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Write for Witout
Danna Young
Deets on the ComedySportz "Battle of the Sexes" from Refs Kristin Finger and Noah Herman
This Saturday's ComedySportz shows are being billed as a "Battle of the Sexes." That's right, it's guys vs. gals! The 7:30 show will feature the refereeing talents of Kristin Finger; voice talents of Noah Herman; and dudes Langston Darby, Todd Rodenhiser and Sean Curran against ladies Sue Taney, Danna Young and Alli Soowal. The 10pm show will have Noah back, this time as the ref; Alli Soowal back to lend some sweet vox; boyz from Round 1 Sean and Todd will return as well, this time with Kevin Regan; and the girlz for Round 2 will be Sue and Danna once again, with Kristin switching out of her ref jersey to play in with them.
As the level-headed officials for the first and second matches, respectively, we knew we could count on Kristin and Noah to answer a few questions about what fans can expect on Saturday—without TOO much smack-talk. (Although, honestly, we were kinda trying to get some going. Fight! Fight! Fight!)
WitOut: Do you know which games you'll be playing? Are there any games in the regular ComedySportz rotation that you feel could be particularly suited towards highlighting the strengths of either team?
KF: As ref for the 7:30 show, I'd love to challenge them to the game of "Story," but perhaps with an added twist! And the classic, "I kissed a blank." These games shall test their wits equally!
NH: You can be sure that we're going to play some of our debate style or elimination games, such as "Objection" or "Story. "If you were hoping for a Girls vs. Boys "Elimination Rap Battle," your wish just might come true.
WO: What do you think makes either gender/team better than the other when it comes to comedy—or just life in general? Hyperbole encouraged.
KF: I bet you want me to answer this with a whole lot of "men suck" attitude, well that's not gonna happen! They are an equal opponent, but to quote the amazing Tina Fey, "Know what? Bitches get stuff done."
NH: I'm not going anywhere near "what makes your gender better than the other when it comes to comedy?" But in terms of how the gender battle will affect this Saturday's ComedySportz match, in my experience women have to pee much more than men. Will that affect their ability to play on Saturday? Who knows!
WO: Is there anything riding on this match? E.g. will the losing team have to wash the other team's ComedySportz jerseys for the next month, or anything like that?
KF: I'll put it on the table right now, when the ladies take the win, the boys must bow to us Wayne's World style and say, "we're not worthy, we're not worthy, we're scum..." in front of the entire audience!
NH: Is there anything riding on this match? Nothing but pride and back rubs!
You can see ComedySportz shows this and every Saturday at 7:30pm and 10pm at The Playground at The Adrienne (2030 Sansom Street). Tickets are $17 for adults; $14 for students.
by Alison Zeidman
"I'm So Excited about This Cast" - Interview with Matt Nelson of Adrift (Performing at ComedySportz this Friday)
On the last Friday of every month, ComedySportz is bringing in original outside acts to perform ahead of their 10pm adults-only Blue Show. This month, ComedySportz Presents features Adrift, a nationally-touring show created by Philadelphia Improv Festival producer Matt Nelson. Matt performs with a rotating cast, improvising scenes that take place over several days of being stranded together on a life raft. In this edition, Adrift will be kept afloat by Eoin O’ Shea, Todd Rodenhiser, Sue Taney, Daryll Charles, Danna Young and Mary Carpenter of ComedySportz.
Adrift at at NCCAF. Photo by Kevin Thom.
WitOut: Can you give a brief overview of the origins of Adrift?
Matt Nelson: Adrift was created four years ago for the Philadelphia Improv Festival. I'd just ended several-year runs with a couple groups, and wanted to still do a longform set in my own festival. I figured I'd rope in a bunch of amazing people that my co-producers couldn't possibly say no to. I made a short list, and that first show included locals Kristen Schier and Kelly Vrooman, as well as Brian O'Connell from iO West and Steve Kleinedler (at that time, still a Bostonian). I looked at the list and thought to myself, "Hey these people would be amazing to be shipwrecked with." And that's when the show concept was born. It was so much fun that I decided to keep at it. It became my own personal all-star show, giving me a chance to work with incredibly talented people I might otherwise never get to play with. Joe Bill, Jeff Griggs, Jill Bernard, Dave Sawyer, Topher Bellavia, Tara DeFrancisco, Rachel Klein—people who make your comedy heart swoon. After I locked down Emo Philips for my NCCAF show two years ago, I became pretty fearless about asking anyone whose work I really admire.
WO: What brought Adrift to ComedySportz?
MN: ComedySportz actually approached me to do the show. Adrift is a show that doesn't play all the time, and with my format their cast can get really involved. Between the two, I think it's a nice fit for their Final Fridays format, and I suppose they must have thought the same. I've had quite a few of their cast members in various rafts, and they've always been a blast to play with... so it was pretty much a "yes" from the word go. Then I was told I could pick from anyone in the cast, and it was like being a kid in a candy store. I decided to opt for mostly new players—because aside from doing a few local gigs and festivals, Adrift is a road show, and I only bring 1-2 Philly improvisers with me to those.
WO: You have some really amazing ComedySportz players in the cast for this show. What are some skills they bring, either as individuals or a group, that you're looking forward to having for this performance?
MN: I'm so excited about this cast. Overall, ComedySportz players bring a style of play that comes only from a strong connection built over time doing weekly shows. It's a family—a very generous, playful family with tons of heart. Let me see if I can highlight a few things though...
Eoin O'shea: Eoin approaches things with a sort of tempered chaos, bubbling just under the surface. No matter how methodical a scene is, there's always something dangerous and exciting potentially lurking around the next corner.
Todd Rodenhiser: Todd is a menagerie of big, bold, beautiful characters. They're born from a whole other plane of existence, and it's always thrilling when they come out to play.
Danna Young: Danna is a quirky, vibrant player than can play the duality of what you think is a light character, only to surprise you with strong choices and emotional reactions that can turn on a dime.
Darryl Charles: Darryl understands comedy like few others I know. The way he processes every little gift, it's like he took an evolutionary step somewhere— always working out the best possible arcs for relationships, but always in the flash of a moment.
Sue Taney: Sue is a powerhouse player who just exhales hilarity. She's like one of those storage saver bags where they shrink down all the fluffy stuff —she could take three minutes of silence and not have a moment of dead air.
Mary Carpenter: Mary is the crown jewel of Philly comedy, and I wish more comedians saw her more often. I don't think I could run out of things to say. I have never, and I genuinely mean never, seen anyone on stage as generous as her. She can communicate so effectively with her face alone, it's scary. If a show were a knife fight, you'd never have to check your six, because Mary's got your back without fail.
Catch Adrift at ComedySportz (2030 Sansom Street) this Friday, January 25th at 8pm. Tickets are $12.
© 2020 WitOut All rights reserved
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wonkagenda news brief
COME ON DOWN! Wonkagenda For Mon., Dec.16, 2019
The House Judiciary Committee has released a 658-page report explaining impeachment charges against Donald Trump. It goes over the two articles of impeachment on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and also includes the House Intel Committee's penitentiary report recommending impeachment. The report says Trump's "abuse of power encompassed both the constitutional offense of 'Bribery' and multiple federal crimes," and that the president "should not be permitted to be above the law." [House Judiciary Impeachment Report]
Senate Democrats want to drag current and former White House officials up to the Hill to serve as witnesses in the impeachment trial of Trump (assuming, of course, Senate Majority Leader #MoscowMitch McConnell actually holds a trial). Under a proposal laid out by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the trial process would begin on Jan. 6, with the actual trial beginning Jan. 9, with up to eight hours of testimony per witness. [Schumer's Letter]
A new Fox News poll shows support for impeaching and removing Trump from office is now at 50 percent, but a new CBS/YouGov poll shows support at 42. As expected, Trump started whining on Twitter that the Fox poll was "heavily weighted towards" Democrats. And, for good measure, a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted during last week's Impeach-a-palooza shows support for impeachment split at 47 to 48 percent. [Fox Poll / CBS poll / NPR]
Trump clearly had a lot of free time this weekend as he spent much of it shitposting about his inevitable impeachment later this week. He even started railing about Nancy Pelosi's teeth, which is strange considering heeth duh one who hath a histowy of speaking problmeth.
Jeanine Pirro went on another crazy rant this weekend and called the impeachment proceedings a coup. Bless her heart.
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew says is expected to switch parties over impeachment. A freshman Blue Dog Democrat, Van Drew has been whining against impeachment for some time, and apparently made his decision on Saturday following a White House meeting with Trump. NPR notes internal polls show 60 percent of Van Drew's Democratic constituents want to throw the bum out. This morning multiple outlets are reporting Van Drew has seen an exodus of staffers, penning resignation letters slamming Van Drew's decision and "Trump Republicans." Politico reports DCCC chair Cheri Bustos says she'll find Van Drew staffers gigs if they decide to bail out of his sinking ship.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! The Intercept is reporting conservative California Democratic Rep. Jim Costa is facing a serious primary challenge from his left. Political wizards think Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria could give Costa a run for his money (figuratively and literally) even as the party machine cranks into gear to protect Costa.
Those two polls out of CBS and Fox I mentioned earlier? They also show leading Democrats besting Trump in a head-to-head match-up if the election were held today. Additionally, the CBS poll shows Joe Biden's comfortable lead continues to hold despite some entrances and exits in the Democratic field. Similarly, that new NPR poll shows Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders leading with 24 and 22 percent respectively, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 17 and 14 percent, respectively. If you're feeling nerdy, check the breakdown of support for leading candidates in the NPR poll. [Fox Poll / CBS poll]
The next Democratic debate will be held Thursday, Dec. 19, and feature seven candidates: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, and Andrew Yang. All seven candidates have said they won't cross a picket line of striking workers at Los Angeles's Loyola Marymount University, potentially giving everyone an excuse to get stoned and catch midnight showings of the new Star Wars movie. Over the weekend a campaign was launched to get Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Julian Castro onto the stage and it's been endorsed by all seven candidates. The DNC is telling them to get fucked, saying the debate process has been transparent and fair, and the criteria low, nobody really wants to have another two nights of back-to-back debate.
Regardless of who's on stage, the LA Times's George Skelton writes that IF the debate happens, maybe we could get some California specific questions? Skelton writes, "California does, after all, constitute 12% of the U.S. population. We have one-third more people than the next-largest state, Texas. Our economic growth outshines the country's overall. California's well-being is vital to the nation's health."
The Washington Post has a profile on how Pete Buttigieg has always been the whitest kid you know and struggled to understand what it's like to be black in America.
The New York Times has a story that paints DNC Chair Tom Perez as Hamlet. Must he suffer the slings and arrows, or take up arms against a sea of troubles and end his political career?
The AP has a good report into the thousands of Ohio voters who were denied absentee ballots during the 2018 election for "mismatched signatures." Add this one to your reading list.
Some grumpy old bitch in Des Moines, Iowa, has painted swastikas and Confederate flags on pallets, then stuck them on his front lawn so kids at the elementary school across the street have to see it every day. School officials complained on behalf of students, who are 60 percent non-white, but the yokel regurgitated the same old schtick about "history" that all Nazi sympathizers and white supremacists use whenever anyone calls them on their bigotry. Fucking Iowa.
Officials in Utah ordered $18,000 worth of beer destroyed after a change to local liquor laws. The irony is that beer -- sold in government-run liquor stores -- was cleared to be sold in private stores, but since the state couldn't sell that beer to private liquor stores it opted to destroy 275 cases of beer it couldn't sell.
SNL mocked America's obsession with the declining marriage of two supporting characters in Trumplandia.
A Conway Marriage Story - SNL www.youtube.com
And here's your morning Nice Time: IT'S OWLKITTY!
Love Actually but with a cat (OwlKitty Parody) www.youtube.com
Follow Dominic on Twitter and Instagram!
We're 100% ad-free and reader-supported, so consider buying us coffee, or get a subscription!
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Pikefossen
Finnmarksvidda, Finnmark County, Norway
Europe >> Norway >> Finnmark County >> Finnmarksvidda, Kautokeino Municipality
About Pikefossen
Waterfall Latitude: 69.3016
Waterfall Longitude: 23.57427
Pikefossen was one of the few easily-accessible named waterfalls that we’ve encountered in Finnmark County (it might be the only one!).
Unlike most of the waterfalls we’ve seen throughout Norway, this one was more of the wide river variety, where it was much wider than it was tall.
The waterfall was said to be 8m tall, but its width across both its segments could be around 75-100m in total.
The word “pike” means girl in Norwegian, and supposed it got this name after a girl servant was thrown into the waterfall by her angry master.
Allegedly, he did this because the girl managed to allow a herd of his reindeer to drown during the course of her herding duties while her master was on travel.
Speaking of the river, Pikefossen flowed on the Kautokeino-Alta River, which was said to have played an important role in shaping human habitation in Finnmarksvidda (the Finnmark Plateau) for thousands of years.
Except for the lower third closer to Alta, the river remains largely undeveloped so it provides good salmon fishing as well as a good source of hydration for reindeer herding (both of which are important to the Sami way of life).
By the way, the Sami name for this waterfall was Nieidagorzi.
Experiencing Pikefossen
From the parking and picnic area, I really didn’t have to do much other than to walk a few paces to the overlooks.
Picnic tables near the overlooks for Pikefossen (though I don’t the mosquitos here would allow for a relaxing experience)
At these overlooks, I could peer across the Kautokeino-Alta River right at the wide waterfall.
While I could just call it a visit being content with these views, I did notice lots of use trails that ultimately sought ways to descend to the level of the river.
The paths closest to the overlooks were very steep, and I’d argue they’re not suitable for descending due to the bad footing and the potential for causing rockfalls.
However, the trails of use continued to follow the rim of the gorge until I spotted a less steep use trail that eventually led down to the level of the river slightly to the south side of Pikefossen.
Trails of use branching off from these semi-developed walkways leading to alternate ways to experience Pikefossen
I didn’t have my GPS with me when I did this scramble so I can’t say for sure what the distances were, but I know I had spent around 35 minutes away from the car.
So it couldn’t have been that far.
That said, the mosquitos were also quite bad during my July 2019 visit so perhaps the short amount of time spent here also reflected my need to keep moving!
Finally, I don’t know how sanctioned such scrambling is considering the impact it has on the landscape.
Pikefossen as seen from the banks of the Kautokeino-Alta River
There was certainly no signage advocating the use of the trails-of-use and scrambling paths.
However, I can totally imagine that salmon fishers would try to take advantage of these trails to get to the river level and try their luck by the waterfall.
Pikefossen resides in the Kautokeino Municipality. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Pikefossen sat between the towns of Alta and the Sami town of Kautokeino (actually much closer to the latter).
Plenty of space to park the car at Pikefossen
Since we stayed in Alta, I’ll describe the driving directions in that manner.
From Alta, I drove on the E6 (and its excruciatingly slow speed limits) until we reached its junction with the E45.
Then, I drove south on the E45 for about 84km before reaching the signed turnoff for Pikefossen on the left.
Something remarkable about this drive was that it passed through an extensively flat and straight stretch of the Finnmark Plateau so the speed limits here were the fastest that I’ve seen throughout Norway!
If you park closer to the E45 highway at Pikefossen, then you have to do a little bit of walking to the overlooks
Of course, you do have to mind the reindeer on the roads so you can’t go too crazy gunning it on the E45.
For some geographical context, Alta was 130km (about 1.5 hours drive) north of Kautokeino, 164km (over 2 hours drive) east of Storslett, 207km (about 3 hours drive) southwest of Honningsvåg, 393km (under 6 hours drive without a ferry) east of Tromsø, 462km (about 6 hours drive) west of Kirkenes, and 482km (under 7 hours drive) north of Narvik.
Sweep revealing the falls from opposite the canyon at a couple of different spots closest to the picnic tables
Short sweep panning across the falls from the top of the canyon rim at a viewpoint directly opposite the falls
Double sweep covering the falls from a couple of different spots along the banks of the river opposite the waterfall
“Let It Go” (Northern Norway and Swedish Lappland – June 29, 2019 to July 14, 2019)
Pikefossen was one of the main reasons why we opted to stay in Alta. Another big reason was visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Alta Museum, where we got to witness ancient carvings and etchings (aided with some red paint) that date back thousands of years
In addition to the Alta Museum, did check out other sights in and around Alta, like this Northern Lights Church
I also used Alta as a rather ambitious base to pursue witnessing the midnight sun at Nordkapp, but unfortunately, fog prevented that from happening, and this was the only time I got to see the midnight sun during the 3.5-hour drive in each direction!
Tagged with: finnmarksvidda, finnmark, kautokeino, norway, waterfall, nieidagorzi, kautokeinoelva, alta, karasjok
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Mauricio Sulaiman column: The Art of Matchmaking
Mauricio Sulaiman 18/07/2016
The key element in boxing has been and will always be matchmaking. As simple as it may sound, it is extremely complex and requires deep knowledge, dedication, passion and most importantly empowerment and ability to make decisions.
Who fights who? That is the key for success for a promotional company. A good match is what every single fan wants to see, whether it is a 4-rounder or a world championship fight.
All promotional companies should have a matchmaker on their staff, a dedicated strategist to bring ideas and plans to the decision makers. Unfortunately, today’s reality is that there is a crisis un matchmaking all around the world .
Most boxing fight cards are put together to keep the company’s fighters, to build records and to position them to jump at the first world title opportunity. One can look at the bout sheet and know which fighter will win on 90% of the fights, just a matter of how it will happen. This is bad for the sport as fans don’t get to experience the greatness of the sport, but most importantly, it is dangerous for the fighters, a mismatch increases the risk of injury.
Boxing structure was much different decades ago. There were sites which would promote boxing cards regularly , such as Madison Square Garden in New York and Arena Coliseo in Mexico City. Such sites would have a matchmaker who contracted fighters through managers and the public got to see how a fighter would develope a career and become a star. Television changed the model and today there is a lack of structure in promotional companies of boxing, many promoters simply have the duty of making contracts, booking flights and hotel rooms and administer the event in the selected site for that fight card.
There are still many cases of pirates who abuse boxers and use them as merchandise, exporting their services to foreign countries, matching them against power forces and paying just a fraction of the real purse. There are still boxing jurisdictions that do not verify all details of the matches and authorize fights that should not be allowed to happen. There are late substitutions, last minute changes, last minute bouts that are allowed to take place …. It is everybody’s duty to participate and reject any wrongdoing as it only puts our boxers in higher risk.
Styles make boxing and that is where the matchmaker can become brilliantly important and a key for the success of a fighters career and the success of a promotional company.
I have seen, with positive hopes, that recently there have been matches put together in which the fighters belong to different promoters, that is when a good match happens. There is an urgent need for promoters to understand that fans are hungry to see the attractive fights and to bring the competition level up and to do that requires sacrifice and risks, but will certainly pay off with overall results.
The WBC has been working in a program named “mismatch prevention system” and this committee works with Boxrec to review, evaluate and authorize every single WBC affiliated championship . It has been a long process and it is still adjusting, but we are very satisfied with the 2 years it has been in place. The ideal world would see all promoters do something similar in order to contract fights and all boxing jurisdictions to authorize fights.
I can only hope that matchmaking will have a re-launching and that promoters would put attention and resources into such an important activity. Boxing needs the Bruce Tramplers of the future to participate in the rebuilding of our sport.
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David Seymour, Matt Windle to rematch for vacant Midlands belt on Feb 22
There’s a rematch of one of the best fights seen in a British ring last year in Birmingham next month.
‘Boxing News’ ranked the clash between David Seymour and Matt Windle for the vacant Midlands Area flyweight championship in November as the 10th best domestic fight of 2019.
Seymour went home to Coventry with the belt after winning a back-and-forth battle 96-94 and promoter Tommy Owens has announced they will meet again on his show at Aston Villa’s Holte Suite on Saturday, February 22.
Seymour said: “To be in the top 10 fights of the year is a great achievement.
“There were some great fights on that list.
“I knew the crowd loved the fight by the noise they made. They were on their feet throughout.”
For Windle, the rematch will be his third shot at the belt.
‘The Punching Poet’ felt he was unlucky in his previous title bids against Ijaz Ahmed and Seymour.
Seymour said: “Matt has gone on social media saying he thought he nicked our first fight.
“He’s either delusional or there’s something wrong with the tape he’s watching !
“I’ve watched the fight numerous times – and I won six rounds clearly.
“I boxed smart, I outboxed him.
“He hit my gloves a lot and maybe that’s why he thinks he won.
“The referee has the best view and he saw what was happening and he knows you don’t win rounds by hitting gloves.
“You only had to look at our faces afterwards to see who won the fight.
“He was bruised and I didn’t have a mark on me. I just had sore fists !”
Seymour says that for 29 year old Windle, the rematch is a make-or-break fight.
He said: “If Matt doesn’t win the title this time he will have to be thinking: ‘I’m 29 now, where do I go from here ?’
“This is probably his last chance. He needs to win. This fight will decide his future.
“That’s on his mind and I’m under pressure because I’m the champion and I’ve got a belt to keep or lose.
“I like Matt, he is a top, top guy, but I need to put this thing with him to bed once and for all.
“I just don’t think he has got what it takes to beat me.”
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The Lemonade Life
Meet Zack
Associations & Conferences
Book Zack
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Zack has spent his career working as a CEO, CFO, advisor and investor. He studied Leadership at Harvard, and also spent time working at The White House and U.S. Senate.
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Murdoch’s Times witch-hunts academics for questioning UK government’s Syria lies
By Julie Hyland
The Times newspaper has mounted a scurrilous campaign to smear academics questioning the official narrative around the US, British and French military attack on Syria.
Under a front-page headline Saturday, Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing, pro-war propaganda sheet targeted Professor Tim Hayward (University of Edinburgh—environmental political theory), Professor Piers Robinson (University of Sheffield—politics, society and political journalism) and Lecturer Tara McCormack (Leicester University—international relations) as “Apologists for Assad working in British universities.”
All have written on themes of propaganda at times of war, and their work has been cited academically and by research institutions as well as by major media from the Guardian to the BBC.
They have come under attack by the Times because they are founders and/or members of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (SPM), set up recently to “facilitate research and debate with respect to the 2011-present war in Syria and the role of both media and propaganda.”
“In all wars, truth and reality are profoundly contested,” the SPM states. The Syrian war therefore presents “an urgent need for rigorous academic analysis of media reporting of this war, the role that propaganda has played in terms of shaping perceptions of the conflict and how these relate to broader geo-strategic processes within the ME [Middle East] region and beyond.”
“We also aim to provide a source of reliable, informed and timely analysis for journalists, publics and policymakers.”
So recent is the group that its International Advisory Board, currently consisting of nine academics, is still under development. Its members have, however, written articles and have been involved in social media posts questioning the US/UK government’s claim that the Assad regime was behind the chemical attack in Douma, which was used to justify Saturday’s military strikes.
They have called into question the bona fides of the White Helmets, which is the source of the gas attack charge against the Syrian government. The Times accuses SPM of spreading the “slur” that the White Helmets “fabricated video evidence” of the gas attack as a pretext for Western intervention, singling out Hayward for using the hashtag #syriahoax and for tweeting that “Witness statements from civilians and officials in Ghouta raise very disturbing questions.”
The Times does not pretend to engage with Hayward’s questions. Substituting smears and hyperbole for evidence and facts, it published an inside splash, complete with photographs and bios of the academics, who are accused of “pushing” a Russian line and trying to “intimidate” other academics.
The slanderous editorial brands the academics “Assad’s Useful Idiots.” Asserting that “it would take an extraordinary degree of credulity, sophistry and ignorance to exculpate” Assad of responsibility for the Douma attack, it continues, “Exactly those characteristics are exemplified by a small group of academics… at respectable institutions that include the universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh.”
The Times claims that those identified “disseminate material that is wrong, unscholarly and morally odious,” using “pseudoscience and misdirection” in the manner of Kremlin “conspiracy theories.”
Without presenting any scientific or scholarly sources to back up its charges, the Times denounces the academics’ research as a “stain on the reputation of the institutions which host its authors.”
“A society founded on Enlightenment principles of liberal rights and free expression treats untrammeled academic inquiry as sacrosanct,” it intones before insisting that these “principles” do not apply for “Assad apologists.” They are, we are told, not involved in “inquiry at all,” just “dogmatic assertions of the unpalatable and indefensible” and a “violation of the ethos of academic research.”
The sinister implications of this statement are clear. Free speech and “liberal rights” must be suspended if Murdoch deems those exercising them to be expounding views that are “unpalatable.” This is the language of dictatorship.
To reinforce its demand that the academics should be sacked forthwith, the Times makes a disgraceful parallel between the SPM academics and fascists. “No reputable university would employ a Holocaust denier in a department of history,” it states. “The universities who unwittingly provide cover for these agents of disinformation and cheerleaders for despotism have a case to answer.”
The academics concerned have nothing to retract. The White Helmets, founded by former British Army officer and intelligence operative-turned mercenary, James Le Mesurier, work as an arm of the anti-Assad and Islamist-dominated rebel militias.
Funded by the UK government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and the US government’s USAID—Office of Transition Initiatives programme, they are among a network of jihadi forces supported by the West to engineer regime-change.
In December, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials were forced to suspend a multi-million-pound project ostensibly aimed at training a civilian police force in rebel-held Aleppo, Idlib and Daraa provinces. A BBC Panorama investigation, The Jihadis You Pay For, showed how the Free Syrian Police (FSP) comprised al-Qaeda forces complicit in extra-judicial killings and torture.
Hayward et al are not the only ones querying the White Helmets.
On Monday, veteran Middle East journalist Robert Fisk, in an on-the-spot report from Douma, described the White Helmets as “partly funded by the Foreign Office.”
He wrote that with the Syrian regime nearing victory in Douma prior to the Western strikes, they abandoned the area to travel “to the rebel province of Idlib with the armed groups when the final truce [with the government] was agreed.” Fisk’s report has received barely any coverage in the official media.
The academics have rejected the claim that they are “pro-Assad.” Hayward stated, “speaking for myself, I am simply ‘pro-’ getting at the truth.”
“A question thoughtful readers will likely be asking,” he wrote on his blog, “is why The Times has gone to the trouble it has to give such prominence to a small group of critical academics. In the early hours of this morning, as I looked at the front page prepared by The Times, news was coming in of the military attack taking place in Syria. That attack—whose legality under international law, I believe, stands to be clarified—was ‘justified’ on the basis of exactly the kind of claims that the academic working group is subjecting to critical assessment.”
Robinson said the Times was seeking to “discredit and stop us from researching what are very important issues.”
“As academics in a democracy, in a free country, it is our job to ask critical questions… to encourage people to read and think about critical opinions and to evaluate.”
Under conditions where the major imperialist powers—wracked by crisis—are dragging humanity inexorably towards a third world war, the powers-that-be are no longer prepared to countenance “critical opinion.”
All the official media—from the Guardian to the Times—are parroting government pro-war propaganda. Under the guise of combating “fake news” and “Kremlin trolls,” social media is being censored and closed down. The Times article indicates that this censorship and intimidation are now to be extended to academic research and the campuses.
The SPM first came to attention because of material it had posted questioning the official line on the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last month. The SPM’s briefing paper, “Doubts about ‘Novichoks,’” raised questions as to the provenance of the nerve agent supposedly involved and its origins, and was widely cited. Cornell University Professor of Organic Chemistry David B. Collum described it as “the most definitive work” on the novichok nerve agent scandal.
Such critical research is considered beyond the pale. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, however, can go on German television and lie through his teeth without fear of censure.
Workers and youth must reject the effort of a billionaire oligarch to dictate what can be said at universities and in academic research. Such authoritarian moves are bound up with efforts to militarise the campuses and turn them into centres for government propaganda and adjuncts of Britain’s war machine. Fundamentally, the assault on free academic inquiry is directed against the anti-war sentiment that exists widely amongst students and youth.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality is dedicated to the fight against militarism and censorship and the defence of democratic rights. This necessitates a political struggle against the capitalist profit system that is the source of war and state repression through the building of a socialist and internationalist mass movement of workers and youth.
Democratic Rights in Britain
Julian Assange attends procedural hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court
Britain’s royal family torn by factional conflict
UN rapporteur Nils Melzer condemns Britain’s criminal role in the torture of Julian Assange
Washington escalates Mideast war threat with strikes on Iraq, Syria
New WikiLeaks documents expose doctoring of chemical weapons report to justify 2018 US attack on Syria
Trump issues hypocritical threat over Syrian offensive
New WikiLeaks documents expose phony claims of 2018 Syria chemical weapons attack
Pentagon chiefs say US troops to stay in Syria for years
UK energy costs soar, leaving millions of households in fuel poverty
Education in Britain
Eight-day strike by 40,000 UK university workers begins
UK: Tens of thousands of university and college staff vote to strike
UK National Education Union and #SchoolCuts hold Together for Education rally
Scotland: Union suppresses teachers strike as lecturers fight on
UK education system breaking apart after decade of cuts
The April 2018 US-UK-French airstrikes on Syria
After Syria strikes, drumbeat grows for wider US war
As lies on Syrian gas attack unravel, US and UK shift to claims of Russian “cyber war”
UK government rejects Corbyn’s demand for parliament to vote on war
Protesters in Britain speak out against air strikes in Syria
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20191h 48m223 views
In the aftermath of World War II, a British colonel and his wife are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction, but tensions arise with the German widower who lives with them.
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A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
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Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Brenton Thwaites, Cameron Monaghan, Emma Tremblay, Jeff Bridges
20182h 5min251 views
After the deaths of three children suspected to be killed by wolves, writer Russell Core is hired by the parents of a missing six-year-old boy to track down and locate their son in the Alaskan wilderness.
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An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
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Cast: Aldis Hodge, Alexander Skarsgård, Brit Marling, Danielle Macdonald, Ellen Page
What Maisie Knew
Based on the Henry James novella, the story frames on 7-year-old Maisie, caught in a custody battle between her mother – a rock and roll icon – and her father. What Maisie Knew is an evocative portrayal of the chaos...
Director: Andrea Ulrich, David Siegel, Scott McGehee
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Straw Dogs
L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife, Amy, to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.
Director: Rod Lurie
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Billy Lush, Dominic Purcell, James Marsden, James Woods
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
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A naive young man assumes a dead man's identity and finds himself embroiled in an underground world of power, violence, and chance where men gamble behind closed doors on the lives of other men.
Director: Géla Babluani, Jessica Lichtner
Cast: 50 Cent, Alexander Skarsgård, David Zayas, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Gaby Hoffmann
A mute man with a violent past is forced to take on the teeming underworld of a near-future Berlin as he searches for his missing girlfriend.
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
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The Legend of Tarzan
20161h 49m4,029 views
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.
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Copyright © 2018 Putlockers, All Rights Reserved.
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<MEASURING IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND THEIR EFFECTS IN OECD COUNTRIES
Migration, Sex Work and Humanitarian Borders>
Escaping Violence: New Approaches to Forced Migration
Click to Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/escaping-violence-new-approaches-to-forced-migration-tickets-54648980572
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-new-school-2653716890
Theresa Lang Student Center
Room I-202 55 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011
New York, NY, US, 10011
ZOLBERG INSTITUTE CONFERENCE 2019
The Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility invites you to a conference, Escaping Violence: New Approaches to Forced Migration, on Friday, April 12. New School faculty, international scholars and global practitioners will address issues of unprecedented displacement and a disturbing retrenchment of the commitment to refugee protection around the world. Topics will include new conceptual lenses and innovative practical responses to forced migration.
Joining New School faculty Brendan McCarthy, Anne McNevin, Everita Silina and Miriam Ticktin will be Mohammed Badran (Network for Refugee Voices), Simon Behrman (University of London), Seyla Benhabib (Yale University), David FitzGerald (UC San Diego), Jane McAdam (University of New South Wales), Rubén G. Rumbaut (UC Irvine), Ehud Shapiro (Weizmann Institute of Science) and Leah Zamore (NYU).
The conference will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Aristide R. Zolberg’s seminal work, Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World. Prof. Zolberg’s co-authors will provide remarks.
9:30-10:30 AM “Escape from Violence —30 years later”
Moderated by Alex Aleinikoff, Director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility
Astri Suhrke, Co-author of Escape from Violence Senior Fellow at Chr. Michelsen Institute
10:30 AM – 1:00 PM CONCEPTS IN REFUGEE STUDIES
PANEL ONE:
Moderated by Victoria Hattam, Professor of Politics at NSSR
Miriam Ticktin, On Innocence
Associate Professor of Anthropology at NSSR
Anne McNevin, Offshore Practices of Sovereignty
Associate Professor of Politics at NSSR
David FitzGerald, Remote Control
Professor of Sociology, Gildred Chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations, and Co-Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego
PANEL TWO:
Moderated by Julia Morris, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Zolberg Institute
Everita Silina, Genocide
Assistant Professor of International Affairs at NSPE
Simon Behrman, Grassroots Asylum: Escaping the Statist Paradigm
Lecturer in Law at Royal Holloway, University of London
Seyla Benhabib, “The Right to Have Rights” and the Transnational Movement of Peoples
Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, Yale University
1:00-2:00 PM Lunch Break
2:00-4:30 PM NEW DYNAMICS
PANEL ONE: Refugee Empowerment
Moderated by Daniel Naujoks, Lecturer of International Affairs at NSPE
Brendan McCarthy, Design in Refugee Camps
Assistant Professor of Fashion and Director of BFA Fashion Design: Systems Materiality at Parsons School of Design
Chloe Haralambous, Building Systems of Care in the Mediterranean
Co-Founder Mosaik Support Center in Lesvos, Greece
Mohammed Badran, Refugee Voices in Policy Making
Chair of Syrian Volunteers of the Netherlands; Member of the Network for Refugee Voices
PANEL TWO: The Bigger Picture
Ehud Shapiro, E-Refugee Communities
Professor of Computer Science and Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science
Jane McAdam, Climate and Refugees
Scientia Professor of Law and Director of the Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at University of New South Wales
Leah Zamore, Macro-Economic Policies
Senior Policy Analyst at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University
4:30 – 5:30 PM HONORING ARISTIDE R. ZOLBERG
Moderated by William Milberg, Dean of NSSR
Please join us for a discussion of Aristide Zolberg’s memoir with a special video presentation.
Rubén G. Rumbaut, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at UC Irvine
This event is free and open to the public.
Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility > Eventbrite Events > Conference > Escaping Violence: New Approaches to Forced Migration
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