magic that surrounds the circus is intriguing and thought provoking. Written in a lush and elegant style, The Night Circus is a fascinating dark fantasy story about love, mystical circumstances, and a spectacularly magical circus that bewilders both its patrons and performers.
Regarding the audio book specifically, Jim Dale tells this spectacular story in a voice that is both engaging and haunting. His varied dialects for this large cast of characters are enjoyable and believable. Reluctant listeners might find Dale’s reading an excellent introduction to the world of audio books and will perhaps seek out addition titles that he has read.
Subject Headings: Circus, Circus performers, Competition, Games, Good and Evil, Magic, Magicians, Magicians’ apprentices, Nineteenth century
3 Appeal Terms: Magical, Thought-Provoking, Elegant
Appeal: Engrossing, Unhurried, Atmospheric, Dark, Magical, Dramatic Characters, Intriguing, Complex Storyline, Flashbacks, Imaginative, Multiple Plot Lines, Plot-Centered, Thought-Provoking, Elegant Language.
Non-Fiction Read-Alikes:
The Circus at the Edge of the Earth: Travels with the Great Wallenda Circus by Charles Wilkins
Writer Charles Wilkins takes the opportunity to travel with the Wallenda Circus on a worldwide trip that spans several weeks. He describes the intriguing circus performers in rich detail and notes the physical danger in which they put themselves in order to remain a part of the show. For readers whose curiosity of circus life was peaked while reading The Night Circus, The Circus at the Edge of the Earth offers an engrossing true adventure story.
Josser: Days and Nights in the Circus by Nell Stroud
Josser is an autobiographical work that tells the story of 18-year-old Stroud who joined a traveling circus after a family tragedy. Readers who wish to explore the relationships among a real circus family might enjoy this non-fiction title.
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination by Michael Robert Place
The Night Circus includes several detailed descriptions of tarot cards, mostly through the perspective of Isobel the fortuneteller. For readers who took interest in this aspect of circus life, The Tarot offers additional information on the history of reading as well as symbolism found in the cards.
Fiction Read-Alikes:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
In a society where magic is nearly non-existent, Gilbert Norrell is the only working magician until he meets Jonathan Strange who will become his student. After observing the depth of Jonathan’s skill, Norrell becomes jealous and controlling and a rivalry quickly develops. Readers seeking another dark read about rival magicians in the 19th century might enjoy this title.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Quentin Coldwater, a high school student, is delighted to discover a university devoted to teaching magic. Eager to change his seemingly dull existence, Quentin enrolls in this fantastical college and begins studies in wizardry. He quickly learns that magic lessons are more difficult than he previously imagined and finds himself tangled up in an alternate universe’s war, which leads to a compelling adventure. Similar to The Night Circus, The Magicians is dark and suspenseful. Readers seeking additional fantasy reading that includes a coming-of-age theme and magicians might appreciate this book
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
For The Night Circus fans who are seeking additional circus reading but would like to delve outside of the Fantasy genre, Water for Elephants might be an enjoyable title. Set in the 1930s, Water for Elephants tells the story of young Jacob who impulsively joins a traveling circus after the sudden loss of his parents. Jacob quickly finds work caring for the exotic circus animals but finds himself falling in love with Marlena, an equestrian star, who is married to the disturbing animal trainer. Jacob’s adventures in this richly detailed circus make for a fast-paced, engaging read. Water for Elephants also offers flashbacks similar to The Night Circus and emphasizes the love story in a circus setting. Readers who enjoyed the romance between Marco and Celia might appreciate this work of Literary Fiction.
Annotation by: Elizabeth Hopkins
Tags:atmospheric, complex storyline, dark, dramatic characters, elegant language, engrossing, flashbacks, imaginative, intriguing, magical, multiple plot lines, plot-centered, thought provoking, Unhurried
Posted in Audio Book, Fantasy | Leave a Comment »
Author: Audrey Neffenegger
Title: Her Fearful Symmetry
Genre: Literary Fiction, Ghost stories
Geographical Setting: Lake Forest, IL and London, England
Plot Summary: Twin sisters Julia and Valentina Poole reside in the suburbs of Chicago, where they lead rather unexciting lives and have little interest in anything aside from their extremely close attachment to each other. One day, the girls find out that their mother’s twin sister in London has passed away and left her apartment to the twins. Julia and Valentina take up residence in their deceased aunt Elspeth’s London flat, where they are introduced to the other residents in the building. Among them are Elspeth’s lover Robert, who works at the neighboring Highgate Cemetery, and Martin, who suffers from a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Tension mounts as the twins develop new relationships and begin to find separate identities, and an unexpected family member shows up that could tear them apart forever.
Subject Headings: Sisters — Fiction. London (England) — Fiction. Spiritual life – Fiction. Psychological fiction. Ghost stories.
Appeal: Chilling, builds in intensity, compelling, atmospheric, plot twists, descriptive, literary, haunting, character-centered, lyrical, multiple points of view, detailed setting, psychological
Three appeal terms: Haunting, lyrical, atmospheric
Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping shares many of the same appeal terms as Her Fearful Symmetry, including an intricate plot centered on characters and family relationships. It is leisurely paced, lyrical, and includes the haunting ghost story element. The book focuses on two sisters Ruth and Lucille and their relationship with each other and other family members. The girls struggle to grow up amidst memories of a family past that they can’t escape in their small hometown.
A Dark Dividing by Sarah Rayne
Readers who enjoyed the storyline revolving around twins in Her Fearful Symmetry, as well as the London setting, might enjoy A Dark Dividing, another character driven, atmospheric read with an intricate plot. A Dark Dividing features a girl named Simone Anderson, whose twin sister disappeared long ago. Simone has a connection to another pair of twins that were born almost a century earlier, but what is that connection? Journalist Harry Flitzglen is in love with Simone and is determined to solve these mysteries. Curiosity leads him to a ruined mansion known as Mortmain House, where he finds himself immersed in a series of even greater mysteries and a disturbing history he could never have imagined.
Ghost Walk by Heather Graham
Those who are in the mood for a fun ghost story interwoven with suspense and romance would like Ghost Walk by Heather Graham. Nikki DuMonde is having a great time running a New Orleans haunted-tour company when a ghost begins reaching out to her for help. Nikki pairs up with paranormal investigator Brent Blackhawk to find out what this ghost wants…before it’s too late.
Coastliners by Joanne Harris
Like Her Fearful Symmetry, Coastliners also deals with women uncovering family secrets and developing their own identity. Mado returns home to her small island hometown after 10 years in Paris to reconcile with her estranged father. When she comes home, however, she is met with family secrets, village feuds, and the urgent need to save the town’s quickly eroding beach. This book has a strong focus on family relationships with a haunting feel and some paranormal elements thrown into the mix.
Three Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla by Felix Barker
In Her Fearful Symmetry, readers are exposed to some of the history of London’s Highgate Cemetery, which may leave them wanting to learn more about this fascinating landmark. Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla is a great resource for information as it provides a rare, illustrated history of the cemetery.
Identical strangers: a memoir of twins separated and reunited by Elyse Schein
Readers who liked the twin storyline in Her Fearful Symmetry may like this true story about a woman named Elyse who goes on a search for her biological mother and ends up discovering that she has an identical twin sister. When she finally connects with her twin, Paula, the two investigate their past and fill in the missing pieces of their lives. The story is interwoven with details on twin studies and statistics to make for both an informative and touching read.
Ghosts among us: uncovering the truth about the other side by James Van Praagh
Those who dig the paranormal ghost elements in Her Fearful Symmetry can find more information about ghosts in this non-fiction book. The author includes true ghost stories and evidence that ghosts are active in our everyday lives. Believers in ghosts will enjoy uncovering the truth about perceptions of spiritual life and how to have a better understanding of what happens on the other side.
Tags:atmospheric, builds in intensity, character centered, chilling, compelling, descriptive, detailed setting, Haunting, literary, lyrical, multiple points of view, plot twists, psychological
Posted in Literary Fiction | Leave a Comment »
We Can Remember it for you Wholesale
We Can Remember it for you Wholesale: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 2
Author: Philip K. Dick
Genre: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Books to Movies
Geographical Setting: The not so distant future, variety of locals
Series: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick (Volume 2)
Plot Summary: One of the important names in the Science Fiction genre, Philip K. Dick’s influence has reached beyond the printed word and onto the big screen. This is a collection of short stories dating from early in his career, 1952 -1955. The stories in this volume read like Twilight Zone episodes. He is somehow able to create believable worlds, with compelling characters, and in-depth plots, complete with twists that leave readers thinking, in the same number of pages as a single chapter in some novels. These chilling stories, mostly set in the not so distant future, take place in a variety of locals including Chicago, Earth, and other planets. The stories in this collection cover a variety of topics, including, but not limited to the importance placed on modern convenience, ethical responsibility, and time travel. Contained in this volume is the short story, We Can Remember it for you Wholesale, which is the basis for both the 1990 and 2012 Total Recall movies.
Subject Headings: Futurism; Speculative fiction; Short stories; Stories to film; Aliens; Technology; Interpersonal relations; Science fiction; Time travel;
Appeal: Thought-provoking; Descriptive; Chilling; Plot twists; Accessible; Conversational; Engaging; Atmospheric; Flawed; Issue-oriented; Exotic; Introspective; Fast paced
3 appeal terms that best describe this book: Thought-provoking; Chilling; Engaging;
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke by Arthur C. Clarke (Science fiction; Short stories; Story to film)
A collection of thought-provoking stories from one of Science Fictions biggest names, this collection includes “The Sentinel”, the basis for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, and stories not found in other collections.
A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury (Books to movies, Science fiction, Short stories, Thought-provoking)
A collection of 32 thought-provoking stories that explore the depths of humanity by the genre defying Ray Bradbury. The title story was adapted for screen in 2005.
Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov (Science fiction, Thought-provoking, Technology)
A collection of 21 thought provoking stories involving technology and humanity’s future from one of Science Fictions biggest names.
Three related non-fiction titles:
You are not a gadget: a manifesto by Jaron Lanier (Speculative, Technology, Social aspects)
Many people today worry about how social media, such as Facebook, is changing society. In this book Jaron Lanier, a computer scientist, discusses his opinions on how current computer technology is changing society and where it will take us in the future.
Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku (Speculative, Technology)
This book discusses technological innovations, and speculates how these innovations will influence humanity in the future.
This will change everything: ideas that will shape the future by John Brockman (Inventions, Social prediciton)
New ideas are dreamed, new inventions are created every day, but which ones will change the way we live. This book contains the opinions of 130 scientists about what innovations will come to pass and have the greatest impact on humanity.
Name: Shira
Tags:accessible, atmospheric, chilling, conversational, descriptive, engaging, exotic, fast paced, flawed, introspective, issue-oriented, plot twists, thought provoking
Posted in Science Fiction | Leave a Comment »
Devil in a Blue Dress
Title: Devil in a Blue Dress
Author: Mosley, Walter
Genre: Mystery, Historical Mystery, African American Fiction
Geographical Setting: Los Angeles, California
Time Period: 1948, Post WWII
Series: Easy Rawlins
Plot Summary: Set in Los Angeles in 1948, this gritty novel follows Ezekiel Rawlins who goes by Easy. An African-American WWII veteran, Easy just wants to enjoy his life and hold onto the house he worked so hard to get but he has just lost his factory job. Easy tries to forget his troubles at his friend Joppy’s bar when he is offered money by the mysterious, white gentleman DeWitt Albright. All he has to do is track down French beauty Daphne Monet, a lady who is said to frequent black jazz clubs, and he will have enough money to pay this month’s mortgage. But what starts out as a straightforward mission leads to increasing danger and threats to his life. With bodies piling up and the police eager to pin the crimes on him, Easy must find Daphne and solve this mystery in order to stay alive. Winner of the Shamus best P.I. novel award and the first in the Easy Rawlins series, this book introduces a complex and engaging protagonist who goes from reluctant to empowered private investigator while also dealing with racial tensions during the 1940’s Los Angeles. Mystery lovers can enjoy this private investigator novel that looks at social issues while also delivering an atmospheric, evocative story that has the feel of a film noir. They can also watch the movie version of this starring Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals.
Subject Headings: African-American Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Los Angeles, California, Private Investigators, Race Relations, Rawlins, Easy, African American Men, Organized Crime, Missing persons investigation, The Forties (20th century), Gangsters, Political Corruption
Appeal: Builds in intensity Pacing, Edgy, Character-driven, Suspenseful, Intriguing Characters, Well-drawn Characters, Gritty, Historical Details, Issue-oriented, Stark, Investigative, Thought-provoking, Strong Language, Time period dialect, Atmospheric, Evocative
Three Most Relevant Appeal Terms: Gritty, Historical details, Investigative
A Dangerous Road by Kris Nelscott
Set against the racially tense backdrop of Memphis in 1968, this historical mystery follows the activities of African-American private investigator Smokey Dalton. He finds out that he is the recipient of $10,000 through rich,white Chicago heiress Laura Hathaway’s mother’s will. Laura wants to know why Smokey was named the beneficiary, as does Smokey. This search for answers leads to danger and mysteries for Smokey. Another historical mystery novel that features an engaging African-American private detective narrator, while also offering an atmospheric story that deals with racial issues.
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
In this noir fiction set in the Los Angeles of the 1950s, the story follows three troubled LAPD officers Ed Exley, Bud White and Jack “Trashcan” Vincennes as they deal with crime, corruption and violence over a 10-year period. Enjoy this mystery novel that deals with corruption and violence during a similar time period. Like Devil in a Blue Dress, this was made into a movie.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
In this classic noir novel, San Francisco detective Sam Spade must deal with his partner being killed in a stakeout, a valuable statue of a falcon being wanted, the appearance and disappearance of a mysterious redhead and enemies demanding a payoff that Sam does not have. The stakes are high and Sam must figure out how to get out of this mess and get some answers. Here is the go-to novel for a gritty, noir detective story.
The Invisible Line: A Secret History of Race in America by Daniel J. Sharfstein
If you want to delve a bit deeper into some of the racial issues explored in Devil in a Blue Dress, try this book that explores three American families whose self-identified race shifted from black to white over the years.
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin
Delve even deeper into the seedy underworld of Los Angeles from the1920s through the 1960s. It dives into the world of crime, corruption, and violence along with the racial tensions of the city. This book is suggested for those who wanted more details regarding the historical setting presented in Devil in a Blue Dress.
The Film Noir Encyclopedia by Alan Silver, Elizabeth Ward, James Ursini and Robert Porfirio
Did you enjoy the book as well as the movie? Then try this encyclopedia that covers film noirs in detail. It explores the themes and motifs of the genre, while featuring pictures and stills of the movies and their stars.
Tags:atmospheric, Builds in intensity Pacing, character driven, edgy, evocative, gritty, historical details, intriguing characters, investigative, issue-oriented, stark, strong language, suspenseful, thought provoking, Time period dialect, well-drawn characters
Posted in African American, Mystery | Leave a Comment »
Author: Dee Henderson
Title: Before I Wake
Genre: Christian Fiction & Romantic Suspense
Geographical Setting: Justice, Illinois
Time Period: Contemporary
Plot Summary: Haunted by the death of a colleague in a botched undercover investigation, former FBI agent Rae Gabriella is looking for a change in career, as well as scenery. Taking her ex-fiancé, Bruce Campbell, up on his offer to join his Private Investigation firm, she looks forward to settling into a less stressful life in the small town of Justice, Illinois. The ideal of small-town life is soon shattered when two unrelated young women visiting Justice are found dead in their hotel rooms within a week; both having died in their sleep. Are their deaths an unfortunate coincidence or the result of something much more sinister? Sheriff Nathan Justice asks Rae and Bruce for help in getting to the bottom of the mysterious deaths, unwittingly setting Rae up as a potential victim. Rae must deal with a personal crisis in faith, as well as growing romantic feelings for both Bruce and Nathan, as she races to pursue leads that indicate a killer is on the loose.
Subject Headings: Women Private Investigators — Illinois — Fiction; Women Travelers —Fiction; Tourists — Crimes Against — Fiction; Illinois – Fiction
Appeal: fast-paced, compelling, atmospheric, dangerous, suspenseful, romantic, well-developed characters, introspective, inspirational, investigative, multiple plot lines, plot-driven, open-ended, contemporary, small-town, dramatic
Three Appeal Terms that Best Describe Book: fast-paced, suspenseful, small-town
Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon
Against his wishes, U.S. Marshall Jake Taylor is assigned to protect the life of his best friend’s widow, Federal Judge Liz Michaels, whom Jake blames for his friend’s suicide. This is the first volume in the Guardians of Justice series, and Hannon is a Christy Award winning author. Like Before I Wake, this book is a fast-paced, compelling Christian Romantic Suspense title with a law-enforcement theme, where the main female character becomes a potential victim of an unknown predator.
Hideaway by Hannah Alexander
Dr. Cheyenne Allison withdraws to a small Missouri town to escape feelings of guilt over her sister’s tragic death. When vandalism in town leads to serious violence and injuries, Cheyenne finds her loyalties divided between the town’s mayor and a charismatic neighbor. This is the first book in the Hideaway series and is a Christy Award winning title. Like Before I Wake, this book is a fast-paced, Christian Romantic Suspense title where a smart, professional woman seeks a new start in life in a small town, but is soon drawn into danger in her new surroundings.
I Heard that Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark
A new wife doubts her husband’s innocence when he becomes a suspect in an investigation into the death of his first wife four years earlier, as well as the disappearance of a neighbor over 20 years ago. Clark is known for writing suspense stories and mysteries that are considered gentle reads, and the lack of sex, excessive violence, and strong language may have extra appeal to readers of Christian fiction. This fast-paced, plot-driven suspense title by Clark won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Mystery & Suspense in 2007, so may also satisfy fans of Romantic Suspense.
Related Non-fiction:
There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America by Philip Dray
A strike by unionized workers at the local tile factory and the ongoing negotiations with management provide a major subplot in Before I Wake. Dray’s book provides a history of organized labor in the United States, an examination of the social, political, economic, and cultural impact unions have had over the years, and a discussion of the level of influence unions maintain in today’s troubled economy.
Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding
In Before I Wake, a clandestine meth lab figures prominently in the rash of serious crime affecting Justice, Illinois; with recognition of the ruinous impact the drug trade can have on small-town America. Reding’s book presents a study of the devastating effects of meth production on a small, agricultural town in Iowa, the lives ruined by the drug, and the socioeconomic fallout associated with the meth culture.
Detectives Don’t Wear Seat Belts: True Adventures of a Female P.I. by Cici McNair
The fictional character of Rae Gabriella in Before I Wake is an ex-cop and former FBI agent who is just starting out as a private investigator. This title is an entertaining and candid memoir by Cici McNair, a successful female private investigator in New York City. McNair describes her early life, the effort required to break into the male-dominated P.I. profession, and the many cases, adventures, and colorful characters that filled her days.
Becky King
Tags:atmospheric, compelling, contemporary, dangerous, dramatic, fast paced, inspirational, introspective, investigative, multiple plot lines, open-ended, plot-driven, romantic, small town, suspenseful, well-developed characters
Posted in Adrenaline, Insprational, Romantic Suspense | Leave a Comment »
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“West Philippine Sea” and Promotion of Ignorance
The Quick Fox and the Lazy Dog
Will 2010 Be Happy and Prosperous
About My Style
Bayawan Valley Farmers’ Organization
Cory Aquino a victim of ‘insensitive’ US TV joke
No Rails, No Walls, No Borders
The Way We Are
Social Class Struggles, China and the Philippines
Lol, Look What I’ve Found!
Information Heals where [mis]Information kills
RLTJ's Weblog
Some articles contain revolutionary terms that others might find offensive. Common street language is sometimes employed.
If you came here thinking I'm writing things that I think people will love, and nothing else, I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. This site is about facts and realities, how I interpret them. Yours are welcome, don't cower, don't be shy.
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Right of Reply is good. But the proposed law is, in fact, already rendered obsolete by here! Bring it out in here why somebody made a mistake of labeling you a moron.
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Dont end here!
Do you know that
If all your life you have always aspired and you think the one on top is no good, you must think again. Maybe you are no better. Or maybe you look worse!.. Or, why not think God. You're good but he loves you. You could end up that egotist stooge you hate in the mirror.
A small thief and a big thief are the same. They are both thieves... Uh uh, OK, we have a small thief and a big thief - they are not exactly the same... size.
People don't know good until they have seen bad, or they don't know bad, did not have any idea about bad, until they've seen good. Before all them could be hollow strings of words. [Tumen's doctrine]
Gagged people can sometimes be as dangerous as the non-reasonable. [Right of Reply]
One thing is always better than nothing. [When hope is gone; Kapit sa patalim.]
There will always be something better or advanced than the thing. [Law of Dialectic]
Putting down good or perceived good you lose. If good puts you down you lose as well. Try to be good. [Politics and propaganda]
Tyranny and rape belong to the same set of mind. They believe and look at themselves as too good.
When a person has lost credibility the best thing for him is to stop issuing statements because politically he has already lost any and all arguments. [Everything to a person - Integrity]
If truth can bring you down you must be stood on weak or false ground. If lie can bring you down then you must be stood on worse than scum!
Have you ever thought
"True" church or true religion is a squabble between theists. Whatever it is people believe in must be of no problem to God. I bet He can speak very well the language of any man - any creature, actually. [A Universal God]
A man's gain may be another man's loss. A man's happiness may be another man's woe. A man's ease may be another man's sacrifice and misery.[Expropriation/Profiteering/Bureaucrat capitalism/Government corruption]
To err is human. That’s why it is not good habit to drop God’s name just to drive the self. It might be standing stinking shit aside Him. [Cashing-in on the gullible]
Man has sometimes relegated God to a mule. Religion and State need to separate. [Religions in politics]
Heroes are remembered for their greatness. The bad sides of them are all in the hidden files and folders. Villains are the other way around. Nobody is perfect.
Except for being a figure of speech, nothing is really absolute.
Some people are hard headed. They cannot be told once. Well, try and try again, who knows. [Big names that flopped in politics]
Aftermath, One Small Step That Never Was
Posted on August 30, 2010 by RLTJ's
Eight tourists from Hong Kong lay dead or were fatally shot by the time the police seized control of the bus after a 12-hour standoff on Monday, during which the hostage taker also spoke by mobile phone with local radio stations.
That’s fact or factual.
“The fact that there was essentially live video was mistake number one,” said assistant professor John Harrison, a homeland security analyst at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
That is an opinion.
Maybe professor John Harrison should reiterate further and fully his opinion as he already sounds disgusting viewed from freedom of the press and viewed from rights of people to Information i.e. right of people to know what really is going on in the world. The fact that there was essentially live video was no mistake. It was very unfortunate. It was a misfortune. A case of bad luck to a group of tourist that day, to simplify the matter. Society cannot sacrifice the riding public and the whole world just because of one man holding a dozen or more hostages, denying people of information when they need them in what actually is happening.
Right now media is free to cover, as long as their own safety allows it, and as long they don’t hamper actual ground operations of authorities. Maybe Professor Harrison, especially in his stature, should be careful in what he is saying because he could actually be influencing a return of this country to fascism.
Today, media can cover police precincts anywhere, any day, anytime. No, you don’t see names like Jake Maderazo, Mike Enriquez, Ted Failon, Erwin Tulfo, and many more of their kind hanging and speculating in there. But if you go in there, the odds are that you’ll find media rookies always hoping for some big break there. That’s how we got to learn in our homes that a couple was charging their neighbor of molesting their child, or a carpenter stabbed an electrician with a chisel and got stabbed with a screwdriver in return.
But, you see, police have nothing to hide and ought not to hide because what they always do is right [or they don’t do anything at all]. They have no closets stuffed with unwanted skeletons so to say. At least in principle. Surely there are things that they need to be privy and they have that in some quarters, like the privacy of their conference rooms. And despite that kind of press freedom, we still saw in You Tube a suspect being tortured inside one police precinct. And I bet the suspect was reported to have died of something else, somewhere else! And if that dead felon did not even have a formal complaint or a warrant of arrest on him I doubt if we can even call him a “suspect” of anything. Now, let’s imagine a law passed that could easily be invoked by any such criminal in police uniform to furtherance their acts.
He told AFP there should have been a media blackout to deny the hijacker feedback on what was going on around him.
Instead, he was able to follow events — including frenzied speculation by serving and former police chiefs appearing on Philippine networks — via the bus’s internal TV.
Surely Professor Harrison is not instigating a law to gag TV and radio right at or from the broadcasting stations. OK, maybe he means pushing reporters a few miles away from where they ought to cover. I think we should have a law that says media must cover right there where a hijacker and the police are negotiating face to face so we get a close up of their faces, instead. But are not they equally crazy?
OK, maybe Professor Harrison is saying No TV on board buses. That also must mean public transport in general, all public places, in fact everywhere, where hostage-taking might happen. Bus commuters – people, won’t like that though it sounds better than all other implications of his thoughts.
But wait, the Professor means a law that will make it mandatory for bus operators to install bus television in such manner that they can be disabled or rendered useless from the outside. Now that sounds like the professor John Harrison and not any unthinking moron who does not know what he is talking about.
How about that folks? An invention that will knock out any electronics as they are, inside a bus, or inside a building. I’m sure governments will pay handsomely for that than sacrifice freedom and democracy! You see, a free press and a free society are the pillars, the bastion, of democracy. We cannot talk of democracy without meaning the people, mind you.
A press that is subservient to a state is masked fascism. Maybe they can have that in My nm r but not in the Philippines, please. Because they are the initial points [attributed to] of the professor. And there is no such thing as a good fascist and a bad fascist because fascism is fascism. Democratic governments and states are by the people but power is something passing. They can be administered by the Pope one day and by Satan, chanting papal song while doing satanic deed, the next day.
Hong Kong newspapers bemoaned missed opportunities by police to end the siege much earlier, including a moment when the gunman waved from the bus door. Protestors Tuesday picketed the Chinese territory’s Philippine consulate.
Fostering hair-trigger mentality. Be trigger happy, some people will like that. Yeah, shoot at the first and earliest opportunity. Kill at the first hint of violence, which include hostage taking because the mere act itself is an act of violence. And hope it does not involve any foreign national gone nuts in Philippine territory or we will have an international row in our hands. Let’s imagine police did that. Now police is faced up with public out-roar why they did that when there were wide chances of resolving the crisis without any loss of life and property. Worst, the sniper grazed the hostage-taker in the ear and no square hole in between the eyes, so that it made him kill all his hostages before he was taken down! Damn!
You see Ex-police Rolando Mendoza was not a quacking duck like some people are telling themselves. I think he tried to be a respectable warrior – putting the act where the mouth is [or was it putting the mouth where the act is?] Whichever, or don’t open the mouth. They don’t talk peace and friendship while their fingers are in the trigger guards, or their holsters’ fly are open and with their fingers wriggling over their guns.
Ex-Captain Mendoza, by “carelessly” exposing himself, was clearly and perfectly communicating by his actions. He knew police won’t shoot him that early and he was very well aware and in control of his own situation. He trusts so he should be trusted. He means no harm so he should not be harmed. A little back-step by him at that point would have put everything back to where they once belonged; he must have been thinking of that. But later he saw deceit that generated mistrust and distrust, and not even his shadow did he put in the skyline or put on anymore. Because, as some people know, lurking not far behind those tips is the thing called treachery, and yes, as we all saw, atrocity.
Dennis Wong Sing Wing, an associate professor of applied social studies at City University in Hong Kong, said the police operation was “really shocking” to watch as it unfolded live on TV.
“I am very angry about their unprofessional performance,” he said.
What we saw is what it was. I mean, the world saw reality. Focus seems to be in how police handled the operation. Some saw it as “ill-coordinated”. But it could also be ill-executed, ill-prepared and what might ills. I think SWAT, especially its assault teams, should be composed of field combat, battle tested, experienced personnel. I must be imagining too much of scenes in movies like Band of Brothers and comparing them to what we saw.
Looking back at them, just one small step that never happened could have changed it all. And I think there was not one but more of them one small step, not any was realized, that converged to one sorry sad destiny mark in history that day.
Filed under: Culture, Terror, Virtual Reality | Tagged: Crime, Culture, Journalism, Law, Manila Hostage Crisis, Social, Terrorism, War |
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GORR - May/Jun 2014
Sincere apologies for the late GORR, and I have linked it in with June...so late for May, early for June!
First off I have to report on the tour which was everything I could have hoped and dreamed it could have been, plus more. The amazing amount of hard work put in really did pay off and the team out on the road for the 14 shows was second to none in every respect.
All the band, the English Chamber Choir, The Orion Symphony Orchestra, Philip Franks the narrator, Guy Protheroe the conductor, the sound crew, the bands fabulous tech guys (Mr B, EJ, Ewok and Mad Malc), the lighting crew, the drivers, the chefs, the management, Wotsit our production manager and loads of others that are too numerous to mention. All I can say is that it was the most wonderful tour I have EVER been on and there was such sadness when we walked off the stage in Llandudno that our adventure was all over.
Some of our “party” celebrated in the bar until the early hours and some celebrated by skinny dipping at 2 in the morning in an icy cold sea. I, being just a week or so away from becoming a pensioner, was tucked up in a nice warm bed at the time with my Horlicks!
The band coach back to London the following morning had just two people on board who were not asleep, namely myself and thankfully Kevin our driver!
The box set album is due out this month and everybody here is excited about the different packages and box sets which are so wonderfully put together.
The only dampeners for me are the bootlegs of the shows that have appeared for sale on the internet. I’ve had enough of these crooks and thankfully now have the backing of the record company and management to go after these people in a very heavy handed way and take immediate legal action.
Sticking with Journey, there are meetings about to take place to assess the offers that have come in for Journey performances elsewhere in the world and so hopefully by the next GORR we should have some positive information to give out.
So what else happened in May.............Unbelievably I became a pensioner for starters which was a huge shock I can tell you! We held a party at the Grand Order of Water Rats which was fabulous. All the ERE (with the exception of Tony Fernandez who was back in Portugal) turned up as did the Earl Gray Band who played and were as brilliant as ever, plus loads of people sitting in to play including Dave Colquhoun and Ashley Holt from the ERE, a dozen or so from the English Chamber Choir, my son Adam and Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden who pretty much destroyed the drum kit with sheer power and brilliance!
Loads of my fellow rats joined in and one of the highlights was a brilliant ukulele session from Mike Martin and Kaplan Kaye.
The strangest line-up of the evening, but one that went down a storm was that of Nicko on drums, myself on keyboards, Clive Poole on guitar, Ray Begg on bass, Terry Marshall on saxophone and Jess Conrad on vocals!!!
It may be a few months away but I have to mention and give a plug to the Grand Order of Water Rat’s Ball which is being held on November 23rd at the Grosvenor House in Park Lane on November 23rd. If you fancy a night out that you’ll never forget then please check this out. The entertainment is unbelievable with Roy Wood, The Orion Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Choir, Neil Innes, Sue Perkins and Kevin Orkian already confirmed.
Two days prior to the 65th birthday party I was installed as Worshipful, Master of Chelsea Lodge, which is the Masonic Lodge for Entertainers. My Charities for my year are The Carer’s Trust, The Eisteddfod for Children with disabilities and The Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls. I’m very proud of what both the Water Rats and Chelsea Lodge do for wonderful charities and the way they put the main focus on to these charities and not on to themselves.
I had great fun doing the voice over for Saxon’s new DVD. It’s a really good rockumentary and very well put together. Not sure of the release date, but well worth keeping an eye out for.
One tinge of sadness was attending the funeral of my great comedian friend Joe Goodman who died earlier this month. He had a fabulous send off as the massive turn out showed just what a great guy he was. A tireless worker for charity within the Water Rats and for the Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Trust. He’s left us all with great memories, but he will be sorely missed.
On the 29th of May I fly to Italy for a concert in Schio, details of which have just been released. It will be a 2 hour piano concert, all music as my Italian is appalling!!! I’m looking forward to this very much. It’s a beautiful part of Italy.
Moving in to June it’s very much a month of sorting stuff out. Some studio work to do, lots of tidying up loose ends and that should just about be finished by the end of the month when I fly to Tokyo for two piano concerts.
Looking ahead, on the 8th July I will be at the Festival Hall performing on the piano, (probably Julia from 1984) in a concert celebrating the music of Sir Tim Rice and then three days later on the 11th I’ll be at the Henley Festival doing a one man piano show and then on the 24th of July it’s back to Italy again for another piano show, this time in Verona.
Harking back to the tour, whilst travelling around I started to make a list of projects I wanted to do, some I had started, some still only in very early stages and some, further down the line, but what was an eye-opener was how long the list actually became by the end of the tour. Any thought of retirement goes out of the window, that’s for sure.
I will be doing an update in June....a sort of GORR plus, so keep your eyes open for that and thanks again for all your support and encouragement, it’s always so much appreciated.
Jun/Jul
Feb/Mar
Oct/Nov
May/Jun
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Prop 64: How Much Money Could Legal Weed Bring In – And Where Would It Go?
Filed Under:Proposition 64
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Three years of legal weed in Colorado and the money is rolling in.
“It’s definitely profitable,” said Brad Roddy with Medicine Man, a marijuana grow and dispensary operation in Denver, CO. “We wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t.”
Medicine Man makes millions growing, processing and selling medical and recreational marijuana products.
“We want to produce revenue for the state,” said Brian Vicente.
PROP 64: What Can California Learn From Colorado’s Marijuana Legalization Law?
Supporters of legalization, like Vicente, point to record tourism and an economic boom.
“We’ve seen over 10,000 jobs directly in this industry,” said Vicente.
“You have all of these ancillary businesses creating point of sale, software, websites, the ability to shop online,” said Roddy.
Altogether, Colorado’s marijuana industry made about a billion dollars in 2015.
The industry has come out of the shadows and is now contributing to the economy, but the state’s share is much smaller. Marijuana taxes and fees generated $135 million dollars for Colorado’s state coffers last year.
“People start to salivate when they hear those numbers. All told, the state budget last year was $27 billion dollars,” said Andrew Freedman.
He’s Colorado’s “pot czar.” Officially, he’s the state’s Director of Marijuana Coordination.
Freedman says marijuana tax revenue is a fraction of one percent of the state’s total budget – .5 percent.
“Before you think it’s going to be able to pave roads or pay teachers more, it’s not. It’s not that kind of money,” said Freedman.
About $30 million dollars pays back government offices that manage marijuana. The next largest chunk, $35 million, supports schools.
Prop 64: Would Recreational Pot Legalization Really Ease Pressure On Police?
But not all districts – like Denver, which has legal weed – see the financial benefit.
“Denver public schools have received no money from state marijuana taxes,” is a line from a video put together by Denver Public Schools.
The tax dollars go into a general fund that gets spread to rural areas.
California is a bit different. In most cases, communities must allow and regulate marijuana to get a majority of the tax dollars.
“The measure does provide a framework, it does provide state and local governments flexibility to implement it,” said Drew Soderborg with the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
He looks at how new laws could impact the state.
“Eventually, we estimate the revenue collected from this could reach the high hundreds of millions to potentially over one billion,” said Soderborg.
A lot of money for California, but still just a fraction of the total $120 billion dollar state budget.
Here’s the breakdown of marijuana tax dollars if Prop 64 passes:
-10’s of millions of dollars would pay back state agencies.
-10 million goes to study effects of marijuana.
-3 million for highway patrol to come up with protocols for drugged driving.
-10 million for local health departments.
-And the rest goes to education and prevention programs.
“Changing to a for-profit model could have additional implications,” said Rosalie Pacula with the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.
She says when money is involved, motivations can change and commercialization can take over.
“These are all clouds. We need to get data and evaluate it appropriately,” said Pacula.
In Thursday’s story on Prop 64 we’ll look at the potential health impacts of marijuana on the public.
This state will waste millions on BS the politicians want. More money in taxes means they waste more. Don’t pay down the deficit. Co was going to be giving tax credits or money back to the tax payers because of the money they’re making. Ca will grab it waste it and vote themselves raises.
Josef Dietrich says:
This won’t help traditional businesses. Dollars spent on pot, don’t go to bars, restaurants, or new downtown arenas. People will stay at home and smoke a bowl, instead of getting drunk or watching 3rd-rate basketball. If you own/operate a legitimate business, the last thing you want is competition like this. The $15 min. wage will squeeze your operation at one end, while fewer customers come in, and each customer has fewer dollars to spend.
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Building a Diabetic Retinopathy Prediction Application using Azure Machine Learning
by ML Blog Team
This post is co-authored by Anusua Trivedi, Data Scientist, Microsoft; Patrick Buehler, Data Scientist, Microsoft; Dr. Sunil Gupta, Founder, Intelligent Retinal Imaging System (IRIS); and Jocelyn Desbiens, Researcher, IRIS.
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the most common cause of blindness in the working population of the United States and Europe. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the number of patients with diabetes will increase to 366 million in 2030. For patients with diabetes, early diagnosis and treatment have been shown to prevent visual loss and blindness. Automated grading of DR has potential benefits such as:
Increasing the efficiency, reproducibility, and coverage of screening programs.
Reducing barriers to access.
Improving patient outcomes by providing early detection and treatment.
To maximize the clinical utility of automated grading, an accurate algorithm to detect referable DR is needed.
Machine Learning on DR images
Machine Learning has been used in a variety of medical image classification tasks including automated classification of DR. However, much of the work has focused on feature extraction engineering which involves computing image features specified by experts, resulting in algorithms built to detect specific lesions or predict the presence of many types of DR severity. Deep Learning is a machine learning technique that avoids such feature engineering by learning the most predictive features directly from the images given a large data set of tagged examples. Identifying candidate regions in medical images is of uttermost importance since it provides intuitive visual hints for doctors and patients of how the diagnosis is inferred. Recently, advances in Deep Learning have dramatically improved the performance of DR detection.
Partner Collaboration
In collaboration with our partner, Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS), the first step of the analysis was defined as experimenting from image-level pre-processed annotations of DR which highlights the suspicious regions. This can help a physician, examining an image, by selecting areas showing high probability of being lesions. These annotated images are passed on to a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) which in turn predicts their respective DR severity. In this approach, a combination of extracted features, targeting specific characteristics like micro-aneurysms, hemorrhages, and exudates for DR detection were used, with the robust potential of Deep Learning systems to yield more precise results.
Clinical Dataset and Image Grading
IRIS provides all the images for this collaboration. The initial image population consists of a collection of fundus images coming from 250,000 adult diabetic patient exams (87,401 unique patients from various ethnic origins and U.S. locations) with 33,428 patients suffering from a sight threatening disease. Eye exams were done during normal routine checkups. Afterward, all images were graded by ophthalmologists for the presence of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. DR severity was graded according to the International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy scale. The severity breakdown per eye for the original population was: 62% Normal, 24% Mild, 8% Moderate, 3% Severe, and 3% Proliferative. To effectively create a valid dataset, images have been randomly chosen in the database based on their quality scores prior to being added to the process to create a stratified random sample. An image quality process which provides a score for each image passed through it was employed to sort images. This process was run on every processed image and a score is provided to show the expected gradeability of the image based on feature detection. Images of excellent, good, and adequate quality was considered gradable. The graders for the training and validation sets were all US-licensed ophthalmologists.
The following model/application is intended for research and development use only and is not intended for use in clinical diagnosis or clinical decision-making or for any other clinical use and the performance of the model/application for clinical use has not been established.
Microsoft AI Platform for Training Models
To build the AI models, the following tools and platform were used:
DSVM as the compute environment with an NVIDIA Tesla K80 GPU, CUDA and cuDNN libraries.
All the experiments were run on Microsoft Azure Machine Learning (AML). Azure Machine Learning is a cross-platform application, which makes the modelling and model deployment process much faster versus what was possible before. Three deep learning models were created using open-source packages supported in AML. Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK) and Keras with Tensorflow backend were used to build the models. The software Pip installed all the dependencies in the AML environment.
Training the AI Model
Two-Step Paradigm
The two-step (i.e., feature extraction à prediction) automated DR detection paradigm was predominant in the field of DR detection for many years. Given a color fundus image, this type of solutions basically extracted visual features from the image based on anatomical structures like blood vasculature, fovea and optic disc using standard image processing methods such as Wavelet transform, Gabor iterations, Local Binary patterns, etc. With the extracted features, an object classification algorithm like Random Forests or AdaBoost are usually applied to identify and localize DR lesions. This approach forms the first phase of our work, producing feature-annotated images. For feature extraction several steps were followed:
Radial Symmetry Transformation: Radial symmetry maps are generally used to detect interest points in images that correspond to object centers. Many works on radial symmetry maps exist but the most commonly used is the one by Loy et. al. With this approach a symmetry score is calculated from votes of one pixel to surrounding pixels. The transform is calculated in one or more radii n, the value of the transform at radius n indicates the contribution to radial symmetry of the gradients a distance n away from each point (see Figure 2a). Round-shaped objects present in the image will appear as local optima in the result map.
Entropy Transformation: In information theory, entropy is used to quantify the amount of information. The entropy reflects the information content of symbols independent of any probability models. Image analysis takes the concept of entropy in the sense of information theory, where entropy is used to quantify the minimum descriptive complexity of a random variable. Because entropy can provide a good level of information to describe a given image, we used the Tsallis’ entropy of the distribution of the symmetry image and obtained an appropriate partition of the source image giving a probability map of the potential lesions (see Figure 2b).
DR Candidate Lesion Detection: The most common signs of DR are dark lesions (micro-aneurysms, hemorrhages) and bright lesions (exudates, drusens and cotton wool spots). The presence of dark/light lesions is indicative of early stage DR. Progression of DR also causes macular edema, neo-vascularization and in later stages, retinal detachment. Many methods were proposed in previous works but none of them use the radial symmetry map to detect either dark or bright lesions.
Bright and Dark Candidate Localization: Micro-aneurysms are focal dilatation of retinal capillaries and appear as red dots in retinal fundus images. Wherever capillary walls are weak inside the retina, dot hemorrhage lesions are found which are slightly larger than micro-aneurysms. On rupturing it will cause intra-retinal hemorrhages. The following steps are followed to localize micro-aneurysms and hemorrhages on a given color fundus image:
Compute the symmetry image with the respective radii for the type of lesion to be detected.
From the symmetry image retrieve the set of local minima.
Eliminate from the set of local minima the candidates located too far away from the macula, i.e., candidate lesions being at a distance greater than two disk diameters from the fovea.
Eliminate from the set of local minima the candidates located too close from each other.
Use local entropy image to regroup adjacent candidates (see Figure 2b).
Annotate image with findings (see Figure 1b).
Bright lesions or intra-retinal lipid exudates result from the breakdown of blood retinal barrier. The same steps as the ones above are used to detect the bright lesions (see Figure 1b).
Figure 1: Source and annotated images.
a) An image of a proliferative DR retina, and b) Bright and dark lesion top normalized image.
Figure 2: Image transformations.
a) Radial symmetry function, and b) Tsallis entropy map applied to image in Figure 1a.
CNN Model
IRIS worked on developing the Two-Step Paradigm approach and creating deeply annotated images. A CNN was trained on these images to classify presence of DR in the images.
In recent works, CNNs have achieved superior performance in many visual tasks, such as object classification and detection. However, the opaque learning strategy makes CNN representations a black box. Except for the network output, it is difficult for people to figure out the rationale behind some CNN predictions. In recent years, researchers have realized that a high model interpretability is of great values in both theory and practice and developed variable success models with human-readable knowledge representations. The Inception-Resnet (see Figure 3) was adopted as the second phase of basic architecture.
Inception is an architectural element developed to allow for some scale invariance in object recognition. If an object in an image is too small, like a dot hemorrhage for instance, a CNN may not be able to detect it because the network iterations were trained to recognize larger versions of hemorrhages. Inception can convolve through the image with various iteration sizes, all at the same computational step in the network. To use the pre-trained model over fundus images, it was decided to use transfer learning and fine-tuning. An ImageNet pre-trained Resnet-50 model was used, and the Inception’s bottom layers were frozen to prevent their weights from getting updated during training process while the remaining top layers were trained with the pre-processed fundus images.
Implementation Details
Three types of images can be produced by our lesion classification process: Original, Enhanced, and Annotated images. A differential experiment was conducted to check out which of these types yield the best performance when given as inputs to a CNN. The experiment was run over three equivalent datasets of 1,949 high-quality images and validated by running the model over a set of 539 images. By far, the annotated image type outperforms original and enhanced image types by 20 points (see Figure 4a). The original pre-processed annotated images were only used for training the network once. Afterwards, real-time data augmentation was used throughout training to improve the localization ability of the network. During every epoch each image was randomly augmented with:
Random rotation of -45° to 45°.
Random horizontal and vertical flips.
Random horizontal and vertical shifts.
Figure 3: Inception-v4 network.
Figure 4: Prediction accuracy and generalization error.
a) Prediction accuracy, and b) Scaling generalization error.
Hestness et. al. presented empirical results showing how increasing training data size results in scaling of generalization error and required model size to the training set for application domains (see Figure 4b) reproduced from the authors’ paper). These relationships hold across various model architectures, optimizers, and loss metrics. From the experiments that were conducted using CNN, this expression was found to stand for the type of fundus images that were being processed. Since accuracy plateaus after 5,000 images, it was decided that a sample size of 7,000 would be more than sufficient to test the CNN with an estimated loss value of around 0.14. The image sample was split in two parts of 5,000 images for the training set and 2,000 for the validation set. Five experiments were run with different training/validation datasets (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Power law and loss decay.
Figure 6 summarizes the performance of the algorithm in detecting referable DR (DR/No DR – binary classification) on the validation data sets for fully gradable images. The algorithm achieved an average accuracy of 97.1% with an average sensitivity of 96.6% and an average specificity of 98.0% for an AUC value of 99.5%. As predicted, the average loss was equal to 0.16781.
For No DR vs. Non-Sight Threatening DR the accuracy was 89.5% with sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 91.8%.
For No DR vs. Sight Threatening DR achieved an accuracy of 97.9% with sensitivity of 97.9% and specificity of 99.5%.
For Non-Sight Threatening DR vs. Sight Threatening DR the accuracy was 79.7% with sensitivity of 77.7% and specificity of 94.7%.
On the other hand, on the publicly available Messidor-2 dataset, our approach achieved a sensitivity of 92.9% and a specificity of 98.9% with an AUC of 99.2%.
Prior Study Performance Comparison
CNN-automated DR evaluation has been previously studied by other groups. Abràmoff MD et. al. reported a sensitivity of 96.8% at a specificity of 87% for detecting referable DR on Messidor-2 dataset. Gargeya R et. al. reported a sensitivity of 93% at a specificity of 87% on the same dataset. Gulshan V et. al. reported a sensitivity of 87% at a specificity of 98.5%. (see comparison table in Figure 7).
Figure 6: ROC and Precision/Recall curves.
Figure 7: Performance comparison.
Operationalize Models on using Azure Machine Learning
Operationalization is the process of publishing models and code as web services and the consumption of these services to produce business results. The AI models can be deployed to local or Azure Container Service (ACS) cluster. You can scale the service to more containers.
Azure Machine Learning (AML) was used for deploying AI models in local system or on cluster. AML enable data scientists to easily operationalize their models. To operationalize an AI model using AML the command-line interface (CLI) can be leveraged to specify the required configurations using the AML operationalization module. From the AML command line:
Make sure to run az login before the environment setup step.
Make sure to run az ml env set -n [environment name] -g [resource group] to set up deployment environment
AML Web deployment solution architecture diagram is in Figure 8.
Once the deployment environment is setup, run the commands in Figure 9 to operationalize the AI model.
Figure 8. AML operationalization architecture.
Figure 9. AML commands to operationalization AI model.
In this blog post, it was shown how Azure Machine Learning was used to train and test an AI model. In this DR classification work, we took a multi-step paradigm approach, based on Deep Learning, coupled with a pattern matching pre-marking process. This unique combination of approaches has helped us achieve high accuracy for detecting referable DR. Moreover, the pre-processed and pre-digested annotated images help provide the visual diagnostic report we have been lacking from traditional Deep Learning processes.
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1958 Vanwall Formula 1
1958 Vanwall
Type: Formula 1 Car
Serial No. VW5/11
Four-cylinder in-line engine, twin overhead camshafts, fuel injected, 2490 cc, 262 hp at 7500 rpm.
The Vanwall, the first British racer to win a Formula 1 world championship, reflected Guy Anthony Vandervell’s obsession to beat “those bloody red cars”. And Vandervell knew Italian cars well, having fielded modified Ferrari Grand Prix racers called “Thinwall” (after the bearings he manufactured) Specials in 1954-1955.
Vandervell was a majority shareholder in Norton motorcycles. Thus the 2-liter twin-cam power unit of his new racer had four water-cooled cylinders derived from Norton’s 500cc racing bike engine. The chassis was built by Cooper, but chassis and transmission design borrowed liberally from Ferrari and Maserati. Victories were few.
Vandervell soon ditched Cooper and engaged Colin Chapman, whose Lotus sports-racers were setting new standards in light weight and rigidity. Chapman designed an entirely new multi-tube space frame chassis for the Vanwall, whose under-seat Ferrari clone transmission posed aerodynamicist Frank Costin the conundrum of designing a body to fit the tallest Grand Prix car of the era. His bold decision to increase frontal area to create a smooth low-drag body made the resultant “teardrop” Vanwall so slippery that no red rival could stay with it on high-speed straights.
Nor was Vandervell afraid to seek advantage outside parochial British industry. Germany provided Bosch fuel injection and America Goodyear-derived aeronautical disc brakes. The sophisticated new Vanwall overcame its initial fragility within two seasons with nine Grand Prix victories accruing in 1957-1958. Culmination came in 1958 with three wins apiece for Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks, solid team back-up by Stuart Lewis-Evans – and the Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship for Vandervell. But Moss lost the Drivers’ Championship (his third near miss) by a single point to Mike Hawthorn of Ferrari.
Emotionally devastated by the fatal accident to Lewis-Evans during that year’s final Grand Prix in Morocco, his health impaired by the intensity with which he had pursued the World Championship, Vandervell was ordered complete rest. The laurels upon which he could follow doctor’s orders were enormously satisfying. His Vanwall was the last successful, fastest-ever front-engined Grand Prix car.
Photos – Peter Harholdt
Formula 1 Car
VW5/11
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Laughing and Choking Looked the Same
July 2, 2017 July 2, 2017 by Aaron Botwick
In his introductory note on Marvin’s Room, playwright Scott McPherson distinguishes between death and dying: as a child, his father wrapped his car around a telephone pole—this was death. Also as a child, his grandmother gave way to her cancer as he watched Ed Sullivan on the television at the foot of her bed—that was dying. Marvin’s Room, then, is a play not about death but about dying.
McPherson, who shared a hospital room with his lover, Danny Sotomayor, as both succumbed to AIDS, certainly knew his subject matter, and his play, about a caretaker who becomes ill herself, reconciles that strange gap between diagnosis and death, one where “dying becomes a way of life.” Thus, while AIDS is never named in Marvin’s Room, it haunts the proceedings nonetheless.
Bessie (Lili Taylor), a middle-aged woman who has spent most of her adult life shackled to her sick father (the unseen eponymous character) and her crippled aunt, Ruth (Celia Weston), ends up one day as a patient and not a visitor: she has leukemia. A bone marrow transplant appears to be the most viable option, and therefore her estranged sister, Lee (Janeane Garofalo), and Lee’s two children, Hank (Jack DiFalco) and Charlie (Luca Padovan), make the trek down to Florida from Ohio. Inevitably, all the pent-up guilt and jealousies that define a family are unloaded as these five characters navigate the renegotiation of their relationships to one another.
Thankfully, Marvin’s Room is neither histrionic nor glum, and instead has a morbid sense of humor about its story. Early on, Ruth explains that she is afraid of baths because her friend Mrs. Steingetz fell after getting out of one, left dead until her family came down for Thanksgiving: “She’d still be there if they hadn’t run out of towels in the guest bath.” Meanwhile, Ruth’s doctor, Wally (Triney Sandoval), continues to bumble through her tests while amiably deflecting questions about the future.
The cast assembled here, for the play’s first Broadway production, is first-rate across the board. Ms. Taylor is shy, unassuming, her delicate voice betraying only a sliver of the fear Bessie is experiencing; Ms. Weston bobbles along with delightful materteral cheer, as Ruth is perhaps oblivious, perhaps ignoring the emotional context of the scenes she is in; and Mr. Sandoval, bursting with theatricality, serves as a welcome foil in a play of muted performances.
But what strikes me most about Marvin’s Room is its perceptiveness about the sick, about how we treat them and how they feel about it. In an early scene, Lee compliments Bessie’s hair. Bessie tells her it’s a wig. “I know it’s a wig,” Lee replies. “I don’t know why I pretended I didn’t.” This fear about confronting the material realities of death tends to make the process more painful, and I deeply admire how it becomes demystified here, returned to the realm of the mundane and the slightly funny, where it always belonged.
Marvin’s Room runs through August 27th at the American Airlines Theatre. 227 W. 42nd Street New York, NY. 2 hours 10 minutes. One intermission.
Tags: American Airlines Theatre Anne Kauffman Broadway Carman Lacivita Celia Weston Jack DiFalco Janeane Garofalo Lili Taylor Luca Padovan Marvin's Room Nedra McClyde Scott McPherson Triney Sandoval
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PCMag Asia | News
Need to Quick-Charge Your iPhone? Grab This iPad Adapter
By Sascha Segan
Apple's USB-C quick charging is promising, but for now, nothing beats an iPad power adapter to juice up your iPhone 8 quickly.
Apple's iPhone 8 features quick charging, which is great, because slow charging has long frustrated iPhone owners. We tried three different chargers and found that Apple's $19 iPad charger offers the best balance of fast charging and low price, using cables you already own.
Charging speed doesn't increase linearly as you pump more juice into a battery. To keep batteries safe, they're limited in terms of the energy they take in at once. To prevent accidental explosions, they take in less energy per minute the more full they get—that's why it's much easier to fill your phone from 0-50 percent than from 90-100 percent. Putting bigger chargers on your iPhone is going to result in faster charging, but there's a curve involved.
Using the 5W charger which comes with the iPhone 8 Plus, we filled 38 percent of the battery in an hour. That's the kind of performance that has frustrated iPhone owners in the past—plugging in a dead phone for half an hour and having to walk away with only 20 percent or so of charge.
SEE ALSO: Tesla: 'Unintended Acceleration' Petition Is False
Using a $19 12W iPad adapter with the iPhone's included USB-to-Lightning cable made a huge difference. Now, one hour charged us to 72 percent. In terms of currently available chargers, we really consider that to be the sweet spot, but it isn't by a long shot the quickest charging available. For that, you need a USB-C cable and power adapter.
We tried an Anker 30W PowerPort Speed, which uses USB-C power delivery to pump out 30W worth of power and should really accelerate charging. Unfortunately, the iPhone doesn't come with a USB-C cable, and the only one certified for power delivery is Apple's $25 USB-C-to-Lightning cable. So that brings the charge for your charging up to $46.59.
It's also not that much faster. In one hour, we filled 84 percent of our iPhone 8 Plus battery using the USB-C charger. Yes, that's more than the iPad charger accomplished, but not, in my mind, enough to justify the added cost.
The cost, really, is the problem for us. If the iPhone came with a USB-C cable, the faster Anker charger would absolutely beat the iPad charger. But at $25, that's an expensive cable.
Dedicated USB-C-based iPhone fast charger sets and better, cheaper cables will probably come out over the next year. But for now, that iPad brick brings you the best bang for your buck.
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Sascha Segan Lead Analyst, Mobile
PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.
Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed to the Frommer's series of travel guides and Web sites for more than a decade. Other than his home town of New York, his favorite ... See Full Bio
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Special Collections (57) Hathi Trust Digital Library (9) Ivy (2)
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James River and Kanawha Company (Richmond, Va.) (75) Cabell, Joseph C. (Joseph Carrington) 1778-1856 (5) Stone, Chas. P. (Charles Pomeroy) 1824-1887 (5)
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James River and Kanawha Company (Richmond, Va.)x
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Announcement of Appointment of Commissioners [1832]
James River and Kanawha Company (Richmond, Va.)
Manuscript/Archive
Available Special Collections
The Agents for the James River Company: As a Duty Incumbent on Them ... To Present to Each Member of the Legislature, a Statement of the Situation of the Company From Its Commencement to the Present Day
EBook; Book; Online
Regulations for the James River and Kanawha Canal: And Laws for Its Protection ; Together With Tables of Tolls, Weights and Distances
TC625.J2 A24 1840
Mortgage, Between This Company and the Board of Public Works of Va. In Return for a Loan From the State, Signed by the President of the Company, Joseph C. Cabell 1842 May 9.
MSS 3362
Specifications for the Towing Path Bridge Across the James River Above the Dam at Joshua's Falls 1839.
MSS 3717-g
Report of the Chief Engineer to the President and Directors Fo the James River and Kanawha Company
Gwynn, Walter
J87.V9c 1848/1849 no.44
Petition of the President and Directors of the James River and Kanawha Company for the State's Guarantee of Their Bonds for Making the Tidewater Connection, for the Means of Improving the Kanawha Navigation, and for Aid to Construct the Southside and Rivanna Connections
J. R. C. Freight Boat Sarah Jane: A Burlesque on Pinafore, Abounding in Local Hits and the Most Popular Songs
PS991.A1 J37 1884
The James River and Kanawha Canal: Report on Lockage, & Cost of Construction, and the Practicability of Locks and Dams on the New River
Supplementary Report to the President and Directors of the James River and Kanawha Company: On the Improvement of the Kanawha River and Resources of the Kanawha Valley
Kenna, Edward
Specification: For a Dam, Abutments, and Wing Walls on the North River Improvement
Book; Online
Broadside 1853.S64
TC625.J2 A1.J36 1836
Central Water-Line From the Ohio River to the Virginia Capes, Connecting the Kanawha and James Rivers, Affording the Shortest Outlet of Navigation From the Mississippi Basin to the Atlantic
The Central Water-Line From the Ohio River to the Virginia Capes, Connecting the Kanawha and James Rivers, Affording the Shortest Outlet of Navigation From the Mississippi Basin to the Atlantic
Collection of All Acts of the General Assembly, Relating to the James River and Kanawha Company: Together With the by-Laws and Resolutions of the Stockholders of the Company, and the Rules and Regulations of the President and Directors, and Other Documents
A Synopsis of the James River and Kanawha Improvement: With a View to the Value and Productiveness of the Capital Stock of the Company. With an Appendix, Containing Sundry Illustrative Documents. February, 1833
Amended Regulations for the James River and Kanawha Canal: Adopted by the Body of Stockholders at Their Tenth Annual Meeting in December 1844, Together With Tables of Tolls and Distances
TC625.J2 A125 1844
A Collection of All Acts and Parts, of Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia: From October, 1784, Down to the Session of 1829-30, Inclusive, Relative to the James River Company
TC625.J15 A5 1830
Amended Regulations for the James River & Kanawha Canal: Adopted by the Body of Stockholders at Their Tenth Annual Meeting in December 1844, Together With Table of Tolls and Distances
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Defending the digital infrastructure
FeatureTabletop exercises sharpen security and business continuity
FeatureTying log management and identity management shortens incident response
FeatureData loss prevention benefits in the real world
FeatureSell the business on virtualization security
FeatureSaaS security risks must be addressed
FeatureWeb browsers remain vulnerable to user mistakes
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Tabletop exercises sharpen security and business continuity
Delaware's Dept. of Technology and Information conducts annual incident response exercises that test the readiness of state agencies to respond to real attacks. Learn how simulated cyberattacks and incident response exercises help organizations prevent future attacks and maintain business continuity.
If you're an NFL fan in April, you're well familiar with mock drafts. These pretend exercises portend to make a...
best guess at whom your favorite football franchise will select on Draft Day. Granted, while teams may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the NFL isn't playing the same high-stakes game as the federal and state governments.
So when a state such as Delaware calls all hands on deck for a mock exercise simulating a coordinated attack on information systems and communications, there's more at stake than who will be taking snaps for the next 10 seasons. Lives, critical infrastructure and national security are on the line.
Delaware's Dept. of Technology and Information (DTI) had conducted tabletop incident response exercises since 2005 to great results. Year after year, new insight was gained into technology and processes that weren't up to speed or needed a tweak. But the tabletop format was losing steam and organizers feared what had long been an effective evaluation tool would lose its value. IT people in particular aren't engaged for long without the ability to bang on a keyboard, write scripts and see measurable results. That was incentive enough for the state last year to add a hands-on aspect to the drill.
"It's good to simulate attacks on the state's information resources so folks in various capacities of state government can play along and talk about response and what things we can put in place to perhaps prevent an attack from happening altogether," says the state's chief security officer Elayne Starkey. "It's good to practice; for the same reason you have fire drills."
Planning every step of the way
Delaware's exercise is anything but fire drill. To the contrary, it takes six months to plan the exercise, which involves 125 people from federal and state agencies, including IT managers, law enforcement, the FBI and academics. Disaster recovery coordinator Lisa Wragg is the project manager who drafts the exercise's objectives, organizes a steering committee that reviews and approves those objectives, and then, using the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) as a model, plans out the sequence of events and milestones that must be met along the way.
There are four preliminary meetings under that model: a concepts and objectives meeting; an initial planning conference where the concepts and objectives are finalized and approved, the venue approved and participants selected; a midpoint planning conference where the sequence of events is established; and a final planning conference, where the review of the day's scenario and logistics is approved. The steering committee is a partner at each milestone, and that was made up of the state's high tech crimes unit, state police and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.
"You have to create a scenario and put together outline of day's events. People need to have a reason why things are happening," Wragg says, adding that she used many of the lessons learned in DTI's three previous exercises to build this one. "If you just throw people in a room and just start hacking them and not have a story to go by or understand why something is happening, it's kind of meaningless to them."
Last October's scenario had a timely script. Held a week before the presidential election, the plot involved a cyberattack by the fictional country of Dystopia on states' voting machines. The plot was hammered out months earlier, and reinforced last summer when attacks on the country of Georgia's state-run websites were conducted prior to physical conflict during its war with Russia.
"That drove home the possibility of what could happen," Wragg says. "We needed to prepare for it. We needed the scenario to be a terror attack this time."
Simulated attacks, real responses
The simulated attacks escalated throughout the day; admins at first seeing only sporadic attacks against websites. But as the day went on, the attacks grew and it became clear that they were coordinated and politically motivated. The state's response plan kicked in and ultimately, a simulated state of emergency declaration was made by the governor.
Starkey says the attack scenarios are kept close to the vest with fewer than 10 people knowing what's about to take place. The added dimension of this exercise being a terrorist attack on the voting infrastructure required some careful treading. Starkey did not want to leave the impression on any of the participants -- including the National Guard, Air Force, school districts, state police, FBI, Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Labor, in addition to DTI--that the state's election system was vulnerable.
All of the players were present at the DTI emergency operations center on Oct. 29 for the exercise, and in her opening remarks, Starkey laid out the day's high-level goals: prevent cyberattacks, sharpen response procedures and recovery.
Strategy: Three keys to success
Understand the threat landscape and plan your tabletop exercises accordingly.
Motivated attackers are going to penetrate even the most ardent defenses. Companies that realize that this is the information security environment of 2009, are the ones realizing the need to run through functional and tabletop incident response exercises such as the one conducted by the Delaware DTI.
Lenny Zeltser, an incident handler with the SANS Internet Storm Center, says even enterprises with mature security practices find great value in these mock exercises. He defines three keys to success:
Define your success criteria. "You need to define what it means to do well," Zeltser says. Have you responded to an incident within 30 minutes, and have a good sense for the scope of an attack either hours later? Or maybe you define success as learning within a pre-determined period of time what data was affected and whether the right people were notified and put in position to make decisions.
Involve the right people. "It's too easy to operate in a silo," Zeltser says. You might be one of 10 teams responding to an incident, and those nine other teams won't prioritize security the way you do. "That means you may have to have power or authority or good will to get them involved."
Evole your exercise. "Don't run through the same exercise every year," Zeltser says. Your incident response exercise should evolve just as your business changes, the economy grows or shrinks and security priorities change.
"One thing that was important to us, was that when we start the exercises, that we create an environment of trust, take away the threatening feeling in the room--dispel that right away," Starkey says. "In my opening comments, I stressed this was not real. I wanted them to feel like this is safe haven, and that we understood they were all at different points of readiness."
"Don't feel badly about not having a policy in place that you should, or a procedure not defined completely. This is the place to kick all that around," Starkey adds. "One of my key objectives is for them to leave that day with a little to-do list of things they want to take care of in the weeks after the exercise. We want them to each year to go away with ideas of things to do to strengthen their infrastructures, and to improve their ability to respond and recover from an attack like this."
At an appointed time, programmers and network security engineers began releasing attack scripts against websites that were built in a development environment set up on a segmented network. Responders in the EOC would need to recognize problems with a site such as defacements or denial-of-service attacks and take appropriate countermeasures, which were evaluated.
"It was like a little NASA -- rows and rows of computers, screens up on a big wall where the participants were sitting, and behind the glass was exercise control where the injects and scripts were released," Wragg syas.
Website defacements were the first wave of attacks, launched against the home pages of various state agencies. As word spread of the attacks, other agencies began to take measures to harden their Web apps to avoid being taken down as well. Several, Starkey and Wragg said, beat attackers to the punch.
"That was incredibly motivating to the other agencies," Starkey says. "We highlighted it in one of the breaks and congratulated them on the good work they did."
In another room adjacent to the EOC, a tabletop style scenario was set up where people of similar function would work together. The service desk was also there taking incoming calls for trouble tickets. As soon as the attacks happened, calls flooded the service desk. High Tech Crimes officials were at one station, and working with law enforcement, they quickly began tracing the source of the attacks. Meanwhile, the state's Joint Information Center (JIC) featuring public information officers from different state agencies were at another putting out coordinated media releases and crafting appropriate public responses, alerting citizens that they should take caution using agency websites.
"It was pretty cool and interactive," Wragg says.
Once that segment of the exercise was complete, the DTI held a quick briefing on the importance of preserving evidence. Admins are initially more concerned with the availability of systems and getting them back online, but in this instance, they had to tread lightly to preserve the integrity of the scene and assist in tracking the source of the attacks. The participants were also evaluated on how well they used the state's incident command system, prescribed by the federal government. The framework is built for emergency management agencies and represents a set of standard response procedures.
The next wave of the attack involved more website attacks, this time the target was sensitive personal data. Simulated FBI warnings were sent out that terrorists had launched cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, and soon thereafter, calls began flooding the service desk with citizens reporting possible identity theft after accessing services on state agency websites. The response involved assessing the cause of the breaches and reviewing data protection procedures. JIC also worked up statements directing citizens how to protect themselves online, and if necessary, report incidents to police.
The final phase of the exercise combined another hack with a physical attack. Denial-of-service attacks were launched against agencies' sites and services, while simultaneously terrorists were disabling lines used by service providers statewide. The offshoot was that these attacks could possibly impair the state's ability to vote in the upcoming elections. Steps were taken to rapidly move critical infrastructure to redundant facilities and keep services available until the service providers to could complete repairs.
"The exercise creates a lot of interest in updating plans and going back and checking websites, making sure they're up to date and patched," Wragg says. "There is a lot of after-exercise activity. People want to do something."
Measurable metrics and reviews
Being the fourth such exercise, many incident response processes are mature. Media and external communication are solid, Starkey and Wragg note, while adding that internal communication between agencies is an ongoing process.
"If we're looking for measurable stuff, some agencies quite frankly need help, and we're going to help them," Starkey says. "Quite frankly, I don't think we would have been able to identify who needed more help than others until we did the exercise."
Starkey says the agencies did well against the four stated objectives. All agencies identified vulnerabilities in their infrastructure leaving them susceptible to Web-based attacks. Each agency had a prescribed process for defending against attacks and rolled out those processes accordingly. Each addressed the preservation of evidence, with different levels of maturity in their respective processes. This was an area Starkey says ongoing education will be key going forward.
Tabletop Exercise: Lessons Learned
Lisa Wragg, disaster recovery coordinator for the Delaware DTI, was the project manager for last year's incident response exercise. She lays out seven lessons learned.
Assign a project planner
Secure an executive sponsor; CSO Elayne Starkey was her sponsor
Follow a master event list and build your scenario around that list
Stick to your scenario; what look like minor changes could have bigger impacts down the line.
Outline the details of your scenario, including attack scripts
Address current threats in your scenario.
Get an outside agency to assess how you do; SunGard's Incident Management Exercise Service did DTI's assessment
Business continuity is also another area DTI will concentrate on going forward. The coordinated physical and cyberattack that played out in the final phase of the exercise stressed the importance of a continuity plan for critical services such as voting that must continue seamlessly should a key state network fail.
Breach notification was the final goal that each agency met with flying colors, much to Starkey's satisfaction since each agency information security officer was given a procedure to follow on notification. Service desks were overwhelmed with calls; an indication the procedure was being followed.
In the end, Starkey says adding the functional component was definitely a touchdown, and that last year's participants would never go back to just a tabletop exercise.
"We have a catchphrase about this being a journey to compliance," Starkey says. "I recognize we're not there, we're not at 100 percent compliance across the board. We do see everyone moving different rates."
"If you look at the write-up after first year's exercise, the objectives were fundamental about increasing customers' awareness that cybersecurity was important. We've made incredible strides there to get them to pay attention, let alone comply with a 41-page security policy."
Michael S. Mimoso is Editor of Information Security. Send comments on this article to feedback@infosecuritymag.com.
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What argument does Andrew Carnegie make about the uses to which the great fortunes of industrialists should be ...
What argument does Andrew Carnegie make about the uses to which the great fortunes of industrialists should be devoted?
By Academic Master
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Carnegie was a firm believer giving wealth away during one’s lifetime. It sis i common from his quote: the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced” . Carnegie’s essay is simply a way to show that people can have a balance between fairness and individualism. The gospel of wealth is a dispersing wealth and responsibilities that the wealthy people have towards the society. Proper administration of wealth can prove to be a challenge at times, for this reason Carnegie proposes three ways to dispose the surplus wealth.
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He gives three modes of disposing the surplus wealth. The first one is to leave them with the families.Mostly, the sons who inherit the family wealth waste it and most are destroyed by the money. However, there are exceptional cases where the sons use the wealth for a greater good. Secondly, the wealth can be bequeathed for public uses. The last way that Carnegie give of disposing the wealth isby distributing it during their lifetime. According to Carnegie, leaving the fortune to the family is for the purposes of maintaining the family pride.With regards to leaving the wealth to the public, the author says that the wealthy person has to wait until he dies to leave his fortune to the public. The only remaining mode is disposing it so that it can help the whole community at large. Giving money to the people who do not have anything is a waste of money because they would fritter the money away. Thus, Carnegie came to a conclusion that the fortune should go to public projects and people who could help themselves.
Citing examples from the essay, in what ways does Carnegie make his argument as persuasive as possible? Do you agree with his argument?
Carnegie makes his arguments persuasive by putting emphasis on how important it is to give ones wealth to the community. “…and this wealth passing through the hands of the few, can be made a much more potent force for the elevation of our race than if it had been distributed in small sums to the people themselves” . In this statement, the author justifies how beneficial it will be to pass wealth to the community. The author believes that no one arises from their social class but they can only go higher in their quality of life. The only way to do this is by giving their wealth to help members of the community. Carnegie has a belief that it is not possible to transition from one class to another. Carnegie recommends using the three modes of disposing off surplus wealth. It is all about giving away the wealth wisely. I agree with the argument that Carnegie has about giving one’s wealth to the public. Using this method to dispose the wealth will be beneficial not only to a few people but to the whole community.
Using evidence from the essay and/or textbook explain why you agree or disagree with his argument.
Majority of the wealthy people spend their wealth lavishly. Instead of doing this, it will better if such individuals would use their wealth wisely and help bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Carnegie’s main argument was that the wealthy must live in a modest manner and must use their fortunes in elevating civilization. I agree with the argument. First of all, the author says that the wealth will be a property of many . Thus, the society will benefit from an individual’s wealth. Such wealth will become the more beneficial for the society than if it was used distributed to many people. It will be more valuable to distribute the wealth in a way that it will help everybody in the community and not only the chosen few. Carnegie asserts that the masses will reap the principal benefit if the wealth are used for public purposes . Disposing the wealth for public use will make the wealthy person to gain respect in the society. I also agree with Carnegie that a man of wealth should not be extravagant and should help uplift those who are poor. Administering the wealth for the community is better than just using it to better oneself. Sharing wealth with the community is away to help improve the community in terms of improving the quality of lives of the inhabitants. A country’s economy will also improve if only the few wealthy people would decide to share their wealth for the good of he community.Additionally, giving wealth to the public will also be in accordance with the bible which talks about sharing one’s wealth with others. Custom essay writing
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Battle of Gettysburg: Last Full Measure Narrated by Stacy Keach DVD
Battle of Gettysburg: Last Full Measure Narrated by Stacy Keach
Narrated by Stacy Keach, this this well-mounted Civil War docudrama is a masterwork about the Battle of Gettysburg - a rare archival film and an emotionally charged and powerful drama. Filmed on location, The Last Full Measure recounts the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Scenes of the battleground as it looks today are intercut with vintage engravings. The confrontation itself is re-enacted by Civil War buffs, as Keach reads contemporary eyewitness accounts. Takes you to the actual sites of this moment in history including Little Round Top, Seminary Ridge and the site of Pickett's charge. Commentary by famed Civil War historian Bruce Catton. A powerful program no Civil War or Military history buff will want to miss.
Title: Battle of Gettysburg: Last Full Measure Narrated by Stacy Keach
Genre: Special Interest-War
Studio: TMW Media Group
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NZ Poetry
Fast Talking PI
Author(s): Selina Tusitala Marsh
The judging panel found Marsh's collection exhilarating: "The poems are sensuous but strong, using lush imagery and clear rhythms and repetitions to power them forward." Touching on the poet's community, ancestry, influences, and history, this debut collection of poetry lives up to the meaning behind the artist's name--"writer of tales." The featured verse is sensuous but strong, using lush imagery, clear rhythms, and repetitions to power it forward.
Winner of New Zealand Society of Authors Best First Book Awards: Jessie Mackay Award for Poetry 2010.
Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh is of Samoan, Tuvaluan, English, Scottish and French descent. She was the first Pacific Islander to graduate with a PhD in English from the University of Auckland and is now a lecturer in the English Department, specialising in Pasifika literature. Marsh is currently developing a Pasifika Poetry website in conjunction with the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre and working on a critical anthology of Pacific women poets writing in English, Ancient Banyans, Flying Foxes and White Ginger, based on her thesis. Her poetry has appeared in Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English, the Best New Zealand Poems website and in Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1, which she edited. Her work deals specifically with issues that affect Pacific communities in New Zealand and indigenous peoples elsewhere, most recently focusing on the challenges and triumphs of being afakasi.
Publisher : Auckland University Press
Imprint : Auckland University Press
Availability date : February 2012
BIC subject : DC
Author : Selina Tusitala Marsh
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Alandra Pargas, ex-CIA counter-intelligence officer, plans to wreak vengeance on the people who tried to kill her. A little rendezvous with danger is not what scares her, though. It’s seeing the tall, dark, and dangerously sexy man she vowed to love forever that has her running for cover.
Former U.S. Special Operative, Quinn Hamilton, left the world of covert operations after the love of his life died in his arms during a black op. Three years later, he still loses sleep wondering if maybe he could have done something more to save her – until Alandra shows up on his doorstep. With her lies and betrayal, he wants nothing to do with her, yet, his heart won’t cooperate. It’s not until unknown enemies come after her that he must decide if he can leave the past behind and protect the woman he’ll always love. Will they survive this last mission and rekindle the love and passion they once shared?
Quinn eased around the paint-chipped pillar, and along the musty-smelling hallway, his gun held close to his body and ready to shoot anyone who got in his way. All he needed was to leave the building without being detected.
“You have twelve minutes to get out of there Q,” Malik said through Quinn’s earpiece.
Quinn proceeded through the corridor, his body tight against the uneven wall. He made the first turn and moved down the dimly lit hallway where a single bulb dangled from a sub-standard light fixture. He heard voices coming from a room to his right, so he turned left and maneuvered down the staircase. Ten more yards and he would be home free.
He made it to the final step and halted when he heard footsteps running on the level above him and then down the stairs behind him. He ducked into a nearby utility closet, not closing the door completely.
“We have a problem,” he heard Malik say in his ear.
No kidding, Quinn thought.
“Two snipers on the rooftop of the building adjacent to the one you’re in. Sit tight.”
Missions like this Quinn normally did solo, but he was glad Malik was there. They’d run into a few snags, and his presence had proven beneficial.
“All clear.”
No longer hearing footsteps, Quinn eased back into the hallway, down the back stairs and out of the building into the night. He made sure the information he had just stolen was secure inside his jacket, and he inched toward the gate. A tree branch snapped. Quinn slammed his body against the brick wall, blending into the darkness of the night. He stood still for several seconds and heard it again. Slowly, he turned his head toward the noise. What he saw, several yards away under the dim moonlight, made his heart stop.
Alandra. What in the… He blinked several times, unable to fathom why she was thousands of miles from home, and standing in the middle of what could easily become a war zone.
He retraced his steps. She anxiously looked around the area and then back at the small device she held in her hands. Within five feet of her, he must have made a noise because her head shot up and their eyes connected. And in slow motion everything exploded around her.
“Get down!” he yelled and saw her fall to her knees.
Without thinking he ran to her and chaos erupted in every direction. He scooped her up and nestled her behind a long concrete block and then he noticed she’d been shot.
“Quinn,” she said, grasping at his shirt, her eyes wild. “Please … be careful.”
“Malik, I need you. Now!” Quinn growled into his mouthpiece giving Malik his location while he jerked out of his jacket and placed it under Alandra’s head.
“On my way,” Malik said.
“Hang on baby. We’re going to get you out of here.” He ripped open her down vest and then her shirt to determine the extent of her injury. Blood spilled from the chest wound. Damn. He glanced around trying to decide the best route to safety as he removed his shirt, leaving him with only a black T-shirt on. Gunshots rang out around him as he pressed his shirt over her wound to slow the bleeding.
“Quinn… I love…you. I have to tel…”
“I love you too, baby, but I need you to hold... Oh, damn. Alandra? Alandra?” he growled when her eyes rolled to the back of her head. He cradled her closer to his body, willing her to stay with him. “Lan…” he started but felt a bullet slap the back of his shoulder - and then his back. Paralyzed by the sharp pain that traveled down his spine, gripping him like steel claws, he struggled to hold on to Alandra, fighting the blackness that threatened to overpower him.
“Alandra, baby, I...need you…to hold on.”
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What works to link people living with HIV to care - a review
Facilitators and barriers in HIV linkage to care interventions: a qualitative evidence review.
Tso LS, Best J, Beanland R, Doherty M, Lackey M, Ma Q, Hall BJ, Yang B, Tucker JD. AIDS. 2016 Apr 6. [Epub ahead of print]
Objective: To synthesize qualitative evidence on linkage to care interventions for people living with HIV.
Design: Systematic literature review.
Methods: We searched nineteen databases for studies reporting qualitative evidence on linkage interventions. Data extraction and thematic analysis were used to synthesize findings. Quality was assessed using the CASP tool and certainty of evidence was evaluated using the CERQual approach.
Results: Twenty-five studies from eleven countries focused on adults (24 studies), adolescents (8 studies), and pregnant women (4 Facilitators included community-level factors (i.e. task-shifting, mobile outreach, integrated HIV and primary services, supportive cessation programs for substance users, active referrals, and dedicated case management teams) and individual-level factors (encouragement of peers/family and positive interactions with healthcare providers in transitioning into care). One key barrier for people living with HIV was perceived inability of providers to ensure confidentiality as part of linkage to care interventions. Providers reported difficulties navigating procedures across disparate facilities and having limited resources for linkage to care interventions.
Conclusions: Our findings extend the literature by highlighting the importance of task-shifting, mobile outreach, and integrated HIV and primary services. Both community and individual level factors may increase the feasibility and acceptability of HIV linkage to care interventions. These findings may inform policies to increase the reach of HIV services available in communities.
Editor’s notes: As the authors of this paper observe, most evaluations of linkage to care programmes have focused on quantitative assessment. This useful paper provides a thorough overview of the findings from 25 studies which used qualitative methods for assessment. Linkage-to- care programmes feasible in different country settings were identified in this review. The authors also highlight gaps, most notably a lack of information on linkage-to-care programmes for men. They also note the need for longitudinal assessments that look at changes over time.
This paper is a useful synthesis of findings. But it is also an excellent example of how to carry out a systematic review of qualitative research. The description of the qualitative meta-synthesis the authors performed adds additional value to this paper.
Categories: Health care delivery, HIV testing, HIV Treatment, People living with HIV, Structural determinants and vulnerability
Related Countries: Botswana, Cambodia, Canada, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America
Pilot integration of HIV and nutrition services shows great potential for health impact
Outcomes and cost-effectiveness of integrating HIV and nutrition service delivery: pilots in Malawi and Mozambique.
Bergmann JN, Legins K, Sint TT, Snidal S, Group UR, Amor YB, McCord GC. AIDS Behav. 2016 Apr 19. [Epub ahead of print]
This paper provides the first estimates of impact and cost-effectiveness for integrated HIV and nutrition service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV and undernutrition are synergistic co-epidemics impacting millions of children throughout the region. To alleviate this co-epidemic, UNICEF supported small-scale pilot programs in Malawi and Mozambique that integrated HIV and nutrition service delivery. We use trends from integration sites and comparison sites to estimate the number of lives saved, infections averted and/or undernutrition cases cured due to programmatic activities, and to estimate cost-effectiveness. Results suggest that Malawi's program had a cost-effectiveness of $11-29/DALY, while Mozambique's was $16-59/DALY. Some components were more effective than others ($1-4/DALY for Malawi's Male motivators vs. $179/DALY for Mozambique's One stop shops). These results suggest that integrating HIV and nutrition programming leads to a positive impact on health outcomes and should motivate additional work to evaluate impact and determine cost-effectiveness using an appropriate research design.
Editor’s notes: This paper presents outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a variety of programmes intended to facilitate integration of HIV treatment and care services with community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) services in Malawi and Mozambique. In Malawi, programmes included SMS reminders to encourage attendance and adherence, “male motivators” who encouraged men to be involved in children’s health, and child health passports. In Mozambique, programmes included one-stop shops where children could access HIV-associated and vaccination services. Flowcharts to facilitate referral between HIV and nutrition services were also tried. Difference in difference estimates indicate substantial improvements in child health outcomes, and cost-effectiveness estimates are in line with other services. The programmes were funded by UNICEF, and not designed for research purposes. The authors therefore acknowledge some limitations in the external validity of their findings. This paper should be taken as proof of concept rather than a final word on the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of these activities. However, these preliminary estimates illustrate that there is great potential in facilitating integration of these two services. Further research into integration of nutritional support services with HIV services is necessary.
Categories: Health care delivery, Resources/ Impact/ Development
Related Countries: Malawi, Mozambique
Profound effect of ART on mortality through reduction of opportunistic infections
Incidence of opportunistic infections and the impact of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected adults in low and middle income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Low A, Gavriilidis G, Larke N, Lajoie MR, Drouin O, Stover J, Muhe L, Easterbrook P. Clin Infect Dis. 2016 Mar 6. pii: ciw125. [Epub ahead of print]
Background: To understand regional burdens and inform delivery of health services, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on incidence of key opportunistic infections (OIs) in HIV-infected adults in low and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Methods: Eligible studies describing the cumulative incidence of OIs and proportion on ART from 1990 to November 2013 were identified using multiple databases. Summary incident risks for the ART-naive period, and during and after the first year of ART, were calculated using random effects meta-analyses. Summary estimates from ART subgroups were compared using meta-regression. The number of OI cases and associated costs averted if ART was initiated at CD4 ≥200 cells/µl was estimated using UNAIDS country estimates and global average OI treatment cost per case.
Results: We identified 7965 citations, and included 126 studies describing 491 608 HIV-infected persons. In ART-naive patients, summary risk was highest (>5%) for oral candidiasis, tuberculosis, herpes zoster, and bacterial pneumonia. The reduction in incidence was greatest for all OIs during the first 12 months of ART (range 57-91%) except for tuberculosis, and was largest for oral candidiasis, PCP and toxoplasmosis. Earlier ART was estimated to have averted 857 828 cases in 2013 (95% confidence interval [CI], 828 032-874 853), with cost savings of $46.7 million (95% CI, 43.8-49.4).
Conclusions: There was a major reduction in risk for most OIs with ART use in LMICs, with the greatest effect seen in the first year of treatment. ART has resulted in substantial cost savings from OIs averted.
Editor’s notes: Opportunistic infections (OIs) remain the major cause of HIV-associated mortality. OIs account for substantially higher mortality in low and middle income countries (LMICs) compared to high income countries (HICs).
This paper describes the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis including about 500 000 people on ART in LMICs across three regions (sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America). These large numbers enabled the investigators to look at the effect of ART on the incidence of key OIs during and after the first year of treatment.
Not surprisingly they found that the effect of ART reduced the risk of all OIs during the first year after ART initiation, although the reduction was less for tuberculosis. The authors attribute this to the occurrence of tuberculosis across a wide range of CD4 cell counts, a smaller effect of early immune restoration and the contribution of TB as a manifestation of immune reconstitution syndrome during the first months after ART initiation. Beyond one year after ART initiation, the reduction in tuberculosis was greater.
They conclude that the effect of ART on the incidence of most HIV-associated OIs is the key reason for the global decline in HIV-associated mortality. However, a significant proportion of HIV-positive persons still continue to present with advanced disease. Besides timely ART initiation, additional measures such as CTX prophylaxis, screening for TB and cryptococcal disease, and the use of isoniazid and fluconazole prophylaxis should be considered for late presenters.
Categories: Epidemiology, HIV Treatment
Related Countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Curacao, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Option B+: the way forward for Malawi
Comparative cost-effectiveness of Option B+ for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Malawi.
Tweya H, Keiser O, Haas AD, Tenthani L, Phiri S, Egger M, Estill J. AIDS. 2016 Mar 27;30(6):953-62. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001009.
Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV with lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for pregnant and breastfeeding women ('Option B+') compared with ART during pregnancy or breastfeeding only unless clinically indicated ('Option B').
Design: Mathematical modelling study of first and second pregnancy, informed by data from the Malawi Option B+ programme.
Methods: Individual-based simulation model. We simulated cohorts of 10 000 women and their infants during two subsequent pregnancies, including the breastfeeding period, with either Option B+ or B. We parameterized the model with data from the literature and by analysing programmatic data. We compared total costs of antenatal and postnatal care, and lifetime costs and disability-adjusted life-years of the infected infants between Option B+ and Option B.
Results: During the first pregnancy, 15% of the infants born to HIV-infected mothers acquired the infection. With Option B+, 39% of the women were on ART at the beginning of the second pregnancy, compared with 18% with Option B. For second pregnancies, the rates MTCT were 11.3% with Option B+ and 12.3% with Option B. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio comparing the two options ranged between about US$ 500 and US$ 1300 per DALY averted.
Conclusion: Option B+ prevents more vertical transmissions of HIV than Option B, mainly because more women are already on ART at the beginning of the next pregnancy. Option B+ is a cost-effective strategy for PMTCT if the total future costs and lost lifetime of the infected infants are taken into account.
Editor’s notes: Nearly a quarter of a million children acquire HIV from their mothers every year. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnant women greatly reduces the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission to less than two percent. Malawi was the first country to introduce ‘Option B+’, a programme eliminating new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive, in which all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV start lifelong ART regardless of CD4 count or clinical staging. This study compares the cost-effectiveness of Option B+ in Malawi, with Option B, in which ART is recommended only for the duration of pregnancy or breastfeeding, unless the woman qualifies for ART for her own health. Both options have been recommended by World Health Organisation prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission strategies.
The model simulated a cohort of 10 000 women pregnant for the first time, from conception to the time when the infants were two years old. The authors found that although the total costs of implementing Option B+ were higher than those of Option B, the former can reduce the costs of HIV care and treatment in the future by preventing new infections. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of Option B+ compared to Option B, ranged from USD 500 to USD 1300 per disability-adjusted life-years averted, depending on key assumptions around survival and care. The results support the implementation of Option B+ as it is likely to be a cost-effective strategy in the long term and the authors suggest it should be considered as the preferred strategy in low-income, high-fertility settings.
Like all models, this model has some limitations. It only considers women’s first two pregnancies, but the fertility rate in Malawi is high (5.5 births per woman). The model limits itself to mother-to-child HIV transmission, and does not take into account sexual transmission, which is likely to be lower in Option B+. Further research in these two areas would be worthwhile. The landscape is quickly changing, as World Health Organization guidelines now suggest testing and treatment strategies. However, until that policy is fully implemented and absorbed across the world, Option B+ will remain a key element in the HIV response.
Categories: Health care delivery, HIV Treatment, National responses, Preventing HIV infection in children
The conundrum of future funding for HIV – who pays and how?
Long-term financing needs for HIV control in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015-2050: a modelling study.
Atun R, Chang AY, Ogbuoji O, Silva S, Resch S, Hontelez J, Barnighausen T. BMJ Open. 2016 Mar 6;6(3):e009656. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009656.
Objectives: To estimate the present value of current and future funding needed for HIV treatment and prevention in 9 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries that account for 70% of HIV burden in Africa under different scenarios of intervention scale-up. To analyse the gaps between current expenditures and funding obligation, and discuss the policy implications of future financing needs.
Design: We used the Goals module from Spectrum, and applied the most up-to-date cost and coverage data to provide a range of estimates for future financing obligations. The four different scale-up scenarios vary by treatment initiation threshold and service coverage level. We compared the model projections to current domestic and international financial sources available in selected SSA countries.
Results: In the 9 SSA countries, the estimated resources required for HIV prevention and treatment in 2015-2050 range from US$98 billion to maintain current coverage levels for treatment and prevention with eligibility for treatment initiation at CD4 count of <500/mm3 to US$261 billion if treatment were to be extended to all HIV-positive individuals and prevention scaled up. With the addition of new funding obligations for HIV–which arise implicitly through commitment to achieve higher than current treatment coverage levels–overall financial obligations (sum of debt levels and the present value of the stock of future HIV funding obligations) would rise substantially.
Conclusions: Investing upfront in scale-up of HIV services to achieve high coverage levels will reduce HIV incidence, prevention and future treatment expenditures by realising long-term preventive effects of ART to reduce HIV transmission. Future obligations are too substantial for most SSA countries to be met from domestic sources alone. New sources of funding, in addition to domestic sources, include innovative financing. Debt sustainability for sustained HIV response is an urgent imperative for affected countries and donors
Editor’s notes: The authors of this interesting paper use the most up-to-date cost and coverage data to provide a range of estimates for future treatment financing obligations. Epidemiological parameters are included to fit the Goals model and key prevention services such as ‘prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission’ and ‘voluntary medical male circumcision’ are also included.
Financing needs for the nine countries are estimated by varying treatment initiation threshold (everyone initiated on treatment versus initiation at CD4 of <500cells/mm3) and/or coverage level for prevention and treatment (‘current’ levels and a ‘scale up’ scenario). The authors also attempt to assess both the ethics and the cost of different approaches.
For all scenarios, there is a steady decline in proportion of treatment costs and an increase in the proportion of prevention costs. This apparent contradiction is largely because there will be fewer individuals on treatment over time but prevention costs rise because they are mostly invested in non-infected populations, which increases with population growth.
In the nine countries, estimated resources required for HIV prevention and treatment from 2015-2050 will be large. This is increased further when human resources and supplies increase at the rate of GDP per capita.
However, there is undoubtedly an ethical responsibility to not only continue financing people receiving ART, but, that the responsibility extends to people in equal need who are not on treatment. The ethics is underpinned by the evidence. This illustrates how ‘front-loading’ investments in HIV scale-up now to ensure high levels of coverage, will significantly reduce future HIV incidence and prevalence.
Categories: Economic modelling, HIV, Resources/ Impact/ Development
Related Countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Empirical TB treatment no better than isoniazid among people with low CD4 counts and negative TB tests
Empirical tuberculosis therapy versus isoniazid in adult outpatients with advanced HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy (REMEMBER): a multicountry open-label randomised controlled trial.
Hosseinipour MC, Bisson GP, Miyahara S, Sun X, Moses A, Riviere C, Kirui FK, Badal-Faesen S, Lagat D, Nyirenda M, Naidoo K, Hakim J, Mugyenyi P, Henostroza G, Leger PD, Lama JR, Mohapi L, Alave J, Mave V, Veloso VG, Pillay S, Kumarasamy N, Bao J, Hogg E, Jones L, Zolopa A, Kumwenda J, Gupta A, Adult ACTGAST. Lancet. 2016 Mar 19;387(10024):1198-209. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00546-8.
Background: Mortality within the first 6 months after initiating antiretroviral therapy is common in resource-limited settings and is often due to tuberculosis in patients with advanced HIV disease. Isoniazid preventive therapy is recommended in HIV-positive adults, but subclinical tuberculosis can be difficult to diagnose. We aimed to assess whether empirical tuberculosis treatment would reduce early mortality compared with isoniazid preventive therapy in high-burden settings.
Methods: We did a multicountry open-label randomised clinical trial comparing empirical tuberculosis therapy with isoniazid preventive therapy in HIV-positive outpatients initiating antiretroviral therapy with CD4 cell counts of less than 50 cells per µL. Participants were recruited from 18 outpatient research clinics in ten countries (Malawi, South Africa, Haiti, Kenya, Zambia, India, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Peru, and Uganda). Individuals were screened for tuberculosis using a symptom screen, locally available diagnostics, and the GeneXpert® MTB/RIF assay when available before inclusion. Study candidates with confirmed or suspected tuberculosis were excluded. Inclusion criteria were liver function tests 2.5 times the upper limit of normal or less, a creatinine clearance of at least 30 mL/min, and a Karnofsky score of at least 30. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the empirical group (antiretroviral therapy and empirical tuberculosis therapy) or the isoniazid preventive therapy group (antiretroviral therapy and isoniazid preventive therapy). The primary endpoint was survival (death or unknown status) at 24 weeks after randomisation assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Kaplan-Meier estimates of the primary endpoint across groups were compared by the z-test. All participants were included in the safety analysis of antiretroviral therapy and tuberculosis treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01380080.
Findings: Between Oct 31, 2011, and June 9, 2014, we enrolled 850 participants. Of these, we randomly assigned 424 to receive empirical tuberculosis therapy and 426 to the isoniazid preventive therapy group. The median CD4 cell count at baseline was 18 cells per µL (IQR 9-32). At week 24, 22 (5%) participants from each group died or were of unknown status (95% CI 3.5-7.8) for empirical group and for isoniazid preventive therapy (95% CI 3.4-7.8); absolute risk difference of -0.06% (95% CI -3.05 to 2.94). Grade 3 or 4 signs or symptoms occurred in 50 (12%) participants in the empirical group and 46 (11%) participants in the isoniazid preventive therapy group. Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities occurred in 99 (23%) participants in the empirical group and 97 (23%) participants in the isoniazid preventive therapy group.
Interpretation: Empirical tuberculosis therapy did not reduce mortality at 24 weeks compared with isoniazid preventive therapy in outpatient adults with advanced HIV disease initiating antiretroviral therapy. The low mortality rate of the trial supports implementation of systematic tuberculosis screening and isoniazid preventive therapy in outpatients with advanced HIV disease.
Editor’s notes: Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death among HIV-positive people worldwide. Existing diagnostic tests for TB lack sensitivity, particularly among HIV-positive people, and autopsy studies consistently illustrate that TB is common at death, but often not identified prior to death. This has led to questions about whether empirical TB treatment, meaning treatment for TB in the absence of bacteriological confirmation, should be more widely used among HIV-positive people.
This trial compared empirical TB treatment to isoniazid preventive therapy among adult outpatients with very low CD4 counts starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). People could be enrolled in the study if they did not have confirmed or suspected TB based on symptoms, locally-accessible diagnostic tests (including chest radiography and sputum smear) and, when available, testing with Xpert® MTB/RIF. There was no difference in mortality at six months between participants given empirical TB treatment compared to isoniazid preventive therapy. Mortality was remarkably low overall, particularly considering that participants had very low CD4 counts. It seems likely that the enrolment criteria excluded people at highest risk of death from participating in the study.
Screening for TB at the time of starting ART could reduce mortality if the tests are sufficiently sensitive, and if people identified to have TB receive effective treatment. However, this study was not designed to address how best to do this in resource-limited settings, where chest radiography and Xpert® MTB/RIF are often not accessible. This study does suggest that isoniazid preventive therapy can be given at the time of ART initiation among people who have been effectively screened for TB. The results of other studies of empirical TB treatment, with different designs in different populations, are awaited. Data from all these studies together may provide evidence to guide the optimal package of care for people presenting with advanced HIV disease.
Related Countries: Brazil, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Tenofovir resistance – need for caution but not panic
Global epidemiology of drug resistance after failure of WHO recommended first-line regimens for adult HIV-1 infection: a multicentre retrospective cohort study.
TenoRes Study Group. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 Jan 28. pii: S1473-3099(15)00536-8. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00536-8. [Epub ahead of print]
Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for controlling HIV-1 infection through wide-scale treatment as prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Potent tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-containing regimens are increasingly used to treat and prevent HIV, although few data exist for frequency and risk factors of acquired drug resistance in regions hardest hit by the HIV pandemic. We aimed to do a global assessment of drug resistance after virological failure with first-line tenofovir-containing ART.
Methods: The TenoRes collaboration comprises adult HIV treatment cohorts and clinical trials of HIV drug resistance testing in Europe, Latin and North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. We extracted and harmonised data for patients undergoing genotypic resistance testing after virological failure with a first-line regimen containing tenofovir plus a cytosine analogue (lamivudine or emtricitabine) plus a non-nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI; efavirenz or nevirapine). We used an individual participant-level meta-analysis and multiple logistic regression to identify covariates associated with drug resistance. Our primary outcome was tenofovir resistance, defined as presence of K65R/N or K70E/G/Q mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene.
Findings: We included 1926 patients from 36 countries with treatment failure between 1998 and 2015. Prevalence of tenofovir resistance was highest in sub-Saharan Africa (370/654 [57%]). Pre-ART CD4 cell count was the covariate most strongly associated with the development of tenofovir resistance (odds ratio [OR] 1.50, 95% CI 1.27-1.77 for CD4 cell count <100 cells per µL). Use of lamivudine versus emtricitabine increased the risk of tenofovir resistance across regions (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.20-1.82). Of 700 individuals with tenofovir resistance, 578 (83%) had cytosine analogue resistance (M184V/I mutation), 543 (78%) had major NNRTI resistance, and 457 (65%) had both. The mean plasma viral load at virological failure was similar in individuals with and without tenofovir resistance (145 700 copies per mL [SE 12 480] versus 133 900 copies per mL [SE 16 650; p=0.626]).
Interpretation: We recorded drug resistance in a high proportion of patients after virological failure on a tenofovir-containing first-line regimen across low-income and middle-income regions. Effective surveillance for transmission of drug resistance is crucial.
Editor’s notes: Global surveillance for tenofovir (TDF) resistance is important at a time of expanding use of TDF-containing regimens for treatment and prevention. This collaborative analysis used data collated from several small studies in different settings. Overall, around one in three people who had failed on TDF-containing treatment had evidence of TDF resistance, although this frequency varied between 20% in Europe to almost 60% in Africa. Mutations associated with NNRTIs and lamivudine/emtricitabine resistance were more common overall and were present in most people with TDF resistance.
The regional variation probably reflects differences in clinical practice and study inclusion criteria. All European studies involved cohorts with frequent viral load monitoring, whereas half of the African cohorts had no routine viral load monitoring. All European studies included people with virologic failure but with low-level viraemia (viral load <1000 copies/ml) whereas almost all African studies included only people with viral load >1000 copies/ml.
While these data provide useful estimates of the frequency of drug resistance mutations in people with virologic failure on first-line ART, there should be caution about extrapolating beyond this. Reports from cohort studies with an accurate denominator of all people starting TDF-containing first-line ART would be useful to give more reliable estimates of overall incidence of acquired TDF resistance. Moreover, there remains a need for representative population-based surveillance for acquired and transmitted drug resistance. So far, global surveillance has detected limited evidence of transmitted TDF-associated mutations, but this needs to be monitored closely, especially in high incidence settings.
Categories: Epidemiology, HIV Treatment, Sexual transmission and prevention
Related Countries: Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Understanding barriers and facilitators to uptake and adherence of ART under Option B+ in Lilongwe, Malawi
Why did I stop? Barriers and facilitators to uptake and adherence to ART in option B+ HIV care in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Kim MH, Zhou A, Mazenga A, Ahmed S, Markham C, Zomba G, Simon K, Kazembe PN, Abrams EJ. PLoS One. 2016 Feb 22;11(2):e0149527. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149527. eCollection 2016.
Causes for loss-to-follow-up, including early refusals of and stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART), in Malawi's Option B+ program are poorly understood. This study examines the main barriers and facilitators to uptake and adherence to ART under Option B+. In depth interviews were conducted with HIV-infected women who were pregnant or postpartum in Lilongwe, Malawi (N = 65). Study participants included women who refused ART initiation (N = 10), initiated ART and then stopped (N = 26), and those who initiated ART and remained on treatment (N = 29). The barriers to ART initiation were varied and included concerns about partner support, feeling healthy, and needing time to think. The main reasons for stopping ART included side effects and lack of partner support. A substantial number of women started ART after initially refusing or stopping ART. There were several facilitators for re-starting ART, including encouragement from community health workers, side effects subsiding, decline in health, change in partner, and fear of future sickness. Amongst those who remained on ART, desire to prevent transmission and improve health were the most influential facilitators. Reasons for refusing and stopping ART were varied. ART-related side effects and feeling healthy were common barriers to ART initiation and adherence. Providing consistent pre-ART counseling, early support for patients experiencing side effects, and targeted efforts to bring women who stop treatment back into care may improve long term health outcomes.
Editor’s notes: Option B+ is a policy recommendation of World Health Organisation (WHO) that offers all pregnant and breast-feeding women living with HIV, life-long antiretroviral therapy (ART), regardless of CD4 count or clinical stage. Few studies have examined the challenges faced by pregnant and breast-feeding women, as they navigate the prevention of mother-to-child transmission cascade. The objective of this study was to identify the main barriers and facilitators to uptake and adherence to ART under Option B+ in Lilongwe, Malawi. This was done by conducting qualitative interviews (n=65) with women living with HIV who were pregnant or post-partum and had initiated ART, and women who refused or had stopped treatment.
The most important facilitator for initially starting and remaining on ART was the need to prevent transmission to their infants and to maintain health (prevent illness). Furthermore, ART was viewed as a solution to women’s health issues. This was especially the case when women believed that their health problems were associated with their HIV infection. There were a number of reasons that emerged for refusing ART. For most women the urgency of having to initiate ART under Option B+ was a major challenge. Women felt that they needed time, either to discuss their status with their partner or to accept their own status. In particular, the desire to speak to their partners emerged quite prominently reflecting a fear of disclosure and concern about their partner’s reaction. Another reason was generally feeling healthy before initiating treatment. Women wanted to wait until their health declined before initiating treatment. Religious beliefs did not play a significant role for most women. Only one woman refused because she believed that God, not healthcare providers, would tell her when she needed to start treatment. Side effects were the most commonly reported reason for stopping ART. Half of the 26 (N = 13) respondents who stopped ART did so because they experienced side effects, which included dizziness, nausea or vomiting, nightmares and hallucinations (9%). Women who had side effects also expressed challenges with food security. Side effects made some women question the efficacy of ART. The lack of partner support was another important barrier to ART adherence as women reported fear of disclosing their status to their husbands. Interestingly, although partner support was factored into women’s decision making, in most cases it was not the main consideration. The majority of partners (n=44) accepted their wives’ status, often sending reminders to take ART every night. However, many women did not return to the clinic even though their partners accepted their status (N = 17). One woman, for instance, took the money her husband gave her for transport to the clinic and spent it on other things. Forgetting to take pills or losing pills were other reasons given for lack of adherence. Stigma within the community was acknowledged as an issue, but there were few reports of overt discrimination. Further, even though some women refused or stopped ART, many of them re-started for reasons such as, feeling encouraged by a community health worker (CHW) or someone like a CHW. This was through their monthly home visits to check on women’s use of ART and to provide treatment support such as explaining the side-effects, counselling husbands and encouraging women to re-start. Decline in health, fear of future sickness, as well as reduction in side-effects were mentioned as reasons for re-starting on ART.
Overall, study authors mention that in the context of Option B+, inadequate time in preparing to initiate ART, as well as side effects emerged as more significant barriers as compared to previous studies on barriers and facilitators in non-Option B+ contexts. Economic barriers to care did not emerge as very significant in this study when comparted to other studies; however, a lack of food affects the severity of side effects. This suggests that economic barriers may manifest as an indirect mechanism that affects ART use. A strength of this study is the use of in-depth interviews with a range of women; not just women who stayed on ART, but also women who refused, stopped and re-started in the context of Option B+. Even though there might be overlap between the findings here and other qualitative research, particular barriers become more salient for women initiating ART in the context of Option B+. In prior assessments, women were only initiated on ART after being immunologically compromised, an assessment which often took longer than a month. This gave women time to reflect and accept their condition and communicate with their partner. In the case of Option B+ women felt they needed this time to prepare. The study demonstrates that challenges with uptake and adherence to ART remain. More time and support for women in decision-making, consistent pre-ART counselling, and support with side-effects may contribute to improvements in the long-run. As ART becomes increasingly normalised, some of these barriers may disappear.
Categories: Civil society and community responses / Resilience, Health care delivery, HIV testing, HIV Treatment, People living with HIV, Preventing HIV infection in children, Stigma and social exclusion
The dapivirine ring confers moderate efficacy, but hope for a new prevention option
Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for HIV-1 prevention in women.
Baeten JM, Palanee-Phillips T, Brown ER, Schwartz K, Soto-Torres LE, Govender V, Mgodi NM, Matovu Kiweewa F, Nair G, Mhlanga F, Siva S, Bekker LG, Jeenarain N, Gaffoor Z, Martinson F, Makanani B, Pather A, Naidoo L, Husnik M, Richardson BA, Parikh UM, Mellors JW, Marzinke MA, Hendrix CW, van der Straten A, Ramjee G, Chirenje ZM, Nakabiito C, Taha TE, Jones J, Mayo A, Scheckter R, Berthiaume J, Livant E, Jacobson C, Ndase P, White R, Patterson K, Germuga D, Galaska B, Bunge K, Singh D, Szydlo DW, Montgomery ET, Mensch BS, Torjesen K, Grossman CI, Chakhtoura N, Nel A, Rosenberg Z, McGowan I, Hillier S, Team M-AS N Engl J Med. 2016 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Background: Antiretroviral medications that are used as prophylaxis can prevent acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. However, in clinical trials among African women, the incidence of HIV-1 infection was not reduced, probably because of low adherence. Longer-acting methods of drug delivery, such as vaginal rings, may simplify use of antiretroviral medications and provide HIV-1 protection.
Methods: We conducted a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a monthly vaginal ring containing dapivirine, a non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, involving women between the ages of 18 and 45 years in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
Results: Among the 2629 women who were enrolled, 168 HIV-1 infections occurred: 71 in the dapivirine group and 97 in the placebo group (incidence, 3.3 and 4.5 per 100 person-years, respectively). The incidence of HIV-1 infection in the dapivirine group was lower by 27% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1 to 46; P=0.05) than that in the placebo group. In an analysis that excluded data from two sites that had reduced rates of retention and adherence, the incidence of HIV-1 infection in the dapivirine group was lower by 37% (95% CI, 12 to 56; P=0.007) than that in the placebo group. In a post hoc analysis, higher rates of HIV-1 protection were observed among women over the age of 21 years (56%; 95% CI, 31 to 71; P<0.001) but not among those 21 years of age or younger (-27%; 95% CI, -133 to 31; P=0.45), a difference that was correlated with reduced adherence. The rates of adverse medical events and antiretroviral resistance among women who acquired HIV-1 infection were similar in the two groups.
Conclusions: A monthly vaginal ring containing dapivirine reduced the risk of HIV-1 infection among African women, with increased efficacy in subgroups with evidence of increased adherence.
Editor’s notes: Women bear a larger proportion of the HIV burden worldwide due to biological and behavioural factors. As a result, the HIV prevention field has focused research over the past couple of decades to identify new prevention options especially for women, to reduce this burden. The study presented in this paper is the first to publish phase III efficacy trial results for a vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug dapivirine for HIV prevention. The ring is designed to prevent HIV acquisition locally within the vagina in HIV negative women and kept in the body for a period of four weeks. This strategy is meant to address two components of adherence and side effects. A longer-acting product and local application is contrasted with the daily and systemic use of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, a regimen which can be difficult to maintain. This study found that the dapivirine ring did not protect women with a high rate of efficacy, 27% overall. Interestingly, the sub-analyses of the data illustrated that there was better protection in women with better adherence, and in women who were over the age of 21. Further explorations of the data along with the qualitative findings from the study will surely provide more valuable insights into the low overall rate of efficacy, and perhaps most importantly into why age made such a difference in rates of protection. As mentioned in the paper, a second study on the ring, which was presented at CROI 2016, publishing similar results, and those results combined with the data from this study will further our knowledge regarding the viability of this HIV prevention option.
Related Countries: Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe
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Articles tagged as "HIV testing and treatment"
Improving access to HIV testing—still the most important step to improve the lives of people living with HIV?
Editor’s notes: The target for HIV testing is very clear and well understood as the first 90 in the UNAIDS treatment targets. However, estimating the proportion of people living with HIV who know their status is not completely straightforward. UNAIDS uses various data sources and a well described algorithm to make its annual estimates. For some countries, population based surveys allow a random sample of the population to be interviewed and tested for HIV. Nonetheless, such surveys only occur periodically and so data may be out of date. People who were HIV-negative a few years ago may now be HIV positive and people who know that they were tested a few years ago and think that they know their status may in fact have acquired HIV in the meantime. Staveteig and colleagues have used the most recent demographic and health surveys from 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to estimate the first 90 and to analyse the demographic characteristics associated with knowing one’s HIV status. The authors discuss some of the challenges in the assumptions needed for this estimation process. However, the surveys had excellent participation and a high rate of acceptance of HIV testing, so that out of more than 14 000 people living with HIV across the countries, the authors are able to state that 54% know their status. The proportion in different countries ranges from 26% in Sierra Leone to 84% in Rwanda. Their analysis does not present very surprising associations. We have come to expect that men, young people and those with less than primary education are found to be less likely to know their status. However, the study provides a direct estimate from survey data and as such helps to triangulate with other estimates from the region.
In general, the West and Central African region lags behind the East and Southern African region when it comes to access to HIV testing, linkage to treatment and viral suppression. A catch-up plan has been developed and endorsed at high level political meetings in most countries in the region. The study by Inghels and colleagues from Côte d’Ivoire is therefore important. They demonstrate that among 273 people recently diagnosed with HIV at the blood donors’ centre, almost half could have been diagnosed up to five years earlier if health care staff had followed guidelines to propose testing for indicator clinical conditions such as extreme weight loss, repeated fevers or shingles. Approximately a quarter of people recently diagnosed with HIV had recognized risk factors for HIV (apart from their clinical presentation), but only approximately one-sixth, a small minority, of people had mentioned it to their heathcare professional. If we are to catch up and ensure that 90% of people living with HIV have known their status by 2020, we need to maximize efforts to use a full range of differentiated HIV testing approaches. Health care staff must offer HIV tests routinely to people with clinical indicator conditions. Staff at all levels of the health system must also promote an environment in which people with risk behaviours for HIV infection feel comfortable to be able to raise it and discuss it.
Reaching the 'first 90': gaps in coverage of HIV testing among people living with HIV in 16 African countries.
Staveteig S, Croft TN, Kampa KT, Head SK. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 12;12(10):e0186316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186316. eCollection 2017.
Background: UNAIDS has recently proposed a set of three ambitious targets that, if achieved, are predicted to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The targets, known as 90-90-90, call for 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) to know their status, 90% of PLHIV to receive antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of those on antiretroviral therapy to achieve viral suppression by the year 2020. We examine the first of these targets, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, the region of the world most affected by HIV, to measure the proportion of PLHIV estimated to know their HIV status, and to identify background and behavioral characteristics significantly associated with gaps in ever testing among PLHIV.
Methods and findings: We analyze cross-sectional population-based data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) fielded since 2010 in 16 sub-Saharan African countries where voluntary serological testing was recently conducted: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Survey response rates averaged 95.0% (range 89.3-99.5%), while consent to serotesting averaged 94.9% (range 88.7-99.6%). This study, which includes more than 14 000 respondents living with HIV, finds that 69% of PLHIV in the average study country have ever been tested for HIV (range 34-95%). Based on timing of the last test and on ART coverage, we estimate that 54% of PLHIV in the average country are aware of their status (range 26-84%). Adjusted logistic regression finds that men (median adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.38), adults with less than primary education (median AOR = 0.31), and adolescents (median AOR = 0.32) are consistently less likely to have ever been tested for HIV than women, adults with secondary and above education, and adults age 30-39, respectively. In most countries unadjusted logistic regression also finds significant gaps in testing among the poorest groups and those reporting never having had sex.
Conclusion: The fact that an average of 54% of PLHIV in these 16 countries are estimated to know their status reflects encouraging progress. However, not only is this average far short of the 90% target set by UNAIDS for 2020, but it also implies that in the average study country nearly one-half of PLHIV are unable to access lifesaving care and treatment because they are unaware that they are HIV-positive. Several gaps in HIV testing coverage exist, particularly among adolescents, the least educated, and men. While the need to target demographic groups at greatest risk of HIV continues, additional interventions focused on reaching men and on reaching socially vulnerable populations such as adolescents, the poorest, and the least educated are essential.
Missed opportunities for HIV testing among newly diagnosed HIV-infected adults in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Inghels M, Niangoran S, Minga A, Yoboue JM, Dohoun L, Yao A, Eholié S, Anglaret X, Danel C. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 4;12(10):e0185117. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185117. eCollection 2017
Background: HIV testing is crucial for starting ART earlier in HIV-infected people. We describe Missed Opportunities (MO) for HIV testing among adults newly diagnosed with HIV in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Methods: Between April 2nd 2013 and April 1st 2014, a cross-sectional study was conducted among all adults newly diagnosed (< 1year) for HIV at the Blood Donors Medical Center of Abidjan with face to face questionnaire. An MO for HIV testing was defined as a medical consultation for a clinical indicator (e.g. symptoms, hospitalization, and pregnancy) or a non-clinical indicator (e.g. high-risk sexual behavior, HIV-infected partner) potentially related to an HIV infection but did not lead to HIV test proposal by a health care professional.
Results: Of the 341 patients who attended the center during this period, 273 (157 women and 116 men) were included in this analysis. 130 (47.6%) reported at least one medical consultation for an indicator relevant for a test proposal between 1 month and five years prior to their diagnosis. Among them, 92 (77.3%) experienced at least one MO for testing. The 273 included patients reported a total of 216 indicators; 146 (67.6%) were reported without test proposal and thus were MO. Hospitalization, extreme loss of weight, chronic or repeat fever and herpes zoster were the indicators with the largest number of MO. While 66 (24.2%) patients experienced non-clinical indicators relevant to risk of HIV infection, only 11 (4.0%) mentioned it to a health professional.
Conclusion: MO for HIV testing are frequent, even in situations for which testing is clearly recommended. Better train healthcare professionals and creating new opportunities of testing inside and, outside of medical settings are crucial to improve HIV control.
Categories: HIV testing, People living with HIV
Related Countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Despite better access to HIV treatment we need stronger evidence based guidance on treating people with serious complications of advanced HIV infection
Editor’s notes: The emphasis for scaling up HIV treatment usually focuses on outpatient and primary care clinics with increasing decentralization to the community. It is therefore sobering to see the results of a randomized trial conducted at a national referral hospital in Zambia. Andrews and colleagues report on 209 adults admitted to hospital with sepsis and hypotension, a combination referred to as septic shock. Several important points emerge. Almost 90% of patients admitted with this serious condition were HIV-positive. Most had only been diagnosed with HIV infection in the last three months, and approximately half were taking ART. The median CD4 count was only 70 cells per microlitre. Almost half had a history of having tuberculosis and one quarter were currently on anti-tuberculosis treatment at the time of admission to hospital. Most were also anaemic, with an average haemoglobin of 7.8 g/dl. Mortality from septic shock has been falling in Europe and the United States of America largely due to more intensive management of intravenous fluids and blood pressure. The focus has been on strict protocols to ensure that all patients get the best treatment. However, there has been debate about the best approach to take when less sophisticated monitoring and supportive technology such as artificial ventilation is not available. In this Zambian tertiary hospital setting, only one patient was able to be managed in the intensive care unit due to resource constraints. Patients were randomized to receive a protocolized intensive fluid and blood pressure resuscitation or to receive the more standard care with the responsible physicians making the decisions. The death rate from this severe condition was very high. 85 of the 209 patients randomized died. However, despite receiving more intravenous fluids, more blood transfusions and more drugs to raise blood pressure, the outcomes were worse in the group treated according to the protocol with 48% mortality compared to 33% in the standard care arm. As always, the lesson is that many of these deaths could have been avoided if we were able to diagnose, link and treat people living with HIV much earlier in the course of their infection. However, there is also an important caution that treatments that make good sense and seem the best course of action may in fact make the situation worse, even if the same treatments have been shown in other contexts to be beneficial. Such information will only come from randomized trials, and the authors should be congratulated for being bold enough to conduct a high-quality study that should make us reflect on our preconceptions about how best to treat seriously ill patients in resource poor settings.
Andrade and colleagues have reviewed the literature in order to determine the best approach to treating critically unwell people living with HIV who are admitted to intensive care units. They examined whether starting ARVs while the person was already critically ill was associated with better outcomes. Patients in intensive care may already have many different medicines, as well as altered metabolism. In addition, ARVs can provoke immune reconstitution inflammatory syndromes that have been shown to make outcomes worse in some serious conditions such as cryptococcal meningitis. On the other hand, the evidence from patients with tuberculosis is clear – starting ARVs as soon as possible is associated with better outcomes. In this review and meta-analysis, there was a clear short-term advantage to starting ARVs while the patient was still in intensive care. The data were not sufficient to tell whether the longer-term outcome as also improved by the earlier start of ART. One limitation is that all the studies reviewed were observational, and the decision to start ARVs was not randomized, so that it is plausible that clinicians may have started ARVs more willingly in those patients who were most likely to survive. Nonetheless, in the absence of randomized trials, this study makes a strong case for starting ARVs promptly even in the sickest patients.
Effect of an early resuscitation protocol on in-hospital mortality among adults with sepsis and hypotension: a randomized clinical trial.
Andrews B, Semler MW, Muchemwa L, Kelly P, Lakhi S, Heimburger DC, Mabula C, Bwalya M, Bernard GR. JAMA. 2017 Oct 3;318(13):1233-1240. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.10913.
Importance: The effect of an early resuscitation protocol on sepsis outcomes in developing countries remains unknown.
Objective: To determine whether an early resuscitation protocol with administration of intravenous fluids, vasopressors, and blood transfusion decreases mortality among Zambian adults with sepsis and hypotension compared with usual care.
Design, setting, and participants: Randomized clinical trial of 212 adults with sepsis (suspected infection plus ≥2 systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria) and hypotension (systolic blood pressure ≤90 mm Hg or mean arterial pressure ≤65 mm Hg) presenting to the emergency department at a 1500-bed referral hospital in Zambia between October 22, 2012, and November 11, 2013. Data collection concluded December 9, 2013.
Interventions: Patients were randomized 1:1 to either (1) an early resuscitation protocol for sepsis (n = 107) that included intravenous fluid bolus administration with monitoring of jugular venous pressure, respiratory rate, and arterial oxygen saturation and treatment with vasopressors targeting mean arterial pressure (≥65 mm Hg) and blood transfusion (for patients with a hemoglobin level <7 g/dL) or (2) usual care (n = 105) in which treating clinicians determined hemodynamic management.
Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcomes included the volume of intravenous fluid received and receipt of vasopressors.
Results: Among 212 patients randomized to receive either the sepsis protocol or usual care, 3 were ineligible and the remaining 209 completed the study and were included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 36.7 [12.4] years; 117 men [56.0%]; 187 [89.5%] positive for the human immunodeficiency virus). The primary outcome of in-hospital mortality occurred in 51 of 106 patients (48.1%) in the sepsis protocol group compared with 34 of 103 patients (33.0%) in the usual care group (between-group difference, 15.1% [95% CI, 2.0%-28.3%]; relative risk, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.04-2.05]; P = .03). In the 6 hours after presentation to the emergency department, patients in the sepsis protocol group received a median of 3.5 L (interquartile range, 2.7-4.0 L) of intravenous fluid compared with 2.0 L (interquartile range, 1.0-2.5 L) in the usual care group (mean difference, 1.2 L [95% CI, 1.0-1.5 L]; P < .001). Fifteen patients (14.2%) in the sepsis protocol group and 2 patients (1.9%) in the usual care group received vasopressors (between-group difference, 12.3% [95% CI, 5.1%-19.4%]; P < .001).
Conclusions and relevance: Among adults with sepsis and hypotension, most of whom were positive for HIV, in a resource-limited setting, a protocol for early resuscitation with administration of intravenous fluids and vasopressors increased in-hospital mortality compared with usual care. Further studies are needed to understand the effects of administration of intravenous fluid boluses and vasopressors in patients with sepsis across different low- and middle-income clinical settings and patient populations.
Highly active antiretroviral therapy for critically ill HIV patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Andrade HB, Shinotsuka CR, da Silva IRF, Donini CS, Yeh Li H, de Carvalho FB, Americano do Brasil PEA, Bozza FA, Miguel Japiassu A. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 24;12(10):e0186968. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186968. eCollection 2017
Introduction: It is unclear whether the treatment of an HIV infection with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) affects intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes. In this paper, we report the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis performed to summarize the effects of HAART on the prognosis of critically ill HIV positive patients.
Materials and methods: A bibliographic search was performed in 3 databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) to identify articles that investigated the use of HAART during ICU admissions for short- and long-term mortality or survival. Eligible articles were selected in a staged process and were independently assessed by two investigators. The methodological quality of the selected articles was evaluated using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) tool.
Results: Twelve articles met the systematic review inclusion criteria and examined short-term mortality. Six of them also examined long-term mortality (≥90 days) after ICU discharge. The short-term mortality meta-analysis showed a significant beneficial effect of initiating or maintaining HAART during the ICU stay (random effects odds ratio 0.53, p = 0.02). The data analysis of long-term outcomes also suggested a reduced mortality when HAART was used, but the effect of HAART on long-term mortality of HIV positive critically ill patients remains uncertain.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests improved survival rates for HIV positive patients who were treated with HAART during their ICU admission.
Categories: Comorbidity, HIV Treatment, People living with HIV
Related Countries: Brazil, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia
The third 90—ensuring adherence to ART needs approaches tailored to the clinical and social context of individuals
Editor’s notes: The third 90, ensuring that people who are on antiretroviral therapy are supported to adhere well enough to suppress their viral load, is key to preventing drug resistance and to ensuring efficiency of resources as treatment is scaled up to all people living with HIV. Previous studies have demonstrated how useful SMS reminders can be for many people taking ARV medicines, and this evidence is now incorporated into WHO guidance on ART. However, a randomized trial by Linnemayr and colleagues among adolescents and young adults in Kampala, Uganda found no benefit after one year of either a weekly reminder or a weekly reminder with the option to respond. There are no magic bullets to ensure adherence. SMS reminders may well suit some individuals, whereas others will need different approaches. The differentiated care approach to ART emphasizes the need to develop the best treatment and support service for each individual, according to their specific social context and clinical situation.
Text messaging for improving antiretroviral therapy adherence: no effects after 1 year in a randomized controlled trial among adolescents and young adults.
Linnemayr S, Huang H, Luoto J, Kambugu A, Thirumurthy H, Haberer JE, Wagner G, Mukasa B. Am J Public Health. 2017 Dec;107(12):1944-1950. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304089. Epub 2017 Oct 19.
Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of Short Message Service (SMS) reminder messages on antiretroviral and cotrimoxazole prophylaxis adherence among HIV-positive youths as well as the relative effectiveness of SMS with and without a response option.
Methods: Eligible HIV-positive patients aged 15 to 22 years at 2 HIV clinics in Kampala, Uganda, participated in a year-long parallel individual-randomized controlled trial and were assigned in a 1-to-1-to-1 ratio to a weekly SMS message group, weekly SMS message with response option group, or a usual-care control group.
Results: We enrolled 332 participants. Electronically measured mean adherence was 67% in the control group, 64% in the 1-way SMS group (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.77, 1.14), and 61% in the 2-way SMS group (95% CI = 0.75, 1.12) in an intent-to-treat analysis. Results for secondary outcomes and complete-case analysis were similarly statistically insignificant across groups.
Conclusions: Despite previous evidence that interventions using SMS reminders can promote antiretroviral therapy adherence, this study shows that they are not always effective in achieving behavior change. More research is needed to find out for whom, and under what conditions, they can be beneficial.
Although people living with HIV should have near normal life expectancy, far too many still die prematurely
Editor’s notes: The scale up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the most important development in the past decade of the HIV response. Not only do antiretroviral medicines prevent death and prevent the immune destruction that HIV causes, but they also prevent transmission to sexual partners. Nonetheless, the challenges of reaching everyone living with HIV are enormous and Young and colleagues’ study from the city of Nairobi highlights that we still have some distance to go. The authors estimated that 74% of adults living with HIV were receiving ART and among women, the figure was even higher and was estimated to have reached more than the UNAIDs target of 81%. The authors collected data from the two largest mortuaries in Nairobi, where most deaths that occur in the city are registered. With approximately 80% of all deaths in the city being registered, the authors believe that their study is reasonably representative of the adult population of the city. They found that among 807 people who died in Nairobi during the recruitment period, HIV was greatly over-represented. They calculated that around 16% of adult deaths in the city were attributable to HIV, and that, when adjusted for age and sex, death rates among people living with HIV were more than four times higher than the rate among HIV-negative people. The authors point out that these proportions and rates are much lower than they were at the peak of the epidemic, but they do show that in Nairobi we still have some distance to go to ensure that people living with HIV have the same life expectancy as those who are HIV-negative.
HIV-associated mortality in the era of antiretroviral therapy scale-up – Nairobi, Kenya, 2015
Young PW, Kim AA, Wamicwe J, Nyagah L, Kiama C, Stover J, Oduor J, Rogena EA, Walong E, Zielinski-Gutierrez E, Imbwaga A, Sirengo M, Kellogg TA, De Cock KM. PLoS One. 2017 Aug 2;12(8):e0181837. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181837. eCollection 2017.
Background: Declines in HIV prevalence and increases in antiretroviral treatment coverage have been documented in Kenya, but population-level mortality associated with HIV has not been directly measured. In urban areas where a majority of deaths pass through mortuaries, mortuary-based studies have the potential to contribute to our understanding of excess mortality among HIV-infected persons. We used results from a cross-sectional mortuary-based HIV surveillance study to estimate the association between HIV and mortality for Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
Methods and Findings: HIV seropositivity in cadavers measured at the two largest mortuaries in Nairobi was used to estimate HIV prevalence in adult deaths. Model-based estimates of the HIV-infected and uninfected population for Nairobi were used to calculate a standardized mortality ratio and population-attributable fraction for mortality among the infected versus uninfected population. Monte Carlo simulation was used to assess sensitivity to epidemiological assumptions. When standardized to the age and sex distribution of expected deaths, the estimated HIV positivity among adult deaths aged 15 years and above in Nairobi was 20.9% (95% CI 17.7-24.6%). The standardized mortality ratio of deaths among HIV-infected versus uninfected adults was 4.35 (95% CI 3.67-5.15), while the risk difference was 0.016 (95% CI 0.013-0.019). The HIV population attributable mortality fraction was 0.161 (95% CI 0.131-0.190). Sensitivity analyses demonstrated robustness of results.
Conclusions: Although 73.6% of adult PLHIV receive antiretrovirals in Nairobi, their risk of death is four-fold greater than in the uninfected, while 16.1% of all adult deaths in the city can be attributed to HIV infection. In order to further reduce HIV-associated mortality, high-burden countries may need to reach very high levels of diagnosis, treatment coverage, retention in care, and viral suppression.
Categories: HIV Treatment, People living with HIV
Excessive cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV – preventable with better services?
Editor’s notes: Opportunities to prevent mortality among people living with HIV also include careful attention to risk factors for modifiable cardiovascular health risk factors such as smoking, cholesterol levels, weight and exercise. In an interesting study from Canada, Jeon and colleagues used the Ontario administrative databases to look at differences between 259 475 people being admitted with acute myocardial infarction according to their HIV status. Overall, people living with HIV who had heart attacks were around 15 years younger and more than twice as likely to die within 30 days following discharge from the hospital compared to HIV-negative people. This was not because people living with HIV had received care that was obviously different, with similar rates of revascularisation procedures and follow up visits to the cardiology services. The study highlights the ongoing uncertainty about the reasons for increased morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV. However, it is clear that we do have several well proven tools with which to reduce cardiovascular morbidity, so we should ensure that they are incorporated into HIV treatment services.
The relationship between known indicators of cardiovascular risk and HIV were also studied in 67 black South Africans living with HIV. Borkum and colleagues demonstrate that HIV infection in black South Africans living with HIV was generally well controlled with 84% being virally suppressed and that they had a median CD4 count of over 500 cells per microlitre. Nonetheless, most had a variety of characteristics that suggest that they were at high risk of cardiovascular events. Markers of inflammation were raised in 68% and “non-dipping” blood pressure, which is a measure of excessive stiffness of the arteries, was present in 65%. Straightforward measures that could be made even at the most peripheral ART clinic also demonstrated risk, with 67% being classified as overweight and 76% having an increased waist circumference, both well recognized independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Worryingly this sample, which was largely female (91%), had an average age of only 42 years. It is clear that intervention on cardiovascular risks is something for all ART providers to consider in every setting.
The Australian Positive and Peers Longevity Evaluation study (beautifully given the acronym of APPLES) also points out the importance of making valid comparisons between people living with HIV and their HIV negative peers. In Australia, almost half of all people living with HIV are now over the age of 50 years. Petoumenos and colleagues show that among gay and bisexual men older than 55 years, recruited in Sydney, those living with HIV were more likely to report noncommunicable comorbidities including heart disease and diabetes. However, some of the more obvious risk factors, such as smoking status, were not different between the groups and people living with HIV drank less alcohol than their HIV negative peers. The relationships between HIV, lifestyle and noncommunicable disease risk are complex but probably important as the population of people living with HIV continues to age.
In a study from the Cohorte de la Red de Investigación en Sida (CoRIS) in Spain, Masiá and colleagues have also explored long term outcomes of almost 9000 people living with HIV and their experience of non-AIDS defining events. They show that mortality rates are considerably higher in people living with HIV who have any non-AIDS event, even if these are traditionally considered less severe, such as bacterial pneumonia, psychiatric diseases, bone fractures, or diabetes. In addition to standard indicators (such as low CD4 count at ART initiation), we should take the development of non-AIDS events as a warning to intensify management efforts and more targeted prevention of complications.
In the UK, Molloy and colleagues conducted an audit of clinical services provided at different sites. They show that systems need to catch up with the changes in life experience of people living with HIV. While sexual health screening was almost universally available, only 71.4% of sites were able to offer cervical cytology despite the increased risk of cervical cancer in women living with HIV. Less than half of people taking ART had their risk for cardiovascular disease documented. Regular audit of appropriate services, even with simple checklists for service providers is a strong tool to improve care for people living with HIV and should have a direct impact on mortality.
Mortality and health service use following acute myocardial infarction among persons with HIV: a population-based study
Jeon C, Lau C, Kendall CE, Burchell AN, Bayoumi AM, Loutfy M, Rourke SB, Antoniou T. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2017 Sep 14. doi: 10.1089/AID.2017.0128. [Epub ahead of print]
People with HIV have higher rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than HIV-negative individuals. We compared mortality risk and health service use following AMI among people with and without HIV between January 1, 2002, and March 31, 2015. We conducted a population-based study using Ontario's administrative databases. Our primary outcomes were risk of inpatient death and death at 30 days following hospital discharge. In secondary analyses, we compared use of revascularization procedures within 90 days of AMI, as well as readmission or emergency department visits for heart disease and cardiology follow-up within 90 days of discharge. We studied 259 475 AMI patients, of whom 345 (0.13%) were people with HIV. AMI patients with HIV were younger than HIV-negative patients (mean age ± standard deviation: 54.4 ± 10.5 years vs. 69.3 ± 14.3 years). Following multivariable adjustment, the odds ratios for inpatient death and death at 30 days following discharge were 1.04 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.64-1.56] and 2.42 (95% CI 1.00-4.92), respectively. In secondary analyses, no differences were observed in receipt of revascularization procedures (hazard ratio (HR) 0.98; 95% CI 0.85-1.12), readmission or emergency department visit for heart disease (HR 1.18; 95% CI 0.85-1.62), or cardiology follow-up (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.76-1.01). People with HIV experience AMI at younger ages and may be at higher risk of death in the 30 days following hospital discharge, underscoring the importance of targeting modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors in these patients.
High prevalence of "non-dipping" blood pressure and vascular stiffness in HIV-infected South Africans on antiretrovirals
Borkum MS, Heckmann JM, Manning K, Dave JA, Levitt NS, Rayner BL, Wearne N. PLoS One. 2017 Sep 20;12(9):e0185003. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185003. eCollection 2017.
Background: HIV-infected individuals are at increased risk of tissue inflammation and accelerated vascular aging ('inflamm-aging'). Abnormal diurnal blood pressure (BP) rhythms such as non-dipping may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in HIV infected individuals. However, little data exists on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and measures of vascular stiffness in the black African HIV infected population.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of otherwise well, HIV infected outpatients on ART for >5 years. Study assessments included: 24hr ABP monitoring, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and central aortic systolic pressure (CASP) using a AtCor Medical Sphygmocor device, fasting lipogram, oral glucose tolerance test, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and anthropometric data. Patients completed a questionnaire of autonomic symptoms. CD4+ counts and viral loads were obtained from the National Laboratory results system.
Results: Sixty-seven black participants were included in the analysis of whom 91% (n = 61) were female with a mean age of 42.2 ± 8.6 years. The median duration on ART was 7.5 years (IQR = 6-10), 84% were virally supressed and the median CD4 count was 529.5cells/mm3 (IQR = 372.0-686.5). The majority (67%) were classified as overweight and 76% had an increased waist circumference, yet only 88% of participants were normotensive. A hsCRP level in the high cardiovascular risk category was found in 68% of participants. The prevalence of non-dipping BP was 65%. Interestingly, there was no association on multivariable analysis between dipping status and traditional risk factors for non-dipping BP, such as: obesity, autonomic dysfunction and older age.
Conclusion: This relatively young cross-sectional sample of predominantly normotensive, but overweight black women on effective ART >5 years showed: a high prevalence of non-dipping BP, inflammation and vascular stiffness. Causality cannot be inferred but cardiovascular risk reduction should be emphasized in these patients.
Prevalence of self-reported comorbidities in HIV positive and HIV negative men who have sex with men over 55 years—The Australian Positive & Peers Longevity Evaluation Study (APPLES)
Petoumenos K, Huang R, Hoy J, Bloch M, Templeton DJ, Baker D, Giles M, Law MG, Cooper DA. PLoS One. 2017 Sep 8;12(9):e0184583. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184583. eCollection 2017.
In Australia, almost half of HIV-positive people are now aged over 50 and are predominately gay and bisexual men (GBM). Compared to the general HIV-negative population, GBM engage more in behaviours that may increase the risk of age-related comorbidities, including smoking, high alcohol consumption and recreational drug use. The objective of APPLES was to compare comorbidities and risk factors in HIV-positive older GBM with an appropriate control group of HIV-negative GBM. We undertook a prospectively recruited cross-sectional sample of HIV-positive and HIV-negative GBM ≥ 55 years. Detailed data collection included clinic data, a health and lifestyle survey, and blood sample collection. We report key demographic, laboratory markers and self-reported comorbidities by HIV status. For selected comorbidities we also adjust HIV status a priori for age, smoking and body mass index. Over 16 months 228 HIV-positive and 218 HIV-negative men were recruited. Median age was 63 years (IQR: 59-67). Although more HIV-positive men reported having ever smoked, smoking status was not statistically different between HIV positive and HIV negative men (p = 0.081). Greater alcohol use was reported by HIV-negative men (p = 0.002), and recreational drug use reported more often by HIV-positive men (p<0.001). After adjustment, HIV-positive men had significantly increased odds of diabetes (adjusted Odds ratio (aOR): 1.97, p = 0.038), thrombosis (aOR: 3.08, p = 0.007), neuropathy (aOR: 34.6, P<0.001), and non-significantly increased odds for heart-disease (aOR: 1.71, p = 0.077). In conclusion, HIV-positive GBM have significantly increased odds for key self-reported comorbidities. This study underscores the importance of an appropriate HIV-negative control group for more accurate evaluation of the risk and attribution of age-related comorbidities in HIV-positive people.
Prediction of long-term outcomes of HIV-infected patients developing non-AIDS events using a multistate approach
Masiá M, Padilla S, Moreno S, Barber X, Iribarren JA, Del Romero J, Gómez-Sirvent JL, Rivero M, Vidal F, Campins AA, Gutiérrez F; Cohorte de la Red de Investigación en Sida (CoRIS). PLoS One. 2017 Sep 8;12(9):e0184329. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184329. eCollection 2017.
Objectives: Outcomes of people living with HIV (PLWH) developing non-AIDS events (NAEs) remain poorly defined. We aimed to classify NAEs according to severity, and to describe clinical outcomes and prognostic factors after NAE occurrence using data from CoRIS, a large Spanish HIV cohort from 2004 to 2013.
Design: Prospective multicenter cohort study.
Methods: Using a multistate approach we estimated 3 transition probabilities: from alive and NAE-free to alive and NAE-experienced ("NAE development"); from alive and NAE-experienced to death ("Death after NAE"); and from alive and NAE-free to death ("Death without NAE"). We analyzed the effect of different covariates, including demographic, immunologic and virologic data, on death or NAE development, based on estimates of hazard ratios (HR). We focused on the transition "Death after NAE".
Results: 8789 PLWH were followed-up until death, cohort censoring or loss to follow-up. 792 first incident NAEs occurred in 9.01% PLWH (incidence rate 28.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 26.80-30.84, per 1000 patient-years). 112 (14.14%) NAE-experienced PLWH and 240 (2.73%) NAE-free PLWH died. Adjusted HR for the transition "Death after NAE" was 12.1 (95%CI, 4.90-29.89). There was a graded increase in the adjusted HRs for mortality according to NAE severity category: HR (95%CI), 4.02 (2.45-6.57) for intermediate-severity; and 9.85 (5.45-17.81) for serious NAEs compared to low-severity NAEs. Male sex (HR 2.04; 95% CI, 1.11-3.84), age >50 years (1.78, 1.08-2.94), hepatitis C-coinfection (2.52, 1.38-4.61), lower CD4 cell count at cohort entry (HR 2.49; 95%CI 1.20-5.14 for CD4 cell count below 200 and HR 2.16; 95%CI 1.01-4.66 for CD4 cell count between 200-350, both compared to CD4 cell count higher than 500) and concomitant CD4 <200 cells/mL (2.22, 1.42-3.44) were associated with death after NAE. CD4 count and HIV-1 RNA at engagement, previous AIDS and hepatitis C-coinfection predicted mortality in NAE-free persons.
Conclusion: NAEs, including low-severity events, increase prominently the risk for mortality in PLWH. Prognostic factors differ between NAE-experienced and NAE-free persons. These findings should be taken into account in the clinical management of PLWH developing NAEs and may permit more targeted prevention efforts.
Routine monitoring and assessment of adults living with HIV: results of the British HIV Association (BHIVA) national audit 2015
Molloy A, Curtis H, Burns F, Freedman A; BHIVA Audit and Standards Sub-Committee. BMC Infect Dis. 2017 Sep 13;17(1):619. doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2708-y.
Background: The clinical care of people living with HIV changed fundamentally as a result of the development of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV infection is now a long-term treatable condition. We report a national audit to assess adherence to British HIV Association guidelines for the routine investigation and monitoring of adult HIV-1-infected individuals.
Methods: All UK sites known as providers of adult HIV outpatient services were invited to complete a case-note review and a brief survey of local clinic practices. Participating sites were asked to randomly select 50-100 adults, who attended for specialist HIV care during 2014 and/or 2015. Each site collected data electronically using a self-audit spreadsheet tool. This included demographic details (gender, ethnicity, HIV exposure, and age) and whether 22 standardised and pre-defined clinical audited outcomes had been recorded.
Results: Data were collected on 8258 adults from 123 sites, representing approximately 10% of people living with HIV reported in public health surveillance as attending UK HIV services. Sexual health screening was provided within 96.4% of HIV services, cervical cytology and influenza vaccination within 71.4% of HIV services. There was wide variation in resistance testing across sites. Only 44.9% of patients on ART had a documented 10-year CVD risk within the past three years and fracture risk had been assessed within the past three years for only 16.7% patients aged over 50 years.
Conclusions: There was high participation in the national audit and good practice was identified in some areas. However, improvements can be made in monitoring of cardiovascular risk, bone and sexual health.
Categories: Comorbidity, HIV Treatment, Key populations, People living with HIV
Related Regions: Africa, Europe, Northern America, Oceania
Related Countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
HIV testing and the HIV epidemic –vitally important to prevent HIV becoming endemic
Editor’s notes: Epidemics refer to situations where the number of infections rises (and subsequently falls) more quickly than might be expected compared to a disease that is endemic. Endemic implies a stable situation, with natural fluctuations in the number of cases. Medley and Vassal have written a provocative article in Science that considers how differently individuals, communities and society react to epidemic rather than endemic diseases. They choose to call HIV in 2017 endemic, which carries a serious risk. As the authors state, “The contained public response, and the concurrent shift of responsibility to individuals to protect themselves from risk, means that endemic disease embeds itself further, as those at risk are often the very same people who do not have the private resources to avoid risk or access treatment.” There are in fact multiple separate epidemics of HIV in different regions and in different populations. Some are rising and some are falling. The latest UNAIDS’ report emphasizes the heterogeneity of HIV infections in the world. New HIV infections have fallen by 29% since 2010 in East and Southern Africa, the region with the highest rates. On the other hand, new HIV infections have risen by an alarming 60% in Eastern Europe and Central Asia over the same period, albeit from a much lower baseline. There is widespread political consensus to pursue the UN agenda endorsed at the High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in New York last year. Let’s not throw in the towel too soon!
HIV testing services remain central to the HIV strategy and, as usual, this month there are several important papers on aspects of HIV testing, many of which illustrate challenges that need to be overcome.
There are several reasons to encourage people living with HIV to know their status. First and foremost, we know that the earlier treatment is started in the course of HIV, the better the outlook for the individual. People who start treatment become much less likely to transmit HIV infection to sexual partners. People who know their HIV status are also able to make informed decisions about their lives and their partnerships. A study this month by Escudero et al. from New York City used agent-based modelling to understand the testing and care continuum for people who inject drugs. Their results remind us of the key role of HIV testing. They estimated that 53% of the HIV transmission events from people who inject drugs arose from people who did not know their status, and a further 37% from people who had not been started ART. In other words, they estimate that only 10-11% of infections from people who inject drugs could be prevented by improving quality of care for people on treatment. The need to find effective ways to encourage people at risk to know their status and start treatment is stark.
Guanzhou is one of the largest cities in China, with a high population of migrants both national and international. It is among the most prosperous regions of Guangdong province and has the highest rates of HIV. Chen et al. added some HIV testing related questions to a wider population based health survey in two districts and showed that approximately a quarter of adults had previously been tested for HIV. HIV testing was almost all provided through free government facilities or blood transfusion centres. Despite early steps to make HIV self-testing more available, none of the 666 participants who answered the relevant questions in the survey had used a self-test. Distance from an HIV testing site was a key determinant of the likelihood of getting tested. It was not clear that people who might be at higher risk were more likely to be tested, although the numbers and sampling focused on the general population rather than people at special risk.
Wang et al. explored the different HIV test kits used in the first line screening in Xi’an. In line with Chinese guidelines, but not in line with WHO guidance on HIV testing algorithms for low prevalence settings, they used third- or fourth-generation rapid tests and repeated the positive tests. WHO’s algorithm for low prevalence settings includes three different rapid tests based on different antigens. Among 665 people found to be positive on rapid tests, only 559 were confirmed to be HIV-positive by Western blotting. Subsequent follow up with additional Western blots showed that two of the individuals in whom the first Western blot was indeterminate were seroconverting but the other 104 were HIV-negative and had had false-positive results on the original rapid tests. False positives were more likely with the fourth-generation test (22% of positive tests) compared to the various third-generation tests used (9-11% of positive tests). Fourth-generation assays are known to be more sensitive, detecting people with HIV around a week or two earlier in the window period than third-generation assays. However, the authors point out that in low prevalence settings like Xi’an, the known lack of specificity of fourth-generation assays means that they may not provide sufficient advantages to be used as the first line test. Overall, the paper emphasizes the importance of using clearly defined algorithms. The WHO algorithms no longer use Western blots, but do recommend using multiple tests based on different antigens for testing people at low risk of infection, and at least two different tests with different antigens for testing people at high risk of infection. Everyone should have additional confirmatory tests done prior to starting ART.
Harbertson et al. also focused on the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests. They screened samples from 459 military personnel in seven African countries who had reported that they were HIV-positive. Using the WHO algorithm, they compared the results of quality assured HIV testing to the self-reported HIV status of the participants. They found that, in different country surveys, between three and 91% of people who said that they were living with HIV were in fact HIV-negative. The authors point out that several studies have demonstrated the importance of following the WHO guidance, and that the positive predictive value of a test (or algorithm) will always fall as the overall prevalence falls. They discuss possible limitations such as misunderstanding the question or the terminology used, but discount these possibilities as causing many of the false-positive reports, particularly given the highly variable results across different countries. There was a strong association between the likelihood of a false positive report and lower education level. People whose understanding of HIV was less good were also more likely to report themselves to be positive falsely. Overall, the authors assume that quality of testing services needs to be an important priority, while not discounting the challenges of using self-reports to collect information about HIV status.
As more and more people chose to know their HIV status, it may be possible to use routine data from the health service to track the epidemiology of HIV, rather than to use special surveys. Traditionally surveys of antenatal mothers have been used to monitor trends in the HIV epidemic over time. With the widespread adoption of routine testing for mothers, a large proportion of women have an HIV test. However, the assays used vary. For surveillance purposes, samples are often stored and transported as dried blood spots and assays are run in batches using automated ELISA technology. Routine testing (as discussed above) is often done using an algorithm based on a number of different rapid tests. Pereira et al. have explored the differences between these approaches among almost 40 000 Brazilian mothers who participated in the antenatal surveillance exercise. They interviewed mothers and linked their routine ANC results to the surveillance database. Overall the prevalence of HIV among expectant mothers in Brazil was similar whichever approach was used (0.36% or 0.38%). However, there were interesting differences. The performance accuracy in those found positive in the surveillance exercise (which was taken as the gold standard) was only 84% overall and varied between regions from 43% to 100%. So these 14 false negative results among the 88 individuals who were truly positive were compensated for in the overall prevalence estimates by a similar number (18) of false positive results among around 30 000 individuals who were truly negative. This highlights the challenges of providing accurate results to people in low prevalence settings. The 13% of mothers who slipped through the routine services and were not tested or refused to be tested were significantly more likely to be HIV-positive (0.56%), reinforcing the potential biases involved. Finding 90% of people living with HIV will require considerable attention to the detail and the quality of HIV testing services.
Adolescents are often a population left behind, and regular reports show that adolescents living with HIV are less likely to know their status or to be on treatment or virally supressed. Simms et al. used provider initiated testing and counselling (PITC) in primary care clinics in Harare, Zimbabwe. For two years, the research team supported the routine offer of HIV testing to all six to 15 year olds presenting to seven clinics in a well-defined area of Harare. The authors then conducted a population-based survey to find out how many eight to 17 year olds (who had had two years of exposure to the intervention) were aware of their status. 141 (2.6%) were living with HIV and more than one-third of these were undiagnosed. Some had rarely been to the clinic, and others had been taken to the clinic by a guardian who was unable to consent to HIV testing on behalf of the child or the child’s parents. Others had slipped through the PITC net, possibly because, as Lightfoot et al. in an accompanying comment suggest, providers still find it hard to offer HIV tests to everyone, as they assume that people living with HIV will not appear healthy. This fits with the researchers’ findings that adolescents living with HIV who were currently healthy, had no skin or other problems and had parents who were alive were less likely to be diagnosed. Both papers suggest that community based testing is needed to find adolescents. However, this also raises challenges in settings with lower prevalence than the high-density suburbs of Harare chosen for this project. As prevalence falls lower than the 2.6% observed, a huge testing effort is needed, with attendant costs, but also (as explored above) with the risks of inaccurate results and of the very people that we want to find most, not being around for testing at the right moment.
When an emerging disease becomes endemic.
Medley GF, Vassall A. Science. 2017 Jul 14;357(6347):156-158. doi: 10.1126/science.aam8333.
Epidemics, such as HIV in the early 1980s and Ebola in 2014, inspire decisive government investment and action, and individual and societal concern, sometimes bordering on panic. By contrast, endemic diseases, such as HIV in 2017 and tuberculosis, struggle to maintain the same attention. For many, the paradox is that endemic disease, in its totality, continues to impose a far higher public health burden than epidemic disease. Overall, the swift political response to epidemics has resulted in success. It has proven possible to eradicate epidemic diseases, often without the availability of vaccines and other biomedical technologies. In recent times, only HIV has made the transition from epidemic to endemic, but diseases that have existed for centuries continue to cause most of the infectious disease burden.
The risk of HIV transmission at each step of the HIV care continuum among people who inject drugs: a modeling study.
Escudero DJ, Lurie MN, Mayer KH, King M, Galea S, Friedman SR, Marshall BL. BMC Public Health. 2017 Jul 25;17(1):614. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4528-9.
Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are at continued risk for HIV in the U.S., and experience disparities across the HIV care continuum compared to other high-risk groups. Estimates of the risk of HIV transmission at each stage of the care continuum may assist in identifying public health priorities for averting incident infections among PWID, in addition to transmissions to sexual partners of PWID.
Methods: We created an agent-based model simulating HIV transmission and the HIV care continuum for PWID in New York City (NYC) in 2012. To account for sexual transmission arising from PWID to non-PWID, the simulation included the entire adult NYC population. Using surveillance data and estimates from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system, we simulated a dynamic sexual and injecting network. We estimated the proportion of HIV transmission events attributable to PWID in the following categories, those: without an HIV diagnosis ('Undiagnosed'); diagnosed but not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) ('Diagnosed - not on ART'); those who initiated ART but were not virally suppressed ('Unsuppressed'); and, those who achieved viral suppression ('Suppressed').
Results: We estimated HIV incidence among PWID to be 113 per 100 000 person-years in 2012, with an overall incidence rate for the entire adult NYC population of 33 per 100 000 person-years. Despite accounting for only 33% of the HIV-infected PWID population, the Undiagnosed were associated with 52.6% (95% simulation interval [95% SI]: 47.1-57.0%) of total transmission events. The Diagnosed - not on ART population contributed the second-largest proportion of HIV transmissions, with 36.6% (95% SI: 32.2-41.5%). The Unsuppressed population contributed 8.7% (95% SI: 5.6-11.8%), and Suppressed 2.1% (95% SI: 1.1-3.9%), relatively little of overall transmission.
Conclusion: Among PWID in NYC, more than half (53%) of transmissions were from those who were unaware of their infection status and more than 36% were due to PWID who knew their status, but were not on treatment. Our results indicate the importance of early diagnosis and interventions to engage diagnosed PWID on treatment to further suppress population-level HIV transmission. Future HIV prevention research should focus on the elimination of identified and potential barriers to the testing, diagnosis, and retention of PWID on HIV treatment.
Is there a relationship between geographic distance and uptake of HIV testing services? A representative population-based study of Chinese adults in Guangzhou, China.
Chen W, Zhou F, Hall BJ, Tucker JD, Latkin C, Renzaho AMN, Ling L. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 20;12(7):e0180801. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180801. eCollection 2017.
Achieving high coverage of HIV testing services is critical in many health systems, especially where HIV testing services remain centralized and inconvenient for many. As a result, planning the optimal spatial distribution of HIV testing sites is increasingly important. We aimed to assess the relationship between geographic distance and uptake of HIV testing services among the general population in Guangzhou, China. Utilizing spatial epidemiological methods and stratified household random sampling, we studied 666 adults aged 18-59. Computer-assisted interviews assessed self-reported HIV testing history. Spatial scan statistic assessed the clustering of participants who have ever been tested for HIV, and two-level logistic regression models assessed the association between uptake of HIV testing and the mean driving distance from the participant's residence to all HIV testing sites in the research sites. The percentage of participants who have ever been tested for HIV was 25.2% (168/666, 95%CI: 21.9%, 28.5%), and the majority (82.7%) of participants tested for HIV in Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, public hospitals or STIs clinics. None reported using self-testing. Spatial clustering analyses found a hotspot included 48 participants who have ever been tested for HIV and 25.8 expected cases (Rate Ratio = 1.86, P = 0.002). Adjusted two-level logistic regression found an inverse relationship between geographic distance (kilometers) and ever being tested for HIV (aOR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.84, 0.96). Married or cohabiting participants (aOR = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.09, 4.20) and those with greater social support (aOR = 1.04, 95%CI: 1.01, 1.07) were more likely to be tested for HIV. Our findings underscore the importance of considering the geographical distribution of HIV testing sites to increase testing. In addition, expanding HIV testing coverage by introducing non-facility based HIV testing services and self-testing might be useful to achieve the goal that 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status by the year 2020.
The characteristics of screening and confirmatory test results for HIV in Xi'an, China.
Wang L, Zhou KH, Zhao HP, Wang JH, Zheng HC, Yu Y, Chen W. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 7;12(7):e0180071. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180071. eCollection 2017.
Objectives: Individuals with recent or acute HIV infection are more infectious than those with established infection. Our objective was to analyze the characteristics of detection among HIV infections in Xi'an.
Methods: A 4th-generation kit (Architect HIV Ag/Ab Combo) and three 3rd-generationEIA kits (WanTai, XinChuang and Livzon) were used for HIV screening. Overall, 665 individuals were identified as positive and were tested by western blotting (WB). The characteristics of the screening and confirmatory tests were analyzed, including the band patterns, the early detection performance and the false-positive rates.
Results: In total, 561 of the 665 patients were confirmed as having HIV-1 infection, and no HIV-2 specific band was observed. Among these 561 WB-positive cases, reactivity to greater than or equal to 9 antigens was the most commonly observed pattern (83.18%), and the absence of reactivity to p17, p31 and gp41 was detected in 6.44%, 5.9% and 2.86% of the cases, respectively. Two cases were positive by the 4th-generation assay but negative by the 3rd-generation assay for HIV screening and had seroconversion. The false-positive rate of the Architect HIV Ag/Ab Combo (22.01%) was significantly higher than those of WanTai (9.88%), XinChuang (10.87%) and Livzon (8.93%), p<0.05
Conclusion: HIV infection in Xi'an is mainly caused by HIV-1, and individuals are rarely identified at the early phase. Although the false-positive rate of the 4th-generation assay was higher than that of the 3rd-generation assay, it is still recommended for use as the initial HIV screening test for high-risk individuals. In Xi'an, a 3rd-generation assay for screening could be considered.
Self-reported HIV-positive status but subsequent HIV-negative test result using rapid diagnostic testing algorithms among seven sub-Saharan African military populations.
Harbertson J, Hale BR, Tran BR, Thomas AG, Grillo M, Jacobs MB, McAnany J, Shaffer RA. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 7;12(7):e0180796. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180796. eCollection 2017.
HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) combined in an algorithm are the current standard for HIV diagnosis in many sub-Saharan African countries, and extensive laboratory testing has confirmed HIV RDTs have excellent sensitivity and specificity. However, false-positive RDT algorithm results have been reported due to a variety of factors, such as suboptimal quality assurance procedures and inaccurate interpretation of results. We conducted HIV serosurveys in seven sub-Saharan African military populations and recorded the frequency of personnel self-reporting HIV positivity, but subsequently testing HIV-negative during the serosurvey. The frequency of individuals who reported they were HIV-positive but subsequently tested HIV-negative using RDT algorithms ranged from 3.3 to 91.1%, suggesting significant rates of prior false-positive HIV RDT algorithm results, which should be confirmed using biological testing across time in future studies. Simple measures could substantially reduce false-positive results, such as greater adherence to quality assurance guidelines and prevalence-specific HIV testing algorithms as described in the World Health Organization's HIV testing guidelines. Other measures to improve RDT algorithm specificity include classifying individuals with weakly positive test lines as HIV indeterminate and retesting. While expansion of HIV testing in resource-limited countries is critical to identifying HIV-infected individuals for appropriate care and treatment, careful attention to potential causes of false HIV-positive results are needed to prevent the significant medical, psychological, and fiscal costs resulting from individuals receiving a false-positive HIV diagnosis.
Transitioning from antenatal surveillance surveys to routine HIV testing: a turning point in the mother-to-child transmission prevention programme for HIV surveillance in Brazil.
Pereira GFM, Sabidó M, Caruso A, Benzaken AS. BMC Infect Dis. 2017 Jul 5;17(1):469. doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2540-4.
Background: In Brazil, due to the rapid increase in programmes for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), routine programme data are widely available. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of programmatic data to replace HIV surveillance based on the antenatal care (ANC) surveillance survey (SS).
Methods: We analysed ANC SS data from 219 maternity service clinics. PMTCT variables were extracted from the ANC SS data collection form, which allowed us to capture and compare the ANC SS data and PMTCT HIV test results for each pregnant woman who completed the ANC SS. Both the PMTCT programme and the ANC SS tested for HIV using sequential ELISA and western blot for confirmation. We assessed the completeness (% missing) of the PMTC data included in the ANC SS.
Results: Of the 36 713 pregnant women who had ANC SS HIV tests performed, 30 588 also underwent PMTCT HIV testing. The HIV prevalence rate from routine PMTCT testing was 0.36%, compared to 0.38% from the ANC SS testing (relative difference -0.05%; absolute difference -0.02%). The relative difference in prevalence rates between pregnant women in northern Brazil and pregnant women central-west Brazil was -0.98 and 0.66, respectively. Of the 29 856 women who had HIV test results from both the PMTCT and ANC SS, the positive percent agreement of the PMTCT versus the surveillance test was 84.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 74.8-91.0), and the negative percent agreement was 99.9% (95% CI: 99.9-100.0). The PMTCT HIV testing uptake was 86.4%. The ANC SS HIV prevalence was 0.33% among PMTCT non-refusers and 0.59% among refusers, with a percent bias of -10.80% and a differential prevalence ratio of 0.56. Syphilis and HIV testing results were complete in 98% and 97.6% of PMTCT reports, respectively. The reported HIV status for the women at clinic entry was missing.
Conclusion: Although there were consistent HIV prevalence estimates from the PMTCT data and the ANC SS, the overall positive percent agreement of 84.1% falls below the World Health Organization benchmark of 94.7%. Therefore, Brazil must continue to reinforce data collection practices and ensure the quality of recently introduced rapid HIV testing before replacing the PMTCT data with surveillance techniques. However, some regions with better results could be prioritized to pilot the use of PMTCT data for surveillance.
Community burden of undiagnosed HIV infection among adolescents in Zimbabwe following primary healthcare-based provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling: A cross-sectional survey.
Simms V, Dauya E, Dakshina S, Bandason T, McHugh G, Munyati S, Chonzi P, Kranzer K, Ncube G, Masimirembwa C, Thelingwani R, Apollo T, Hayes R, Weiss HA, Ferrand RA. PLoS Med. 2017 Jul 25;14(7):e1002360. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002360. eCollection 2017 Jul.
Background: Children living with HIV who are not diagnosed in infancy often remain undiagnosed until they present with advanced disease. Provider-initiated testing and counselling (PITC) in health facilities is recommended for high-HIV-prevalence settings, but it is unclear whether this approach is sufficient to achieve universal coverage of HIV testing. We aimed to investigate the change in community burden of undiagnosed HIV infection among older children and adolescents following implementation of PITC in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Methods and Findings: Over the course of 2 years (January 2013-January 2015), 7 primary health clinics (PHCs) in southwestern Harare implemented optimised, opt-out PITC for all attendees aged 6-15 years. In February 2015-December 2015, we conducted a representative cross-sectional survey of 8-17-year-olds living in the 7 communities served by the study PHCs, who would have had 2 years of exposure to PITC. Knowledge of HIV status was ascertained through a caregiver questionnaire, and anonymised HIV testing was carried out using oral mucosal transudate (OMT) tests. After 1 participant taking antiretroviral therapy was observed to have a false negative OMT result, from July 2015 urine samples were obtained from all participants providing OMTs and tested for antiretroviral drugs to confirm HIV status. Children who tested positive through PITC were identified from among survey participants using gender, birthdate, and location. Of 7146 children in 4251 eligible households, 5486 (76.8%) children in 3397 households agreed to participate in the survey, and 141 were HIV positive. HIV prevalence was 2.6% (95% CI 2.2%-3.1%), and over a third of participants with HIV were undiagnosed (37.7%; 95% CI 29.8%-46.2%). Similarly, among the subsample of 2643 (48.2%) participants with a urine test result, 34.7% of those living with HIV were undiagnosed (95% CI 23.5%-47.9%). Based on extrapolation from the survey sample to the community, we estimated that PITC over 2 years identified between 18% and 42% of previously undiagnosed children in the community. The main limitation is that prevalence of undiagnosed HIV was defined using a combination of 3 measures (OMT, self-report, and urine test), none of which were perfect.
Conclusions: Facility-based approaches are inadequate in achieving universal coverage of HIV testing among older children and adolescents. Alternative, community-based approaches are required to meet the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) target of diagnosing 90% of those living with HIV by 2020 in this age group.
Categories: HIV modelling, HIV testing, HIV testing and counselling, HIV testing and treatment, HIV Treatment, Injecting drug use and HIV prevention, Key populations
Related Countries: Brazil, China, United States of America, Zimbabwe
Old fashioned AIDS is still with us – shocking in 2017
Editor’s notes: The term AIDS refers to advanced HIV disease with a CD4 count below 200 cells per microl. or with one of several typical opportunistic infections. It is more than twenty years since the revolutionary discovery of highly active combination antiretroviral therapy. While deaths due to HIV have fallen steadily over the past two decades, it is shocking that so many people are still dying from AIDS. In part this is due to the same issues of HIV testing discussed above. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published their most recent report on surveillance in the United States of America (USA). The authors show very gradual progress in the right direction. But, still more than 20% of people are diagnosed with HIV infection in the USA when they already have AIDS. In fact, in a further 20% of people, the stage of infection was not reported to CDC, so as a proportion of those with a known stage at diagnosis, as many as one quarter were diagnosed with AIDS. As might be expected, there are disparities between states with District of Columbia and California doing a little better. There are big disparities by age (with over one third of people diagnosed at age greater than 45 years having AIDS) but surprisingly little difference by ethnicity.
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) recently released a report highlighting the challenge of advanced disease, which was picked up in a commentary in the British Medical Journal by Cousins. The report points out that in hospital settings in Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Kenya, and Malawi, MSF are still seeing an alarmingly high mortality rate, with one third of deaths occurring within the first 48 hours of admission. As many as three quarters of the patients had been on antiretroviral therapy (ART), suggesting that their advanced disease was not a consequence of late presentation, but rather of failure of the health system to deliver quality care. The importance of detecting treatment failure early and changing to effective second (or third) line ART was emphasized. Once patients do present to hospital with advanced HIV disease, it is a clinical emergency and urgent effective care may make a big difference. WHO has recently issued guidance on managing advanced HIV disease, and the Journal of the International AIDS Society has recently released a useful supplement on Differentiated Care and HIV.
Back in the USA, Braunstein et al. used existing laboratory and other data to construct a retrospective analysis of what happened in the intervenable period during which different treatment approaches might have prevented more than 11 000 people from dying with HIV between 2007 and 2013. The intervenable period was defined as the 12 months before the last three months of life. The authors pointed out that in the last three months of life, people might be in care that was not typical of their engagement during the preceding year. So the intervenable period is therefore more important to see where change could happen. Like the MSF team, they found that a substantial proportion of people were not properly treated, as shown by the finding that 60% of people did not have a suppressed viral load in the period analysed. This was despite 98% having some engagement with the health system as shown by laboratory records, 80% being defined as linked to care, and 76% being prescribed ART. The challenge seemed to be to provide high quality care with continuity of care and decisions made promptly according to the findings in the laboratory.
The package of interventions recommended by WHO in their guidance for people presenting with advanced HIV disease includes screening, treatment and/or prophylaxis for major opportunistic infections, rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence support interventions. Additional support for this approach comes from the REALITY randomized trial conducted by Hakim and colleagues in Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Kenya. In this trial, people with advanced HIV infection, judged by their CD4 count, were randomized in a factorial design. 1805 participants were randomized to different ART regimens; to nutritional support or not; and to a package of prophylaxis. This paper reports on the differences seen according to whether or not participants were randomized to receive the enhanced prophylaxis. The package consisted of at least 12 weeks of co-trimoxazole (against pneumocystis, malaria, and various bacterial and protozoal infections), co-formulated with isoniazid and pyridoxine (against tuberculosis), along with fluconazole (against cryptococcus, candida and other fungi) also for 12 weeks and azithromycin (against a broader range of invasive bacteria including salmonella) for five days. The enhanced prophylaxis led to a 27% reduction in mortality six months after entering the study, and there was still a clear difference after one year, by when 127 people had died in the standard of care group compared to 98 in the enhanced prophylaxis group. Nonetheless, the death rate was still considerable. It is also worth noting that many of the people in whom the CD4 count was extremely low did not complain of any symptoms. So CD4 testing is still needed at the point of clinical care to determine who needs urgent differentiated care for advanced HIV infection.
The final paper in this section is a randomised trial from GHESKIO in Haiti (Koenig et al.). The investigators randomized 701 people diagnosed with HIV, to start ART on the same day as their diagnosis, or to wait for three weeks, as is standard of care at the centre. 12 months later, viral suppression was somewhat better in people who started ART on the same day (61% vs. 52% at a cut-off of 1000 copies per ml.). The authors point out that this was a single centre study, and results from GHESKIO might not be generalizable to other treatment sites in Haiti. Although there were still substantial losses to follow up, there was clearly no evidence that the policy to start people on HIV treatment immediately was too hasty.
Missed opportunities: adapting the HIV care continuum to reduce HIV-related deaths
Braunstein SL, Robbins RS, Daskalakis DC. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2017 Jul 26. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001509. [Epub ahead of print]
Introduction: With advances in HIV care, persons with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) can lead healthy lives, but avoidable, HIV-related deaths continue to occur in New York City (NYC).
Methods: We selected PWHA from our surveillance registry who died between 2007-2013, resided in NYC, and survived ≥15 months post-diagnosis to generate an HIV Mortality Reduction Continuum of Care (HMRCC) describing pre-death care patterns among PWHA. We used HIV laboratory test reports to measure care outcomes during an "intervenable period" (IP) during which deaths may have been avoided. The continuum was stratified by underlying cause of death (COD) (HIV-related vs. other), and the HIV-related HMRCC was stratified by demographic characteristics.
Results: 11 187 analysis-eligible PWHA died during 2007-2013. 98% linked to care; 80% were retained in care during the IP; 66% were prescribed ART; 47% had VL≤1500 copies/mL; 40% achieved viral suppression (VS). Half (47%) of deaths were HIV-related. Retention was higher among HIV-related COD (83% vs. 78%), but VS was lower (34% vs. 46%). The HIV-related HMRCC revealed disparities in VS. Despite comparable retention rates, Whites had the highest VS (42%, vs. 32% Blacks and 33% Latinos/Hispanics). Additionally, retention and VS increased with increasing age. People with a history of injection drug use had relatively high rates of retention (88%) and VS (37%).
Discussion: The HMRCC is a novel framework for evaluating pre-death care patterns among PWHA and identifying opportunities to reduce preventable deaths. In NYC, reducing mortality will require increasing VS among those already in care, particularly for Blacks and Latinos/Hispanics.
Enhanced prophylaxis plus antiretroviral therapy for advanced HIV infection in Africa
Hakim J, Musiime V, Szubert AJ, Mallewa J, Siika A, Agutu C, Walker S, Pett SL, Bwakura-Dangarembizi M, Lugemwa A, Kaunda S, Karoney M, Musoro G, Kabahenda S, Nathoo K, Maitland K, Griffiths A, Thomason MJ, Kityo C, Mugyenyi P, Prendergast AJ, Walker AS, Gibb DM; REALITY Trial Team. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jul 20;377(3):233-245. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1615822.
Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, among patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the rate of death from infection (including tuberculosis and cryptococcus) shortly after the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is approximately 10%.
Methods: In this factorial open-label trial conducted in Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Kenya, we enrolled HIV-infected adults and children 5 years of age or older who had not received previous ART and were starting ART with a CD4+ count of fewer than 100 cells per cubic millimeter. They underwent simultaneous randomization to receive enhanced antimicrobial prophylaxis or standard prophylaxis, adjunctive raltegravir or no raltegravir, and supplementary food or no supplementary food. Here, we report on the effects of enhanced antimicrobial prophylaxis, which consisted of continuous trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole plus at least 12 weeks of isoniazid-pyridoxine (co-formulated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in a single fixed-dose combination tablet), 12 weeks of fluconazole, 5 days of azithromycin, and a single dose of albendazole, as compared with standard prophylaxis (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole alone). The primary end point was 24-week mortality.
Results: A total of 1805 patients (1733 adults and 72 children or adolescents) underwent randomization to receive either enhanced prophylaxis (906 patients) or standard prophylaxis (899 patients) and were followed for 48 weeks (loss to follow-up, 3.1%). The median baseline CD4+ count was 37 cells per cubic millimeter, but 854 patients (47.3%) were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. In the Kaplan-Meier analysis at 24 weeks, the rate of death with enhanced prophylaxis was lower than that with standard prophylaxis (80 patients [8.9% vs. 108 [12.2%]; hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55 to 0.98; P=0.03); 98 patients (11.0%) and 127 (14.4%), respectively, had died by 48 weeks (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.99; P=0.04). Patients in the enhanced-prophylaxis group had significantly lower rates of tuberculosis (P=0.02), cryptococcal infection (P=0.01), oral or esophageal candidiasis (P=0.02), death of unknown cause (P=0.03), and new hospitalization (P=0.03). However, there was no significant between-group difference in the rate of severe bacterial infection (P=0.32). There were nonsignificantly lower rates of serious adverse events and grade 4 adverse events in the enhanced-prophylaxis group (P=0.08 and P=0.09, respectively). Rates of HIV viral suppression and adherence to ART were similar in the two groups.
Conclusion: Among HIV-infected patients with advanced immunosuppression, enhanced antimicrobial prophylaxis combined with ART resulted in reduced rates of death at both 24 weeks and 48 weeks without compromising viral suppression or increasing toxic effects.
Same-day HIV testing with initiation of antiretroviral therapy versus standard care for persons living with HIV: A randomized unblinded trial
Koenig SP, Dorvil N, Dévieux JG, Hedt-Gauthier BL, Riviere C, Faustin M, Lavoile K, Perodin C, Apollon A, Duverger L, McNairy ML, Hennessey KA, Souroutzidis A, Cremieux PY, Severe P, Pape JW. PLoS Med. 2017 Jul 25;14(7):e1002357. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002357. eCollection 2017 Jul.
Background: Attrition during the period from HIV testing to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is high worldwide. We assessed whether same-day HIV testing and ART initiation improves retention and virologic suppression.
Methods and Findings: We conducted an unblinded, randomized trial of standard ART initiation versus same-day HIV testing and ART initiation among eligible adults ≥18 years old with World Health Organization Stage 1 or 2 disease and CD4 count ≤500 cells/mm3. The study was conducted among outpatients at the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic infections (GHESKIO) Clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to standard ART initiation or same-day HIV testing and ART initiation. The standard group initiated ART 3 weeks after HIV testing, and the same-day group initiated ART on the day of testing. The primary study endpoint was retention in care 12 months after HIV testing with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/ml. We assessed the impact of treatment arm with a modified intention-to-treat analysis, using multivariable logistic regression controlling for potential confounders. Between August 2013 and October 2015, 762 participants were enrolled; 59 participants transferred to other clinics during the study period, and were excluded as per protocol, leaving 356 in the standard and 347 in the same-day ART groups. In the standard ART group, 156 (44%) participants were retained in care with 12-month HIV-1 RNA <50 copies, and 184 (52%) had <1000 copies/ml; 20 participants (6%) died. In the same-day ART group, 184 (53%) participants were retained with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/ml, and 212 (61%) had <1000 copies/ml; 10 (3%) participants died. The unadjusted risk ratio (RR) of being retained at 12 months with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/ml was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.38; p = 0.015) for the same-day ART group compared to the standard ART group, and the unadjusted RR for being retained with HIV-1 RNA <1000 copies was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.31; p = 0.012). The main limitation of this study is that it was conducted at a single urban clinic, and the generalizability to other settings is uncertain.
Conclusions: Same-day HIV testing and ART initiation is feasible and beneficial in this setting, as it improves retention in care with virologic suppression among patients with early clinical HIV disease.
Categories: HIV testing, HIV testing and treatment, HIV Treatment, People living with HIV
Related Countries: Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, United States of America, Zimbabwe
Technology is advancing rapidly, but are we making the most of it?
Editor’s notes: HIV self-testing was a key area of discussion in the Paris IAS meeting. UNITAID signed the next phase of the STAR Initiative that is working with six countries in Southern Africa to transform the market for self-testing and understand the impact of different delivery systems. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are using their resources to lower prices of self-test kits. Following WHO’s decision to prequalify an oral fluid test, many countries are including self-test commodities within their PEPFAR Country Operation Plans and Global Fund concept notes. WHO have issued guidance on self-testing and assisted partner notification. So we can expect to see more and more self-tests out there in the field!
In Malawi, Choko et al. reported on qualitative research done prior to a cluster randomized trial that involves providing self-tests to women attending antenatal care (ANC) for them to take home to their partners. Although couples are welcomed at ANC clinics and couple testing is certainly beneficial, many men still feel that the clinic is not a place for them. As one participant said: “Considering what happens here at the ANC clinic, I don’t see my husband escorting me anymore because you find he is alone among many women and he has to listen to some things concerning birth. . . .”
In contrast, many women and men engaged in conversations about how providing self-test kits could help communication, stigma, privacy, control and time pressure among other aspects of involving men in HIV testing. Some concerns were raised around violence and it is clear that this approach will suit some but not all couples, so it needs to be delivered in a way that respects autonomy with no coercion.
In a very different context, Jamil et al. have conducted a randomized trial among Australian gay men and men who have sex with men. The trial enrolled “high risk” men who reported multiple partners and condomless sex over the past months. A central premise of public health strategies to control the HIV epidemic is to find people who have acquired HIV as early as possible. So the trial aimed to determine whether the offer of free oral fluid self-tests led to earlier testing and more frequent testing. They found that compared with standard care, availability of free oral-fluid self-testing increased testing frequency both in men who had not tested recently and in men who had not tested at all in the past years. Importantly there was no decline in facility-based testing for HIV or sexually transmitted infections, which might have implied replacement. The men commented that self-testing was highly acceptable and easy to do.
Self-tests are not a panacea. Oral fluid tests do have a slightly lower sensitivity than blood based tests. This may be important when HIV-antibody levels are not high, particularly in people taking ART (either as treatment or as PrEP), or early in the course of infection. Furthermore, both oral fluid and blood based test rely on visual identification of bands on the test strip that may be faint, leading to some people assuming that they are negative or failing to see the positive band. Curlin et al. examined the performance of oral fluid tests in people seroconverting to HIV during three specific trials. They found a considerable number of false negative results and a long delay before some individuals became positive on oral fluid tests. There was also a clear suggestion that some test operators were less good than others at performing the test and the possibility that one batch of the test kits were less sensitive. Overall they concluded that “caution must be exercised when interpreting a negative oral fluid test in settings where acute infection is likely, and where PrEP use, ART induced viral suppression, or profound immunosuppression may result in low HIV-specific antibody titers.” However, as an additional screening tool to be used in populations where many of whom are “missing” from the first 90 are to be found, self-tests have much to offer. Many of these people will have acquired HIV some time ago and by definition will not be taking ART. So the cautions raised by Curlin et al. may be less relevant for the primary intended purpose of self-tests. Nonetheless, they make it very clear that oral fluid self-tests are not an appropriate technology to follow people on treatment or on PrEP. Nor are they recommended for the diagnosis of acute infection.
While self-tests may increase the proportion of adults knowing their HIV status, different technology is needed for infants. Nucleic acid amplification is used to detect pro-viral DNA or viral RNA in samples from infants. The technology is more complex and often centralized, leading to delays and loss to follow up in mother-infant pairs. Several systems now aim to provide testing close to the point of care and the evaluation of the SAMBA HIV-1 Qual Whole Blood Test from Ondiek et al. is an encouraging report. Sensitivity and specificity were high (98.5% and 99.8% on 745 infant samples) and comparable to the standard approach used in centralized labs. Samples from those with discrepant results were rechecked by assays based on multiple targets and suggested that the SAMBA test and the standard approach were each responsible for some of the few false positive and negatives seen. The advantages of the SAMBA system is that it has been designed to be used in peripheral health systems. All the reagents are freeze dried and stable without refrigeration. Turnaround time is approximately 2 hours with minimal sample handling once the sample is put into the machine. Costs will still need to come down, but competition with other manufacturers may help.
The SAMBA technology that was evaluated is a qualitative assay aimed at diagnosis of infants. A larger market is for viral load assays that are central to the monitoring of the effectiveness of HIV treatment and form the indicator for UNAIDS’s third 90. However, at the moment viral load assays are still too expensive. As a result the optimal strategy for their use remains uncertain within programmes that have to make difficult decisions about where their limited resources should be spent.
Negoescu et al. have built an interesting model to explore the economic trade-offs between different frequencies of performing viral load assays. More importantly they explore models of adapting the frequency of assays according to characteristics of the person taking ART. People who have been on treatment for longer periods, or are older, or report fewer problems with adherence could be selected for less frequent assays. This could save resources, without compromising health outcomes. However, for countries like Uganda, which was used as the example to calibrate the model, the best approach seems to still be a viral load assay once per year, regardless of other factors. And indeed, many resource limited countries are having to make difficult choices about how to allocate stretched budgets between expansion of access to viral load assays to the possible detriment of basic prevention programmes such as male circumcision and condoms. As more resources become available (or as the cost of viral load assays fall) countries may well choose to do more frequent viral load assays. The authors showed that monthly assays were more expensive but did (unsurprisingly) lead to benefits in terms of earlier detection of virological failure. Given the renewed attention to drug resistance and the role of late detection of HIV treatment failure in propagating it, such models may become increasingly important. Adapting the viral load assay frequency to the characteristics of the person taking HIV treatment could be a sensible approach in middle and higher income settings.
For some years, WHO has recommended that nucleic acid amplification should also be used as the first line test for tuberculosis among people living with HIV. The GeneXpert® system has been taken up quite widely in many countries where HIV is common among people with tuberculosis, most notably in South Africa. However, Hermans et al. remind us that technology is only one part of the solution. Although there is no doubt that Xpert™ is considerably more sensitive than sputum microscopy and considerably quicker than mycobacterial culture, incorporating the technology into routine practice is not always straightforward. At the Infectious Disease Institute in Kampala, Uganda, where there are well trained clinicians and better resources than in much of the rest of Uganda, Xpert™ was made available at no cost for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in a one stop combined HIV-TB clinic. In a cohort of people living with HIV with symptoms suggestive of possible tuberculosis and whose sputum smear microscopy result was negative, many clinicians still preferred to treat on the basis of their clinical judgement and chest radiography. Xpert™ was requested in less than half the patients. Similar numbers of people were started on treatment for tuberculosis regardless of whether Xpert™ was requested (22% vs 21%). And among those in whom an Xpert™ was performed, more were started on anti-tuberculosis treatment who had had a negative test than a positive one. So it was not really clear that Xpert™ was useful in the diagnosis and management of HIV-related tuberculosis in this setting. Xpert™ is not 100% sensitive, so many clinicians will choose to treat patients who might have tuberculosis regardless of the results of new technology. Xpert™ also give a result that includes resistance to rifampicin, but this was not such a major issue in Kampala and was not an objective of this study. Those treated without a confirmed test result were more likely to die during the next 12 months, but the authors point out that there are many possible reasons for this. Many clinicians are aware of the high rates of undiagnosed tuberculosis found at autopsy in people with HIV. Thus, empirical treatment is often given to those who are critically unwell, even when there is no clear evidence of tuberculosis.
GeneXpert® was also the technology used in another study of tuberculosis contact tracing among school children in Swaziland (Ustero et al.). Despite a rapid and extensive response to look for additional cases in schools where a confirmed case of tuberculosis had been found, no secondary cases were identified. In household contacts of the same children, they found an additional two cases. WHO recommends contacts tracing in households of infectious tuberculosis patients. Although there is still a large and important gap in the estimated number of tuberculosis cases and the number who are notified and treated by national programmes, the best ways to find the missing cases are not well established. Even in settings where both infections are among the most important causes of mortality, tuberculosis is much less prevalent than HIV. So the challenge for case-finding and screening approaches for tuberculosis is to select the populations most at risk. An alternative would be to develop tools that are so sensitive, specific and cheap that they can be used for widespread screening. GeneXpert® is not that tool.
While tuberculosis remains the single most important cause of mortality among people living with HIV in low resource settings, there is welcome and increasing attention being paid to human papillomaviruses (HPV). Certain types of HPV are the cause of cervical cancer. This is an AIDS-defining illness both because it is more common among women living with HIV and because it has such a high mortality when only detected at the late stages. At the Paris conference there was a morning session on how to do more about cervical cancer and in particular how to build on the synergies of both HPV and HIV programmes to provide more integrated services for women who are at risk of both infections. The most important types of HPV that cause cervical cancer can be prevented by vaccination. However, to be most effective the vaccine has to be given prior to becoming infected with the relevant HPV strain. So the study by Sudenga et al. in South Africa is useful as it demonstrates how many younger women aged 16-24 years in the Western Cape Province had antibodies against four of the important types included in the quadrivalent vaccine that they were testing. The majority of participants (64%) had antibodies to two or more types present at enrolment and 12% had antibodies to all four. Furthermore, among those participants who received placebo injections, the seroconversion rates were alarming high at 23% for HPV16 and 5% for HPV6 over the 7 months of the study among baseline seronegative participants. South Africa has been a leader in the region in HPV vaccination for schoolgirls. It is clear that vaccination needs to happen at a young enough age to catch most girls before they become sexually active. This is in contrast to the offer of pre-exposure prophylaxis, which should be focused on young women who are already sexually active and at higher risk of acquiring HIV. The specificities of synergies and integration need to be clearly delineated if we are to maximize efficiency.
HPV is also the principal cause of anal carcinoma, which is a significant problem among gay men and men who have sex with men. Jin et al. have been building on the progress in cervical cancer screening, where new technologies such as nucleic acid detection or oncoprotein detection are leading to big improvements in some settings and replacing cytology as the first line screen for women. The authors determined whether similar biomarkers including both nucleic acids and cellular markers could be used instead of anal cytology. As with most advances in diagnostic technology, there is a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity. Tests that do not miss any cases of neoplastic change are also likely to lead to many people being unnecessarily referred for further assessment and treatment. However, both new approaches seem to be able to be calibrated in this Australian population to allow fewer referrals while still maintaining a similar sensitivity to the current cytological approach.
Acceptability of woman-delivered HIV self-testing to the male partner, and additional interventions: a qualitative study of antenatal care participants in Malawi.
Choko AT, Kumwenda MK, Johnson CC, Sakala DW, Chikalipo MC, Fielding K, Chikovore J, Desmond N, Corbett EL. J Int AIDS Soc. 2017 Jun 26;20(1):1-10. doi: 10.7448/IAS.20.1.21610.
Introduction: In the era of ambitious HIV targets, novel HIV testing models are required for hard-to-reach groups such as men, who remain underserved by existing services. Pregnancy presents a unique opportunity for partners to test for HIV, as many pregnant women will attend antenatal care (ANC). We describe the views of pregnant women and their male partners on HIV self-test kits that are woman-delivered, alone or with an additional intervention.
Methods: A formative qualitative study to inform the design of a multi-arm multi-stage cluster-randomized trial, comprised of six focus group discussions and 20 in-depth interviews, was conducted. ANC attendees were purposively sampled on the day of initial clinic visit, while men were recruited after obtaining their contact information from their female partners. Data were analysed using content analysis, and our interpretation is hypothetical as participants were not offered self-test kits.
Results: Providing HIV self-test kits to pregnant women to deliver to their male partners was highly acceptable to both women and men. Men preferred this approach compared with standard facility-based testing, as self-testing fits into their lifestyles which were characterized by extreme day-to-day economic pressures, including the need to raise money for food for their household daily. Men and women emphasized the need for careful communication before and after collection of the self-test kits in order to minimize the potential for intimate partner violence although physical violence was perceived as less likely to occur. Most men stated a preference to first self-test alone, followed by testing as a couple. Regarding interventions for optimizing linkage following self-testing, both men and women felt that a fixed financial incentive of approximately USD$2 would increase linkage. However, there were concerns that financial incentives of greater value may lead to multiple pregnancies and lack of child spacing. In this low-income setting, a lottery incentive was considered overly disappointing for those who receive nothing. Phone call reminders were preferred to short messaging service.
Conclusions: Woman-delivered HIV self-testing through ANC was acceptable to pregnant women and their male partners. Feedback on additional linkage enablers will be used to alter pre-planned trial arms.
Effect of availability of HIV self-testing on HIV testing frequency in gay and bisexual men at high risk of infection (FORTH): a waiting-list randomised controlled trial.
Jamil MS, Prestage G, Fairley CK, Grulich AE, Smith KS, Chen M, Holt M, McNulty AM, Bavinton BR, Conway DP, Wand H, Keen P,Bradley J, Kolstee J, Batrouney C, Russell D, Law M, Kaldor JM, Guy RJ. Lancet HIV. 2017 Jun;4(6):e241-e250. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(17)30023-1. Epub 2017 Feb 17.
Background: Frequent testing of individuals at high risk of HIV is central to current prevention strategies. We aimed to determine if HIV self-testing would increase frequency of testing in high-risk gay and bisexual men, with a particular focus on men who delayed testing or had never been tested before.
Methods: In this randomised trial, HIV-negative high-risk gay and bisexual men who reported condomless anal intercourse or more than five male sexual partners in the past 3 months were recruited at three clinical and two community-based sites in Australia. Enrolled participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to the intervention (free HIV self-testing plus facility-based testing) or standard care (facility-based testing only). Participants completed a brief online questionnaire every 3 months, which collected the number of self-tests used and the number and location of facility-based tests, and HIV testing was subsequently sourced from clinical records. The primary outcome of number of HIV tests over 12 months was assessed overall and in two strata: recent (last test ≤2 years ago) and non-recent (>2 years ago or never tested) testers. A statistician who was masked to group allocation analysed the data; analyses included all participants who completed at least one follow-up questionnaire. After the 12 month follow-up, men in the standard care group were offered free self-testing kits for a year. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand clinical trials registry, number actrn12613001236785.
Findings: Between Dec 1, 2013, and Feb 5, 2015, 182 men were randomly assigned to self-testing, and 180 to standard care. The analysis population included 178 (98%) men in the self-testing group (174 person-years) and 165 (92%) in the standard care group (162 person-years). Overall, men in the self-testing group had 701 HIV tests (410 self-tests; mean 4·0 tests per year), and men in the standard care group had 313 HIV tests (mean 1·9 tests per year); rate ratio (rr) 2·08 (95% ci 1·82-2·38; p<0·0001). Among recent testers, men in the self-testing group had 627 tests (356 self-tests; mean 4·2 per year), and men in the standard care group had 297 tests (mean 2·1 per year); rr 1·99 (1·73-2·29; p<0·0001). Among non-recent testers, men in the self-testing group had 74 tests (54 self-tests; mean 2·8 per year), and men in the standard care group had 16 tests (mean 0·7 per year); rr 3·95 (2·30-6·78; p<0·0001). The mean number of facility-based HIV tests per year was similar in the self-testing and standard care groups (mean 1·7 vs 1·9 per year, respectively; rr 0·86, 0·74-1·01; P=0·074). No serious adverse events were reported during follow-up.
Interpretation: HIV self-testing resulted in a two times increase in frequency of testing in gay and bisexual men at high risk of infection, and a nearly four times increase in non-recent testers, compared with standard care, without reducing the frequency of facility-based HIV testing. HIV self-testing should be made more widely available to help increase testing and earlier diagnosis.
Analysis of false-negative human immunodeficiency virus rapid tests performed on oral fluid in 3 international clinical research studies.
Curlin ME, Gvetadze R, Leelawiwat W, Martin M, Rose C, Niska RW, Segolodi TM, Choopanya K, Tongtoyai J, Holtz TH, Samandari T, McNicholl JM; OraQuick Study Group. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Jun 15;64(12):1663-1669. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix228.
Background: The OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Test is a point-of-care test capable of detecting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific antibodies in blood and oral fluid. To understand test performance and factors contributing to false-negative results in longitudinal studies, we examined results of participants enrolled in the Botswana TDF/FTC Oral HIV Prophylaxis Trial, the Bangkok Tenofovir Study, and the Bangkok MSM Cohort Study, 3 separate clinical studies of high-risk, HIV-negative persons conducted in Botswana and Thailand.
Methods: In a retrospective observational analysis, we compared oral fluid OraQuick (OFOQ) results among participants becoming HIV infected to results obtained retrospectively using enzyme immunoassay and nucleic acid amplification tests on stored specimens. We categorized negative OFOQ results as true-negative or false-negative relative to nucleic acid amplification test and/or enzyme immunoassay, and determined the delay in OFOQ conversion relative to the estimated time of infection. We used log-binomial regression and generalized estimating equations to examine the association between false-negative results and participant, clinical, and testing-site factors.
Results: Two-hundred thirty-three false-negative OFOQ results occurred in 80 of 287 seroconverting individuals. Estimated OFOQ conversion delay ranged from 14.5 to 547.5 (median, 98.5) days. Delayed OFOQ conversion was associated with clinical site and test operator (P < .05), preexposure prophylaxis (P = .01), low plasma viral load (P < .02), and time to kit expiration (P < .01). Participant age, sex, and HIV subtype were not associated with false-negative results. Long OFOQ conversion delay time was associated with antiretroviral exposure and low plasma viral load.
Conclusions: Failure of OFOQ to detect HIV-1 infection was frequent and multifactorial in origin. In longitudinal trials, negative oral fluid results should be confirmed via testing of blood samples.
Multi-country validation of SAMBA - A novel molecular point-of- care test for HIV-1 detection in resource-limited setting.
Ondiek J, Namukaya Z, Mtapuri-Zinyowera S, Balkan S, Elbireer A, Ushiro Lumb I, Kiyaga C, Goel N, Ritchie A, Ncube P, Omuomu K, Ndiege K, Kekitiinwa A,Mangwanya D, Fowler MG, Nadala L, Lee H. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2017 Jun 9. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001476. [Epub ahead of print]
Introduction: Early diagnosis of HIV-1 infection and the prompt initiation of antiretroviral therapy are critical to achieving a reduction in the morbidity and mortality of infected infants. The SAMBA HIV-1 Qual Whole Blood Test was developed specifically for early infant diagnosis and prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs implemented at the point-of-care in resource-limited settings.
Methods: We have evaluated the performance of this test run on the SAMBA I semi-automated platform with fresh whole blood specimens collected from 202 adults and 745 infants in Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Results were compared with those obtained with the Roche COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan (CAP/CTM) HIV-1 assay as performed with fresh whole blood or dried blood spots of the same subjects, and discrepancies were resolved with alternative assays.
Results: The performance of the SAMBA and CAP/CTM assays evaluated at five laboratories in the three countries was similar for both adult and infant samples. The clinical sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the SAMBA test were 100%, 99.2%, 98.7%, and 100%, respectively, with adult samples, and 98.5%, 99.8%, 99.7%, and 98.8%, respectively, with infant samples.
Discussion: Our data suggest that the SAMBA HIV-1 Qual Whole Blood Test would be effective for early diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in infants at point-of care settings in sub-Saharan Africa.
Differentiated human immunodeficiency virus RNA monitoring in resource-limited settings: an economic analysis.
Negoescu DM, Zhang Z, Bucher HC, Bendavid E; Swiss HIV Cohort Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Jun 15;64(12):1724-1730. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix177.
Background: Viral load (VL) monitoring for patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended worldwide. However, the costs of frequent monitoring are a barrier to implementation in resource-limited settings. The extent to which personalized monitoring frequencies may be cost-effective is unknown.
Methods: We created a simulation model parameterized using person-level longitudinal data to assess the benefits of flexible monitoring frequencies. Our data-driven model tracked human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals for 10 years following ART initiation. We optimized the interval between viral load tests as a function of patients' age, gender, education, duration since ART initiation, adherence behavior, and the cost-effectiveness threshold. We compared the cost-effectiveness of the personalized monitoring strategies to fixed monitoring intervals every 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months.
Results: Shorter fixed VL monitoring intervals yielded increasing benefits (6.034 to 6.221 discounted quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs] per patient with monitoring every 24 to 1 month over 10 years, respectively, standard error = 0.005 QALY), at increasing average costs: US$3445 (annual monitoring) to US$5393 (monthly monitoring) per patient, respectively (standard error = US$3.7). The adaptive policy optimized for low-income contexts achieved 6.142 average QALYs at a cost of US$3524, similar to the fixed 12-month policy (6.135 QALYs, US$3518). The adaptive policy optimized for middle-income resource settings yields 0.008 fewer QALYs per person, but saves US$204 compared to monitoring every 3 months.
Conclusions: The benefits from implementing adaptive vs fixed VL monitoring policies increase with the availability of resources. In low- and middle-income countries, adaptive policies achieve similar outcomes to simpler, fixed-interval policies.
Treatment decisions and mortality in HIV-positive presumptive smear-negative TB in the Xpert™ MTB/RIF era: a cohort study.
Hermans SM, Babirye JA, Mbabazi O, Kakooza F, Colebunders R, Castelnuovo B, Sekaggya-Wiltshire C, Parkes-Ratanshi R, Manabe YC. BMC Infect Dis. 2017 Jun 16;17(1):433. doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2534-2.
Background: The Xpert™ MTB/RIF (XP) has a higher sensitivity than sputum smear microscopy (70% versus 35%) for TB diagnosis and has been endorsed by the WHO for TB high burden countries to increase case finding among HIV co-infected presumptive TB patients. Its impact on the diagnosis of smear-negative TB in a routine care setting is unclear. We determined the change in diagnosis, treatment and mortality of smear-negative presumptive TB with routine use of Xpert™ MTB/RIF (XP).
Methods: Prospective cohort study of HIV-positive smear-negative presumptive TB patients during a 12-month period after XP implementation in a well-staffed and trained integrated TB/HIV clinic in Kampala, Uganda. Prior to testing clinicians were asked to decide whether they would treat empirically prior to Xpert™ result; actual treatment was decided upon receipt of the XP result. We compared empirical and XP-informed treatment decisions and all-cause mortality in the first year.
Results: Of 411 smear-negative presumptive TB patients, 175 (43%) received an XP; their baseline characteristics did not differ. XP positivity was similar in patients with a pre-XP empirical diagnosis and those without (9/29 [17%] versus 14/142 [10%], P = 0.23). Despite XP testing high levels of empirical treatment prevailed (18%), although XP results did change who ultimately was treated for TB. When adjusted for CD4 count, empirical treatment was not associated with higher mortality compared to no or microbiologically confirmed treatment.
Conclusions: XP usage was lower than expected. The lower sensitivity of XP in smear-negative HIV-positive patients led experienced clinicians to use XP as a "rule-in" rather than "rule-out" test, with the majority of patients still treated empirically.
Keywords: Empirical treatment; HIV Infections/complications; Molecular diagnostic techniques/methods; Tuberculosis, pulmonary/diagnosis; Tuberculosis, pulmonary/epidemiology
School and household tuberculosis contact investigations in Swaziland: Active TB case finding in a high HIV/TB burden setting.
Ustero PA, Kay AW, Ngo K, Golin R, Tsabedze B, Mzileni B,Glickman J, Wisile Xaba M, Mavimbela G, Mandalakas AM. PLoS One. 2017 Jun 5;12(6):e0178873. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178873.eCollection 2017.
Background: Investigation of household contacts exposed to infectious tuberculosis (TB) is widely recommended by international guidelines to identify secondary cases of TB and limit spread. There is little data to guide the use of contact investigations outside of the household, despite strong evidence that most TB infections occur outside of the home in TB high burden settings. In older adolescents, the majority of infections are estimated to occur in school. Therefore, as part of a project to increase active case finding in Swaziland, we performed school contact investigations following the identification of a student with infectious TB.
Methods: The Butimba Project identified 7 adolescent TB index cases (age 10-20) with microbiologically confirmed disease attending 6 different schools between June 2014 and March 2015. In addition to household contact investigations, Butimba Project staff worked with the Swaziland School Health Programme (SHP) to perform school contact investigations. At 6 school TB screening events, between May and October 2015, selected students underwent voluntary TB screening and those with positive symptom screens provided sputum for TB testing.
Results: Among 2015 student contacts tested, 177 (9%) screened positive for TB symptoms, 132 (75%) produced a sputum sample, of which zero tested positive for TB. Household contact investigations of the same index cases yielded 40 contacts; 24 (60%) screened positive for symptoms; 19 produced a sputum sample, of which one case was confirmed positive for TB. The odds ratio of developing TB following household vs. school contact exposure was significantly lower (OR 0.0, 95% CI 0.0 to 0.18, P = 0.02) after exposure in school.
Conclusion: School-based contact investigations require further research to establish best practices in TB high burden settings. In this case, a symptom-based screening approach did not identify additional cases of tuberculosis. In comparison, household contact investigations yielded a higher percentage of contacts with positive TB screens and an additional tuberculosis case.
HPV serostatus pre- and post-vaccination in a randomized phase II preparedness trial among young Western Cape, South African women: the EVRI trial.
Sudenga SL, Torres BN, Botha MH, Zeier M, Abrahamsen ME, Glashoff RH, Engelbrecht S, Schim Van der Loeff MF, Van der Laan LE, Kipping S, Taylor D, Giuliano AR. Papillomavirus Res. 2017 Jun;3:50-56. doi: 10.1016/j.pvr.2017.02.001. Epub 2017 Feb 16.
Background: HPV antibodies are a marker of past exposure to the virus. Our objective was to assess HPV serostatus pre- and post-vaccination among HIV-negative women.
Methods: Women aged 16-24 years old were randomized in a placebo controlled trial utilizing the 4-valent HPV (4vHPV) vaccine (NCT01489527, clinicaltrials.gov). Participants (n=389) received the 4vHPV vaccine or placebo following a three dose schedule. Sera were collected at Day 1 and Month 7 for assessment of HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 neutralizing antibody levels using a multiplex competitive Luminex immunoassay (Merck) based on detecting the L1 capsid antigen for each HPV type.
Results: Seroprevalence was 73% for HPV6, 47% for HPV11, 33% for HPV16, and 44% for HPV18. Seroprevalence for any HPV type did not significantly differ by age or lifetime number of partners. The majority of participants (64%) had two or more 4vHPV antibodies present at enrollment and 12% had antibodies to all four. Among women in the vaccine arm, those that were seropositive for HPV16 at enrollment had higher titers at month 7 compared to women that were seronegative for HPV16 at enrollment; this trend holds for the other HPV types as well. Seroconversion among baseline seronegative participants in the placebo group ranged from 5% for HPV16 to 23% for HPV6.
Conclusion: HPV seroprevalence was high in this population, emphasizing the need to vaccinate prior to sexual debut.
The performance of human papillomavirus biomarkers in predicting anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in gay and bisexual men.
Jin F, Roberts JM, Grulich AE, Poynten IM, Machalek DA, Cornall A, Phillips S, Ekman D, McDonald RL, Hillman RJ, Templeton DJ, Farnsworth A, Garland SM, Fairley CK, Tabrizi SN; SPANC Research Team. AIDS. 2017 Jun 1;31(9):1303-1311. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001462.
Background: We evaluate the performance of human papillomavirus (HPV) biomarkers in prediction of anal histological high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Sydney, Australia.
Design: Baseline analysis of a 3-year cohort study.
Methods: The study of the prevention of anal cancer is natural history study of anal HPV infection in GBM aged at least 35 years. All participants completed cytological and histological assessments. Stored ThinPrep PreservCyt residua were tested for HPV genotyping (Linear Array and Cobas 4800) and viral load, E6/E7 mRNA expression (NucliSENS easyQ HPV v1) and dual cytology staining of p16/Ki 67 antibodies (CINtecPLUS). Performance of each biomarker was compared with liquid-based anal cytology. The hypothetical referral rates were defined as the proportion of men who had abnormal cytology or tested positive to each of the biomarkers.
Results: The median age of the 617 participants was 49 years (range: 35-79), and 35.7% were HIV-positive. All biomarkers were strongly associated with the grade of HPV-associated anal lesions (P < 0.001 for all). High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) viral load with a 33% cut-off and HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA had similar sensitivity to anal cytology (78.4 and 75.4 vs. 83.2%, respectively), improved specificity (68.0 and 69.4 vs. 52.4%, respectively) and lower referral rates (47.0 and 45.0 vs. 59.2%, respectively). Specificity was significantly higher in the HIV-negative for HR-HPV viral load (72.3 vs. 58.2%, P = 0.005).
Conclusion: HR-HPV viral load and E6/E7 mRNA had similar sensitivity and higher specificity in predicting histological anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion with lower referrals in GBM than anal cytology.
Categories: Cancers, Comorbidity, Economic modelling, HIV testing, HIV Treatment, Key populations
Related Regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania
Related Countries: Australia, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Is a “cure” unrealistic? Long-term remission or maintenance might be the real target for basic scientists
Editor’s notes: News from the Paris IAS conference about the prospects for a cure for HIV was rather sombre this year. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID presented a special session in which he suggested that a true “cure” that could be widely used was likely to prove impossible, and that we should think more in terms of long-term remission in the absence of ART. He outlined a vision in which the increasing number of broadly neutralizing antibodies and the discovery of more and more potent antibodies might eventually allow for “maintenance treatment” with subcutaneous antibody injections every few months.
Harper’s commentary lays out some of the amazing steps forward over the past decade in understanding how the reservoir of HIV is formed. We have all heard of CD4 cells, but a much rarer type of lymphocyte, labelled as CD32, seems to be a key target into which HIV integrates. This allows scientists to develop new ways to measure the reservoir and also to begin to determine which cells are involved in establishing and maintaining the reservoir that makes HIV so hard to cure.
Montserrat et al. also provide a sobering result. They showed that as expected the size of the HIV reservoir (as measured by the amount of integrated HIV DNA) falls during long term antiretroviral therapy (ART). When ART is interrupted, HIV begins to replicate and both viral load and the HIV reservoir rebound. Now they have shown that when ART is restarted after the planned interruption, HIV replication falls promptly, but the HIV reservoir seems to remain high. This may mean that interruption of ART (including in trials of possible long-term remission) may lead to resetting the clock and losing some of the benefits of the long period of HIV treatment prior to the interruption.
HIV reservoirs in children have been less studied than those in adults. So the study by Foster et al. is a useful contribution showing that early ART does lead to a smaller reservoir in children too. This has implications not only for future attempts to “cure” or induce long term remission. It also reduces the pool of variability of the virus in the child, which may make future HIV treatment more straightforward and perhaps reduce the likelihood of developing resistance. It ties in somewhat with another excitement from Paris, which was the report of a child who after early ART had now been in remission with undetectable viral load for more than a decade without taking further ART. There was still evidence of viral DNA, so we cannot talk of cure, but understanding how some children (and adults) are able to control HIV replication after treatment provides an important avenue to explore. Nonetheless, it is crucial to remember that these cases remain very rare, and we should be careful not to encourage false hopes that might lead to people stopping their ART. This should only be done in the context of a very carefully controlled clinical trial situation where close monitoring is available to restart treatment as soon as the virus rebounds.
Impact of long-term antiretroviral therapy interruption and resumption on viral reservoir in HIV-1 infected patients.
Montserrat M, Plana M, Guardo AC, Andrés C, Climent N, Gallart T, Leal L,Gatell JM, Sánchez-Palomino S, García F. AIDS. 2017 Aug 24;31(13):1895-1897. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001560. Epub 2017 Jun 5.
We assessed if the increase on viral reservoir after long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption (ATI) is reversible upon ART resumption in chronic HIV-1 infected patients. Total HIV-1 DNA increased to pre-ART levels after 48 weeks of ATI to return to pre-ATI levels after 104 weeks of ART resumption. Conversely, integrated HIV-1 DNA remained elevated after ART reinitiation. These data suggest that the increase in reservoir after long-term ART discontinuation might not be reversible at mid-term.
Early antiretroviral therapy reduces HIV DNA following perinatal HIV infection.
Foster C, Pace M, Kaye S, Hopkins E, Jones M, Robinson N, Fidler S, Frater J; CHERUB Investigators. AIDS. 2017 Aug 24;31(13):1847-1851. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001565. Epub 2017 Jun
The impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the size of the HIV reservoir has implications for virological remission in adults, but is not well characterised in perinatally acquired infection (PaHIV). In a prospective observational study of 20 children with PaHIV and sustained viral suppression on ART for >5 years, proviral DNA was significantly higher in deferred (>4 years) versus early (first year of life) ART recipients (p = 0.0062), and correlated with age of initiation (p = 0.13; r = 0.57). No difference was seen in cell-associated viral RNA (p = 0.36). Identifying paediatric populations with smaller reservoirs may inform strategies with potential to induce ART-free remission.
Categories: HIV reservoirs, HIV Treatment
HIV drug resistance – a manageable risk or the harbinger of a “massive second global wave”?
Editor’s notes: The Paris conference also saw the launch of the WHO report and action plan on HIV drug resistance. Laurie Garret writing in Business Insider invoked drug resistance as one of the elements that could lead to a devastating reversal in progress against HIV. Inevitably with increasing scale up of ART, drug resistance levels will begin to rise. In the absence of robust laboratory systems to detect virological failure, the risk is that drug resistance will continue to rise and could threaten progress in some countries. Detection and accurate diagnosis of drug resistance is routine in well-resourced health systems, but still needs to be developed in many of the countries most affected. While switching to a standard second line regimen provides a public health approach, there will be increasing need for tailored treatment and this requires both strong laboratory systems for sequencing relevant genes, but also good bioinformatic approaches to predict the optimum treatment regimen.
Svard et al. used a split genotyping procedure to explore resistance in people failing HIV treatment in Tanzania. This term is used to describe a procedure where the nucleic acid amplification, which requires less sophisticated laboratory systems, is performed locally. The amplified product was then sent to Sweden, where the sequencing and bioinformatics was performed. Tanzania does not yet have widespread access to viral load testing, so treatment failure is defined using the WHO clinical and immunological criteria. In this study, it became clear that as many as two thirds of people thought to be failing treatment were probably not failing virologically, and so were at risk of being changed onto second (or third) line treatments unnecessarily. So the priority should clearly be to establish viral load assays to use to detect treatment failure and to make appropriate switches in treatment. For the minority where failure was truly associated with a raised viral load, resistance mutations showed that people with failure on first line treatment often had viruses that were also resistant to second generation NNRTIs. Current standard second line treatment in Tanzania is with a PI based regimen. Among the first line failure cases, the probability predicted by the bioinformatics for successful second line treatment was around 85% using the medicines registered in Tanzania, which would improve to 95% if all current medicines were available. For people with second-line failure, the corresponding proportions were 79% and 94% respectively.
Inzaule et al. also reported on drug resistance in East Africa. They too showed that one in four patients failing second line treatment across Kenya could not be treated effectively with the medicines currently registered in Kenya.
While drug resistance is certainly a threat to the success of ART programmes, it is important to remember that resistance can be minimised by paying close attention to supporting those on treatment to maximize adherence. Viral load assays need to be cheaper, simpler and more widely available to prevent unnecessary switching. The results of the recent population-based HIV impact assessments (PHIA) are somewhat reassuring. In random population-based surveys in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, 87%-91% of people taking ART had a suppressed viral load. And in these three countries, the large majority of people are still taking first line treatment and viral load assays are not routinely available. “Alert but not alarmed” was the message from the WHO press release accompanying their report.
Drug resistance testing through remote genotyping and predicted treatment options in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected Tanzanian subjects failing first or second line antiretroviral therapy.
Svärd J, Mugusi S, Mloka D, Neogi U, Meini G, Mugusi F,Incardona F, Zazzi M, Sönnerborg A. PLoS One. 2017 Jun 5;12(6):e0178942. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178942. eCollection 2017.
Introduction: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been successfully introduced in low-middle income countries. However an increasing rate of ART failure with resistant virus is reported. We therefore described the pattern of drug resistance mutations at antiretroviral treatment (ART) failure in a real-life Tanzanian setting using the remote genotyping procedure and thereafter predicted future treatment options using rule-based algorithm and the EuResist bioinformatics predictive engine. According to national guidelines, the default first-line regimen is tenofovir + lamivudine + efavirenz, but variations including nevirapine, stavudine or emtricitabine can be considered. If failure on first-line ART occurs, a combination of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and boosted lopinavir or atazanavir is recommended.
Materials and methods: Plasma was obtained from subjects with first (n = 174) or second-line (n = 99) treatment failure, as defined by clinical or immunological criteria, as well as from a control group of ART naïve subjects (n = 17) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Amplification of the pol region was performed locally and the amplified DNA fragment was sent to Sweden for sequencing (split genotyping procedure). The therapeutic options after failure were assessed by the genotypic sensitivity score and the EuResist predictive engine. Viral load was quantified in a subset of subjects with second-line failure (n = 52).
Results: The HIV-1 pol region was successfully amplified from 55/174 (32%) and 28/99 (28%) subjects with first- or second-line failure, respectively, and 14/17 (82%) ART-naïve individuals. HIV-1 pol sequence was obtained in 82 of these 97 cases (84.5%). Undetectable or very low (<2.6 log10 copies/10-3 L) viral load explained 19 out of 25 (76%) amplification failures in subjects at second-line ART failure. At first and second line failure, extensive accumulation of NRTI (88% and 73%, respectively) and NNRTI (93% and 73%, respectively) DRMs but a limited number of PI DRMs (11% at second line failure) was observed. First line failure subjects displayed a high degree of cross-resistance to second-generation NNRTIs etravirine (ETR; 51% intermediate and 9% resistant) and rilpivirine (RPV; 12% intermediate and 58% resistant), and to abacavir (ABC; 49% resistant) which is reserved for second line therapy in Tanzania. The predicted probability of success with the best salvage regimen at second-line failure decreased from 93.9% to 78.7% when restricting access to the NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs currently available in Tanzania compared to when including all approved drugs.
Discussion: The split genotyping procedure is a potential tool to analyse drug resistance in Tanzania but the sensitivity should be evaluated further. The lack of viral load monitoring likely results in a high false positive rate of treatment failures, unnecessary therapy switches and massive accumulation of NRTI and NNRTI mutations. The introduction of regular virological monitoring should be prioritized and integrated with drug resistance studies in resource limited settings.
Emergence of untreatable, multidrug-resistant HIV-1 in patients failing second-line therapy in Kenya.
Inzaule SC, Hamers RL, Mukui I, Were K, Owiti P, Kwaro D, Rinke de Wit TF, Zeh C. AIDS. 2017 Jun 19;31(10):1495-1498. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001500.
We performed a countrywide assessment of HIV drug resistance among 123 patients with virological failure on second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Kenya. The percentage of patients harbouring intermediate-to-high-level resistance was 27% for lopinavir-ritonavir, 24% for atazanavir-ritonavir and 7% for darunavir-ritonavir, and 25% had complete loss of activity to all available first and second-line drugs. Overall, one in four patients failing second-line ART have completely exhausted available antiretrovirals in Kenya, highlighting the need for increased access to third-line drugs.
Categories: HIV treatment/drug resistance
Related Countries: Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania
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Plans (drawings) (34)
Memorandums (32)
Sculptors (42)
Mural painting and decoration (36)
Artists' studios (30)
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Refregier, Anton, 1905- (8)
Zorach, William (8)
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Greenberg, Clement (7)
Lipchitz, Jacques (7)
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Mall, The (Washington, D.C.) (5)
Query: Federal Art Project -- Photographs
Fox Movie Flash
Selle, Joseph, 1906-1988
Rose, Bob
The collection documents the professional activities of Joseph Selle (1906-1988), a photographer and proprietor of Fox Movie Flash, a street photography business in San Francisco, California. There are a few documents relating to Selle's personal life, but the bulk of the papers relate to his street photography business. Most of the documents date from between 1945 and 1975 and include insurance papers, correspondence, legal documents, receipts, tax records, cashbooks, employment applications, newspaper clippings, licenses and permits, payroll materials, and bank statements, as well as samples of photographs from the business.
Smithsonian Institution, Office of the Secretary
Record Unit 45
Director's Records
Smithsonian Institution, Office of Exhibits Central
1.5 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (1 document box)
This accession consists of records documenting the administration and management of the Office of Exhibits Central by Director Michael A. Headley (1995- ). In particular, the records document projects, safety, relations with other units, and a museum training program in Ghana. Some materials were created by Headley prior to his promotion to ...
African Postcard Collection
National Museum of African Art (U.S.)
1898-[ongoing]
EEPA.1985-014
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
This collection includes postcards from 45 African countries. Subjects include agriculture; animals; artists; body arts; cityscapes; cultural landscapes; dance; education; expeditions; flora; industry; leaders; marketplaces; medicine; military; missionaries; music; portraits; recreation; rites and ceremonies; and transportation, among many other topics.
These records document the administrative activities of the Office of the Secretary during the tenure of Ira Michael Heyman, Secretary (1994-1999). They document the expansion and development of the Institution, its museums, programs, projects, research activities, and significant events. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, reports, ...
10.49 linear meters and oversize.
June 16-September 6, 1976
Smithsonian Institution, Office of Museum Programs
These records document the operations of the Office of Museum Programs (OMP) and its work in the museum community. Of special interest are records of the Kellogg Project, funded by the Kellogg Foundation in an effort to expand the educational influence of museums.
National Museum of American History. Division of Science, Medicine and Society
This accession consists of the records of Jon B. Eklund, curator of chemistry and computers, which document his exhibition planning, development and production activities in the Division of Science, Medicine and Society and during the years when he was in the Division of Information Technology and Society; the Division of Computers, Informatio...
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At six campuses across Texas, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health works to improve the state of public health in Texas every day. Each of our campuses is strategically placed to meet the public health education and research needs of the diverse populations across Texas. UTHealth School of Public Health is the only school of public health in the nation with regional campuses.
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Coalition Strikes Destroy 168 Daesh Oil Trucks Near Syria’s Palmyra
© REUTERS / U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew Bruch/Handout
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612091048374987-daesh-oil-trucks/
US-led coalition airstrikes near the Syrian city of Palmyra destroyed 168 Daesh oil tanker trucks Thursday, the Operation Inherent Resolve joint task force said in a press release.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The task force called the bombardment its largest airstrike in the operation to date.
"The Coalition is systematically targeting ISIL-affiliated [Daesh-affiliated] oil infrastructure to eliminate millions of dollars in potential revenue," Friday’s release stated. "This most recent strike resulted in estimated lost revenue of more than $2 million."
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
Syrian Jets Smash Daesh Oil Tanker Trucks in Series of Raids
In recent months, coalition strikes have destroyed dozens of Islamic State oil assets in Iraq and Syria, draining one of the group’s largest sources of revenue.
In August, Iraqi forces backed by the coalition recaptured the strategic Qayyarah oil field, which the Islamic State had controlled since 2014.
At the height of its power in 2014, the Islamic State was estimated to make $700,000 a day from illicit oil sales, according to the Iraq Energy Institute.
Iraqi Troops Kill Daesh 'Oil Minister' of Nineveh Province in Mosul
Daesh Turns to Cigarette Smuggling as Oil Revenue Dries Up
US-Led Coalition Airstrikes Destroy Daesh Oil Assets in Syria
oil smuggling, US-led coalition, Daesh, United States
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Broken Sword: Record Number of Penis Fractures Detected in Britain
The increase in penile injuries is reportedly down to older Britons using Viagra to maintain their sexual activity, or possibly people trying more risky positions after watching porn.
Man Needs Medical Help After Suffering a Three-Day Erection Caused by 'Viagra for Bulls' - Report
The unfortunate “Viagra for bulls” user reportedly said that he purchased the stimulant in order to have sex with a 30-year old lady.
Christ Bearer: Wu-Tang Clan Rapper Gets Married Years After Chopping Off His Own Penis
Not all artists leave a footprint in pop culture and some must resort to more radical measures. Andre Johnson will go down in history as the rapper who chopped off his most prized member.
A Perfect Wing Woman: Ariana Grande Compliments ASAP Rocky’s Penis Amid Sex Tape Rumours
Many believe that Rocky was the man in a viral sex tape leaked online this week; the male protagonist in the tape has drawn some criticism from female viewers.
Surf's Up! Internet Throbbing as Swarms of 'Penis Fish' Invade California Beach
Just when you thought 2019 had nothing else to offer and it was safe to go back in the water, powerful storms exposed an eyeful of phallic marine worms in Northern California, where untold thousands were spotted on a beach. Word has it that they are very chewy.
Size Matters: Jason Derulo Reportedly Offered $500,000 for Getting More Publicity for His Junk
Some netizens urged Derulo to take up the offer, while others bemoaned the fact that they don't pack as much meat as he apparently does.
Too Much Love: Amorous Duck Loses His Penis Due to Excessive Sexcapades
Despite being deprived of such a sensitive anatomical part, the duck will be able to lead a “completely normal life” in the future, said the vet who operated on the bird.
Indonesia Seeks to Draw Tourists with Traditional Penis-Boosting Massages
Indonesia has proven once again that it is indeed a pro when it comes to alternative treatments, as it offers massages… no, not to soothe an aching back (or perhaps, not only that), but rather to enlarge a person’s manhood.
British Man Almost Dies From Penis Parasite After Swimming in African Lake - Report
In August 2017, during a swim on a holiday in southeast Africa, James Michael unknowingly became the host to a parasite which quickly began to deteriorate his health and threaten his life after he returned to the UK.
'FFS’: Netizens Divided as World’s First Vagina Museum to Open in UK
The venue appears to be a gender-specific alternative to the Penis Museum in Iceland that will readily provide infotainment on subjects that have universally been viewed as “taboo”.
India's Most Wanted Poacher Who Ate Bear Penis to Boost Virility Arrested
New Delhi (Sputnik): A notorious poacher who has a bizarre obsession with eating sloth bears penises after killing them has been arrested again after absconding for six years.
Woman Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Cutting off Lover’s Penis With Garden Shears Amid Sex Game
Brenda Barattini, 28, has made headlines as an Argentinian Lorena Bobbitt after she took revenge on her partner for sharing a sex video and photos of her with friends, thereby demeaning and turning her into a sex object, as the woman explained. The victim, who lost 90% of his penis and a testicle in the attack, complains that he fears women now.
Gang Suspected of Selling Cocaine in Plastic Penises Busted in Argentina
The alleged drug dealers used an elaborate cover by hiding cocaine in phallic containers and selling them in the red light district of a city near the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. They are also said to have come up with a code language to communicate with their clients, calling various weights a “grandmother” or a “baby”.
Scorned US Man Allegedly Cuts Off Neighbor’s Penis, Steals it Over Affair With Wife
After allegedly catching his wife having an affair, a Florida man flew off the handle and confronted the other man, holding him at gunpoint while he used a pair of scissors to cut off the lover’s penis.
One Direction Fans Roast HBO Show For Animated Harry Styles-Louis Tomlinson Oral Sex Scene
HBO's new teen drama has generated loads of buzz and controversy due to depictions of drug use and sex, with the second episode of the show featuring a bajillion penises in one scene.
C**k On Cake? Fans Mistake Mo Salah's Gift From Egypt Team for X-Rated Item
The forward linked up with the national team before the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this week. After a stunning win in the Champions League final with Liverpool, Salah was given extended time off.
Giant Penis Mowed Into Lawn Near UK Airport Where Trump Landed (GRAPHIC PHOTO)
Even before the US president managed to set foot on British soil, some locals attempted to give him a hard time with a rude message on climate change. Theresa May, in turn, is expected to challenge Trump on his denial of climate change during his three-day state visit to the UK.
Donald Trump's State Visit to the UK
Low Blow: Crocodile Bites Fisherman's Penis Off, Kills Him
Commenting on this crocodile attack, local authorities warned people to exercise caution when near waters infested with these dangerous reptiles.
Penis Enlargement Surgery Leads to Erectile Dysfunction, Permanent Disfigurement
Most penis enlargement procedures in the UK are carried out by private health providers - the NHS only provides the service for clinical rather than cosmetic reasons, such as repairing a body affected by trauma.
UNDEREDUCATED Men Typically Suffer From PENIS Cancer - Urologist on Bolsonaro's Remarks
Bolsonaro’s recently voiced idea about the insufficient use of hygienic means to prevent penis cancer from developing has met whole-hearted approval in the Brazilian medical and scientific community.
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The St Albans Striders membership year runs from April to March each year, concurrent with the England Athletics membership year.
The cost for club membership for the full year or any part of it is £27. If you have volunteered at a Striders event between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 then you are eligible for volunteer membership at the discounted rate of £17.
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weekly report 10 Nov
The highlight of this weekend’s running was the second round of the Chiltern League Cross Country, held at Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes.
Striders’ James McMurray was the overall winner of the Senior Men’s race, with a time of 30:09 over a tough course made even more tricky by the extremely wet and muddy conditions. For the women, first Striders home were Megan Steer in 25:51 and Wendy Walsh in 26:01.
For the Juniors, Antonia Jubb and Lily Tse were first and second in the Under-15 Girls category and Christina Durbin 5th in the Under 17/Under-20 race. James Moore was 6th in the Under-17 category and Oscar Loveday 2nd in the Under-15 race.
Overall, St Albans are now fifth out of 14 clubs, with the men in third place and the women seventh overall.
Elsewhere, Paul Earnshaw got back to racing with his daughter Natalie in his first race of the year, completing the iconic 20km Berhobia to San Sebastian race in NW Spain in 2hr 01, despite his injured knee.
Away from racing, this weekend also saw Striders Annual Awards dinner.
The Club was proud to induct Deb Steer into its Hall of Fame. Deb has an amazing record as a member of the club for over 20 years. She first ran the London Marathon in 2001, which was the first of her 14 consecutive outings in that iconic event. In 2009 she achieved her best time of 2hrs 54. She is the 18th fastest V50 marathon runner of all time in the UK. She holds 15 club records on the road and the track at various distances and categories. Following some troublesome injuries, she is now back on the hunt for marathon glory, completing the Southampton Marathon in 3:34 to qualify for London next year.
Meanwhile Strider of the Year, the award for all round contribution to the Club, was this year won by Bernadette Newby - a very popular choice reflecting her enthusiastic and cheerful contributions as a runner, volunteer, committee member and race director.
Copyright © 2020 St Albans Striders. All rights reserved.
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U.S. Offering $15 Million for Info on Iranian Planner of 2007 Karbala Attack that Killed 5 U.S. Troops
U.S. Offering $15 Million for Info on Iranian Planner of 2007 Karbala Attack that Killed 5 U.S. Troops by Shawn Snow – Military Times
The U.S. State Department announced Thursday it was offering $15 million for information related to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Commander who planned one of the most sophisticated attacks against coalition troops in Iraq, killing five soldiers in 2007.
Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative on Iran , told reporters Thursday during a press briefing that the $15 million reward was for information on financial activities, networks and associates of Yemen-based IRGC-Qods Force commander Abdul Reza Shahlai.
The bounty is not for Shalai’s death or capture…
Trump Says He Doesn’t Consider Brain Injuries Sustained By US Troops During Iran Missile Barrage ‘Serious’ by Military Times
Missing Defense Department Documents Get Renewed Focus In Trump Impeachment Trial by Defense News
Libya Is Dead by The National Interest
Iran Expands Support for Taliban, Targets US Troops in Afghanistan by Washington Times
Interservice Rivalries: A Force For Good by Defense News
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This Facebook Deal is Too Big! This Parakey Deal is Too Small! Maybe They’re Both Just Right…
Posted by Bob Warfield on September 25, 2007
Everyone needs to be careful what they wish for, lest they get it. There’s a buzz in the blogosphere over two deals, one that many think is way too big and one that seems to raise the ire as being way too small. Ironically, both involve Facebook. You know things are a bit frothy when you can simultaneously generate many TechMeme hits around the same property, and when the hits are not that interesting. Although what passes for popular gossip is often uninteresting.
Let’s start with the deal that was too small. Michael Arrington tells us that Parakey’s investors got a bad deal because they sold the company to Facebook for chump change of “less than $4M”, and they didn’t even get shares, they got cash. Meanwhile the founders of Parakey got “handsome stock options”. Apparently the invested got a 2x return after 6 months. I’ve no doubt the investors were disappointed at the time, but their disappointment at the present is completely irrelevant.
Why? Play it back without the 20/20 hindsight. The investors accepted a 2x return after 6 months. That is well what they need to get to make their numbers. Check out Will Price’s excellent post to understand why VC’s want 10x multiples. Worse, they want 10x after a couple of years when it’s 10x on several rounds, not 10x after a few months on very little capital invested. Now granted there were angels involved, but mighty Sequoia was also involved. Let me tell you, those guys are smart. They did not get taken advantage of here, at least not in their minds at the time the deal was struck.
That’s not to say Sequoia was wholly enamored of the deal, only the insiders know for sure whether:
– Sequoia had lost confidence/interest in Parakey.
– Parakey’s founders told their investors they were moving on to Facebook in any event. The acquisition purely salvaged some value for the investors.
– Investors and Founders became convinced Facebook would crush Parakey if they didn’t give in to being acquired. Convincing the acquiree of such an eventuality is very typical in tech M&A situations.
As for the founders getting “handsome stock options”, hello? They got a job. Jobs in Tech carry stock options. Yes, those options appear to be worth an incredible fortune now that Microsoft is tickling the value of Facebook, but who knew back then. The options still have to finish vesting, and Facebook has to generate a liquidity event before they’re worth anything.
I’ve been involved in a lot of M&A activity in the software world, and deals like this are pretty common. At Borland, we used to look for companies that had great technology but failed marketing. The usual formula was to pay the investors similarly to Parakey and give the employees jobs. Most of the time, everyone was happy about it because great technologies found a real marketing channel where they could finally succeed.
In short, it’s silly to kvetch about the Parakey deal. This is why Wall Steet says we ought not to look back on stock trades. We all have a list of those things we should have done. So what?
The more interesting chess game is Microsoft’s rumored offer to invest in Facebook at an astounding valuation. Apparently they’d like to acquire a 5% stake and are willing to give up circa $500M for it. This churns up a lot of questions: Why would Microsoft want this? Why would Facebook want it? Is Facebook worth $10B, let alone the $15B they’re rumored to be asking for as a counter?
Let’s start with Microsoft. First, they need to find ways to stop the Google freight train from taking over the Internet completely while they get their act together. Remember, Microsoft historically needs 3 releases for that to happen. I’ve lost track of which release of their Internet strategy they’re on, but the Internet is not a product, so may require even more releases. I would count Microsoft’s first Internet release as the browser wars, wherein they thought of the Internet as a product and fought Netscape hard to win the browser wars. Now they have the leading browser but its entirely unclear how that monetizes. But we digress.
Facebook is the hottest available property right now, so making a 5% investment would give them some ability to interfere with Google taking it over while Microsoft figures out what to do. Remember, they still have $21B of cash in the bank and generate a staggering $17B of cash flow each year. If you had to deploy the astounding cash flows at Microsoft (and they dont’), $500M represents about a week and a half out of the year. How many properties are as interesting to spend it on as Facebook when looked at as a week and a half?
GOOG does okay too, but Microsoft will win a cash bidding war. Yahoo, meanwhile, is completely out of the game on these kinds of numbers. It’s hard to imagine this had anything to do with slowing Yahoo down.
What’s the Microsoft downside?
They can potentially make a return on a $500M investment or not. They don’t care. Look at their cash situation again. Microsoft practically has to bury cash to keep investors from shaking them down to distribute it as bigger dividends. They are almost too profitable.
They can end up buying Facebook. If it looks right, why not? I bet they wait until some catalyzing even takes place though. Meanwhile, 5% may give them visibility inside Facebook they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
They can keep others from buying Facebook. That’s the nightmare scenario, that a competitor + Facebook can lock Microsoft out of further Internet growth. $500M is cheap insurance to avoid that.
Okay, we can sort of see how it makes sense to Microsoft. It boils down to the rich having so much money that prices don’t matter versus aspirations and strategies.
On to Facebook. Their aspiration is likely to go public. They want to be the next Google. This deal is great for that. They get a bunch of fresh capital to fund further expansion–you can buy a lot of Parakeys to launch into your channel for that! They get a head start setting a huge valuation on their company for the public markets. Will Microsoft interfere with their going public? I would think not. Seems like its easier for Microsoft to acquire them after they are public, all things depending of course. It certainly would have been harder for Larry Ellison to buy PeopleSoft had they been private.
This brings us to our next question: is Facebook really worth $10B? Very unclear from this transaction. Microsoft has a vested interest in driving the price up. Indeed, at one point Oracle told SAP and others they could and would pay crazy prices for acqusitions. The answer to the real value of Facebook will have little to do with mundane issues, however. It has to do with predicting the future. If Facebook continues for long enough on their current meteoric trajectory, they will indeed be worth $10B or even more. Waiting a little longer to see is another good reason for a company like Microsoft to invest in 5% and not the whole enchilada. Growth curves can often flatten out when you least expect it.
Fred Wilson says this isn’t about setting a real price at all. It’s about Facebook selecting a strategic partner and charging them a premium for it. Fred sees it as similar to moves AOL made. He’s right. It is a strategic partnering opportunity, and from that perspective, Microsoft looks a better/safer partner than Google, who wants to build a competing network. The strategic partner angle is also why Apple makes a bad partner, despite what Scoble thinks. Yes, they are the l33t style leaders, and they have a vocal community, but it is largely an island. Such a partnership offers more to Apple than Facebook.
Om Malik gets it with his “put option” concept, but I think he’s wrong to say Microsoft will never sell advertising anywhere else. Where was the advertising going anyway? Smaller players will always want to play with grown-up Microsoft. Most of the bigger players are choosing up sides against each other. Here Microsoft is at least gaining a dance partner.
Getting back to what you wish for, I’d say all parties are getting what they wished for at the time of the transaction on both deals. Be careful what you wish for…
This entry was posted on September 25, 2007 at 4:29 pm and is filed under business, strategy, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Responses to “This Facebook Deal is Too Big! This Parakey Deal is Too Small! Maybe They’re Both Just Right…”
Investing » This Facebook Deal is Too Big! This Parakey Deal is Too Small … said
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe more interesting chess game is Microsoft’s rumored offer to invest in Facebook at an astounding valuation. Apparently they’d like to acquire a 5% stake and are willing to give up circa $500M for it. … […]
schlafly said
There is also the possibility that Msft is just negotiating with Facebook to understand the market better, because Msft has its own Facebook-type product in the works.
Social Network Fatigue: Different Personalities Want to Spend Time Differently « SmoothSpan Blog said
[…] I’ve said in the past it’s a brinksmanship move. Microsoft can easily afford $250M to push Facebook out of reach on total valuation. This can have interesting consequences too. It may make Facebook over confident and cause them to shoot for the moon and lose in the end. Towards that end, it is interesting the MSFT ultimately invested only half what was being talked about. I guess they aren’t completely bullish on the idea! […]
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Street Fight Innovator Awards
November 14, 2019 — Street Fight today officially announces the winners of its Innovator Awards. Spanning 12 categories that represent the top battlegrounds in local commerce, winners embody the best of innovation and achievement in these areas (full list below).
Examples include Foursquare, which takes home the award for Innovator of the Year. After reinventing its business into a location data powerhouse and acquiring attribution leader Placed this year, it has exhibited the qualities and criteria that caught the awards judges’ eyes.
Sproutloud takes home the award for Best Marketing Platform. Its distributed marketing platform runs across channels with an intuitive UX that reduces friction for brand marketers. Connected Travel likewise caught the judges’ attention for its work with Honda to implement an in-vehicle gamified experience to drive and track local commerce. It brings home the award for Most Innovative Local Search Site or Application
“Street Fight’s charter is to educate the world on the innovation and best practices in local media, advertising, and commerce,” said Mike Boland, Lead Analyst at Street Fight. “A key corollary to that mission is to recognize and award the innovators driving these sectors. We congratulate the winners and thank our panel of A-list judges for the tough job of evaluating such a strong, competitive field.”
The Innovator Awards kicked off in July and accepted invitations throughout the summer, after which a panel of five judges evaluated the submissions against pre-defined criteria within 12 categories. Winners include the above samples and the full list which can be seen below, along with more info on the judges.
Awards Categories and Winners
Best Marketing Platform: Sproutloud
Best Social Media Platform: SOCi
Best Analytics Platform: Semcasting
Best Ad Platform: Vistar Media
Best Local Campaign: Blis
Best Social Media Campaign: Tiger Pistol
Most Innovative Use of Geospatial Technology: Unacast
Most Innovative Use of Location Data: Location Sciences
Most Innovative Use of Consumer Data: Brandify
Most Innovative Use of Automation, AI, or Machine Learning: Reputation.com
Most Innovative Local Search Site or Application: Connected Travel
Innovator of the Year: Foursquare
Awards Judges
Gwen Morrison: CEO, The Americas, The Store | WPP
Jason Breazeale: Architecture and Technology Innovation, Denny’s
Dave Elliot: SVP, Marketing, True Value
Andrew Laudauto: EVP, CTO, The Vitamin Shoppe
Douglas Manning: Manager, Digital Experience, Chamberlain Group
More details and bios for the judges can be found here.
More details about the awards, winners, voting methodology, judges, submission criteria and other factors can be found below. Meanwhile, we’d like to thank all who participated and congratulate the winners. Stay tuned for lots more market coverage and innovation recognition from Street Fight.
Click on each category for more details
SF “Best” Championship
Best Marketing Platform
The best marketing platform will demonstrate clean UX and comprehensive feature set. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for ease-of-use, efficacy and cost efficiency.
Best Social Media Platform
The best social media platform will demonstrate comprehensive social media distribution and reporting. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for ease-of-use, efficacy and cost efficiency.
Best Analytics Platform
The best analytics platform will demonstrate a balance of comprehensive data inputs and clean/simple UX. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for ease-of-use, efficacy and cost efficiency.
Best Ad Platform
The best ad platform will demonstrate comprehensive campaign management features and clean UX. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for ease-of-use, efficacy and cost efficiency.
Best Payments Solution
The best payments solution will demonstrate low friction setup for merchants and dashboard UX. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for ease-of-use, efficacy and cost efficiency.
Best Local Campaign (Organic)
The best organic local campaign will demonstrate the best targeting parameters and brand consistency. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for achievement of campaign goals, quantifiable client ROI and quality creative.
Best Local Campaign (Paid)
The best paid local campaign will demonstrate the best targeting parameters and brand consistency. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for achievement of campaign goals, quantifiable client ROI and quality creative.
Best Mobile Campaign (Organic or Paid)
The best mobile campaign will demonstrate the best mobile-first targeting parameters and brand consistency. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for achievement of campaign goals, quantifiable client ROI and quality creative.
Best Social Media Campaign (Organic or Paid)
The best social media campaign will demonstrate growth in engagement and innovative use of organic or paid channels. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for achievement of campaign goals, quantifiable client ROI and quality creative.
Best Content Marketing Campaign
The best content marketing campaign will demonstrate effective strategy as well as innovative use of content channels and deployment technologies. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for achievement of campaign goals, quantifiable client ROI and quality creative.
SF “Most Innovative” Championship
Most Innovative Use of Geospatial Technology
The most innovative use of geospatial technology will demonstrate notable innovation in mapping, navigation, geographical visualization, and related areas, whether for internal purposes or for the benefit of end users. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Most Innovative Use of Location Data
The most innovative use of location data will demonstrate notable innovation in the use of location data for targeting, attribution, enrichment of UX, or any area that relates to location awareness. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Most Innovative Use of Consumer Data
The most innovative use of consumer data will demonstrate notable innovation in the areas of customized experiences, targeting, personalization, or any area that relates to consumer insight and understanding. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Most Innovative Use of Automation, AI, or Machine Learning
The most innovative use of automation, AI, or machine learning will demonstrate excellence in any application of these technologies that relates to the intersection of consumers and local businesses. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Most Innovative Local Search Site or App
The most innovative local search site or app will demonstrate significant innovation in a consumer-facing local search application. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Title Champ
Innovator of the Year
The Innovator of the Year will demonstrate an ability to think big and to deliver impressive results within their chosen solution set. This overall “best in show” award will likely be given to the applicant who demonstrates a command of two or more areas of domain expertise described within the other award categories. Consistent with the overall awards criteria, we’re also looking for creativity, fresh thinking and application of cutting-edge tech.
Application Preview
Exact Questions asked on the awards application
— Identifying information (name, title, email)
— About the company or product applying (250 words)
— Why do you believe the applicant deserves this award (250 words)
— Please provide quantifiable metrics to support the previous question (250 words)
— Additional links or file uploads to support or validate the above (optional)
Street Fight’s Past Awards Ceremony
The following criteria are what the Judges will use to evaluate each award candidates
Ease of use, as evidenced by product UI/UX design and detailed by client testimonials
Efficacy in addressing known industry challenge
Cost-efficiency: Does the solution deliver sufficient return on investment (ROI) or replace a more costly solution for the user?
Long-term potential: does it integrate with other solutions or show potential to grow its product suite; and is there a long-term need in the marketplace for this specific solution?
Innovation: For the “most innovative” categories, we’ll be looking for fresh thinking, risk-taking, and creative application of the latest technologies.
Performance against articulated campaign goals
ROI for client
Execution of campaign creative
Binding Agreement
By entering the contest through a submission on the Evalato platform (embedded forms throughout this page), you agree to these Official Rules as stated below (the “Rules”). You agree that submission of an entry in the contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. These Official Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and Street Fight with respect to the Street Fight Awards (“Contest”).
No purchase, payment or donation beyond the entry fee is necessary to enter or win; an additional purchase, payment, or donation will not increase the chance of winning. By entering, entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges, which shall be final. The Contest starts at 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, June 10, 2019, and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, July 12, 2019 (“Contest Period”). All entries must be received by that time
Who Can Enter
1. To be eligible to participate in the Contest, entrants must be age 18 or older. If the Contest winner is under age 21, contest prize may be awarded to the custodial parent(s) or legal guardian(s) pursuant to applicable law.
2. Employees of Street Fight, their subsidiaries and affiliated companies, advertising and promotion agencies and their immediate family members are ineligible. Independent contractors of Street Fight and their immediate family members are also ineligible. The term “immediate family member” includes spouses, grandparents, parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren.
3. The Contest’s judges and their affiliated companies are ineligible.
1. Qualified entrants will submit an entry form using the embedded forms on this page (the “Entry Portal”) that indicates acceptance of these rules as well as all items required for submission. In addition to submitting all required materials, an entry fee (“Entry Fee”) is required to be paid in full. No submission will be considered that is not paid for nor successfully completed. Responsibility for a completed submission lies with the entrant; no refunds will be issued under any circumstance.
2. Submission will be accepted in the above categories (“Categories”):
3. The person uploading or submitting the Entry will be deemed the entrant (“Entrant”). The Entrant is the one person who owns the email address associated with the Submission. If any group elects to collaborate on a Submission, they are required to designate one person as the Entrant who will be the agent of the group to enter the Contest, agree to the rules, and accept the prize(s). Street Fight, its affiliates, sponsors, its program partners, and any others involved in the development and/or execution of this Contest are not responsible for any disputes among collaborators related to the Contest.
4. Each Entrant agrees not to submit any Entry that infringes upon any third-party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligations, or otherwise violates applicable U.S. law. Entries violating this section of the rules may be disqualified.
5. Each Entry may not be profane, offensive, pornographic, defamatory or inappropriate as determined by Street Fight in Street Fight’s sole discretion. Street Fight reserves the right to disqualify any Submission it deems to be profane, offensive, pornographic, defamatory, and/or inappropriate in Street Fight’s sole discretion. Refunds will not be issued under any circumstance.
6. By entering, each Entrant hereby releases and holds harmless Street Fight, sponsors, its program partners, and each of their subsidiaries and affiliates, and any others involved in the development and/or execution of this Contest, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and employees of the same from any and all claims, demands, losses, promises, causes of action, and liabilities arising out of this Contest including travel.
7. Submissions that do not comply in all material respects with the Official Rules or that otherwise contain prohibited or inappropriate content in Street Fight’s sole discretion will be disqualified, not published, and/or not considered for prizes, nor will refunds be issued.
8. By submitting an Entry, each Entrant agrees Street Fight shall unconditionally and irrevocably own the Entry submitted including all rights embodied therein in winning entries and that Street Fight and its designees may use, publish, adapt, modify, combine, or dispose of any Entry or Submission or elements thereof any Entry or Submission online, in print, film, television, or any other media now or hereafter without additional compensation or notification to, or permission from, the Entrant, except as prohibited by law.
1. Any false information provided within the context of the contest by any participant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Official Rules, or the like, may result in the immediate disqualification of the participant from the Contest.
2. Any attempt to contact judges to provide additional information or request informational briefings to influence their decisions during the contest period is subject to elimination. Any attempt to bribe or offer goods or services of monetary value to judges or Street Fight personnel during the contest period will result in immediate disqualification.
3. The Contest Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any entry that it believes in its sole and unfettered discretion infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party, otherwise does not comply with these Official Rules or violates U.S. or applicable state or local law.
Winner Selection
1. Up to three (3) Entrants per Product and Campaign categories shall be selected as Finalists (“Finalists”) by a panel of judges (“Judges”) appointed by Street Fight. The Judges will select one (1) Winner per category (“Winners”) from the pool of Finalists based on the criteria listed above. All decisions of the judges are final and binding.
2. The Finalists in each category will be notified during a period of weeks after the submission period ends and Winners will be announced at a date to be determined. Each Entrant agrees to be bound by the Official Rules, and the decisions of the Judges are final in all matters relating to this Contest.
1. One (1) Entrant Winner will be chosen for each Category. The Winner in each Category will receive a physical trophy. There is no monetary prize value associated with the Contest trophies.
2. All Finalists will be given an Innovator Awards badge icon that they will be authorized to display across their digital properties at their own discretion.
3. No substitutions for the prize will be allowed. Void where restricted or prohibited.
4. All Finalists will be listed on the Street Fight website www.streetfightmag.com and included in a press release after the awards have been announced.
5. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
6. Winners are solely responsible for all taxes and/or fees that may be incurred.
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Striking to defend jobs at Clifton School
Published Tue 1 Jun 2010
On the picket line at Clifton School, west London
Teachers at Clifton primary school in Southall, west London, struck on Wednesday of last week against the sacking of three NUT union members.
Dimissed teachers Barbara Williams, Rosemary Dawes and Rashpal Bilkhu joined the picket, together with strikers, parents and children.
Barbara told Socialist Worker, “Two of us are language support teachers—we work with children who need help with their English.
“We’re three of the most experienced teachers in the school. How is making us redundant going to make children’s education better?”
The council even wants to avoid paying redundancy compensation by pushing the three into unsuitable “alternative” posts.
It plans to replace them with unqualified assistants.
Around 30 parents came to a meeting the night before the strike and overwhelmingly supported the teachers.
Dozens have signed a petition calling for the three to be reinstated.
Barbara added, “The school has £120,000 in its reserves. There’s no reason to do this.”
Send messages of support to secretary@ealing.nut.org.uk
Tue 1 Jun 2010, 18:54 BST
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Tour the Campus
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Our Undergraduate Program
Why Major in Sociology?
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Aside from their teaching responsibilities, Sociology faculty pursue academic research in many different areas of expertise, including crime, demographic change, deviance, education, family, globalization, heath and illness, labor relations, immigration, international border issues, race relations, social class, and mental health.
Several faculty members have attained regional, national and international recognitions through their prolific scholarly work and funded research endeavors.
Faculty members have also recently led or collaborated with researchers from leading research universities on projects of vast social and policy implications on topics such as undocumented immigrants, public health, community corrections and parole policies, and statistical strategies for sampling racial/ethnic minorities and other hard-to-reach populations.
Faculty members have also engaged in intense community-oriented research focused on salient local and regional problems that make significant contributions to the local communities.
Taking advantage of our geographical location, several faculty members focus on trans-border and trans-cultural research projects.
Learn more about our faculty's research by reading about their work:
Core Research Area:
His work examines the intersections between higher education and occupations & work. Most often this means investigating issues around college-to-career transitions.
Other Day Job:
When not lecturing at SDSU Daniel conducts research on the regional workforce for UC San Diego Extension. At UCSD Extension, they largely explore how to improve workforce training while striving to create a more inclusive economy.
Newest Project:
Daniel is investigating the platform economy (think apps and websites like Uber, TaskRabbit, Upwork, Fiverr, Airbnb, Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Seeking Arrangement, etc.) and how these types of platforms are transforming the ways undergraduates come to desire, and prepare for, various types of careers. Or phrased as a research question:
Is the tech-enabled gig-economy helping and/or harming college-student career formation?
How and why?
Select Past Work:
Some examples of his recent (and recent-ish) projects include:
Career Inequalities Between Private and Public University Grads (2019): How elite private universities maintain multiple layers of employment advantage for their graduates (using LinkedIn data of graduates’ early jobs).
Sociology Explains Entrepreneurial Identity (forthcoming): How sociological theory is helpful for understanding how people who start businesses construct various types of entrepreneurial identities.
Giving Fosters Wealth Creation (2019): How large donors in San Diego believe philanthropy can help boost regional economies.
Student Startups Can Harm Career Pathways (2018): My dissertation on how undergraduate entrepreneurship training programs do not equally benefit all students.
Poor Treatment of Adjuncts is Bad for Students (2017): How the mistreatment of adjunct faculty can lead to worse outcomes for students; and suggestions for how to make steps toward a fairer work environment. Here’s a recent (2019) suggestion for a compromise!
Companies Can Buy Access to Students (2016): How the emergence of corporate partnership programs in university career services centers are changing the face of how some firms can recruit students.
Top Firms Hack Recruiting at Top Campuses (2016): How elite universities like Harvard and Stanford let a handful of wealthy firms recruit massively outsized proportions of their students; students who are often ambivalent about working for these gilded employers.
Dr. Joseph Gibbons is an Urban Sociologist whose research focuses on how residence in neighborhoods affects one's well-being. He is an Associate Director of the Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age (HDMA) center, a multiple-disciplinary research consortium of scholars interested in applying 'big data' derived from very large data sources like social media to understand human behavior.
He is currently involved in three ongoing projects with HDMA colleagues:
Exploring the imprint that social ties from social media have on urban communities.
Using Twitter data to identify the emotional sentiment and efficacy of neighborhoods to better understand health outcomes.
Using Yelp reviews of restaurants in San Diego to more dynamically identify gentrification.
Mapping incidence of late stage cancer diagnosis listed in the California Cancer Registry with neighborhood demographic data.
Hank Johnston
Hank Johnston is an eminent scholar of collective action, protest, and social movements. His research examines protest performance in different state systems, especially authoritarian regimes, cognitive/interpretative dimensions of collective action, and the cultural analysis of mobilization processes. In the last three years, Dr. Johnston has written three books: What is a Social Movement, States and Social Movements, and with Greek researcher, Seraphim Sepheriades (Pantion University, Athens), Violent Protest in the Neoliberal State.
Dr. Johnston’s present research is a comparative study of protest and resistance in authoritarian states, entitled “The Resistance Repertoire.” Its themes are proposed in his recent article, “State Violence and Oppositional Protest in High-Capacity Authoritarian Regimes,” and his recent Mobilizing Ideas blog, “The Games Afoot, Authoritarian Regimes and the Field of Play.” This project comparatively analyzes protests in three authoritarian contexts of different repressive capacity: (1) Mexico during its authoritarian period, especially in the post-1968 repression and until the opening of the political system in the early 1990s; (2) China’s current policy of providing channels of popular protest through the xinfang system of “petitioning” state authorities; and (3) the resistance against communist rule in Eastern Europe in the 1980s and early 1990s, about which Dr. Johnston has written numerous articles and essays.
Minjeong Kim
International Marriage and Multiculturalism in Korea
I have been working on the issue of marriage immigrants and multicultural policies in Korea for many years. Based on ethnographic research of Filipina marriage immigrants and South Korean rural communities, I published several articles and wrote a book, Elusive Belonging: Marriage Immigrants and Multiculturalism in Rural South Korea (University of Hawai’i Press, 2018).
Currently, Dr. Hyeyeong Woo (Portland State University) and I are working on a co-edited volume, tentatively titled Immigration, Marriage, and Multicultural Families in South Korea: Reflections and Future Directions (advance contract from Rutgers University Press). With the support from the Academy of Korean Studies, we are organizing a workshop where all contributors of the edited volume will visit San Diego State to give presentations on their works.
The workshop on Immigration, Marriage, and Multicultural Families in South Korea was on February 22, 2019. For more information, see the workshop flyer.
The Emergence of Korean Immigrant Communities on the U.S-Mexico Border
The international expansion of multi-national corporations and the bi-national economic operation on the U.S.-Mexico border has facilitated the growth of immigrants who are from neither border countries but have transborder lives. This ongoing ethnographic project investigates the conditions of migration, settlement, and incorporation of immigrants who moved to a bi-national border region from a third country. The intense case study of Korean immigrant border communities will evaluate how ethnic immigrants, who are engaged in inter-ethnic social and economic interactions within both countries, are integrated into them, and how co-ethnic ties, ethnic identity, and political context affect their integration process. (NSF #1823828)
Race in Hollywood
I study media representations of racial minorities, with primary focus on Asians and Asian Americans. Check out “Consuming Orientalism” (Qualitative Sociology, 2005), “Missing Romance” (Contexts, 2013), and a book chapter in Feminist Perspectives on Orange is the New Black (MacFarland Press 2016).
Enrico Marcelli
Dr. Enrico Marcelli’s research agenda is to (1) design and implement community-based probabilistic sample surveys to collect representative and sensitive demographic, economic, health-related and sociocultural information from relatively clandestine or “hard-to-reach" populations (e.g., undocumented immigrants, informal workers, young adults); and to (2) employ statistical (e.g., regression) techniques to these and publicly available (e.g., U.S. Census, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data to investigate the demographic characteristics, health, integration and effects of these populations; for the purpose of (3) augmenting the technical and fundraising capacities of the community-based organizations with which he works (e.g., Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Border Angels) and providing policy-relevant information to county, state and federal-level legislators regarding health and immigration.
Some of his most recent research-oriented accomplishments are:
a $449,175 grant from The California Endowment (TCE) on The Inclusion of Unauthorized Immigrants in the Implementation of the Affordable Care Act for which I estimated (in collaboration with an Manuel Pastor if USC) and continue to estimate the number and characteristics foreign-born residents of the USA in California by citizenship and immigrant legal status (e.g., unauthorized, legal permanent resident, other “authorized" non-citizens) at county and smaller geographic areas; Read the fact sheet | Read the report | Read the article from the Sacramento Bee
a $106,835 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to help design and implement the San Francisco Bay Area Young Adult Health Survey (BAYAHS) in collaboration with UCSF colleagues Pam Ling and Louisa Holmes, and to home environment is associated with tobacco use;
the 2014 San Diego County Mexican Immigrant Health & Legal Status Survey (SDC-MIHLSS) data, which were collected in collaboration with UCSD Dr. Wayne Cornelius;
a paper being co-authored with four colleagues from the CDC, UCSF, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health entitled “Vaccination Coverage among Foreign-born Mexican Adults: New Evidence from Los Angeles County," which employs his 2012 Los Angeles County Mexican Immigrant Health & Legal Status Survey (LAC-MIHLSS III) data (funded by the CDC with $93,685);
and serving on the Population Association of America (PAA) Program Committee held in San Diego from the April 29 to May 1, 2015.
My recently published research has been in the areas of: the American labor movement, the social and cultural history of rock-and-roll music, the representation of social class in mass media forms, the intersection of race and class and Critical Theory. My book, Tell Tchaikovsky the News: Rock’n’Roll, the Labor Question and the Musicians’ Union (Duke University Press, 2014) was nominated for the Mary Douglas Prize by the Section on Culture of the American Sociological Association. My book was also the topic of an interview conducted for the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). Recently, the online magazine Jacobin ran an article about my book.
In addition to research on popular music and the American labor movement, my other area of research on the culture industry concerns the representation of social class on television. I co-authored an article on the representation of work and workers in children’s television programming.
My article, “Turning the Race/Class Dialectic on Its Head," represents a new direction in my research on the intersectionality of race and class. It was published in October, 2015 in the journal Race & Class. My latest work on the topic of social class includes a new co-edited book that will be published by Wiley in September 2017. Read an excerpt from it.
In the area of Critical Theory, I have developed a new project on the contributions of Friedrich Nietzsche to critical social theory. My essay, “Twilight of Work: The Labor Question in Nietzsche and Marx,” was accepted for publication in the journal Critical Sociology, where I am co-guest editor for a special issue on Nietzsche. I am also currently co-editing a book titled Nietzsche and Critical Social Theory: Affirmation, Animosity, Ambiguity (under contract with Brill). The selections are drawn, in part, from selected papers that were presented at an international conference I co-organized here at San Diego State University. You can find more about the conference at https://nietzsche.sdsu.edu/.
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Last Updated Jan 1, 2020
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A thing about being in the new Ab Fab film
I was in a film once when I was 11. It was called the Ruby Ring and I played a girl called Victoria whose sister went back in time and fell in love with a handsome prince. It was filmed just outside Glasgow, I had four lines which were subsequently dubbed to give me a Geordie accent, and it went straight to Nigerian cable television.
Later acting roles were even less exalted: generally I was always the man/brother/husband/male peasant on account of being tall. I played the star part of Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband when I was 16, but that was a confusing experience because I was at a hormonally-charged, single-sex boarding school and various girls told me afterwards that I’d played him so convincingly that they fancied me. All I’d done was put on a fake moustache.
Needless to say, when I was invited to be in the new Absolutely Fabulous film a few months ago, I was thrilled. Finally, my talents had been spotted! Here was my breakout role! I imagined a trailer and a nervous assistant with an earpiece and a clipboard who would say things like ‘Miss Money-Coutts, you’re needed on set now’. It was going to be, well, pretty fabulous. I would be off to Hollywood and married to Tom Hiddleston by Christmas.
I was a *bit* perturbed to find out that the film makers wanted other magazine bods as extras, too (including my editor, Kate Reardon, the GQ editor, Dylan Jones and Vogue’s Emily Sheffield and Sarah Harris), but I felt sure that, given my prior experience, I would be asked to say a few lines.
The plot of the new film has been kept a secret but, without having seen it, I think we can safely say it’s not going to be as labyrinthineas Game of Thrones. Eddie (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are back, more pissed than ever. They accidentally push Kate Moss into the Thames at a fashion party and have to flee to the south of France.
I wasn’t sent a shooting script. Instead I was told that I just needed to do was to sit and watch as models paraded up and down a catwalk.I’d probably be given my lines when I was there, I decided.
We appeared as instructed at a big glass apartment block on the Southbank, and rode in a lift up to the penthouse suite. ‘Sunglasses and accessories galore,’ we’d been told. ‘Anything goes but it should either be eccentric or fashionista.’ I was wearing skinny black jeans, huge heels, sunglasses and several enormous and vibrant scarves. Brilliant, I thought, they’re going to LOVE it. And, also, where should Tom and I buy our enormous house in LA?
There was a vast room in this penthouse with benches running along either side of it and glass walls overlooking the Thames. I spotted a few people with earpieces and clipboards, but weirdly they weren’t interested in me. They were interested in the models taking part in the fashion show (including Poppy Delevingne, dressed in Giles Deacon).
Other extras on the benches included Lulu, Tine Tempah, Abbey Clancy, Gwendoline Christie, Sadie Frost and Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, who I sat next to and chatted to for a bit, although he didn’t know much about Absolutely Fabulous because he was only two when the first Ab Fab sketch came out in 1990.
With everyone assembled on the benches, filming started. In came Eddie in an enormous hat, Patsy behind her – that famous blonde beehive wobbling like a blancmange. They tottered across the catwalk dodging the models, found their seats and, sitting down, bumped Lulu off the end of the bench to the floor. There were many takes of this, from one end of the catwalk, from another end of the catwalk. And it’s hot under camera lights, so I started sweating. And the hard benches were uncomfortable. And I started inhaling fibres of my scarf and coughing up hair balls. It was less glamorous than I remembered, this filming lark. Nor was I given any lines.
After three hours, I was not only being asphyxiated by my own scarf but dangerously dehydrated as well. So I’ve decided, on balance, that acting isn’t for me, while it clearly IS for Lumley and Saunders who gamely went through take after take and then obligingly posed for photos with us afterwards. Note my enormous and hazardous scarf. So if you do watch the film but find your enjoyment of it is slightly marred by the sound of someone choking and spluttering throughout the fashion show scene, I’m terribly sorry.
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Riding into the Heart of Patagonia
I wanted to travel this country like the people who lived here, writes Alaskan Nancy Pfeiffer in her new book, Riding into the Heart of Patagonia's Aysén Region. In 1999, having barely ridden a horse, the 39-year-old NOLS instructor set out alone on an eight-year, 3,000-kilometer ride into Patagonia. Eventually, her kinship with both the people she met and the untamed land impelled her to take direct action to prevent the damming of the some of the continent's last wild rivers. Here is the first chapter. By Nancy Pfeiffer 7420 words
La Semilla (The Seed)
Patagonia, 1993
A MAN APPROACHED on a horse. His mount, a rusty red beauty, sported the short-trimmed mane and neatly squared-off tail of a well-kept horse. Colorful handwoven saddlebags tied behind a sheepskin-covered saddle held groceries from town. The man wore goatskin chaps, a woolen poncho, and the jaunty black beret typical of the region. Crinkles around his eyes spoke of years of squinting into the sun. This man and his horse belonged to this place in a way I could only dream of.
He paused on the banks of the rain-swollen river to stare at us, a group of college students up to our knees in mud and dwarfed by huge backpacks. Wet and hungry, we had been stacked up on the wrong side of the river for days, our next food supply a few kilometers away on the other side of the torrent. He looked perplexed. We had tents. We had expensive rain jackets. We obviously had money, but we had no horses.
“¿Porqué no tienes caballos?” he asked as he rode into the river. The strong current piled up around his horse’s belly. The man gently lifted his feet from the stirrups and placed them on the horse’s rump so as not to wet his boots, as his horse strode confidently through the rushing water.
That moment, I knew. I wanted to travel this country like the people who lived here. I longed to know this place as only one on horseback can. Having ridden horses only a few times in my life, I knew practically nothing about them. This was irrelevant. There was a thirteen-year-old girl inside of me who desperately wanted a horse.
I HAD COME to Patagonia as a mountaineering instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), an international nonprofit that teaches wilderness and leadership skills to young people. For months my colleagues and I had been traversing the mountain ranges of the Aysén Region of Chile with a group of college students, teaching them to read a map, live in a tent, dry their clothes, and be responsible for themselves and each other. Mostly we were letting nature do the teaching. Wilderness, the great equalizer, didn’t care if you were rich or poor: if you lost your coat you were going to freeze.
While we often hiked on the same trails the locals traveled on horseback, I lived each day in my own little gringo community, insulated from the lifestyle of Patagonia.
That year, I stayed in Patagonia long enough to watch early spring pass into late summer. On our last morning, the friends I had lived and worked with for the last several months gathered on a windy ridge high above the NOLS base camp. We stood in intermittent rain and sun, while just to the west heavy rain fell from dark clouds. Broad bands of color arched across the sky as a double rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon. One of the senior instructors, Scott, told us the legend of the calafate:
“Koonek, the old sorceress of the tribe, was too weak to
continue migrating with her people. So they built her
a sturdy hut, and Koonek remained there alone. That
fall the birds moved away. Somehow, the old woman
survived the long winter. When the birds returned,
Koonek blamed them for leaving her in such solitude,
but the birds could not have stayed as there was no food
for them in winter.”
The sun shone brighter and the rainbow intensified. Our little band huddled together against the chill as Scott continued the story.
“From now on, you will be able to remain here, and you
will have shelter and food,’ Koonek told the birds. When
the hut was opened, the old woman had changed into a
beautiful, thorny bush with bright yellow flowers. In the
fall the same bush bore sweet, purple fruit, and the birds
never needed to leave again. Today it is remembered that
he who eats the calafate will always return.”
After hearing the story, we solemnly passed around a handful of calafate berries that had been ripening all summer. I placed a dark, juicy berry into my mouth and let the sweetness of the whole summer sink into my soul.
THAT YEAR I returned to my home in Alaska, but I had vowed to come back, and I did. For three more seasons I hiked, kayaked, and climbed mountains in Patagonia, bringing groups of young people with me. But something was missing. I was still traveling like a foreigner. Worse yet, I still lived like one. My gringa impatience and the futile desire to bend the world to my will followed me everywhere. Sergio and Veronica, the caretakers of the NOLS campo, were my closest contacts with the Patagonia ranching life that so intrigued me. My Spanish was still so poor I understood little of what they said, but I sensed they knew the things I needed to learn, lessons that would run far beyond saddling horses and shearing sheep.
Pfeiffer would meet a variety of characters and helpers. Here she describes meeting Don Rial, the owner of a remote campo: I longed to understand everything about how this country had shaped his life, but my Spanish failed me miserably. Nevertheless, long after Paul and Harry had gone to bed, I stayed up listening to his stories by the light of the open fire.<br />
Back home in Palmer, Alaska, a town famous for its giant mountains and giant cabbages, I began taking horseback riding lessons. My classmates were thirteen-year-old girls. I was thirty-eight. Twenty-five years earlier, I had been one of those horse-crazy girls, bugging my parents endlessly about getting a horse. I grew up in suburban Denver and a horse was the furthest thing from what my parents needed or wanted in their lives. To my bitter disappointment they had the common sense to say no. Fortunately, I wasn’t thirteen anymore, and I was far from suburban Denver.
In riding class I learned to brush coats until they shone, cinch a saddle, and pick rocks out of a horse’s hooves. I walked in circles in a ring. My first horse, Yukon, was a big, brown gelding. He was old and gentle, and probably everyone’s first horse. Yukon stopped hopefully at the gate every time we went by.
“Keep him moving. Give him direction,” my teacher urged me.
With practice and persistence, I prompted Yukon into the laziest of canters. I was hooked. Moving in unison with another living thing delighted me.
Pfeiffer replacing a horse shoe during a rocky off-trail section.
Fredrik Norrsell
In the barn one Saturday, confused by the array of leather and metal tack before me, I looked to my classmates for help. “What bridle do I put on Yukon?” I asked. A cute girl stepped forward, grasping a bridle and holding back a tiny giggle. Later, she caught her reflection in a window, and I overheard her say, “I can’t stand my hair.”
Looking at her lovely, long blonde hair, I wanted say, “Don’t worry, you won’t always feel like that.” I had been that girl, awkward in my own body, completely assured that everything about me was wrong.
In high school, a misguided guidance counselor suggested I consider working in a bank. The possibility of spending my life indoors in a tiny box counting money horrified me. At the same time, I almost laughed out loud. Let’s see, I thought, I am terrible at math, I can’t sit still, I hate being indoors, and I abhor dressing up.
It took me years to understand. The guidance counselor hadn’t even remotely known who I was, and mountain guide was not on her list of prospective careers for young women. Someday there would be a place for me. At nineteen, I found that place—Alaska.
A couple of months after my first riding lesson, I graduated to a sweet dun mare named Carmel. By then I had earned the right to rent a horse by the month, and my world opened up. I basked in the aroma of freshly hayed fields mixed with the sweet, acidic scent of overripe cranberries. Carmel and I trotted along dirt farming roads, kicking up mounds of fallen birch leaves. We explored trails through valley cottonwoods, hillside birch, and hilltop spruce, occasionally coming across huge glacial erratic rocks standing in the woods like messengers from another era. Mostly we searched out hay fields where we could gallop.
The Matanuska Valley still held a rich rural flavor. Palmer’s main street reminded me of the small town in Montana where my grandparents lived when I was a child, a place where kids could ride their bikes to town for an ice cream soda.
That fall as Carmel and I galloped through recently hayed fields, the “termination dust” of the first snowfall on the mountains reminded me that the seasons were changing. But that wasn’t all. Scattered across the valley, the original colony homes, along with the wooden barns and pastures that once dominated the landscape, were rapidly being replaced by suburban houses and shopping malls. It reminded me of the Denver suburb I had fled. Change was everywhere. It was happening in Patagonia, as well.
I envy people who are great self-promoters. I am not one of them.
A calafate seed was growing inside me. The idea was simple: Return to Coyhaique, buy a horse, and head south. The reality was a bit more complicated. Secretly, I doubted my ability, as well as my sanity. Why is it that I insist on doing things that other people never even think about?
I often get asked, “Did your family do things outdoors?” What people want to know is, “How did a girl from suburban America end up living in Alaska and climbing mountains for a living?”
“Yes, we did.”
I’d recount weekend trips to local ski areas and summer car-camping vacations in the West. What I had neglected to say was that we didn’t pursue outdoor activities in a way that takes over your life, makes you want to live in a tent a hundred-and-eighty days a year, or makes you crave wilderness to the point that anywhere within a hundred miles of a road feels cramped.
MY FIRST DAY at summer camp, was I eight? Was I ten? I don’t know, but I recall that the prospect of spending a week in the woods sounded like heaven. I was ushered to my cabin by some nameless, faceless young camp counselor. A red squirrel was chattering away in the tree just outside the door. I stepped outside. It was gathering pinecones and bombarding me with them from the treetops. As it scampered off to the next tree and the next, I followed. Before my parents were out of the parking lot, a lost camper alert had been sounded. A girl was missing.
“I wasn’t lost,” proclaimed the skinny blond girl firmly seated on her bunk in front of her counselor and the camp director.
“You need to stay in here until we all go out together,” the camp director explained. “If you need to go to the bathroom in the night, you must wake up your counselor to go with you. Do you understand?”
I understood, all right. This wasn’t heaven. This was jail, and I was going to hate it here!
That experience may have been my first inkling that I was somehow different, as well as my first blatant understanding that I had darn well better pretend that I wasn’t. I tried to get along, do my arts and crafts, and never chase squirrels again.
BACK IN PALMER, I was well into making plans to return to Patagonia when I met an acquaintance in the grocery store.
“What are you doing this fall?” he asked.
Could I say it out loud? “I am going to buy a horse and ride across Patagonia by myself.” That sounded both pretentious and crazy.
“Uh, going back to Patagonia?” I mumbled.
“Oh, to work for NOLS,” he said, not overly interested.
I said nothing. By not denying his assumption, he would at least think I was off to do something productive, like work for a living.
I envy people who are great self-promoters. I am not one of them. National Geographic wouldn’t be sponsoring this expedition. Besides, I didn’t want the world watching my escapades on TV.
Over tea, I told my friend, Cathy, what I had in mind.
“Aren’t you afraid?” she asked.
Was I afraid of driving myself crazy? Maybe. Afraid of boring myself to death? Possibly. However, I knew what she meant: Aren’t you afraid of the men? My answer to that was, absolutely not.
“The people of Patagonia are respectful, even shy, especially with foreigners,” I explained. “Women hitchhike into town to get groceries.” I didn’t go into the rest of the story, which was that I felt safer and more looked-after in southern Chile than I did in my own hometown.
That fall I did it. I left Alaska for Patagonia, taking with me a horse first-aid kit far more comprehensive than the one I brought for myself, a pair of new saddlebags, some horse-shoeing tools I didn’t know how to use, and way too much excess baggage in worries and uncertainties.
RETURNING TO PATAGONIA was exactly how I pictured it. Veronica saw me as I stepped off the bus at the campo gate.
“Hola,” she hollered from the porch. “Pasé a la casa,” she said, inviting me into her cozy blue house and giving me a beso on my cheek.
I had missed the Chilean tradition of greeting and parting with a kiss. Her hair was shorter now—the unruly ringlets of a slightly younger woman had been replaced by loose dark curls.
“Sienta sé,” she said, pointing to a comfortable, worn sofa. Sergio’s father, an even older man than I remembered, sat silently behind the woodstove.
Veronica filled a gourd with yerba maté and added hot water from the kettle on the woodstove. She took the first, often bitter, taste of yerba herself, and spit it into the sink. Next she passed the maté my way. As I sipped the stimulating herb at the center of social life in Patagonia, time rewound.
That illusion was shattered when Veronica’s son, Humberto, wandered into the house. No longer a small, round child wedged into the saddle in front of his dad, he looked all grown-up in his navy and gray school uniform. When the gourd was empty, I turned the bombilla, the silver straw used to strain and sip the tea, in Veronica’s direction and handed it back to her.
“How old is Humberto these days?” I asked in my rusty Spanish.
He was now seven, and in the first grade. Veronica told me that she hitchhiked with him to school in Coyhaique every morning, hitched home alone, and then back in to get him at three.
She must have seen the look of disbelief on my face. This was a hardship I could barely imagine.
“We are fortunate,” she said. “We live close enough to town that I can bring Humberto to school each day. It is much harder for many families. Often when the children reach school age, the woman has to move to town, while her husband stays and runs the campo.”
Every chid in the campos grows up in two worlds, both the world of orphaned lambs and that of iPods and designer jeans.
I knew that many families either maintained two separate houses or sent their children to live with relatives, or even to boarding schools. Despite the hardship, every child goes to school.
Still, I couldn’t help but think about what a simple thing like a school bus could do for my friend. In Alaska I live at the end of a dirt road, slightly farther from town than Veronica, who lives along the main highway. A bus arrives daily at the corner, picking up the two school-age children who live on my road.
As the servidor, Veronica refilled the gourd and passed it to Sergio’s father, who participated in the maté, but said nothing. Even years ago, I hadn’t understood a word he said. Was it because my Spanish was so poor or had he been suffering, even then, from the dementia that had now left him mute?
Out the window I saw Sergio coming from the upper campo. He tied his favorite dun mare, Reflauta, to the fence post and joined in the maté session. Sergio had the kind of round, boyish face that never seemed to age. His easy manner of greeting me made me feel like I had never left. He had already asked around about a horse for me.
“It may be difficult to find a good horse,” he told me. “You must know someone. A horse that is advertised could be lame or wild.”
Only a few hours into my trip, my enthusiasm could not be squelched.
“I will find something,” I assured both of us.
Days blurred together. I hitched the twelve kilometers into town daily. In the last decade, cars had replaced horses, and Coyhaique, the capital of the region, had become a bustling community. I looked longingly at the few horses still tied in the empty lot at the edge of town, but I figured their owners, people from the campos buying supplies in town, did not want to sell the horses they were using.
Although the streets were full of noisy automobile traffic, Coyhaique was still the kind of place where a walk down Calle Prat, the main street, could result in running into a half dozen people I knew. I spent my days visiting tack stores, veterinary offices, and talking to anyone I could think of who had anything to do with horses. At the end of each day, my feet hurt from pounding the cement sidewalks, and I was no closer to finding a horse.
Back at the campo, Veronica and I made empanadas, and I talked incessantly to Sergio about horses. None of Veronica’s other friends came into her house and talked endlessly to her husband. Socially, women talked with women about women’s issues. Men talked to men about horses. But it was well understood that gringos were different. Here, I was unusual, but I was accepted.
Making sopapillas.
A lead on a horse took me to the nearby village of Balmaceda, where I tromped all day in the cold, dry wind and dust. I had been told his place was a cement house that could not be seen from the road, and that there was a wooden gate with a big rock nearby. None of the houses were visible from the road. Every one, of course, had a wooden gate, and there were many large rocks.
Almost a week into my journey, I had yet to find one horse for sale. The next day, I took the bus back to Balmaceda and went looking a second time for Señor Muñoz. Trudging from house to unoccupied house in the Patagonian wind, I saw myself as I must have looked from the outside—a tall, skinny gringa snooping around empty houses, her face hidden by a whirlwind of blonde hair.
Then I noticed a small, wooden signpost near a bridge I had crossed multiple times. It read: Puente Muñoz. A cement house set far back on the property was barely visible behind a cluster of alamo trees doubled over by the wind. The gray cement blockhouse was empty like all the others. I looked around and hollered in the direction of the barn. No one answered. The last bus to Coyhaique was at four-thirty. I was about to leave when a battered, blue pickup truck pulled in.
I strode up to the truck, and before the man could open the door, I blurted out, “Señor Flores me invita a ver el caballo de Señor Muñoz.”
For the past two days, I had been practicing my introduction: Señor Flores has sent me to look at the horse of Señor Muñoz.
“Allá esta,” he said, punctuating his words with the uniquely Patagonian mannerism of pointing with his lips.
The man began unloading boxes from the truck as if a crazed-looking gringa showed up every day looking for a horse. I snuck around behind the house. Sure enough, a small, dark horse stood saddled near the corral. His long, dreadlocked mane spoke of a horse that no one cared for, but I loved the way it blew in the wind. He was older than I had imagined. His feet looked terrible, and he had a sore on his hind leg.
I stepped into the stirrups, which fit perfectly, and settled myself into the soft sheepskin saddle. When I asked him to go, he took off with the good Chilean horse walk of an animal accustomed to working hard. A sweet and willing horse, he had obviously learned a long time ago that it was best to do what people wanted without complaint. Overjoyed to be in the saddle at last, I took a quick trip around the dilapidated barn, but I knew he was not the horse for me. I couldn’t imagine making this poor old guy march across Patagonia. Once I was on the bus, I took heart. At last I had ridden a horse that was for sale.
Back at the campo, Sergio had put an advertisement for me on Radio Santa Maria looking for a horse. The radio station aired messages three times a day, connecting a quarter-million square kilometers of rural Patagonia, letting people without telephones know who was coming to visit, who was ill in Coyhaique, and who had what to sell or trade. Sergio’s ad produced a lead. A man named Carmen Vásquez was selling a horse.
After hours of searching, I found Vásquez’ small backyard apartment. He talked loud and fast with the heavy accent of the pobladores—people who have lived on remote campos all their lives, talking mainly with each other, drop their s’s (making muchas gracias, mucha gracia), and slur their words (making una mes, ume). When I didn’t understand him, he talked louder. I tried to tell him I was a foreigner, not deaf, but I mispronounced the word for deaf, sordo, and told him I wasn’t zurdo. I doubt he knew why I told him I wasn’t left handed, which ironically, I am. At times like this I desperately wished I had studied harder. My high school Spanish and a few years of kayak guiding in Mexico weren’t going to get me far in rural Patagonia.
Somehow, we managed to make plans for him to pick me up at seven-thirty the next morning, a time I thought no one in Chile would be awake.
At seven-thirty a.m., he honked at the campo gate. He wanted to borrow a saddle from Sergio. His plan was that I would buy the horse and ride it back. There were a couple problems with that idea. One, I might not buy his horse and I didn’t want to be stuck hitching with a saddle. The second problem, which I didn’t have the Spanish to explain, was that the NOLS director had informed me that I needed to have any new horse checked out by a veterinarian before I brought it onto the campo. We left with a saddle.
Barely outside of the campo gate, the conversation turned to my marital status.
“¿Estas casada?” he asked.
This line of interrogation caused every joint in my body to tighten. The fact that the sturdy woman sitting beside me was his wife made me only slightly more comfortable.
“Entre gauchos no hay fronteras,” a common Patagonian saying, means, “Between cowboys there are no borders.” But, for me there would be.
I answered in single syllables. At other times I would have faked incomprehension of the question, but that day, I needed to understand Spanish. He wanted to set me up with one of his friends.
“My boyfriend wouldn’t like that,” I lied through my teeth.
Whatever I thought of Senor Vasquez, I liked his horse immediately. The deep red colorado walked right up to me. His pasture was nothing but a damp, fenced-off peninsula in a lake. His feet didn’t look bad compared to the other hooves I had seen. He was skinny, but it was early spring, and I figured good feed would fatten him up a bit.
Señor Vásquez saddled him and asked for the whip. I hadn’t brought one and had no intention of buying a horse that I’d have to whip. He stepped up on the stirrups and set himself down hard in the saddle. The colorado bucked and lunged as Señor Vásquez pranced around on him. Then it was my turn. Apprehensive about riding a horse I had just seen buck, I slid my toes into the stirrups.
“Lento, lento,” his wife hollered from inside the rough lean-to where she was tending a fire.
Was it for lack of confidence in me or in the horse that she wanted me to go slowly?
“¿Esta manso?” I asked.
Just a few days earlier I had learned the important difference between the word manso, which means tame, and mañoso, which denotes ill tempered.
“Si, si, muy manso,” she assured me from behind the wall of sticks.
The skinny colorado actually seemed to enjoy moving. We trotted around some downed trees, and then I nudged him into a gentle, willing canter. I felt like he was asking me to buy him and get him out of there. Sitting beside the fire, in a shelter that kept off the worst of the elements, we passed the maté. The bus to Coyhaique would pass in a half hour. If I was not on it, I would be hitchhiking with a saddle. Trying to pretend that I wasn’t in a hurry, I sipped my maté and chatted.
“I will return with a veterinarian this afternoon,” I said. Having no idea how I would accomplish that, I headed for the bus.
By some miracle, I returned that same day in a car with a veterinarian. The vet picked up the horse’s feet and muttered, “hongos.” My sweet horse had a foot fungus from standing in the wet pasture. He picked a small white grub from the horse’s coat and held it out for me to examine.
“Parásitos,” he said.
My horse had parasites. These little bichos were the reason NOLS required a vet check before bringing any new animals to the campo. Worst of all, the vet explained, the reason the horse was skinny was that he couldn’t eat properly because of his teeth. The colorado’s fate was sealed when the vet, who had made me stumble though complicated questions in Spanish all day, said in
perfect English, without breaking his pleasant conversation with Señor Vásquez, “Do not buy this horse.”
In his car, he told me, again in Spanish, “I have another possibility. A friend of mine is selling a mare.”
I wasn’t excited about traveling with a mare. I suspected that free-ranging stallions would be common where I was going. I had seen the power and violence of horse sex only once. It wasn’t anything I wanted to deal with on the trail.
Then the vet said, “She might be pregnant.”
That wasn’t appealing either. I didn’t even know how long a horse’s gestation period was, let alone what I would do with a baby horse.
“We might as well go look,” I said.
Riding around in a car with the vet was a pleasant experience compared to hitching the roads alone. Just outside of town we stopped to open a gate. Well-kept grounds surrounded several tourist cabins.
In the back of the property a corral contained both the yegua and the stallion she had recently mated with. At least if she was pregnant, she was not very pregnant, I thought, as if one can be not very pregnant. She was a tobiano, a black and white paint, a rare coloration here. Well taken care of, she had a short-cropped mane and squared-off tail, and her feet were in fine shape. For a light-colored horse, her coat was impeccable. If I bought her I doubted she would ever be this clean again. A dainty heart had been recently branded on her muscular butt.
The veterinarian lifted each leg, bending her fetlock tight against her upper leg in several positions. Running his hands down her front legs from withers to hooves, he talked with the workers in a rapid-fire Spanish I did not understand, but he seemed satisfied.
The workers threw a saddle on her for me. I stepped into the stirrups and settled onto her back. She fidgeted, dancing a little sidestep motion I was unaccustomed to. I figured she was just interested in getting away from the stallion, so I took her on a tour of the property.
She settled down. Far from eager to walk in mud and dirty her pretty feet, she was a city girl in my opinion, but I figured a few hundred miles would cure her of that. I was interested. She even came with a veterinary certificate and ownership papers, something no one else had offered. If I got accused of having a stolen horse, this girl would be certifiably mine.
Pfeiffer galloping across the pampas. Image: Fredrik Norrsell
Looking far into the future, I hoped these fancy papers would help me get her into Argentina. Patagonia is neither a country nor a state, but a loosely defined region shared by two countries. Nearly 600 kilometers south of Coyhaique, the glaciers on the western edge of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field ooze into the Pacific Ocean. The eastern side of the same ice field calves directly into Lago O’Higgins, a thousand-square-kilometer lake extending into Argentina. At that point, all of Chilean Patagonia is composed of water in either its liquid or frozen form. If I intended to ride the length of Patagonia, I would need to get my horse into Argentina.
Before roads were constructed in Chilean Patagonia, going through Argentina was the only way to travel north to south. “Entre gauchos no hay fronteras,” a common Patagonian saying, means, “Between cowboys there are no borders.” But, for me there would be. In the 1960s the Chilean version of the Department of Agriculture made transporting livestock between Chile and Argentina illegal. But I could worry about all that when and if I got to the southern end.
“I’ve got a horse!” I hollered to Sergio from the doorstep. Five minutes later, my horse—a black and white tobiano mare—stepped from a truck parked in front of his house. I had a brand new responsibility.
The next morning, sipping coffee on the front porch, watching my very own horse graze was like living a dream. A thin, low-lying valley fog flowed over her withers and down around her hooves. She was Pegasus without wings. Her coat, a blended patchwork of white, gray, and black, reminded me of clouds before a heavy rain. Nimbus, como las nubes cuando va a llover. “Nimbus, like the clouds when it is going to rain.” That would be her name. It sounded a bit pretentious, like a long pedigree, but I liked it. With what I knew of her personality, she would love it too. She could be Nimbus for short.
That afternoon, Nimbus and I went for our first real ride. We joined up with Sergio and headed to the upper campo looking for the cows. It was late October, and the first flowering plants of the spring were beginning to bloom. Each new scent brought a long-forgotten name in Spanish bubbling to the surface of my mind. Notro: clusters of bright red flowers and large, brilliant green leaves, the first tree to burst into bloom in the spring. Michay: A prickly bush with leaves like holly, now dressed in small, orange blossoms. Calafate: Yellow flowers hiding sharp thorns would become December’s sweet dark berries, and a legendary invitation to return.
Screeching tero-teros, a southern lapwing as common and raucous in campo land as gulls on the Alaska coast, dive-bombed us, protecting their nests. Once we were in the deep woods, I heard the familiar call of the chucao singing out its name, chucao tapaculu. We found the cows at the uppermost part of the campo. Looking out over the rich, rolling land below, Sergio and I discussed my horse’s color. Was she a tobiano, a true paint, or manchado, a white horse with dark patches? Nimbus’s spots were far too large for her to be considered an overo. The paint-splatter spots of an overo drip off a horse’s haunches like tiny raindrops. Like the Inuit with their multitude of words describing snow, Patagonians make fine distinctions between the things that matter in their lives. I longed to understand the subtle differences that others could see. Someday, if told to pick the potrillo zaino estrallita from a herd, I hoped to return with the right horse, a young, almost black male with a rusty tinge on his nose and a small white star on his forehead.
The cows were content, and no new calves had been born. We started downhill. With Sergio leaning back in the saddle, his horse strode down the fall line. Nimbus did zigzags, picking each step carefully and trying to avoid the steepest sections. We soon fell behind. I had never ridden down anything this steep, and I thought her reluctance was just part of the city-girl attitude she would need to outgrow. Sergio’s verdict on my new horse was different.
“The way she is walking means her knees are not good,” he said.
“Maybe you should trade her.”
Trade her? The words smacked me in the gut with a log. What? How? It had taken two weeks of hard work to find this horse. How could I trade her, and to whom?
I didn’t doubt that there were things campo people knew that veterinarians did not, but I had watched the vet pick up each leg, fold it back hard on itself, and stare into Nimbus’ eyes looking for any sign of pain. Could the vet have made a mistake? Could he have purposely steered me wrong? I did buy the horse from a friend of his. My mind was a kaleidoscope concerning what had happened in the past. The horse I bought and already loved was somehow deficient. But no ideas came to me about what I should do about it now.
“She may have been used in the rodeo,” Sergio said, interrupting my thoughts.
In the Chilean rodeo horses and riders push two-year-old cows along a wooden fence. The goal is to check and turn the animal four times, eventually pinning it against a padded part of the fence. Horses dance sideways along the fence, crossing their front legs. I had felt it. That crossover step was the motion Nimbus did when I first climbed on her.
“Sometimes horses miss and plow into the fence with their knees,” Sergio told me.
The look of horror on my face must have said it all.
He softened his words. “You never know, maybe it will be years until her knees get really bad.”
Horse trails Pfeiffer traveled during her eight-year adventure.
It didn’t matter how it had happened. The fact was my new horse wasn’t perfect, maybe not even good enough. I sensed that Sergio’s concept of time was different than mine. Selling this horse and buying another was a real option in his world. My gringa brain just couldn’t accept starting over, pounding the streets again, looking for another horse, trying to sell this one knowing her knees were bad. Besides, the NOLS director had let me know I was welcome to stay for two weeks, until I could launch my expedition. I had already overstayed my limit. The entire way to the valley bottom, scenarios flooded my mind, but no solution came to me.
At the base, a message was waiting for me from the NOLS director. I suspected that he was either going to inform me I had overstayed my welcome and needed to leave or someone had canceled a contract and he wanted to offer me work. Either way it was going to be bad news for my expedition. NOLS had been good to me by providing a launch pad for my journey. If the school needed an instructor, agreeing to work would be the least I could do. On the other hand, I had planned this trip for years. I had already abandoned home and work and friends. I was here, and I had a horse, albeit an imperfect one. I could not bail on my trip because I was scared or unsure about my new horse without losing face. But accepting a job would be a normal, sane choice that mainstream America would support.
The director offered me work.
I turned it down.
I was going and I needed to go soon, before anything else came up. But first, I needed a saddle. New saddles were more expensive than horses. Horses reproduce themselves. Saddles had to be carefully made by hand.
Sergio told me of a neighbor, Señor Foitzick, who might have a used saddle for sale. The story of the Foitzick family was part of the history of Coyhaique.
Between 1910 and 1920, Chileans, some of whom had been living in Argentina for years, began to colonize the Coyhaique area. They came into the country and established homes, trails, towns, and schools without the central government in Santiago knowing of their existence. By 1920, there were 155 households in the Coyhaique area. Chilean government officials, fearing that if Chile didn’t populate Patagonia, Argentina would, leased huge tracts of land in the southern regions to large cattle companies.
When the company men arrived they found the land already occupied by a strong, independent breed. The cattle companies fenced off what it considered to be their land and warned the locals that cutting the fence would be a violation of the law.
One of these early settlers, Juan Foitzick Casanova, had had his eye on a piece of land inside the company’s fence. Senor Foitzick simply built a bridge over the fence and settled his family on the other side.
The company also prohibited new houses from being constructed within its holdings, so neighbors collectively built houses in a single night. The homes were naturally nestled into whatever protection the landscape offered from the Patagonia winds. By the time the cattle company owners noticed a new house, the residents would simply claim that it had been there all along. Their sudden appearance earned these homes the name casa brujas (witches’ houses).
In Argentina and other parts of Chilean Patagonia, estancias, large tracts of corporate-owned ranch land, the legacy of the original cattle companies, are more the norm. However, to this day the style of agriculture in the Aysén Region is primarily small family farms, and Laguna Foitzick, and the land around it, is still in the hands of the Foitzick family.
Nimbus and I rode off to talk to Senor Foitzick. Riding, even beside the road, was delightful compared to dragging myself around on foot. No longer a person without a horse, I understood the pity that had once been directed at me. The road indicated on Sergio’s hand-drawn map branched into smaller and smaller roads, eventually ending at a closed gate. The gringa in me was not inclined to open the gate, ride through, and close the gate behind me as is the local custom. Trails are the same as roads here, and they often run right through people’s yards. It is expected that if you have business there, you will enter, if not, you won’t.
In Juan Fotzick’s cluttered kitchen, lace doilies and old photographs adorned a house that had been occupied for generations. We drank maté and talked about his land and his horses. He did not have a saddle for sale. He owned one saddle, the one he used every day.
In the end, a friend loaned me a saddle for my journey. Next, I needed a rope to tie my horse at night. In every garage in my neighborhood in Alaska there was plenty of unused rope. The ingrained North American mentality that there is always a little extra of everything was still strongly within me. Ropes, like everything else in Chile, were owned by someone who had a specific use for them. There was no “extra” anything lying around. Half a day’s shopping later, I owned a rope. I would need to take good care of it.
One evening, everything was done. The sunlight spread in long silver fingers beneath the clouds that were always present to the west. Nimbus was grazing in front of the house. On a whim I jumped on her bareback. Moments later, we were galloping around the now-green pasture. Pure exhilaration pulsed through my body as we bounded over open, undulating terrain. All her power was my power. She ran like she wanted to run, and I felt the expression of my joy within her.
I was finally mentally ready to go.
As if watching an old, black-and-white, slow-motion movie, I can still see myself leaving the campo. I looked back at Sergio and Veronica waving from the yard. After closing the heavy wooden gate behind me, I stepped up on onto the left stirrup and swung my right leg high over the overstuffed saddlebags that contained all of my current life’s belongings.
We headed off down the dirt road across the street.
Fredrik Norrsell’s images of Pfeiffer’s adventures, including the Calbagata Sin Represas, the horseperson’s march against dams on the Patagonia’s wild rivers. (Photo of the Cabalgata entering Coyhaique courtesy Ignacio Grez.)
Calafate berry (Berberis trigona).
Pfeiffer taking maté with local poblador, Don Julio Romero.
Riding above the Baker River.
Pfeiffer riding along the shore of a turquoise tarn.
Pfeiffer stopping at a Patagonia Without Dams billboard.
Traversing a narrow ridge at timberline.
Pfeiffer's horses grazing free in the morning fog.
Poblador Don Rial sharpening an axe.
Nancy Pfeiffer crossing one of many unnamed glacial rivers.
Crossing the high mountain passes on the old trail to Villa O'Higgins.
Swinging bridge over the Baker River.
Pobladores crossing the Baker River on a balsa.
In the high country above the Rio Nadis.
The Cabalgata Sin Represas marches into the region's capital.
When not in Patagonia, Nancy Pfeiffer lives with her husband, photographer Fredrik Norrsell, in a cabin outside Palmer, Alaska, where she enjoys hauling water, chopping wood, and high-speed internet. The subjects of her published works range from the joys and frustrations of building a house as a single woman to mountaineering for paraplegics. Riding Into the Heart of Patagonia will be published in the spring of 2018. Click on these links to learn more about Pfeiffer and Norrsell.
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3 thoughts on “Riding into the Heart of Patagonia”
Chris Urstaft says:
Nancy, your trip through southern Chile reminds of my time hitchhiking the southern Caraterra Austral fromChaiten to Lago Cochrane in 1989. There were no puentes solamente balsas crossing the rivers. I travelled frequently with these people and their horses. Wonderful experiences with these wonderful people. Your book proves to be a good read. Thank you for sharing.
Chris Urstadt
Girdwood, AK
Nancy Pfeiffer says:
I will be doing a slide show and readings at the Community Center in Girdwood May 5th at 6:30 p.m.
Yadira Johnson says:
Hi Nancy I am a student taking English class my first language is Spanish and I am ready your book I am in page 26 ans so far the book is great. As I am reading it I found myself laughing about the things you said in your book. I am having hard time putting your book dawn I want to finished I love it.
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Teacher at Sea
Q&A with SOI alumnus and office staff Nick Castel
February 8, 2017 .
Q: Nick, you participated in the 2016 Arctic Expedition, what brought you back to SOI?
A: The Students On Ice expedition and the summer leading up to it was a big deal for me. Travelling to a remote part of Northern Canada had been a dream on my radar for several years, and getting a chance to tell it’s stories alongside Parks Canada was a big career goal for me in university. All of that and more came true last year. The expedition was a truly special, eye opening look at what could be waiting for me out in the world.
Back in my daily life after expedition, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was this momentum that was building inside me; like the expedition was only the beginning of a bigger journey. Sitting with that feeling around the same time as I was finishing my undergrad, I knew it was becoming time to act on those feelings. When this job opened up at Students on Ice it really felt like the stars were aligning. I jumped on the opportunity right away.
Q: Tell us about your role with SOI and what you hope to accomplish?
A: I am the Alumni Programs Assistant at Students on Ice. I am working alongside the Alumni Program Manager to strengthen and expand the resources we provide participants once they’ve come back from an expedition. A strong alumni program means that your SOI journey never really ends, rather it’s just the start of a whole new chapter. As an alumni myself, I have an ever deeper interest in making sure the program is adaptable to alumni from all walks of life. I’ve been here for a month, and already it’s been inspiring to hear everyone’s stories from expedition and how they are shaping it into their own unique impact. They are doing some really incredible things.
My focus this year is on media and alumni chapters. My plan is to develop a robust multimedia program that uses all sorts of new types of media collectively tell their expedition stories, while highlighting their achievements and discussions around polar regions. It’s going to be really sweet, and if you are interested. Give me a shout!
Q: Finish the sentence. I don’t leave the house without my…
A: PSA! We should all be bringing a water bottle with us to work/school everyday. Did you know you are supposed to be drinking 2L of water everyday? That’s two full Nalgenes. I try my best to drink one before lunch, and one in the afternoon/evening. It definitely takes a while to build the habit, but when I started drinking more I found I had more energy throughout my day.
Q: What was your favourite childhood toy? Did it have a name?
A: My favourite childhood toy was an old Sony camcorder that my brother gave me. Probably the most prehistoric piece of technology I am familiar with as a millennial. You recorded to old mini-DV tapes, and the footage was all interlaced if you moved the camera too fast. The quality was just awful, but that didn’t matter. I made a lot of videos with my sister when I was young, we were big goofballs. Today I still love filmmaking.
Q: I recently learned…
A: I somehow stumbled into watching Bill Nye video clips on YouTube yesterday (that guy is so rad) and did you know that the sun radiates the highest amount of it’s visible energy at green wavelengths (483 – 520nm)? Strangely enough though, is that all plant life reflects those wavelengths. This is the reason why they appear green to our eyes. But wait… is this not counter-intuitive?! You would think that after millions years of evolution an organism solely reliant on the sun’s energy would have grown to absorb it’s highest energy output, but instead it reflects it! Why?? Amazing… Amazing
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Once you’ve started at Charles Sturt, our Indigenous Academic Success Program gives you access to tutors and learning advisers to provide extra support in your studies. You’ll be automatically included in our tutoring program, giving you an initial allocation of six hours of content-specific tutoring for each subject, each session. Our support services are free, easy to access and you can choose the type of service that suits you best.
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Tutors: You'll be eligible for one-on-one tutoring to help you understand your course content. Tutors can also help with your exam preparation towards the end of the session. You'll automatically be allocated tutors, and they will contact you at the start of session to confirm whether you'd like to take part in the tutoring program.
Learning Advisers (Indigenous): Our leaning advisers are also available to assist with general study skills that will be useful in all your subjects, like time management, breaking down assessment tasks and structuring your assignments.
Academic Literacy, Learning and Numeracy (ALLaN): The ALLaN team is your first point of call for general assignment feedback or workshops on a variety of topics including academic writing, study skills, assignment structure, and referencing. Workshops are held at our study centres and assignments can be uploaded directly to the ALLaN team for review.
Study Link: If you haven't studied in a while, or want to brush up on the basics, Study Link is for you. These short, self-paced online subjects are free for Commonwealth supported students. Check out our broad range of subjects and apply for one that meets your goals and interests.
Student Liaison Officers (Indigenous)
Our Student Liaison Officers (Indigenous) are on hand to help identify the services that will help with your studies, including study nights. Study nights run weekly on-campus during session and let you engage with other students. If you're an online student, you're also welcome to attend. For more information contact iasp@csu.edu.au.
Away From Base Grant chevron_right
The Away From Base Grant can provide you with financial assistance for meals, travel and accommodation while attending compulsory residential schools and/or professional placements.
You can apply for an AFB grant if the below eligibility requirements are met:
you’re an Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, and
approved for one or more ABSTUDY benefits payable by Centrelink during the funding year, and
not currently in receipt of any other residential grants
undertaking an approved AFB course, including at least one of the following:
4409MH Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health)
3314WJ Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage
4418PM Bachelor of Paramedicine
4415NU Bachelor of Nursing
1708PQ Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying)
1502SW Bachelor of Social Work
Please note: the incidentals allowance is available for all Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students and is non-means tested.
ABSTUDY assistance and support are available for all other courses of study at Charles Sturt University through the Department of Human Services. If you need more information, please call 1800 136 380 or contact your local Indigenous Student Centre.
Scholarships for Indigenous students chevron_right
Eligible Indigenous students are encouraged to apply for scholarships and grants to help with the costs of study. There are a number of general scholarships available for Indigenous students, but also many that are only available for particular courses and campuses. Our team can help you find the scholarship that’s right for you. For more information about getting a scholarship, visit one of our centres to have a chat, email isc@csu.edu.au or free call 1800 275 278.
More information for Indigenous students.
Study Get support Indigenous student support
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Sanderson, Watt Take Swimmer of The Meet Awards At Utah 2A Champs
Julia Sanderson and Elliot Watt took down Utah 2A records to become the swimmers of the meet at the state championships. Current photo via Mike Lewis/Ola Vista Photography
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Broadview Heights 200 Free Relay Posts All-America Time at Mid-Season Invite
BGSU commit Riley McNichols (above) led off Broadview’s 200 free relay, which swam faster than it did at last year’s Ohio State Championship meet.
by Hannah Hecht 0
February 12th, 2016 High School, News, Press Releases
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Records fell left and right at Utah 2A State Championships, but ultimately, the women of Grand County and the men of North Summit went home with the state titles. The North Summit women and the Emery men each came in a close second.
Julia Sanderson of Rowland Hall won three titles to take the Women’s Swimmer of the Meet award, and Elliot Watt of Telos Academy swept the sprint free events to win the men’s award.
Full results here.
The women of Grand County High School won the 200 medley relay by a solid thirteen seconds. Mary Kimmerle, River Richards, London Richards, and Alexa Pierce came together for 1:59.87. North Summit finished second with 2:13.00, and Emery High School hit third with 2:16.46.
The men of North Summit also won their 200 medley by a huge margin. Trystin Hellander, Eisley Scholes, Sam Crittenden, and Eli Crittenden blasted a 1:49.41, for a new 2A record, taking down Emery’s 1:51.47 from last season. Emery’s team finished second in 1:55.81, followed by South Summit in 1:57.81.
Alexa Pierce of Grand took down another 2A record in the 200 freestyle. She dropped three seconds from her seed time to hit in 1:59.96. Her time was nearly five seconds ahead of the previous record.
The men’s 200 free was a close race between McKinley Card of South Summit and Braxton Pierce of Grand. Pierce used closing speed to win the race, clocking 1:51.95 to win the event. Card finished in 1:53.06.
Senior Sanderson of Rowland Hall won her first title in the 200 IM by a 16 second margin, finishing in 2:16.77. Summit Academy’s Johan Boer won the men’s event in 2:10.98, finishing a second ahead of Rowland Hall’s Isaac Landau (2:11.20).
A pair of underclassmen took the 50 titles, as freshman Drew Roper of Millard won the women’s 50 free in 26.06 and sophomore Watt of Telos took the men’s 50 in 21.73. Watt took the 2A record by a second and a half, taking down Dominic Stagg’s 23.35 from last year.
Alexa Pierce won her second title with 1:01.75 in the 100 fly, winning the event by 9 seconds. She took down her own 2A record from last year, a 1:02.29. Jayden Grose scored big points for Millard with his win in the men’s event, finishing in 57.98.
A pair of freshmen took the top two spots in the women’s 100 free; Grand’s Mary Kimmerle took the title, dropping five seconds from her seed time to hit 56.48. Wasatch’s Clista Galecki took second in 1:01.15.
The top four men came in under the old 100 fly record 55.81, but Watt took the top slot, clocking 48.32 for the title and the record.
Sanderson took her second title in the 500 free by an absolute landslide. She finished in 5:18.14, forty seconds and a lap ahead of the competition. She took down the old record by eight seconds, and nearly came in ahead of the boys’ winner. Braxton Pierce also had a mid-distance freestyle sweep, winning the event in 5:18.00.
The Rowland Hall women took a win in the 200 free relay, when Alison Puri, Sophie Hannah, Bella Goh, and Sanderson teamed up for a new record 1:51.58, taking down the old record by a second and a half.
The 200 free relay was a close race on the men’s side, a fight between Emery and Rowland Hall. The final leg made the difference, when Emery’s Daryl Guymon and Rowland’s Donovan Murphy went head to head. Guymon prevailed, and he and his teammates, Nate Gilbert, Keldan Guymon, and Dakota Wright prevailed, clocking 1:38.56. Emery took second in 1:39.25.
Roper took her second title in the 100 back, swimming a new 2A record 1:03.23. Johan Boer took his second title as well, finishing in 57.13 for another record.
Wasatch senior Jessica Rasmussen won the 100 breast in 1:13.78, and North Summit junior Eisley Scholes took the men’s title with 1:04.20, a new record.
The final relays of the day went to the Grand County women and the North Summit men. Alexa Pierce, River Richards, London Richards, and Kimmerle teamed up again for their second relay title and record of the night, clocking 3:54.50. Scholes, Eli Crittenden, Hellander, and Sam Crittenden did the same, winning the title and the record in 3:36.15.
Women’s team scores:
1 Grand County High School: 237
2 North Summit High School: 229
3 Emery High School: 205
4 Rowland Hall High School: 167
5 Wasatch Academy High School: 97
6 American Leadership Academy: 94
7 South Summit High School: 76
8 Gunnison Valley High School: 57
9 Millard High School: 32
10 Summit Academy High School: 28
Men’s team scores:
5 South Summit High School: 110
6 Summit Academy High School: 75
7 Oakley High School: 63
9 Delta High School: 51
10 Telos Academy High School: 32
11 Millard High School: 27
12 American Leadership Academy: 26
13 Gunnison Valley High School: 8
« Watch Hudepohl’s Still-Standing 200 Free Ohio HS State Record
International Swimming Hall Of Fame Will Postpone Induction Ceremony »
About Hannah Hecht
Hannah Hecht grew up in Kansas and spent most of her childhood trying to convince coaches to let her swim backstroke in freestyle sets. She took her passion to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and swam at NAIA Nationals all four years. After graduating in 2015, she moved to …
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Ella Eastin Earns CSCAA Swimmer of the Year at 2018 W. NCAAs
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Switzer Daily
Weekend Switzer
There are many things you can't change, like the political games played in Canberra. But you can change your behaviour! Here are seven habits of highly effective people.
Don't waste your time with politics. Get effective and make money!
by Peter Switzer
The Prime Minister outlined the savings program he wants to get through Parliament and, at the same time, he pressured Labor to pass his Budget-reducing measures. And typically, Labor’s Bill Shorten returned fire about the PM’s lousy negotiating skills. It looked frustrating, it was frustrating and I wished for more effective politics and politicians as I turned the radio off.
The reality is that none of us can do much about the games played in Canberra and as the Coalition’s and Labor’s pollies (and now the Greens, Hansen’s team, Xenophon’s outfit and the Independents) scramble for media attention to justify the fact that really effective legislation won’t get to happen, I decided to revisit the work of one of the greats of business lecturing — Stephen Covey of the famous Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
With the first habit, Covey talks about his grandmother recalling the day when “everything cost two cents” but now politicians have screwed up everything and everything is so expensive. He admitted his granny was reactive, blaming everyone else for what was annoying her in life. In contrast, a proactive person knows the important things in his/her life that are holding them back are actually things he/she can influence.
The first habit is to be Proactive and avoid the blame game. If such a person was in business, she might say things are very competitive now, but what can I do to make my product or service so great that my customers can’t live without it? However, this would require a lot of work, time and even costs to come up with a great idea or innovation. But it will be worth it when success comes a knocking.
The second habit starts with you looking at yourself in the casket at your own funeral and imagining that you then had to do the eulogy for yourself! The question is: what would you like to say about yourself and are you doing the hard, smart stuff that will build your reputation as a great entrepreneur, boss, parent, employee, etc.?
The second habit is: start with the end in mind.
Covey observes there is a horrible disconnect about what we say we want and how we allocate our time. He says if you think of great goals (such as being a great business or wealth builder or an employee who will be a big income earner and exceptional parent), then look at the time you spend doing menial work, being distracted by Facebook or TV and ask: “Am I really using my time effectively to achieve my goals?”
The third habit is: put first things first.
The fourth habit is: think win-win, which means don’t look at life as a zero-sum game. Think about the value of a network, where you give and then, as a consequence, you get. There is an old saying about smart networking that “givers get” and while there can be exceptions to this rule, history supports the proposition.
I look at the group of Australia’s old world of great entrepreneurs who know each other, hang out together and help each other. I’m talking about Lindsay Fox, Marcus Blackmore, Jack Cowin and many more. These people have become household names but their success has been helped by their network of great entrepreneurial minds. As Covey explains: “For you to win, another person does not have to lose.”
Now this is something that Covey says he uses everyday and so the fifth habit is: seek first to understand, then to be understood. Apart from making you unusual (and that’s the hallmark of those with competitive advantage), this approach will give you insights beyond your wildest dreams and make you appear wiser — because you will be!
The sixth daily habit is to synergize. Here, Covey uses an example that reminded me of a cherry tree my wife, Maureen and I found in Greece years ago. It was a big tree packed with cherries but my six feet three stature meant I could get into the tree with my wife’s hands cupped together. I got into the tree and passed down the beautiful cherries. By working together and synergizing, we had a great and memorable day eating the best tasting cherries we've had in our life!
The final Covey masterful observation involves a guy who’s trying to cut down a tree for hours using a blunt saw. A neighbour helpfully says to him that if he sharpens the saw, then he’ll do that job easily. However, the cutter says: “But sharpening the saw will take time!”
We say that we can’t find 45 minutes a day, say, four times a week to go to the gym, to be physically effective and to look like a winner. We say we can’t read a book for 15 minutes a day to lift our competitive edge in the workplace, or say, to be a better parent or partner. Can’t we?
The seventh habit is: sharpen the saw. Covey says don’t look for shortcuts, tricks and tips to be successful, but build a foundation of greatness. And you can do it progressively but, most importantly, set your sights on making the changes from having the habits of an ineffective person to being, gradually, a highly effective competitor and contributor.
Jim Rohn, another US business motivator, gave us two related pearls of wisdom. The first was “success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practised every day” and if you get this right then “happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”
The normal person is over-preoccupied with things that they can never change, while the abnormal person embraces these seven habits to become a highly effective person.
I wonder how many of our politicians have read this book, which is in the top 10 motivational books of all time, according to Inc. 5000?
(P.S. Not much out of the US to report for stocks apart from the Fed minutes, which aren’t telling us that US interest rates will rise soon, and that’s why I have looked for a more important topic to help you!)
If you liked this article you'll love the Switzer Report, our newsletter and website for trustees of self-managed super funds. Click here for a FREE trial and to hear more of Peter’s expert commentary and advice.
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View Obituary The Journal News Obituaries
Joseph A. Lukenda
Joseph A. Lukenda Haverstraw - Joseph "Luke" Lukenda, 85, of Glen Allen, VA, formerly of Stony Point, NY passed away peacefully on January 5, 2019. He was born on June 22, 1933 in Union City, NJ to Joseph & Angionette Law Lukenda. After owning his own television repair business, he moved on to work for the State of NY at Letchworth Village in electronics repair until retirement. He enjoyed spending time with his family, playing golf and was an avid fisherman. Luke is predeceased by his first wife Grace (nee Gizzi) of 39 years and his sister Alena Scorese. He is survived by his loving wife Dorothy of 25 years of Glenn Allen, VA, his beloved children Jean Thomas of Spring Valley, NY, Joanne Reinauer of Wyckoff, NJ, Joseph Lukenda (Kathy) of Stony Point, NY, Sharon Parker (Jeff) of Neenah, WI, Linda Colodner (Michael) of Pearl River, NY, his cherished grandchildren Jason, Jill, Craig Eric, Kristi, Joey, Hannah, Christopher, Alison, Jessica, Jennifer, Melissa, Stephen and Jamie, his adored great grandchildren Gracie, Oliva, Emily and Luka. Also surviving are Luke's stepchildren Scott Benjamin (Diane) Susan Koutsoukos (Anthony) and his cherished step grandchildren Alex, Sammi, Nicholas and Julia. The family will receive friends & family on Thursday Jan 10th from 4 - 8 PM at the TJ McGowan Sons Funeral Home 133 Broadway Haverstraw, NY. A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated for Joseph on Friday Jan 11th at 10AM in St. Peters Church in Haverstraw with interment to follow in St. Peters Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Josephs memory to St. Jude's Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105
T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home - Haverstraw, NY
Haverstraw, NY 10927
St. Peter's Church
133 Broadway, Haverstraw, NY 10927
All arrangements are locally delivered to T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home - Haverstraw, NY by a local Haverstraw, NY florist.
In Loving Memory Arrangement
Simply Sweet $160.00
The In Loving Memory™ Arrangement pays tribute to a life well-lived with every beautiful bloom. Red roses and carnations pop amongst this incredible arrangement of white hydrangea, Oriental lilies, snapdragons, larkspur, Queen Anne's Lace and assorted lush greens, lovingly arranged in a large whitewash rectangular basket to create an impressive display of caring kindness.
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View Obituary The Star-Ledger Obituaries
Vincent John Gentile
Vincent John Gentile Vincent John Gentile, 89, of Williamsport, Md., and formerly of Hackettstown, N.J., passed away on Sept. 29, 2019. He served in the U.S. Navy for a total of 26 years, retiring as a Commander in the naval reserve. Vincent was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense working at Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J., as a mechanical engineer until his retirement in 1990. He was an active member of Our Lady of the Mountain Church for over 50 years. Vincent is survived by his wife of 57 years, Angela R. Gentile; son, Peter M. Gentile of Roseland, N.J.; son, David V. Gentile and his wife, Ann, of Martinsburg, WVa.; grandchildren, Laura Wingerd of Martinsburg, WVa., and Joseph Gentile of Dover, N.H. The family will have a Memorial Mass on Friday, Oct. 11 at 10:15 a.m. at Our Lady of the Mountain R.C. Church, Long Valley, N.J. A Catholic burial following the Memorial Mass on Oct. 11 will be held at St. John Cemetery, Middle Village, N.Y. 11379 at 2:30 p.m.
Our Lady-Mountain Catholic Chr
2 E Springtown Rd
Long Valley, NJ 07853
Friday, Oct 11
St. John Cemetery
Memorial Mass
Our Lady of the Mountain R.C. Church
Long Valley, NJ
All arrangements are locally delivered to Our Lady-Mountain Catholic Chr by a local Long Valley, NJ florist.
Divinity Arrangement
Simple and Sweet $130.00
This extraordinary mixed flower bouquet delivers your sympathy with a beauty and faith that reflects the love and loss you feel. The asymmetrical bouquet is hand-arranged by a local FTD artisan florist to make a reverent and respectful setting for an urn of the deceased's cremated remains. Around an angel sculpted of artist's resin are white roses, carnations, Stargazer lilies, statice and lush greens in a tabletop container that's not visible when set on a flat surface. It makes a fitting focal point for a wake or funeral service. Premium bouquet is approximately 13"H x 22"W.
This extraordinary mixed flower bouquet delivers your sympathy with a beauty and faith that reflects the love and loss you feel. The asymmetrical bouquet is hand-arranged by a local FTD artisan florist to make a reverent and respectful setting for an urn of the deceased's cremated remains. Around an angel sculpted of artist's resin are pink roses, carnations, Stargazer lilies, statice and lush greens in a tabletop container that's not visible when set on a flat surface. It makes a fitting focal point for a wake or funeral service. Deluxe bouquet is approximately 12"H x 22"W.
This extraordinary mixed flower bouquet delivers your sympathy with a beauty and faith that reflects the love and loss you feel. The asymmetrical bouquet is hand-arranged by a local FTD artisan florist to make a reverent and respectful setting for an urn of the deceased's cremated remains. Around an angel sculpted of artist's resin are pink roses, carnations, Stargazer lilies, statice and lush greens in a tabletop container that's not visible when set on a flat surface. It makes a fitting focal point for a wake or funeral service. Standard bouquet is approximately 11"H x 20"W.
Urn is not included.
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Tag Archives: surgery for gender dysphoria
Review of Evaluation of surgical procedures for sex reassignment: a systematic review
This is a 2007 review of research on gender reassignment surgery. It shows clearly that we need more research in this area.
The research is not strong enough to evaluate the efficacy of gender reassignment surgery in general. In addition, we do not have a way to evaluate particular surgeries.
From the abstract:
“The evidence concerning gender reassignment surgery in both MTF and FTM transsexism has several limitations in terms of: (a) lack of controlled studies, (b) evidence has not collected data prospectively, (c) high loss to follow up and (d) lack of validated assessment measures. Some satisfactory outcomes were reported, but the magnitude of benefit and harm for individual surgical procedures cannot be estimated accurately using the current available evidence.”
The authors reviewed all the articles they could find on gender reassignment surgeries from 1980 onwards. The review took place in October and November 2005.
The great strength of this review is that they looked at individual surgical procedures. Too often studies lump together all gender reassignment surgeries and then evaluate whether or not they were effective. It is possible that some surgeries are more helpful for people’s mental well-being than others. In addition, some surgeries may have better physical outcomes or fewer risks than others. The physical outcomes could certainly affect people’s mental well being as well.
They did not find enough good studies looking at individual surgeries; there is a great need for more such studies. We need to know what are the complications and problems with various surgeries. Are some techniques better than others? Do some medical centers have better physical outcomes than others?
Only a few of the studies reported on patients’ well-being, mental health, or satisfaction; these studies had the same methodological weaknesses as the others.
This is the main finding of the review – we don’t have great data and we need further research. You can read more about some of the specific surgical procedures here.
The authors discuss the quality of research and directions for future research; I have included their discussion below.
In the first section concerning MTF surgical procedures, 38 published papers met the inclusion criteria (23 case series and 15 case studies) with an additional 13 papers excluded (four case series, three case studies, four reviews, one prospective non-randomized controlled study, one expert opinion). The level of included evidence was of poor quality. There was a clear lack of randomized controlled evidence and only one excluded study included a control group comparison. No studies met the inclusion criteria for labiaplasty, orchidectomy or penectomy procedures. A large amount of evidence is available reporting vaginoplasty and clitoroplasty procedures. Some complications have been reported. All the studies report, to various degrees, satisfactory outcomes in terms of being able to have penetrative sexual intercourse and achieving sexual fulfilment.
In the second section concerning FTM surgical procedures, 44 published papers met the inclusion criteria (26 case series, 17 case studies, one cohort study) with an additional 19 papers being excluded (seven reviews, five expert opinions, four case series, three case studies). The majority of included evidence was of poor quality. Many of the studies reported good satisfactory outcomes with few complications for each of the individual procedures. The main outcomes reported were the ability to perform penetrative sexual intercourse and achieve orgasm. Another key factor requested by many FTM patients was the ability to void whilst standing. Whilst successful results were reported by many studies for phalloplasty procedures, an inability to perform sexual penetration due to the construction of a small phallus was a common problem reported following the metoidioplasty procedure. Some of the FTM core surgical procedures are frequently completed along with other surgery, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of each procedure alone. Furthermore, the assessment of effectiveness is also confounded by the lack of controlled evidence, unclear outcome measures, and a reliance on case series and case studies.
Six previous reviews have reported the clinical effectiveness of GRS. Six reviewed evidence in MTF patients and three of these also reviewed evidence in FTM patients. Of these, three were systematic reviews. These earlier reviews provide a summary of approximately 172 individual studies. Two recent unpublished reports provided a brief summary of some of the reviews. Several key points were raised in these previous reviews. The first related to the quality of the evidence and study design. Concerns were raised about the lack of randomized controlled evidence, the majority of evidence involved case studies and case series, with few studies using group comparisons, standardized measures or the follow up of participants. A second concern related to the validity of findings. Many studies involved a combination of different surgical procedures. Thirdly, there was concern about the validity of outcome measures. Despite many reports of positive outcomes of patients, there was little consensus of how to measure effectiveness. The large range of outcomes reported across studies makes it difficult to accurately evaluate the overall outcomes of individual surgical procedures.
Several previous reviews reported a controlled study which compared 20 patients having immediate surgery with 20 patients awaiting surgery for penectomy, orchidectomy and the construction of a neovagina. The remaining studies reflect lower grades of evidence, and had further problems in their design such as selected patient groups, retrospective analysis and losses to follow up. Conclusions from the reviews are understandably tentative, but highlight improvements in patients across most studies, although 10–15% of patients with transsexism who undergo GRS have poor outcomes.
The quality of evidence included in this review has been poor due to the lack of concealment of allocation, completeness of follow up and blinding. As well as the fundamental limitation in study design, several other issues regarding the interpretation of the evidence are worth consideration. Firstly, all the reviews, and many of the individual studies within them, examine different types of GRS. The Mate-Kole study, for example, is essentially an evaluation of three surgical techniques. Clearly, trying to reach a robust conclusion about GRS as a whole is not possible when the combination of techniques varies across studies. Secondly, the patient populations within, and across studies, are heterogeneous and we have little idea about the referral, diagnosis, assessment and selection processes that precede inclusion within the studies. Consequently, Brown concludes that a lengthy differential diagnosis and a specialized approach to interviewing gender dysphoric patients are needed. Thirdly, the choice of outcome measures varies across studies, with very little use of validated health-related quality of life (QOL) measures. This complicates further our ability to draw conclusions, and also limits the commissioners’ ability to identify studies that use outcomes that are relevant to their role. Finally this review has focused on a subset of surgical procedures that are used within this field. Whilst these are considered to be the most routine, it is recognized that other procedures are currently used and these too need to be critically appraised in future reviews.
No published evidence on cost-effectiveness was found. Best and Stein speculate that some cost offsets are possible following surgery due to the reduced need for psychiatric and hormonal treatment, but no evidence is available for this. The lack of generic QOL measures means that measures of cost-effectiveness that can be used to assess value for money relative to other healthcare interventions are not possible.
When trying to consider all of the evidence together, there is a dilemma regarding its interpretation. Reviews of heterogeneous patient groups and interventions clearly give the greatest depth of evidence, but give little in the way of specific information that is of use to purchasers. In contrast, studies of individual techniques have a more limited evidence base but allow us to focus on specific clinical questions with more consistent reporting. But these provide information on purchasing decisions that are less realistic, as some procedures are unlikely to be purchased in isolation. In between these extremes, are sets of studies that investigate various combinations of multiple procedures, but matching these studies to the activity of different providers and patients, is extremely complex.
Taking this reasoning further, some would argue that assessment of GRS in isolation is difficult to interpret, as it is the final step in a longer treatment process. This is more contentious, as many patients do not reach the point of referral for surgery and many do not wish to undergo any surgery. Also, taking this argument to its extreme would require studies of the effectiveness of treatment from initial diagnosis to the end of post-surgical follow up; such studies do not exist.
Despite these difficulties in interpretation of review evidence the conclusion about the strength of evidence regarding GRS appears clear: little robust evidence exists.
Future research
There is a need for good quality controlled trials based on clearly defined diagnosis and assessment criteria.
An important consideration for future studies is how best to evaluate the effectiveness of a surgical procedure. One possibility is assessment of patient satisfaction and regret following surgery. More importantly is the need for standardised measures to assess the outcome of surgery. One suitable method, which has received limited research, is the use of QOL measures in samples before and after GRS. Rakic et al. investigated several aspects of QOL after GRS in 32 patients with transsexism (22 MTF, 10 FTM). Four aspects of QOL were examined: sexual activity; attitude towards the patients’ own body; relationships with other people; and occupational functioning. For the majority of persons with transsexism, QOL improved after surgery in terms of these aspects. All patients (100%) were satisfied with their GRS. However, only 20 patients (62%) were satisfied with how their bodies looked. In a study by Barrett, they used the General Health Questionnaire and assessments of depression inpatient groups. More controlled studies using this type of experimental design are needed to provide a better measure of surgical effectiveness.
For many patients undergoing GRS, their desire is to look ‘normal’ and be capable of having a normal sexual relationship. The results presented in this review have provided little evidence on how successful individual surgical procedures are in achieving these goals. Further research is needed to investigate these specific outcome measures of satisfaction and function.
In conclusion, we have confirmed the findings from previous reviews that the evidence to support GRS has several limitations in terms of: (a) lack of controlled studies; (b) evidence has not collected data prospectively; (c) high loss to follow up; and (d) lack of validated assessment measures. We have extended these findings from previous reviews by providing a summary of the evidence available for each of the ‘core’ procedures for MTF and FTM transsexism. In the majority of studies a large number of persons with transsexism experience a successful outcome in terms of subjective well being, cosmesis, and sexual function. We conclude that the magnitude of benefit and harm cannot be estimated accurately using the current available evidence.
Evaluation of surgical procedures for sex reassignment: a systematic review by Sutcliffe PA, Dixon S, Akehurst RL, Wilkinson A, Shippam A, White S, Richards R, Caddy CM in J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2009 Mar;62(3):294-306.
This entry was posted in Gender Reassignment Surgery, Study Review, Treatment and tagged 2009, clitoroplasty, evaluating surgery, gender affirmation surgery, gender dysphoria, gender reassignment surgery, GRS, hysterectomy, mastectomy, medical transition, metoidioplasty, neovagina construction, phalloplasty, scrotal construction, sex reassignment surgery, SRS, study review, surgery for gender dysphoria, surgery for gender identity disorder, testicular prosthesis, trans men, trans teens, Trans women, transgender children, transgender surgery, transgender teens, transsexual surgery, treatment for gender dysphoria, treatment for gender identity disorder, vaginoplasty on October 17, 2016 by George Davis.
Evaluation of surgical procedures for sex reassignment: a systematic review – information on specific surgeries
This is a 2007 review of research on gender reassignment surgery. The authors found that there was not enough strong research to evaluate gender reassignment surgery; you can read more about the study as a whole here. This article looks more at specific surgical procedures.
The authors of the review evaluated individual surgical procedures rather than just looking at the outcome of all gender reassignment surgeries together. This allows a better understanding of which procedures are the most effective. It also means excluding some studies that looked at more than one procedure.
The authors reviewed all the articles they could find on specific gender reassignment surgeries from 1980 onwards. The review took place in October and November 2005.
The following are some of the results they found for specific surgeries. There is not enough data to definitively evaluate particular procedures and techniques, but there is useful information on possible complications. Clearly, however, we need more research.
Surgeries for Trans Women (born male)
Clitoroplasty/neoclitoris construction – The authors reviewed three studies that used a range of surgical techniques. The results were generally good but in one study 2 out of 10 patients had necrosis of the neoclitoris; in another study three out of nine patients did not report sexual satisfaction.
“All three included papers reported successful results in terms of function and cosmetic appearance with few or no complications (e.g. urine leakage). Rehman and Melman reported that the neoclitoris had remained intact postoperatively in eight out of 10 patients and the functional and cosmetic appearance was comparable to a normal clitoris. In two patients, however, the results were not satisfactory because of necrosis of the neoclitoris.
Using the dorsal portion of the glans penis with the dorsal neurovascular pedicle for clitoroplasty, the neoclitorides in nine patients survived well, and six patients reported sexual satisfaction. However, the transpositioning of glans on the long dorsal neurovascular pedicle appears to be a procedure with high risks. Overall, several studies have reported that the neoclitoris construction can result in good preservation of light touch and sexual sensation.“
Vaginoplasty/neovagina construction – The authors reviewed 32 studies. Satisfactory cosmetic and functional results were reported in many of the studies, although one found that “vaginoplasty combining inversion of the penile and scrotal skin flaps produced poor functional outcomes.”
One study reported some severe complications.
A 2001 study from Germany reported that “major complications during, immediately and after surgery occurred in nine of the 66 patients (14%), including necrosis of the distal urethra (n = 1), necrosis of the glans (n = 3), a rectal lesion (n = 3), and severe wound infections (n = 6).”
In addition, according to the abstract of the 2001 study, “Minor complications, e.g. meatal stenosis in seven patients, occurred in 24 (36%) of patients. Ten patients with insufficient penile skin had the phallic cylinder augmented with a free-skin mesh graft, but in three of these patients an ileal augmentation was finally constructed because scarring occurred at the suture line between the penile skin and the augmented graft.”
At the same time, 47% of the patients in the 2001 study completed a follow-up questionnaire and almost all of them reported that they were “satisfied with the cosmetic result and capacity for orgasm.” Over half of the people who answered the follow-up questionnaire had had sexual intercourse. It is not clear if the satisfied group included the people who had had complications.
It would be good to have more information to compare to the German results. Are these rates of complications normal?
The reviewers did not find studies that met their criteria for labiaplasty, orchidectomy, or penectomy.
Surgeries for Trans Men (born female)
Hysterectomy – The authors only reviewed one study that met their criteria; it reported successful operations for two trans men. The study also reported that “a laparoscopic hysterectomy using the McCartney tube for FTM GRS was a useful procedure in overcoming difficulties encountered due to restricted vaginal access.”
Mastectomy – The authors reviewed three studies: “Colic and Colic found the use of a circumareolar approach for subcutaneous mastectomy produced flatter masculine breasts, leaving sufficient dermal vascularization for the nipple-areola complex. Of the 12 FTM patients all were very satisfied with the outcomes of surgery mainly because of the periareolar scar. It was reported, however, that two areolar necroses occurred due to perforation of the thin vascular dermal pedicle.”
Metoidioplasty – The authors reviewed two studies.
In the first, the procedure was successful for 32 patients with an average hospital stay of 11 days. One patient had a severe haematoma (solid swelling of clotted blood), but there were no other complications.
In the second study, 17 patients were satisfied with the size and appearance of their penis, but 5 people required additional augmentation phalloplasty. In two cases, the trans men developed urethral stenosis (narrowing of the urethra) and in three cases they developed fistula. The complications were related to the urethroplasty.
The reviewers add: “The metoidioplasty procedure produces a very small phallus (e.g. mean = 5.7 cm, range = 4–10 cm), hardly capable of sexual penetration, if at all. Only 10 of the 32 patients were able to void whilst standing. It should be noted that in the study by Hage et al, 18 patients combined the metoidioplasty procedure with the construction of a bifid scrotum in which testicular prostheses were implanted. Overall these two studies found metoidioplasty was an appropriate method where the clitoris seems large enough to provide a phallus and satisfies the patient.”
Phalloplasty – There is only limited data on the outcomes of phalloplasty, although two studies reported good outcomes in terms of size and stiffness and one reported good psychological outcomes.
However, there are a range of procedures and they have mixed results.
Serious complications have been reported and phalloplasty leaves a scar somewhere on the body.
One study found that creating the neourethra in two stages could reduce complications.
Another study using a suprapubic abdominal wall flap produced a good cosmetic appearance for 68% of the people; presumably 32% of the trans men had phalluses that did not look as good. A small study of using a lateral arm free flap reported good results.
“There appear to be limited data on outcome measures, including social integration, patient satisfaction and physiological function. Good operative results have been reported in terms of appropriate size and stiffness without vascular compromise and in terms of psychological outcomes. In addition to an aesthetically appealing look either while being nude (81%) or wearing a tight swim suit (91%), to void whilst standing appears to be an important goal for many FTM patients. It is important to recognize that there are a range of phalloplasty procedures available with mixed findings being reported in terms of effectiveness. Hage et al. reported several serious complications such as vesicovaginal, urethrovaginal fistulas and urinary incontinence. Furthermore, unlike the metoidioplasty procedure, free flap phalloplasty techniques produce extensive scarring to the donor site, unless techniques such as tissue expansion are used. Of the 85 FTM patients who had a phalloplasty fashioned from suprapubic abdominal wall flap that was tubed to form the phallus, Bettocchi et al. reported the cosmetic appearance of the phallus was considered good in 68% of the patients. Major complications (n = 60) were associated with the neourethra (75%), stricture formation (64%) and/or fistulae (55%). It should be noted that the complication rates found by Bettocchi et al. were significantly less (P < 0.001) when the neourethra was created in two stages. In contrast, Khouri et al. concluded by using a prefabricated lateral arm free flap technique it is possible to achieve a fully functional penis with stable long-term results and excellent patient satisfaction.”
Scrotoplasty/scrotum construction/testicular prosthesis – The authors reviewed two studies that met their criteria. “This procedure is generally accomplished by hollowing out the labia majora, inserting silicone implants, and attaching the labia to develop a single scrotal sac. Implant expulsion, rupture or dislocation is encountered in a small number of patients.”
Urethroplasty – The authors did not find any studies that met their criteria, but they reported that “A one-stage total phalloplasty and urethroplasty was associated with a significant rate of fistulas and strictures.”
The authors did not find studies that met their criteria for Salpingo-oophorectomy or vaginectomy/vaginal closure.
The authors conclude that “There is a need for good quality controlled trials based on clearly defined diagnosis and assessment criteria.”
And, “we have confirmed the findings from previous reviews that the evidence to support GRS has several limitations in terms of: (a) lack of controlled studies; (b) evidence has not collected data prospectively; (c) high loss to follow up; and (d) lack of validated assessment measures. We have extended these findings from previous reviews by providing a summary of the evidence available for each of the ‘core’ procedures for MTF and FTM transsexism. In the majority of studies a large number of persons with transsexism experience a successful outcome in terms of subjective well being, cosmesis, and sexual function. We conclude that the magnitude of benefit and harm cannot be estimated accurately using the current available evidence.”
I have included more of their discussion in my review here.
This entry was posted in Gender Reassignment Surgery, Study Review, Treatment and tagged 2009, clitoroplasty, evaluating surgery, gender affirmation surgery, gender dysphoria, gender reassignment surgery, GRS, hysterectomy, mastectomy, medical transition, metoidioplasty, neovagina construction, phalloplasty, scrotal construction, sex reassignment surgery, SRS, study review, surgery for gender dysphoria, surgery for gender identity disorder, testicular prosthesis, trans men, trans teens, Trans women, transgender children, transgender surgery, transgender teens, transsexual surgery, treatment for gender dysphoria, treatment for gender identity disorder, United Kingdom, vaginoplasty on October 17, 2016 by George Davis.
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The Trailer for Destroyer Finally Dropped!
in Entertainment on 10/18/18 by Megan Cox Leave a Comment
Friends, it’s finally here.
After months of waiting the trailer for Destroyer (co-starring our hipster husband, Sebastian Stan alongside the brilliant Nicole Kidman) was finally released into the wild Wednesday morning via the film’s Twitter account!
Karyn Kusama’s dark cop thriller, featuring a radically transformed Kidman, tells the story of LAPD detective, Erin Bell. After a gang leader from her past re-emerges, Bell falls down a rabbit hole of her not-so-great memories, and the film follows two storylines – the present, with a wearied and older Bell, and the past, with a version of herself that was more idealistic.
“I grew up on these kind of films. I watched [Al] Pacino play these roles, I watched all of the men in the ‘70s get the chance to do it, but I don’t have a female [equivalent]. That’s exciting as an actress to get the chance to do that,” Kidman told EW of the film at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. “This character is also so far removed from me, so that’s part of the appeal as an actor: going to places I haven’t been given the chance to go. I’m all about finding characters and stories that [make me] go, ‘This is new, but it’s still emotionally relevant.’”
Flashback scenes seem to prominently feature Sebastian Stan, as Chris, who despite looking like he might slam your head into a brick wall in some dark alley, is extremely warm and wears jean vests made of boyfriend material in the brief scenes we see of the two of them.
“Do you love me?” he asks.
To which Bell replies, “You know I do.”
Same, Nicole. Same.
Look, I’m the first to admit that I will watch just about any movie for my faves (why the heck do you think I willingly watched The Covenant), but amidst the bad movies there’s good movies too! And I submit that Destroyer will be one of the great films of Sebastian’s career.
Since its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s been getting a lot of buzz. Critics and fans have been quick to say that Kidman’s performance is Oscar worthy, and Sebastian’s role is incredibly moving and devastating. The movie also stars Tatiana Maslany and Bradley Whitford, who are undoubtedly guaranteed to bring excellent performances to the table as well.
The film, slated for release on December 25, is the kind of Christmas present that I can get behind!
Excited for Destroyer? Fangirl out with us in the comments below!
About Megan Cox
Feminist tornado. Bucky Barnes enthusiast. Ardent musicophile. Sportpuck connoisseur. Audible dog reactor. Enjoys beverages that are warm.
Follow her on Twitter @megancox!
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Posts Tagged ‘Udaipur’
Bhang, Jaisalmer, Kingfisher, Rajasthan, Sam sand dunes, shave, Thar Desert, Udaipur
Jaisalmer and Udaipur: A Hospital Visit and A Shave
In India on May 8, 2010 at 12:36 pm
The night train to Jaisalmer was like sleeping in a sand pit. The desert tracks and wide windows were not a good combination. Luckily we still had the extra strong sleeping pills from Shimla but we woke up looking like we’d rolled down a sand dune.
We stuck to our commitment to the dice
We had plans to rent motorbikes and drive out to a small village or to the Sam sand dunes about 40kms away. Minja was tired so she checked into a room on the 1st floor of the train station while Filip and I booked train tickets and picked up the bikes. Minja was still tired when we returned at 9am so we went back into town and had breakfast. It was then when it happened.
I would like to say I was pulling wheelies along the highway when an elephant came out of nowhere being chased by a tiger, I swerved crashed into a fruit stall and grazed my knee. The real tale was more like this; I snatched the clutch on the third time I’d ever pulled away on a bike, narrowly missed a rickshaw and fell off the bike to the side. I did graze my right knee but sliced open my left leg on something sticking out of the motorbike. Luckily a rickshaw driver saw the incident, along with half the population of Jaisalmer that were hanging around the main square, and he drove me off to the dirtiest hospital i’ve ever seen.
The fresh gash
Such a happy chappy just doing his duty
Stitch up
After the incident we just chilled out for a bit while I got drugged up on paracetamol and then headed out on the open road to grab a deal on camel rides at the Sam sand dunes. En route we stopped off at the exclusive Thar Vilas so the other two could have a dip in the 5000 Rs a night hotel pool.
When we arrived in Sam, extremely windswept but invigorated by the freedom of the open road, we haggled with a few of the hustlers for a good deal. We wanted accommodation in a hut, dinner, evening entertainment, breakfast and a camel ride all for 1000 Rs in total (£5 each). We managed it and also got a 20% discount on beers in the local beer shop.
Minja showing the locals how it's done
The entertainment was good fun but went downhill when us westerners thought it was a good idea to do an impromptu acoustic session of Hit The Road Jack. It was only when we were up there, on stage, that we realised only one of the English blokes we’d met knew one verse. It was a low point when the owner of the camp said “do another one or let the band carry on”. I think they were expecting too much of six drunks.
The next morning, suffering slightly from the legal bhang and the strong Kingfishers the three of us hit the dunes on camels and luckily for my arse the ride was only 20 minutes long.
Camel trekking in the Thar Desert
Back on our arses again we returned to Jaisalmer via a couple of Pepsi stops in local villages and got a luxury bus that afternoon to Udaipur. The town is probably most famous for its floating palace and featuring in the Bond film Octopussy. It was here, a month after leaving Blighty I decided it was time to scrap the beard. How else would you go about doing that in India then with a trip to the barbers? The sleazy Mexican look was my moustache of choice.
I can guarantee the closest shave you'll ever know.
We just had a lazy day in Udaipur with a ride on the city’s ropeway, a couple of Kingsishers in a park, a rushed DVD burning session and a long goodbye at the train station. I was now alone again, Swedeless, and off on a three day journey to Kolkata.
A trip on the ropeway. I had to upload a pic of the new look too
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Late goal lifts Admirals past Knights
by theahl
A late game goal by Corey Hessler lifted the Milwaukee Admirals to a 4-3 victory over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights in the only AHL action on Thursday night.
Hessler took advantage of a late Omaha penalty, firing a slapshot past goaltender Brent Krahn with 20 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Admirals their eighth straight victory at home. Hessler now has scored two goals and an assist in five games since joining the team on January 13th.
Kris Beech scored a goal and an assist, and Libor Pivko added two assists to help the Admirals to the win.
Milwaukee goaltender and 2006 AHL All-Star Pekka Rinne stopped 18 of 21 shots to pick up his 19th win of the season and lift his record at the Bradley Center to a solid 15-2.
Carsen Germyn scored his team leading 19th goal of the season for the Knights in the losing effort.
The Admirals (27-11-3-1, 58 pts.) are unbeaten in their last six games and trail West division leading Houston by two points. The Knights (16-20-1-7, 40 pts.) are headed in the opposite direction having dropped their last six decisions.
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The Coggin Toboggan
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Philly sports talk radio rocked as “97.5 FM Host Mike Missanelli” revealed as fake
Scandal! Popular radio host Mike Missanelli revealed as a hoax.
Philadelphia, PA – The jig is up.
In a scandal that may rock the popular sports talk radio station to its core, 97.5 FM producers Jason Myrtetus and Pat Egan have revealed that infamous 97.5 FM mid-day host “Mike Missanelli,” a stereotypical Italian dunderhead who appeals to the lowest common denominator, is in actuality a fake character cooked up by Egan.
Egan said he created the character in the early 2000s when “he” first appeared on then 610 WIP. Thought of as a one-shot character designed to infuriate listeners and garner hatred throughout the city, Egan was surprised when 610 hired him to reprise the character on a daily basis as a host.
Posted in BREAKING NEWS and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, 97.5 the Fanatic, Dwayne from Swedesboro, Jason Myrtetus, Mike Missanelli, Pat Egan on August 23, 2016 by BL. Leave a comment
Is Glen Macnow a cranky old man? We look into it…
Look at that punim!
I’m at an all day conference and I have a 30 minute break. Instead of chit chatting with potential sources who could give my career a real boost, I’ve decided to write something for my blog that makes me no money.
Five minutes ago I took to Twitter and said I would write ANY article suggested to me by a reader.
Dedicated reader KaboomKid7 came out of nowhere (a la Mankind from under the ring to drag the Undertaker down to hell) and Tweeted this story suggestion to me.
Why @RealGlenMacnow is a cranky old man https://t.co/iSHerC7s5P
— Kaboom (@Kaboomkid7) November 10, 2015
I said anything, and he was the first person to respond, so lets look into this question and determine, once and for all, if Glen Macnow is a cranky old man.
Posted in Editor's Note and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, Glen Macnow, Mike Missanelli, Philadelphia on November 10, 2015 by BL. Leave a comment
Ruben Amaro Jr: I was misquoted
Philadelphia, PA – Perhaps looking for some damage control a day after a conversation with Jim Salisbury, Ruben Amaro Jr. took to the airwaves on Philadelphia media and claimed the CSN Philly reporter severely misquoted him in the now infamous story where Amaro said fans don’t understand the game.
He first claimed he was misquoted Monday morning, in an on-air appearance with WIP host Howard Eskin.
“Howard, I never said the fans ‘don’t understand the game,’ that’s just not true,” Amaro said. “What I really told Jim Salisbury is that I don’t understand how 99% of the mouth-breathing fans in this town can support a family when they’re this fucking stupid and inept.”
Eskin abruptly turned off Amaro’s microphone and quickly ended the segment, going into a hasty live read for Steven Singer. Even though is microphone was off, Amaro could be heard in the background over Eskin complaining that “If these retarded fans think Nola is going to turn this shipwreck around, they should take a long walk off a short pier.”
Amaro continued his apology tour, appearing on 97.5 The Fanatic with Mike Missanelli in the afternoon.
“As I said earlier, Mike, I was misquote. I never said the fans ‘bitch and complain because we don’t have a plan.’ I would never say this,” Amaro said. “No, I actually said I get tired of hearing these inbred morons bitching and complaining about their pathetic lives when they’re in MY stadium, when they should be drinking themselves to death and spending money in our concession stands. Fuck these pieces of garbage. How DARE they insult Ruben, I am a god in this horrific town.”
Missanelli was too busy daydreaming about his cat to dump out of Amaro’s tantrum and was immediately released from his contract at the end of the show.
As of press time, Amaro Jr. flipped off a number of booing fans outside of The Fanatic and was pulled over after running a red light. He was charged to the fullest extent of the law, much to the delight of everyone in Philadelphia and South Jersey.
Posted in BREAKING NEWS and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, 97.5 the Fanatic, Howard Eskin, Mike Missanelli, Philadelphia, Ruben Amaro Jr. on May 27, 2015 by BL. Leave a comment
Editor’s Note: I love the 76ers
KJ McDaniels throwing down a vicious dunk over old geezers Angelo Cataldi and Howard Eskin.
When The Coggin Toboggan wants to get serious it turns its coverage over to its editor and founder to bring everything to a screeching halt. Goodbye funny, say hello to self pity and depression.
At this moment, Wednesday, Feb. 18, the Philadelphia 76ers are by far the most entertaining sports franchise in this city, and definitely in the best position moving forward. It’s much more exciting to watch a team developing a group of young, energetic players than pretend to care about the Phillies upcoming season or watch the Flyers struggle to fall into the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
For a team that many thought wouldn’t win more than 10 games this season, it’s hard to deny the team actually has a bright future, though many can’t see it at the moment.
Don’t listen to Angelo Cataldi or Howard Eskin, who regularly call out 76ers GM Sam Hinkie for his out of the box strategy. He’s actually DOING something with this team, instead of wallowing in the 7th and 8th seed of the Eastern Conference playoffs year after year. My memory isn’t too great, but I don’t recall Cataldi or Eskin crowing over the 2008-2009 76ers and their 41-41 record, which culminated in a first round exit to the Orlando Magic. I’m fairly sure Cataldi didn’t talk for entire segments about how inspiring and entertaining Willie Green played during that year.
Also, as I recall the two were kicking the 76ers for not drafting Doug McDermott, passing him over for Dario Saric. Saric hasn’t played a game for the 76ers, but was recently named the MVP of the Euroleague. Doug McDermott is averaging 3 points a game for the Bulls, plays about 9 minutes a game and has recently been seen kicking kittens down the sidewalk of the street he lives on (may not have happened). That’s not going to vault your team into the upper stratosphere of the NBA.
Watching young guys on this team who wouldn’t get a chance or the minutes on other squads is the most entertaining aspect of Philadelphia sports right now. Would Robert Covington get a chance to play anywhere else? Nope. He just played in the Rising Stars game over All-Star weekend. KJ McDaniels is getting more minutes than he would see anywhere else. Better to have him playing now than rotting on the bench behind someone like Jason Richardson.
Hinkie is like a guy who is smart enough to reset his Playstation when his Madden team is being blown out by 56 points in the first half against the computer. Something’s not working, so it’s time to start something different. It will take more time, but why keep playing the same way with the same results when you’re doomed to failure? It’s time to reset and start throwing up 50 yard hail mary’s on fourth down, calling for triple reverses and kicking onside kicks after every TD.
Lets remember these points in three years when the 76ers are one of the top three teams in the East so we can systematically boo Eskin and Cataldi off the radio when they try to jump on the bandwagon.
Posted in Editor's Note and tagged 610 WIP, 76ers, 94 WIP, Angelo Cataldi, Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Show, Dario Saric, Howard Eskin, KJ McDaniels, Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia, Sam Hinkie on February 18, 2015 by BL. Leave a comment
94 WIP’s Josh Innes has been frantically writing Nate Allen jokes since 4 a.m.
Philadelphia, PA – Following the news that current free agent and former Eagles starting safety Nate Allen was held by police last night after being accused of masturbating in his vehicle at an intersection, 94 WIP radio personality Josh Innes had locked himself in a station office for the past 8 hours, frantically scribbling down as many Nate Allen masturbation jokes as he possibly can.
His co-host, Tony Bruno, told reporters Innes had only taken one restroom break in the past 8 hours.
“I don’t want to disturb him. Look at him, it’s like watching Mozart working on his Requiem,” Bruno said. “There’s no way a 5-hour show with commercials will be enough time for him to use everything he has prepared.”
The unwashed and frazzled Innes could be seen in the office swaying his arms too and fro, his eyes closed, a bic pen elegantly gliding across a legal pad as the self-pleasuring jokes poured forth from his soul. Several full pads were strewn throughout the office, ready for airtime.
“Nate even rhymes with masturbate. I can only imagine how much mileage he’s gotten out of that already,” Bruno said. “I could only come up with one and it’s not even that great. Basically just a play on the word ‘indecent exposure’ and Nate being an expert on being ‘exposed’ each Sunday afternoon. It’s wordy, I know, which is why I’m leaving this up to a professional.”
Innes took a break for several minutes, his chest heaving, obviously in pain as he laid his burdened head upon a silk throw pillow. The moment of rest was broken when his head shot up from the pillow, yelling “Eureeka!” as he took up his quill once more in preparation for the 1 p.m. show.
Posted in BREAKING NEWS and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, Josh Innes, Nate Allen, NFL, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Bruno on February 17, 2015 by BL. Leave a comment
Tony Bruno fired from 94 WIP due to declining ratings
Bruno (left) is out of the picture at 94 WIP. (Photo credit: Philly.com)
Philadelphia, PA – One day after the debut show of Josh Innes and Tony Bruno in the afternoon, company management representatives from 94 WIP have announced a change in direction when it comes to the afternoon drive slot.
Tony Bruno has been let go of his contract and will no longer appear alongside Josh Innes from 1 to 6 p.m. each afternoon. The duo performed one show together, setting their sites on ratings leaders Mike Missanelli of 97.5 the Fanatic, but unfortunately came up short.
Company representatives expressed frustration at the lack of a ratings gain from the two hosts.
“Quite simply, we thought we’d be farther ahead in the game than we are right now, so we felt it was time to make a change,” said Spike Eskin, the program director for 94 WIP. “We felt that we gave Tony and Josh an ample amount of time to really close that gap, but we just didn’t see the results.”
Eskin continued and announced an exciting new direction for the longtime sports radio station.
“We’ve hired a new host, a fresh talent, who we think is going to bring some unique ideas to our format,” Eskin said.
94 WIP has hitched its wagon to the rising star of Anthony Gargano, a lover of incredible meats.
Eskin then announced Anthony Gargano, a sports radio talk show host, has been hired to replace Bruno. Gargano will sit in with Innes immediately.
“Anthony Gargano will bring a reverberant voice to WIP. We’re very excited to see where this new talent will bring us,” Eskin said.
Gargano, a relative unknown to the Philadelphia sports talk scene, cited a love for the city and a love of incredible meats as his two main assets as a radio host.
The duo will begin their show today from 1 to 6 p.m.
As of press time, 94 WIP has let Josh Innes out of his contract and announced Rob Ellis will team with Gargano for the afternoon drive slot.
Posted in BREAKING NEWS and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, 97.5 the Fanatic, Anthony Gargano, Josh Innes, Mike Missanelli, Philadelphia, Philadelphia sports talk radio, Spike Eskin, Tony Bruno on February 5, 2015 by BL. 4 Comments
Wing Bowl 23 favorites and long shots
The very subtle Wing Bowl 23 logo.
The most morbidly obese eating challenge in Philadelphia is nearly upon us, as Wing Bowl 23 is set to kick off at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday, Jan. 30. Originally developed by 94 WIP Morning Show’s Angelo Cataldi as a way to fight the stereotype of Philadelphia being a city filled with only gluttonous, boorish, drunken blue collar slobs, the Wing Bowl opens its doors each year for thousands of gluttonous, boorish, drunken blue collar slobs to get shit faced at 4 a.m.
If there’s anything this city likes more than drinking and watching fat guys eat as many chicken wings as they can in 30 minutes, it’s gambling on fat guys eating as many chicken wings as they can in 30 minutes. The CT has released a list of odds on the favorites in the competition, as well as a few long shots who just may take home first place in the competition.
As it has been in the past, first place for the Wing Bowl is an all expense paid trip to Jefferson Hospital for an emergency stent procedure.
The Favorites:
• Bill Simmons (aka El Wingador) – 2:1 to win – A former Wing Bowl champion, Simmons has agreed to come out of retirement for one last shot at glory. Simmons ran afoul of the law several years ago for a drug possession charge, but has assured Wing Bowl representatives he will only be selling cocaine prior to and after the competition. He will, though, be high on cocaine the entire day, but that’s just common sense.
• George “The Dumpster” Hammerstein – 6:1 to win – Hammerstein was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which shows his dedication. May miss the competition, unfortunately, if he can’t have his foot amputation surgery rescheduled.
• You – 10:1 – Come on man, what are you a pussy? Just jump down there and run through the crowd. If you can get by the security and get up on the podium, I’m sure Angelo would let you join, he would like have to! Don’t be a loser, just try it! Holy shit, he’s doing it Sully, he’s doing it! Oh god his wife is going to be so pissed.
The Long Shots:
• Mick Foley (aka Mankind, aka Dude Love, aka Cactus Jack) – 30:1 – Former professional wrestler Mick Foley signed up for the competition several weeks ago (no, it’s really true). The Hardcore legend is rumored to have a bottomless stomach, but has shown an unwillingness to show up to events if his barbed wire wrapped baseball bat is not allowed through security. Will have to focus on eating wings and resist urges to smash folding chairs across other competitors’ backs if he wishes to have success.
• Ryan Howard – 40:1 to win – Current Philadelphia Phillies first baseman signed on for the competition in lieu of preparing for spring training. When asked why he thought he had a chance to win, Howard proclaimed “Philadelphia fans have been calling me a fat piece of crap all year, so I’ll fit right in here.”
• A sense of dignity for anyone involved in this shit show – 1,000:1 – Don’t waste your time.
Posted in BREAKING NEWS and tagged 610 WIP, 94 WIP, Al Morganti, Angelo Cataldi, Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Show, Bill Simmons, El Wingador, Mick Foley, Philadelphia, Ryan Howard, Wing Bowl on January 28, 2015 by BL. Leave a comment
Coggin Toboggan Hall of Fame
Hinkie Signing
It's a take about nothing!
Nerlons Noel's hi-top fade 76ers update
Point/Counterpoint
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Keeping Score ›
July ›
31st ›
Texas after Penn State's Anthony Fera [Updated August 2]
By Trey Scott Posted on July 31, 2012 at 7:20 pm
[Update, 10:10 a.m.: Fera has been removed from the online Penn State football roster]
It looks like Anthony Fera is about to become a Longhorn.
Fera's name no longer appears on Penn State's online roster, which would suggest he's finalized the decision many have been expecting the last week or so. (Hookem.com reported as much on Wednesday night).
The next step would be confirmation, by way of statement, from the UT Athletics department.
[From July 31]: Southern California today confirmed Penn State expat Silas Redd would be joining its football team. Under guidelines set up by the NCAA, any current or incoming Penn State player has been granted to transfer to any other school -- even within the Big Ten conference -- and be immediately eligible.
So, is Anthony Fera next?
Fera -- a Cypress, Texas, native whose two sisters graduated from UT -- visited Austin this Sunday and reportedly came away with a scholarship offer in hand, per Hookem.com (Texas is one under the 85-scholarship limit after Paden Kelley's decision to quit the team).
We reached out to the all-conference punter, who was also 14-of-17 on field goal attempts, but the family is understandably mum right now as Fera contemplates all of this. He's scheduled to graduate in the fall, so a transfer of credits would have to be worked out, and Fera would of course want to be put on a similar program.
Per Ben Jones of StateCollege.com, Fera was in attendance of a "Rise and Rally" event in State College this morning, put on to support the Penn State players remaining with the program despite the sanctions levied by the NCAA -- a four-year postseason ban and loss of scholarships most directly effecting the current players. It's not too surprising for Fera to be in State College until he's come to a decision, though that'd have to happen rather soon as the Longhorns report for fall camp August 5.
Texas is in need of a proven kicker after Justin Tucker graduated. Under scholarship are placekickers Will Russ and Nick Jordan. Ben Pruitt and Nick Rose, two walk-ons, are vying for the job as well, and Alex King, a transfer from Duke, could be the frontrunner at punter.
Russ has a big leg, but struggled in spring practices. And Jordan could very well be the Longhorns kicker of the future, but he's only 18. Clearly, the coaching staff doesn't have a large amount of confidence in either of these players if they're looking to add Fera, a fourth-year junior.
After all, head coach Mack Brown did rhetorically ask the following in June:
"Who is your punter? Who is the guy to step up and make [the big kick] that we'll have at some point next year? Who kicks off? Who will do it?"
Texas is hoping "Fera" is the answer to it all.
Covering the rumors, recruiting and breaking news that matter most to Texas sports fans. Get inside the minds of the journalists closest to the action with Keeping Score.
Intrasquad scrimmage will be at Gregory Gym for third-straight year
Sports Briefly
Lexi Sun named 'freshman of the week'
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Tag Archives: Nathan Hacker
Pearson wishes for competitive spirit, constant improvement from New Castle Trojans
November 11, 2019 stvkrh905 1 Comment
Brad Pearson has a vision for what he wants for his program as he prepares his New Castle (Ind.) High School baseball team for its first season with him as head coach in 2020.
Pearson, who has been a high school assistant at Noblesville (2011), Carmel (2012-16) and Indianapolis Cathedral (2017-19), takes over the Trojans with the idea of helping his student-athletes achieve their goals.
“Hopefully, I will be able to help those who want to play at the next level get there,” says Pearson, who takes over at a school that has sent Drew Barber (Indiana University Kokomo), Jared Heard (Indiana University Kokomo), Nick Jones (Anderson University), Jordan May (Anderson University), Taylor Matthews (DePauw University) and Nathan Hacker (Franklin College) on to collegiate baseball in recent years. “The biggest way I think we do that is to establish a competitive culture.
“It has been awhile since New Castle has won a baseball sectional title (2014) and my guys are hungry! So far, they have been doing a great job of listening to instructions, and pushing each other to get better.
“They all have had the mindset that we have talked to them about since Day 1 and that is to get at least 1 percent better every day in whatever it is that they do — whether that is within the game of baseball or improving on being a better teammate.”
The IHSAA Limited Contact Period for fall (Sept. 2-Oct. 19) saw the Trojans get together to get better.
“At a smaller school like New Castle (about 940 students compared to 1,100 at Cathedral), a lot of our student-athletes play a fall sport,” says Pearson. “So our numbers are not as high as what I am used too, but with those that did come out they were able to learn a lot.
“Those that were able to be at fall workouts know what to expect from a practice standpoint under the new staff, on a baseball diamond. So, I envision them to be the leaders once we get back out there in the spring, being able to help teach what to do and when to do things when we transition from one drill to the next.”
What will the Trojans do until the next Limited Contact Period (which begins Dec. 9)?
“I like to give the players some time away and give them some time to rest,” says Pearson. “So all of November they will have off. Once we hit December, we will start getting into the weight room and working on conditioning.
“Then when we get back from winter break, we will continue in the weight room but start to add baseball back in the mix, getting our guys arms ready to go for the season, get in the cage, work on fundamental glove work, and position communication.”
New Castle’s coaching staff features varsity assistants Zak Kellogg, Tyler Smith and Matt Chernoff, junior varsity head coach Frank McMahon and JV assistant A.J. York. Kellogg will work with catchers and hitter, Smith with corner infielders and hitter, Chernoff with outfielders and baserunners and McMahon will be assistant pitching coach to Pearson.
Pearson was the pitching coach at Cathedral with Ed Freje as head coach. The Irish went 29-0 and won the IHSAA Class 4A state championship in 2017.
Pearson played for Eric Lentz at Carmel, graduating in 2006.
“One of the big things I got from Coach Lentz was how he as a coach would allow us players to just be us,” says Pearson. “He allowed us to just play the game and didn’t over coach us in any aspect.
“He knew that our group had been playing together for a very long time and I think he appreciated the cohesiveness that we had together.”
An arm injury in his senior season ended Pearson’s playing career. He graduated from Purdue University in 2011 with a degree in Physical Education.
Pearson served with Justin Keever at Noblesville then Dan Roman and Jay Lehr while on the Carmel coaching staff.
“Obviously, coaching under Ed Frieje, Dan Roman and Justin Keever has been huge for me,” says Pearson. “All three of them have won a state titles as head coaches.
“I have taken a lot from all three of them, both about the game of baseball and building positive relationships with players and families.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for guys like Jay Lehr. Jay was my pitching instructor as a kid and once I started coaching myself he took me under his wing and continued to teaching me new things about pitching.
“I’m also very lucky to have another coach in my family with my cousin Dave Scott. The year we won the state championship at Cathedral, Dave was also able to lead Cardinal Ritter to a state championship win.
“Him and I have a pretty close relationship, so he has taught me quite a bit about what it takes to be a head coach.
Pearson spends his summer coaching with Ryan Bunnell (head coach at Westfield High School) with the Indiana Bulls.
“He has been a lot of help in the short time period that we have known each other,” says Pearson of Bunnell. “Chris Truby (Philadelphia Phillies infield coordinator) has also been a mentor of mine. Having spent several winters in the batting cages with him teaching kids, I’ve been pretty lucky to pick up a lot of knowledge from him.
“I could probably go on and on, but I have definitely been blessed to have played for great coaches — in high school and through summer ball, and to have coached under some of the best coaches around.”
That being said, Brad’s biggest mentor is his father — Ron Pearson.
“My dad was the one who introduced me to the game that I love,” says Brad, who is Ron and Karen Pearson’s only child. “He was my first coach and the best coach a son could ask for!”
New Castle is a member of the Hoosier Heritage Conference (with Delta, Greenfield-Central, Mount Vernon of Fortville, New Palestine, Pendleton Heights, Shelbyville and Yorktown).
The Trojans are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Delta, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Jay County and Yorktown. New Castle has won 13 sectional titles.
Pearson plans to be in close contact with his New Castle feeder programs.
“I am a sounding board for the Little League and Babe Ruth,” says Pearson. “They have had a lot of success in their own right and I want them to continue to have that success and build upon it.
“Anything they need from me I will be there to give my advice/opinion. I have told them that this isn’t MY program, it is OUR program. Yes, I may be the leader at the top, but we are all in this together!”
Pearson is hoping to get a lot of things done at the Trojans home diamond — Sunnyside Field.
“To be honest I have quite a wish list, but as we all know everything takes money and we are working to raise that money to help make Sunnyside Field, not only better for tomorrow but better for our future Trojans ways down the road,” says Pearson.
A P.E. and Health teacher at New Castle Middle School, Pearson is a bachelor.
Cousins Brad Pearson (left) and Dave Scott were part of IHSAA state baseball champions in 2017 — Pearson as pitching coach at Indianapolis Cathedral and Scott as head coach at Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter.
Brad Pearson, a graduate of Carmel (Ind.) High School and Purdue University, is now the head baseball coach at New Castle (Ind.) High School.
After assistant stints at Indianapolis Cathedral, Carmel and Noblesville, Brad Pearson is now the head baseball coach at New Castle (Ind.) High School. The 2006 Carmel graduate also coaches in the summer with the Indiana Bulls.
A.J. YorkAnderson UniversityBabe Ruth LeagueBrad PearsonCarmelChris TrubyDan RomanDave ScottDeltaDePauw UniversityDrew BarberEd FrejeEric LentzFrank McMahonFranklin CollegeGreenfield-CentralGreyhoundsGuerin CatholicHamilton HeightsHealthHoosier Heritage ConferenceIHSAAIndiana BullsIndiana University KokomoIndianapolis Cardinal RitterIndianapolis CathedralIrishJared HeardJay CountyJay LehrJordan MayJustin KeeverKaren PearsonLimited Contact PeriodLittle LeagueMatt ChernoffMount Vernon (Fortville)Nathan HackerNew CastleNew Castle Middle SchoolNew PalestineNick JonesNoblesvillePendleton HeightsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhysical educationPitching coachPurdue UniversityRon PearsonRyan BunnellShelbyvilleState championsTaylor MatthewsTrojansTyler SmithWestfieldYorktownZak Kellogg
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Sandra Gustavsen
Email RSS Twitter
Sandra M. Gustavsen is an industry analyst with G Business Systems LLC, specializing in research and analysis of business communications vendors and their solutions, including unified communications and mobility applications, IP phone systems and cloud-based business VoIP and UC services. Sandra has 25 years in the telecommunications industry, with earlier positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Access Intelligence and T3i Group.
www.gbusinessvoip.com
Nextiva CCaaS, a Broader Vision
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CoreDial & the BroadWorks Alternative
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On Our Radar for 2017
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Taylor Blitz Times
The Chancellor of Football covers NFL football like no one else. The history of the game and how it relates to today's game all under one roof!
About Jef Taylor: The Chancellor of Football
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SUPER BOWL XIII CHAMPION 1978 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Legendary Days: The 1981 NFC Championship Game - The Birth of Camelot
SUPER BOWL XIII RUNNER UP 1978 DALLAS COWBOYS
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Gridiron Greats
The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund's mission is to assist dire need retired NFL players who were pioneers of the game
The Pro Football Hall of Fame
Honor the heroes of the game, preserve its history, promote its values & celebrate excellence everywhere.
Remember The AFL
"The 'sixties: it was Camelot, it was the Beatles, it was Mare Tranquilitatis, it was "Aquarius": it was the AFL." - Ange Coniglio
Tag Archives: Arian Foster
Top Ten Running Backs Going Into 2013 Season
July 25, 2013 by The Chancellor of Football
As the NFL has evolved into more of a passing league, it seems that the importance of the running back position should wane. However there is nothing more powerful than a rushing attack to wear down your opponent or take time off the clock. What we have seen is the evolution of the type of back in most instances. Gone is the huge bruiser to lean on the defense and he has been replaced with a smaller, shiftier type of back. The type to take a handoff in a stretch running play whether the quarterback is under center or from the Pistol and Shotgun formations.
Do you realize Jamaal Charles has rushed for over 1,000 yards 3 times in a 5 year career??
The best can operate in multiple sets as well as run routes to catch the ball in space. However there are a few throwback types who smash into the line and come off traps, sweeps, and multiple tight end sets as well. Each team needs to adapt their offense to the type of running and passing plays suited to their back’s ability. To make this list, running backs need to be able to break the first tackle. Well here we are with the Taylor Blitz Times best NFL running backs coming into the new season.
10. Maurice Jones-Drew – Jacksonville Jaguars: Although he’s led the league in rushing with 1,606 yards in 2011, Drew is coming back from a major leg injury where he missed most of 2012, and has carried a heavy load the last four years. He has been the Jaguars offense and could be on the verge of possibly burning out as Michael Turner did. This year we’ll have to watch if he’s able to slip tackles and power through arm tackles as he has over his 7 year career. It’s those 954 runs between 2009-2011 that worry us about burning out. He should be good for 1,000 yards this year but we’re keeping our eye on him.
9. Chris Johnson-Tennessee Titans: Did we say gamebreaker?? Well CJ2K is still on the launch pad down in the volunteer state. With a head coach who is a Hall of Fame lineman in Mike Munchak, it’s expected the Titans will come together on the line. This former 2,000 yard rusher stands on the launch pad destined for another big year, yet the vision of that coming is beginning to wane. However he did flash his explosiveness with a 94 yard touchdown last year. In all he ran 276 times for 1,243 yards and 6 TDs.
Spiller could be the Buffalo Bills second 2,000 yard rusher behind OJ Simpson.
8. CJ Spiller-Buffalo Bills: Last year he burst onto the scene as the electrifying talent Bills brass and fan base had been expecting. The team needs to quit with Fred Jackson and give the ball to this game breaker 25 times a game. He was on his way to bust status after two years of flashes once he got onto the field. However an injury to Jackson left Spiller as the only runner in town and he exploded for 1,244 on just 207 carries. That is 6.0 yards a crack!! The same average as Peterson who ran for 2,000 yards. This year it should be his year and his team as he shows 2012 was no fluke. He also accounted for 43 receptions for 453 yards and combined for 8 touchdowns.
7. Alfred Morris-Washington Redskins: A surprise rookie performance was turned in by Morris, who was a fourth round draft choice. His 1,613 yards and 13 TDs were among the best in football but let’s ask a fundamental question: Was his performance indicative of his talent or was he the beneficiary of RG III carrying out read option fakes?? He was the second option when it came to rushing the football in many a defensive coordinator’s game plan. Year two will be interesting to watch how teams play him.
Yet you can’t underscore he was a tough durable low center of gravity back that thrived in the Redskin’s offense. He’s shifty enough, he seldom took a real big hit with most of the plays being stretch type runs. It reciprocated in holding linebackers honest and allowed Griffin III to rush for another 815 yards and 7 more TDs. He did disappear in the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks once Griffin III went down. Would he be nearly effective if he played with another quarterback??
6. Frank Gore-San Francisco 49ers: One of the last of a dying breed, the do everything power back. One huge beneficiary of the new Pistol offense is Frank Gore. There are still running plays where the 49ers line up in power formations but in large part Gore isn’t facing downhill charging linebackers. The Pistol forces teams into 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 nickel variations where the linebackers are a step behind on the front side of the read option.
They are not attacking the run lanes like they do in a traditional sense and this will lesson the wear and tear on a running back entering his ninth year. For the first time in many years, Gore looked fresh the entire season. He started all 16 games while rushing for 1,214 yards 8 TDs while averaging 4.7 yards per rush. His carries will be split between Kendall Hunter and LeMichael James to keep him fresh for the stretch drive. So expect his totals to be a little less also.
NFL Network dubbed him “The Muscle Hamster” as he has shown tackle breaking power in his first season.
5. Doug Martin-Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A shifty power runner in an Emmitt Smith type roll yet he has a better downfield burst. If you’re new to the Taylor Blitz Times, we have touted him as an NFL ready back and produced an article on his Heisman Trophy legitimacy before his senior season at Boise St. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201301120den.htm His rookie campaign saw him rush for 1,454 yards 11 TDs while catching 49 passes for another 479 yards and a touchdown.
Last year it started when he burst onto the NFL scene with a national televised game against the Vikings. That night he ran for 137 yards with a touchdown while catching 3 passes for another 79 yards and a touchdown. He had a 41 yard run and a 64 yard touchdown on a screen. Just when folks began talking about him he breaks out with his masterpiece. He showed there was another runner on the field that night along with Adrian Peterson.
The following week out in Oakland, in front of his bay area family, Martin ran for 264 yards with 4 touchdown runs of 67, 70, and 41, and 1 yards. For much of the fourth quarter Fox was airing his exploits to all other games since he was so close to the all time record. Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Jim Brown, OJ Simpson, nor Corey Dillon had ever run that far as a rookie in a game. No SEC back including Bo Jackson has ever run that far in an NFL game period. Only Adrian Peterson as a rookie ran farther. We’re talking all of NFL history here. He will be a candidate for 1,500 yards again down in Tampa.
4. Jamaal Charles-Kansas City Chiefs: The most underrated running back in football. We have heard former Chief now analyst, Bill Maas proclaim he is a smallish type back. The saving grace for the Chiefs offense last year was former Texas Longhorn Jamaal Charles. Last year he ran with enough power to break tackles and have a Pro Bowl season with 1,509 yards. He had a whopping 5.3 yard average and don’t forget he was a Pro Bowl performer in 2010, when he rushed for 1,467 yards and an even better 6.4 yard average. This is no fluke. He’s only going into his sixth season. Now with Alex Smith and a good passing combo, he should keep up the pace set last year.
Texans Super Bowl hopes ride with Foster.
3. Arian Foster-Houston Texans: Going into his 5th season, the Texans couldn’t be more solid at running back with Arian Foster leading the charge. Next to Adrian Peterson, no back in football has been more productive than Foster’s 4,264 yards and 39 TDs over the last three years. He is not the flashy runner breaking the huge play like CJ2K or Adrian Peterson, but he’s a steady performer that churns out important first down after first down as the Texans closer.
2. Marshawn Lynch-Seattle Seahawks: No runner sets the tempo for his football team like Lynch. He brings a physicality and attitude to the Pacific Northwest that is infectious and goes over to a swarming defense. He has been the lightning rod ever since his famous 67 yard touchdown run to oust the defending champion Saints in the 2010 wildcard game.
Although he’s entering his seventh season, he doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on him. In 2009 & 2010 he only carried the ball a combined 320 times as he played for both Buffalo and Seattle. Last year he thundered for 1,590 yards and 11 TDs as he powered the Seahawks into the playoffs. This is the only running back in the game today that raises the level of the entire football team with his play. Expect another 1,500 yard season easily.
Peterson is the best in the game today and is already a Hall of Fame talent.
1. Adrian Peterson-Minnesota Vikings: The 21st century version of Eric Dickerson is absolutely a Hall of Fame running back. Yes you read that correctly. He’s a Hall of Fame runner already. Less than 7 months from damaging his MCL and ACL, he burst for 2,097 yards in a season where the Vikings eased him in. In year’s past we had Jamal Lewis and other runners who tore their ligaments and came back, but they had nearly a full season they sat out or eased themselves into the game first. Not Peterson.
What’s startling is this is the season he’ll hit full stride and should break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards. Last year he broke breathtaking runs when he was the Vikings only legitimate offensive weapon. Now with quality receivers on the outside in Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Pro Bowl TE Kyle Rudolph, defenses can’t key on him.
You do realize that he already holds the all time rushing record of 296 yards which is also the rookie record as well. When he get’s to Dickerson’s 2,105 yards, he will be the only back in league history to have two 2,000 yard seasons. There have been only 2 runners who have held these records at the same time. Both OJ Simpson and Jim Brown made the Hall of Fame along with Eric Dickerson. Peterson is already among that group. Another 2,000 yard season will cement it.
Next: Washington Redskins 2013 Preview
Posted in 2013 Team Previews. Tagged 2012 top ten nfl running backs, Adrian Peterson, alfred morris, Arian Foster, CJ Spiller, Doug Martin, football, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch, NFL Players
2013 Houston Texans Preview – The Time Is Now
April 7, 2013 by The Chancellor of Football
JJ Watt was a finalist for the Taylor Blitz Times Defensive Player of The Year
When you think of the 2012 NFL season, most football fans thought the Houston Texans were an imposter when asked if they were a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Although they had rushed out to an 11-1 record, they failed to capture the imagination of fans or pundits outside Houston.
Sure they had defeated the eventual champion Baltimore Ravens 43-17 in week 7. However mind numbing losses to Green Bay (42-24), and a Monday night massacre in New England (42-14) late in the season, cast doubt on their Super Bowl legitimacy as the playoffs neared. They did finish 12-4 winning a Wild Card game before losing in the AFC Divisional round to the Patriots. Yet the question remains… Who are the Texans?? Are they a team moving up to elite status or are they beneficiary of the AFC as a conference becoming weaker??
Texans QB Matt Schaub will turn 32 this season.
Quarterback: Caught in that same identity vortex is quarterback Matt Schaub. Twice in the last four years he has been a Pro Bowl performer yet he leaves you wondering. Coming into last year the team and it’s fans were buoyed with optimism after backup TJ Yates led the team to a Wild Card win the year before. The overall feeling was if they could make it this far without Schaub, they should be able to compete for a title with him being healthy for the playoffs. The fact that they didn’t advance any further raises doubt if they can win it at all with Schaub at quarterback.
Make no mistake this team is better with Schaub at the helm but this may be his make or break year with the Colts coming on strong. In 2012 he completed 350 of 544 passes (64.3%) for 4,008 yards 22 TDs with only 12 interceptions. The perception was he didn’t perform when he faced the league’s elite. To that there is some truth but early in the season he carved up the Denver Broncos with 4 TD passes in a 31-25 victory on the road. He had his chance to show the nation when they lost to New England on that December Monday Night 42-14. In that game he looked disengaged, not the leader you’d want at quarterback, and couldn’t make a play to turn the momentum.
For most, he sits in that abyss of good quarterbacks that aren’t thought of as championship signal callers. Right where Joe Flacco was last year and where Matt Ryan sits this year. This is Schaub’s make or break year. This will be his 7th season as quarterback of the Texans and 11th overall after coming over from Atlanta. Its ironic that he and Ryan are both in the same position. Had Schaub not signed with Houston, he would have taken over the Falcons after Michael Vick’s dog fighting conviction. Yet he’s still a good quarterback that has to prove he can be a championship one. The nucleus of this team is aging and at 32 when the season starts, Schaub will be right there with them. Houston is playoff calibur at quarterback until proven otherwise.
Arian Foster has been among the best running backs in football.
Offensive Backfield: Going into his 5th season, the Texans couldn’t be more solid at running back with Arian Foster leading the charge. Next to Adrian Peterson, no back in football has been more productive than Foster’s 4,264 yards and 39 TDs over the last three years. He isn’t the flashy runner breaking the huge play like CJ2K or Peterson, but he’s a steady performer that churns out important first down after first down as the Texans closer. This is a running back in the prime of his career and has a solid back in Ben Tate (4.3 yards per carry in 2012) to back him up. The offense runs through the one cut and go running game Foster brings to the table. In 3 of the Texans 4 losses last year, Foster failed to rush for 50 yards. Part of it was Coach Kubiak abandoning the run once they fell behind. The Texans are Super Bowl quality at running back and should get a 1,300 yards from Foster this season.
Receivers: A fascinating study is Andre Johnson. When you’re watching him on game film, he doesn’t look as quick as he did a few years back. He seems to only be explosive in spurts now and really gets by on guile.You do realize he’ll also be 32 years of age when the season kicks off. He was the prime target in this offense gathering 112 passes for 1,598 yards, yet only caught 4 touchdowns. What’s missing now is the big play element from the offense with Johnson and TE Owen Daniels (62 rec. 716 yds 6TDs) as the intermediate threats.
With 818 receptions for 11,254 yards in his career, Johnson’s numbers are approaching all time great status.
It looks as though the Texans realize this and released WR Kevin Walter who was the intermediate receiver across from Johnson. What they need is exactly what they let go in 2011, a Jacoby Jones. Right now this offense is missing a home run hitter that can take the Safeties deep. Houston anointed 2nd year wideout Keshawn Martin to the starting line-up to be the X receiver but he’s unproven. Look for the Texans to add this element in the draft or a free agent signing to compete with Martin. If they can address this they can upgrade their ranking. As it stands they are playoff quality because teams know they can’t get deep and clog the routes 20 yards or under.
Offensive Line: In today’s NFL, the offensive line is measured by how well they can protect the passer by most pundits. However here we grade beyond that. This group allowed only 28 sacks last year which was good enough for 7th best in the NFL. Left Tackle Duane Brown was an All Pro while making the Pro Bowl with Center Chris Myers and Guard Wade Smith. However Smith and Myers will each be 32 by the time the season kicks off. They’re young at the tackles but older on the line’s interior.
One aspect of the game they could use some improvement is run blocking. How can we say that about a group that had 3 Pro Bowl members and a 1,000 yard rusher?? Very simple. Foster isn’t a back that dances. He takes the ball on “Belly” and “Stretch” plays, makes a cut and then goes up-field. However they are 30th in negative rush plays to the strong side with 20 and 31st to the weak side with 28. Further evidence is when it’s 3rd or 4th and goal or less than 2 yards, this group only converted 57% of the time to the strong side which was 20th in the league. This team could only run up the middle where they did convert 75% of the time in obvious power situations. So it’s obvious they struggle with younger more athletic defenders. This will only get worse over time and lowers their ranking to average.
Defensive Line: This group begins and ends with JJ Watt who is the premier defensive lineman in the game. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year had a career season with 81 tackles, 20 1/2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 16 defensed passes. Sixteen?? That is an obscene number. One thing they should do is move him around more so he can’t be game planned out of being effective. That is what New England did and he wasn’t a factor in the playoff game or the 42-14 loss.
In Houston’s 3-4 the interior linemen are primarily space eaters to clog the line and allow the linebackers to make the tackles. The Texans were 7th in defense overall and 7th against the run. Earl Mitchell held down the point at Nose Tackle and weakside Defensive End Anthony Smith did move crash the pocket for 7 sacks. In this 3-4 he’s limited from a lot of outside moves because Defensive Co-ordinator Wade Phillips likes to send linebackers like he did with the departed Conner Barwin. Because of Watt’s presence this is definitely a Super Bowl caliber group. Twenty seven and a half sacks from a 3 man line?? Come on now…
If Cushing can have a bounce back year….watchout! Will he be inside or outside??
Linebackers: We just mentioned the loss of Connor Barwin who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. This team can hopefully get a healthy year out of Brian Cushing who could be moved back outside. In fact last year’s infirmary list included Cushing, Darryl Sharpton, Tim Dobbins, and Barrett Ruud missing a combined 27 games last year. This was the Achille’s Heel of the defense but that is understandable when you’re playing second string all year.
Bradie James was the leading tackler on this team with 76 stops and had 1/2 a sack. With so many players injured it’s almost impossible to gauge how effective this group will be. They do have pieces in place and we’ll have to see if they are going to draft an outside linebacker or what we believe… Brian Cushing will go back outside. If they can get their linebackers on the field we think they can be good. However since we haven’t seen them hit the field yet we have to grade them as below average.
If Ed Reed can hold up this season, he can transform this defense from a good one to a great one.
Secondary: With a stout pass rush that produced 44 sacks and 11 forced fumbles, this group should have had more than 15 interceptions. CB Kareem Jackson was the leader in that department with 4, and Jonathon Joseph went to the Pro Bowl with 2 picks. The Texans needed to desperately improve their secondary that ranked 20th against the pass. They needed a spark… Enter Ed Reed. We’ll see if Reed will make a huge difference. Had this been 2008, we’d immediately say yes. With him going into his 12th year, we’re taking a wait and see approach
Last year’s Free Safety Glover Quinn was second on the team in tackles with 85 yet intercepted just 2 passes. Now you know why the Texans went after Ed Reed. SS Danieal Manning will come up and make a hit but these guys are limited cover guys. This group is playoff caliber if Reed plays like he did in Baltimore. The Chancellor would like to see more out of this group when it comes to coverage. Could see another draft pick used on corner and safety as well. They need some insurance to keep coverage on slot receivers. With the addition of Reed this is now a playoff caliber group.
Overview: This team is on the verge of having to retool on the offensive side of the ball. They are at a collective age where a crash could happen at any time. Schaub, Johnson, and the center of the offensive line all being over 32 years of age?? Tight End Owen Daniel will turn 31 in November. You better believe the time is now for this group. They couldn’t pull past the Colts while Manning was there and now they have to put up with a completely new Colts regime. One that gained confidence beating the Texans in the finale last year 28-16.
In reality this has been the AFC South’s best team since 2010 yet they couldn’t get that landmark win to push themselves to the top of the conference. The Chancellor’s crystal ball sees more of the same as they won’t make it past the divisional round of the playoffs and may actually be a wildcard entrant. Look at the relative age of this team. Just remember the NFL is a long season for all these thirty somethings. This will be their last year as a playoff team as well…
Thanks for reading and please share the article.
Taylor Blitz Times new logo!!
Posted in 2013 Team Previews. Tagged American football, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Houston Texans, JJ Watt, Matt Schaub, NFL Preview, sports
2011 AFC South Previews and Predictions
September 7, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football
With the NFL season a few days away, the Colts are starting to realize what life will be like without Peyton Manning. His inability to recover fully from neck surgery has given the front office a gaze into the near future when he will not be under center. The Colts spent a majority of this year’s draft improving the offensive line, it’s a given he will take some shots as this line develops. The images of an aging Brett Favre taking hit after hit have to be dancing in Coach Caldwell’s mind, and Manning has been placed as doubtful on the injury report for week one against the Texans.
Just in the nick of time too as Texan linebackers Mario Williams and Brian Cushing were going to come screaming at him off the corners. It seems as though the Colts are after one last hurrah where a division rival from Texas has grown in leaps and bounds. Last year they fielded the NFL’s leading rusher in Arian Foster. His 1,616 yards and 16 TDs to go along with the production of perennial Pro Bowl wideout Andre Johnson, should make this the best offense in the division. Coach Kubiak is on the “hotseat” and hopes new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips can improve his defense. These developments are happening at just the right time in our eyes. Circle week 4 when this team hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers to find out if they are for real or not.
2011 AFC SOUTH PREDICTIONS
Houston Texans 10-6 *
Jacksonville Jaguars 3-13 For the first time since they moved from Houston in 1996, the Tennessee Titans will be moving in a new direction without Jeff Fisher. The team he left behind has some pieces but made a mistake in not retaining Kerry Collins. He could have provided some continuity as the team develops #1 draft pick Jake Locker. Now he will help shape the Colts (when Manning returns) gameplan when they face his former team. Furthermore the contract renegotiation for the services of RB Chris Johnson are over, yet the subsequent holdout normally mean hamstring problems. Something to watch as this team brought in Matt Hasselbeck to be the transition quarterback.
Now we have the swan song for Jack Del Rio coming up. It looked like his team had been regressing since that playoff loss to New England a few years back. If you remember, Coach Rio in a stunning move, cut starting QB Byron Leftwich and handed the keys over to David Garard to generate more offense. that was 2007, so what does that have to do with 2011?? Lets just say same time same channel. As we went to press yesterday, Del Rio released starting quarterback David Garard. This time there is only rookie QB Blaine Gabbert to handle the offense. He’s simply lost it with this move. In his defense, the last time he made this bold move, Garrard had provided a second half spark in many games during the previous season. Maurice Jones Drew will see mammoth 8 man fronts and will see a long season. The Titans were picked to finish last when this move came across the wire. Looks like a recipe for disaster.
As for the Colts, this looks like the end of a remarkable run. This team won 115 games during the 2000’s which included a Super Bowl triumph in the 41st edition. As time has gone on they have drafted low for many years and now the team is devoid of any star power outside of Manning. Even if he is healthy, he masks many deficiencies. Yet with the loss of defensive sparkplug Bob Sanders there is a lot to overcome. With the emergence of the Jets and re-emergence of the Ravens with superior secondaries, the Colts deficiencies at receiver have shown up in their last few playoff losses. Each of which have come in the first round…only this year the Colts won’t make it that far.
Hope you enjoyed and share the article.
Next up: AFC North
Posted in 2011 Team Previews. Tagged AFC South, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Brian Cushing, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Mario Williams, Peyton Manning, Tennessee Titans
Articles / Periodicals
Articles / Periodicals Select Category 2010 Post Season (8) 2011 NFL Regular Season (38) 2011 Post Season (10) 2011 Team Previews (34) 2012 NFL Regular Season (50) 2012 Post Season (14) 2012 Regular Season (24) 2012 Team Previews (25) 2013 NFL Regular Season (17) 2013 Post Season (12) 2013 Team Previews (47) 2014 NFL Regular Season (18) 2014 Post Season (8) 2014 Team Previews (12) 2015 NFL Preseason (13) 2015 Post Season (4) 2015 Regular Season (8) 2016 NFL Post Season (5) 2016 NFL Preseason (14) 2016 Regular Season (7) 2017 NFL Preseason (6) 2017 Post Season (1) 2018 NFL Preseason (1) 2018 Post Season (2) 2018 Regular Season (9) 2019 NFL Season (10) 2019 Post Season (2) Coaches Corner (9) Defensive Formations (2) College Football (10) Historic Writings (215) Legendary Days (17) Legends Of The Fall (15) Missing Rings (9) NFL.com Bracketology =64 Team Tournament (4) Players Who Should Be In the Hall of Fame (32) The Soul of The Game (40) Unsung Players (5) Ring of Champions (72) Uncategorized (15)
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2019 NFC Championship Preview: Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers
2019 AFC Championship Preview: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans
Is Baker Mayfield Coachable On the NFL Level
The NFL’s 100th Season: How Its a Passing League is a Misnomer
Taylor Blitz Times Coach of the Year: Mike Tomlin
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Tag: mark waid
Preview: ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
JUN160830 Various (A) Various (CA) Alex Ross You’ve dreamed of it, you’ve asked for it, you’ve longed for it – and now, you’re going to GET it! No Avenger is safe from – the fan fiction of Kamala Khan! Featuring a bevy of special guest creators! Rated T+
Read more Preview: ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
Baltimore Comic-Con’s Yearbook Returns in 2016 with Archie Comics
The Baltimore Comic-Con’s Yearbook returns in 2016, celebrating the creators appearing at the show taking place Friday, September 2nd through Sunday, September 4th, 2016. This book of art features interpretations of characters from Archie Comics, sometimes in conjunction with their own creations, in a celebration of creator-owned properties. Beautifully designed by returning guest and Love…
Read more Baltimore Comic-Con’s Yearbook Returns in 2016 with Archie Comics
IDW Publishing Recaps Comic-Con 2016
This Comic-Con International was IDW Publishing’s most successful yet with high profile booth signings, in demand exclusives, and major announcements! Each day’s announcements were bigger than the next and here’s your guide to what’s next from IDW that made a splash at the con: Wynonna Earp Season 2 announced – The hit Syfy series was…
Read more IDW Publishing Recaps Comic-Con 2016
NEW “CHAMPIONS” SERIES FROM MARK WAID AND HUMBERTO RAMOS
The new team book will star former”All-New, All-Different Avengers” characters Nova, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man. Joining them is Amadeus Cho, the star of “Totally Awesome Hulk,” as well as the teen Cyclops (previously seen in “All-New X-Men”) and Vision’s daughter Viv, who comes to the team from the solo series by Tom King.
Read more NEW “CHAMPIONS” SERIES FROM MARK WAID AND HUMBERTO RAMOS
Gotham by Geeks ep 12 Spoiler levels up
Welcome to episode 12 of Gotham by Geeks. Join co-hosts Darrell, Russ, Mike, and Chris with special guest Brian Letendre of the Secret Identity podcast as they discuss the world of Batman comic books. Before getting into this weeks picks we discuss the Ben Affleck getting a promotion by Warner bros , the criticism of Marvel…
Read more Gotham by Geeks ep 12 Spoiler levels up
Preview: BLACK WIDOW #1
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS Written by: Chris Samnee and Mark Waid Art and cover: Chris Samnee Item Code: JAN160743 In Shops: 3/2/2016 SRP: $3.99 S.H.I.E.L.D.’S MOST WANTED! The Eisner Award-winning team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are taking Black Widow on the lam! Natasha has spent years…
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Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day 2016
Official Press Release: The biggest heroes, the biggest creators and the biggest stories in comics are coming to FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! But before that exciting Saturday in May, get your first look at the covers to both of Marvel’s FREE COMIC BOOK DAY offerings right now! First, FCBD CIVIL WAR II #1 peels…
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Marvel Announces New Black Widow From Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
Coming in early 2016, Black Widow #1 features the entire creative team from the recently completed Daredevil series: writer Mark Waid, artist Chris Samnee, colorist Matthew Wilson and letterer Joe Caramagna. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have these two images: What can we expect from a new series? Marvel editor Jake Thomas said of the project: I think…
Read more Marvel Announces New Black Widow From Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
Your Source For the Force: Princess Leia
Princess Leia Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Terry Dodson Picking up right where the movie ends, we are treated to a drawn version of the medal presentation, why was Chewbacca left out of receiving a medal? Anyway this book is the first bit of information following the events of A New Hope. As the evacuation…
Read more Your Source For the Force: Princess Leia
Baltimore Comic-Con Announces 2015 Guest of Honor Mark Waid
The Baltimore Comic-Con is privileged to announce this year’s Guest of Honor: Mark Waid. Photo by John Milewski Waid’s career in comics began in the 1980s when he wrote for Fantagraphics’ comics fan magazine, Amazing Heroes. His first comics contribution, an 8-page back-up story that ran in Action Comics, was at DC Comics, where he…
Read more Baltimore Comic-Con Announces 2015 Guest of Honor Mark Waid
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School of Biomedical Sciences Wiki
Revision as of 14:57, 15 October 2014 by Nnjm2 (Talk | contribs)
This is a Wiki of biomedical science definitions and information and has been produced by the students of the School of Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University and at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed).
The project was started in October 2010 and the pages have been created and edited by second year undergraduate students taking part in the Informatics Practical in CMB2005 (UK) and BMN2005 (Malaysia), and by first year students as part of the CMB1005 (UK) and BMN1004 (Malaysia) Practical Skills in Biomedical & Biomolecular Sciences module.
Please consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
Additional help is also available as part of the wiki, and there are also a number of help videos available (see below).
Go to the login page, type in your username, and then click the 'E-mail new password' button. If you can't remember your username, look at your student ID card.
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If you have any additional problems please contact Dr Nick Morris
Retrieved from "https://teaching.ncl.ac.uk/bms/wiki/index.php/School_of_Biomedical_Sciences_Wiki"
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(775) 850-7460 trfma@washoecounty.us
RFP / RFQ Announcements
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The Truckee River Flood Management Project (Flood Project) is designed to provide a variety of public safety, economic, recreational and environmental benefits to the Truckee Meadows region. Its primary goal is to create a more resilient community by reducing flood damages and deaths resulting from a 1997-type flood event (117-year event). Additionally, the Flood Project incorporates certain recreational and ecosystem restoration features within the footprint of the flood protection infrastructure.
To learn more about each element of the project open the tabs below.
The Truckee River Flood Management Authority (TRFMA) hopes to achieve these goals by:
Building levees and floodwalls to protect businesses and homes
Acquiring and protecting flood-prone lands from development
Relocating businesses and elevating homes out of the floodplain
Replacing bridges to increase river channel capacity
Excavating floodplain terraces to improve floodwater storage
Restoring ecosystem functions and creating habitat for native species
Enhancing recreational access and amenities along the river
The current Flood Project plan (also known as the Local Rate Plan) represents many years of planning and stakeholder coordination. It is based on the “Living River Plan,” originally conceived by the Flood Project Community Coalition. Over a period of six years, the agency now known as TRFMA organized hundreds of meetings with community stakeholders in order to develop and build consensus for a regional flood management plan.
The Living River Plan emphasized the community’s vision of incorporating environmentally-friendly elements into the flood protection infrastructure in order to reconnect the river to its floodplain, restore habitat for native species, and enhance recreational opportunities along the river. The current Flood Project plan retains some of the elements from the original Living River Plan and incorporates results from TRFMA’s updated hydraulic models.
The proposed Flood Project footprint extends approximately 33 miles along the Truckee River, from downtown Reno (near Jones Street) to the town of Wadsworth, Nevada (near Pyramid Lake). Major elements of the Flood Project Plan (Local Rate Plan) are described below (click links to view/download), grouped according to project reach (upstream to downstream). The three project reaches are: Downtown Reno (Jones Street to US Highway 395/I-580); Truckee Meadows (US Highway 395/I-580 to Vista Boulevard); and Lower Truckee River (Vista Boulevard to Wadsworth).
Description of Flood Project Plan Elements (View Table)
Overview Map of Flood Project Elements (View Map)
Flood Project Plan (“Map Book”), Version 6.0 / 28 MB (Download Plan)
Project Cost / Financing
TRFMA is committed to building a cost-effective flood project to benefit the community. In response to local concerns regarding the overall cost and scope of the Living River Plan (which at one time was estimated to cost $1.6 billion), TRFMA worked with its consultants and numerous stakeholders to revise the plan, significantly reducing the cost while still providing a 100-year level of flood protection for the Truckee Meadows (thereby maintaining compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program).
Through a series of meetings in 2012 and 2013—including an in-depth “value engineering” exercise, the overall cost was reduced to just $446 million. This represents roughly 72% in cost savings to the communities of Reno, Sparks and Washoe County.
The Flood Project and TRFMA are currently funded by a 1/8-cent infrastructure sales tax authorized by NRS Chapter 377B (Tax for Infrastructure) and imposed by Washoe County in December 1998 under Ordinance 1048 (Washoe County Code 20.914). The initial Infrastructure Tax Plan was adopted by the Washoe County Commission in 1998 for the financing of a regional emergency dispatch facility, a public safety training facility, and the Flood Project.
The TRFMA members (Washoe County, City of Reno, and City of Sparks) have determined that the Flood Project provides significant benefits to the community by:
Preventing the loss of life and property
Avoiding adverse economic impacts due to the disruption of commerce, transportation, communication and other essential services
Safeguarding the public health
Providing opportunities to create habitat for native species and enhance recreational access and amenities along the Truckee River
Additional funds are required to construct the Flood Project (total cost of approximately $466 million). Presently, TRMFA is exploring a variety of funding options to raise additional revenues, including (but not limited to):
Fees collected from property owners (commercial and residential) who directly benefit from decreased flood risk as a result of Flood Project implementation;
Taxes (e.g., sales taxes, property taxes, excise taxes) collected in Washoe County to support the Flood Project, which has regional significance
Flood impact fees for new development in order to mitigate related impacts on Flood Project facilities
Assembly Bill 375 (AB-375) was introduced during the 79th (2017) Session of the Nevada Legislature by Assembly members Michael C. Sprinkle, Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Amber Joiner and Skip Daly. The proposed legislation would allow “the imposition of certain taxes in a county to fund flood management projects of a flood management authority based on the recommendations of a flood control project needs committee and voter approval.”
For more information and updates on AB-375, go to News & Updates or visit the Nevada Legislature online.
Investment in Ecosystem Restoration
TRFMA has partnered with The Nature Conservancy and numerous other local, state, and federal agencies and non-profit organizations to restore the lower Truckee River ecosystem (from Vista to Pyramid Lake). To date, the partners have invested more than $28 million to create more than 450 acres of habitat and restore more than 8 miles of the lower Truckee River. An estimated 216 jobs were created as a result of this work (full-time equivalents).
The agency has contributed about $2.1 million in sales tax funds for land acquisition, planning, and construction—less than 8% of the overall cost of restoration project implementation. In addition, TRFMA contributed $4.775 million in grant funds to implement ecosystem restoration projects via Assembly Bill No. 5 (AB-5), passed by the Nevada State Legislature in 2007.
This relatively small investment may result in significant returns for TRFMA. The ecosystem restoration work could potentially satisfy a portion of the environmental mitigation required to obtain permits and construct the Flood Project.
Click here to find out more about our Truckee River ecosystem restoration projects.
Federal Support
Over the years, TRFMA has worked diligently with the Corps to implement the Flood Project. During the latest planning effort iteration, the Living River Plan was presented to the Corps as the Locally Preferred Plan (LPP) alternative for flood risk management. Unfortunately, due to recent federal budgetary constraints, the Living River Plan was not recommended by the Corps for Congressional authorization.
However, as part of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014), Congress authorized and pledged almost $200 million in federal funds to construct the Corps National Economic Development (NED) Plan, which is designed to provide 50-year flood protection for the Truckee Meadows.
With the help of its lobbyists and delegates, TRFMA was able to draft a special piece of legislation to benefit the Truckee Meadows. Section 1036 of WRRDA 2014 directs the Corps to build a Locally Preferred Plan that provides a higher level of flood protection than the authorized NED Plan as long as the LPP meets certain Corps requirements.
Per Section 1036, the Flood Project Plan—which provides cost-effective 100-year flood protection for the Truckee Meadows—can be constructed with federal support, including funds authorized for the NED Plan (federal cost-share of $181,652,000).
TRFMA continues to work with its lobbyists and delegates to secure federal funding appropriations for project construction.
Click the links below or visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers online to view key project documents related to the Truckee Meadows Flood Control Project, Nevada.
Truckee Meadows Record of Decision
Truckee Meadows Final General Reevaluation Report
Truckee Meadows Final Environmental Impact Statement Vol. I
Truckee Meadows Final Environmental Impact Statement Vol. I!
Signed Chiefs Report
Hydraulic Models
TRFMA YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQuBZ8Mk73rI0y8KuhDNoIw
Other Local Efforts
TRFMA is involved in the One Truckee River effort to manage, protect and provide stewardship for the Truckee River across jurisdictional boundaries. Visit onetruckeeriver.org for more information on this collaborative endeavor.
TRFMA is a voting member of the Northern Nevada Water Planning Commission (NNWPC), a technical advisory group that develops and periodically updates a Comprehensive Regional Water Management Plan for adoption by the Western Regional Water Commission.
TRFMA is also a key partner in the Nevada Flood Awareness campaign, which is intended to “create flood resilient communities in Nevada that encourage the protection of life, property, water quality, environmental values and the preservation of natural floodplain functions.”
© 2017 Truckee River Flood Management Authority | Website design by 509 Creative Inc
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The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995)
Sun 13 Jul 1980
Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman
SYDNEY: Australia's best-known former prisoner, Mr Darcy Dugan, married Canberra businesswoman Jan Simmonds yesterday evening at the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross.
Sun 13 Jul 1980 - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995)
Page 1 - Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman
Darcy Dugan weds
Canberra woman
SYDNEY: Australia's best-known former
prisoner, Mr Darcy Dugan, married Canberra
businesswoman Jan Simmonds yesterday
evening at the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross.
The Reverend Ted Noffs conducted the ceremony.
Mr Dugan, 59, was released from jail last month.
He served 17 years after a bank official was shot
during a robbery attempt in 1950. In 1969 he was
convicted of a jewel robbery and sentenced to 14 years'
jail. Mrs Dugan said last night that her husband had
"settled down".
Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman (1980, July 13). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125609928
"Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman" The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) 13 July 1980: 1. Web. 23 Jan 2020 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125609928>.
1980 'Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 13 July, p. 1. , viewed 23 Jan 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125609928
{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125609928 |title=Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=13 July 1980 |access-date=23 January 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove }}
The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Sun 13 Jul 1980, Page 1 - Darcy Dugan weds Canberra woman
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myUFV
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UFV.ca
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About UFV
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At UFV, lecture study is complemented with lab work, so that students get to learn and practice lab techniques and procedures that are commonly used in modern laboratories.
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UFV’s Bachelor of Science with a major Biology is one of the most lab-intensive programs in British Columbia. Under the guidance of committed instructors, students develop the critical hands-on lab and research skills needed to launch a successful career in the field.
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From the UFV Science blog
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Drama 2012 1 hr 55 min
While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.
Starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde
Director Alex Kurtzman
Michael Hall D'Addario
Philip Baker Hall
Ike Rafferty
Mark Duplass
Devin Brochu
Barbara Eve Harris
Mrs. Haney
Dean Chekvala
Jody Lambert
14+ COMMON SENSE
Sentimental drama is well acted but too mature for tweens.
53% TOMATOMETER
Average 5.7
Rotten 56
K/O Paper Products
© 2012 DREAMWORKS II DISTRIBUTION CO., LLC
English (United States) (Dolby 5.1, AAC, Subtitles)
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Tag Archives: poor man’s Jared Leto
“Your V is Showing . . .” – A Recap of Gossip Girl’s “The Sixteen-Year Old Virgin”
You’ve really gotta hand it to Gossip Girl. Even when the show seems like it’s being a hypocrite, it can surprise you, by proving that it is not afraid to call itself out on its own BS . . .
Of course, I am referring to the moment when the unabashedly sluttiest teen drama on television suddenly became all morally aghast, when its youngest cast member contemplated offering her V card to a slightly older man (Slightly older being 19, mind you).
19! He’s practically got one foot in the grave, already!
But as I said, our fave nighttime soap is nothing, if not self-aware. And our Upper East Side sexpots more than redeemed themselves by the episode’s end. Sure, “The Sixteen-Year Old Virgin” ‘s plot twists were a tad on the predictable side (I guessed two out of three within the first ten minutes.) But that didn’t make it any less fun to watch . . .
So, without further adieu, let’s strap on our Jimmy Choo’s, sneak out of Daddy’s house, and get ready to get de-flowered . . .
Get thee to a nunnery, go!
Jenny Humphrey , circa 2080 . . . still grounded.
Contrary to what I might have thought upon viewing the conclusion of last week’s episode, Jenny did not , in fact, run away from home to shack up with Drug Dealing Damien / Poor Man’s Jared Leto.
Instead, she obediently followed her father to Brooklyn. But all was not as it seemed . . . After “good” Little J kissed her Daddy goodbye, and headed off to school, she (gasp!) REMOVED HER PONYTAIL!
Long hair = The Devil’s Playpen
So, of course, Jenny cuts class and heads off to La Casa de Drug Dealing Damien. It only takes a few seconds of half-hearted necking, before Ole’ Horndog rears his ugly head (no pun intended). “When I date someone, sex is usually part of the equation,” explains Jordan Catalano Damien, matter-of-factly.
(Yes, Damien. Because discussions about mathematical formulas are always such a tremendous turn-on for us girls.)
E = MC Screwed?
After some more subtle-as-a machine gun hints from the Suave Big D, Little J agrees to do the deed with him that night after school. Stop me if you’ve heard THIS one before . . .
Unfortunately, for our Craptastic Cassanova, Big Daddy Rufus has grown wise to Jenny’s cutting class to canoodle with Sir F*cks A Lot. So, like any Proud Papa, Rufus rallies the troops for a rescue mission. Jenny’s Big Brother, Dull Ass Dan, can give two sh&ts about what, or who, his little sister is doing. After all, he’s too busy contemplating whether or not to “go public” regarding the most boring relationship in television history . . .
Just looking at these two puts me to sleep . . .
Slutty Serena and Pornstar Pizza Delivery Guy Nate, however, go ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC! “Jenny can’t possibly cash in her V-Card! She’s WAY TOO YOUNG!” They exclaim, in horror.
Sidenote: If you recall, Nate lost his virginity at age 16 to Serena, as shown in flashbacks of the event (and in those now-famous promotional posters for the show), which were said to occur months prior to the show’s first episode.
Although not explicitly stated, it is implied that Serena lost hers MUCH earlier . . .
A photograph of Serena Van Der Woodsen and her first “serious” boyfriend . . .
Fortunately, Serena has an ingenious (and by “ingenious” I mean “mind-blowingly” dumb) plan to rescue Jenny’s Flower from Drug Dealing Damien’s evil clutches. The plan involves Serena seducing Damien and Nate coordinating it so that Jenny will catch him in the act.
(Don’t you love how Serena’s schemes always seem to involve her getting naked? If I recall, her equally “ingenious” plan to get her absentee father to notice her also involved her slutting it up with random guys.)
Oh, the sacrifices I make for the ones I love . . . (and kind of . . . sort of . .. like . . . a little bit).
Damien, however, proved himself to be smarter than I thought he was, and didn’t fall for Serena’s not-so-nefarious plan. But Nate takes matters into his own hands, by calling in the Daddy Squad.
Have no fear, Deputy Killjoy is here!
Rufus returns Jenny to the high-security prison that is his Brooklyn apartment. There Dumbass Dan finally wakes up from his Vanessa-filled stupor long enough to tell Jenny not to “do it” with Damien, because she is only 16. “When you were 16, you were in love with Serena, and everybody thought it was adorable,” retorts Jenny.
Touche, Little J!
Later, Serena berates Nate for not trusting her “ingenious” plan and for calling Rufus. Nate responds that he had to prevent Jenny from screwing at all costs, because she is just so darn cute and innocent at 16. “Not like me, who was such a major slut at 16!” Serena seethes.
Hey, would you look at that shoe your wearing! It fits!
Nate then proceeds to detail all of the people Serena had been rumored to have screwed prior to age 16. Serena tells him not to believe EVERYTHING he hears, but doesn’t exactly deny having been sexually active prior to her encounter with Nate.
All sarcasm aside, I LOVED this exchange between the two of them! As I mentioned in my intro, Gossip Girl is well aware that it is a slutty and trashtastic teen soap. For better or worse, the show is never afraid to own up to that fact, even during an episode like this one, which was obviously meant to promote more chaste ideals . . .
Need I remind you of this photograph ?
Nate later apologized to Serena for his faux pas, recalling how much he loved her, even at age 16, and how devastated he was by her sudden and abrupt post-coital disappearance. He seemed sincere. However, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Nate’s over-protectiveness of Jenny went just a bit beyond typical “brotherly concern.” Watch out Serena, I smell a love triangle . . . AGAIN.
Although Rufus does a fairly good job of keeping Jenny locked up in her fairytale tower (where all the virgin princesses stay), the latter somehow manages to reunite with Drug Dealing Damien at the episode’s token hoity toity social event, a dedication of a museum wing to Chuck Bass’ Dead Dad. There, Drug Dealing Damien clocks Nate in his pretty boy face . . .
. . . too pretty not to include in my recap.
. . . and escapes with Jenny directly to his apartment and The Bedroom of Abandoned Flowers . . .
Another one bites the dust?
And just when it looks like Little J is about to become minus one Big V, Don Juan Damien makes some “seductive” comment about how sex is “no big deal.” Seriously? Could this guy be a bigger moron? Jenny comes to her senses and escapes. And her Flower lives to see another day, which is more than I can say for the rest of the cast . . .
When Bad Acting Happens to Bad People . . .
Back on the Upper East Side, in Chuck and Blairville . . .
Still love these two . . .
Chuck is bonding with his “Mommy Dearest.”
Unfortunately, her complete inability to emote, and her monotone delivery of every single line she utters, proves her to have graduated from the Ben Stein School of Acting . . .
Bueller . . . Bueller . . . anyone?
Unfortunately, Chuck is too preoccupied to notice his “mother’s” clear lack of a personality and soul. After all, he is facing a boatload of sexual harrassment charges made against him by patrons of the hotel he owns. Blair impresses me yet again, by not believing this hogwash for even a moment. The timing of these law suits just seems a tad too convenient, coming right on the heels of the dedication of a museum wing to the late Bart Bass. The couple’s suspicions appear to be confirmed when Chuck’s Uncle Jack returns to the scene with designs on Chuck’s hotel.
EEEEVILLL . . .
Perhaps to illustrate that his loss of Bass Industries’ to Lily Bass has left him destitute and desperate, the Elder Bass now sports a ridiculous mountain man-esque moustache and beard. Uncle Jack confronts Chuck and causes him to doubt the veracity of Mamma Bass’s claims of maternity. Chuck grows even more suspicious of Mommy(?), when she backs out of the museum dedication party upon hearing that Uncle Jack will be there.
Despite Blair’s protests, Chuck orders a DNA test to ascertain whether Mamma Bass is truly his Mommy. However, when he is discussing the matter with Blair, Lady Bass overhears him. With a stiff, heavily Botoxed face, we have to assume is “very hurt and angry,” she (boredly) stalks off. Chuck decides to have the DNA test done anyway . . .
Later, Chuck’s Creepy Lawyer, who also appears to have attended the Ben Stein School of Acting with Mamma Bass . . .
What can I say? We have a great financial aid package . . .
. . . informs Chuck that the ONLY way out of this scandal is to give up the hotel temporarily to another member of the family, until things die down. Already, my BS meter is going off the charts. Come on, Chuck! Bad actors just can’t be trusted!
Of course, Evil Jack Bass is waiting in the wings to take over the hotel. But “fortunately” Chuck has another option. You see, the DNA test Chuck ordered proved Mommy- Can’t-Act-For-Crap Bass is, in fact, related to him. So, Chuck promptly turns over the hotel to HER, to apologize for doubting her parentage. Mommy Bass accepts . . .
In the final moments of the episode, in a plot twist, that, by now, should surprise, precisely NO ONE we learn that Creepy Lawyer, EVIL Uncle Mountain Man, and Mama Bass are in cohoots . . .
In other, really dull news, Dan and Vanessa have decided to go public as a couple. In other, less dull, and slightly surprising news: (1) Lily and Rufus have reconciled; (2) Rufus never slept with that trampy neighbor lady; (3) and Lily may have been seeing Bily Baldwin . . .
Dr. Van Der Woodsen, NOT to screw his brains out, as we once thought, but to seek treatment for her OWN, as of yet, unknown medical condition.
So, in conclusion, Mamma Bass is an Ass. And neither Little J, nor Drug Dealing Damien, nor Rufus, nor Lily are getting any loving . . .
Until next week, XOXO!
Filed under Gossip Girl
Tagged as Bad Boy, bad girl, Bart Bass, Ben Stein School of Acting, Big V, Blair and Chuck, boycott, Bueller, Chuck's creepy lawyer, Chuck's Faux Mom, Chuck's mom, Dan and Vanessa, DNA test, Drug Dealing Damien, Gossip Girl, hotel, hypocrite, Jack Bass, Jenny, Lilly, Little J, love triangle, moral outrage, Nate and Serena, poor man's Jared Leto, predictable plot twists, rebellious teen, recap, relationships, revenge plot, Rufus, scandal, sex, sexual harrassment lawsuits, sexual tension, Slutty Serena, The Sixteen-Year Old Virgin, tricked Chuck, v-card, virginity, xoxo
Teen-y Porn, Pill Poppers, and Excess Parental Baggage – A Recap of Gossip Girl’s “The Lady Vanished”
This picture is disturbing on so many levels. For one thing, the actress on the far left is only 16. For another, the guy in bed next to her plays her BROTHER. The photographer really should have thought this one through a bit more . . .
WARNING: Tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl has been rated . . .
. . . with heavy emphasis on the “F.” Viewer (and reader) discretion is advised.
Food, Fake Os, Family and Fun!
“The Lady Vanished” began with Nate and Serena, more or less, doing what they did throughout the entire last episode: screwing eachother’s brains out. Poor Nate! Once cast as the show’s leading man, he has, of late, been relegated to the roll of Porno Pizza Delivery Guy.
“Did someone order extra sausage?”
Since the show has returned from hiatus, all this guy has had the opportunity to do in terms of “acting” is give smoldering looks to the camera and make mildly suggestive comments, while being ravaged by his current femme fatale, Serena.
Don’t worry, Chace Crawford. We still think you’re pretty.
I’ve been told that Nate’s and Serena’s food-filled sex romp was a send up to this classic film . . .
. . . which, I will admit, I never saw, because I was too young when it came out (and, from the looks of it, may still be!)
However, I was shocked to find out that the sexy hunk of man in the above-poster “grew up” to be none other than this guy from The Wrestler . . .
“This should be a lesson to all you kiddies. DON’T DO DRUGS!”
Aside from being a super sexy scene, it was nice to see one of the Gossip Girls actually eating. Because, as Blair mentioned during the episode, Serena hasn’t “eaten bread since middle school” or, likely, anything else, for that matter . . . (well . . . except . . . nevermind. This blog post has gone far enough into the gutter as it is.)
Serena and Nate are interrupted from their “meal” by the loud sexual moans of Blair Waldorf. (Seriously, could this episode get any more pornographic?) Of course, Nate and Serena immediately assume that Blair is having her own “meal” with Chuck. However, when Chuck phones Nate, requesting that the latter retrieve the former’s cell phone from Blair’s and Chuck’s apartment, without Blair finding out about it, it becomes apparent that Blair is home alone, flying solo . . . WOAH!
“What? I’m not man enough for you, in my neon orange peacoat?”
As it turns out, Blair is “just reading.” (Isn’t that what everyone says, when they are caught?) Her moans were merely intended to make a point about Nate’s and Serena’s inconsiderate “loudness” and sexcapades of recent days past.
“Glad I got Chuck’s couch scotchguarded,” she remarks. (I totally forgot N and S did it there last week too! The writers were loving Leighton Meester, this week. She got all of the episode’s best lines.)
While Blair confesses to Serena that her and Chuck are “not connecting,” Nate arrives with a lame excuse as to why he suddenly needs Chuck’s cell phone. “I had to check a tweet,” he offers.
Good ‘ole Gossip Girl. Always up on what the “cool kids” are doing . . .
Of course, because Blair almost got into Yale, and, therefore, must have an IQ above 20, she doesn’t buy Nate’s Tweety Excuse. “I so miss dating a horrible liar,” she sighs.
Upon examining the phone, Blair learns that Chuck has been receiving calls from the woman who, last week, claimed not to be, but actually is, his mother. And he has been ignoring her. Chuck walks in on this exchange, and explains that he wants nothing to do with Mommy Bass. Blair surprises us all, by supporting Chuck’s decision. Serena “Buttinsky” Van Der Woodsen, however, is not as understanding.
Serena arranges a dinner date with Chuck, Blair, Nate and herself, and secretly invites Mommy Bass along for the ride.
(I did a little research on Laura Harring, the actress who plays Chuck’s mom. From this, I learned precisely two things: (1) she starred in that bizarre David Lynch movie, Mullholland Drive; (2) when you search for pictures of her on Google Images to include in your blog, more nudie pics appear than clothed ones. Based on her not-so-hot acting during these past two episodes, I can’t say I am all that surprised.)
Anyway, Chuck approaches Mommy Not-So-Dearest, and hands her a large check in exchange for her leaving his life for good. She takes the cash. Later, Chuck admits to Blair that he HAD wanted a relationship with his long-lost mother. Giving her the check was a test, and she failed.
Refusing to accept defeat, Nosy Nellie Serena pays another visit to Mommy Bass.
I just couldn’t resist . . .
You see, this whole “Chuck thing” was about SERENA all along! Serena is hurt that her dad hasn’t made an effort to meet her, and she’s hoping Mommy Bass can give her some sort of an explanation for his action. Mommy Bass does provide an explanation, but not exactly the one Serena wants. As it turns out, it was Chuck’s Mom’s idea for Bart Bass to tell Chuck his mom had died during childbirth. She was young at the time, and simply didn’t want any part in raising a child.
Horrified, Serena stalks out, immediately leaving a message on her absentee father’s machine, stating that she no longer wants to find him. However, given that they have already offered the role of Serena’s father to this guy . . .
And the award for Baldwin Brother Who Aged the Best Goes to . . . BILLY!
. . . I’m assuming Daddy Van Der Woodsen doesn’t regularly check the messages on his cell phone.
At the episode’s conclusion, Mommy Bass decides to stay in town and get to know her son; Chuck makes amends with her; and they all live happily ever after . . . at least, until next week.
Meanwhile, Little Jenny Humphrey is hiding in her bedroom, with Poor Man’s Jared Leto Drug Dealing Damien. The two are messing around amid thousands of pharmaceuticals, while Jenny’s oblivious parents are still moping about the fight they got into last week.
And the Parent of the Year Award goes to . . .
Jenny is understandably a bit miffed when Drug Dealing Damien’s dad calls and he refers to Jenny as “his friend.” However, she doesn’t have much time to pout about this, because her parents finally wake up from their self-indulgent stupors and realize that Jenny has an older boy in her bed. Just to prove she’s “bad ass,” Jenny drops a bag of pills on the floor and tells her parents that they are hers. When her father balks at the discovery, Jenny calls Hypocrite on his Aging Rocker tush. “I know you didn’t spend all those years on the tour bus, reading,” she remarks.
“I WOULD HAVE . . . I just don’t know how to read . . .”
A surprisingly gallant Damien tries to deflect blame off Jenny, by admitting the pills are his, and telling Mommy and Daddy Humphrey a sob story about his drug-addicted dad (a story he later told Jenny was true, but I’m not buying it). However, Daddy Humphrey, a.k.a. Rufus, will not back down. He uses Jenny’s rebellion as an excuse to escape the swanky Van Der Woodsen residence and return to Brooklyn.
Although Rufus claims he is doing this for his daughter, I cry bullshit. I’m pretty sure this has more to do with Mommy Humphrey’s “little white lie” to Rufus last week about her recent dalliance with Serena’s dad.
And yet, it seems that Mommy Humphrey isn’t the only parent getting a little action on the side. Once Rufus has left the house, Lily learns from the doorman that Daddy Humphrey has been spending time in Slutty Neighbor’s apartment, and has even left certain items of clothing there.
At the episode’s conclusion, Jenny leaves home and runs off to live with Drug Dealing Damien, who accepts her with open arms.
Shame on you Poor Man’s Jared Leto! She’s 16! If you even THOUGHT you would be cast in the remake of My So Called Life, you could just forget about it now!
Which reminds me, didn’t we do the whole “Runaway Jenny” storyline two seasons ago?
I guess this works for plotlines too . . .
In other news, these two reunited at a beach-themed party, and decided to make a go of it as a couple . . .
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ . . . .
Ooh, sorry, I must have dozed off for a moment there.
So, there you have it folks, another nearly R-rated Gossip Girl episode in the can. Until next week . . .
Tagged as 16-year old, 9 1/2 Weeks, abandonment issues, absentee parents, beach party, Blair Waldorf, Chace Crawford, cheating on your spouse or significant other, Chuck and Blair, Chuck Bass, Chuck's mom, couch, daddy issues, Damien, Dan and Vanessa, Dan Humphrey, drug dealer, drugs, eating, Ed Westwick, food, Gossip Girl, Jenny and Damien, Jenny Humphrey, Kevin Zegers, Laura Harring, Leighton Meester, Lily, locket, love, Mickey Rourke, mommy issues, moving back to Brooklyn, My So Called Life, Nate and Serena, Nate Archibald, neighbor, OMFG, pills, Pizza Delivery Guy, poor man's Jared Leto, pretty boys, rebellion, recap, relationships, Rufus, running away from home, scotchguard, Serena Van Der Woodsen, Serena's dad, sex, sex noises, Taylor Momsen, The Lady Vanished, The Wrestler, Twitter, Vanessa, William Baldwin, xoxo
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The Brexit vote wasn’t democracy in action. It was populist ignorance on a grand scale.
Posted by Tom Pride in vindictiveness
elections, EU, Europe, immigration, international
No-one else seems to be saying this, so I will.
Way back in 1988 – when the Thatcher government passed the infamous anti-homosexual law known as Section 28 – a majority of the UK population supported it.
I’m proud to say I was one of the minority who was against it.
Even as late as 2000, polls showed around 52% of the UK population were against the Blair government repealing the law.
And again, despite being in the minority – I was personally never in any doubt that the majority were wrong.
These days, of course, everyone claims they know Section 28 was wrong. David Cameron – a strong supporter of Section 28 at the time it was introduced – has even apologised for it.
So we – the minority who were always against Section 28 – were in the end proven to be right.
That’s why Remain supporters need to get their balls back. Because being in a minority (for the moment) doesn’t make us wrong in the long run.
Politicians are too afraid to speak out against the EU referendum result because they’re scared they’ll be accused of undermining democracy. And sensible journalists are also mostly too afraid to speak out, lest they’re accused of being in a middle-class, out-of-touch establishment bubble – which of course most of them are.
But I’m not a politician or a journalist. So here’s the truth.
The Brexit campaign was riddled with lies. The so-called ‘facts’ used by the Leave campaign were laughably ridiculous fabrications. Leading Leave campaigners dished out false and undeliverable promises like Bullingdon Club bullies dishing out banknotes at a high-class restaurant they’ve just trashed. And the whole Brexit argument itself was based on gross deceptions, sentimental nonsense and misrepresentations.
Their so-called victory – stolen only with lies and illegalities – wasn’t even overwhelming. And it’s just patently revisionist nonsense to say the vote for Brexit was some kind of ‘working class’ rebellion. The most working class parts of the UK – Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Peckham – all voted Remain. And the majority of young people voted Remain too.
Democracy doesn’t mean accepting bad decisions made by a bare majority of uninformed, ignorant voters, lied to and manipulated by a corrupt media. Democracy means fighting for what’s right and to reverse corrupt decisions which will be damaging to the future of our country and our children’s future.
And yes – I know we’re not supposed to call the people who voted Brexit ignorant. I personally know some very genuine, intelligent people who voted Brexit for the best of reasons. But the fact is, they are a tiny minority.
The Brexit vote was mostly the result of an unholy alliance between a dumbed-down, middle-class, aging English electorate fed on a diet of Daily Mail and Express propaganda and lies, Thatcherites, Little Englanders and openly racist arseholes.
So it doesn’t bother me in the least that I’m (currently) in the minority when it comes to Brexit. In fact, I’m proud of it.
Just as I’m proud of that fact that – until just last year – I’d spent all of my life being one of the minority in the UK who were against the death penalty.
And I’m definitely proud to be one of the minority of Brits who doesn’t think Mount Everest is in England.
And I’m proud that I’m not one of the majority of Brits who can’t pinpoint Loch Ness or the Yorkshire Dales on a map.
And I’m proud to be one of the minority of Brits who can at least find their last holiday destination on a map.
Because being in the majority doesn’t automatically make you right.
Especially when the majority were lied to and manipulated.
200 thoughts on “The Brexit vote wasn’t democracy in action. It was populist ignorance on a grand scale.”
agogo22 said:
Reblogged this on msamba.
Mike Paterson said:
The Remain campaign was riddled with lies. The so-called ‘facts’ used by the Remain campaign were laughably ridiculous fabrications. Leading Remain campaigners dished out false prophecies of doom like Bullingdon Club bullies dishing out banknotes at a high-class restaurant they’ve just trashed. And the whole Remain argument itself was based on gross deceptions, sentimental nonsense and misrepresentations.
mili68 said:
Reblogged this on disabledsingleparent.
Ann Hawksley said:
“The Brexit vote was mostly the result of an unholy alliance between a dumbed-down, middle-class, aging English electorate fed on a diet of Daily Mail and Express propaganda, Thatcherite Little Englanders and openly racist arseholes.”
And now the racists have taken this vote as tacit encouragement to spread their vile propaganda and step up the campaign against immigrants. Hate crime reporting has gone through the roof and people are genuinely afraid. We need to be confronting this head on, because unless you are part of the solution you are encouraging the problem. So let me be clear- YOU DO NOT SPEAK IN MY NAME.
Tweeted @melissacade68
Jennifer Lindley said:
This piece is utterly arrogant, ignorant and and insulting nonsense. If I take my own case, and that of my family, friends and the overall majority of members of my work and social circle; before we voted to leave the EU, we carried out a considerable amount of research on the EU and the unelected EC. We were absolutely horrified by what we found. Far worse than we were aware of and indeed anticipated.
Clearly, there were lies and propaganda on both sides but the Remain “camp’s” threat’s and lies far outweighed those of the “Leave” campaign. Let me give you some examples of what a proportion of young people, known to me, believed about the EU. “Our university tutors have explained to us that higher education funding will be drastically cut if we leave the EU, so we need to make sure we register and vote to remain in the EU”. Explanation: actually, the EU doesn’t have any money, so how is that going to work? Or, “We know that before the UK joined the EU, British people weren’t allowed to work, travel or trade with ‘Europe'” … need I go on? Does this compare with your alleged findings that a minority of people in the UK believe that Mount Everest is in England whatever that has to do with anything at all?
Your point about the majority of young people voting to remain in the EU appears to be correct but I would suggest that a) the lies they were told may well have something to do with that decision and b) my understanding is that only approximately 54% actually voted in the referendum anyway. I have seen figures as low as 34%. Your points about what you viciously refer to as the “dumbed down, middle class, aging English electorate fed on a diet of Daily Mail and Express propaganda…” are clearly grossly insulting. However, of far more interest to me, is that you cannot see the ‘writing on the wall’ due to your personal prejudices and self inflicted blindfold. The EU is crumbling before our eyes and will, I am utterly convinced, implode within the next decade. That is why the majority of us who voted to leave did so. We care so much about our children and young people’s future that we want to begin the journey to a wider national outlook in every way, a global trading nation, without all of the federalism and gross corruption of the grossly failing experiment that was the EU.
Incidentally, I also have fervently believed, and campaigned in the past, not to restore the death penalty in the UK but quite what that has to do with anything I know not.
Chris Lovett said:
Perhaps, Mike Paterson, you’d care to tell us which “prophecies of doom” are not turning out to be the truth? From where I sit the vote has been a massive cock up. An unnecessary one, too.
philthyanimal said:
I still scratch my head and ask why the Govt thought the Referendum vote should have been decided by who scores a result better than 50%. For such a fundamental change to the country, it’s neighbours and allies, I would have thought the bar would be set a little higher – say, Leave to win a minimum of 65% of the votes, conditional on (for example) 80% voter turnout. Instead, less than 25% of the population have determined our future, which has been propagated based on lies.
The right to vote may have been “democratic”, but the outcome is not IMHO.
The vote to join the EEC was done on the same basis. The vote to Leave was at a huge disadvantage financially and politically. To have won the vote against the masses of lies and deceit by the EU, the Government and the various figureheads and groups brought in to scare us (Think Obama, Goldman Sachs, IMF) makes me wonder how a big a majority there would have been without that nonsense. I know that several people voted Remain simply because their has not been a war in Western Europe for a while.
Chris Lovett, World War 3, Emergency Budget, decimation of the economy, Back of the queue to negotiate trade deal with the U.S. etc. etc. Perhaps you could highlight any of the prophecies that have come true.
Scottish EAU said:
Reblogged this on Scottish Economic Analysis Unit.
artmanjosephgrech said:
That is what a referendum involves David Cameron’s biggest failure and which is also inherent in the once every five year vote for the House of Commons membership and incidentally is the kind of politics Jeremy Corbyn wants to change. Whatever next general and emotional intelligence tests for MPs and voters. Or perhaps just abolish voting choice as per Stalin Hitler Chairman Mao North Korea and support the efforts of the Turkish leader to do likewise etc”
Stuart Buckingham said:
Unfortunately the only requirements to be able to vote are being a UK citizen, being over 18 and being registered. Having a modicum of common sense and just a scintilla of intelligence is not necessary. Since 28% of voters abstained it was only 37% who voted Brexit – a “clear mandate” according to a Government which dismissed 39% of junior doctors who voted to reject the new contract as “barely a third” and therefore could be ignored. Don’t even get me started on the 0% who voted for Theresa May to be PM!
http://europe.newsweek.com/uk-support-death-penalty-falls-below-50-first-time-316869?rm=eu
UKIP HAS A HIGH PROPORTION OF DEATH PENALTY PROPONENTS
I WONDER IF PAEDOPHILES WILL CHANGE THAT IN MORE PEOPLE?
Stuart, we have never ever been able to vote for any Prime Minister.
Reblogged this on Mark Catlin's Blog.
ebolainfo said:
Why have David Cameron and Theresa May not fully investigated allegations of Child abuse? Why are these always botched?
Why was Theresa May so incompetent in controlling migrtion as Home secretary? Why have Cameron, May, Osbourne not ditched the austerity fraud that is private central banking?
Why don’t we have the Bradbury pound?
Why do LabLibCon all keep mum about the legal deceit and fraud that is the TTIP agreement?
Why does the EU consent to this fraud of an agreement that wishes to make nation states subsefrvient to corporate interests?
Why did Ted Heath (child abuser) lie about the goal of the EU? He deceived parliament and successive PMs have consildated orhidden the trajectory of the corrupt superstate that is the EU.
Rejecting the deceits and lies of the EU and hence wanting out of that cesspool in no way means we do not have statist lackeys in the UK to eject.
xraypat said:
Excellent Tom…we must keep bashing on and maybe get a second referendum….or at least persuade MPs & Lords to kick it out.
Thanks for you terrific posts….hope you and yours are well.
Pat 😨
xraypat, do you really want to try to mess with a democratic vote. That would be a ridiculous thing to do and would create massive civil unrest.
The debate about “undemocratic, unelected EU” in a country ruled by the House of Lords is quite ironic.
John harper said:
“Democracy doesn’t mean accepting bad decisions made by a bare majority of uninformed, ignorant, small-minded voters. Democracy means fighting for what’s right and to reverse decisions which will be damaging to the future of our country and our children’s future.”
This little paragraph was pure gold, I’m sorry, but I think first you need to know what democracy actually means before you start changing its definition, here is the definition for you since you probably couldn’t be bothered to look:
“A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.”
I’m sorry mate I don’t see your part of the definition there or am I ignorant and small minded, so therefore I can’t see it? Please tell me, because it’s dam right insulting.
I’ve seen Many articles, journalists and even political figures do this, change the world meaning of a word to suit their arguments. So I’m very surprised that you have also done the same for your ignorant readers and do that they can blissfully evade all the rubbish you are “trying ” to support.
Do us all a favour and just accept the result, so instead of moaning we can work to a workable solution.
philippajanebrown777 said:
Ignorance and bloody APATHY
GringoPeruano said:
“The British people have suffered tremendously since the financial crisis … and it has made people very angry with the establishment – and rightly so.”
“Most of the British press has been unrelentingly Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant for decades.”
“The aftermath of the Brexit vote – the verdict from a derided expert”
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-aftermath-of-the-brexit-vote-a-verdict-from-those-of-those-experts-were-not-supposed-to-listen-to/
John Harper, who are you arguing with?
GringoPeruano it is of course utter nonsense. Nothing has changed and we haven’t suffered at all, let alone tremendously…..
tyelko said:
@Jennifer Lindley
“we carried out a considerable amount of research on the EU and the unelected EC.”
That very comment proves you a liar. You did no research, you uncritically parroted nonsense spoon-fed to you by demagogues, feeling vindicated in utter political illiteracy.
Heck, you are galllingly ignorant about the British political system, please don’t tell me you did your homework on the EU. Under the current system, the President of the EU commission has ten times the democratic mandate than the Prime Minister of the UK.
tyelko Jennifer Lindley’s comment does not in anyway prove she is a liar. As you have no way of knowing what she did or did not do (unless you know her), your statements about what she did and did not do simply prove that you are a liar. In addition you have no way of knowing what she thinks of the British political system, so again you are just making it up as you go along.
Quite the contrary, Mike, I can see from her statement that she considers a)the EC unelected and b)that fact remarkable, ignoring the fact that not a single member of the UK government is elected into their specific office and that in fact there is probably no government in Europe which is directly elected into office (not even the Swiss do that). Unlike the UK government, however, the EC requires the explicit confidence of parliament to assume their offices.
The UK prime minister is appointed by the Queen, he/she then picks and chooses whoever she wants – per custom a member of parliament, but it can equally well be an unelected peer, being a member of the House of Lords and thus of parliament. And even members of the Commons were elected into the office of MP and by a tiny constituency, not the electorate at large.
If she had done her homework, she would not have found the notion of an executive not being directly elected by the people in any way remarkable, since it is absolutely standard. The fact that she pointed that fact out demonstrates that she did NOT put in the work but rather parroted tropes.
alice moore said:
“The only two differences between 2012 and 2015 are that: (A) In 2015/6 the Greek economy is ever more frail than it was in 2012, its people closer to the edge of desperation. And (2) In 2012 the troika’s toxic, illogical ‘program’ was being implemented by a government representing the corrupt, oligarchic ancien regime responsible for the crisis. In 2015/6 the troika’s ‘new’ toxic, illogical ‘program’ is being implemented by a government of the Left, thus denying the Greeks the hope that elections could stop the unnecessary pain.”
“That is a recipe for disaster for Greece, Italy, and Spain (collectively, 100 million citizens) and for the EU. It is financial madness – and that ignores the political instability it will cause to force an EU member nation to twist slowly in the wind for 50 years.”
https://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2016/07/31/imf-confessing-to-the-sin-in-order-to-repeat-it/
If you understand what happened to Greece, you`ll understand why a majority voted to LEAVE the EU. Ignorance is not anything to be proud of…
If you understand what happened to Greece, you would not even dream of citing it in relation to the UK. The ignorance is entirely on your part.
Eve Learmont said:
Can I please have your permission to post this on fb……. I agree with everything you say but doubt I could have put it quite so eloquently,
Evie poohs
tyelko you are being disingenious. Surely you see that there is a difference between the people electing officials who make laws (e.g. MPs in the House of Commons) and the people electing officials who cannot make laws (e.g. MEPs in the EU parliament) You also have not replied to the main issue which is that you called her a liar whilst lying yourself.
Eve, there is a facebook share button below the article.
David Alcock said:
Yes, I agree with all that Tom says. In fact, I am at a loss really to understand why there is so much antipathy to the EU. It’s kept the peace amongst member states, and we face our own immediate problems with Ireland and Gibraltar, as well as – by withdrawing – possibly encouraging Putin. Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland didn’t have to sign up to the Euro, and it was their own fault that they were fiscally irresponsible – by intriducing that discipline, the Irish have retrieved the situation. We will need to take on board EU legislation, but we will no longer be able to influence it – how crazy is that? – look at the environment the chemical and pharmaceutical industries work in for starters. British higher education and research does very well out of EU students and EU grants – where will the shortfall be made up? Many Brits enjoy the right to live in other EU countries – for work or retirement – it’s tragic that these opportunities may be reduced, especially in a global and interconnected world. And so on and so on.
Davis Alcock, you talk about the EU keeping the peace between member states, yet there is no way whatsoever that you could prove that to be the case, indeed it is more likely that globalisation and NATO are far more responsible. I am able to see some merits in membership of the EU, so I am amazed that you cannot see any downsides as there are a lot of them. Why do you say we will need to take on board EU legislation? Surely all we will need to do is comply with their trade requirements just as we have to do currently with every part of the World including the EU. Why on earth do you not think EU students will not come to our Universities in the future? They did before we joined the EEC and they will do after we leave the EU. Many more British expats live in regions of the world other than the EU than live in the EU so I am not sure why you think this will not happen.
Re-establishing our historical trade links with most of the World’s major economies is an outward-looking and positive way to trade in the global inter-connected World. Indeed it is the anachronistic EU trade bloc method that is isolationist and inward-looking.
bjsalba said:
I have to say that I agree with you 100%. The electorate is appallingly ignorant. I have asked a number of Leave voters for the rationale behind their decision. The result has made me weep. The level of ignorance is mind-blowing.
The first person I asked insisted that by leaving the EU we would be able to deport folks like Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza immediately, and Jamie Bolger’s murderers would never have been let out of prison. When I pointed out that these were Justice issues and therefore not EU but ECtHR which was not what he had voted on, he had a hard time understanding the difference. In fact, I’m not sure if he did ever actually grasp it.
Neither he nor any of the others I asked had the faintest clue how the EU works, how what it decides translates into UK law or anything else. When they gave their reasons the descriptions they used were lifted straight from the Leave Campaign and the tabloid press. They talked about “taking our country back” but could not explain what that meant. They spoke of “unelected officials making EU” law but they didn’t know who they were, how many there were of them or how many actually voted on EU law. One said he didn’t like “Paris and Berlin telling us (UK) what to do” but couldn’t explain how they did so.
None could tell me how many MEPs there were or how many UK MEPs there were. I live in Scotland and two, only two, could tell me how many Scottish MEPs there were, and even neither could not tell me which parties were represented. When I said we had a UKIP MEP, one flat out called me a liar.
Some talked about immigrants and the problems associated with it not being controlled, but when questioned further, their understanding of the difference between EU immigrants and refugees from the Mid-East and economic migrants from other parts of the world was sketchy to say the least.
So yes, I agree with you 100%, the Brexit vote wasn’t democracy in action. It was populist ignorance on a grand scale.
bjsalba, there was immense ignorance on both sides, but also very knowledgeable people as well. Many Remain voters I spoke to had zero understanding of how the EU works, how and by whom the rules are made, who their MEPs are etc. This highlights not a lack of democracy but a lack of knowledge about the EU. This is not surprising as the EU is fairly secretive in much of what it does.
Whatever way you look at it, we (collectively) democratically voted in a Conservative government who had made a promise of a simple IN/OUT referendum. The referendum that we collectively voted to hold, was held and everybody had the chance to vote. There was a very large turnout and Leave won with nearly 10% more votes than Remain despite the efforts of project fear and the use of tax-payers money to peddle misinformation about the EU.
If there was anything undemocratic, it was the way in which one side had access to public funds whilst the other had to rely solely on donations.
Lee Firth said:
For the first time in my life my vote has actually counted and all I get from Mr. Pride is to be insulted for not agreeing with his political opinions and voting the ‘wrong’ way. Well, my vote counts just the same as everyone else’s…that’s how a referendum works; maybe should have more of them.
Frances Calder said:
Re Jennifer Lindley – a couple of points. Firstly, the EU does indeed support university studies in the UK through Erasmus, but also through massive funding of research depts and teams, creating international centres of excellence for UK students to access along the way. The effects of Brexit on universities, both in terms of the loss of EU grants, and the mass withdrawal of candidatures for teaching and research posts and undergraduate places from the EU have been fully documented recently – google King’s College, Wales, etc. Secondly, yes, no free movement will not prevent a UK citizen from ever being able to work in the EU, but it will certainly make it as difficult, uncertain, and bureaucratic as it was 40 years ago, subject to the whole old panoply of certificates of good conduct, proof of income, proof of job offer, proof of employability, residence permits, work permits, visits from local police, health checks, proof of vaccination, etc, etc, etc. And proof of language capability. Basically, what you heard from the students was true. They have lost access and choices.
I was and am a Remainer who believes that the EU has to reform. I also believe it will. While Juncker, who doesn’t matter, was still being defiant the night before the ref, there was almost no coverage of Tusk, who, representing the Eur Council, does matter, saying that the rise of the far-right and left had demonstrated across the EU that it had failed to carry citizens with it in its headlong rush to union. And that for the foreseeable future, the whole idea of union had to be regarded as just Utopian. These views were echoed by several other govts. Sarkozy, who may be the next French President, has revived his two-tier EU plan to allow greater autonomy to member states. The UK will not be any part of reform, and should have led it. Instead, the sight of what is happening in the UK, and the absolute and ill-understood chaos of the consequences of Brexit as they begin, has led to soaring support for staying in the EU in countries such as Denmark, traditionally very Eurosceptic, up from 50% to 70%.They want to stay and reform.
I respect the votes of Leavers who understood what they were voting about, and I respect, in a way, the votes of those who knew nothing but what The Sun et al told them. But I have no respect for what seemed to me in parts of the UK I know well, the Midlands and the SE, a near-universal Leave vote amongst educated, literate, Internet-savvy middle-class people who told me they believed we’d left the Court of Human Rights, that Cameron’s concessions would still apply, that EU funding would continue-???-, that trade deals could be struck with individual member states, that China and Co would line up to trade with us ( and the Chinese govt has just said it would take 12 years to negotiate, and they’re pulling out on investing in the meantime),that the City, generating 15% of UK tax revenue will stay (without the banking passport, not a hope), etc,etc,etc. And that now we could sell home-made jam at fetes – we always could.Nor had they considered the NI border, the reaction of Scotland, and the increase in illegal migrants from across the Channel, because there is no reason at all for the French to hold the line for us forever at Calais, and when negotiations get tough, they won’t. So start on a Jungle in Kent.
Finally, on getting to choose the migrants we want – over 90% of fruit and veg in the UK are picked by migrants. There has been a collapse in applications to come. ZDF ran a programme about young doctors and nurses – they no longer want to come and work for the NHS, despite its offering the highest salaries in the EU. The UK is seen as unstable and anti-foreigner, thanks to the xenophobes and racists in the Leave campaign. Leave voters who are horrified at the increased wave of racist harassment since Brexit, have work to do to counter the dreadful image of the UK that has emerged. The people we want no longer want to come. It might be useful to follow EU media before getting too keen on the idea that they need us more than we need them. And be just a little bit humble about what this vote is inflicting on us for at least 20 years.
Being in the majority means in your in the majority. Pull your neck in and get on with it
Democracy as I understand it is not the dictatorship of the majority, it is protecting the rights of minorities. Well, part of what democracy is. Other parts are separate lawmaking, judicial and executive authorities, elective representatives and so on. For me, the main thing is that it is not dictatorship of the majority. Rather the opposite. But I can totally understand why some people struggle with the concept of democracy, what it is and what it is not.
RobertShepherd said:
The phrase sanctimonious ponce comes to mind.
layanglicana said:
I am a Remainer (old enough to have campaigned for this first time round in 1975). Like a dutiful democrat, I spent the run-up to the referendum persuading everyone I met to vote. The great majority of the young whom I spoke to had not planned to vote until I turned my persuasive charm on them. I was unnerved to find how many of these were going to vote to leave. Gradually, the awful truth dawned on me. I would have done better to discourage everyone, and yet I do feel that previous generations beginning with Magna Carta fought to have a say in the government of our nation, and the least we can do is to exercise that right I think Democracy literally means ‘rule by the people for the people’. A bit late, but the best way of avoiding situations like this in future is the (re?)introduction of civics lessons in school. I think that, although legally Parliament is not obliged to follow the referendum results, parliamentary democracy itself would be threatened were we not to do so.
mr b richards said:
Idiot majority rules.
laurenejsmith said:
Agree with you except for one point……the majority of the electorate did not vote leave. The Leavers are a minority – 37%. Those who wanted change voted, so Leave represents the ceiling on the number backing Leave. Britain as a whole does not back Brexit.
MPs set the referendum as non binding so some voted Leave as a protest against Cameron and some did not vote as it was meant to go Remain and was not binding.
MPs are meant to use the referendum to inform them not to mandate their action.
What is wrong with the politicians!
Mike Paterson
The EU isn’t secretive. It just isn’t in the interests of the Mainstream Media or the Government to inform the populace of how it works or what it does.
Once I started looking, the information was not all that difficult to find.
The majority of the electorate, no, but I wonder when the last time was that an election was won by the majority of the electorate – the majority of those who actually voted is all that is required to form a government. The problem is that no one mentioned before the referendum that it was not binding on parliament. And the great majority of the Brexiters believe that they have been promised that Britain will now leave.
Separately, it is worth pointing out that the result was only as close as it was because of the votes in Scotland and Northern Ireland – just in England the Brexiters had a very comfortable majority.
Strider48 said:
Thank you for labelling me and another 17 million voters as “uninformed, ignorant, small-minded”. Why is it that anyone who disagrees with your opinion is to be denigrated? Just for your information I worked for and with the European Commission for a number of years – so I’m not uninformed, I’m a graduate of Oxford University – so I’m not ignorant, I refuse to denigrate Remain voters – so I’m not small-minded either.
Christopher Blackmore said:
My word, that attracted some knuckle draggers!
Posted it to Google+, because you are right, same as me.
You’re a graduate of Oxford University, but you seem to utterly revile anything you experienced there, since you actively pursue the undermining of its academic standing, the funding of its research and the credibility of its staff.
And you say you’re not small-minded?
tyelko: What happened to Greence? Why and how was it trashed? Why did the IMF apologise? Who wants austerity across Europe? Who makes the decisions in Europe? Why does the ex Finance Minister of Greece call the EU undemocratic.? Explain why I am ignorant. Don`t just say it. Back it up.
Colum McCaffery said:
There are two components to democracy: numbers and deliberation. The latter is often ignored. There are two basic types of citizen: passive and participative. The latter want to be informed and to deliberate; the former want to be led and are not too concerned with the quality of the debate. Those who complain about lies during the Brexit debate miss the point; the lies weren’t addressed to them. This may explain a little better: https://colummccaffery.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/worried-about-simplistic-lies-in-public-debate-consider-the-audience-for-them/
Laurenjsmith and less than a third wanted to stay in. Please do not try to spin things with comments such as a protest vote. We all know it is utter nonsense.
BJSalba, you are having a laugh. If you believe that it is all candid and above board then you are sadly mistaken.
“What happened to Greence? Why and how was it trashed? ”
It was trashed because the Greek governments first forged their financial data to get into the Euro, then abused the leniency of the other Eurozone governments to indulge in debts, keeping sundry people occupied and employed by a bloated public sector and allowing tax dodging to become a public sport. When that construct collapsed during the financial crisis, they could not meet their obligations anymore.
“Why did the IMF apologise?”
Because the savings mandated were too much, too quickly and did not allow for investment into ensuring Greece could maintain a competitive economy. That doesn’t mean the massive reforms especially in the public sector weren’t necessary.
“Who wants austerity across Europe?”
Sundry people. Both affluent AND poor. What you miss is there’s plenty of countries which already underwent harsh reforms, and they, from top to bottom, don’t take kindly someone else wanting to have their cake and eat it, too. And the taxpayer in donor countries want their own governments to be conservative with guarantees and loans, too. It isn’t as easy as “That’s the bogeyman”, I’m afraid.
Not to mention that “austerity across Europe” is a strawman, since austerity in the UK has nothing to do with austerity elsewhere in Europe. It’s a Tory idea unconnected to the EU in any fashion.
“Who makes the decisions in Europe?”
The member nation governments, jointly.
“Why does the ex Finance Minister of Greece call the EU undemocratic.?”
For the same reason as everyone bitches and moans about the EU – it’s much easier than to admit having screwed up oneself. He promised things he could not achieve, that’s of course frustrating, and it’s much more convenient to blame it on someone else than, for example, on his own negotiation style.
Richard said:
Just simply Brilliant well said !
Inbxl said:
Mike Paterson, for anyone who wants to know how the EU works, how and by whom the rules are made, who their MEPs are etc. all they have to do is look at the Europa website, where it is all there, in some detail. Not exactly secretive… The fact is that the level of ignorance of the British public about the EU and how it works is appalling – but not because the information isn’t there, if they could just be bothered to go and educate themselves. Then they might understand that the people actually voting in the laws are their own politicians (via the EU council) and the ELECTED MEPs… The so-called ‘unelected’ EC that everyone keeps banging on about, has no power to do anything except propose and draft legislation, usually at the request of the Member States. This is neither undemocratic nor secretive. The idea of having a referendum and asking the public to decide on something as complicated and multifaceted and also as important (to the whole world, not just to the UK) as EU membership was insane. The fact that people did it in such a state of ignorance is criminal.
John Platt said:
I think you are part of the minority that think they are never wrong. I think that you are arrogant enough to believe that your opinions were correct at the time these designs were made. You need to understand that you have to change things with the will and backing of the people you can’t just decide your right so f**k the rest of the population because they are idiots.
If you think that the EU was perfect then you are the idiot and I an wasting my time explaining to you who the world works.
If you believe the EU was not perfect and you believe that staying in and trying to change it was a good idea them you are not and idiot but deluded enough to think that after we had vote to stay we would have more leverage an when Cameron tried and failed to get the concessions Great Britain had asked for.
I am proud of the fact that I am not a “Thatcherite Little Englander” or a “Racist Arshole” .
I am proud that I vote leave the EU.
I am proud that I still live in a democratic ” Great Britain” where decision are made on the here and now, not 30 years later when society has changed and the majority are in agreement.
I am proud not to be ignorant enough to believe that anyone who does not agree with me is an idiot.
Times change, when the time is right the people will decide. Force decisions on the majority and you have chaos.
You should now just get behind this great county and shout from the roof tops how much we are going to achieve in the global market instead of try to speared doom and gloom hope to prove yourself right.
Be careful you might get what you wish for!!!!!!
Colin Baldy said:
Mike Paterson, there was NO vote to join the EEC. We were taken in by our government in 1973 because they, rightly, saw that we were being left behind by the members of the EEC. Wilson decided to call a referendum for pretty much the same reason as Cameron; to quell rebellious back benchers
Somewhat to his surprise, the result in 1975 was to remain.
We should never forget that we elect our MPs to decide on complicated issues on lights behalf. The public can never be expected to make informed decisions on such complicated issues. If you ran a referendum on hanging, it would be won by the hangers. If you ran a referendum on abolishing income tax, that too would be won by the abolishionists. Neither outcome would be in the best interests of the country and they would illustrate perfectly why referenda, in general, are bad idea. The one on 23rd June was a very bad idea indeed.
I agree if the intention was to remain we should never had a referendum.
To vote to remain would only weaken any chance of changing all of the thing that were wrong with the away.
The only option was to vote leave and hopefully it will initiate the changes needed for the counties that remain.
Perhaps then they will thank Britain for saving the EU and grant us favourable leaving terms…. But I doubt it.
graphicconception said:
It would be interesting to know whether the people who are confused about the locations of Ayres Rock and Mount Everest were the older residents who have lived here all their lives or the younger ones who mainly voted to remain and know where you can buy the best iced skinny flavoured latte.
Without that vital link the article may well just be shooting itself in the foot.
Conservative policy is the same as the global elite`s policy in Europe. Now we can get rid of the Tories, in theory anyway. But locked into Europe it is impossible to get rid of the European elite and their economic policies.
Also please note, we`re still in Europe. There are good reasons to think that Brexit is not going to be allowed to happen. However, Europe is disintegrating.
This is a really good interview between Yanis Faroufakis and Noam Chomsky discussing Greece and the European Union. It does reveal the lack of democracy in Europe and who pulls the economic strings. I`ll leave it here for anybody who wants to broaden their understanding..
I guess you are also the kind of person who tells their doctor to shut the f*ck up and lecture you on what’s wrong with you. Because, after all, whether someone is ignorant or not is not defined by their education and knowledge on an issue, but whether or not they agree with you.
No one said the EU was perfect – that’s just the usual dishonesty we’ve come to be used from from Bexiteers, “proud” to engage in demagogy. But those “faults” cited by you and yours exist primarily in your imagination. And the fact that you fundamentally reject the concept of free speech and want to dictate what opinion people should voice speaks volumes. Your ancestors died to prevent people like you from running the UK, you are proud to spit on those who defended the freedom of your country, inasmuch as they are still alive, and pee on the graves of those who have died.
sackersonwp said:
Lots of ignorance on both sides. But the emoji-style “arguments” (esp. the unwarranted slurs) on Facebook from Remainers were really frighteningly unreasoning. There was so much massive, dumb-brain, home-grown propaganda and deaf-blind aggressive assertion that I began to doubt the desirability of democracy.altogether.
However, if you want very well-informed fact and reason from someone who was recently asked to give evidence to a Select Committee, add this site to your reading list:
http://www.eureferendum.com/default.aspx
sidthemanager said:
I thought someone would have responded to this thread by now 😉 Great work as ever Tom. Re posting on FB
Colin Baldy, you are correct, I meant that the previous generations voted to Remain shortly after we had been taken in to the EEC.
che said:
The remain vote was riddled with lies.
Camoron said brexit would start world war 3 and Osberk said we would all be £3000 worse off !!
Both sides were full of shit, not just the brexit side.
x777 said:
https://theredphoenixapl.org/2010/05/04/on-petty-bourgeois-ideology-social-democracy-to-fascism/
Chris said:
It was such an ill-informed decision. I know in theory a referendum is a very democratic way to make a decision for a country, but when 52% of 70% of the electorate voted to screw things up so badly for the country, based on a campaign of fear-mongering, lies and misinformation, the 48% have every right to be pissed off about this, although if the latest polling research is to be believed, we are now the 55%, since so many people have since indicated they regret their vote.
I assume John Platts is one of those Thatcherite Little Englanders and definitely deluded if he thinks this country is ‘Great’, although it’s about to get a whole lot less great as the economic consequences of Brexit start to hit.
I get really wound up when I read idiots like John Platts write that we should now all get behind Brexit, as if he and the Brexit campaign would have gone away had they lost by a narrow margin. Sorry John Platts, but you laid a huge turd in the bed, don’t expect me to help you clean it up. Have you not been watching the news? It’s no longer predicting what would happen, it’s reporting what is happening, i.e., pound tumbles, volatile stock market, economy shrinking, job losses announced, brain drain already starting, France overtook UK to become 5th largest economy in the world within hours of the vote. You might not like is, but us true patriots are not going to go away and do everything in our power to make sure Brexit doesn’t go through, no matter how much Union Jack flag waving morons such as yourself protest.
Chris, the fear mongering, lies and misinformation came much more from the Remain campaign. You say that I voted to screw things up for you, this is of course utter nonsense. I voted to leave because I believe (after years of thought and diligence on the matter) that we will be better off out of the anachronistic backward-thinking EU. I have seen no such polling, indeed the polling I have seen shows that there would be little or no difference if we were to vote again. As time moves on, more and more Remain lies are being shown for what they were.
Chris, I also am a true patriot and like most other Leave voters, will do everything in my power to make sure hat UKExit does happen. You seem to try to denigrate those of us who disagree with you with foul language and spin. Get over yourself.
judithhaire said:
Reblogged this on Far be it from me –.
Mike, you may well think you are a true patriot, but you are deluded, especially if you are saying the lies came from the Remain campaign, yes the Remain campaign correctly predicted it would shrink our economy and crash the pound, cause market uncertainties, job losses and a brain drain … that is exactly what is happening, to have said otherwise would have been lying … compare this with the £350 million extra a week that the Leave camp said we would have for the NHS, which has since turned out to be complete bullshit, along with hundreds of other lies and misinformation from Brexit.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-eu-referendum-nigel-farage-nhs-350-million-pounds-live-health-service-u-turn-a7102831.html
You are a moron who voted for Brexit, so obviously facts are something you will be big on, however, the fact you have not seen such polling evidence does not mean it does not exist. If another referendum were to be held it looks like Remain would win, because the lies of the Leave camp have been called out. Of course Leave do not want this, because they are chicken and know they wouldn’t win. It’s not often I agree with that ignoramus, Farage, but I’m with him with this when he said shortly before the referendum if the result was 52:48 in remain’s favour, his fight would go on and he would push for a second referendum. I agree with Nigel, it’s too much of an important decision, let’s have a second referendum to be absolutely sure this is what we want as a nation. I don’t want it and I personally know several people who voted to leave or didn’t bother to vote who now wish they voted to stay in the EU having seen the negative fallout from the Leave vote.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-news-second-eu-referendum-leave-voters-regret-bregret-choice-in-millions-a7113336.html
If you sprinkle glitter on a turd, it is still a turd with glitter on it. Brexit will be a disaster for the British economy, even if Thatcherite Little Englanders and openly racist arseholes continue to wrap a Union Jack around the turd and pretend the catastrophic economic consequences of Brexit are not happening.
Facts do not cease to be facts because they are ignored by idiots.
@ Mike Paterson
“You seem to try to denigrate those of us who disagree with you with foul language and spin. ”
Where did I use foul language? Although I agree, when talking about the stupid twats who voted for Brexit it is fucking difficult to refrain from colourful language, however, having reread my previous comments, I couldn’t find any foul language you dopey cunt. .
josie91195 said:
Reblogged this on Look There's a Bear and commented:
I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I read this today and found it to be an eloquent, well-sourced and convincing account of the shambles that was the EU Referendum.
xxx said:
What a sad loser.
It’s called democracy, get over it, you little self exalted Castro wanna be.
You make every effort to prove his point. It’s hilarious when an enemy of free speech compares critics with dictators. If anyone is a Castro wannabe, it’s you Brexiteers who declare that your opinion must not be questioned or criticised. Combined with your hounding foreigners through the streets, you’re about as much about democracy as Comrade Stalin.
Alex McCabe said:
Tom Pride really is a special kind of stupid and seems to confuse his opinion with fact. It was more a case of the working classes of the nation sticking-it to the arrogant, elitist, middle-class snobs of London & the home counties. Democracy is democracy and you can’t sulk when it doesn’t go your way nor can you call for additional referendums until you get the desired result. If you want to lose what shreds of pride & dignity you have left by complaining then by all means carry on but fact of the matter is the people have spoken. The Government/Remain campaign failed to bullshit the nation using our tax money and now we can look towards a more prosperous future with a more globalcentric economy. Most of those who voted to leave did so for very good reasons.
Chris, you need to take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror, Your obnoxious and odious comments reveal your level of intelligence. You are one of those rather stupid people that cannot believe that somebody has a different viewpoint and that they therefore must be a moron. I am glad that I do not know you in the real world.
More people voted to LEAVE than have ever voted for anything, in the entire history of the UK!
Lucy Carmichael said:
You are so full of shit as to be unbelievable. Oh, and “And it definitely doesn’t mean you’re not stupid either” – double-negative. In this case you’re right. You definitely are stupid.
I know. It’s a disgrace. Ignorant people voting. Whatever next? Poor people? The unemployed? Women?
Ken said:
You have to love the whining of the Federasts, you really do. Every day brings in another pathetic screed from yet another loser who really cannot come to terms with the totality of the defeat that we handed out on the 23 June 2016.
Here’s the thing: if you wanna make a socialist omelette then you crack a few capitalist eggs. The biggest egg of them all is the EU and by God we cracked that one good and proper.
Chris – you have used the words deluded moron, racist arsehole. that you then say you have looked through your posts and cannot see any foul language and proceed to spout yet more. I guess you are rather poorly educated for which I can only pity you.
Mike, deluded moron is not a swear word, in your case it is a fact if you think Brexit will make Britain great. Racist arsehole was quoting the author of the article and posted after you wrongly complained I used foul language.
Ken, as if the Brexit crowd would have gone away if they had lost by the smallest of margins. The 48% are not going away, as we care about our country too much, especially now the Brexit campaign has been exposed of one of lies, misinformation and racism wrapped around a Union Jack flag masquerading as patriotism.
We don’t want to lose our European Citizenship and the many benefits that come with it, we don’t want to live in a country governed by bigots, we don’t want the economy of the UK dow be downsized and shrink, we don’t want job losses, we don’t want to leave the EU and it is becoming apparent that many people who did vote to leave the EU regret their vote and now do not want to leave either.
“Make a socialist omelette”. And I have a plot on the moon you might be interested in.
As for “totality of defeat” thanks, Comrade Stalin, the fact that you want to abolish any and all elections from now on is duly noted.
The only one you defeated was yourself, as no one will be punished more by this than those who dupe yourself into being “winners”. There will be howling and gnashing of teeth. Do you seriously believe that MORE money will flow to disenfranchised regions? The EU was the only entity keeping those regions alive.
terry f said:
As a fervent remainer allow me to say this offensive bile makes me ashamed to be in the same camp as you
Mike, I take having my intelligence questioned by a flag waving deluded moron who voted Brexit who still thinks it was a good idea after the disastrous consequences have been widely reported in the news, as a badge of honour.
I have kids and you have voted to screw up their future. I have nothing but contempt for the xenophobic Little Englanders who voted for this idiocy. I’m proud European. I’m proud to be part of the 48% who are going to fight Brexit, which was a campaign of lies promoted by Rupert Murdoch, the Tory Right, and odd balls such as UKIP, the EDL, the BNP and conspiracy theorists like David Icke who claims the world is run by shape shifting lizards.
Andrew Cochrane said:
Like to add some reputable facts and figures and research to your self serving argument, no!, didn’t think so 💩💩💩
Chris, You are an ignorant buffoon. I refuse to attempt to converse with you any more.
Cute, a Brexiteer calling others ignorant buffoons. Project much?
Mike, I wear that as a badge of honour to be called an ignorant buffoon by a flag waving Little Englander moron that thinks Brexit will make Britain great.
Of course, you do not wish to converse with me, as you know you cannot win the argument. The disastrous effects of Brexit are already being felt, even though I cannot see how it can be implemented, as the new Chancellor said he wants to maintain access to the European Single Market and implement Brexit, negotiations of which back into the Single Market cannot be started until two years and one day after Article 50 is implemented, and if anybody seriously believes the three clowns, Bo Jo, Fox and Dumbass Davies will be able to negotiate more favourable access to the Single Market than we already have then they are living in cloud cuckoo land.
Yes of course you don’t want to debate, as once you pull the away the Union Jack that you hide under, there is is no intellectual validity to your argument, or in layman’s terms, you are an arsehole.
telescoper said:
Reblogged this on In the Dark and commented:
I agree 100% with this, and will also continue to campaign for the United Kingdom to remain a full member if the European Union. As the grim economic reality starts to bite, I think many will wake up and stop the madness before it’s too late.
Moonin said:
This whole sordid Brexit mess can easily be fixed. We just need to repeal the original parliamentary Act that gave the vote to the working classes. Then we can do the same with women’s votes and those aged 65 plus. Problem solved! Only hummus eating, elitist, condescending, anti democratic home owners aged between 18-59 should ever be allowed to partake in democratic processes. Quick-someone start a petition!
It’s cute when antidemocratic rabble who can suffer no opinion but their own accuse others of being antidemocratic.
Hint: Just because you are a lazy, irresponsible bum who knows only rights and no obligations doesn’t mean that others take their civic duty of casting their vote responsibly and inform themselves properly as negligently as you.
Having read a large number of these post from both sides of the argument I feel as if I just want to leave Britain altogether. Is it really impossible to discuss something without resorting to abuse?
http://order-order.com/2016/08/04/bank-england-rubbish-osbornes-brexit-fibs/
Er you were saying.
Ken Boon said:
YOU ARE A CUNT!
R6789 said:
‘in the history of voting for anything’ well actually XXX 18million people voted on the xfactor final 2010. The winner was Matt cardle if you’re interested…did he ever release more than 1 song?
Nice try R6789 but 33.6 million voted in the referendum. And yes Matt Cardle released more than 1 song.
Andy Yule said:
You are absolutely correct and many people have said what you say but maybe not loud enough and not in the best places. Looking at some of the replies you have it is quite amazing how these so called Brexiteers firmly state untruths with no fear of correction. I believe that the BBC was particularly guilty during the campaign of not querying errors and untruths from the leave campaign. Of course the Leavers now compound their lying by accusing the BBC of being biased against them. My MP was a strong Remainer but has now been knighted and made leader of the Conservative party: he is now firmly in favour of “making a success of Brexit “. How can we force these politicians to see sense and do what is best for the country (after all they mostly believe remaining is better)? That is the big question .
There is a shameful level of debate here with the issues. No wonder the Labour party is in such disarray. The grass roots does not know a peanut from an acorn.
What a load of tosh!
Chris, there are some remain voters on here that believe in democracy and then there are people like you, who believe if you shout loud enough you will get your own way. Grow up!!!
You claim in your colourful language, that you are not willing to help clean up the mess the leave voters made.
Then you proclaim that you are fearful for your children’s future but you are going to do anything you can to lengthen the economic downturn because you didn’t get your own way. You seem to have forgotten your children’s future very quickly.
You also see the leave/remain argument in a very narrow minded way. You only see the economic argument but not the social argument and I am afraid it was the social argument that your children would need to be procected from.
I voted leave not beleiving the lies that both sides put out to try and frighten us into voting one way or the other and knowing that there would been an economic downturn, which even the most hardened remain voters know will pass as all downturns do.
I voted leave because I did not want my family and your children to see the country rip its self apart because some people believe that we were being asked to integrate to many immigrants to quickly. Yes, some of these people are racists and always have been and to them one immigrant is to many. To others, living in streets were they don’t hear English spoken, were their children are the minority in the classrooms is pushing them to become racist. No everyone is ready to be that multicultural and until they are forcing the issue will only lead to a country filled with race hatred and that will spill over into the streets with part of the population attacking the other part for no reason that the colour of their skin or the language that they speak. It would have got worse and worse until your children would not be safe out on their own and you would find it very frightening walking in some areas of the cities and town. It will not be the fault of one side or the other it will be your fault because you want to force multiculturalism on people who are not ready for it. You have to allow change to happen at a speed the people can cope with.
So I am happy that I voted to allow your children to grow up in a safer more peaceful society . It may not be as wealth for the next few years, but if it’s the money that’s more important to you you are teaching your children the wrong moral values.
Jim c said:
You can use words in many ways to arrive at an answer that suits you. You are obviously a bad loser.
LOL, coz nobody who ever wanted to leave Europe ever shouted much in the last decade or so. The truth is I’ve hardly ever shouted about Brexit, because I didn’t think the country would be so fucking idiotic to vote to leave the EU. I wish I had shouted from every rooftop in the UK at the top of my prior to the referendum “Do not vote to leave the EU, it will destroy the economy of the UK, loose all your privileges of EU Citizenship, the pound will plummet, unemployment will rise and Britain will be international laughing stock and once more the sick man of Europe.”
I am doing something for my children’s future, I’m relocating part of my business to Spain (an EU member) as a direct result of the Brexit vote – http://www.totnes-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=101722&headline=Jobs%20hope%20dashed%20by%20EU%3FBrexit%20vote§ionIs=news&searchyear=2016
Well done Brexit, forcing me to create jobs for Spanish people instead of in my own country.
This is democracy, where people have differing views and given the outcome of the referendum was so close can you honestly expect those who deeply and profoundly do not want us to leave the European Union to go away and shut up? Therefore we will fight to persuade those who now they realise they were lied to by the Leave camp and have also seen the disastrous economic consequences of Brexit to join us in our crusade to reverse this utterly stupid and ridiculous Brexit vote.
Just had Remain narrowly won, we would still have to put up with the with the likes of Farage continuing the battle and demanding another referendum, so you will have to put up with some of the 48% of the 70% of voted and the million plus who have changed their mind whinging about this stupid Brexit vote and doing everything in our power to stop it going through.
Colin said:
Not once does the author of this article say why, in his opinion, we should stay in the EU. Weird or what.None of the remainer snowflakes seem to have any idea how or what the aims of the EU were or are.
pauline siddons said:
“Democracy doesn’t mean accepting bad decisions made by a bare majority of uninformed, ignorant, small-minded voters”
Sorry, but that’s exactly what it means!
Just in case you did not read my last post, I have directed straight to you. I cannot Beleive if you have read it that you have not given your reasoned answers as to why you prepare your children to face unrest in the streets rather than a few years of economic struggle.
“I voted leave because I did not want my family and your children to see the country rip its self apart because some people believe that we were being asked to integrate to many immigrants to quickly. ”
you’d rather see the country rip itself apart because some people aren’t as blinkered as you are. It’s hilarious when Brexiteers declare Scotland not a part of “this country”.
“To others, living in streets were they don’t hear English spoken, were their children are the minority in the classrooms is pushing them to become racist. No everyone is ready to be that multicultural and until they are forcing the issue will only lead to a country filled with race hatred and that will spill over into the streets with part of the population attacking the other part for no reason that the colour of their skin or the language that they speak. It would have got worse and worse until your children would not be safe out on their own and you would find it very frightening walking in some areas of the cities and town. It will not be the fault of one side or the other it will be your fault because you want to force multiculturalism on people who are not ready for it. You have to allow change to happen at a speed the people can cope with.”
Thanks for confirming Chris’s points. And thanks for confirming you are not just a racist but utterly ignorant about the EU.
But hey, those German scientists working at the Medical Research Council really were criminal scum, right, playing the cancer-curing heros at day while preying on innocent British children at night? And those Swedish engineers at the local car manufacturer, woaah… don’t want to meet them late at night in a pub.
That Romanian nurse is probably experimenting on the children she treats at the local NHS hospital, right? They are all so dangerous for children. After all, they got that educashun thing, and nothing is more dangerous than that…
But teaching them racism and wilful ignorance is of course a valuable moral value?
Jennifer Lindley, just to correct one quite important point – actually around 68% of young people voted in the referendum, not 34% (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high), so we’re doing them a disservice if we repeat the fake stats that were circulating on social media, and try to use it to prove that they didn’t care.
There are clear correlations between age and how people voted, as well as between level of education and voting results. And John Platt, you might be interested to see that the areas with the highest level of immigrants actually also voted to remain, so I’m not sure that your argument really stacks up either: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/24/eu-referendum-how-the-results-compare-to-the-uks-educated-old-an/ – might be worth re-examining your own perceptions versus the reality of living in a multi-cultural area.
William beer said:
You are such an egotistical self inflated prick. You don’t like it why don’t you crawl up your own arse and fuck off!!! because without the likes of you maybe the rest of the country can get on with rebuilding something worthwhile for people who believe in British values. And before you bang on about intelligence and negatives and how stupid everyone but you are, it’s your narrow minded bullshit that will suppress the advancement of everyone and not just the pocket lining of the rich. You arsehole.
What “British values” would that be? Sloth and wilfull ignorance? No, it’s not his “narrow minded bullshit” that suppressesd the advancement of everyone, it’s your being a lazy bum who is so narcisstic that you’re not only too lazy to educate yourself, you’re dismissing anyone not as lazy and actually doing their homework.
But yeah, it’s disgusting that putting in the time to learn something pays off, right? Better people like you would get anything you want shoved up your arse without doing anything for it. After all, the concept of responsibilities, obligations and duties is utterly alien to you. All you know is that it’s perfectly natural that you have your cake and eat it, too.
It’s hilarious when the “arsehole” who would even lecture their doctor how to conduct an appendectomy gets all worked up about people declaring him stupid for believing he can lecture people with greater expertise.
I now see why Chris has such bizarre views and immediately jumps to foul and abusive language. Have you been partaking in the raw product of your produce Chris? What a storyline, fervent Remain camapigner says he will take jobs that he hasnt yet created to Europe’
Hi tyelko,
Yes, anyone who is against forcing people to except ideals that they are not ready for is heading for social unrest but I, unlike you, can see the need to move to multiculturalism at a natural rate not one force upon by the EU.
As to me being racist, which is the battle cry of all remain voters if the word immigration is mentioned, nothing could be further from the truth.
My wife is from a mixed cultural marriage, part Irish part Bangladesh, my wife and daughter are of the Muslim faith. My farther in law once told me that he had been in total agreement with Enoch Powell in as much as you cannot rush integration, it has to happen slowly.
So yes I voted leave for the safety of my family and the safety of your family. It does not take much for minor skirmishes to escalate to major conflict and once the touch paper has been lit it is very hard to turn back. It seem Germany hasn’t learnt the lessons from its past, give the people some to blame and they will hate them with a passion that leads to violence.
So you carry on complaining about how the economy downturn is going to hurt your children but if all the hateful, crude and disgusting remarks written on this topic do not show you that your family and this country will be hurt far more by continuing your campaign you are burying you head in the sand.
I am a true multiculturalist, not a racist, and firmly believe in total integration. I don’t believe in towns within towns and cities within cities and this take time to achieve. The EU has its own economic agenda which, like you, it puts above all else.
That’s why we needed to come out of the EU.
Michael Malone said:
We’re never going to leave the EU in reality are we. There’ll never be a government elected in the UK who will throw the country under the bus on the racist whim of a few million uneducated and angry middle-aged failures looking for somebody to blame.
Michael, It is nit throwing the country under the bus. The leave vote is not in any way racist, (although of course racists will use any tactic to further their evil agenda) indeed I suggest that reducing the automatic access of domicile to the mainly caucasian Europeans in favour of greater access to the rest of the world is anti-racist and that to want to remain in a trade bloc that ensures discrimination is the racist thing to do. I would also suggest that there seem to be many millions of undeucated and angry middle-aged failures looking for someone to blame and that you are one of them.
Dids (@Didsthewinegeek) said:
Whilst voting Remain myself your basic arguement is flawed. One cannot make a comparision between Section 28 and the vote on Europe. Section 28 is a moral arguement, Europe a political one. It is tenuous to say that the majority of the electorate were against Section 28 as there was no vote. Majority of Parliament and a majority of society are 2 different things. Therefore your basic arguement is naive to say the least.
Join the long list of remain voters, who are in a minority and argue black is white. You do are chances of remaining in Europe very little good. Infact you damage it.
I don’t think you’ve been paying attention. The commenterati have been churning out nasty, snobbish opinion pieces of exactly this nature ever since the electorate delivered their verdict.
Needless to say, it says more about the writers’ superciliousness than it does about the Leave voting masses.
John Platt I want my children to be in a Britain that is part of Europe. You contradict yourself by saying you want out of Europe because it will be better for the UK then write some tosh that I put the economic agenda first. Well if that means not wanting to see the economy of this country destroyed then yes economic agenda is important, but I also like my right to freedom of movement and travel, free health care, environmental laws on a European level, since pollution doesn’t respect national boundaries. Since I’m not a racist the immigration issue simply doesn’t bother me like it does you and I really not believe immigration is the fault of all our countries woes. In fact, immigrants contribute positively to the economy. You do realise that we take away freedom of movement after Brexit
1) you are screwing things up for your fellow compatriots who might be a little adventurous and want to get off this island from time to time and enjoy living and /or working in another European Country
2) if we want to retain access to the Single Market, we have to accept the freedom of movement. I take it you want to retain access to the European Single Market, the new Chancellor does, please tell me how we can keep access to the Single Market, without losing our right of freedom of work and travel in EU member states, while at the same time not accepting freedom of movement for people to live and work in the UK
Brexiters often talk about the Norway option (EEA), but in Norway they have freedom of movement and a higher proportion of immigrants than UK. Most UK immigrants come from India, which is not in Europe anyway. Some academics have argued that Norway has less sovereignty then other EU member states, since they are subject to EU laws, but have no say in shaping them. Norway also pays more into the EU than it gets back.
I thought Mike Patterson stated he was never going to engage with me again, but as a fervent leave voter, we should not expect him to keep a promise. As a matter of fact, my investors did tell me to move our new company out of the UK as a result of Brexit and I have spent the last few weeks in Spain where we are in the process of creating jobs that would have gone to Britain. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36835566
“Have you been partaking in the raw product of your produce Chris?” – sorry I do not understand your question. We’re producing cosmetics, what has that got to do with anything? Yes I’ve used our soaps, shampoos and creams. Typical Brexit voter, don’t answer the issues at hand and make a stupid comment that is completely irrelevant. I have presented logical and consistent arguments as to why Brexit will be a fucking disaster and all you come back with is pious comments about my occasional usage of swear words (it is 2016) and claim I have bizarre views and swear because of my choice of hand creams, soaps, shampoos and conditioners. Very strange man.
before we voted to leave the EU, we carried out a considerable amount of research on the EU and the unelected EC. We were absolutely horrified by what we found. Far worse than we were aware of and indeed anticipated.
So you were horrified to find out that the 28 heads of the EU Civil Service were not elected? Why? The Commission is actually the Civil Service for the EU. They draft legislation, they can propose legislation but they do not vote on it. That is no different from the British Government system.
What is so horrific about that?
DR CHRIS HENTSCHEL said:
It’s obvious from just a cursory read that the pro-Brexit voters are truly victims of their own propaganda narrative. There are so many examples here, but one typical one is the easily rebutted fib that the Remain campaign claimed the WW3 could follow Brexit. Rather, it was their own propaganda outlets that invented this idea to ridicule the Remain campaign when Cameron mentioned the positive role the EU had made to keeping peace in Europe. He was quite measured in what he said, as is easily verifiable, but reporting this accurately would not have served the propaganda ‘project fear’ narrative. The fact that the EU was awarded the Nobel peace prize with a detailed citation explaining its role in keeping the peace was of course ignored by the Sun, Mail etc. Even the ‘neutral’ BBC never mentioned this rather salient fact.
We don’t make decisions about lesser matters, like where a new runway should be built in London, by allowing a deliberately misinformed public to take a blinkered punt.
Britain and particularly the younger generation deserve better than this.
Bryan Southon said:
I support continued membership of the EU. The issue is how those of us 48% who voted to remain can prevent the process of leaving being initiated. I propose the formation of a pressure group acting alone or in alliance with others to persuade MP’s to exercise their judgement and not be dictated to by the referendum result They should reject any attempt to leave the EU. At the very least there should be a second referendum on the outcome of any negotiations if the leaving process is activated. My reasons for this are given in various posts above; such as It is not in the broad national interest to leave, 28% of voters may have abstained but silence does not mean consenting with the [slim] majority. If you want to stay let your MP know!
xenasrealm said:
Reblogged this on Musings of a passion junkie and commented:
The minority are right far more often than people care to admit – whether that measure is on the scale of a referendum, or an individual. Populism is never a reliable benchmark.
When did Scotland become a working class area…And Manchester and Liverpool have a distorted class perception due to having massive unis full of rich kids.
Ruth, not sure how you can backup your statement that the areas of highest immigration voted remain.
The three towns and cities with the largest percentage of immigrants, Slough, Luton, and of course Birmingham, all voted leave.
Then consider the northern towns such as Bradford, Barnsley, etc all voting leave.
It might be worth while re-examining your statistics and your geography. Or perhaps you should join us thick leave voters who think Everest is in England
John, you might want to reexamine your own statistics and geography. The area with the highest percentage of foreigners by far is still in and around London. Areas such as Ealing with over 40% of foreign-born population voted Remain. Harrow, likewise with almost half the population foreign-born voted Remain – and with an over 9% lead.
Compared to that, Birmingham was basically a tie, the Leave lead was well below 1%.
It might also be worthwhile to consider what kind of immigration we’re talking about. I know people like you blame the Fall of Man on the EU, because Britain, categorically, cannot be responsible for anything and an Englishman is genetically prevented from being at fault, but having your ancestors loot the planet off riches and then blaming it on the EU when the former subjects of the Crown follow the money deserves a special kind of contempt.
The EU has nothing, nothing at all, to do with immigration from Pakistan, and the fact that the Rotherham incident was repeatedly instrumentalised in discussions with Brexiteers underscores just how rampant ignorance on immigration issues is. It’s all an issue of “If it’s bad, it’s the EU’s fault”.
Tyelko, you seem to be tagging me as a racist.
I’m not sure of your credentials to be classed as a multiculturalist but I can assure you I am.
Religion, originally Protestant then Catholic married a Muslim. My wife is Bangladesh/ Irish.
Many British citizens that have been in this country for many years are worried about over immigration. I believe in intergration not suffocation. Countries should not being forced to take immigration that it cannot cope with.
Your true colours seem to be on show in as far as you are picking out people from Pakistan as a problem that is not of the EU making. So who is the racist. Immigration without integration is the problem not what nationality.
The traditional long estabished immigrant areas voted leave. They see the signs of future unrest stating because of over immigration.
John, I said nothing to suggest you were a racist. It seems to me you want to divert attention from the fact that your claims about votes from areas with a lot of immigrants were off.
That is further reinforced by your dishonest suggestion that _I_ suggested that people from Pakistan were a problem when I said nothing of that sort. I pointed out that I’ve seen the Rotherham scandal being brought up time and again when portraying the problems immigration supposedly brings, ignoring that it had nothing to do with the EU.
As such, your comment about “signs of future unrest” is merely the usual trope. You fail to present any justification for such supposed signs being reasons to vote “leave”.
It speaks volumes that you react this vociferously and with a smear campaign to being called out on making wrong statements.
Firstly the 2011 census has Birmingham at 47% of it population “not white British” an increase of 8% in ten years. So I think it depends on where you get your statistics from. So I am certainly not diverting attention away from my claims.
As to you not calling me a racist. The remark “people like you” and then go on about these people not wanting to welcome people from commonwealth, does describe me as a racist.
Your mention of Pakistan and Rotherham and the fact that you are trying to distance the EU from it, says that you believe there is good and bad immigration. That is racist. Where as I believe you can just have to much of a good thing.
As to the unrest, you can aready see it starting throughout Europe. How long do you think these attacks will be allowed to go on before there is retaliation.
Once the retailistuon starts there are “racists” that will not care where you are from you will not be a native of the country that you reside in and therefore be s target.
So I say again I voted leave to protect all immigrants that are now living in this country and may they enjoy it peacefully but if we are force to inigrate to many to quickly you will get a reaction. The EU should have just allowed Britain to restrict immigration and we would have had a remain majority. So if you want to blame anyone for us leaving the Eu blame the EU.
“Firstly the 2011 census has Birmingham at 47% of it population “not white British” an increase of 8% in ten years. ”
That’s something entirely distinct from “immigrants”, John.
No, it doesn’t. Your declaring anyone non-white an immigrant, however, certainly suggests so.
“Your mention of Pakistan and Rotherham and the fact that you are trying to distance the EU from it, says that you believe there is good and bad immigration. That is racist. ”
That’s cute, projecting Brexiteer racism on me. I mentioned Pakistan and Rotherham as an argument against immigration brought up by Brexiteers.
Further demonstration of the ignorance mentioned in the article. The situation in France, much like the one in Britain, has far more to do with the colonial past than recent immigration.
“The EU should have just allowed Britain to restrict immigration and we would have had a remain majority. So if you want to blame anyone for us leaving the Eu blame the EU.”
Yes, as we already established, everything is the EU’s fault. Even the fact that you want to have your cake and eat it, too, enjoying all amenities without any of the responsibilities.
Britain can restrict non-EU immigration as much as it wants, and EU immigration has nothing to do with the “recent unrest”.
You continue to demonstrate that the case for Brexit fundamentally relies on dishonesty.
Hilary Burrage said:
I’m sure some readers have seen this already, but it does tell us more about the general wider opinions of those who wanted to Remain or Leave: https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/looking-behind-the-brexit-anger/ . Of course there are some with a liberal world view who wanted Brexit (and vice versa) but despite the protests from Leavers the trends really are there…
Paolo Porsia said:
Reblogged this on Commentaria.
Simon Briggs said:
What has the Brexit vote accomplished?
Enormous and, for the moment irreparable social schism. Oh, and civil war on social media, as displayed by this somewhat pathetic aggressive – defensive interchange
JonP said:
True that being in a majority does not automatically make you right but it makes your views those of the majority. Also right and wrong suggests a black and white answer which is narrow minded. This is typical self righteous thinking that presumes to know why others think the way they do.
Tyelko,
If you accept that all the counties of Europe have a far right racist element, which you do, can you also not see that the logic of your argument is lost on them. They do not care if you are a first generation immigrant or a fourth generation immigrate ….you are an immigrant. When there is a huge influx of immigration it allows these people to generate hate and when some of the immigrates are violent they use this to incite violence. They do not care if you are from the EU or from India or Syria to a racist you are an immigrant.
That is why people who have been settled here for generations have voted to leave the EU. That is why I claim that the areas with the greatest populations of ” non white British” ( immigrants over many generations) voted to leave the EU.
The EU has a great economic plan, whether it is good or bad, is irrelevant if it is put before the safety and stability of the member nations.
Britain is not the only country worried about the social fabric of Europe. Talk is about how Britain should have remained to help change things.
That means that the EU is to blame because if they were ever going to alter their thinking it would have been when Cameron asked for their help before the election.
So as more and more attacks happen throughout Europe, for whatever reason, (the racists won’t care) the tit for tat retaliations will escalate.
I personally do not wont to by attacked because I am white and I do not wont may family attacked because they have an immigrant background.
I as much as I cannot definitely say that the economical downturn will be short lived, you cannot definitely say that our countries will not enter a period of major social unrest.
I personally prefare my family to be poorer and safe, than not poorer and unsafe.
Let’s face it you wouldn’t be any better off if we remained you just maybe wouldn’t be any worse off.
Having said all of this, I am sure that you will go back to blaming it on imperialism, but that won’t change a thing it is the here and now that matters not the past.
Graham Saunders said:
You jumped up sanctimonious little prick. How dare you call the majority of the Brexit voters dumb and ignorant and small minded. You are laying bare your own prejudices by saying that the majority of Brexit voters read the DM or Ecpress. Grow up for gods sake you little child.
Except there’s plenty of evidence for his points.
Ian Mc said:
“In fact, the most working class parts of the UK – Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester – all voted Remain. And the majority of young people voted Remain too.”
Notwithstanding:
I’m bored typing them now, but I wager some of those are part of the ‘most working class areas’ (like whatever that means anyway – the whole of Scotland ‘most working class’)
A Dissident said:
Yes, all the Leave voters were totally ignorant of the Stalinist group think. Book them in to the nearest gulag for some ”re-education.”
It would be entirely sufficient for you to get a normal education instead of engaging in tinfoil hattery and declaring the entirety of UK academia a bunch of corrupt clueless idiots.
“If you accept that all the counties of Europe have a far right racist element, which you do, can you also not see that the logic of your argument is lost on them. ”
And that is an argument why?
So you say because there are antivaxxers, we should stop vaccinating people and let liars like Wakeland run the show? Because there are creationists, we should stop teaching science? After all, you already declared the entirety of UK academia a bunch of idiot morons who got their Nobel prizes through corruption and graft by your vote.
“They do not care if you are a first generation immigrant or a fourth generation immigrate ….you are an immigrant. When there is a huge influx of immigration it allows these people to generate hate and when some of the immigrates are violent they use this to incite violence. They do not care if you are from the EU or from India or Syria to a racist you are an immigrant.”
And of course that’s a valid argument?
Which is irrelevant to the point you wanted to counter, namely the fact that the areas with the highest immigration, i.e. foreign-born inhabitants, those people who actually do know immigrants, voted Remain.
So you failed to counter that point, instead constructing a dishonest strawman, as with pretty much all pro-Brexit arguments.
You demonstrate just how correct the initial point of the blog post is – complete and utter, abject ignorance about how the EU works.
No, the EU has no “great economic plan”. The EU is not a singular planning entity. It is composed of its member nations and it is the member nations which call the shots. That this is done by votes and agreements and not by simply agreeing to whatever your nation wants is not a bug, it’s a feature.
No, it means no such, thing, but thanks for confirming that your main beef with the EU is that it doesn’t jump to the British fiddle 100% of the time and people on the continent simply sign over their sovereignty to little Englanders.
Right, of course, facts are irrelevant, propaganda is the new truth, and attacks supposedly in “retaliation” are immediately justified through libel and propaganda.
You don’t want your family attacked because they have an immigrant background? Like hell you do. You are promoting attacks on them by justifying racist attacks and lending credence to racist propaganda. I’d suggest you think long and hard why xenophobic attacks in the UK increased massively after the Brexit vote. Maybe read your paragraph above and think about what you are saying there.
I can certainly say that the social unrest in the UK has increased, not decreased, after the Brexit vote, and is much more likely to further increase than decrease.
Let’s face it you wouldn’t be any better off if we remained you just maybe wouldn’t be any worse off.2
Let’s just face it, you did jack sh*t to make your family safer, quite the contrary, you made it so that the probability of them being attack is massively higher than before and now are frantically trying to justify that for you, unwittingly even going further down that road by continuing to spread racist propaganda uncritically.
Right, and of course, reasonable analysis is useless waste of time, whereas uncritically parroting the Daily Mail and the Express will contribute to improving the situation.
Just like your Doctor is a useless hack who wasted his time in medical school and all those other academic idiots should never have thought that studying an issue would lead to any superior knowledge. Boris, Gove and Farage all know so much more than the likes of Paul Nurse, Peter Higgs, Stephen Hawking, George Akerlof or Angus Deaton.
Have fun in your dream of Britain in the stone age.
mrmmarsh said:
Great piece, but to be clear the links you’re citing at the end aren’t evidence that most people are ignorant, they’re made up PR ‘studies’ designed to serve as an advert. Most British people don’t actually think Everest is in England, that’s an advert by a dodgy PR company, and ironically just the kind of falsified loss and propaganda you’re criticising in the rest of the piece. I’d suggest you delete those lines, or replace them with ones that are derived from credible sources. But the rest is all good!
(Disclaimer: I lecture about those kind of PR studies for journalism students at a couple of universities)
Wendy Bradley said:
I voted out because I studied the EU, neoliberalism, global economics and politics.
I know Brexit is the best way forward and the attitude of remainers to Brexiteers is akin to the snobbish and arrogant attitude the KKK has to blacks in America – you can’t see the good in anyone who has a differing idea to your own. Poor judgement is a sign of ignorance.
Nice one 🖒
Yes, poor judment is a sign of ignorance. Such as comparing criticism of your opinion with the KKK, when it’s your fellow Brexiteers who are hunting people in the streets of England.
It speaks volumes that you believe the KKK is merely “snobbish and arrogant”. But it’s to be expected from someone actively fostering hate crime.
You claim you have “studied the EU, neoliberalism, global economics and politics” – you are a liar. You don’t even remotely know what studying something looks like and the only snobbish and arrogant attitude here is that of lazy Wendy Bradley who believes to know more about the EU, global economics and politics than all the Nobel laureates of Britain who dedicated their life to having a bleeping idea what they are talking about. You are lazy and arrogant because you believe you can get all the authority with none of the work.
Rudolph Tomossi said:
“It’s not Democracy when I don’t like the result!” Check.
“Everyone who doesn’t agree with me is an ignorant stupid racist, but I’ll concede that 4 or 5 Leavers in the entire nation (I happen to personally know) aren’t so therefore you can’t accuse me of arrogance!” Check.
“I can’t answer difficult challenges to my perception of the EUtopia so they’re all lies!” Check.
This whole article is saturated with sophistry, superiority complex and staggering arrogance. The comment about the vast majority of English people believing Everest is in England only goes to show the level of contempt and dare I say it – racism – the author has for the British.
The expression Fractural Wrongness springs to mind.
I was surprised that you didn’t reply to my last post. Now I no why. You actually agree with me. There is already unrest in the streets.
You can claim it is for this reason or that reason but that doesn’t matter, the fact is because of forced immigration we have attacks undertaken by misguided people name of religion. We have misguided people, who though mistrust and fear, are racist “hunting people in the streets”
You do not have to be an expert to realise that these two facts do not generate peace and integration.
So again I am going to state that the remain voters either do not understand the dangerous path they want to take us down or they just have not even considered the social unrest forced immigration can cause.
If it is neither of these two options then it is quite simply they are putting wealth over social stability.
The EU should hold back on it immigration program until it has educated people on how to live together and that can only happen when you start to except other people’s piont of view.
I do agree that economic problems are going to be caused by leaving the EU and they probable effect me far more than you. On the other hand you seem to be in denial as to the fact that social unrest should be taken into the equation.
That’s why the EU need to educate people with unbiased facts not just the facts that favour their own objectives.
The EU have done a study on the effects of immigration, which was back in 2006. It claimed that there were many gap in the information it had on the effects on the native population. I guess the gaps are now being filled in, a bit to late.
Northern Sentinel (@NSentinel1) said:
Arrogant Elitist pouting that the people do not see his brilliance.
Go suck your thumb, snowflake.
Aww, cute, another Brexiteer with nothing better to do than to demonstrate that the hallmarks of their ilk are being lazy and merely capable of parroting tropes.
It’s hilarious when dropouts like you who consider themselves more knowledgable than Nobel laureates call others “arrogant”.
Coming from someone who considers himself more knowledgable than the entirety of British academia, that’s rich, Project much? Staggering arrogance and superiority complex is rather on the side of hacks like you who believe studying is for sissies and Nobel laureates pure hacks compared to your own glory.
“You can claim it is for this reason or that reason but that doesn’t matter,”
Yes, it very much does matter what triggers it.
“the fact is because of forced immigration we have attacks undertaken by misguided people name of religion.”
False. The fact is that the majority of these attacks had nothing, nothing at all, to do with recent immigration, and the only “force” behind them was the collapse of the French colonial Empire.
” We have misguided people, who though mistrust and fear, are racist “hunting people in the streets” ”
And you have nothing better to do than to justify their actions by supporting their rhetorics and confirming their prejudice.
Or they actually got their facts straight rather than running after cheap tropes.
Right. Let’s accept antivaxxers, creationists, and any other frauds and quacks as just another point of view. Let’s support Neo-Nazis in spreading their propaganda, it’s just another point of view after all. Holocaust denial and all the other good things should be actively promoted.
There is no “immigration program” by the EU. And you are complicit in any attack out there by promoting such disinformation.
“Unbiased facts”? You are hilarious. You have no interest in “unbiased facts”. You have repeatedly spread patently false information.
I guess you are filling them with Neonazi propaganda and feeling all proud about aiding and abetting them in the name of the “safety” of your family.
You still haven’t grasped that it was the Brexit vote, and not “immigration” which triggered the peak in attacks. But hey, all is good as long as you can lie to your wife that you are doing everything to keep her safe while promoting the propaganda of people who would beat her to pulp without blinking.
What on Earth are you talking about, Tyelko? You don’t know me. I don’t consider myself more knowledgeable then the entirety of British academia. I certainly don’t think studying is for sissies and I don’t have grandiose perceptions of my own “Glory”. There is literally nothing in my original post that would give anyone reasonable grounds to reach those conclusions. You’ve drawn those conclusions from your own prejudice. You’ve just pulled those conclusions out of your arse. But then, I guess I must be a “Hack” because I had the audacity to disagree.
But please, tell me more about how I’m projecting – but who am I kidding – I’m guessing I’m just in for insults and name calling now, huh?
“There is literally nothing in my original post that would give anyone reasonable grounds to reach those conclusions. You’ve drawn those conclusions from your own prejudice. You’ve just pulled those conclusions out of your arse. But then, I guess I must be a “Hack” because I had the audacity to disagree.”
No, you’re a hack because you deny even the obvious and believe the world to be flat courtesy of your sheer say-so. Pretty much the entirety of British academy strongly counseled against Brexit as bad for Britain and the British based on economic and public health reasons and bad for British science to boot. And in the latter field, the impact is already manifesting as British researchers are asked by their continental colleagues to recuse themselves from grant applications for EU funds in order to not jeopardize the grants by questions of eligibility. They are also already manifesting by a lower attractivity of British universities and research institutions for foreign talent – and foreign talent is critical for science to function in the modern world.
You’re hack because you believe you know better than the likes of Paul Nurse, Peter Higgs, Stephen Hawking, George Akerlof or Angus Deaton and can dismiss their positions outright.
But yeah, “there is literally nothing in your original post that would give anyone reasonable grounds to reach those conclusions”, aka. “The world is flat, the world is flat, the world is flat!”
One thing is sure Tyeko- you make things up and portray them as fact. This is what hacks do isn’t it?
One thing is sure, Mike – you project a lot from your own conduct onto others.
But at least you’re consistent in that. Just like you are projecting your own ignorance of basic political theory and western democratic practice into alleged shortcomings of the EU and your sloth and ignorance about its workings into an alleged lack of transparency (when all the treaties are freely available online for everyone to see).
But yeah, I am the one who makes things up and portrays them as fact. Thanks for proving my point of the post before. If what you say is true, then indeed you and your ilk consider academia a bunch of raving idiots – because they quite “coincidentally” happen to agree with me.
But yeah, “fact” is what you declare it to be, research is for people with too much time on their hands and too much fantasy.
Sigh. I always love to meet a stranger who knows me better then I know myself.
Tyelko, you’re talking as if the expert advice against Brexit was unanimous or near enough so. It wasn’t.
http://www.economistsforbrexit.co.uk/
Yes, I can find you more expert opinion in favour of Brexit if you would like.
You’re also taking the short term effects of the uncertainty this has caused as irrefutable evidence that we are heading for the economic End Times. The long term prospects may be considerably better – it really is too soon to tell. A political shift this large, no-one really knows with absolute certainty how this will work out long term – no, not even the Leave camp does…
And on the topic of the wonderful EUtopia, I’m going to leave this here…
http://www.statista.com/statistics/266228/youth-unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/
Perhaps it’s my turn to presume what you’re thinking. “But the EUtopia is perfect! Big Brother loves us! The EUtopia is an economic paradise! We don’t need to worry about things such as rampant youth unemployment on the continent because um…science grants! The world is flat, the world is flat, the world is flat!”
As far as I am aware, MPs have to develop and vote on a bill to leave the EU, just as they had to do when we joined. This may take place before the end of the year. MPs have to vote based on what they believe is best for Britain, and we know that most MPs are in favour of remaining in the EU. The referendum result was advisory, not binding.
In addition, assuming they vote to start the process, the European Union Act 2011 requires another referendum, as the result of any negotiations would be a treaty change. It is possible that the negotiations would achieve a result that would be acceptable to people who originally voted to leave. It would be interesting to see if we could then stay in the EU on that basis, as nobody has ever triggered Article 50 before, and in theory there is no provision for changing our minds once that has been done.
Either way, the slim majority Brexit vote of those who voted in the 23 June referendum does not mean Brexit. What it does mean is uncertainty about the future, many problems now and in the near future, and often abusive debate as illustrated in the exchanges above. I am dismayed that it seems impossible for people to discuss these issues properly and/or do even a modicum of independent un-biased research instead of parroting propaganda.
Even if we do eventually leave, the outcome in the future would not be all bad. The much-maligned “experts” would find a way to make things work, even if it takes a few years to do so and we put back our economic progress by a decade or so. I know of many people who have already lost their jobs or their funding, so let’s hope that whatever happens they will not have to suffer for too long.
Modjadji said:
The most hilarious thing of all is those who claim that not implementing Brexit as a result of the vote would somehow be undemocratic, when in actual fact the complete reverse is true!
Democracy only exists where there is accountability – which is, strangely enough, why we elect politicians to make these massively important decisions.
If it turns out that the shock of the vote leads to a significant downturn in the economy, and, quite likely a recession, then if Parliament votes for it, at least any mp who does so can be booted out of office.
In what way could the people who voted for it be held to account, if we left solely based on the referendum? And that’s before you even get into all the legal issues, such as the impossibility of taking Scotland out of the EU against it’s will whilst it remains part of the UK, due to their devolved government.
It is the job of Parliament (you know, the same parliament that the Brexiters kept telling us should be sovereign!) to decide what is in the best interest of the country.
As has been said, if what the majority of the people wanted had to be brought in regardless of the consequences, up until very recently we would have had the death penalty.
When it becomes clear how dire the state of the economy is at the start of 2017, at the same time that the negotiations are starting, I’d bet a large sum of money that there would be a majority against leaving (and that’s even supposing there is still a majority in favour today, which is far from certain)
For a multitude of reasons, I’m convinced that Brexit will never happen, thank goodness.
Andy said:
I can’t wait for the day when the first fringe politician stands up and says stuff like this (i.e: It was advisory; Parliament has responsibility for all Britons; 37.44% the adult electorate voted leave and most of that was based on nonsense, so are we hell going to leave the EU). That will indicate progress towards the day when there is at-the-very-least a second referendum with an option to remain in the EU, which will obviously lead to healthy Remain vote. Then British History can resume instead of pretty-much ending.
In the mean time, the majority of the population will have to put up with this limbo. A limbo in which there are a vocal number of bitter and angry people (i.e. a minority of Leave voters) who refuse to either see or accept that they’ve cocked-up massively and shout their bitterness and anger on social media. Meanwhile the rest of the Leave voters will be quietly realising just what the facts are and gently merging with Remainers to form a popular group known as “decent people”.
P.S. You can tell who the bitter and angry people are because they will feel the need to respond to articles and posts like this with bitterness and anger, ironically openly identifying themselves as part of the bitter and angry minority by being bitter and angry about the fact that they are bitter and angry. Anyway, the football season’s starting soon so maybe they’ll go back to being bitter and angry about that.
Why did all the remain voters on here bother to vote at all. If you are now so convinced the the vote was worthless you would have been better off abstaining, then you could claim that anyone that didn’t vote leave was in favour of remaining so in effect you actually won the referendum.
As to the legality of the vote, the fact that the Tory government won the election because of the promise of a referendum, which was probably voted for by many in the remain camp gives it that legality.
Anyone on here who did not vote labour in the last election should remember they legalised the referendum . Just because you now don’t like the result you want it to go away.
This was what you voted for!!!!
Peter Clive said:
It all started a long time ago …
http://moflomojo.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-natives.html
mikejpaterson said:
Peter Clive, well done mixing fact with some nice Ndebele to try to make it he whole piece appear to be the truth. Please try harder as to will not fool many people like that.
Andy, it seems that Th vast majority of bitterness posted in this thread is from he Remain voters. Quite why in an article on demicracy, so many are agreeing with the article yet proposing overturning a democratic process is beyond me. The twisting of numbers does not fool anybody, even us racist, bigoted, stupid, uneducated majority who voted leave.
Diana, take a few minutes to think what would happen if the MPs chose not to follow the will of the people. I imagine civil unrest.”, and the resurgence of UKIP and far right parties. Do you think that is a good idea?
Tyke,
Again you are lying. You continue to make things up and suggest that you know things that you cannot possibly know. You are so full of t that the smell it that I can smell you from here.
You are hilarious!
FibbingIsARationalResponse said:
And the prize for proving both sides of the campaign were as bad as each other goes to Tyelko, as well as the original. Do quiet down. Read back the amount of hate and vitriol in your comments and ask yourself how yours is better than the brexit voters. You are giving a remainers a bad name.
I did vote remain but would like to dissociate myself from all this. I accept the EU wasn’t perfect and I don’t like the prospect of ever-rising population levels as a result of unchecked immigration either. There is a dark side to immigration and the half of the British population abandoned without investment or education by our politicians in favour of courting the already-educated rich middle classes of other countries have every right to point that out. As do women everywhere following the Cologne attacks and others throughout Germany at the New Year, which have been largely ignored and dismissed as women’s issues so commonly are. Economically it may even be the better path long term. It is difficult to say as the whole world is discovering what environmentalist have always said, that rampant unchecked capitalism is unsustainable.
The whole referendum has been a disaster in terms of demonstrating the weaknesses of our entirely morally bankrupt London-centred political structure, and dividing the country. It is a disgrace that leading politicians were conducting an exit campaign they had no plans for following through, and a disgrace that a referendum took place with no clear guidelines on how or when to action it. We all know it was offered just as a part of empty political games by an inept leader with nothing else of substance to offer. Given the problems of our crappy political system it was the pnly chance many people will ever be given to express their disenchantment, so no surprises when that happened (incidentally, I don’t know about the others but Manchester city is not now a working class area. Middle class as they come and as a residential area inaccessible to most locals).
We now need to reject the ‘divide and conquer’ techniques that he and his ilk fostered, unite and move forward together. Face the reality of a world with dwindling resources and halting economy and try to find the best solutions for all of our people and negotiate fairly with the rest of the world. No more sniping at each other or we are all doomed. I’ll make an exception for the politicians who’ve got us into this mess: our first task collectively is to address our political weaknesses.
“As do women everywhere following the Cologne attacks and others throughout Germany at the New Year, which have been largely ignored and dismissed as women’s issues so commonly are.”
This is a)bullshit and b)has nothing to do with the EU
Not only have the Cologne attacks not been ignored, in fact, a number of people have been arrested, nor have other “attacks”. That does not mean they are what they are represented as. What YOU ignore, because it is inconvenient for you, is that a massive amount of those other attacks you talk about have been on closer inspection been either blown way out of proportion or made-up entirely to begin with. Even with the Cologne attacks, the only reported case of actual rape involving intercourse turned up to be fabrication. But hey, when a woman reports having become pregnant after a rape in Cologne on New Year’s and later is found to have not even been there and having serially reported rapes in the past that did not hold up to scrutiny, it’s “ignoring and dismissing women’s issues”, not the sad case of a psychologically imbalanced woman.
And it’s an exercise in dishonesty to bemoan supposed ignoring and dismissing of “women’s issues” when the only “women’s issues” one is interested in is those involving foreigners and pickpockets using sexual assault as a diversion tactic become more relevant than a German couple systematically torturing several women to death.
Anyone claiming to be advocating women’s rights in this discussion is a bald-faced liar promoting nothing but women’s rights to be lying, libeling bigots.
It’s hilarious that you accuse others of vitriol and speak of “dark sides” while supporting criminal conduct and literally whitewashing crime.
You continue to project your own dishonesty and fabrication onto others. It’s hilarious that you continue to insist I am lying yet never had anything more than your say-so to establish that, whereas I pointed out false claims of you repeatedly.
You’re a rather pitiful, little Rumpelstiltskin stomping your foot screaming “But I AM right!” without ever being able to produce the slightest bit of evidence to support your bullshit. You rave about legislative initiative, in abject ignorance of the fact that the executive is the chief initiatior of legislation in the UK, in Germany, and in most other countries. And your only reply on being called out on that is “You lie”. You declare that your assessments are right, thereby declaring the assessment of all the experts out there wrong, but your only reaction to being called out on your arrogance is calling other people arrogant and dishonest.
Sorry, but not everyone shares your opinion that wilful ignorance and sloth can be compensated by being that much more insistent on the dishonesty of everyone actually doing their homework.
The only one full of shit here is you, you live off the work of your betters but demand to be more respected than those putting in hard work you refuse to do.
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caz1971 said:
What an odious little man you are. Or woman. I am guessing a man. Ever been diagnosed with narcissism at all? Just curious.
Glenn said:
People in working class areas voted for Brexit because of the flood of foreign nationals taking their jobs. I live in Wales and the working classes have had enough of seeing foreign nationals taking their jobs.
That comment is one of ignorance as you forget most brexiteers were working class and Wales had a bigger vote for Brexit than England..
I am afraid I consider this post of yours to be one of an arsehole to be honest.
Skylar said:
Here is an interesting opinion. https://questionguidance.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/brexit-what-they-voted-for/
Yeah, because there’s so many foreigners living in Wales.
Here’s news to you: If someone who doesn’t speak the language and has no contacts and no resources can take your job, then you probably suck. This has nothing to do with “the working classes” and “foreign nationals taking their jobs”, it has something to do with being duped hook, rope and sinker in having any prospect for jobs taken away from you.
The ignorance is entirely on your part. Areas such as Cardiff voted Remain, as did several on the West Coast. It’s those areas with no jobs to be taken away which voted Leave, thereby ensuring that they chop themselves off any assistance the EU provides for such regions. The claim that Wales had a bigger vote for Brexit than England is ignorance at its best.
I am afraid you’re projecting from yourself to the author of the post.
You’re precisely the kind of ignorant twat the author meant, waffling about immigrants taking away jobs because you are too lazy to verify stuff before parroting the propaganda you have been fed. The percentage of foreign-born in Wales is minuscule, and those areas where it is higher, lo and behold, voted “Remain”.
You are the typical xenophobic dunce who blames everyone but himself for his misery. It’s a pity people like you will run out of scapegoats just as the going gets REALLY tough. You think you have seen joblessness in Wales? You have seen nothing yet. When the EU structural funds dry up. you will sell your children to get some breadcrumbs from Westminster and they will laugh in your face as they line their pockets, happy to have duped you into shooting into your own foot.
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I live in Wales and see youngsters not having jobs because of firms usng agencies and carting in Eastern Europeans to fill vacancies rather than train local youth. Those youngster ALREADY have lost those jobs. So I guess for them Brexit means more chance of getting emplyment.
I am not miserable thank you. I am very optimisitc about Brexit. I am sure that money that is used to fund the corrupt edifice know as the EU will be reallocated to regions around the UK. You just whine because the people of this country voted for Brexit. As for “seling Children” – is that some thing that happens in your area…..or are you just one of the buyers?
Well if I am the kind of twat who makes a prick like you stand to attention then c’est la vie. I live in Wales and I can SEE my Town not changing for the better due to the EU free movement. “Miniscule” is not the way I would describe the number that have arrived in South Wales.
If you are so pro EU move to Europe. This country voted Brexit so deal with it and quit whining about the choice of the electorate.
Right, so according to you, the Torygraph of all papers sweeps immigrants in Wales under the carpet and lies about the true numbers.
“I am sure that money that is used to fund the corrupt edifice know as the EU will be reallocated to regions around the UK. ”
Thanks for confirming my point. You were the dumpster hole of the UK before the UK joined the EU, to believe that the Etonians give you more breadcrumbs than you got in the past demonstrates just how delusional you are. The EU was actually the only one who made sure that money was spent on regions such as Wales. And thanks for demonstrating that your “knowledge” of the EU is limited to parroting the usual ignorant tropes of the “corrupt” EU.
Right, we already established that you know better than anyone else and the Torygraph is talking down the numbers.
a)You have no idea where I live, dunce
b)The choice of the electorate was not to abolish freedom of speech, as much as fascist scum like you would love nothing more than to abolish any elections not giving outcomes you like.
I would wager the “official figures” on immigration and foreign nationals are innaccurate.
Well for a dumpster hole it is very beautiful. Historically we were given the dirty end of the stick but the Welsh Assembly will be vocal about funding, and money that no longer goes to the EU will be used for regional schemes.
I can see the difference in the workplaces of my town and communities. I can see young people struggling to get jobs as employers use foreign workers rather than train local youth. I never read the Torygraph you nincompoop. I just take note of the world in my vicinity unlike limp and liberal Guardian readers like you who live in LaLa land.
a).. I have no idea where you reside – nor do I care. I just hope the underside of that rock you cling to is comfortable.
b) Fascist Scum. Laughable. I do not belong to (nor ever have or ever will) to any political party. As much as you would like to persuade people I march in a black shirt, burning foreign flags and shouting “Zieg Heil” that is not my cup of tea. I just engaged in a government run referendum and voted Brexit and sadly for those who voted Remain a narrow majority voted out. Democracy in action – and it would appear you are the one not liking the electoral outcome.
When you were jettisoned from your mother’s vagina into the world you must have stumbled into the “Forest of Stupidity” and head butted every tree. You have all the personality of Chlamydia.
Try rinsing the bitter taste of an election result you do not like out. Works wonders.
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George said:
Or perhaps it was a vote against globalisation. Just a rejection of what the authorities were telling us about how good Europe was when most EU countries have had slow economic growth for years.
“Just a rejection of what the authorities were telling us about how good Europe was when most EU countries have had slow economic growth for years.”
You mean like pretty much the entire industrialized world? In fact, several EU nations had some of the best growth out there for first world nations, but hey, let’s not let that prevent us from blaming the EU for Global Warming, the eradication of the Dodo and while we’re at it, the Fall of Man.
Your opposition to the death penalty appears to be inconsistent with your support of the remain campaign. The standard argument against the death penalty uses the golden rule of ethics. The remain campaign was based on a utilitarian greater good argument. I did not see anyone campaign on the basis of ethics.
The standard economics argument for the greater good is based on utility maximisation without regard for distribution. Without regard for distribution means without caring who is harmed or by how much. This argument does not meet the ethical standards taken for granted in legal rulings.
Remain didn’t make an ethical case. You haven’t made an ethical case in this blog. Remain failed and it’s their fault. You also failed when you wrote this blog and it’s your fault. Insulting half the UK population is not the answer. You should recognise your failure and do something about it. Think about economic distribution and the golden rule of ethics and come up with something better. Create an ethical argument. Your arguments for Europe are like opposing the death penalty because of the economic cost. I don’t see being right for the wrong reason as anything to be proud of.
Given the choice between two unethical campaigns people chose what they thought was the lesser evil. People should have had a better option. If you want to start arguing from the perspective of ethics then the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be a good place to start.
” The remain campaign was based on a utilitarian greater good argument. I did not see anyone campaign on the basis of ethics.”
And of course, your personal impression is the unerring ledger of truth.
“Remain didn’t make an ethical case. You haven’t made an ethical case in this blog. Remain failed and it’s their fault. You also failed when you wrote this blog and it’s your fault. ”
Your fault is that you declare the truth unethical and dishonesty ethical.
“Think about economic distribution and the golden rule of ethics and come up with something better. Create an ethical argument. Your arguments for Europe are like opposing the death penalty because of the economic cost. I don’t see being right for the wrong reason as anything to be proud of.”
And pretending to care for ethics and distribution while merely pretending to do so is nothing to be proud of, either. You’re the equivalent of the 350 million pound bus which claimed fake desire to support the NHS with a fake sum of money.
Who was it who invested in structurally poor regions in the UK? Certainly not Westminster. They neglected those regions for half a century and more. It was the EU which ensured that people in those areas had decent roads. It was the EU which funded libraries, community centers and supported expanding broadband connections. Now the people from those regions come crawling to London to beg for replacement of those funds.
That’s cute, given that the Leave campaign is fundamentally opposed to any and all external arbitration of human rights.
If you want to start arguing on ethics, first shove your dishonesty.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/27/merkels–underestimated-migrant-integration-challenge/
If merkels agrees with me perhaps I’m wrong….
But I don’t think so….. See previous!!!!
Here is an ethical standpoint for you: In Democracy the majority voice carries the day.
Deal with it instead of whining like a baby deprived of it’s bottle.
There is nothing ethical about the standpoint that a majority decision abolishes freedom of speech. You are a wee bit like Erdogan for whom democracy is a train from which to hop off as soon as you have reached your destination. Your belief that people should hand in their convictions and not speak their opinion anymore once you got what you wanted is the antithesis of democracy, and you merely underscore that the manhunts triggered by the Brexit votes, the murder of Jo Cox preceding it and the propagandistic lies of the Leave campaign are, contrary to all denials, born of the same spirit. You take your cues straight from the playbook your fathers and grandfathers defended the country against. But then, you already declared them senile, demented idiots already with your vote, given that Britain’s finest were solidly on the side of “Remain”. But people like you take everything for granted, you know no respect, no duty, no obligation, All you know is narcisstic entitlement.
Caroline Anne Lawes said:
Funny you say that, it’s a bit strange to have that viewpoint considering a majority of the Brexit vote was the elderly. I think you might have it around the wrong way. I think the elderly, who had waaaay more to do with our finest back in the day, know how the EU is bad for the UK 🙂
Thanks for demonstrating both my point and the point of the Blog Post – sloth and wilful ignorance are the hallmark of Brexiteers.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/15/dont-abandon-the-europe-that-i-fought-for-and-my-comrades-died-for
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/16/franklin-medhurst-96-war-veteran-pro-eu-letter
But yeah, _I_ have it around the wrong way. Suuuure.
Thanks for making the point better than anyone of the Leave side could have made it: You live in a fantasy land of your own making which has zero to do with the real world but is rather a cartoonistic theme park that is completely and utterly ludicrous to anyone with the diligence or the knowledge to get their facts straight.
“There is nothing ethical about the standpoint that a majority decision abolishes freedom of speech.”
Freedom of speech is one thing but whining like a child is another.
“the murder of Jo Cox preceding it and the propagandistic lies of the Leave campaign ”
The murder of Jo Cox had nothing to do with Brexit. Nutters do what nutters do – bit like your whining in this thread.
As for lies of the leave campaign : All that scaremongering about economic implosion, World War III, and general scaremongering coming out of the remain camp was pervcieved by the public for what it was – sheer bull manure.
You really have the far sightedness of an ostrich with its head rammed up it’s own anus.
Ya know what? I couldn’t give a monkeys what your opinion is of Brexit voters. We got used to the vitriol months ago. It’s why you were so shocked at the result. Leave voters stopped saying they were voting that way because it wasn’t worth the backlash. Wakey wakey people, 52% voted leave. It happened.
And the whole Jo Cox thing, wow. Well, here’s one for you. Did you know a 79 yr old woman was raped by a refugee whilst she was visiting her sisters grave, the day Fireman sam stepped on the Koran?
No I didn’t either. That’s because we & the media were all too busy worrying about a cartoon. And you wonder why people want us to get back some control?
I can post some links too, have a watch of this video http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/08/02/islamic-victims-rights-campaigner-banned-from-facebook-for-islamophobia-urges-people-to-make-a-video-saying-they-cant-arrest-us-all/
Just to settle it once and for all. If you voted remain, you knew the rules, the majority would win. You voted so you agreed to abide by the outcome, otherwise what was the point of you voting at all. Your only problem is you did not win.
If you did not vote at all then you cannot complain now, you had your chance.
If you voted leave then congratulations for have the sense not to be taken in by the doom and gloom spread by the Highly paid experts that where close the the leave campaign
Bob said:
just spotted quite a big typo. I have fixed it below…
Pride’s Purge ~ an irrelevant look at UK politics
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They’ll just sit around and expect Farage to ride in on his white horse in his Union Jack waistcoat and expect him to sort it all out for them… same as always.
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Paul O'Brien said:
As an Irish person I’m afraid that Brexit will undermine the fragile peace in Ireland. No-one wants a hard border in Ireland but it’s difficult to see how it could be avoided. It will stir up resentment and perhaps a revival of the violence we thought was behind us. However I can understand English concerns about immigration. England is over-populated and Ireland is not. Anyway “the tabloids have spoken.”
Shelagh Corker said:
Comments I previously read on FB suggested that 52% of the turnout were stupid, small-minded, bigoted, dozy, nostalgic foreigner-fearing fuckwits.
Being abusive against those of us that voted to leave is not the answer. We must all roll our sleeves up and get on with it.
It was a 72% turnout – higher than for all general elections this century – and around 8 percentage points more than in the 1975 referendum. Britain was Great then, it will still be Great after we have left.
Those that felt strongly about it turned out to vote, and most of them were Brexiteers. Instead of hurling abuse at those that voted to leave, shouldn’t the disgruntled minority be criticising those Remainers that couldn’t be bothered to vote?
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MATRIX & FUTUREBOUND – LIGHT US UP (FEAT. CALUM SCOTT)
RENOWNED DRUM & BASS DUO M&F SET TO MAKE IT 5 CHART-TOPPING SONGS WITH NEW SINGLE!
Destined to be a summer hit with its euphoric production and radiant vocal performance, Light Us Up is Matrix & Futurebound’s brand new single featuring Double Platinum UK Singer Calum Scott.
As two of drum and bass’ brightest stars, Matrix & Futurebound have remixed the likes of Emeli Sande, Jess Glynne and Eric Prydz. They have played Brixton Academy and Creamfields as well as gaining extensive daytime radio and specialist support with a string of recent releases all play listed by Radio 1. In addition to this they bagged a #7 chart position with their single ‘Control’, while all this success has accumulated in a combined 30 million Spotify streams and over 40 million YouTube views.
May will see the pair collaborate with the bestselling British breakthrough solo artist of 2016, Calum Scott, whose sublime cover of Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ went straight to #2 in the Top 40 UK singles chart last year – a match made in heaven and sure to chime with music fans everywhere.
Light Us Up is a dazzling pop & drum and bass hybrid, comparable to the likes of Sigma, Rudimental and DJ Fresh – certain to find a welcome home on the radio, pleasing Matrix & Futurebound’s ever growing fan base all over the world.
Matrix & Futurebound
‘Light Us Up’
1. Light Us Up feat. Calum Scott
Released: 19th May 2017 through FFRR
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Follow Matrix & Futurebound on Spotify: http://bit.ly/mfspotify
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PlayPal, Singapore's First Football Community App Wants To Be The Biggest Online Community In Football
Liang Hwei
This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post.
If you’re a football enthusiast in Singapore, you would understand how hard it is to look for games to play in, or gather enough people to get a proper game together. Aspiring football players may also find it difficult to look for platforms where they can showcase their abilities.
Enter PlayPal Football, Asia’s first football community app. Created by PlayPal Group, the app is dedicated to creating a community space that helps organise games, meet fellow footballers, and even gain recognition for their skills.
And no, they’re not related to Paypal.
According to their website: “PlayPal lets you find football players and games, and interact with fellow football pals. To do so, we are leveraging on mobile app and online technology to create a common platform & social network. Users make friends, interact, form teams, arrange games and challenge one another, all in a competitive but friendly spirit.”
But how does an online football community look like?
Well for starters, it helps footballers organise games. One of the most attractive features of this app is definitely the location-based matchmaking of football players to games. This means that players will be able to form full teams to play with, and lone-rangers can easily find games to join in their neighbourhood. It even comes with an in-app chat function to discuss game details with fellow players, or get to know other players better.
Because football is all about team spirit, PlayPal also has a ‘Pal’ option, where you can add specific players to a ‘pal list’ to form a virtual team huddle. The next time you want to organise a game with your favourite players, you can do so through the app itself, somewhat like a friend list on Facebook or a chat group on WhatsApp.
To make the playing experience even better, PlayPal also comes with personalised player profiles, and in-app peer-rated skill attributes. Imagine having your own player profile like on Football manager: good players will get the recognition that they want and deserve, and it’ll be easier for players to sift out the bad-eggs from their games.
There’s even a ranking system that shows you your rank against other football players in Singapore. This is especially relevant to players looking to go professional, as great players stand a chance to get recognised by professional local teams — I can already imagine this becoming the newest obsession amongst young players.
“This platform will be helpful for young players to showcase their ability and their skills,” agrees LionsXII assistant-coach Nazri Nasir.
The appeal of this app is that it is designed specifically for this community that has been growing steadily in Singapore. For social players, it’s a great way to meet other players, and makes organising a game much more efficient. For aspiring professionals, it’s a great way to get a feel of how their skills measure up against others, and provides a platform for them to be recognised. While it is just a simple app, it adds a brand new dynamic to the football community in Singapore, injecting in it a degree of competitiveness that could really boost the football spirit.
Put in in-app football field bookings, and you got yourself a clear winner.
PlayPal aims to become the biggest online community in the football world, and their choice to start in Singapore is an interesting one. But I can see the football community here picking up on this app, and possibly discovering our own Messi.
(Feature Image Credit: Today)
Penroads: An Introvert’s Social Travel Companion Made In Singapore
Tags: appfootballfootball communityfootball fields singaporefootball players singaporefootball singaporeplaypalredsportssingapore
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j. For merchandise purchased on the Wallace Bishop online store and returned to Head Office for a full refund or a Wallace Bishop gift card of equivalent value. You should allow up to 3 weeks from receipt of your goods at our Head Office before you receive your full refund or the gift card to be despatched. You will be notified via email once this has been processed.
k. Any refunds will be processed to the credit card used for the original purchase.
l. In the interest of health and safety, we do not accept returns of Pierced Earrings and Body Jewellery due to change of mind.
Warranty and Extended Guarantee Returns
a. Our product comes with guarantees that cannot be excluded under Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and for compensation for any other reasonable loss or damage. You are entitled to have the goods repaired if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and does not amount to major failure.
b. In addition, Wallace Bishop offers a 12 month guarantee on jewellery against defects in material and / or workmanship and 6 months on repair work conducted in our workshop. The 12 month guarantee excludes all watches and giftware which are covered by the manufactures guarantee or warranty and selected fashion jewellery. For selected items with 3 month guarantee, please refer to the front of your receipt for details.
c. Any defects in material and/or workmanship that become evident during the Standard Guarantee validity period will be remedied by Wallace Bishop. The form of remedy will be at the sole option of Wallace Bishop and will be limited to repair, replacement or refund.
d. In order to claim a remedy under the Standard Guarantee the goods must be returned for assessment and accompanied by the original purchase receipt.
e. The Standard Guarantee does not include the following to the extent they are permitted in the relevant legislation;
i. Damage due to ordinary wear and tear,
ii. Damage due to misuse, accident, alteration, substitution or abuse,
iii. Repairs and alterations performed by someone other than Wallace Bishop,
iv. Theft, disappearance or loss (including loss of gem stones), and v. Any type of use causing damage or deterioration.
f. Wallace Bishop reserves the right to judge whether the jewellery has been subject to any of the above mentioned exclusions.
g. White gold and some silver jewellery is rhodium plated to enhance its appearance. This rhodium plating can wear off during normal wear and tear. Accordingly any rhodium plating is excluded from the Standard Guarantee.
h. When jewellery is repaired under guarantee or warranty, only the remaining term of the original Standard Guarantee will continue to apply. When jewellery is replaced under guarantee or warranty, the new item of jewellery will automatically come with a new Standard Guarantee of 12 months from the date of replacement.
SKU: 44NKA057
The 5Cs
Two delicate necklaces come together to create a simple layered look.
- sterling silver
Major Gem Qty
Major Gem Weight
Major Gem Height
Minor Gem Qty
Minor Gem Weight
Minor Gem Height
Tertiary Gem Qty
Tertiary Gem Weight
Tertiary Gem Height
Total Diamond Weight
To be the first to review this product simply fill out the form to the left and let us know how you feel about this product!
The cut refers to both the shape and style of a diamond, as well as its proportions, symmetry and finish. The cut influences how light interacts with the stone to show its brilliance and sparkle, with the best cuts bringing out the luminosity of the stone.
Diamonds range in colour from the colourless “D” rating to the light yellow “Z". This difference can be very subtle but almost all stones will have a trace of yellow, brown or grey in them. The colour is assessed by a gemologist who uses a standardised set of master diamonds to give each stone its letter grading.
The clarity of a diamond is determined by how flawless it is. Because they are generally naturally formed stones, most diamonds carry at least some minor imperfections. The number and size of these flaws is used to assess each diamond's clarity grading. Only diamonds found to have no imperfections under 10x magnification receive the Flawless grade.
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats and is the most significant factor considered when assessing the value of a stone. The larger the diamond, the heavier it is. However, a big diamond that performs poorly in the other 4 C's is likely to be valued significantly lower than a small diamond that achieves high ratings in these other categories.
Confidence is the fifth - and most recent C. It refers to the diamond having a grading certificate from an independent and reputable grading laboratory which verifies its authenticity. Diamond grading certificates typically include all the unique characteristics of your diamond, as well as individual gradings for the 4 other C's - cut, colour, clarity and carat weight.
You're reviewing: 0.50ct Round Brilliant Cut Diamond Solitare Engagement Ring set in 18ct Yellow and White Gold. Total Diamond Weight 0.50ct.
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› Companies
Lowest bid criterion needs to go, says Emerson's Edward Monser
By Jyoti Mukul | New Delhi | Last Updated at November 27 2017 12:42 IST
Edward Monser, president, Emerson
American technology and engineering company Emerson sees Indian firms lagging behind the technology curve if they continue to follow the lowest bid criteria for awarding contracts. The company has executed projects for Reliance Industries as well as national oil companies.
According to Edward Monser, president, Emerson, one of the concerns particularly with national oil companies, is that all the projects are bid out on L1 (lowest price) basis. “You need to have three competitors bid and this drives you to the lowest common denominator. That keeps you from getting the best performance. India builds refinery plant using L1 but it does not perform very well and then it goes back and redoes it piece by piece.”
Monser said the big investment that India wants to make through L1, gives performance that is not world class and then spends decades to better it, “it is a mistake.” Emerson has globally looked at plants built over the last 10 years and ranked them as tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 with tier 1 being the best.
“The typical projects In India are tie 3. That means they will have more emissions and they will be less safe and less profitable. India will have to do a lot of work and still be behind.” He said the Indian government has started to adopt the Swiss challenge method in oil and gas which has to happen so that a number of suppliers can participate and bring value. Monser said the company few years back decided to move away from conglomerate model to focused business model. It chose to focus on automation business to achieve optimisation. Emerson’s biggest customer has been Reliance Industries which is aggressive in the way it treats suppliers.
“They look for the best technology which works in our favour.” The firm has executed contracts for RIL that included providing measuring devises, control valves and flow measuring devices and tank measurement systems. The data is collected and analysed and it drives the plant for maximisation of output.
Monser says despite the drive towards renewables, the biggest business would continue to come from clean coal. “India’s coal industry is growing and it will continue to play a significant role in delivering the country’s current energy needs. We see potential in delivering optimised solutions that deliver better, more efficient coal power plants.” The Indian power market has a major focus on clean power generation and the pollution control board has mandated corrective measures for power plants in India. Emerson offers solutions that can address the way coal power plants are operated, monitored and controlled to tackle pollution, including plant optimisation.
Emerson is also looking at acquisitions. During the corporate transformation, Emerson came down to be a $14 billion focus business from a $25 billion conglomerate. “We sold off bunch of businesses and generated cash which we are now using for acquisitions. We are buying into automation space. Underneath that, there are devices that generate data. Acquisitions will be in analysis and optimisation space,” said Monser. The company also found that 65 per cent of the projects built over the last decade failed if we see that their budget has overshot by 25 per cent or if they have taken double the time to built. “We see huge variation in the way these plants have come up and the difference lies is how automation is used.”
Emerson first entered India directly in 1980s, through joint-venture relationships with several Indian-owned companies. In 2000, when Emerson bought out Fisher-Rosemount India JV, Emerson Process Management India took shape. The company took control of Liebert JV and establishes Emerson Network Power India in 2001. Five years later, it bought out Copeland joint venture and launched Emerson Climate Technologies India. In 2009, it acquired Trident Powercraft Ltd, a leading alternator company. It completed buy-out of Fisher control valves joint venture and established Emerson Process Management Chennai in 2011.
In 2013, Emerson acquired Pune-based Virgo Valves and Controls, a leading manufacturer of ball valves and automation systems.
First Published: Sun,November 26 2017 01:19 IST
Prev » Indian transit passengers are very crucial for Air Astana: Air Astana CEO
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› Economy Policy
After many delays, Railways' 3,342-km freight corridor sees last-mile spurt
By Shine Jacob | New Delhi | Last Updated at April 10 2018 20:22 IST
“RIP, Dedicated Freight Corridor.” Old timers in railways still recall the comment from a senior official from planning division during the first half of the last decade. Despite several such obits and procedural bottlenecks, the ambitious dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project, conceived 12 years ago, appears to have defied the pessimists. A fortnight ago, the Railways conducted a trial run on the 190-km Ateli-Phulera section of the Western DFC at a maximum speed of 100 km per hour in less than four hours.
The project received the in-principle nod from the Union Cabinet in February 2006. The Rs 814-billion project, covering 3,342 km of track, will comprise an Eastern and Western DFC. The eastern route covers Mughalsarai-Allahabad-Kanpur-Khurja-Dadri-& Khurja-Ludhiana tracking 1,856 km. The Western DFC will link Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust to Dadri via Vadodara-Sanand-PalanpurPhulera and Rewari, covering 1,504 km.
Twelve years later, the project is waiting for its formal commercial launch. But now, a deadline has been set. “We expect both the Eastern and the Western corridors to be commissioned by April 2020. Land acquisition is complete and work is progressing at a swift pace,” Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani told Business Standard last week. The original deadline was 2011and the delay has caused a cost overrun of almost four times the original 2008 estimate.
When conceptualised, the project was compared to the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line in Australia, which was completed in five years covering one of the most difficult terrains in the world. The Indian project will see a phase-wise commissioning only after 14 years.
Land acquisition, the major stumbling block to any mega-project in India, was seen as the key cause for the overrun. But that is no longer the case. According to the Railways, about 98 per cent of land required for both corridors (except for the 540 km Sonanagar-Dankuni section in the eastern DFC) has been acquired.
“This government has been pushing the project more and the majority of the work has taken place only in the last three years. Despite that, land acquisition is being blamed as a reason for delay,” said R Sivadasan, former financial commissioner [2005-2007] of the Indian Railways. He suggests it would be better to inaugurate stretches like Dadri to Ajmer, so that existing railway lines parallel to DFC get some relief on traffic. Initially, the project was supposed to be commissioned by 2011. But was land the only bottleneck?
In the words of the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2014, “the delay in completion of the DFC project was mainly due to the lack of proper planning and implementation.” The delay in projects led to a cost overrun of 189 per cent from Rs 281.81 billion in 2008 to Rs 814.59 billion, including higher land costs — Rs 266.74 billion for the eastern corridor and and Rs 467.18 billion for the western corridor, plus land acquisition costs of Rs 80.67 billion.
The increase in land costs, however, accounted for Rs 44.42 billion. The real culprit was faulty project planning. “Cost estimates changed at least three times, while the Western DFC, which was initially conceptualised as a diesel line due to strategic reasons like proximity to Pakistan was later converted to an electric line after 2011,” said another former board member.
He added that the conversion of diesel route to electric route was also a result of the involvement of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is lending Rs 387.22 billion for the Western DFC.
Under the arrangement, Japan wanted an assured purchase of electric locomotives from Japanese companies, sources said. The Eastern DFC is being funded by the World Bank through a loan of $2.360 billion, which was finalised much later during the first half of this decade.
Then again, there were flip flops on the financing of the project. During his stint as railway minister [2004-09] Lalu Prasad started collecting an additional surcharge on freight traffic for the DFC project. However, Mamata Banerjee as railway minister [2009-11] reversed the decision, allegedly bowing to populist pressures. The surcharge would have added Rs 10 billion to the project kitty, annually.
The CAG report pointed to the fact that critical basic issues were not sorted out first. For instance, the railway ministry sought final cabinet approval for the project without finalising the alignment of the corridor, firming up financing or even preparing a detailed cost estimate. According to the CAG report, even the timelines for completion of the project were not firmed up.
The progress achieved up to March 2014 on awarding contracts was to the extent of 18.45 per cent and 21.32 per cent of the estimated costs in respect of WDFC and EDFC, respectively. Much to the credit of the National Deomcratic Alliance government almost all the contracts were awarded during their tenure.
“In the last few years civil, electrical, signal and telecom and other contracts of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), the nodal organisation for setting up of DFCs, have increased. Cumulative contracts worth Rs 490.43 billion have been awarded, which is about 94 per cent of the total contracts. Civil contracts for 2,600 km (92 per cent), electrical contracts for 2,315 km (82 per cent) and S&T contracts for 2,315 kms (82 per cent) length have been finalised and works are in progress,” said an official close to the development.
From that perspective, 2020 doesn’t appear such an unrealistic start date after all.
First Published: Tue,April 10 2018 20:19 IST
Prev » Sudden rain spares standing wheat crops in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh
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L&T wins Rs 28.6 billion worth package for Eastern Freight corridor
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Direct port delivery: Easier movement of containers gain traction
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Oil India moves SC against DoT's Rs 48,000 cr demand on Rs 1.47 cr revenue
RBL Bank's PBT dips 72.2% to Rs 93.88 cr in third-quarter ending Dec 2019
Review existing gas pricing on opportunity cost of imported gas: ONGC chief
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For Democrats to Succeed, Both Pragmatists and Progressives Must Work Together
Marc Nozell/Flickr
As the People’s Summit comes to a close in Chicago, the backlash from mainstream reporters is already coming in. Perhaps the best case in point comes in this New York Times piece by Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, which posits a clash between party leaders who “want to win” in tough districts, and militant base progressives who “want it all.”
As usual, the intramural battle on the left is being framed as one between intelligent pragmatists who want to win, and unrealistic ideologues who want to make themselves feel good.
But this is an overly simplistic and deeply misleading way of thinking about the schism within the Democratic Party and the left more generally. There are reasonable and unreasonable people on both sides of these battle lines, and some people who straddle the divide depending on the circumstances. Most important, the Democratic Party will need to channel the energies, talents and priorities of both the populist and pragmatist wings to make gains going forward.
Let’s examine the populist left. First, the establishment wing must be able to grant that many of the populist left’s premises have proven themselves over time. Clinton’s own SuperPAC did the research and discovered that the Obama-Trump switchers who made the difference in the election were driven by economic anxiety and a loss of faith in the Democratic Party to resolve their concerns. Sanders remains the most popular politician in America. And Jeremy Corbyn’s success in Britain shows that an invigorated populist left can indeed succeed despite the dire predictions of all the so-called serious people.
It seems clear by now that the Democratic Party must have a bolder vision of universal social guarantees and anti-elitist sentiment, particularly against Wall Street and corporate behemoths, to reverse its poor fortunes over the last two decades. And it seems to be learning its lesson: more and more establishment Democrats are fully embracing the cause of single-payer healthcare as Trump and Ryan act to gut the Affordable Care Act, and there is a reason that presidential hopefuls like Kirsten Gillibrand are dropping F-bombs in their speeches.
But establishment pragmatists also have points that cannot be ignored. First and foremost is the reality that the path to retaking the House lies less in rural economically ravaged districts full of angry voters, than in bourgeois suburban neighborhoods uncomfortable with Trump’s lack of seriousness and gentility. It must be admitted that while Ron Quist failed in Montana with a folksy brand of populism, Jon Ossoff is succeeding in suburban Atlanta with a distinctly anti-ideological approach that is appealing to Romney voters. It is certainly true that in order to retake the House and many state legislatures in 2018, the Democratic Party will need to field many more candidates like Ossoff, who won’t be exciting to the progressive base and will lead some progressive critics to unfairly accuse the party of selling out its principles.
That doesn’t mean the progressives are wrong, though. The weakness of the establishment argument is that it does little good to retake the House with anti-ideologues if the Democratic Party is unable to take specific action to transform the broken economy and create noticeable improvements in people’s lives. Marginal voters who delivered the 2016 election to Trump were willing to hand him the keys to power because their experience showed that electing Democrats had done almost nothing to salvage their communities and their way of life. Trump might be an uncouth racist–and many voted for him because of that–but even those who disliked him personally were willing to give him a chance hoping that he might bullishly wreck enough china in Washington DC to bring back the factories and re-center the economy away from privileged urban technocrats.
A Democratic Party that lacks the fortitude to enact state-based single-payer healthcare, punish Wall Street and provide real jobs instead of inadequate retraining programs, will not be a Democratic Party that retains any newfound majorities it may get. Moreover, there are many swing rural districts full of angry, economically anxious voters where a Sanders-Corbyn-style populist approach will win the day electorally as well.
Overall, though, the key to bridging the divide within the left is to understand where each side can best be put to use. There are many Democrats in safe districts who do not uphold progressive values and principles, and who often make the difference between the success or failure of progressive policy. Militant progressives should be let loose to wreak havoc upon them. Had Barack Obama and the center-left establishment joined forces with the netroots to defeat Joe Lieberman in Connecticut rather than defend him, the age of Medicare eligibility might be 50 today. Governor Jerry Brown is standing in the way of single-payer healthcare in California, and should feel the heat. Conservative Democrats in deep blue seats should face progressive primary challengers so that voters know that if they elect a Democrat, they can count on real change.
Meanwhile, there are many establishment players who know what it takes to win in districts where progressive ideas aren’t so popular, and where a populist approach will fall on deaf ears. It will do progressives no good to purify the ranks if Democrats simply don’t hold enough seats to enact policy. Even in deep blue California, oftentimes the most progressive approaches fail because Democratic legislators in tough districts don’t have the courage to face the red backlash that would ensue.
But the greatest danger is that opportunists and those of bad faith on both sides will ensure that no mutually productive alliance between the populist left and the pragmatists is allowed to form. On the establishment side, organizations like Third Way have no interest in allowing truly progressive policy to be enacted and no intention of stemming the flow of wealth to the top .1%. They only hold out olive branches as a means of co-opting their opposition. On the populist side, there are those who see the degree of their own marginalization as proof of their righteousness, and wear ignorance of the complexity of the real challenges facing the party with moderate and conservative voters as a badge of honor. Like conservative radio shock jocks, some progressive pseudo-activists build their brand on being purer and more “of the people” than the many who have spent years getting their hands dirty within the party before them. They will pull out all the stops to prevent productive steps toward unity from taking place, not from ideology but rather from personal ambition.
For Democrats to succeed, both approaches will need to work in tandem: pragmatists to win seats in places that populism will not reach, and progressives to rally base voters and Trump switchers while ensuring that Democrats actually hold to their promises to transform our broken economy once elected.
David Atkins
David Atkins is a writer, activist and research professional living in Santa Barbara. He is a contributor to the Washington Monthly's Political Animal and president of The Pollux Group, a qualitative research firm.
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•15/06/2018
•Alison Simpson
•Current Affairs for Women, Featuring on WATC
One Tory MP blocks law to make ‘upskirting’ a criminal offence
Home > News > Current Affairs for Women > One Tory MP blocks law to make ‘upskirting’ a criminal offence
One Tory MP has blocked a law to make the act of ‘upskirting’ a criminal offence.
As the issue of the Bill was raised in the House of Commons, Sir Christopher Chope, MP, shouted “object”, resulting in other MPs crying out “shame”.
‘Upskirting’ Is a term for people taking photos of under unsuspecting women’s skirts. There are also similar offences such as ‘down blousing’, where people take pictures of a woman’s cleavage, without her knowing.
The issue came into the public eye after a female festival goer, Gina Martin, became a victim of ‘upskirting’.
Martin was at the British Summertime Festival, when she became aware of a man taking photos up her skirt.
She described the events, saying, “Two men…were taking upskirt photos of my – you know what I mean – without me knowing.”
“They sent them to each other and I saw it on one guy’s phone.”
“I grabbed his phone and ran to security who called the police.”
Martin continues, “ I got a call five days later saying the case was closed and was told by the Met Police, “there’s not much we can do” because “it’s not a graphic image.”
Martin launched a petition to reopen her case and launched the campaign to make ‘upskirting’ a specific illegal offence.
The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill was expected to be passed through the House of Commons, after receiving the support of government ministers.
Speaking about Chope’s decision, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobshouse, who brought the bill to Parliament, criticized the “out-of-touch Tory” for “sabotaging it.”
A government spokesman said, “Whilst we are disappointed this Bill did not pass second reading today, we look forward to supporting these measures through the House at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Upskirting still could become a criminal offence if it passes through the Commons when it is next debated on 6 July. However, it will take only one dissenting MP to put another stop to it progressing any further.
billcriminal offenceHouse of CommonsToryupskirting
Alison Simpson
Alison is the Digital Content Editor for WeAreTheCity. She has a BA Honours degree in Journalism and History from the University of Portsmouth. She has previously worked in the marketing sector and in a copywriting role. Alison’s other passions and hobbies include writing, blogging and travelling.
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SJL Foundation launches nationwide competition to give 8 finalists in Great Britain the chance to get a free £2,000 business grant and mentoring, and to pitch their business idea in the House of Commons
WATC Admin TeamCurrent Affairs for Women, New Articles
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Flexible Working Bill for Armed Forces becomes law
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Porto vs Liverpool live stream: how to watch today's Champions League online from anywhere
With Liverpool 2-0 up on aggregate after their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, this tie is done and dusted…isn't it? Well a trip to Porto is never easy and two goal deficits can easily be overturned (just ask PSG!). With this Vocal Views guide you can live stream Porto vs Liverpool no matter where you are in the world.
As you'd hope and expect from a last eight Champions League clash, these are two of world football's biggest names and they're no strangers to going a long way in this competition.
Who could forget Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul in 2005 when they won their most recent of five titles. And Porto's last was equally memorable, led there by a long-forgotten manager called Jose Mourinho, or something.
After easing through the first leg at Anfield 2-0, Liverpool are overwhelming favorites going in to this one. Juggling the two plates of Champions League and the Premier League title, Klopp's men could be just a few wins away from one of their most famous seasons. They'll be relying on their trio if attackers Salah, Mane and Firmino. Porto are involved in an equally exciting title race in the Premeira Liga against Benfica, but it will be a huge uphill battle if they want to make it to the semi-final.
It's poised to be a fascinating second leg of the Champions League last eight knockouts, so make sure you follow the instructions below for how to live stream Porto vs Liverpool from wherever you are in the world.
See how to live stream every single Champions League game this season
Use a VPN to watch Champions League football outside your country
If you're away from your country but are desperate to get around geo-blocking from your home broadcaster, don't sweat. Thanks to the tools provided to you by a VPN service, you can tune in no matter where you are in the world. And best of all, it's really easy to do, especially if you use our number one recommended provider ExpressVPN.
Stream the Liverpool game live in the UK
How to watch Porto vs Liverpool: live stream in US
See our rundown of all the best sports streaming sites in the US
How to live stream Champions League football in Canada
How to live stream Liverpool vs Porto in the Champions League: Australia
How to watch Champions League football in New Zealand
How to live stream the UEFA Champions League football in India
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When Can I See My Grades?
Final grades will be available late Wednesday afternoon. Once posted, grades can be found in Pride Online. Under the “Student” heading click on the “Final Grades” link. You can also use the “My Grades” channel in the My VolState portal.
Posted by Derek at 11:02:00 AM
As the end of the year is coming to a close, I begin to think of new beginnings.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to be employed in the public relations office here at Vol State for the past year and a half while completing my degree.
This position has paved the way for me to meet some extraordinary people, and taught me a great deal about reporting. I have had the opportunity to meet and interview several guest speakers including Pulitzer Prize winning author Nicholas Kristof.
Seeing the world through Asra Nomani’s eyes, if only for a couple of hours, when she was telling of her adventures as she demanded women’s rights to pray in the same area as the men in her mosque, was priceless. Having the opportunity to hear Lee Mun Wah speak about diversity, and having a one on one conversation with him was an amazing opportunity that cannot be put into words.
Not only have I had the opportunity to interview guests for print, I have had the unique opportunity to interview local politicians including Governor Bill Haslam on “Inside Politics,” Vol State’s cable television production.
Aside from the career and networking opportunities, I have made lasting relationships through my job here that will always be remembered. Getting to know the faculty and staff not just as a student, but as a co-worker and friend in some cases was one of the better parts of my position.
Interviewing different students for personal profiles not only helped make the blog interesting, but gave me the opportunity to make friends along the way.
I want to thank everyone over the past year and a half that has let me interview, photograph and video them for the blog. For everyone in the PR office, thank you for everything. Eric Melcher, you have taught me so much, and it has been an honor to be a part of your team.
For the next person that will take my place, I leave you with a bit of advice if I may. Really listen to the people you are talking to and have fun! I am passing the torch along.
May everyone have a happy holiday and a wonderful new year!
Labels: faculty, New Students, Student Activities, Students
EMT Service Learning Project
Vol State classes go out into the community to do service learning projects throughout the year. The daytime Gallatin campus EMT class participated in a service learning project this semester with the Sumner County Schools Wellness Program. The students assisted the school nurses in obtaining vital signs, heights and weights for elementary school students. This is the second year the EMT class has participated. The nurses came to campus to award certificates to the instructors, Hunter Henson and Muff Farmer, and say thanks to the students.
All Thursday Finals Happening as Scheduled
All Vol State day and evening finals Thursday will happen as scheduled. A reminder that if you had a final postponed on Wednesday night, it has been rescheduled for tonight (Thursday) at 7:30pm for Gallatin, McGavock and Livingston. Students at other off-campus sites who had finals postponed Wednesday night should contact their instructor for the new date and time.
To clarify: final exams postponed
To clarify: all final exams starting at 6p.m. or later have been postponed until 7:30p.m. Thursday. Includes Gallatin campus, McGavock, and Livingston. Thursday finals at 6pm will meet as planned. All-off campus location finals are also postponed. The instructor will contact students with the new time and date. Wilson Central History 2010 is also postponed. Students in this class should contact the instructor for details.
All evening final exams, all locations postponed Wednesday night
Due to weather concerns all final exams starting after 6pm tonight (Wednesday) have been postponed until tomorrow (Thursday) night. This includes the Gallatin campus, McGavock, and Livingston. The finals scheduled for tonight will now be held at 7:30pm Thursday in the same location. Thursday finals at 6pm will meet as planned. All-off campus location finals are also postponed. The instructor will contact students with the new time and date.
Wilson Central: HIST 2010 will not meet for exam tonight
Vol State Wilson Central Site: HIST 2010 551 will not meet for the exam at Wilson Central, tonight, Wednesday. Contact your instructor for the reschedule date and time.
Important Information- Changes due to the weather conditions: Main Campus, Off-Campus and Livingston
Changes due to the weather conditions: Main Campus, Off-Campus and Livingston
-All finals scheduled for Monday before 10am on the Vol State main campus will be held on Friday at the same time and the same location. Some finals may have directions to another room, those will be posted on the door if that is the case.
-Livingston finals scheduled for Monday will be held on Friday at the same time and the same location.
-Livingston will open late at 9am Tuesday. All finals will be held that day, with times sliding. If you have a final scheduled before 9am, show up at 9am. See the schedule posted in the Livingston lobby when you arrive.
-If you could not make it to any main campus class on Monday after 10am or Tuesday, due to weather safety issues, you can reschedule the exam with your instructor. Every student has a right to make up a missed exam. Contact your instructor.
-McGavock will be open Monday night for exams as usual.
-Macon County final exams will be held as planned.
-Wilson Central will be closed Monday night. All Monday night exams will be rescheduled. Your instructor will contact you with details.
-Students taking evening classes at Springfield H.S. will be contacted by the instructor.
-For faculty: final grades must be submitted by midnight on Monday, December 20.
-For students: students should be able to see final grades posted by Wednesday afternoon December 22.
Coats, Coats and More Coats!
The Vol State Employee Relations Committee says that its third annual Coat Drive has well exceeded goals. Faculty, staff and students donated more than 200 coats this year. That's well above the total of 100 collected last year and even beats the goal of 150 for this year. The drive also took in dozens of scarves, gloves and hats.
"Everyone has been so generous," said Renee Byrnes-Eades.
The project is carried out in conjunction with the ABC News Warm Coats and Warm Hearts campaign, a partnership with Burlington Coat Factory to provide warm coats to those in need during the winter months. The bags of coats were packed up last week and taken to the 100 Oaks Burlington Coat Factory. From there, the garments will be cleaned and sent to the Nashville Rescue Mission. Many folks will keep warmer this year thanks to your support!
Vol State Delayed Opening 10 a.m Monday and Faculty and Staff E-mail Update
Vol State will delay opening on Monday, December 13 until 10a.m. on the main campus in Gallatin due to the weather. The Livingston campus will be closed Monday. Any finals earlier than 10 a.m. will be rescheduled as will all Livingston finals for Monday. Faculty and staff can now access their e-mail by going to the Faculty and Staff page of the web site and using the faculty and staff e-mail link. Any old bookmarks of the old faculty and staff e-mail system will not work, you must access through the Faculty and Staff web page.
Banner and Pride computer systems are up again
Vol State Banner and Pride computer systems are up again. Faculty and staff e-mail may be down for a while, possibly into weekend. Student e-mail is working.
Faculty and Staff E-mail Issues
The Vol State faculty and staff e-mail system is down and may remain down for some time today. The student e-mail system is working. The Vol State website is back up and running.
Power has been restored
The power has been restored to the Vol State Gallatin campus. The website is also online again. Classes will happen as scheduled today.
Power Disruption on Campus Today
Computer and phone systems are down at Vol State this morning due to a power disruption. This includes the College website. Crews are working on the problem now. Classes will continue as scheduled today.
Thanks from Afghanistan
Recently the Vol State EMS program held a donation drive to help soldiers in Afghanistan. Those soldiers really appreciated the effort. This is a note they sent in thanks to everyone who participated:
To all those that extended their support and patriotism through the donations received by Volunteer State Community College Students and Staff and those of Nashville Fire Department. We raised Approx. 300lbs of goods to send to Afghanistan through Christmas Donations which far exceeded expectations! The Soldiers currently serving overseas extend their thanks and this will surely bring them some Joy and Holiday Cheer, as well as letting them know that their sacrifices are NOT left unappreciated. Thank you for all your support! Attached Is a "Thank You" Photo from the soldiers that your donations were made, currently serving in North East Afghanistan mountains in the Korrenghal Valley, of the Kunar Province. Keep up the thoughts, prayers, and support for our brave troops!!
SSG Crews, Benjamin R.
E. Co., 3-398th, 95th Div
U.S. Army Infantry
Phi Theta Kappa Reaches Five Star Status
This year Vol State Phi Theta Kappa students managed to set the bar to a higher standard by attaining a five star rating.
“In order to become five-star you are required to do a certain number of things,” said Kerensa James, PTK Vice President of leadership. “It has been years since we have been five-star.”
The honors in action study topic this year is “The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril, Promise.” PTK students presented their project in front of a panel of Vol State professors. Several questions were asked by the students in order to shed light on how to improve the college experience for current and future college students.
“Our ultimate goal is to have more of an open communication and general understanding between students and professors,” said Jamie Blurton, PTK Vice President of service. “We have to provide a response for the administration.”
Questions about career preparation and the importance of technology were directed toward the professors.
In regard to preparation, several professors agreed that being passionate about the overall learning process is the key to a successful college experience.
“When college is done well, it is a chemical transformation in the person,” said Nancy Blomgren, associate professor of English.
“Students need to be active learners,” said George Pimentel, department chair, history, geography, political science, and associate professor of history. “Students need to know their strengths.”
PTK students were congratulated for all of the work that was put into this project, and attaining the five-star status.
“I think every chapter after us will be encouraged to be more active and work toward becoming a five-star chapter,” said Blurton.
Both the students and faculty expressed what an amazing opportunity this is for Vol State.
“It is always an honor when our students and clubs receive recognition, especially for their scholarly endeavors,” said Dr. Monique Robinson-Wright, director of student life diversity and initiatives.
Vol State at Highland Crest Progress Update
Civic leaders from Springfield and Robertson County had an opportunity to tour the new Vol State at Highland Crest facility on Friday. There has been quite a bit of progress in the last few months. Workers are finishing roofing and the installation of windows. The framing inside the building and the electrical are ready to go. Streets leading up to the new campus are under construction, with curbs laid and the road bed down.
Vol State and Austin Peay State University will begin offering classes in the fall of 2011. When completed Vol State at Highland Crest will be a 25,000 square foot, two-story building including: four classrooms; a multi-purpose room; a science lab; an interactive television classroom; a bookstore; a library; a learning support center; and ten faculty offices
Vol State will run the new learning center with an on-site director, faculty and staff. Hiring is underway for those positions. Vol State classes will include general education requirement courses that apply to most of the degree and program options at the College. A number of specific academic programs are also under consideration for Highland Crest.
The college facility is located just south of NorthCrest Medical Center in Springfield on Highway 431 and then turning onto William A. Batson Parkway. We'll have updates on our web page at: www.volstate.edu/HighlandCrest
Festival of Lights Brings More Culture This Year
Various cultures were represented Wednesday December 1, at the annual Festival of Lights program at Vol State, in addition to the usual focus on Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.
Fettework Mecha is a student originally from Ethiopia and performed two songs from the Ethiopian Greek Orthodox Church. She said that she was performing church music for Christmas.
Students, faculty and staff were lining up to get their name written in calligraphy by Japanese student Yuko Tanaka.
“I want to introduce the Japanese culture,” said Tanaka. She said that in Japan, students learn calligraphy from elementary age, and continue to practice throughout the years.
The showstoppers performed a few holiday songs, and student Patrick Orianus sang one of his original songs while playing the piano.
Students seemed to enjoy the holiday food and beverages while watching the festivities.
Larry Leftwich said that he wanted to participate to try to catch the Christmas spirit.
At the end of the festival, the different departments at Vol State hung an ornament on the tree to officially start the holiday season.
Posted by Amie Lara at 12:34:00 PM
It is the time when the semester begins winding down, and final exams are less than two weeks away.
A few students shared their thoughts on the end of semester final exam process.
“In all honesty I’m very nervous because I don’t know how well I’m going to do,” said Ashley Fram, secondary education major. “I study and do what I can not to freak out. If I’m stressed, I know I’m going to fail.”
“I don’t like tests,” said William Baxter. “Tests give me the heebie jeebies.”
“I’m confident about it,” said pre-law student, Cameron Ligon. “The only one I feel nervous about is my evidence and procedure class since it is a group presentation.”
The Vice President of SGA, Buddy Daniel said, “You need to plan your study time so that it will be effective and increase your overall grade.”
Students should be aware that the schedule for finals may be different than their regularly scheduled class. The final exam schedule can be found here.
Environmental stewardship project presentations
Phil Clifford’s Biology 1040 class has put together environmental stewardship project presentations, which will be on display on Monday December 6, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the main hallway of the Warf building. The Vol State student Service Learning projects this year include:
-A sign for the community garden so everyone will know it is there (this is a continuation of a project they began in their leadership class.)
-Educating the public regarding safe disposal of old medications so they don’t contaminate our water supply (they are placing fliers in local doctor’s offices.)
-Giving away reusable shopping bags that were donated by Wal-Mart (this will be done during the presentation so, come get free bags!)
-A street cleanup on Lakeview road in Gallatin.
-A group went to local schools and taught children about recycling.
-A group is building safe nesting for birds – this will be placed here on campus.
-A group is promoting metal can recycling in their neighborhood.
-A group produced a video on composting with worms (vermiculture) that they will post on the Internet.
Everyone is invited to come take a look, and talk to the students about what they did this semester.
State Historian Walter Durham Will Speak at Vol State
Photo: alumnus.tennessee.edu
Tennessee state historian Walter Durham will be speaking at Vol State about his 23rd book titled “Grasslands.”
Dr. Carole Bucy, professor of history, said that this will most likely be his last book published.
He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he received his master’s degree.
“This is a great opportunity for Vol State to recognize his contribution to Sumner County and Tenn. history,” said Bucy. “He is the most charming, gracious, and gentile man.”
This event is open to the public, and students are encouraged to attend on Tuesday December 7 at 12:00 p.m. in the Rochelle center.
On Campus Orientation Room Change
Please note the room change below is for the EMT program orientation, not new student orientation. We're sorry for any confusion this may have caused.
On Monday November 29th the EMT program will be hosting 2 on campus orientation sessions; one at 11:30 am and another at 6:00 pm. The 11:30 am session is being moved to the auditorium in Caudill Hall (#11 on the campus map) due to larger than expected turn out. The 6pm on campus advising session that day will still be held in building 300 (#18 on the campus map) as originally planned.
Being Thankful at Vol State
International students were able to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the Thanksgiving luncheon for international students, sponsored by the collegiate ministry.
Several students at this event as well as students, faculty and staff around campus voiced the reasons they are thankful.
“I am thankful that I live in a country that allows us so much freedom,” said Clay Scott, associate professor, communication and journalism.
“I’m thankful for my family’s support through school,” said sophomore Rob Glenn.
“I’m thankful that my family was able to re-build their house after the flood, and that I have good grades,” said student Tanner Battenberg.
“I’m thankful for life itself,” said Akhiyar Ahmed
“I’m thankful for the people I work with in the visual and performing arts department,” said Edmon Thomas, associate professor, communication and theater.
“I’m thankful for my family,” said student Jackson Bush.
“I’m thankful for my friends,” said psychology major Megan Davis.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to come to the United States because I have more opportunity,” said student Roman Shutt.
Honors Program Information Night December 7
Honors classes are designed to challenge the highly-motivated student. Vol State will be holding an informational night to help prospective students and their parents learn more about the Honors Program. Honors classes come in a variety of subjects each semester and honors by contract allows most classes to have an honors component. The event will be held on December 7 at 7 p.m. in the Rochelle Center of the Thigpen Library on the Vol State campus, 1480 Nashville Pike in Gallatin. For more information call 230-3281. For specifics about Honors Program requirements visit www.volstate.edu/Honors/
Paid Student Tutor Positions Available
Hey, Vol State students. Do you make good grades? Are you looking for part-time work on-campus? Will you be taking classes in the spring semester? Do you need a flexible schedule? Are you patient and do you like to help others? If so, consider working as a student tutor
Vol State is currently hiring tutors for the following classes:
AHC 115
CIS 100
DSPM 0700
GEOL 1030
PSCI 1030
Must have taken the class to be tutored (or a higher level) and received a grade of A
Must be eligible to work in the U.S.
Must have a checking account for payroll purposes
Must provide 3 references who are available and who are willing to provide a reference
Please contact the Office of Disability Services if you are interested in working as a tutor
Office Location: WOOD 108
College students face challenges every day, but some challenges are more complicated than others. At only 17, Vol State student Kalyn Barber has had to make significant changes to her lifestyle after passing out suddenly on September 11.
After she passed out she went to 3 different doctors, and was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia. She isn’t allowed to drive for 6 months, and has had to alter her schedule a great deal.
“It is frustrating because I have to eat 6-8 meals a day to keep my blood sugar regulated, which can interfere with my schedule,” said Barber. “I had to skip class this morning because I had to get a meal in.”
Although she lives in Murfreesboro, she decided to attend Vol State for the radiology program, but since finding out the news on her health, will transfer to MTSU in the spring.
“If I were to continue at Vol State, I would have to skip next semester with a medical appeal because I’m on financial aid,” said Barber. “It is just easier to transfer to MTSU.”
Barber said that not driving has made it more difficult to get to school. She wakes up at 4 a.m. so she can be in the car by 5:30 a.m.
“My dad drives me to Gallatin to a friend’s house,” said Barber. “My dad has to be at work so he can’t take me at 9. We leave her house at 7:30 a.m. because her first class is at 8 a.m.”
Barber’s classes are from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and she has to wait for about 5 hours until her father is able to pick her up from Vol State after he gets off of work.
“After that, I go to one of my various commitments,” she said.
Although Barber has had to go through some challenges, she said there is a silver lining. Since MTSU doesn’t offer a radiology program, she has decided to go into elementary education.
“I thought I wanted to do radiology, but I realized I’d be better off in education because I love kids,” she said. “I never would have considered anything else but radiology had this not happened.”
As long as Barber doesn’t have any more blackouts, she said she will be able to drive in March 2011.
Criminal Justice Students Visit Tennessee Supreme Court
Vol State students in the Introduction to Criminal Law class were recently given a tour of the Tennessee Supreme Court. They attended three Tennessee criminal appeals involving statutory rape, murder and child abuse/neglect. The photograph was taken inside the Supreme court chambers with Judges Thomas Woodall, James Curwood and Alan Glenn, who presided over the criminal appeals.
Here are what some of the Criminal Justice students had to say about the experience:
Jennifer Graves: “The ability to take what we have discussed in the classroom and then view it all first hand in the actual courtroom, assisted in a greater understanding of the role of the Tennessee Supreme Court plays in the criminal justice system.”
Jackie Brewer: “The Tennessee Supreme Court building was one of the most amazing buildings that I have ever been to or seen. The history inside the walls of the Tennessee Supreme Court is one that I could never fathom, this experience definitely will be one memory that will stay with me forever.”
Erin Vague: “The criminal appeals dealt with child neglect, statutory rape and murder, I was astonished to know and understand what they were talking about and would have never in a million years thought that I would have become this knowledgeable about the law."
Heather Weber: “Overall the educational experience from this field trip is something that I will carry with me throughout my college career. It has helped in shaping my future projections career-wise and has given me a perspective into the Criminal Court of Appeals that I was not privileged to have prior to this experience.”
Labels: Academic Programs
Now Students Can See What Books are Needed Before Registering
The problem of not knowing which textbooks and class materials are needed before registering for classes can be frustrating, but with the Book Look/Book Now program, students can see what they will need.
“Prior to a student registering for class, they have the ability to view course materials for the class,” said Dianne King, manager, Vol State bookstore.
There is now a link that students can click on in the class lookup section that will take them to a page that shows what textbooks are needed for each class.
“After a student registers for a class, they can go to a link that enables students to purchase online,” King said. “Prior to Book Now they had to leave the PRIDE online website to go to our site.” She added that students who decide to purchase books directly after registering for classes will be directed to the bookstore website.
So far, students seem to think implementing this system is a good idea.
“That would have been very helpful if I would have had more notice before registering for classes when I registered for the fall,” said student Kalyn Barber.
“I think it is a good idea so you don’t have to waste your money before,” student Heather Brown said.
For more information on the program, contact Dianne King at the campus bookstore at 230-3630.
Meet the Cheerleaders!
The Vol State Cheerleading Squad has been keeping the spirit going at Vol State basketball games. The two co-captains have this introduction:
Amanda Smith: I am an elementary education major as a sophomore here at Vol-State. I plan on becoming part of the TSU education program within the next year. I was a varsity cheerleader at Gallatin High School and captain my senior year. I am one of the student representatives on the VSCC facilities committee. I am currently your VSCC cheerleading captain for the 2010-2011 season. Go Pioneers!
Hey Everyone! I am Lydia “Shake” Green. I moved to Tennessee three years ago from Barberton, Ohio. I graduated in 2010 from Hendersonville High School. I am a freshman here at Vol- State. My major is health and physical education. I plan to work on a minor in coaching. I have cheered over eight years for the Barberton Magics. I have also cheered for several other teams throughout the city back in Ohio. I currently serve as your VSCC cheerleading squad Co-Captain for the 2010-2011 season. I’m looking forward to a very successful and fun season. Go Red, White and Blue!
Our squad consists of 8 dedicated members, who have worked hard since day one. After our cheerleading tryouts our squad has been successful and improving as a team. We started off not knowing each other at all and today we consider ourselves a family. Our friendships have been created and will become stronger as the season continues. We have performed as a squad at halftimes and cheer for our Men's and Women's Basketball teams. We conduct weekly practices to learn and perfect our routines to promote crowd involvement and entertain our VSCC fans. The squad also plans on participating in community events and helping our local residents. We look forward to meeting new fans, students, and other community members as our cheerleading season continues. Go Pioneers!
Pop Culture Class and Country Music
Vol State student Matthew Mason went on a class trip recently and has this report:
Our Pop Culture class has been focusing on music in popular culture and how it affects us as consumers. To help us feel more connected to the subject, our Professor Laura Black, took us to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Though I've lived in Nashville for seven years, I had never been to the Hall of Fame. I was very excited to be able to visit the exhibits and learn where Nashville's country music roots actually stream from.
We strolled through the many different exhibits occasionally stopping to take in some of the classic tunes in their different isolated listening areas and watch the old reels that played on large screens throughout the top floor of old fashion "hoedowns" and other gatherings of early players. We stopped to look into Elvis's "Solid Gold Cadillac" complete with a small T.V. and bunny ear antennae. We were educated in the life and accomplishments of Hank Williams and his rowdy bunch of boys that followed in his footsteps.
The most interesting parts for me personally were the exquisite outfits that both the men and women of country music would wear on stage. These Nudie Suits had so many different intricate and sparkling designs. It's hard to believe that they could even move in some of them. The different designs gave you an interesting look into the artist personalities. As we made our way around to the actual Hall of Fame the stairways walls were covered from top to bottom in silver, gold and platinum records. It was really a beautiful site to see. In the actual Hall we found the many different plaques hung in memorial to all the most important people to country music. From Johnny Cash to Alabama, and Minnie Pearl to Jimmy Rogers these plaques spanned all of the generations of country music and Nashville's connection to popular culture that shines and sparkles like a rhinestone across America.
After leaving I felt I had a true understanding of country music and how it continues to thrive and entertain people from young to old. As country music continues to grow we will see how the music has touched our city and helped Nashville evolve into a historical and prominent monument for American music as a whole.
Speak Spanish With Pedro Martinez
Pedro Martinez is the newest advisor and counselor at Vol State, and has a few ideas to help the Hispanic community on campus.
“I am going to be in charge of the Hispanic outreach efforts here at Vol State,” Martinez said. “We want all of the Hispanic students to be able to graduate, so we are looking for ways to connect with them.”
Martinez started a Hispanic Vol State Facebook page. He said that it will be predominantly in English, but if it is necessary he will put some information in Spanish.
“My goal is that people can go on the page and find out more about the Hispanic community,” said Martinez.
Everyone is encouraged to go to the Hispanic Vol State Facebook page and become a friend.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Maytee Vinces, Secretary of State of the SGA. “For some people, it’s a little harder to understand English.”
Martinez also said that he wants to be available for all students if they have problems. He speaks Spanish therefore he is able to communicate with Spanish speaking students if they need assistance.
Labels: faculty, International Education, Students
WWII Veterans Honored
Several generations filled the seats in Caudill Hall today to honor WWII veterans.
History students were involved in the presentation. Brett Steffan, Tyler Wheeler, Christian Arguello, Ethan Jensen and David Spears wore authentic WWII uniforms that were supplied by Professor Peter Johnson, history instructor, from his personal collection.
“My grandfather was in WWII, so I decided to volunteer,” said Ethan Jensen.
They also presented letters written by Vol State students to WWII veterans at the end of the ceremony.
WWII veteran Charlie Hingst said he joined the military in 1942. He spoke about a few very close calls in battle and ended saying, “We live in the greatest country in the world.”
Ed Bruchas is a WWII veteran and said that he was still in high school at the time the war started.
“I shouted out through the entire neighborhood that we were at war,” said Bruchas. “I guess I was 17, and I wanted to go to war because as a young boy, I thought I could fix it.” He said the last part with a smile, and went on to say that he imagines most young boys felt the same way at the time.
“You go in as a boy, and you come out as a man,” said Bruchas.
Peter Johnson wrote an excerpt in the program from the ceremony that said, “This generation came home from the war and built America. Now each day they are slipping away to eternity. We sincerely owe them a great debt of gratitude. May this commemoration today be partial payment on that debt before the last one leaves us.”
Students in Caudill Hall erupted into applause, laughter and gasps of astonishment on Wednesday November 10.
Mentalist Wayne Hoffman came to Vol State and seemed to have the ability to wow believers and skeptics alike.
“In the cafeteria he did a preview, and guessed someone’s name and got it right, and it intrigued me,” said Chase Stidham, recording industry management student.
The crowd response proved that Hoffman was entertaining and able to grab people’s attention.
He did several demonstrations that included bringing a mother and daughter onstage, and only touching the mother with a feather. The daughter said she felt the exact same thing, and he didn't touch her at all.
He also guessed which playing cards students were thinking about.
Hoffman said he has been doing this professionally for 13 years, and has studied the subject of the mind extensively. He said that what he does isn’t supernatural.
“Everything is scientific,” said Hoffman. “I wanted to use science for entertainment.”
Hoffman was on a nationally syndicated show titled “Phenomenon” from 2007-2008. “I got the chance on national television to read people’s minds,” he said.
The grand finale consisted of Hoffman filling up a Coke can and re-sealing it. The catch was that this was the same can of Coke he had been drinking during the show.
Steffen Dunham, president of the SGA, said that he wasn’t sure what he thought of the whole thing. “The Coke was strange.” Of all of the demonstrations, this seemed to puzzle most people who witnessed it.
Hoffman said that he enjoyed his experience at Vol State.
“It was awesome,” Hoffman said. “This is one of the coolest theaters I’ve seen in a community college.”
Hoffman can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.
Vol State Homecoming is Saturday
The Volunteer State Community College Alumni Association welcomes back Vol State alum as they celebrate the Alumni Basketball Homecoming Bash on Saturday, November 13. The Pioneer basketball teams will take on Jackson State in two games: 2 p.m. for the women and 4 p.m. for the men. Alumni in attendance will be recognized at half court between the games. Vol State Cheerleaders, the Vol State Dance Team and Middle Tennessee Junior League Cheerleaders are set to perform. The Alumni Association and the Athletic Department will host a hospitality room beginning at 1:00 p.m. Alumni can enjoy refreshments and reconnect with friends.
Admission to the event is free. The Alumni Advisory Council is challenging Alumni with the “Your Change Can Make a Change” Campaign. Bring your loose change to donate to the Vol State Alumni Association Scholarship Fund.
Continuing Education: Personal Enrichment
Whether it is pursuing a lifelong hobby, or a career opportunity, personal enrichment offers everything from cake decorating to small engine repair.
The personal enrichment area of the continuing education department at Vol State can be a good starting point.
“A lot of people don’t even know that we offer non-credit courses,” said Lisa Haley, director of non credit instruction. “I think there are a lot of classes that the community doesn’t know we offer.”
Haley said that classes such as flower arranging and interior decorating classes may give students the foundation skills they need to utilize those skills.
“We had a student that took the cake decorating class, and ended up opening a cake decorating business,” said Haley.
Vern Scurlark, instructor of the current cake decorating class, is the owner of It’s a Piece of Cake Bakery in Nashville.
“I’m a hands-on instructor,” said Scurlark. “I’m good at what I do. It’s a passion, and that’s why it doesn’t seem like a lot of work to me.”
Scurlark said for classroom purposes, he allows the students to decide if they want to use a box, or bake a cake from scratch for the final project. He said he loves to see the progress that his students make from the beginning of class to the end, and seeing how proud the students are of their accomplishments.
Those interested in taking a personal enrichment course should contact Lisa Haley at 230-3360.
Labels: Continuing Education, faculty, Students
Get Paid to Write for this Blog!
Do you enjoy writing? Are you interested in a part-time job on campus for spring semester? The Vol State PR Office is looking for a student social media writer to write for this blog and other Vol State social media sites. You must be a current student, enrolled in the spring semester. The position is for 10-15 hours a week and can be worked around your class schedule.
We're taking applications now. Visit: https://jobs.volstate.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1289340392941
You'll need to submit writing samples with your online application.
We'll start reviewing applications on December 1 and have interviews right after finals. If you have any further questions you can e-mail pr@volstate.edu
WWII Commemoration
Veteran’s Day is November 11, and on Friday November 12, Vol State will be hosting a salute to WWII veterans in the Caudill auditorium from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m.
Peter Johnson, Instructor of History is organizing the event.
There are several events planned that include a ladies’ trio that will perform the song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and a WWII reenactment.
“I’m hoping to have about 12 veterans from WWII,” said Johnson.
Johnson said he has been collecting memorabilia since he was a child. He said that by organizing this event, he hopes students will get a real sense of what these men and women did for our country.
“They have been called the greatest generation, and there is a reason for that,” said Johnson. “I think we owe them a deep debt of gratitude.”
There will be a mail call, and several letters written to veterans by Vol State students will be presented.
Johnson said that five of his students will be dressing up in WWII uniforms from his collection, and two students will be displaying artwork.
“WWII veterans are dying off, and in a few short years they will all be gone,” said Johnson. He said that this is one of the reasons for organizing this event.
Speech Team Takes Second Place
The Vol State Speech Team went to Owensboro, Kentucky last weekend to compete in the Owensboro Community College BBQ Capital of the World tournament. Ten people attended: Coaches, Judi Truitt and Donzetta Ketcherside; returning team members Josh Moore and Barbara Jackson; and new members Haley Henley, Elizabeth Duke, Laura Myers, Chanel Alford, Christian Arguello, and Jesse Smith. Vol State brought home the 2nd place trophy in the small college division.
Individual awards were:
Barbara Jackson – Dramatic Interpretation, 3rd place
Haley Henley and Jesse Smith – Dramatic Interpretation finalists
Jesse Smith and Laura Myers – DUO Acting finalists
Laura Myers and Elizabeth Duke – Informative Speaking finalists
Haley Henley – Novice Award in Informative Speaking
Chanel Alford, Christian Arguello, and Elizabeth Duke – Novice Award in Persuasive Speaking
Congrats to everyone!
Calculus III Students Have a Blast!
Calculus III students took part in fellow student Zach French’s honors project at the Vol State driving range on Monday November 1, and seemed to enjoy every minute of the experience.
French, an applied mathematics major, designed and built a potato gun.
"I needed an honors project,” said French. “This is the first one of these I’ve ever built. I used propane because it is less explosive than acetylene.” He said it took about one month to build it.
French said he thought that this was the best way to measure projectile motion, and decided to
apply his honors project to what they are currently learning, which is projectile motion.
“I like doing stuff like this,” said Joey Craighead, calculus student. “It helps to show how the calculations work with real-world applications.”
Mary Yarbrough, associate professor of mathematics, said that these are some of her top students. She said she has fun with the class, and added that they are not what some would consider boring calculus students.
This seemed to be the case, as the students were very easy going while making jokes preparing for the shooting experiment.
The students assisting French with the project were Roman Shutt, Marquis Merritt, Eunkyung Choi, Kerry Siegrist, Wade Pearson and Heather Hamilton.
Continuing Education: Workforce Development
Workforce Development is one of the four departments that make up Vol State’s Continuing Education Division. English as a second language classes (ESOL) are just one of the many types of courses they offer for companies.
“We are a venue for employers to provide additional training for their workforce at a low cost,” said Bob Jankiewicz, director, business and industry institute at Vol State. “They look to us for
English as a second language. We also provide management courses, soft skills training, dealing with peers, harassment prevention and conflict resolution.”
Tyson Foods in Goodlettsville has ESOL classes for employees through the Vol State continuing education program. The classes are taken at the plant itself, which seems to be a convenient option for the students who are getting ready to work their shift at Tyson.
“I’m the only teacher they have for ESOL here,” said Audrey Cine, adjunct instructor.
Students have been in class for two weeks, and the class is 16 weeks long.
“I need to speak English,” said Magdy Salib. “I speak Arabic.” He added that he has been working at Tyson for 3 ½ years so far.
Having the ability to communicate well in English seems to be one of the main reasons students elect to take the ESOL classes.
Medhat and Amira Ishak are married and enrolled in the ESOL class together. Mr. Ishak said that they are supposed to take the citizenship test next year for the United States.
“We are from Egypt,” said Mr. Ishak. “We need to learn English.”
The Workforce Development courses also offer the Six Sigma training.
“It’s a problem solving methodology,” said Jankiewicz. “We teach six sigma at different stages. We are teaching individuals how to find solutions to a problem for which there is no known solution.”
Health and safety training is another portion of workforce development, and includes training in occupational safety and health administration (OSHA).
For information on any upcoming workforce development courses contact Bob Jankiewicz at 230-3359 or e-mail bob.jankiewicz@volstate.edu.
Vol State Faculty and Student Research Published
The study of the rare American chestnut tree has long been a passion for Vol State Professor of Biology, Joe Schibig. It’s lead to all sorts of research and publications. The latest publication will be an entire 61 page chapter in a book called “Geotechnologies and Environmental Management.”
“It’s based on the field work Vol State students and I did, where we inventoried the American chestnut and collected data in Mammoth Cave National Park,” said Schibig.
Three years of field work collected plenty of data. SongLin Fei, an assistant professor with the University of Kentucky, took that data and mapped the locations where the rare trees were found. Those maps use geotechnology to then show the affinities of the trees to specific geological factors and soil types. That could help researchers find more of the rare trees in similar locations in the future. Dr. Fei is the lead author of the chapter.
While Schibig has received quite a bit of recognition for his work in recent years, he says adding another element to the scientific body of knowledge is rewarding.
“It feels pretty good. My students will be proud. There will be a statement at the end of the chapter crediting them and myself.”
The students who participated in the research are: Mark Vance, Jeramie Tinsley, Lloyd Fly, and Anne Osborne.
Make a Difference: Non-Profit Started By Two Vol State Students
Embracing the opportunity to make a difference is something Vol State students Tina Newman and Dana Vick decided to do when they went to India with The Tennessee Consortium for International Studies (TnCIS) program.
Newman and Vick decided to start a non-profit organization to benefit the children of Taabar. They were in India from May10 until June 1, 2010. “I saw the need and didn’t think twice,” said Newman.
“We were roommates in the program,” said Newman. “We started making our plan to start this non-profit while we were still there. While we were there we started making contacts. We wanted to figure out what the needs are."
“I was more prone to poverty stricken countries,” said Newman. Newman added that she felt she could make more of a difference in a third world country, and said she could go to Europe any time, when she was deciding which country to visit.
Newman and Vick have hit the ground running and now have a non-profit organization titled Taabar2.
“It is only 300 dollars a year to support one kid,” said Newman. “It’s going to cover shelter, medical and dental expenses, clothing and food.”
Newman and Vick are planning to go to India twice a year to personally deliver the contributions and foresee that the money goes to benefit the children. Newman said that in December she and Vick plan on going back to India.
On November 13, there will be a silent auction and dinner to help raise money to send to the children of Taabar. Newman said that there will be a four course meal with dessert. Tickets are 30 dollars per person, or 50 dollars for two. This event will be in The Wood Campus Center at Vol State in the carpeted dining room.
“I feel like I’m a true humanitarian at heart,” said Newman. “I feel like this is my calling to do.”
Newman stressed again that it takes so little to sponsor a child, adding that the number one cause of death is unsafe drinking water in India. Future long term goals include having the Taabar2 organization in several different countries in the world. Newman said that this is her vision.
For more information on how how to get involved, or to purchase tickets for the silent auction and dinner, email Dana Vick at danavick4@comcast.net.
Hate Crimes Still Exist
Left, James Cauffiel
Tolerance is the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with, according to googledictionary.com.
In light of the recent suicides of gay teens, which received nationwide news coverage, the Lambda organization wants to get the word out that hate crimes are still prevalent.
James Cauffiel, 29, is president of Lambda at Vol State, and is a victim of a hate crime while he attended Clarksville High School.
Cauffiel said that he was on the football team, and very active in sports before he came out and told everyone he was gay.
The equality sticker placed on the gazebo in the Vol State courtyard
“My junior year I came out,” said Cauffiel. “I was in high school and I got beaten up. I was in the hospital about a week. I was bruised up with a punctured lung. I tried to press charges but the school came back and said that no one had witnessed it.”
Cauffiel said his attackers were former friends and members of the football team.
Since that time, he has been active in several different gay and lesbian organizations that include Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and Lambda.
The Lambda organization at Vol State provides an open environment to foster dialogue between gay and straight students in a supportive atmosphere according to the clubs and organizations pamphlet in the office of student life and diversity initiatives.
In the past, Lambda has not been very well known around Vol State. “People don’t know it exists,” said Jamie Blurton, Vice President of Lambda, and student ambassador.
“I like to advocate for people’s rights,” said Blurton. “I’m involved in a lot.”
Several students around campus voiced their opinions about gay rights and Lambda.
“The fear of it is ridiculous,” said Denzel Greer about people’s fear of the gay community.
On student wanted to remain anonymous and said, “I’m not going to disrespect anybody, but I don’t associate with those kinds of people.”
Ryan Mclean said that he and his friends support equality.
“I have a huge number of gay and lesbian friends,” said student Shellie Leach. “I want to support equality and equal rights. Coming out day was October 11, and it was my anniversary to my husband. I spent the day reflecting how fortunate I am to be able to marry the person I love.”
Leach said she thinks that everyone should have that right.
For those interested in becoming involved in Lambda at Vol State, contact Nancy Blomgren at 230-3208, or Loretta Calvert at 230-3786. The next meeting will be Monday October 25 at 2 p.m. in the Wood Campus Center room 101. Everyone is welcome to attend.
All evening final exams, all locations postponed W...
Wilson Central: HIST 2010 will not meet for exam t...
Important Information- Changes due to the weather ...
Vol State Delayed Opening 10 a.m Monday and Facult...
State Historian Walter Durham Will Speak at Vol St...
Criminal Justice Students Visit Tennessee Supreme ...
Now Students Can See What Books are Needed Before ...
Make a Difference: Non-Profit Started By Two Vol S...
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Alternative Engagement
Follow @VotingCountsUK
Devolution / Elections
What is the Scottish Parliament?
by Voting Counts · Published · Updated
In 1997, a referendum saw 74% of voters backed the creation of a Scottish Parliament. A year later, in 1998, the Scotland Act was passed by the Westminster Parliament and the first elections for Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) in 1999.
The Scottish Parliament handles ‘devolved powers’ – sets of policies that are controlled by the Scottish Parliament, while the UK Government in Westminster retains some powers, generally those policies that affect the whole of the United Kingdom.
Powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament (Source: www.parliament.scot/education)
Some of the powers retained by the UK Parliament in Westminster include; Benefits and social security, Immigration, Defence, Foreign policy, Employment, Broadcasting, Trade and industry, Nuclear energy, oil, coal, gas and electricity, Consumer rights, Data protection, and the Constitution.
Why engage in the Scottish Parliament elections?
The Scottish Parliament has power over many of the services you use every day, by voting you can help to decide who will be making decisions about these important issues.
You can vote for candidates who have a similar vision for the future of your community or region as you do.
Voting enables you to help decide who represents your local area or region in the Scottish Parliament, it’s part of their job to raise local issues and support you as much as they can. You can go to them and ask for advice on certain issues or ask them to promote an issue in the parliament.
How are MSPs elected?
The Scottish Parliament uses the Additional Member System (AMS) to elect its Members of Scottish Parliament, this is seen as a ‘more proportional’ system than FPTP.
AMS combines elements of First Past the Post where voters mark an X next to the candidate they want to represent them in their constituency, and proportional representation, where voters select from a list of candidates for each party who represent a larger regional constituency. This helps to overcome the disproportionally often associated with First Past the Post elections.
Under AMS, each voter typically gets two votes – one for a candidate and one for a party.
Each constituency returns a single candidate, in the style of First Past the Post. The votes for the party list candidates are then allocated on top of these constituency seats to ‘top up’ the number of seats won by each party to represent their share of the votes proportionally. (Source: Electoral Reform Society)
This excellent guide from the Scottish Parliament Education team has more information about how it all works:
Find more guides to the Scottish Parliament – www.parliament.scot/visitandlearn/leaflets-and-guides
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Tags: DevolutionElectionsScotland
What are European Elections?
by Voting Counts · Published
Who are the Welsh Political Parties?
by Brett John · Published
What is First Past The Post (FPTP)?
Suggested Articles:
Female Firsts: Who was Nancy Astor?
What is the Fixed Term Parliament Act?
Female Suffrage Around the World
You can now register to vote online, its very quick and easy to do. You just need to know your name, address and your national insurance number.
www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
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By Michael Ross
In June 2016 the Voting Solutions for All People had just reached its most significant milestone in completing the Research and Design Phase of the new Ballot Marking Device. Three years since reaching that feat our Department now has in its possession the first 15 production-grade Ballot Marking De...
Nearly 10 years after the Registrar-Recorder kicked off our efforts to modernize Los Angeles County’s voting system, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan and his team were presented this week with ballot marking devices (BMD) developed by Smartmatic. This delivery of completed devices coinci...
In less than a year, voters in Los Angeles County will be preparing for the next Presidential Primary election. One notable difference that voters will experience is the introduction of vote centers. Los Angeles County will transition from a polling place model to vote center model that will provide...
Why not just use pens to mark a ballot?
by Whitney Quesenbery Making voting universal (and secure) Picture this: It’s Election Day, 2020, and some states are reporting massively long lines of voters waiting to get a ballot, mark it, verify it, and cast it. Others have no lines at all. A few are celebrating higher turnout but shorter lin...
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk signs contract with Smartmatic USA
On June 13, 2018, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan officially signed the contract with Smartmatic USA making them the Voting Solutions for All People’s (VSAP) Prime Contractor and Systems Integrator. Smartmatic USA will assist the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC...
LA County’s New Voting System Is Accessible For All
Meet Ruth. She is an LA County voter and 103 years old! She went through the voting demo on the VSAP Ballot Marking Device prototype with ease and interacted with the touchscreen naturally. Ruth is just one of hundreds of seniors who have interacted and tested with our Ballot Marking Device prototyp...
Administrative Intern Program Visits the VSAP Lab
By Monica Flores
The 20th class of the Administrative Intern Program visited the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) on April 17, 2018 for a Departmental tour. They were provided an overview of the various election services and records management operations at the RR/CC. An exciting element of the tour was a vis...
Showcasing the VSAP Ballot Marking Device at the Older Adult Summit
Our VSAP and Outreach Teams attended the Older Adult Summit held at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 5, 2018. This event provided an opportunity for the attendees ages 55 and up to interact with the Ballot Marking Device and gain information about the new voting experience. We registered new ...
The Future is in Good Hands
On March 16, 2018, the VSAP team held a VSAP Summit at the Liberty Community Plaza in Whittier, Calif. The theme of the Summit was “The Future is in Good Hands”. In preparation of the implementation of the new voting experience, the VSAP Summit helped to refocus the VSAP program members ...
The VSAP Team Introduces the BMD at Easterseals
On March 27, 2018, Disability Rights California invited members of the VSAP and the RR/CC’s Outreach Teams to participate in a Peer Self-Advocacy Skills event at Easterseals, an adult day care center for adults with developmental disabilities in Norwalk, CA. The event was focused on how to nav...
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EnglishSuomiDeutschSvenska
Living in Uusikaupunki
Information on Uusikaupunki
Service point Passari
Day care and education
Upper secondary school
Social services and health care
Emergency duty
Social work for adults
Social emergency services
Services for children and families
Guidance clinic services
Mental health and substance abuse
School and student health care
Environmental health care
Swimming hall
Barbeque shelters
Hiking trails and ski tracks
Lean-tos
Outdoor gyms
Youth clubs:
There are two youth clubs in town:
Nuorisotalo Vantti
Kalannin nuokkari
There are currently two active youth clubs in the city of Uusikaupunki: youth club Vantti in the city centre and youth club Kalanti. Three youth workers Marjo Koskinen, Pia Rauha and Erika Raitanen work in the clubs: Marjo and Erika mainly at Vantti and Pia at Kalanti. At times they work with schools and they also cooperate with various other parties such as the congregation. When the youth clubs are closed, the workers plan and organize upcoming activities and camps. Young people’s wishes and ideas are always taken into account and youth workers often come up with activities rising from the young people’s own interests. One of the most important duty of youth workers is to be involved in the everyday lives of young people by listening to them and being supportive adults.
At the youth clubs, you can play pool, ping-pong, PlayStation, foozball and table hockey, airhockey, etc. You can also just come and chill out with a cup of coffee in good company. Youth clubs are aimed at young people under the age of 18.
Outreach youth work:
Outreach youth services are aimed at young adults under the age of 29. The goal is to help young people find the right services to help with education, work, and livelihood. Outreach youth workers will help you with difficult life situations, planning for your future, and discussing services that could help you. According to the Youth Act, educational establishments and the Defence Forces are obligated to provide outreach youth workers with the contact details of young people in need of support.
Linda Sarivaara and Titta Brunou do outreach youth work in the city of Uusikaupunki. Outreach youth work is founded on information, wishes and aims provided by young people themselves. It is voluntary and free of charge for young people. The work is based on mutual and confidential cooperation between young people and youth outreach workers, who are bound to secrecy.
Outreach youth workers can help you when:
your studies have been disrupted,
you are looking for an internship, work, or place to study,
you need a flat,
you need help with coping with everyday life,
you need support in your life and planning for your future,
you just want to talk.
Parents or other people in a young person’s life can also contact outreach youth workers if they feel that professional guidance is needed to get the young person’s life or future plans in order. The service is confidential, based on your needs, and free or charge!
The city of Uusikaupunki has an active youth council where young people can be involved in municipal decision making. The youth council organizes many activities, camps and events for young people. In the city of Uusikaupunki the youth council members are always elected for two terms at a time. Any resident aged between 13 and 20 from all educational establishments can run for the youth council.
There are many nice young people we work with living in Uusikaupunki. We gladly take suggestions and thoughts on how to develop our activities. So please don’t hesitate to contact anyone of us.
Katriina Rauman
Responsible person for youth services
katriina.rauman (a) uusikaupunki.fi
Pia Rauha
Youth worker
pia.rauha (a) uusikaupunki.fi
Marjo Koskinen
marjo.koskinen (a) uusikaupunki.fi
Erika Raitanen
erika.raitanen (a) uusikaupunki.fi
Linda Sarivaara
Youth outreach worker
linda.sarivaara (a) uusikaupunki.fi
Titta Brunou
titta.brunou (a) uusikaupunki.fi
City of Uusikaupunki
Välskärintie 2 C, PL 20, 23501
Tel: 02 845 151 opening hours 8 - 16.00
Email: firstname.lastname@uusikaupunki.fi
© 2017 City of Uusikaupunki
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Thai Government Bans Tropico 5: 'Threat to National Security'
1 POSTED: 4 Aug 2014 12:04
Kalypso Media doesn't intend to contest the ban.
Your Magnificence, I bring news from far-off lands! It would appear that certain aspects of your latest autobiog ... *ahem* fictionalized computer game history of our beloved Tropico has been causing concern in a place called Thailand. The Thai Culture Ministry has issued a ban! A BAN! Although the third and fourth portions of your autobi ... I do beg your pardon, Magnificence ... of the Tropico series were beloved in this far-off Thailand, Tropico 5 has been deemed to be detrimental to the country's security. Should I imprison someone, Magnificence?
According to a statement from New Era Thailand marketing manager Nonglak Sahavattanapong, Tropico 5 has fallen foul of the censor because "some part of its content might affect peace and order in the country." The current Thai government is a military junta, which seized control in May this year; it was the 19th coup in 82 years. Tropico, as devoted fans will recall, allows the player to control the media and crush all opposition as an iron-fisted dictator.
Even before the May coup, the Thai government was notoriously difficult to deal with, cracking down on anything it deemed immoral, pornographic or critical of the government. In 2012, it banned a Thai adaptation of Macbeth, claiming it could cause divisiveness among the people.
"Actually it's a good game with positive reviews," Nonglak said in a statement. "We've had licenses to distribute Tropico 3 and 4 before, but in the fifth installment, the story line has developed further and there might be some part of it that's not appropriate in the current situation."
According to Nonglak, Kalypso doesn't intend to contest the ban.
Th37thTrump3t
*sigh* It's shit like this that remind me that maybe it's not so bad living in America after all.
FalloutJack
Funny, I would've thought this was going to be how they react in Cuba over these things.
Avaholic03
Is it the threat of riots from their awful DLC policy that "might affect peace and order in the country"?
Yeah, I got nothing. The game obviously has a sense of humor about the whole situation, but apparently that was lost on the censors.
Canadamus Prime
What? Do they think people are going to use the game to plot to overthrow their government? ...kinda like they did?
kuolonen
Oh dear, and here I am visiting Thailand with Tropico 5 installed on me laptop. Any minute now the MP's will be breaking down my door!
Glaice
It's a damn video game, you dolts. What could it possibly do?
redisforever
FalloutJack:
I'm reasonably sure they can't run this game. I did some looking around a little while ago, looking at the state of video games in Cuba, and based on what I saw, it's somewhere around 2001 level of graphics. I don't think they can actually play this. I may be wrong though, but I'd still assume the majority of people in Cuba can't afford expensive computers.
BigTuk
Thai Government... if a game is all it takes to destabilize the social fabric and stability of your country... you have far, faaaaaar bigger problems.
10 POSTED: 4 Aug 2014 13:44
redisforever:
Ten years from now, they'll be able to run the right computers, and then go "HEY!".
NoAccountNeeded
Thailand's a joke anyway.
http://youtu.be/GCxFf8rOwpw?t=1m40s
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/29/thai-junta-comedian-john-oliver-royal-jibes
Not G. Ivingname
Which part of the game do you feel is a threat to "national security" compared to the others? This game just covers more eras of colonialism, starting with "second wave" 19th century industrial colonialism to the modern day. Are you really expecting people to learn rebel tactics from a game like this?
Thailand has a LOT of coups to take notes from, even yours.
Th37thTrump3t:
Yeah. But Americans only have the illusion of freedom. They give you just enough to think that you're free, when the reality is that you're being used much like a product. They feed you with ideas that hard work is a virtue and shit like that and then they take your productivity and give it to themselves and CEO's. Average worker productivity in the US has increased tenfold in the past couple of decades but almost all of the benefits have gone to the top 1%. Then the politicians take your tax dollars to fund wars and kill your loved ones and meanwhile they give tax cuts to the rich who also happen to benefit from those wars.
But the illusion is necessary. And it works. A lot of Americans know that it's an illusion. Maybe not consciously, but they feel it deep down. They depend on it just as much as the top 1%. They're addicted to it. It is their way of life. And others are blind. They still believe in the American Dream. It's one of the greatest lies ever told. And without it the whole system would collapse.
Someone Depressing
That reminds me...
How is Korea doing, what with all of that "Because of Seth Rogen, we're gonna invade you" business over that crappy film that's coming out. Or has it already? I don't know, is it a comedy.
Anyone know anything about that?
waj9876
What's this? I always thought Tropico was a racing game. What's this about it being about the media?
Seriously, I've been told it was a racing game, and I despise all racing games that don't start with "Mario" and end with "Kart." So I never really looked into it. This sounds really interesting.
Ultratwinkie
waj9876:
Don't bother. tropico 5 is an Aliens Colonial Marines level lemon. The devs lied through their teeth about what would be in the game, and its missing promised mechanics like tribes. Stick with tropico 3 or 4. The classic Tropicos are also very good.
They have 10 on disc DLCS, and 2 partially on disc expansions. Tropico 5 is missing crucial buildings like prisons as well. Ever since Tropico 3 Kalypso has been milking the series like no one's business, cutting and selling more and more content with each passing game. On top of this, Tropico 5 has a huge lack of buildings and huge gamebreaking bugs that the developer refuses to fix.
But that didn't stop them from releasing more DLC even though gamers can't play the game. A portion of the on disc DLC is 100% complete with voice acting and everything.
I had to create 2 threads on the controversy, and no one cared.
The game also lacks good music, unlike its previous installments, and lacks the racial identity of the last games. When you get to the modern era it turns into generic Mass Effect cities. Its missing its charm.
MASTACHIEFPWN
Censorship is like an award. It says your media is powerful enough to convey a message.
RazgrizRex
Guess the royal family looks up to North Korea a lot.
You can't criticise them now, soon you'll have to thank Jim for them.
... 19 coups in 82 years... that's roughly 1 every 4 years... are you sure that "coup" doesn't actually mean "election" in Thai?
The Plunk
It's funny because Polygon gave the game a low score for not shoehorning in a political message about why dictators are bad.
Rainbow_Dashtruction
canadamus_prime:
No, the theoretical rebels might actually call it overthrowing instead of Thursday like Thai calls its Military Coups. And that's MUCH worse!
RazgrizRex:
It actually directly translates to Thursday.
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Establishing a Fund
Current funds
Gifts Accepted
Why partner with the SVCF?
Agency Endowments
NPCB Program
NPCB FAQ
1. What is the SVCF
We are a means to help those who are looking to improve the charitable needs and initiatives in our community. We offer donors the advantage of leaving a legacy through long term giving.
2. What does SVCF Do?
Simply put, we connect donors with charitable needs.
3. Are there other Community Foundations in the area?
Yes. Community Foundations have been around since 1914. There are many Community Foundations in North Dakota that have a long rich history of philanthropy. The Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation is the only full service community foundation covering Barnes, Ransom and Griggs County.
4. How do you differ from private foundations or United Way?
We resemble organizations like the United Way in the fact we support local nonprofits. What makes us stand out is our ability to grow funds through an invested endowment, not just an annual funding drive.
We accept funds from a variety of donors including individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies. We are required to meet the public charity test- which means donations must come from multiple donors. Private Foundations are created by single donor and funds are managed by its own directors.
5. Why should I establish a fund at the SVCF versus giving directly to a Nonprofit?
Many charitable organizations don’t have the capacity to manage a qualified endowment fund. Gifts to the SVCF ensure:
Donors are have access to all tax benefits available including ND Tax Credit which is only eligible to a qualified endowment fund.
SVCF provides permanence, professional investment management and oversight role in making sure their wishes are met by the recipient organizations.
Some nonprofits prefer to have the SVCF handle the administrative duties of accepting and managing complex gifts.
Depending on your situation, it might be the right answer for you to give a gift directly to the organization. We are here to help with that conversation.
6. How are you funded?
Our funding source comes from unrestricted contributions from local individuals, families, businesses and foundation. We also cover operating expenses by our administrative fees. We offer two ways to support the Foundation:
Founders Society- Giving levels begin at $500 with a three year commitment.
Membership Program- An annual contribution of $150
7. What is the benefit to having a local Community Foundation serve Barnes, Ransom and Griggs County?
We help to cultivate local philanthropy and transfer the wealth to charitable organizations right here in the Sheyenne River Valley. It is our aim to have a clear understanding on the needs and initiatives of our community to best suit donors when making decision to make a contribution.
8. What is an endowment?
An endowment fund creates a permanent legacy to the community. A qualified endowment fund is defined as a permanent, irrevocable fund that may expend only the income generated by, or the increase in value of, the assets contributed to it. This allows the fund to remain in perpetuity, providing long term support to the organization it benefits. Creating a permanent fund at the Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation is a simple and flexible means of accomplishing your charitable objectives. Contributions to an Endowment Fund offers donors access to take advantage of the ND Legacy Tax Credit which can provide up to 40% tax credit on gifts over $5,000.
9. Are all funds at the SVCF endowed?
No. We offer non-endowed funds for those who prefer to see a greater percentage of their gift distributed annually.
10. What is the investment strategy of the SVCF?
We have a responsibility to our donors and the community to ensure every gift is invested with diligence and a long term view. In order to achieve this we make investments on your behalf based on sound strategies:
Asset allocation and balancing risk versus reward; we adjust the percentage of each asset in an investment portfolio.
Portfolio diversification- this technique mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio that will, on average, yield higher returns and pose lower risk than any individual investment.
11. What tax advantages would I be eligible for?
Please see our Tax Benefits page for more information on State and Federal Tax benefits.
12. How do I start a fund?
We offer several types of funds, and we’ll work with you and your professional advisor to choose one that will meet your personal, financial, and philanthropic goals. We require a $5,000 minimum to establish a fund with a minimum balance goal of $25,000 in five years. See our Establishing a Fund page for more information.
13. Can I give to an existing fund?
Yes. You can make additional contributions to any fund whenever you wish. Others can also make contributions to your fund, perhaps to mark a special occasion or support a special project that interests you.
14. What fees may I incur when establishing a fund?
While there is no fee to initiate a fund with us, we do charge an annual administrative fee to help offset the cost of operating the fund. Please call our office to learn more.
Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation
Andrea Nelson, Director
Valley City ND 58702
We are a critical partner in identifying needs and being a resource for solutions. We are able to have the pulse on emerging and ongoing needs which allows us to create a synergistic link between donors, nonprofits and the community.
Donors like Charlotte Van Houten Estate, Lilian Jacobson Estate and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph and Jane Winge, who gave to the Barnes Co Historical Society Endowment Fund have made a difference in their community and provided a gift that lasts forever. They are helping to meet the needs of the museum today and for years to come.
250 West Main - PO Box 724
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Your game may not be easily obtainable as I prepare for CanCon. Please email if you are not prepared to wait until early Feb to receive the game!
Panamax ($85.00)
You need to complete your registration to order. Please contact me if you have problems
This is currently in stock.
From Around 100 minutes For 2 to 4 players aged from 12 years
BoardGameGeek Number: 131287 InPrint (In Stock: 2)
Designer(s)
After one hundred years in service, the Panama Canal still is one of the most important and impressive engineering achievements in modern times.
Built in 1914, it held a prominent role in the deployment of military vessels during WWI and in the conflicts that have followed. Nowadays commercial usage is the core business of the Channel; its economic impact is profound and has not only developed the region, but in fact helped define shipping throughout the world.
In the wake of the Canal’s opening hull designs were influenced accordingly; ships fell into three categories, those that could travel through easily and in groups (Feeder class), massive ocean going ships too big to enter the Canal (ULCV or Ultra Large Container Vessels), and the new standard - designed to the maximum limits of the Panama Canal. These ships are called PANAMAX.
In Panamax each player manages a shipping company established in the Colón Free Trade Zone. Companies accept contracts from both US coasts, China and Europe and deliver cargo in order to make money, attract investment and pay dividends. At the same time the players accumulate their own stock investments and try to make as much money as possible in an effort to have the largest personal fortune and win the game.
Panamax features several original mechanisms that blend together; an original dice (action) selection table, pickup-and-deliver along a single bi-directional route, a chain reaction movement system – “pushing” ships to make room throughout the Canal and a level of player interaction that is part self-interest, part mutual advantage and the freedom to choose how you play.
On their turn, players remove a die from the Action table to select Contracts and Load Cargo or Move ships until the pool of dice is emptied ending the Round. Over the course of three rounds these actions are blended during the turn to create a logistics network which each player uses to ship their cargo, minimize transportation fees and increase the net worth of their Company. Each Company has a limited amount of Stock that the players can purchase in exchange for investing – receiving a dividend each round. The questions for the players will be which companies are likely to yield higher dividends?
There's more to explore and several ways to win, but we ask that you join us at the table and celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Panama Canal with a session of Panamax!
(c)Unhalfbricking Games 2003-2020
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Tag Archives: Johnny Depp
Music Video Of The Day: God’s Gonna Cut You Down (2006, dir by Tony Kaye)
Posted on April 21, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman
This is a case where I like the song more than the music video. This video was actually filmed three years after Johnny Cash’s death. As far as “official” music videos are concerned, I always feel like a musician should have some sort of say into how their music is visually interpreted. Obviously, Johnny Cash wasn’t around to have anything to say about the video for God’s Gonna Cut You Down.
Since Cash wasn’t available, director Tony Kaye filled the video with cameos from other actors and musicians, a few of whom (though not many) were previous Cash collaborators. Among the celebs who make an appearance in this video: David Allan Coe, Patricia Arquette, Travis Barker, Peter Blake, Bono, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Depp, the Dixie Chicks, Flea, Billy Gibbons, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Hopper, Terrence Howard, Jay-Z, Mick Jones, Kid Rock, Anthony Kiedis, Kris Kristofferson, Amy Lee, Adam Levine, Shelby Lynne, Chris Martin, Kate Moss, Graham Nash, Busy Philipps, Iggy Pop, Lisa Marie Presley, Q-Tip, Corinne Bailey Rae, Keith Richards, Chris Rock, Rick Rubin, Patti Smith, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Brian Wilson, and Owen Wilson. Some of the celebs — like Dennis Hopper and Kris Kristofferson — seem like they naturally belong there. Others seem so out-of-place that you’ll want to throw something. You know how that works,
God’s Gonna Cut You Down is a traditional folk song. I’ve heard countless versions of it. I prefer Cash’s version to the more traditional gospel arrangement but, then again, I tend to find gospel music to be dull in general. Cash’s arrangement brought new life to an old song.
Posted in Music, Music Review, music video | Tagged Adam Levine, Amy Lee, Anthony Kiedis, Billy Gibbons, Bono, Brian Wilson, Busy Philipps, Chris Martin, Chris Rock, Corinne Bailey Rae, David Allan Coe, Dennis Hopper, Flea, Graham Nash, Iggy Pop, Jay-Z, Johnny Depp, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Kate Moss, Keith Richards, Kid Rock, Kris Kristofferson, Lisa Marie Bowman, Lisa Marie Presley, Mick Jones, Music, music video, music video of the day, Owen Wilson, Patricia Arquette, Patti Smith, Peter Blake, Q-Tip, review, Rick Rubin, Sharon Stone, Shelby Lynne, Sheryl Crow, song, Terrence Howard, the Dixie Chicks, Travis Barker, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Harrelson | 1 Comment
Here’s The Trailer For The Professor!
Johnny Depp’s is Richard, a college professor who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
During his final days….
….HE SOLVES CRIMES!
No, not really. instead, it looks like he decides to live life to his fullest and do all the wild stuff that he put off doing earlier in his life. I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the whole “being diagnosed with cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me” genre of films. There’s been a few good ones but, far too often, they descend into clichés of seizing the day and all that stuff.
(One thing that you’ll notice about these films is that most of them are about people who actually have enough money that they can afford to seize the day while also dealing with a terminal illness.)
That said, Johnny Depp can be a very good actor when he wants to be so I’ll be curious to see if this is one of those times. The Professor will be released on May 17th.
Posted in Film | Tagged coming attraction, Film, Johnny Depp, Lisa Marie Bowman, movie, preview, teaser, The Professor, trailer | 1 Comment
Horror Movie Review: A Nightmare On Elm Street (dir by Wes Craven)
Posted on October 13, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman
Damn, this is a scary movie.
That may seem like an obvious point to make when talking about the original A Nightmare On Elm Street but it’s still one that needs to be made. I always seem to forget just how scary the original is. I mean, there’s been so many sequels. And there was that kind of silly movie where Freddy Krueger fought Jason Vooerhees. And then there was the fairly forgettable reboot. Freddy Krueger is something of a cultural icon. Even people who have never watched any of the movies knows who Freddy Krueger is. Freddy has become so well-known for his quips and his puns and his bad jokes that it’s easy to forget that the reason he put razors on his gloves was so he could kill children.
Despite the fact that Jackie Earle Haley took over the role in the reboot, Freddy Krueger will always be associated with the actor who first played him, Robert Englund. What’s interesting is that, whenever you watch or read an interview with Englund, he comes across as being literally the nicest guy in the world. (His autobiography is one of the most cheerful Hollywood memoirs that I’ve ever read.) Before he was cast as Freddy, Englund was a fairly busy character actor. It’s always a little odd when he pops up in some old movie on TCM because, inevitably, he’s always seems to be playing a nice and often kinda shy guy. Supposedly, when Englund auditioned for the role of Freddy, he darkened his lower eyelids with cigarette ash and he purposefully said very little while meeting with director Wes Craven. Craven, who based Freddy Krueger on a childhood bully, was impressed enough to cast this very likable actor as one of the most evil killers in the history of horror cinema.
And make no mistake about it. In the first film, Freddy Krueger is terrifying. He’s not the joker that he would become in later installments of the franchise. When he does laugh, it’s because he’s taunting his latest victim. This Freddy isn’t quite as quick-witted as the Freddy who showed up in Dream Warriors and other films. This Freddy keeps things simple, popping up in your nightmares, chasing you, and, once he catches you, killing you. It’s not just his glove and his burned faced that makes Freddy terrifying in this film. It’s how determined and relentless he is. He’s not going to stop until he catches you and, seeing as how he’s already dead, there’s really not much you can do to slow him down. Englund plays Freddy as being the ultimate bully. The only joy he gets is from tormenting the rest of us. It’s a testament to the strength of Englund’s performance that memories of Freddy dominate our thoughts when it comes to A Nightmare of Elm Street, despite the fact that Freddy is only onscreen for seven minutes.
It’s an effective film, not just because of the nightmare scenes but also because of the scenes that take place in the waking world. The majority of the film follows Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), Glen (Johnny Depp), Tina (Amanda Wyss), and Rod (Jsu Garcia, who is credited as Nick Corri in this film) as they try not to die. And let’s be honest. None of these characters are particularly deep. Rod’s the bad boy. Tina’s the rebellious Catholic. Glen’s the nice guy. Nancy’s the good girl. They’re archetypes that should be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a slasher film. And yet, you really do care about them, especially Nancy and Glen. (Admittedly, everyone that I’ve ever talked to about this film seems to care about Rod the least.) Langenkamp, Depp, and Wyss all give such likable performances that you really do find yourself worrying about what will happen to them when and if they fall asleep.
I rewatched A Nightmare on Elm Street last night and I was shocked to discover that, even though I knew what was coming, the movie still scared me. The sight of Freddy straining against the wall over Nancy’s head was still unbelievably creepy. The gory scene where Freddy attacks Tina still frightened me, as did the famous geyser of blood scene. Even the much-parodied scene where Freddy’s glove rises up between Nancy’s legs while she sleeps in the bathtub still made me shudder.
It’s easy to take for granted just how good and scary the original Nightmare on Elm Street actually is. For horror fans, it’s a film that deserves to be watched this October season. Just don’t fall asleep afterwards.
Posted in Film, Film Review, Horror | Tagged A Nightmare on Elm Street, Amanda Wyss, Film, Heather Langenkamp, Horror, Horrorthon, John Saxon, Johnny Depp, Jsu Garcia, Lin Shaye, Lisa Marie Bowman, movie, Nick Corri, review, Robert Englund, Ronee Blakley, Wes Craven | 3 Comments
Music Video of the Day: I’ll Bite Your Face Off by Alice Cooper (2011, directed by ????)
Posted on October 1, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland
To quote Alice Cooper himself:
“This is my tip-of-the-hat to early Rolling Stones. Like in 1964/65 when their songs were very Chuck Berry orientated. They just feel so good, in the pocket. This song was begging to be in the live show. We’ve done it in four different continents now and no one had ever heard it. By the second chorus, the whole audience is singing ‘I’ll Bite Your Face Off.’ It’s the perfect little 3 minute hit single.”
I’ll Bite Your Face Off was the first single to be released off Welcome 2 My Nightmare, Alice Cooper’s 26th studio album and a follow-up to Cooper’s 1975 album, Welcome To My Nightmare. Each song represents a different aspect of a bad dream. In I’ll Bite Your Face Off, Alice dreams about being introduced to the devil.
The video was filmed at several different live venues. One of these performances was at the 100 Club in London, where actor Johnny Depp joined the band on guitar.
Posted in Horror, Music, Music Review, music video | Tagged Alice Cooper, Halloween, Horrorthon, I'll Bite Your Face Off, Johnny Depp, music video | 2 Comments
Insomnia File #35: Donnie Brasco (dir by Mike Newell)
Posted on June 5, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman
What’s an Insomnia File? You know how some times you just can’t get any sleep and, at about three in the morning, you’ll find yourself watching whatever you can find on cable? This feature is all about those insomnia-inspired discoveries!
Last night, if you happened to be awake at 2:30 in the morning, you could have turned over to Starz and watched the 1997 film, Donnie Brasco.
Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero (Al Pacino) has spent his entire life as a loyal Mafia soldier. It’s the only life that he knows and he can tell you some stories. He remembers the early days, back when men like Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky were in charge of things. Lefty is proud to say that, over the years, he’s successfully carried out over 20 hits. Lefty is lucky enough to be an associate of an up-and-comer nicknamed Sonny Black (Michael Madsen). While Sonny was in prison, Lefty kept an eye on Sonny’s family. Lefty feels that Sonny owes him. Whether Sonny feels the same way isn’t always quite clear.
Lefty’s problem is that everyone loves him but few people respect him. The aging Lefty is viewed as being a relic and, at most, they merely tolerate his constant bragging. Lefty may fantasize about the big bosses knowing who he is but, when he tries to greet one of them at a party, it becomes clear that he doesn’t have the slightest idea who Lefty is. Lefty spends his time worrying that he’s dying and dreaming of one last opportunity to make a name for himself.
In fact, perhaps the only really good thing that Lefty has going for him is his friendship with Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp). Donnie is a jewel thief, a tough and volatile orphan who Lefty introduces to Sonny. Sonny is immediately impressed with Donnie. In fact, Sonny thinks so highly of Donnie that he assigns Donnie to look over his operations in Florida. Lefty can only watch as his protegé’s star starts to eclipse his own. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As Lefty explains it, Donnie’s success is also Lefty’s success because Lefty is the one who brought Donnie into the crew. Of course, if Donnie ever fails, the failure will be on Lefty as well.
As for Donnie … well, his name isn’t actually Donnie. His real name is Joe Pistone and he’s a FBI agent. When he first agreed to work undercover, he was told that the assignment would only last for a few months. Instead, the months turn into years and, piece by piece, Joe vanishes as he transforms into Donnie. The formerly soft-spoken college graduate is soon beating up waiters and chopping up bodies in basements. His wife (Anne Heche) fears that her husband may no longer exist. “I am not becoming like them,” Joe/Donnie says at one point, “I am them.”
Donnie Brasco is hardly the first film to examine life in the Mafia. It’s not even the first movie about an undercover FBI agent who manages to worm his way into the mob’s hierarchy. What sets Donnie Brasco apart are the performances of Pacino, Depp, Heche, Madsen, and, as a talkative mob associate, Bruno Kirby. As played by Pacino, Lefty may be a hardened killer but he’s also just a working class guy who wishes that his boss would just show him a little appreciation. Lefty may be capable of casually shooting a guy in the back of the head but, at the same time, there’s something heartbreakingly sad about the sight of him tearing up a greeting card that he hoped to personally deliver to the big boss. As for Johnny Depp, he gives a surprisingly restrained performance, rarely raising his voice except when he’s yelling at his family. Donnie may appear outwardly calm but the stress of losing his identity is always present in his eyes.
Interestingly, for a mob movie, there’s little violence to be found in Donnie Brasco. It’s not until 90 minutes in that we get the expected scene of rival mobsters getting ambushed and gunned down. Donnie Brasco isn’t about violence. Instead, the film’s heart is to be found in the story of Lefty and Donnie’s odd friendship. Instead of being about who is going to kill who, this film is about Lefty’s desire to be something more than he is and Joe’s struggle to remember who he used to be before he became Donnie. It’s a touching and effective gangster film and one to keep an eye out for.
Previous Insomnia Files:
Story of Mankind
Love Is A Gun
Nina Takes A Lover
Frogs For Snakes
From The Hip
Born Killers
Summer Catch
Spring Broke
The Suburbans
Only The Strong
Casual Sex?
Insomina
Death Do Us Part
The Winning Season
Day of the Animals
Still of The Night
Smooth Talk
The Minus Man
Posted in Film, Film Review, Insomnia File | Tagged Al Pacino, Anne Heche, Brian Tarantina, Bruno Kirby, Donnie Brasco, Film, Gerry Becker, Insomnia File, James Russo, Johnny Depp, Lisa Marie Bowman, Michael Madsen, Mike Newell, movie, review, Robert Miano, Rocco Sisto, Zeljko Ivanek | 11 Comments
The First Trailer For Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald Reveals Hogwarts In The 1920s!
Posted on March 13, 2018 by Dazzling Erin
Earlier today, the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald dropped. The trailer features sights that will warm the heart of any Harry Potter fan, including Hogwarts in the 1920s and Jude Law inspiring the younger wizards.
This is the 2nd film in the 5-part Fantastic Beasts series so there will undoubtedly be many more years to come of magic, mystery, and nonstop Dumbledore controversy.
Posted in Film | Tagged Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindenwald, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, trailer | Leave a comment
Horror Film Review: From Hell (dir by The Hughes Brothers)
Who was Jack the Ripper?
That’s a question that people have been asking for 129 years. Arguably the world’s first famous serial killer, Jack the Ripper killed at least five prostitutes in the Whitechapel section of London. Some claim that he killed as many as twenty. He may have also written several taunting letters to the police. Again, some say that the letters are authentic and some say that they were hoaxes. Hell, there’s even some people who say that Jack the Ripper himself is a myth and the five murders attributed to him were actually five unconnected crimes. It was speculated that Jack the Ripper was a butcher, a surgeon, or maybe a midwife. Just as suddenly as the murders began, they ended. The London police claimed that he had committed suicide by jumping into the Thames. Few people believed them then and even less now.
The reason that there is so much uncertainty is because Jack the Ripper was never caught. He was never identified. There were stories of confessions, though many of them came from the mentally infirm or they were heard by someone who was a friend of someone who claimed to be the Butcher of Whitechapel. At one point, there was even a claim that Jack’s diary had been found.
As a horror fan, a true crime fanatic, and a lover of history, I’ve read quite a few theories about who Jack the Ripper was. Nearly every prominent (or, at the very least, remembered) Victorian has been accused of having been Jack the Ripper. Oscar Wilde has been accused of hiding a confession in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Various members of the Royal Family have been fingered as the culprit. Even Lewis Carroll could not escape accusation. The true crime author Patricia Cornwell wrote an entire book where she (wrongly) accused the painter Walter Sickert. Cornwell’s case could basically be summed up as follows: “Walter Sicket’s paintings were weird. Walter Sickert must be Jack the Ripper.” Apparently, she managed to destroy one of Sickert’s paintings while looking for clues.
The truth of the matter is that Jack the Ripper was probably some guy who no one has ever heard of, most probably one of the unknown men who lived and worked in the shadows of Whitechapel. For all the talk of Jack being a doctor, it can be argued that the surgical precision of his murders has been overstated. He didn’t get away with murder because he was particularly clever. Instead, he got away with it because, in 1888, even fingerprinting was considered to be a radical science.
But, honestly, that’s not very intriguing. For those of us who have researched the case, it’s far more interesting to speculate that Jack the Ripper was either a famous person or that the murders were all the result of a huge conspiracy.
That’s certainly the appeal of From Hell, the 2001 film from The Hughes Brothers. Making the same basic case as Bob Clark’s Murder By Decree, From Hell argues that the Jack the Ripper murders were the result of a royal conspiracy. In reality, that theory has been discredited but it certainly is the most cinematic of all the possibilities.
And, speaking of cinematic, it must be said that From Hell is very stylish movie. Though the title comes from one of Jack the Ripper’s letters, From Hell also could just as easily be used to describe the film’s vision of Whitechapel. Whitechapel is full of shadows and secrets and the blood flows freely. If Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) isn’t killed by Jack the Ripper, it’s just as likely she’ll be killed by one of her clients. Even as the murders are committed, life and business in Whitechapel goes on. What other choice is there? It’s either risk being killed or starve.
It falls to Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp) to solve the murders. The real-life Abberline was an almost legendary detective who lived for decades after the final Jack the Ripper murder. The movie’s Abberline is an opium addict who always seems to be on the verge of a breakdown. When he and Mary Kelly fall in love, you’re not really sure if it’s something to be happy about. Abberline seems just as likely to go crazy as everyone else.
From Hell is an uneven and somewhat overlong movie but I like it. Heather Graham and Johnny Depp give somewhat odd performances but the oddness fits right in with the Hughes Brothers’s vision of a world that’s been turned permanently upside down. It’s a movie that’s full of atmosphere and the story is intriguing even if it’s never exactly convincing. For obvious reasons, I can’t reveal who plays Jack the Ripper but I will say that he gives a very good performance. When he says that, “One day, men will look back and say that I gave birth to the 20th century,” you believe him.
Posted in Film, Film Review, Horror | Tagged Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes, Annabelle Apsion, David Schofield, Estelle Skornik, Film, From Hell, Heather Graham, Horror, Horrorthon, Ian Holm, Ian McNeice, Ian Richardson, Jack the Ripper, Jason Flemyng, Joanna Page, Johnny Depp, Kartin Cartlidge, Lesley Sharp, Lisa Marie Bowman, movie, Paul Rhys, review, Robbie Coltrane, Samantha Spiro, Sophia Myles, Susan Lynch, The Hughes Brothers, Vincent Franklin | 2 Comments
Alexandre Rothier
Sci-Fi Review – Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (dir. by George Lucas)
Horror Review: Silent Hill 2
Review: Sunless Sea
Horror Review: The Evil Within
Horror Review: Yahtzee Croshaw’s Chzo Mythos Part 2 – 7 Days a Skeptic
Horror Review: Yahtzee Croshaw’s Chzo Mythos Part 1 – 5 Days a Stranger
Horror Review: The Walking Dead Season Two
Review: The Wolf Among Us
casewright
The Perfection, Review By Case Wright
Titans, S2 Ep 2&3, “Rose” “Ghosts” Review by Case Wright
Halloween 2018, Review by Case Wright
Night of the Slasher, Review by Case Wright
The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds, Review by Case Wright
The Last Halloween, Short Film Review, by Case Wright
The Plague- Short on Alter -Youtube, Review Case Wright
Suspect, Short Film, Review (Dir Dean Loxton)
Creepshow, S1 Ep5, “Night of the Paw” and “Times is Tough in Musky Holler”, Review
cornmargarine
Visual Novel Review: Steins;Gate
Dazzling Erin
Artwork of the Day: They Came To Rob Las Vegas (Artist Unknown)
Artwork of the Day: The Million Eyes of Su Muru (Artist Unknown)
Artwork of the Day: Martin Luther King, Jr. (by Charles Moore)
Artwork of the Day: The Smiling Rebel (by James Meese)
Artwork of the Day: Basement Gang (Artist Unknown)
Artwork of the Day: Carnival Girl (Artist Unknown)
Artwork of the Day: Complete Detective (Artist Unknown)
The Covers of Jungle Stories
Artwork of the Day: The Hucksters (by David Attie)
Artwork of the Day: Diana (Artist Unknown)
Doc Bowman
Happy 2020 From All The Writers (and the Cat) at the Shattered Lens!
And now, a word from Doc Bowman concerning Halloween….
Happy Friday the 13th From The Shattered Lens!
4 Shots From 4 Films: The Incredible Shrinking Man, Sleepwalkers, Team America: World Police, Captain Marvel
To Everyone Up North, The Cat Wishes You A Happy Canada Day!
Happy April Fools Day From The Shattered Lens!
From All The Humans and the Cat at the Shattered Lens, Happy Oscar Sunday!
Happy Valentine’s Day From The Shattered Lens!
Happy 2019 From All The Writers (and the cat) at Through the Shattered Lens!
Thanksgiving Greetings From The Shattered Lens!
gary loggins
Halloween Havoc!: DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (Thunderbird International 1966)
Halloween Havoc!: Peter Cushing in TWINS OF EVIL (Universal/Hammer 1971)
Halloween Havoc!: ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Paramount 1932)
Big Bad Bob: Robert Mitchum in MAN WITH THE GUN (United Artists 1955)
RIP Sid Haig: A Career Retrospective
Farewell, Captain Spaulding
Built For Speed: Richard Pryor in GREASED LIGHTNING (Warner Brothers 1977)
Cleaning Out the DVR #24: Crime Does Not Pay!
4 Shots From 4 Films: Happy Birthday Fay Wray!
Drive-In Saturday Night #5: MALIBU BEACH (Crown-International 1978) & VAN NUYS BOULEVARD (Crown-International 1979)
Jedadiah Leland
Music Video Of The Day: The Lady Don’t Mind by Talking Heads (1986, directed by Jim Jarmusch)
When Justice Fails (1999, directed by Allan A. Goldstein)
Goin’ South (1978, directed by Jack Nicholson)
Hijack! (1973, directed by Leonard Horn)
4 Shots From 4 Films: Happy Birthday, Richard Lester!
Music Video of the Day: I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On by Robert Palmer (1986, directed by Terence Donovan)
In The Line Of Duty: Ambush In Waco (1993, directed by Dick Lowry)
A Scene That I Love: “The Sword Has Been Drawn” from John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981)
Music Video Of The Day: Where The Streets Have No Name by U2 (1987, directed by Meiert Avis)
Cinemax Friday: Jailbait (1993, directed by Rafal Zielinski)
Valerie Troutman
Val’s Mini-Post: Why The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1955, dir. Herbert B. Swope Jr.) Is On My Worst List Of 2019
25 Best, Worst, and Gems I Saw In 2019
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Sophie Minds The Store
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Lisa Makes The Headlines
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Noel Buys A Suit
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Irene Moves In
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Cookie Goes To Hospital
Degrassi: The Kids Of Degrassi Street — Ida Makes A Movie
Update On Music Video of the Day Posts (Rock Me Tonite by Billy Squier)
leonth3duke
‘Annihilation’ Review (dir. Alex Garland)
‘Ex Machina’ Review (dir. Alex Garland)
‘It Follows’ Review (dir. David Robert Mitchell)
‘Two Days, One Night’ Review (dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
Trailer: ‘Knight of Cups’ (dir. Terrence Malick)
Quick Review: ‘The Babadook’ (dir. Jennifer Kent)
‘Interstellar’ Review (dir. Christopher Nolan)
Duke Tries A Halloween Marathon…Part Three
Duke Tries A Halloween Marathon…Part Two.
Duke Tries A Halloween Marathon…Part One.
Lisa Marie Bowman
Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: Tender Mercies (dir by Bruce Beresford)
Music Video Of The Day: Psych Ward by Okay Kaya (2020, dir by Kaya Wilkins & Adinah Dancyger)
Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: Alibi (dir by Roland West)
7 Films That David Lynch Turned Down
4 Shots From 4 Films: Special David Lynch Edition
Scenes That I Love: The Final Scene of Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita
Music Video Of The Day: Everything Has Changed by Best Coast (2020, dir by Ryan Baxley)
Lisa’s Week In Review: 1/13/20 — 1/19/20
The SAG Honors Parasite and All The Usuals.
Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: The Wolf of Wall Street (dir by Martin Scorsese)
Leonard Wilson
Sony surprises with the Morbius Teaser trailer.
Quick Review: Underwater (Dir. by William Eubank)
Quick Review: Ratatouille (dir. by Brad Bird)
The New Mutants has a new date and trailer.
The 2nd Top Gun: Maverick Trailer
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jon M. Chu make some magic in the In the Heights trailer
There’s something strange going on in the Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trailer
In Memoriam: René Auberjonois (1940-2019)
Ryan Reynolds improves his game in the Free Guy Trailer
James Bond returns in the No Time to Die Trailer
necromoonyeti
My Top 20 Albums of 2019
My Top 15 Metal Albums of 2015
A special Christmas Eve sing-along with your friend, necromoonyeti!
BlizzCon 2015: World of Warcraft: Legion
October Music Series: Dissection – Where Dead Angels Lie
October Music Series: Jason Hayes – Darkmoon Faire Merry-Go-Round
October Music Series: Векша – Царство снега
pantsukudasai56
Song of the Day: That’s My Job (by Conway Twitty)
Anime You Should Be Watching: Zombie Land Saga
Anime You Should Be Watching: Asobi Asobase
Anime you should be watching: Hinamatsuri
Congrats to the Super Bowl Champion LI New England Patriots!
Anime You Should Be Watching: Gate
Anime of the Year:2016
Convention Report: Kawaii Kon 2016
A Tugboat Christmas
Anime You Should Be Watching: Gakkou Gurashi (School Live)
Semtex Skittle
Sailor Moon Crystal – Act 7 – Mamoru Chiba!
Sailor Moon Crystal – Act 6 – Tuxedo Mask!
A Glorious Fantasy: Finally, a Thief!
Sailor Moon Crystal – Act 5 – Makoto – Sailor Jupiter!
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Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
A Glorious Fantasy: The Original Klingon
Sailor Moon Crystal: Act 3 – Rei – Sailor Mars!
A Glorious Fantasy: Hyper-Realism and Time Travel
Maximum Regression: DotP 2015
The Dwelling: Movie preview, review and trailer
The Tokoloshe: Movie Preview, Review and Trailer
Empathy Inc. Movie preview, review and trailer
Clownado: Movie preview, review and trailer.
This Way Up: TV series review
Dolls: Movie Preview and Review
AD/AF Thoughts of mine on the current situation
My Pet Dinosaur: Movie Preview, Review and Trailer
TV Series Review: Ghoul
Update: The Lullaby movie theatrical release cities
Ryan C. (trashfilmguru)
A Tetsunori Tawaraya Double-Bill : “Dimensional Flats”
A Tetsunori Tawaraya Double-Bill : “Crystal Bone Drive”
“Opal Fruit” Is More Than A Little Delicious
We Left Avant-Garde In The Dust A Long Time Ago : Diana Chu’s “Rodin Du Jour”
Make Time For “Making Time”
“Keeping Score” Of Jesse Reklaw’s Life
“Constantly” In Awe Of GG
A Book With Few “Faults”
Up “Snake Creek” — But With A Very Steady Paddle
Get A Life — A “Ditch Life”
Viktor VonGlum
My (extremely late) Black Panther Review
Last Man review
Fantastic Four: 2015
Terra Battle: Tactical Fantasy
Alex Wilder (from the Runaways) remix
Tactical Fantasy Concept by Eliot Min
Naruto: An unexpected gem for Scifi fans
Cable Remix Part 2: Chibi Inferno Nate
Nate Summers Remix Idea
Arleigh
Horror Review: Glyceride by Junji Ito
Horror Artist Profile: Junji Ito
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker D23 First Look
Song of the Day: Tao of the Machine (by the Roots and BT)
Trailer: Game of Thrones Season 8
Hottie of the Day: Bae Joo-hyun
4 Shots From 4 Films: Horror Remakes (Evil Dead, Maniac, The Fly, The Thing)
Song of the Day: Make Me Love You (by Taeyeon)
Song of the Day: Candy (by Red Velvet)
Song of the Day: I Will Show You (by Ailee)
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The Producers Guild of America Honors 1917
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Cracked Rear Viewer
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Enough Talk, More Writing. The Random, Dumb Adventures of an Irish Guy In L.A.
Ferguson Ink
Geek Aaron Presents
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Horror Critic
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Journeys in Classic Fim
Kings of the New World
Lisa Marie Bowman's Station on Blip.FM
Lisa Marie's Dream Journal
Lisa Marie's Song of the Day
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Nintendo Legend
Off The Rez
On This Day In Art History
Paper and Ink
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Prime Time Preppie: The College Career of Zack Morris
Random Thoughts of A Cereal Kind
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Ryan C's Four Color Apocalypse
saturday night screening
slices of bizarro pie
Snarkalecs
Stabs In The Dark
Storycrafter
SyFy Designs
The 160 "Pretty Faces" Challenge
The Drive-In Mob
The Ferguson Theater
The Grindhouse Cinema Database
The Stay Supple Daily
The Summer of Morris
The Teresa Jusino Experience
Through the Shattered Lens Facebook Page
Through the Shattered Lens Presents The Oscars
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Trash Film Guru
Tricks121's YouTube Channel
Tullaryx's last.fm
What Is Lisa Marie Watching Tonight?
Where the Nightbirds Settle
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