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Baseball Notes
Protection has become part of the package
By Nick Cafardo
Jason Bay, in his short time here, seemed to be a nice guy. His demeanor and his performance reminded me of Nick Esasky, who in one year (1989) with the Red Sox hit 30 homers, drove in 108 runs, and batted .277 while playing a decent first base.
The difference is that Esasky wanted out of Boston to be closer to his Georgia home, so he signed a free agent deal with Atlanta, where he unfortunately developed vertigo (or something like it) and was out of baseball at age 31.
Bay wanted to stay in Boston. He liked the small ballpark, which was the best place for him offensively and defensively. The wear and tear on his knees and shoulder here would have been far less than it will be in the expanse of Citi Field. All common sense.
So don’t believe the hooey from his news conference when he said New York is where he always wanted to be (in a ballpark where righthanded hitters go to die). Basically, it was the only place he could go after the Red Sox dared do their medical diligence and found things in his knees and shoulder that raised red flags in the minds of some of the best orthopedic doctors in America.
Bay elected to clear the air with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford Friday, laying out a timeline of events. He said the Sox wanted him to have knee surgery - even though his knee didn’t hurt - to kick in a new four-year, $60 million deal, a provision that, according to Bay’s version, the team retracted in later offers. The Sox wanted medical provisions to protect them, and Bay and his agent balked, especially after two other medical opinions disagreed with Boston’s findings.
The Sox will likely not be able to come back and challenge Bay on his story because of the HIPAA Act, which prohibits them from disclosing medical information. But judging by some of the things I’ve heard on Yawkey Way the last couple of days, they seem to think Bay’s story is a little fuzzy in some areas. Quite frankly, they don’t want to engage in a he said/he said scenario with a player who has moved on and said is very “happy’’ and has “no regrets.’’ Evidently, he has a few.
It doesn’t really matter if a second opinion or third opinion or 10th opinion all disagreed with the conclusions of Thomas Gill, who has served the Patriots and Red Sox quite well as team doctor. The fact is, Gill had concerns, the same concerns he had when he insisted that J.D. Drew’s contract contain a provision that if he should spend more than 35 days on the disabled list because of an existing right shoulder condition, the Sox could void the contract after the 2010 season. This is a provision that Scott Boras, Drew’s agent, agreed to.
The Sox also insisted on a provision in John Lackey’s deal that if he has elbow surgery at any time he is under contract, the Sox have the option of bringing him back for a sixth year at the major league minimum salary. Lackey agreed to the deal.
Gill is the same doctor who after looking over Pedro Martinez’s medical history advised the Sox that, based on what he saw, Martinez would likely break down and have a major shoulder issue. Well, about 1 1/2 years into his contract with the Mets - the same Mets who have signed off on Bay’s issues - guess what happened.
The Sox had concerns about Curt Schilling entering that final year of his deal but went against their better judgment and picked up the $8 million option feeling a sense of gratitude to Schilling, who had helped bring them a world championship in 2004.
I’m guessing the Sox will require medical provisions in future contract discussions with Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon, both of whom have had shoulder issues. And if they balk, don’t be surprised if they leave for teams that are more lenient on such matters.
Are the Sox going too far? Are they being too cautious when other doctors opine that Bay will be fine?
The bottom line is . . . the bottom line. It’s the Sox who are paying the millions, so if they have concerns, that’s really all that matters.
Over the next few years, we’ll see whether their concerns about Bay were warranted. We’ll see whether Bay continues to average 154 games. His sentiment, in his explanation to WEEI, was: If it’s not broken, why fix it? Fact is, the Sox felt it was broken or will be broken, and they wanted to fix it before the fixing would cost them valuable time without a slugger in the lineup.
Like Esasky, Bay was a treat to watch when he was in a groove. He did disappear for lengthy periods, but power hitters are prone to do that, just as they are prone to high strikeout totals.
What’s puzzling is that if he felt so confident about his physical condition, and understood how good Fenway and Boston were to him, why wouldn’t he go along with the medical provisions, just as some prominent teammates had? If the Sox - according to Bay’s version - were willing to go three guaranteed years and a fourth year with medical protection at $15 million per year, what was so offensive about that?
The Sox showed smart business sense. And Bay? Guess he did the same. He got his money with no strings attached, and in his words, he is “truly happy to put everything behind me and become a member of the New York Mets.’’
HEARING LOSSES
Examining the case against arbitration
Tal Smith, president of the Houston Astros and Tal Smith Enterprises, which represents many major league teams in arbitration cases, has seen his business dwindle over the years. Teams and agents would rather settle than argue the merits of their numbers. This is a far cry from the old days, when Jeremy Kapstein and Dennis Gilbert and Tom Reich and Dick Moss liked to get in there and battle for their clients.
Teams are 49-25 in arbitrations against players since 1999, a sign that Smith had the upper hand. It’s a wonder why more teams don’t save themselves money by taking their case to a hearing. In 2008, only three cases went to hearings. The last double-digit hearing load came in 2001, with 14.
The Red Sox, who are 12-5 in arbitration, haven’t been to a hearing since 2002 - never in the Theo Epstein era. They have the resources to pay their players and avoid the process.
But some teams have been missing from the hearing room much longer. According to Smith, Cleveland hasn’t gone since 1991, the Cubs since 1993, the Blue Jays since 1997, the Brewers since 1998, and the Cardinals since 1999.
“There are probably a number of reasons,’’ said Smith, a Framingham native. “Nobody likes to lose. And we’ve seen instances over the years where a player has fired an agent for losing in arbitration.
“The teams don’t like what they perceive as a contentious relationship with the player if they should beat him, but it’s been my experience - and I’ve done more than 150 cases - that it doesn’t have to be that way.
“I remember I beat Barry Bonds twice and Barry, every time I saw him, was certainly not happy about the result but didn’t hold it against me.’’
It seems that teams simply don’t have the stomach to pursue it all the way, but Smith has a potential monster this season in Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winner who is asking for $13 million while the Giants are coming in at $8 million. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Giants will go all the way. Lincecum is their superstar, and going all the way might be viewed as challenging him.
Smith wonders why more teams don’t take advantage of the process, though he concedes it is designed to compromise. Asked whether teams felt it was too expensive to go, Smith said he charges expenses only if he loses a case and a percentage of the difference if he wins, so the process itself isn’t of great expense to teams. Some teams do their arbitration calculations in house, which reduces the cost even more.
Is it that nobody likes a good fight anymore?
“I think the cases now are far more complicated and elaborate than they used to be,’’ Smith said. “There are more statistics, more graphs, and there’s more to the presentation than way back when.
“I think at one point Scott Boras said he spent $150,000 to put a case together. Way back, the agents would come in and have a legal pad and just read off their notes. Back then, there also wasn’t as much at stake.’’
THE BACK BAY BOMBERS
Sox lead the majors in home run hitters
The Sox will head into spring training with nine players on the roster who have hit 25 or more homers in a season, the most of any team. Six of the nine are starters, which is as many as the Yankees have. One of the nine is Mike Lowell, who will likely be moved before the end of spring training.
The Sox also have more moderate power in Jeremy Hermida, whose high is 18 homers; Dustin Pedroia, who hit 17 in his MVP season; Jacoby Ellsbury, who some feel is going to begin cranking more homers, like a Johnny Damon; and Marco Scutaro, who hit a dozen for the Blue Jays last season and is expected to hit more at Fenway.
Those who have hit 25 are Lowell, Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Mike Cameron, Jason Varitek, Bill Hall, and Adrian Beltre, and that includes big years such as 54 by Ortiz in 2006, 48 by Beltre with the Dodgers in 2004, and 35 by Hall with the Brewers in 2006.
Among the Yankees starters, only left fielder Brett Gardner hasn’t reached the 20-homer mark. Derek Jeter and Nick Johnson have surpassed 20 but have never reached 25.
The Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Twins, and Phillies are the only teams to have at least five starters who have hit 25. The Rangers have five overall, but one is super utility player Khalil Greene.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Pirates, who have no players that have hit 25 homers. The Padres have only one, Adrian Gonzalez, a player the Sox would love to add. Lowest in the AL are Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, and Seattle with two each.
The Sox say this was not part of any overall strategy, to create a team of home run hitters, but it sure did turn out that way.
1. I find the Yankees’ treatment of Johnny Damon baffling; 2. Never heard so much anger coming from the mouths of Hall of Famers and other ex-players concerning Mark McGwire; 3. Get a lot of messages from Mets fans who believe their only salvation is if the Wilpons sell; 4. Mark Prior anyone?; 5. Orlando Cabrera can’t get a job?
Updates on nine
1. Ben Sheets, RHP, free agent - The Sox were one of the teams that sent a scout to his workout in Louisiana last week, but one Sox source said it was unlikely they would be in the running. Sheets (left), who was throwing in the low 90s, would likely want a situation where he could be in the back end of a rotation until he got up to full health. The Mets remain the team with the biggest need.
2. Ron Mahay, LHP, free agent - One major league scout wonders why more teams haven’t taken an interest in the former Sox outfielder/pitcher. “He pitched so much better once he left Kansas City and got to Minnesota,’’ said the scout. “I think the Twins gave him a more set role and he responded. He can still get people out and I’m sure he’s going to be on a major league roster before spring training.’’
3. Miguel Batista, RHP, free agent - Batista, 38, can provide multiple innings as a middle guy. He went 7-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 56 games for the Mariners last season. While Batista can be a heart attack at times, “He’s still a very serviceable piece in your bullpen,’’ said a National League scout. “He’s a guy who has been around for a while that you could spot-start if you needed someone in that role.’’
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers - Now we know why Cabrera (left) wasn’t in play this offseason: alcoholism treatment. The Tigers would have entertained offers for their slugger, as they wanted to pare payroll even more than they did. But with Cabrera in rehab, it was difficult for any team - including the Sox - to lay out talent for him and take on his $20 million-a-year contract. Cabrera could be in play by the trading deadline if things go well for him and if the Tigers don’t stay in the AL Central race.
5. Carl Crawford, LF, Rays - The feeling is that if the Rays’ financial picture gets any gloomier, Crawford will be trade bait by the trading deadline or even earlier. In fact, both he and Carlos Pena could have new addresses at some point in the season.
6. Grant Desme, OF, A’s - He got the “callup’’ last week. Not from Oakland, but from a higher place. A 2007 second-round pick and last season’s Arizona Fall League MVP, Desme retired from baseball to join the priesthood. He hit a combined .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBIs, and 40 steals at Single A affiliates Stockton and Kane County in 2009. In the Fall League, he hit .315 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. He went out on top.
7. Jim Thome, DH, free agent: There’s no doubt guys like Thome and Gary Sheffield can still hit. The Twins are trying to find a way to get Thome (left) as a DH. That would give them some impressive power with Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel at new Target Field, which has the same dimensions as the Metrodome. Thome spent the last few weeks of his season with the Dodgers as a pinch hitter, which seemed like a waste for someone who can still produce.
8. Gary Matthews, OF, Mets - The Mets got themselves a motivated player in Matthews, who had a decent season in Texas in 2006 (.313, 19 HRs, 79 RBIs), which landed him a five-year, $50 million deal with the Angels. It was a big mistake by the Angels, who have been trying to cut their losses for some time. At the winter meetings, they entertained talks with the Sox on Mike Lowell for Matthews, but once Lowell’s thumb injury became a concern, that deal was pretty much dead. The Mets got $21 million to pay Matthews’s salary, so it isn’t a bad move to add protection for Carlos Beltran, who could miss a month of the season after knee surgery. This is a fresh start for Matthews, who believes he can still play at a high level.
9. Joel Pineiro, RHP, Angels - Somewhere along the line, the Angels’ focus changed. After they lost John Lackey, they were determined to obtain another No. 1 starter (Roy Halladay), but that never materialized, so they opted for Pineiro, who many scouts believe was perfectly suited to stay in the NL. The Angels don’t seem to think Pineiro - who reinvented himself, as most pitchers do, under Dave Duncan in St. Louis - will find the American League any more daunting. “He’s certainly not a No. 1,’’ said an AL GM, “but he could be another middle-rotation guy. If you have enough of them, which they do, you might be able to piece together a good staff, even with the loss of Lackey.’’
Short hops
From the Bill Chuck files: “The pitcher with the highest W-L percentage, and at least 500 innings pitched, from 2000--09, was Jon Lester, whose 42-16 record gave him a percentage of .724. The leader with at least 600 innings pitched was Pedro Martinez, with a percentage of .691.’’ Also, “The last time Brian Shouse pitched for the Red Sox was May 6, 1998, against the Minnesota Twins. The last batter he faced was Twins first baseman David Ortiz, whom he struck out swinging.’’ . . . The New England Baseball Journal (baseballjournal.com) has made a nice debut . . . “Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey,’’ a documentary about Bill Lee, airs on MLB Network tonight at 10 . . . Happy birthday to Cory Bailey (39) and Ted Cox (55).
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
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Home » News » Florida State University Invests in the Future of the Museum of Fine Arts with Two New Appointments
Florida State University Invests in the Future of the Museum of Fine Arts with Two New Appointments
Museum of Fine Arts Interior
Florida State University announces new leadership to the Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA) effective July 30, 2018. The founding director of MoFA, Dr. Allys Palladino-Craig will retire in September of 2018. Dr. C. Preston McLane has been named director, and Meredith Lynn has been named gallery director.
Since 1980, Palladino-Craig has been instrumental in advancing MoFA from a gallery to the regionally-known art institution it is today. She attained initial American Association of Museums (AAM) accreditation for the museum in 2003 and re-accreditation in 2012. In addition to sharing the curatorial role with numerous faculty curators/authors, Dr. Palladino-Craig has won over one-hundred grants to support programming at MoFA; she also founded the Museum Press and serves as its editor-in-chief. MoFA’s Museum Press publishes catalogues of exhibitions that originate at the Museum. It also produces Athanor, an internationally-distributed journal of art history research authored by MA and PhD candidates across the US.
The Museum of Fine Arts is the largest academic art museum in the Big Bend and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), with 9,000 square feet of exhibition space and a permanent collection of over 6,000 objects. The permanent collection includes important artworks by historical and contemporary artists with recent gifts of such notable artists as Judy Chicago, Trevor Bell, and Andy Warhol.Visitor attendance has exceeded 58,000 in recent years, including more than 8,400 K–12 students directly impacted by in-school visits, museum tours, and education events, coordinated by Education Director Viki D. Thompson Wylder.
FSU’s Museum of Fine Arts is a resource for and within Florida State University, but it also serves the entire Big Bend through its exhibitions and substantial K-12 Education Programs. It has a big mission, one that FSU believes in so strongly that we are working to expand the staff at the Museum,
– Sally McRorie, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Florida State University.
Dr. Allys Palladino-Craig
Dr. C. Preston McLane
Meredith Lynn
Dr. C. Preston McLane has been named Director. In this role, he will be responsible for leading and supporting the Museum and its activities. Prior museum positions include curatorial fellowships at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. His personal research ranges from environmental art to fictitiousness in early modern and contemporary art to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian and Soviet art and much more.
“It will be something of a homecoming for Dr. McLane who served on the museum staff for six years until 2006 when he received his PhD. He knows the facility, our collection, and this community,”
– Dr. Allys Palladino-Craig
McLane received his PhD in Art History from Florida State in 2006 and has been teaching courses in the department as an Adjunct Professor since. He received his JD from FSU Law in 2009 and has served in the Division of Air Resource Management for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since 2013 — first as a Program Administrator and most recently as Deputy Director.
We expect Preston McLane to launch a new chapter in the storied history of our Museum of Fine Arts. His unique range of experiences as curator, administrator, educator, and art historian will allow us to explore exciting new directions for MoFA,
– Scott Shamp, Interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts.
Meredith Lynn will serve as gallery director, taking responsibility for the management and programming of all College of Fine Arts galleries, including the 9,000 square feet of collective exhibition space within MoFA, the William Johnston Building Gallery, and the Phyllis Strauss Gallery in the Carnaghi Arts Building.
Since 2015, Lynn has been Gallery Director at Indiana State University, where she introduced a number of dynamic programming initiatives and successfully secured funding from local, state and national granting organizations. She received her B.F.A. from Cornell University and her M.F.A. from University of Iowa, specializing in both painting and drawing. She previously served as director of the Rourke Art Museum in Moorhead, Minnesota, and the Nemeth Art Center in Park Rapids, Minnesota.
The coming season will begin with the 33rd Annual Tallahassee International, a juried competition open to artists worldwide. Exhibitions will follow featuring selections from the permanent and local collections, and the work of artists graduating from the B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs. This program of engaging and informative exhibitions is part of the Museum’s ongoing efforts to serve the general public and the university community.
The College of Fine Arts looks forward to the contributions that Dr. McLane and Meredith Lynn will make to the college, university, and our community.
Museum of Fine Arts Exterior
WJB Gallery
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Private Authority and Disaster Relief
The Cases of Post-Tsunami Aceh and Nias
Author: Chhandasi Pandya
This article explores the rise of private authority in globalized disaster relief scenarios by looking at the case of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Aceh and its neighboring region, Nias, after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The author places the growing strength and presence of NGOs within the larger context of weak, cash-strapped local governments under decentralization schemes promoted by neoliberal economic policies and argues that under such conditions, private actors such as NGOs are gaining a legitimacy of authority once reserved exclusively for the state. In Aceh after the tsunami, five hundred NGOs began operating relief and recovery efforts on the island with little consultation with local Acehnese government agencies and community organizations. The article concludes by arguing that the example of Aceh, in which public and private parallel systems of relief and recovery have been operating raises long-term issues of accountability for all parties involved.
© 1999 ILO/Deloche P.
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Big Knife, The (1955) August 15 (ET) - REMINDER
Once A Thief (1965) September 24 (ET) - REMINDER
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Also Known As: Walter Palanskie, Vladimir Palahnuik, Walter Palance, Walter Jack Palance, Walter "Jack" Palance Died: November 10, 2006
Born: February 18, 1918 Cause of Death:
Birth Place: Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania Profession: actor, model, professional boxer, salesman, short order cook, waiter, radio repairman, coal miner, cattle rancher, lifeguard
Possessing a face seemingly carved out of granite and a voice filled with equal parts gravel and menace, actor Jack Palance was an easy choice to play the heavy, but it was his underutilized intelligence and humor that allowed him to occasionally break free from Hollywood typecasting, with wonderfully unpredictable results. Following an auspicious Broadway debut, the young actor burst onto the screen with deliciously nasty performances in "Panic in the Streets" (1950), "Sudden Fear" (1952) and "Shane" (1953). However, despite having already garnered a pair of Academy Award nominations, Palance soon found himself being pigeon-holed as either a crook or a killer. Well regarded projects like "The Big Knife" (1955) and "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (CBS, 1956) gave audiences a glimpse of Palance’s versatility. Seeking out work in Europe, the ex-pat actor took part in such diverse efforts as the cut-rate adventure "Sword of the Conqueror" (1961) and the French New Wave drama "Le Mepris" ("Contempt") (1963). With rewarding film roles becoming sparse, Palance found a modicum of success on television with endeavors such as a chilling adaptation of "Dracula" (CBS, 1974) and as the host of "Ripley’s Believe It...
Possessing a face seemingly carved out of granite and a voice filled with equal parts gravel and menace, actor Jack Palance was an easy choice to play the heavy, but it was his underutilized intelligence and humor that allowed him to occasionally break free from Hollywood typecasting, with wonderfully unpredictable results. Following an auspicious Broadway debut, the young actor burst onto the screen with deliciously nasty performances in "Panic in the Streets" (1950), "Sudden Fear" (1952) and "Shane" (1953). However, despite having already garnered a pair of Academy Award nominations, Palance soon found himself being pigeon-holed as either a crook or a killer. Well regarded projects like "The Big Knife" (1955) and "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (CBS, 1956) gave audiences a glimpse of Palance’s versatility. Seeking out work in Europe, the ex-pat actor took part in such diverse efforts as the cut-rate adventure "Sword of the Conqueror" (1961) and the French New Wave drama "Le Mepris" ("Contempt") (1963). With rewarding film roles becoming sparse, Palance found a modicum of success on television with endeavors such as a chilling adaptation of "Dracula" (CBS, 1974) and as the host of "Ripley’s Believe It or Not" (ABC, 1982-86). Palance bookended his expansive résumé with a late-career comeback when he parodied his own villainous persona in the comedy feature "City Slickers" (1991), a performance that won the veteran actor his only Academy Award. Long regarded as the quintessential movie bad guy, Palance had the last laugh when his impromptu, one-handed push-up demonstration during his Oscar acceptance became one of the most iconic and hilarious moments in the televised ceremony’s broadcast history.
Born Volodymyr Palahniuk on Feb. 18, 1919 in Lattimer Pines, PA, "Jack" was the son of Ukrainian immigrant parents, Vladmir and Anna. As a boy, he worked alongside his father in the local coalmines, only to find escape from the risky work via his athletic prowess. In the 1930s, under the nom de guerre of Jack Brazzo, he enjoyed a short, successful career as a boxer. Palance – a name he would later adopt upon deciding to become an actor – had already begun to doubt the wisdom of taking beatings for money, when the outbreak of World War II brought his stint in the ring to an abrupt end. In 1942, he enrolled in the U.S. Army Air Corps., where he underwent pilot’s training until a serious accident led to hospitalization and his eventual discharge. On the G.I. Bill, Palance attended Stanford University, and after flirting with the idea of studying journalism, he opted for drama, a field he hoped might prove more lucrative. Upon earning his bachelors degree in 1947, the aspiring actor returned to the East Coast, where his distinctive looks and resonant voice paved the way for his Broadway debut that same year in "The Big Two." More stage roles followed, including one as Anthony Quinn’s understudy as Stanley Kowalski in the touring production of Tennessee Williams’ "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1948. Later, Palance replaced Marlon Brando for the same role in the Broadway version of the production, directed by Elia Kazan. When Kazan began casting for his next feature film, a gritty noir to be shot on location in New Orleans, he specifically sought out lesser known actors with believably rough-hewn characteristics. He found what he was looking for in Palance.
Billed has Walter "Jack" Palance, he made his film debut in the thriller "Panic in the Streets" (1950), as a killer unwittingly infected with pneumonic plague who is being tracked by a health service officer (Richard Widmark) to prevent a citywide epidemic. Although the film met with mixed reviews, nearly all critics gave favorable notices to newcomer Palance. After another appearance alongside Widmark in the war story "Halls of Montezuma" (1950), he followed with two more impressive film roles, both of which earned the young star Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In the first, Palance played Joan Crawford’s duplicitous husband harboring deadly intentions in the thriller "Sudden Fear" (1952), followed by a career-defining turn as a cold-blooded gunslinger out to take down Alan Ladd in the classic Western "Shane" (1953). Leading roles soon followed, beginning with his fictionalized characterization of Jack the Ripper in the modest period thriller "Man in the Attic" (1953), and an ill-advised attempt to fill Bogie’s shoes in "I Died a Thousand Times" (1955), an unnecessary remake of "High Sierra." (1941). Although quickly identified as a movie heavy, he also managed to play more sympathetic characters. Most notable was his highly charged portrayal of a blackmailed movie star in Robert Aldrich's adaptation of Clifford Odets' blistering portrait of Hollywood, "The Big Knife" (1955), followed by an Emmy-winning turn as a washed-up boxer in Rod Serling's landmark teleplay, "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (CBS, 1956).
Palance reteamed with director Aldrich for the grim and unflinching World War II action-drama "Attack!" (1956), and once more for Aldrich’s post-WWII tale of a German bomb squad in "Ten Seconds to Hell" (1959). With the dawn of the 1960s, the actor found himself taking on more film work abroad, particularly in Italy, where he began churning out lackluster actioners, such as "The Barbarians" (1960) and "Sword of the Conqueror" (1961). Nonetheless, Palance continued to turn in respectable performances in such films as the religious epic "Barabbas" (1962) and a convincing appearance as a vulgar American movie producer in French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard's "Le Mepris" ("Contempt") (1963). Returning stateside, he gave episodic television a try for the first time with the big top-themed melodrama "The Greatest Show on Earth" (ABC, 1963-64), on which Palance played circus manager Johnny Slate. After the demise of the short-lived series, the actor took a supporting role opposite French leading man Alain Delon and Hollywood sex kitten Ann-Margret in the crime thriller "Once a Thief" (1965). Over the next two decades, Palance would keep busy with a combination of supporting roles in main stream adventures, such as the Burt Lancaster Western "The Professionals" (1966), and decidedly more "B-grade" material like the Hong Kong mercenary adventure "Kill a Dragon" (1967).
Palance’s work on television increased during this time as well, and the scenery-chewing actor clearly enjoyed the wider latitude allowed to him in such projects as the Dan Curtis-produced "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (ABC, 1968). In addition to turns in easily forgotten shoot-‘em-ups like "The Mercenary" (1968) and "The Desperados" (1969), he played Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in the biopic "Che!" (1969), opposite Omar Sharif in the title role, then reteamed with his "I Died a Thousand Times" co-star Lee Marvin for the Western requiem "Monte Walsh" (1970). There was more work in the wide open spaces of the Western genre, opposite Charles Bronson in "Chato’s Land" (1972) and George C. Scott in "Oklahoma Crude" (1973), prior to his seething portrayal of Bram Stoker’s titular count in "Dracula" (CBS, 1974). Buoyed by that success, Palance decided to give a weekly TV series one more try when he signed to star on the police drama "Bronk" (1975-76), in which he played a tough, yet contemplative cop who takes on corruption in a fictional California burgh called Ocean City. The show, however, was another single season effort for Palance, who quickly returned to such subpar fare as "The Shape of Things to Come" (1979), a schlocky sci-fi movie that had very little to do with the original H.G. Wells source material. Dreck like the Italian-produced sword and sorcery adventure "Hawk the Slayer" (1981) and the thriller "Alone in the Dark" (1982) kept the actor employed, if not creatively satisfied.
While not necessarily career-boosting, at least the hours were better and the work steady for Palance when he accepted hosting duties on the historical oddities documentary program "Ripley's Believe It or Not" (ABC, 1982-86). Palance’s campy delivery of the famous catchphrase, "Believe it... or not" was possibly the most consistently entertaining aspect of the guilty pleasure series, which he co-hosted for a time with his daughter, Holly. After endearing himself to a new generation of audiences with an offbeat performance as a courtly, aging artist in Percy Adlon's cult hit, "Bagdad Cafe" (1987), Palance’s career experienced a much-needed resurgence. He embraced his villainous side with despicable turns in the Brat Pack Western "Young Guns" (1988), and an appearance as the crime boss of Gotham City in director Tim Burton’s "Batman" (1989). Neither of these roles, however, would match the impact that his performance as tough-as-nails trail boss Curly Washburn in the Billy Crystal comedy "City Slickers" (1991) would have on his waning film career. The hit movie won the obviously tickled veteran an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and led to another sprightly and unexpected performance at the Academy Awards ceremony. As Palance strode onto the stage to accept his statuette, he gave an impromptu one-handed push-up demonstration as a commentary on his late-life virility, much to the delight of the audience and host Crystal, who turned the display into a series of well-received running jokes throughout the remainder of the 1992 broadcast.
Palance tried to keep the momentum going with a starring turn opposite funnyman Chevy Chase in the criminally unfunny "Cops and Robbersons" (1994), prior to the inevitable sequel, "City Slickers II: The Search for Curly's Gold" (1994), playing the deceased Curly’s brother, Duke, in the latter film. Couched amidst several television efforts, Palance later played Long John Silver in a reinterpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s "Treasure Island" (2001). It would be his final role in a feature film before his death of natural causes at his home in Montecito, CA on Nov. 10, 2006. Jack Palance was 87 years old.
VIEW THE FULL BIOGRAPHY
Back When We Were Grownups (2004)
Treasure Island (2001)
Marco Polo (2000)
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999) John Witting
Ebenezer (1998) Ebenezer; Future Scrooge
I'll Be Home For Christmas (1997) Bob Greiser
Swan Princess, The (1994)
Cops And Robbersons (1994)
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)
Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994)
Milestones close milestones
Became a professional boxer at age 20; reportedly won 18 out of 20 bouts (date approximate)
Co-starred in "Sign of the Pagan"
Co-starred in "The Professionals"
Film debut in "Panic in the Streets", directed by Kazan
Hosted four syndicated historical documentary specials, "Legends of the West with Jack Palance"
Hosted the special "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"
Injured throat in last fight; left with signature raspy voice
Joined US Army Air Force; involved in plane crash during training
Made guest appearance on TV's "The Perry Como Show"; surprised many by displaying his vocal abilities
Provided the voice for the sinister villain Rothbert in the animated "The Swan Princess"
Received first Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for "Sudden Fear"
Returned to the stage as the King of Siam opposite Celeste Holm's Anna Leonowens in "The King and I" in Anaheim, California
Attended Stanford on the GI Bill
Co-starred in "Batman" directed by Tim Burton
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard in "Contempt"
Had dual role in "The House of Numbers"
Portrayed a movie idol in "The Big Knife"
Received top billing in a feature film for the first time in the Jack the Ripper Gothic thriller, "Man in the Attic"
Spent a summer season at the American Shakespeare Festival in Straford, Connecticut
Starred as Johnny Slate on the ABC TV series, "The Greatest Show on Earth"
Startled audience and gave host Billy Crystal material for quips when he performed a series of one-armed push-ups as part of his Oscar acceptance speech at the Academy Awards ceremony after winning Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "City Slickers"
Walked out on Fox contract when he failed to be cast alongside Brando in "Viva, Zapata!"; role went to Anthony Quinn who won an Oscar
While at Stanford, landed role alongside Aline MacMahon in the play "My Indian Family"
After returning to NYC, became Marlon Brando's understudy for the Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire", staged by Elia Kazan; spotted by 20th Century Fox talent scout when he went on for Brando
Appeared as Curly's twin brother in "City Slickers II: The Secret of Curly's Gold"
Appeared in the Off-Broadway production of "The Silver Tassie"
Began playing primarily supporting parts in features with his role in "Once a Thief"
Cast as the hired gunman in "Shane"; although filmed before "Sudden Fear", "Shane" was not released until the following year
Co-starred with George C Scott and Faye Dunaway in "Oklahoma Crude"
First color film, "Second Chance"
First TV miniseries, "The Golden Moment--An Olympic Love Story"
Hosted the ABC half-hour primetime documentary series, "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"; daughter Holly served as co-host
Hosted the ABC primetime documentary series, "Ripley's Believe It or Not"
Lived in Switzerland
Moved to NYC
Portrayed a painter in "Bagdad Cafe"
Returned to films after a six-year absence in "Marco Polo"
Returned to Pennsylvania and worked briefly as a coal miner
TV-movie debut, "Dracula"
Worked for a time as a reporter in San Francisco for $35 a week
Broadway acting debut, a one-line role as a Russian soldier in "The Big Two"
Cast as Christopher Walken's father in the CBS "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation "Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End"
Cast as Fidel Castro in "Che!", the biopic of revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
Had featured role in the CBS miniseries "Buffalo Girls"
Had title role in the CBS adaptation of "Dracula"
Had title roles in the ABC special "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"; was injured in a fall during filming and later sued, receiving some $500,000 in damages
Left military service; returned to work in the coal mines
Played Curly, an ornery trail boss who whips a trio of urban dwellers into shape to participate in a Montana cattle drive in "City Slickers"
Played the Jabberwock in a one-hour NBC-TV musical adaptation, "Alice Through the Looking Glass"
Played title role in "Ebenezer", the TNT-aired adaptation of "A Christmas Carol"
Portrayed Long John Silver in feature remake of "Treasure Island"
Put under contract by 20th Century Fox
Returned to Broadway in "Darkness at Noon"
Returned to features with his leading role in the adult action-fantasy, "Gor"
Starred in the title role of the NBC adventure special "Rivak, the Barbarian"
Understudied Anthony Quinn in the national tour of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
VIEW ALL MILESTONES
Hazle Township High School: Hazle, Pennsylvania -
University of North Carolina: -
Stanford University: Stanford, California -
Palance owns a ranch in California's Tehachapi Mountains where he runs 150 head of cattle.
Stories on Palance often note that the slightly coarse and leathery quality of the skin on his face was due to plastic surgery he underwent after suffering burns during combat in WWII, but in some interviews Palance has denied this.
Companions close complete companion listing
wife:
Virginia Baker. Actor. Met when both worked as understudies in the national tour of "A Streetcar Named Desire"; married on April 21, 1949; divorced in 1969.
Elaine Rogers. Married in May 1987; divorced.
Family close complete family listing
John Palahnuik. Coal miner. Ukranian.
Anna Palahnuik.
brother:
Leon Palahniuk. Made appearances in films like "Chato's Land" and "Te Deum".
daughter:
Holly Palance. Actor, screenwriter. Born on August 6, 1950; was one of Palance's co-hosts on TV's "Ripley's Believe It or Not".
Brooke Palance. Born on February 9, 1952.
Cody John Palance. Born in 1955; died of melanoma in 1999 at the age of 43.
VIEW COMPLETE FAMILY LISTING
Bibliography close complete biography
"The Forest of Love" Summerhouse Press
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Competitive Traveling Basketball (Metro)
For those players desiring a more competitive level of play, a traveling league is offered. Traveling basketball is for those individuals who exhibit a higher commitment to developing their basketball skills while competing at a higher level. It requires greater commitment, in that each participant is expected to attend all practices and weekend tournaments. The goal is for continuous improvement of both the team and individual skill sets.
Traveling basketball is offered in grades 4 through 8. Traveling basketball brings more focus on competition and skill development. Metro teams are formed of our best players to compete with the best players from other communities in the area. Two to four teams will be formed per grade with an A-B-C format with eight to ten players per team. Teams are formed according to age guidelines set by the MYAS(Minnesota Youth Athletic Services). The boys and girls varsity basketball coaches conduct tryouts and are responsible for team placement.
Program Goals:
Emphasize a higher level of competitiveness.
Teach individual skills.
Focus on development of team concepts and ideals.
Teach players to be respectful to each other, opponents, officials and the game.
Learn to win or lose with class and good sportsmanship.
Develop players and teams with the ability to compete at the top level.
Develop future varsity basketball players.
Foster an environment that teaches and stresses the importance of the team over individual players.
Facilitate an environment where each team member feels they serve an important role on his/her team.
Playing Time:
CAYBBA Metro traveling program does not guarantee that your child will be given equal playing time. However, it is the goal of the program that each player participates in a meaningful fashion with regard to all aspects of the program. Among the criteria that will be considered in determining who will be a head coach will be the willingness to ensure that all players participate meaningfully.
The head coach will make all the decisions for that given team. Playing time will be based on ability and other intangibles, such as commitment to the team, attendance and being on time to practices and games. In keeping with goal #9 above, each player should be given an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to each game. Encourage your child, work with him/her, and tell them to ask the coach what they can do to improve.
Coach Selection Process:
The primary goals of the coach should be teaching and improving fundamental skills of basketball, encouraging and facilitating team play, and developing an environment of continuous improvement of both the individual and the team. Head coaches will be selected based on the following criteria:
Coaching philosophies similar to the goals of CAYBBA Metro.
Parent survey evaluations from previous years(if applicable).
Knowledge of basketball.
Previous coaching experience.
Interview with Metro Coordinator, Asst. Metro Coordinator and Varsity Coach.
This team must be the coach’s top priority and only Metro team.
Willingness to facilitate a team where each player makes a meaningful contribution to the team.
After a head coach is selected, they will select 1-2 assistant coaches to help them with the team. The coaches will have a meeting with the Metro Coordinator and Varsity coach where the program goals and coaching expectations will be reviewed. Each head coach will have a parent meeting before the season begins to discuss expectations, philosophy, goals, and answer questions.
Problem Resolution:
If a problem arises, CAYBBA has the following escalation process:
Approach the head coach first with questions or concerns. This should be done in person away from any team setting. Do not raise concerns via email.
If a parent feels that the coach is not addressing their concerns, the issue should be brought to the attention of the Metro Coordinator. This should be done by filling out a “Problem Resolution Form” which can be found in the documents section of our website at www.ChaskaBasketball.com
If a parent still feels that their concerns are not being addressed, they should contact the CAYBBA President.
Tryouts for Metro Teams are held in late-September and early-October. The varsity staff of the boys and girls high school basketball programs will conduct the tryouts when possible. Tryouts typically run for 2-3 sessions. Players are assigned to a team based on the skill level determined by the staff. All decisions by the varsity staff are final.
Tryouts are mandatory. Not attending all of the scheduled tryouts could affect your placement. Failure to attend any of the tryouts may eliminate you from taking part in the Metro Traveling program. All teams are final once they are posted.
Players who have registered for tryouts and cannot participate due to an injury or illness will be excused upon delivery of a doctor's note describing the player's limitations. Players excused due to injury or illness must present a signed doctor's release indicating that the player is medically fit before they will be allowed to participate in any CAYBBA activities. Players who miss the scheduled tryout sessions due to illness or injury will be assigned to a team based on the player's past playing experience. The varsity staff and the CAYBBA Metro Coordinator will determine this with input from past coaches when possible.
Team Descriptions:
If numbers permit, there will be one or more teams at each grade level. There may be an "A" team, followed by 1-2 "B" teams and/or 1-2 "C" team depending on the number and talent level of registered participants.
"A" Team
The team will be made up of the top players at each grade level.
Players will be selected based on a number of factors including tryout results, playing experience, past year's performance, needs at skill positions and the player's committment and desire to improve.
This team will compete at the top "A" level available.
"B" Team(s)
The "B" teams will be made up of the top players available after the selection of the "A" team.
If numbers permit 2 "B" teams, the teams will be formed as a "B1" and "B2" team.
The "B1" team will compete at the "A" and "B" Level during the season.
The "B2" team will compete at the "B" and "C" level.
"C" Team
The "C" team will be made up of the top players available after the selection of the "B" team(s).
The "C1" team will compete at the "B" and "C" level.
The "C2" team will compete at the "C" level.
***CAYBBA reserves the right to move players down from "A" to "B" or from "B" to "C" teams if the player is not meeting their obligation to the team. The decision will be made by the Metro Coordinator and the criteria for the decision will be numerous unexcused absences, numerous missed games, etc. The player will be given opportunity to correct any issues before a move is made.
Refunds, if necessary, can be obtained by contacting the CAYBBA President at . The rules for refunds are:
Full Refund prior to the first tryout.
Full Refund Less $50 Administrative Fee if requested after the first tryout but before teams are posted.
No refunds after teams are posted due to uniform and administration costs. The exception is if a participant is moved up to the high school team. If the move is made after the season has started, the refund may be prorated.
Season Ending Injury: A prorated refund will be given based on the uniform cost and the number of tournaments played.
Gym Space Allocation:
Gym Space is prioritized by the age and level of the team. Older age groups get the larger facilities and "A" level travel teams get priority for practice time if space becomes an issue. Space allocations are determined by Chaska Community Education and are subject to change. The CAYBBA program will try and obtain as much space as possible in the district to fulfill all of our programs.
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Today was a "keep up with the little things" kind of day. Sent an updated copy of my resume to BG, and a thank you note and "Shelley resource packet" to UR. RH sent me a posting about a job opening -- not sure yet if I'm interested -- and a great piece of constructive criticism about my resume. And I'm starting to work on a master letter to heads of school... in my head. Actual words on paper coming soon!
I got a call today from BD at TCNJ, who I haven't spoken with since he was promoted. Seems that their Program Assistant of nine months got the job of her dreams and is outta there come next Wednesday. TP -- bless his heart! -- recommended that BD talk with me about the possibility of doing some "stop gap" fill in just for the rest of this academic year; they'll try to fill the position for real in September. BD said that the position is one that they frankly would not expect me to be interested in long-term (it's an entry-level professional position), but they're interested in at least exploring whether it might be a good fit in a kind of part-time, interim way, just so they don't have to let everything go totally fallow for the rest of the year. He sounded quite excited about the possibility, so of course I said I'd look into it and see what I could do. The first concern being childcare coverage. The second being whether I might be able to do a portion of the work for from home. This could be interesting...
Damn the Ice, Full Speed Ahead!
Went ahead with a planned meeting with UR today, despite dire weather predictions for the late morning. We talked about the rewards of counseling and the challenges that some parents represent. Also talked about the possible "transferability" of skills from a college-admissions to secondary admissions environment. He mentioned development as an area worth considering, and also wondered about the possibility of a good "fit" with one of the Quaker schools; I hadn't even remembered that Newtown Friends (K-8) existed! He also liked my idea of sending a letter to schools as well as applying to be listed with Carney Sandoe, so it looks like that's my next task. On the way home, my windshield wipers could barely keep up with the sleet; I got out of there just in time!
Actually, No, I Wasn't Ready
Worked on my Carney, Sandoe, + Associates (CS+A at left) application today, wanting to get it to an "almost finished" state before working on my letters to local schools. Then, when I carefully hit "logout" on the last page (the one which prompts you to upload your resume, among other things), I got a disconcerting, "Congratulations, you have completed your application" message from them. Ummm.... well, not exactly. Sent them an email to say "What's up with that?" Hope to hear back soon.
Snailmail A-Gogo
Sent off thank-you notes to RW and RH this morning, including in one case a resume AND "the rest of the story" type promo, just the less formal stuff in the other. Then I put together a packet for GS of background, memory-jarring info on my teaching work and mailed that off, too. Meanwhile, ML has asked NB to reach out to her husband, who works at Pennington... I want to get as many informational interviews in as I can before I feel I have to register for the search firms used by the private schools. Busy busy busy.
Met with ND today for almost two hours to work -- in concert with some other folks -- on the PFS mission statement. I was nervous about it going in (every communication with her takes on a heightened importance now that I know that OM is leaving at the end of the year), but I think it went fine. I have no idea what the salaries at PFS look like, despite my work on the board. Still, it's good to be thinking about it even in a "pie in the sky" kind of way, and ND is interested in getting together for dinner at some point, which could be really fun. "We live in Yardley," she reminded me. "Terri and I lived in separate states for four years!" I reminded her.
RH came over for tea and conversation this afternoon. Mr. D was asleep, but we ran into her at the chapel while attending a drum concert last week, so I didn't feel as bad about them not getting any time together. I mostly wanted to talk with her because last year she made a huge leap of faith, resigning from her long-time job at Princeton University without having anything firm in place. She's landed on her feet (not surprisingly), and I had this feeling that it would be good for me to just soak up some of that courage. It was. Plus she's a great listener, and got me talking about what my hopes are and how I think we all might weather the transition. She said that at her current school , the folks in the admissions office seem often to be the spouses of teachers, that they bring people in as a package deal. But that she'd talk to the head and see what she could glean the next time they meet. Every time I talk to RH for an extended period of time I am reminded of what a gift careful listening really is.
Dipping A Toe In
Had a productive meeting this morning with RW, who works at one of the local private schools and who started out in college admissions. He said that making the transition to the smaller environment had been very smooth for him, that these schools are great communities to be a part of. Did mention that in the case of boarding schools (e.g. Hun, Pennington, L'ville) the expectations in terms of hours and presence on campus (often including living on the campus) might present a challenge, given our situation of my needing to be the primary "at home" parent during the winter reading months. RW mentioned the same search firms that GS & PS had, with the additional note that it can be a cost savings to the school if the candidate sends a resume directly to the school FIRST (thereby allowing the school to avoid covering the finder's fee -- typically 10-12% of the first year's salary -- that the search firms charge). Princeton is a small town with lots of bright, energetic people; it will be a challenge to get to the decision-makers who DON'T know me and somehow stand out in their minds so that when something opens up, I'm one of the people they think of.
Just What I Wanted to Hear
I made some real progress this weekend in the quest for references. I connected with GS, mostly because I thought she'd be able to help me connect with RQ, who has retired from Germantown Friends since I was there. She was able to give me RQ's contact information, but, in a surprise move, she also reminded me that she'd seen me teach, and spontaneously offered to write a letter for me herself! Once she reminded me, I remembered that she had observed my class (of course at the time I was focused on the students), and as the head of the department she had some great advice about how to approach a private school search. Boosted by this turn of events, I gave BG a call, and easily enlisted his help as well. I know MM is already on board, so now I'm pretty much set. Need to put together some resource sheets for these folks, figure out a timeline, and put them to work.
The Time Is Now
Took advantage of today's snowday to talk a bit with PS about her experiences with her search for a position with an independent school. Learned that many of the schools routinely engage search firms, and that actual letters of reference (as opposed to mere contact info for folks who are willing to act as references) are sometimes required. I need to get cracking on lining up some folks who would be willing to write for me. Also found out that many private schools ask their teachers and staff to give the leadership a "heads up" in January or February if they're anticipating leaving, so I need to be reaching out to the local schools pronto.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
One thing that has definitely changed during my time away from waged work is my perspective on our family's budget. When I was still working for wages, I had a pretty good idea of what our monthly income and expenses were, but now I REALLY know. Something about watching the dedicated "stay at home with Mr. D" savings account dwindle down over these last two years made it all seem so much more real. Today I spent some time sitting down with old paystubs and current expense reports, trying to figure out how much money we need me to be bringing in, as distinguished from how much money we would LIKE me to be bringing in. It was an interesting excercise, and at least now I have some ballpark ideas. Although of course roughly 30% of the value of a typical compensation package is derived through benefits. Which are looking a little more important, now that Gov. McGreevey has signed S2820 into law.
I Can Do THIS
Had a meeting with my first private college search client of the year this afternoon, and I think it went well. There were a few points at which the mom in question had to ask me to re-clarify something I'd said, which I think was mostly a reflection of my tendency to unwittingly slip into admissions-speak. Have to work on that. Still, it feels good to keep my hand in a bit (I'm doing some alumni interviews for Brown as well), and good to be reminded of the body of knowledge all those years of work helped to build.
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SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION
Calliope Brass is an innovative ensemble on a mission to bring stories to life through music.
New York City-based quintet Calliope Brass plays repertoire ranging from jazz to classical, pops to swing, and everything in between. Since our inception in 2015, the ensemble has been inspired by the power of storytelling through music.
Calliope Brass is proud to debut our educational initiative “What’s Your Story?” for the 2018-2019 season. The show is a cross-curricular interactive performance, reinforcing K-5 English and Language Arts core content while also teaching students about musical terms and concepts, and the instruments of the brass family. The show’s final form features an original modular score by Broadway composer and “Hamilton” national tour Associate Music Director, Kat Sherrell. This unique piece of music is designed to be played in any order to provide cinematic-like underscoring to stories so that we can customize each performance and perform stories written by students in the audience. Listening to their stories brought to life is an extremely affirming and exciting experience for students. Our narrator is "Calliope" the puppet, an original character played by all-star Sesame and Muppet puppeteer, Haley Jenkins. Calliope Brass worked with Haley and Sesame Street puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Abby Cadabby) to develop the puppet design and character. "Calliope" takes on the role of a childlike dragon-fairy who excitedly leads our young audience members through an exploration of the brass family of instruments, and how music can be used represent characters, emotions, and settings in a story.
Calliope Brass also develops larger projects combining original documentary film, live actors, guest artists, and original composer interviews to create an immersive storytelling experience. Combining the traditional brass quintet with a variety of guest performers, we present the narrative through a new medium by drawing upon personal experiences, traditional pieces, new commissions, and innovative arrangements to tell our stories in an exciting and engaging way. Our first project focused on storytelling through music is a multimedia experience entitled “Portraits of the Underdog”, which premiered in April 2015. For this production, Calliope partnered with composers David Maslanka, David Sampson and a professional video team to combine music and documentary film. We focused on telling little-known stories of the struggle against bias from a variety of unique perspectives in a moving and profound way. This presentation is geared towards older student and adult audiences.
In addition to our story-focused programs, Calliope Brass is also active in presenting recitals. In 2017, we received a seed money grant from New York Women Composers to program a recital of contemporary works, many of which were written by members of New York Women Composers group. This concert included the premiere of a 5-movement work for brass quintet by Faye-Ellen Silverman.
Calliope Brass is committed to excellence in performance and educational initiatives, in order to further the role of women brass musicians as both artists and teachers. Members are versatile musicians found playing in Broadway pits, major symphony orchestras, the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, mainstage acts including Adele, Pink Martini, and Andrea Bocelli, and sharing their artistry in schools nation-wide.
Calliope Brass Education
Calliope Brass is committed to providing interactive, engaging experiences with brass playing for all students.
MIDDLE-HIGH SCHOOL
Elementary | K-6
“Every Sound Tells A Story”… And we want to hear them all!
Out of all of the enrichment and guest presentations we had during the year, this was by far the most inspiring and engaging for all of our students, grades preschool through sixth grade and teachers alike.
- Sarah Bills, K-6 Vocal & General Music Teacher
Apply for a performance grant here!
Middle-High School | 7th-12th
Calliope presents one of several recital program options as part of school engagement, customized to suit audience tastes.
Prepare advanced students for solo and ensemble competitions through masterclasses with one, several, or all of Calliope's members!
Calliope works with school bands and orchestras, individual sections, or full brass complements to improve fundamentals, musicianship, and performance.
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Music videos are produced, shot, and edited by members of Calliope Brass unless otherwise specified. #getonourlevel
Inquiries & Booking
Erin A. Paul
In the summer of 2015, Erin, Rebecca, and Jean found themselves floating on the Harlem Meer. The women discovered they shared a vision: To start a brass quintet made up of all women players, without emphasizing their gender.
Instead of viewing a brass quintet comprised of women players as a novelty to be discussed, we'd like to serve as role models simply by existing. We're a professional brass quintet, and we happen to be women.
Rebecca Steinberg
Sara Mayo
Erin Paul
Kate Umble Smucker
Jennifer Hinkle
Trumpeter Rebecca Steinberg, originally from Litchfield, CT is an active New York City freelancer. Rebecca has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Symphony Space. She is a founding member of Calliope Brass and is the trumpet chair of the Off-Broadway production “Di Goldene Kale,” which is hailed as a New York Times Critic Pick. Ms. Steinberg recently performed in the orchestra of Adele’s Radio City Music Hall Special, which aired on NBC in December 2015 and regularly performs with the Bergen Symphony, String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Chelsea Symphony, Metropolis Ensemble and the Manhattan Symphonie (with whom she performed on two recent tours to China).
As a soloist, she performed the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Torrington Symphony (CT). You can hear her on Mimesis’ Ensemble's debut CD released by Bridge Records and on the album “Sounds of the Scrolls” released by Washuum. You can watch her as an orchestra member of the show “Mozart in the Jungle,” which won the 2016 Golden Globe in the Best Television Series, Musical, or Comedy category. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music with a Masters in Trumpet Performance, she studied with Thomas Smith and Vincent Penzarella.
www.rebeccasteinbergmusic.com
Dr. Kate Umble Smucker is a trumpet player and music educator based in New York City. She currently teaches trumpet, theory, and brass ensemble at the Music Conservatory of Westchester and plays with Calliope Brass Quintet. A versatile musician, Kate has also performed with the Allegro Chamber orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, the Fulton Theater pit orchestra, and the Lancaster British Brass Band in Lancaster, PA. She served on the music faculty of Millersville University and maintained an active private teaching studio.
Kate is a dreamer who loves to bring big ideas to life. Working with Calliope Brass, Kate assisted in the development of the educational show, "What's Your Story?" She is a founding member of Spark Brass, a brass and percussion ensemble dedicated to promoting the value of music education. She is also the founding artistic director of Lancaster New Sounds, a concert series that showcases new music by living composers. Her love of jazz prompted her to put together and lead the 18-piece King Street Big Band.
Kate holds a Doctorate in Trumpet Performance from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, a Master of Music from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor of Music Education (K-12 instrumental) and a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of Northern Colorado. Her primary teachers were Dr. Keith Benjamin, Professor Keith Johnson and Dr. Robert Murray.
www.kateumble.com
Currently a freelancer in New York, Erin has performed with ensembles across the globe, including the Sarajevo Philharmonic, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Tampa, Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic, and Chamber Orchestra of New York. She has appeared with major artists including Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban, and subs in pit orchestras on Broadway.
Erin studied with Daniel Grabois and Peter Reit at The Hartt School, and with Bill Bernatis at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Erin is on faculty at Kent Place School and the Horace Mann School, and maintains a private horn studio.
www.horn.nyc
Sara Mayo is an active freelancer in New York, and is originally from the Pacific Northwest. She is the Principal Trombone of the Yakima Symphony, and has been a featured soloist with both the Yakima Symphony and the Tacoma Community College Symphonic Band. She has also performed with a variety of orchestral ensembles such as the Chelsea Symphony, Spokane Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Tacoma Symphony, Northwest Sinfonietta, the Lake Washington Symphony, Ballet Bellevue, and the Olympia Symphony.
In addition to orchestral playing, Sara lends her talents to groups in a wide range of musical styles. She has performed in the pits of Broadway-style musicals with the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society and has made frequent appearances with the Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra and the Jay Thomas Big Band. She has played new music with groups such as the Seattle Modern Orchestra, and also enjoys playing klezmer music, having made many appearances with the UW Klezmer Band.
www.saramayo.com
Jen Hinkle is a unique, bold, and versatile bass trombonist who is committed to blazing new paths in the ever-changing landscape that is professional musicianship.
As one of the most in-demand NYC freelancers, Jen can be seen playing with the Afro Bop Alliance Big Band, the Dan Pugach Nonet, and the Mod Society cover band. She also regularly performs on demand in many Broadway shows in the theater district, including at Wicked, Aladdin, and Beautiful.
As the bass trombonist and Artistic Director of Calliope Brass Quintet, Jen is constantly trying to find creative new ways to bring the arts to the people. This goal is prominently on display with the group’s signature piece “What’s Your Story?”, which is an innovative new children’s program that blends professional puppetry, storytelling, and cutting-edge music into the standardized English Language Arts core curriculum.
Jen formerly held the position of bass trombonist with the Spokane Symphony. She left to pursue her dream of starting new and exciting projects of her own, but continues to perform classically and has played with many orchestras – including the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the New Haven Symphony.
Jen lives in Manhattan where she enjoys painting, freelance modeling, and riding her horse, Sierra. She and her lead-trumpet-playing husband have two cats and are profoundly grateful for the incredible noise tolerance of their neighbors.
www.jenniferhinkle.com
Additional Members
Jean Laurenz
Jean Laurenz is a founding member of Calliope Brass. An eclectic musician who loves variety and collaboration, she is an alum of Ensemble ACJW, a fellowship program affiliated with Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, and the Weill Music Institute. As an active trumpet player, she has performed all over the world with various ensembles including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, The Knights, Chamber Music Northwest, and New York Symphonic Ensemble in Japan. She has worked with major artists such as Adele, Kanye West, American Idol winner Lee Dewyze, and the New York Philharmonic. Jean is also a passionate vocalist and has performed the national anthem and other musical services at most major sporting arenas in Chicago, including the Chicago cubs, the Blackhawks, and the Chicago Fire. As the primary Bugler and Anthem Singer for the international Arlington Race Track, Jean has also made television appearances for shows including Undercover Boss, ESPN, and ABC morning news.
When she is not performing, Jean shares her passion through teaching and interacting with her local community. Jean holds degrees in trumpet performance and Choral Education from Yale University and Northwestern University.
jeanlaurenz.wixsite.com
HELP US BRING WYS TO THE SCHOOLS WHO NEED IT MOST
Calliope Brass is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Your donation allows us to bring high-quality music education programming to schools without significant arts funding. Our performance grant program helps us say “yes!” to interested schools, regardless of their program’s ability to pay.
Questions? For more information, contact us at info@calliopebrass.com.
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The Ancestry and Descendancy of Thomas Frost of Hebron, Connecticut
It's always a pleasure to write about the publication of a new genealogy by one of our members and it's especially nice when the member is one of our hard-working volunteers. So it is with double pleasure, and a great deal of amazement, that I introduce the new two-volume work by Larry Youngman,
The Ancestry and Descendancy of Thomas Frost of Hebron, Connecticut.
The two volumes are a culmination of three years work by Larry but also a lifetime of work by his co-author, the late Evelyn Annis Frost Baum Rush. Larry and Evelyn were introduced by a third Frost cousin, Harriette Froid. All three joined forces and expanded their research efforts to include other branches of the Frost family. After Harriette's death, Evelyn and Larry agreed to be joint compilers of this book.
Larry and Evelyn built upon initial research conducted by Josephine C. Stillman Frost whose work, The Frost Genealogy, was published in 1912. Co-author Evelyn Rush devoted her "golden years" to the project and amassed an enormous amount of research material. Over a fifty-year period, hundreds of family members had submitted information to Evelyn who did not live to see the finished work. Prior to her death in October 2010, at the age of 90, Evelyn sent Larry her entire collection of books, source documents, and research – a total of 4,900 lbs. in 185 boxes! Larry combined her research with his, and transcribed all of it into his database.
The result is a fully-indexed, two-volume hard-bound set, with more than 980 pages, documenting the ancestors of Thomas Frost (1718-1798) of Hebron, Connecticut, and his descendants. Included are over 1,000 photos of family members.
In the forward, Youngman reflects back upon the journey "and upon the impact of the marriage of Thomas and Abigail Frost. The result of this union has directly impacted the lives of the over 7,000 descendants during the following 260 years as documented in this work."
Volume I includes: Preface, Introductions, Acknowledgements / Frequently Used Reference Book Titles / Part I - Thomas Frost of the Kennebec / Part II - The Second Generation / Part III - The Third Generation - Thomas Frost (1718 - 1798) / Part IV - The Fourth and Later Generations.
Volume II is a continuation of Part IV – The Fourth and Later Generations. For a complete list of the major surnames in the work, visit Larry’s website: Thomas Frost Family.
Larry Youngman has been conducting genealogy research for over thirty-five years, and has published ten lineage books covering the mid-1400's through present day. He is a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Mayflower Society of California, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the California Genealogical Society, where he serves as the webmaster for their site, CaliforniaAncestors.org. Youngman conducts professional research via his website GenealogyPro.
The Ancestry and Descendancy of Thomas Frost of Hebron, Connecticut is available for purchase at Youngman’s Lulu bookstore.
Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library
Labels: Larry Youngman, Member author
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AthletesNews
ANDRÉ GREIPEL LOOKS BACK ON EIGHT SUCCESSFUL YEARS WITH THE TEAM
Posted October 8, 2018 Lezyne
Article courtesy of Lotto-Soudal – Original article found here.
Since 2011 André Greipel is the one who brought most of the victories to Lotto Soudal. A team where he became one of the best sprinters in the world by winning no less than 95 UCI races in eight years. Maybe he can add one on Sunday at Paris-Tours, his last race in the Lotto Soudal shirt.
Together with Lotto Soudal, André Greipel looks back on a period, which is – like the one of every professional athlete – marked by ups and downs, but especially on a time with numerous highlights. That’s why André Greipel highlights his eight most beautiful and most memorable moments of his career with the team and talks about how he experienced them:
1. Stage 4 in Volta ao Algarve, 19/02/2011 (Albufeira – Tavira)
“I believed it to be very important to start the season well with my new team and I hoped to obtain a victory as soon as possible. Back then, Philippe Gilbert was also a part of the team and had already won a stage, taking some pressure off on a collective level. In February, during the fourth stage of the Tour of the Algarve I was guided perfectly and brought in a good position by among others Roelandts and Sieberg. This perfect lead-out allowed me to beat Michal Matthews and to claim my first victory with the team.”
2. First stage victory in the Tour, 12/07/2011 (Aurillac–Carmaux) – Stage 10
“A lot of people did not see me as a one of the best sprinters of the peloton, but once you can put a stage victory of the Tour de France on your record, that perception changes immediately. In this regard, that day in 2011 was a tipping point. For the outside world, this victory got me a place among the best sprinters, which made it an important victory for my career as well as for the team. It was a very tough stage with among others a nasty climb at twenty kilometres from the finish line. I had to pull out all the stops to follow but I succeeded and sprinted towards my first victory ever in the Tour.”
3. Three stage victories in the Tour de France 2012
4th: Abbeville – Rouen, 4/07/2012
5th: Rouen – Saint-Quentin, 5/07/2012
13th : Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Cap d’Agde, 14/07/2012
“In 2012 I won three stages in the Tour de France: the fourth to Rouen, the fifth to Saint-Quentin and the thirteenth to Cap d’Agde. In the end, the fifth stage to Saint-Quentin was one of my two most beautiful victories of my career at Lotto Soudal. In the finale, I was held up by a big crash at three to four kilometres from the finish. Greg Hederson brought me from an almost lost position to the front of the peloton again where Sieberg and Roelandts were and still could prepare the sprint, enabling me to take another stage. In the Tour de France of 2012, I had the best lead-out ever: everyone was at his highest level and all riders who were part of the lead-out, Henderson, Roelandts, Sieberg, Bak, Hansen and myself were perfectly in tune.”
4. National title Germany, 23/06/2013
“A few days before the championship, I had some doubts about participating. Since the course was not far from my residence at that time, I did the recon, so I could see the route with my own eyes. After that, I decided to participate, more as a preparation for the Tour de France, which started a week later, than with the purpose to win the race. The race took place in appalling weather conditions: the rain made the race very tough. In the finale about fifteen to twenty cyclists were left to compete for the victory and the medals. Sibi got away and was 600 meters away from the German title. I was not going to close the gap of course and adopted a wait-and-see strategy. When he eventually got caught, I was able to win the sprint of the reduced group. It was a very special moment because my victory was quite unexpected. It was the first of three times I could wear the national jersey, which is something very special. If you ask any national champion which place the national title occupies on his record, every riders will put it somewhere on top.”
5. Victory on the Champs-Elysées, 26/07/2015
“At a certain moment you dream about becoming a cyclist. Once you turn pro, you hope to participate in the Tour de France and when you participate in the Tour, you want to win a stage. If you have won a stage as a sprinter, you hope to once win on the Champs-Elysées, the World Championship for sprinters. In 2015, I started the sprint from a lost position, but still was able to seal the victory. This victory proved my perfect shape in that Tour since it was already my fourth victory in the three-week race. The final week I felt a lot of pain in my knee, which almost prevented me from getting to Paris. In other circumstances a lot of cyclists, and maybe me just as well, would have abandoned, but with already three stage victories, I did not want to quit. I went through my pain barrier, so I could ride that last sprint. I was also in great shape and that victory was not only a culmination of that great Tour, but also a fabulous moment in my career; maybe the most beautiful victory ever.”
6. Stage 2 in the Giro d’Italia, 6/05/2017 (Olbia – Tortolì)
“I was not sure that I would ride the Giro, but eventually I was at the start in Sardinia. The first two stages were suited to sprinters and if the first stage is a stage in line, as a sprinter you know that you have a chance at the leader’s jersey. During my period with HTC, I already pulled it off in the Vuelta. And in the Giro of 2017, I saw my chance again. In the first stage Lukas Pöstlberger of Bora-Hansgrohe took everyone by surprise by riding off in the final phase, heading solo to the finish and taking the pink jersey. In the evening, we all were a bit down: I did not win the sprint of the peloton either, so I wouldn’t have taken the pink jersey anyway. It was a disappointment, but the second stage made up for it all. The stage towards Tortolì was not considered as a stage for sprinters because it was a bit hillier with also a nasty climb in the finale. Everybody expected a group of forty cyclists to ride towards the finish and that the sprinters would not play a role anymore. The strong headwinds kept the race relatively closed, increasing the chances to sprint. Thanks to great work of Jasper De Buyst, I was able to take part of that sprint and won. The stage victory was a huge relief and the pink jersey was a magnificent bonus. Wearing the leader’s jersey as a sprinter in a Grand Tour is very special!”
7. Stage 5 in the Four Days of Dunkirk, 12/05/2018 (Wormhout-Cassel)
“In Dunkirk I won two stages, but the fifth stage is a highlight in my career because, exceptionally, I did not win it in a bunch sprint. In the Tour of Luxemburg, I had already won in that way, so I was glad I could do it again a few years later. I rode solo to the win from afar: I escaped from a small group and rode alone in front for a few dozens of kilometres. Such a victory is unique for a sprinter and I am thus very proud of it.”
8. Stage 1 and stage 4 in the Tour of Britain, 2/09/2018 (Pembrey Country Park – Newport) & 5/09/2018 (Nuneaton – Royal Leamington Spa)
“Of course, I knew it were my last weeks and races with the team, but I did not really realize it could be my last two victories with Lotto Soudal. These two stage victories brought me joy in cycling and training again after a very hard period. In that manner I have the feeling I did well during the last weeks and had a pleasant and good Tour of Britain. That week in September, I was able to put a lot of stuff behind me, so I could start the final phase of the season and my period with Lotto Soudal in a positive manner!”
⟵NEWS FROM INTERBIKE: RENO
MEGA GPS REVIEWS⟶
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Jury deliberates fate of Bridgeport man accused of killing girlfriend
Thursday, September 14, 2017 12:01 PM EDT
Thursday, September 14, 2017 5:11 PM EDT
The fate of a Bridgeport man on trial for a third time in the death of a college student now rests with a jury.
Jermaine Richards is accused of killing his girlfriend, Alyssiah Wiley, in 2013.
Jurors were given the case around 2:15 p.m. Thursday following closing arguments. Richards' previous two trials ended in a deadlock.
Wiley was a 20-year-old sophomore at Eastern Connecticut State University. She was dating Richards, a registered nurse 10 years her senior. Prosecutors painted him as controlling, jealous and violent.
Wiley was last seen in April 2013 getting into Richards' car outside her dorm, and then at his house in Bridgeport that afternoon. About a month later, her body was found in the woods in Trumbull, a mile and a half from Richards' home. The defense admitted that the remains were an emotional piece of evidence.
Prosecutors say they believe Richards killed Wiley because she broke up with him. They brought up testimony from a witness who said Richards told him, "She doesn't know who's she's messing with. I'm a nurse, and I'll get rid of her."
But Richards' defense attorney questioned that witness' credibility and criminal past. Walter Hussey also stressed what the jury didn't hear during the trial.
"They don't have any evidence of blood," he says. "They don't know where the crime scene happened. They don't know how it happened. They don't have a weapon. They have nothing."
Another daughter and granddaughter of Wiley's mother were killed in Waterbury last month in an apparent domestic incident.
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Two drones made by DJI given U.S. security clearance
Two drones developed by the Shenzhen-based drone maker DJI have been granted a security clearance by the United States Department of the Interior after a review lasting more than two years.
DJI launches its Mavic Pro drone in Beijing on November 15, 2017. [Photo: VCG]
The department conducted more than 2,000 flights and 500 hours of testing on the Mavic Pro and Matrice 600 Pro made by DJI. During the testing, there was no indication that data was being transmitted outside of the control system, confirming that they were operating as promised by DJI.
The approvals come as some lawmakers in the United States push for a ban on Chinese-made drones, saying that they could send sensitive information to China.
DJI is the world's leading manufacturer of civilian drone and aerial imaging technology. The company accounts for more than 70 percent of the global market for commercial and consumer drones.
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Massachusetts RMV handed out nearly 2,000 licenses to dead people, audit finds
Nicole Darrah | Thursday, September 13, 2018 -- 2:45 PM EDT
***Uploaded by CitizensDawn and Last updated on Thursday, September 13, 2018 -- 2:52 PM EDT***
In America a licence gets you access to a voting booth.
***Article first published by 'Fox News' on Sept. 7, 2018***
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) issued 1,905 licenses to dead people — 97 percent of which were active as of January — in a move the state auditor called "a significant public safety risk."
The audit, conducted by the office of State Auditor Suzanne Bump, found the state agency did not deactivate 4,688 licenses for people who died before their licenses expired.
Most of the death dates of those issued licenses were between 1988 and 2010, with "some" as early as 1962, according to the audit, which said the "licenses appeared to have been issued to individuals who were attempting to obtain false identification."
"The failure to prevent individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people creates a significant public safety risk to the Commonwealth," Bump said in a statement.
"Fixing this problem must be a top priority for the RMV,” Bump added.
Additionally, the audit — conducted between July 2014 and December 2016 — determined that more than 10,000 requests for handicapped vehicle signs for disabled people were also processed for people who were no longer alive.
The RMV, however, disputed the auditor's findings, calling it a "false claim" that the agency issued licenses to almost 2,000 dead people.
"The audit is outdated, as it was conducted before the implementation of an entirely new software system which has improved management and tracking capabilities," RMV spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard told WFXT.
Bump's office recommended to the RMV that people with permanent disability placards be required to reapply every five years. It also suggested the agency use the Social Security Administration's Death Master File to identify deceased people.
voterfraud, electionmeddling, midterms, massachusetts
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What we're doing around earthquake-prone buildings (EPB) including information for building owners and visitors.
In July 2017 new rules for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings, including the main changes and building owners’ roles and responsibilities came into effect.
The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016(external link) changes how earthquake-prone buildings are identified and dealt with under the Building Act 2004(external link).
The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 and how it affects buildings after the commencement date, 1 July 2018.
The Council issues a section 133AP notice to require the owner of a building to do work, erect a hoarding, fence or warning sign, or to take action regarding earthquake-prone buildings.
Assistance with Heritage buildings and consenting.
Follow this four-step process to ensure your building is safe after an earthquake.
Register of earthquake-prone buildings (EPB Register)
How to get in touch if you have a query about a building.
The Council has a responsibility to ensure workers, residents and visitors to the city are protected against the risks unsafe buildings can pose.
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Home > Players and Personnel > Dale Hawerchuk - Hall of Famer
Dale Hawerchuk - Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2001
On 12 November 2001, Dale Hawerchuk officially was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His induction should have taken place one year earlier, but he was snubbed by the selection committee, who opted to select less deserving players. Nonetheless, he was not stopped from taking his rightful place among the greats of the game, and going into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. He starred for nine seasons as a Jet, coming to the Jets as the first overall selection in the 1981 Entry Draft. He tallied over 100 points in six of his nine seasons as a Jet, was the team's dominant player for his entire tenure in Winnipeg, and became the symbol of the franchise during its NHL existence. The teams he played on were rarely better than mediocre, but that did not stop Hawerchuk's rise to stardom.
Here are some pictures from the induction ceremony:
In addition, here are some thoughts of Dale's rightful induction into the Hall of Fame from an Ottawa Citizen article from 10 November 2001 authored by former teammate Jim Kyte:
By: Jim Kyte
Column: Point Man
This year's Hockey Hall of Fame inductees would give their old opponents some haunting memories. I should know.
As a defenceman who played for the Winnipeg Jets, I was the victim of too many Jari Kurri one-timers from Wayne Gretzky feeds. I was also burned by a Mike Gartner breakaway and on the receiving end of a hip check from Slava Fetisov.
However, I also have had the good fortune of having a front-row seat, as a Winnipeg player, to watch teammate Dale Hawerchuk quickly grow to superstar status even though it took years for his achievements to really be recognized as coming from one of the best in the game.
After Dale led the Cornwall Royals to their second consecutive Memorial Cup in 1981 and was named the Canadian Hockey League's most outstanding player, Winnipeg Jets general manager John Ferguson made him the No. 1 pick in the 1981 NHL draft.
When it came time for Hawerchuk to sign his first contract with the Jets that summer, a ceremony was held at Winnipeg's most famous intersection: Portage Avenue and Main Street. A ceremony at Portage and Main was only previously held for hockey legend Bobby Hull, who signed with the Jets nine years earlier, when the team was part of the World Hockey Association.
With a throng of supporters waiting, Fergie, ever the showman, had Dale arrive by armoured truck.
Fergie's team was coming off a disastrous last-place finish in its second NHL season (9-57-14) in 1980-81, and he wanted to give the fans in Winnipeg a spark of hope. It was a gamble that could have easily blown up in Ferguson's face if Dale didn't live up to the hyped expectations of other first-overall picks, such as Greg Joly and Doug Wickenheiser before him and, more recently for Ottawa Senators fans, Alexandre Daigle.
While some players might suffocate under the weight of such lofty expectations, Dale was one of those special hockey players who thrived on pressure.
I had been the No. 1 pick for the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League draft that same year, in 1981. I trained hard that summer, lifting weights and skating regularly. Just before camp opened, I received a letter from Cornwall head coach Bob Kilger, informing me of a five-mile run for players on the camp's first day. I hadn't run all summer and met Dale for the first time at the start line. I met him again many times over that day as he kept lapping me and eventually won the race. I finished an embarrassing third-last. Not a good way to make a first impression on the coach.
Dale was in great shape and ready for the NHL as he left Cornwall for the Jets camp, and he never looked back.
Dale more than lived up to expectations in his rookie season. Not only did he win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1981- 82, but he also did it in grand fashion by setting an NHL record as the youngest player in league history to surpass 100 points in a season. That rookie record for a player coming out of junior hockey still stands at 103. The Jets jumped 48 points in the standings from the previous season, a record in itself, and helped earn head coach Tom Watt the Jack Adams Trophy.
I followed Hawerchuk's path from Cornwall to Winnipeg after being drafted by the Jets in the first round in 1982 and became Dale's teammate for the next seven years.
Dale -- "Ducky" as he was known to his teammates -- was never considered a fast skater. He had a choppy step, almost jumping on his skates at times, but, nevertheless, was very quick. I rarely saw him get beat to a loose puck, and, like all illustrious centres, he could anticipate where the open man was on the ice. And did he ever score some beautiful goals.
Martin Havlat's spectacular goal for the Ottawa Senators against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night reminded me of a Hawerchuk play I had seen many times. Dale's patented move, of going to his backhand and then swiftly cutting to his forehand to release a quick shot, caught many goalies and defencemen off guard over the years.
Dale had an intense drive to win and never quit. It seemed as though, the more success he had, the more he wanted. The season that sticks in my mind the most is 1984-85: Dale had finished third overall in scoring that season with 53 goals and 77 assists for 130 points. He was absolutely dominating and should have been treated by the media as a true NHL superstar. Unfortunately, other than the people of Winnipeg and our Smythe Division opponents, Dale was virtually ignored by the major-media markets because of an Edmonton guy named Gretzky, who was helping turn the Oilers into a dynasty.
Hawerchuk was a five-time all-star who went on to play with the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. He played for the Canadian teams that won the 1987 and '91 Canada Cup tournaments, and was named Most Valuable Player in Canada's thrilling victory against over the U.S.S.R. in the 1987 final.
Suffering badly from an arthritic left hip, he had one legitimate crack at hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1996-97, but the Flyers were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the final. Dale retired that summer, 10th on the all-time NHL regular-season scoring list with 1,409 points.
The Jets already have two members enshrined in the Hall of Fame: Bobby Hull and Serge Savard. However, both really made their names with their original NHL teams, the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respectively. So Dale's induction into the Hall of Fame on Monday has Winnipeg beaming with pride, as truly one of the city's own is being recognized. Cornwall is mighty proud, too.
Long-time Jets player Randy Carlyle said it best: "He was basically just one of the boys who had more talent than most of the boys."
Congratulations, Ducky! You're finally getting your rightful due as one of the all-time greats.
Jim Kyte is a former NHL player whose column appears every Saturday. Read previous columns by Kyte at www.ottawacitizen.com . His work also appears at www.sportsfaculty.com.
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Kay Yeban
(This story is reserved. Article in wiriting process. FYI please)
Source: Pixabay Creative Commons
Plants such as soybeans and wheat waste between 20 and 50 percent of their energy recycling toxic chemicals created when the enzyme Rubisco--the most prevalent enzyme in the world--grabs oxygen molecules instead of carbon dioxide molecules. Increasing production of a common, naturally occurring protein in plant leaves could boost the yields of major food crops by almost 50 percent, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Essex published today in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
This work is part of the international research project Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) that is supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and U.K. Department for International Development.
In this study, the team engineered a model crop to overexpress a native protein that is involved in the recycling process called photorespiration. Over two years of field trials, they found that increasing the H-protein in the plants' leaves increases production 27 to 47 percent. However, increasing this protein throughout the plant stunts growth and metabolism, resulting in four-week-old plants that are half the size of their unaltered counterparts.
"Plant scientists have traditionally used promoters that express proteins at high levels throughout the plant, and there are many examples where this has worked really well," said the lead author Patricia Lopez-Calcagno, a senior research officer at Essex. "But for the H-protein, we showed that more is not always better demonstrating that when we translate this method to other crop plants, we will need to tune the changes in protein to the right levels in the right tissues."
Previous studies increased H-protein levels in Arabidopsis, a small model plant used in laboratory experiments. This is the first time that the H-protein has been evaluated in a crop in real-world growing conditions. The team used tobacco, widely considered the lab rat of plant biology because it is easy to genetically engineer and can be quickly grown and tested in outdoor field trials. Once a modification has been proven to be effective in tobacco, the same approach can be applied to food crops that are needed to feed our growing population.
"The reality is that as growing season temperatures continue to increase, the yield hit caused by photorespiration will also increase," said co-author Paul South, a USDA-ARS postdoctoral researcher in the ,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois. "If we can translate this discovery to food crops, we can equip farmers with resilient plants capable of producing more food despite increasing temperature stress."
Patricia Lopez-Calcagno (left) and Kenny Brown (right) evaluate a field trial that helped prove that increasing a protein in the leaves of crops can increase production by nearly 50 percent. Photo by Claire Benjamin/Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency Credit: Claire Benjamin/RIPE project
Next, the team plans to increase the levels of this naturally occurring protein in soybeans, cowpeas (black-eyed peas), and cassava, a tropical root crop that is a staple for more than a billion people around the world. Their goal is to increase the yields and opportunities for farmers worldwide, particularly smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
To further increase yields, the team plans to combine this trait with others developed by the RIPE project, including a method reported in Science that boosted production by 20 percent by helping plants adapt to fluctuating light levels more quickly.
"Improvements obtained with the individual trait described here, brings us one step closer to meeting the imminent food demands of 2050--Additionally, by combining this trait with other successful traits in RIPE, we can make the yield gains needed to feed this century's growing population," said Principal Investigator Christine Raines, a professor of plant molecular physiology at Essex. "We are committed to developing these sustainable technologies as quickly as possible and ensuring that the farmers and communities who need them most have global access."
The paper "Overexpressing the H-protein of the glycine cleavage system increases biomass yield in glasshouse and field grown transgenic tobacco plants" is available by request. Co-authors also include Stuart Fisk, University of Essex; Kenny Brown, University of Essex; and Simon Bull, Institute of Agricultural Sciences.
Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) is engineering crops to more efficiently turn the sun's energy into food to sustainably increase worldwide food productivity. The project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and U.K. Department for International Development.
Aerial view of the 2017 field trial, which showed that increasing expression of a protein can boost production by nearly 50 percent. Credit: Beau Barber
RIPE is led by the University of Illinois in partnership with the University of Essex, Lancaster University, Australian National University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, University of California, Berkeley, and Louisiana State University, and USDA/ARS.
Plants such as soybeans and wheat waste between 20 and 50 percent of their energy recycling toxic chemicals created when the enzyme Rubisco—the most prevalent enzyme in the world—grabs oxygen molecules instead of carbon dioxide molecules. Increasing production of a common, naturally occurring protein in plant leaves could boost the yields of major food crops by almost 50 percent, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Essex published today in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
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Professor Peter Lambert
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Education strategy
Launch of new system for Online Unit Evaluations
Last Monday saw the official launch of the new system for Online Unit Evaluations and I wanted to briefly outline the work which went into developing this new approach to evaluating units. The existing system hadn’t been updated since 2006,...
Transformational change in learning and teaching
I am pleased to update you on the next phase in delivering Bath’s Education Strategy. We are rightly proud of our reputation for excellence in learning and teaching. However, as many of you have commented, the current structures for our...
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Blogs Elections in Wales – Etholiadau yng Nghymru
Attitudes to Different Levels of Government
Professor Roger Awan-Scully
Much of the attention given to the results of last month’s BBC/ICM poll was devoted to their findings on the main UK party leaders, and to the answers given to their regular question on constitutional preferences. However, the poll covered a number of other interesting areas.
One, which I’d like to highlight here, concerned attitudes to different levels of government. The poll used a slightly different question format from those I’ve seen in previous studies, so it is worth explaining in full.
Respondents were asked the following three questions:
“Which one of the following political institutions do you have the most respect for?”
“Which one of the following political institutions do you trust most to do the right thing for people?”
“Which one of the following political institutions do you think is most likely to improve things for you and your family?”
Respondents were then allowed to choose between several options for each question:
Your local council
The Welsh Assembly
The Westminster Parliament
None of them
This set of questions thus probed some interestingly distinct aspects of attitudes to the main levels of government in the UK.
So what did people say? The following table summarises the poll’s results for the three questions:
Most Respect For Trust to Do Right Thing Most Likely to Improve
Local Council 24% 26% 20%
Welsh Assembly 31% 35% 38%
Westminster 26% 21% 26%
European Union 7% 6% 6%
None of them 9% 10% 6%
Don’t Know 2% 2% 4%
What can we make of these results? The thing that most immediately stands out from the figures, to me at least, is that the National Assembly scores highest for all three questions. Although its lead over the other levels of government on the ‘Most Respect’ question was rather narrow, on the ‘Trust’ and ‘Most Likely to Improve Things’ questions the Assembly is rather further ahead of both local councils and Westminster. We might want also to note that the Assembly scores these leads despite the fact that local councils actually did pretty well themselves in another question in the same poll, one which specifically asked about local service delivery. So the responses here don’t seem to be just reflecting a sort of ‘best of a bad lot’ set of attitudes.
Instead, I’d be inclined to view these results as being consistent with some others that have suggested that, while most people seem to retain at least some degree of suspicion about all politicians and governmental institutions – an attitude that I’d generally regard as fairly healthy – there has developed a broad, basic goodwill to the Assembly amongst many people in Wales. We must not over-state this: few, if any, are wildly in love with the National Assembly and its members. But as well as being generally supportive of the principle of devolution, the majority of people seem to have come to regard the Assembly as – whatever other faults it may have – an institution that will at least be concerned with and focussed on the interests and problems of the people of Wales.
For the other levels of government, it is interesting that the Westminster Parliament scores least well on the question about trust. The latter half of the fieldwork for the poll was actually administered as the recent Rifkind/Straw ‘scandal’ story was breaking; this may have influenced responses. It may also be the case that the memory of previous expenses problems lingers long for some people. It is also notable, if entirely unsurprising, that the European Union scores least well on all three questions. In fact I was slightly surprised that it scored as high as 6-7% on these three items! More optimistic news for Europhiles came elsewhere in the poll, however: when asked whether or not the UK would be better off remaining in, or outside, the European Union, there was a strong balance (63% to 33%, with 4% Don’t Knows) in favour of remaining in the EU.
Overall, I think this was an interesting and innovative set of questions for the BBC/ICM poll to run. I think they should be applauded for doing so. And I hope they repeat the items at least occasionally in the future, so that we can see whether attitudes on these matters change over time.
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Non-partisan thoughts on elections, voting and political representation from Roger Scully of Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre.
Elections in Wales - Etholiadau yng Nghymru
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Skelling Michael
Photo by: amerune, Creative Commons
Could you imagine staying in an island for six hundred years? Well, in the 7th century, Irish Christian monks did exactly just that – they stayed in an island and made it a center for their monastic life. You’ll see all this at Skellig Michael, which in Irish means Michael’s Rock. This place had been remote to tourists and visitors for quite a long time until recently, that it managed to be preserved so much better than other equally historic sites. I
t is actually a steep rocky island on the coast of Country Kerry. The Celtic monastery found near the summit of the rock is known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a well-known monastery, but it’s not very accessible at 230 meters high. The monastery survived Viking raids in the 9th century gives a clear picture of how the monks, who lived a very simple lifestyle as shown by what look like beehive huts placed above cliff walls.
It was a popular pilgrimage destination with no permanent residents in the 1500s. It was only in the 19th century when it somehow began to be inhabited as two lighthouses were built in the area. You could see that the second lighthouse still operates, but of course there were already renovations done through the years.
As you may find yourself enchanted with how monastic life came about in this place, you will also appreciate its natural beauty for it is home to a number of species of seabirds such as the Atlantic Puffin, Storm Petrels, Gannet, Fulmar, Razorbill, Kittiwake and many others. It is a nature reserve and that is why a lot of effort has been made to help preserve it and at the same time, make it accessible to tourists and visitors.
One response to “Skelling Michael”
The monastery survived Viking raids in the 9th
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Revisiting Thieves’ World Anthologies
Readers of Fantasy-Faction are likely to be familiar with Scott Lynch and his Gentlemen Bastards books. Lynch has a style that is a pleasure to read, and has given us some very memorable characters. But Lynch has also accomplished a highly engaging bit of worldbuilding, and created a place in which “Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would have felt right at home,” according to George R. R. Martin.
It was the worldbuilding as much as the title of the third Gentlemen Bastards book that drove me back to my bookshelf lately, as Lynch’s latest, Republic of Thieves, brought to mind Robert Lynn Asprin’s Thieves’ World from 1979. The “thieves’ world” of the title was not actually a planet of outlaws, but instead, the city of Sanctuary, a backwater community in decline and overrun with lawlessness. And yet it really was a new world of sorts, in that the book represented a bold and daring experiment in fantasy storytelling.
As Asprin tells it, it was the very type of worldbuilding that Lynch has done so well was one of the driving factors in the creation of Thieves’ World. It’s a lot of hard work. “[W]henever one sets out to write heroic fantasy,” writes Asprin, “it was first necessary to reinvent the universe from scratch regardless of what had gone before. Despite the carefully crafted Hyborean world of Howard or even the delightfully complex town of Lankhmar which Leiber created, every author was expected to beat his head against the writing table and devise a world of his own. Imagine, I proposed, if our favorite sword-and-sorcery characters shared the same settings and time-frames. Imagine the story potentials.”
This over-drinks conversation with Gordon Dickson and Lynn Abbey on the eve of the 1978 Boskone Science Fiction Convention eventually led to the creation of a shared-universe anthology that ran to some 12 books, not including spin-offs and tie-ins. We’ll be taking a look at them, six at a time, and revisiting this grand experiment that “earned a panel all its own at the World Science Fiction Convention.”
Thieves’ World (1979)
While a driving force behind the concept was to not have to create a world in order to tell a story, it still remained for Asprin to do the work initially to build such a world, with the help of the likes of John Brunner, Poul Anderson and others (including Jim Odbert on mapping this new land). The first of the Thieves’ World series, Thieves’ World, had a line-up of authors that included Brunner, Abbey, Anderson, Andrew Offut, Asprin, Joe Haldeman, Christine DeWees and Marion Zimmer Bradley. You’ll notice that Dickson did not get a story ready in time for the first book, nor did Philip Jose Farmer, nor Roger Zelazny, all of whom had initially been slated for inclusion.
In Thieves’ World, we are introduced to the city of Sanctuary and the political machinations that have put the Emperor’s naïve and too-popular half-brother in the governorship, and we experience the conflict that takes place as the new religion of the conquerors seeks to supplant the old and established religion of the conquered. If the book is perhaps a little slow to start, it can be attributed to the fact that this is, after all, a new mode of storytelling. Given the very nature of many tales being told by many tellers, the book can be forgiven for having to feel its way into a rhythm. We are introduced to the cast of characters, including beggars and crime lords, wizards and soldiers, minstrels and thieves, as this new chapter in the life of Sanctuary begins, life under the governorship of Prince Kadakithis.
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980)
The second volume of the anthology collection is Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, referencing a tavern that serves as a nexus for many of the stories in the books. This collection includes submissions from Farmer, David Drake, Abbey, A. E. van Vogt, Janet Morris, Offut, and Asprin. Whereas book one showed us conflict between the new and the old religions, book two shows us the gods themselves taking a hand in the fight for the hearts, minds and souls of the citizens of Sanctuary.
Philip Jose Farmer is arguably the biggest name amongst the contributors, but his story is fairly generic, notable more for the wordplay built into the title than for its content. Janet Morris introduces a new character, Tempus, who will come to dominate much of the storyline, who will, in fact, become so larger-than-life that Thieves’ World is no longer big enough to hold him, and he will go on to a number of his own novels in a spin-off series by Janet Morris and Chris Morris.
Shadows of Sanctuary (1981)
Shadows of Sanctuary is the third anthology in the series, with stories by Thieves’ World veterans Asprin, Offut, Abbey, and Morris, and new-to-the-series Vonda N. McIntyre, C. J. Cherryh, and Diana L. Paxson. Perhaps learning from the past, Asprin begins this collection with a story about one of Thieves’ Worlds’ more interesting characters, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Lythande.
Shadows also includes another story by Offut that reinforces my opinion that he is incapable of writing a bad story for this series. A number of the tales are Tempus stories, with several of our other recurring characters also making appearances. By virtue of Tempus’ unique relationship with the god Vashanka, these stories also bring us back toward the storyline of the competing deities, and help us to look forward to new developments in the fourth book. All in all, Shadows is the strongest book amongst the first three publications.
Storm Season (1982)
The fourth book of the Thieves’ World anthologies contains only six stories, compared to the eight in the first book and the seven each in the second and third collections, and it actually feels shorter as one reads it. All six stories are by authors who have written previously for the series.
In his Editor’s Note, Asprin warns the reader of a change to be found in book four. “While in the earlier volumes I have tried to keep the stories in the order in which they occur, this has proved to be impossible in Storm Season … Rather than try to cut and splice the stories into a smooth chronology, I’ve left it to the reader to understand what is happening and construct his/her mental timeline as necessary.” I have commented on and approved of some of Asprin’s previous editorial decisions, but in this case, I think the book might have been better served by cutting and splicing.
Much of Storm Season pertains to the conflict between Asprin’s gladiator/crime lord Jubal and Morris’ Tempus, and the other stories work to move this plotline along, while telling their own tales. Offutt, as usual, steals the show with a Shadowspawn story, and he ties together some of the loose strands of the shared narrative. At the end of Storm Season, the reader can look back and say, “Oh, that’s what was going on there. Now I get it!”
The Face of Chaos (1983)
C haos marks a number of changes in the franchise; this is the first book (in the original run) that lists Lynn Abbey as an editor alongside Robert Asprin. (Reprints include her as an editor for earlier books in the series. Also notable is the fact that she and Asprin were married in August of 1982.) And with Vashanka essentially destroyed, the storyline moves away from that particular divine rivalry to a more worldly conflict, as Sanctuary is subtly invaded, and conquered, by a race of fishy humanoids from beyond the sea. More focus is applied as well to the supernatural competition between the pseudo-vampire Ischade and the Nibisi witch Roxane. Chaos also comprises only six stories, all by previous contributors.
Wings of Omen (1984)
In the sixth book of the collection, the friction between the residents of Sanctuary and the invading Beysib heats up and makes for some exciting reading again. Its story count is back up to eight, Offut’s character Shadowspawn gets some good coverage, and a few fresh new characters also get some play, as well as new-to-the-series authors Robin Bailey and Diane Duane.
As we finish with what will ultimately be the first half of the series, Thieves’ World has grown into a real presence in the fantasy genre. As Asprin mentions in his Afterword in Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, “[A]nthologies in general don’t sell and … fantasy anthologies specifically are sudden death,” yet the sales of the first few collections generated not only a thriving series and a number of authorized spin-off novels, but also a board game, a role-playing game, and a number of RPG supplements. In fact, at the time of Wings of Omen, the very words “Thieves’ World” and “Sanctuary” had been trademarked for the franchise by Asprin and Abbey.
Next month we’ll look at books seven through twelve of the series.
Revisiting Thieves’ World Anthologies – Part Two
Sword & Laser Anthology edited by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Tags: anthology, fantasy, Shadows of Sanctuary, Storm Season, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, The Face of Chaos, Thieves’ World, Wings of Omen
Raymond Rugg Raymond Rugg lives with his wife and daughters in the Galena foothills between Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. He is the author of the non-fiction Handbook of Sales and Science Fiction and his short science fiction stories have been selected for inclusion at both the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association and the Far West Popular and American Culture Association annual conventions. You can contact him at salesandscifi@gmail.com. Free Luna!
G R Matthews says:
I never read past the first one but, having read this, I could be tempted to seek them out.
Benito Corral says:
Thanks for the look back! I absolutely loved those books when they first came out and still do a re -read every once in awhile!
rkrugg says:
One way to test the waters might be to try to locate the omnibus collection of the first three books… Thieves’ World, Unicorn and Shadows were published as one book under the title Sanctuary as a book club selection hardback.
Justin Brown says:
Ah, what a nostalgia trip! My Thieves’ World paperbacks are long-lost and I’m sad that ebooks aren’t available.
The stories I remember best are those featuring Shadowspawn (the knife throwing dude shown here on the cover of Shadows).
Not only is Shadowspawn a great character, but Andrew Offut’s writing is intelligent and witty… for example, Offut’s story in Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn is titled “Shadow’s Pawn”…
janet morris says:
Thanks for the fine retrospective on the beginnings of Thieves World(R) and the Sacred Band of Stepsons. Someone commented that they were sad no e books are available from the series. we thought so too, and addressed our works from those days. Perseid Press has reprinted all the original Sacred Band of Stepsons stories from Thieves World in two novelized anthologies, expanded and revised by me and Chris with new scenes and new insights in their “Author’s Cut” series. These include “Tempus,” all the earliest Sacred Band Tales from TW and some available nowhere else; and “The Fish the Fighters and the Song-girl.” Perseid also reissued Author’s Cut editions the first three authorized Thieves’ World novels, Beyond Sanctuary, Beyond the Veil, and Beyond Wizardwall. And to make things sweeter, with authorization from Lynn Abbey, in 2010 Perseid released The Sacred Band, in which Tempus and his Stepsons return to Thieves’ World after a decade’s absence. All of these new and enhanced editions are available in trade and e-book, some in hard cover, and some also in audio book format from Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and Audible.com. And… we’re working on a new Sacred Band novel, set in mythic antiquity.
All you Tempus fans out there, Janet Morris’ “A Man and His God” Kindle edition is FREE right now until midnight Pacific time (Oct. 2).
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The Ethnologist
Ethologists
Urban acupuncture
World Resorts
New generation of Kenya
Navjyot Vyas
Leopold Jaroslav Pospisil
Jian Guo Chen
Stanislav Lhota
Juraj Sajmovic
Fermín Barnó Piazza
My journey around Scotland
by Jan Toman on August 28, 2015
Scotland is a country of green, which spreads everywhere in all possible shades. A lot of gorges and valleys are filled by lakes of glacial origin, which the Scots do not call a ´lake´ like their English counterparts, but a ´loch´. The colours of the uplands are interspersed with extensive moorland. On the plains of the Scottish Highlands we can see freely grazing herds of sheep – many of them are living quite wildly and can be seen even unshorn in the summer. This beautiful nature is watered every day by rain that is not a problem for the local people. In this country, I was a traveller with many roles – a tourist, a migrant worker, a wwoofer. You might ask what a wwoofer is. WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a network of connected ecological farms all around the world, which are looking for volunteers for short or long term assistance. The WWOOF arose in the United Kingdom over 40 years ago. At present, this trend is developing strongly in the Czech Republic and, among travellers, adventurous souls are becoming increasingly popular. According to the rules of WWOOF farms you work 6 hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation.
Houses of communities of Tombreck farm. Photo: Jan Toman
First of all, finding a farm for this volunteer experience in Scotland was certainly not easy. It was necessary to contact at least 30 farms before someone replied to me and I could start. Secondly, plenty of wwoofers had reserved a volunteering place a long time before arriving and it seems that Scotland is a very popular and sought after destination. So, my first stop was Tombreck farm, which is located under the mountain of Ben Lawers in central Scotland and adjacent to the nature reserve with the same name. This small organic farm is now almost a legendary farm and is briefly mentioned on the English Wikipedia. To some extent, it is a museum of agricultural livelihoods of the local area, which has now been replaced by tourism. The farm is spread over 97 hectares and extends along the slope, which is partly covered with grassland and a section of forest. It touches a huge lake, Loch Tay, to whose shores we can get after we pass through the ´fairytale woods´, in which is almost everything is left to the mercy of nature. The residents of farms are likeable, alternative people who have come to the farm more for pleasure than to supplement their livelihood. Many of them commute to their day jobs, in ´civilization´, which is easily accessible from the farm. However, the main landlords of the farm, the local natives Tober and Sue, make a living from what they grow or sell in their farm shop. The farm also has an organic grocery which provides them some financial income too. Because the farm is situated off the main road, the selling of produce does not present any problems, such as, for example farmers from remote areas in Slovakia. On the farm they kept ducks, chickens, sheep, two horses, two New Zealand pigs – for which is set aside a grove as a large nature enclosure. Actually, the pigs on the farm live in a semi-wild manner, as well as the other animals. The sheep and horses graze freely on the vast grasslands and even chickens are let out in the afternoon onto the open meadows.
The animals of Tombreck farms with mountain of Ben Lawer. Photo: Jan Toman
The wwoofers live there in immobile static caravans, which is a quite solid form of accommodation from a backpacker´s view. The complex of Tombreck farm includes a large wooden building called the Big Shed, which hosts various cultural events or workshops. There is also a large kitchen, where sometimes farm products are processed. Moreover, one of the inhabitants of the farm community has a massage studio in the Big Shed. By the time I came to this farm, the political campaign for Scottish independence was in full swing, because the referendum was approaching. The residents of Tombreck farm were for Scottish independence. I myself really enjoyed the unique sense of ´freedom and independence´ just from staying on this unique farm. I got up in the morning, opened the door of the caravan, before which was waiting the bearded collie Tomper, who wanted to play with me. I had a huge portion of ´porridge´ for breakfast and then I walked to the valley to collect potatoes. I dug up the potatoes at a leisurely pace, brought them up on my back and made a Czech dinner from them; ´bramboráky´ (some kind of potato pancakes) for my Scottish friends. Never checking the time and completely detached from the reality of the daily rush of civilization – I was free. I was excited so much by the work on the Tombreck farm that I did not think about the fact that I was not getting any money for this work. I went calmly and voluntarily to feed the pigs at evening and I enjoyed walks on the green fields between the flocks of sheep during the sunset. Is it possible to see a man in a kilt on the farm, which is not so common in Scotland anymore. The Scottish national dress, the kilt, now only has a rather ceremonial importance. To sum up, the overall atmosphere of the farm I would personally describe as something between the swinging 60s and the First Republic´s countryside in former Czechoslovakia.
The farmer from Tombreck farm. Behind farmer is mountain of Ben Lawers. Photo: Jan Toman
It is sometimes said, that wwoofing is a subculture. In fact, all permaculture farms and organic farms are one big subculture. I heard an analogy about wwoofing as squatting or the classic image of wwoofers as hippies. In contrast, I was convinced during my stay at Tombreck farm that this kind of life is first of all about big responsibility. The people who own a farm need not travel so much, because they have to take care of the farm and animals. Additionally, unlike the aforementioned subcultures, wwoofing is definitely more creative. The wwoofers have found a very interesting way of escaping from the consumer society, but, on the other hand, they are little bit idealistic about the pre-consumer society, which is the core of their philosophy. In the days when people had to toil hard on their farms, which were their main and only source of living, the wwoofers would not have too much space for enjoyment. However, wwoofing is not only about enjoying yourself. It is also about work and new experiences which enrich the mind, heart and soul. So, the wwoofers help shape some new post-consumption ecological society of which I am a big fan.
The meadows of Tombreck farm with the Loch Tay. Photo: Jan Toman
My next stop was the town of Campbeltown lying almost at the very tip of the peninsula of Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland. Here again I found wwoofing in a slightly a different way. I stayed on a farm with a bachelor named David, who keeps cows, of the breeds Aberdeen Angus, exclusively for meat. His company is comprised of his 40 head heard of cows that graze in large natural enclosures and approximately seven cats running everywhere around his farm. This quirky maverick gives access to the wwoofers strictly as vacationers. He sees them as the children he never had. Before me, he hosted one wwoofing girl, a big football fan from Germany, so he bought, for the first time, a television, in order that she could watch the Football World Cup. Nevertheless, he did not have to buy anything special for me (and I would not have asked him), but he took me on trips or to dinner at several restaurants in Campbeltown. He cared a lot about me and always asked if I was satisfied with the work I was doing. With him I also experienced the adventure of chasing cows but not on horseback but by tractor, which was even funnier. Aberdeen Angus cow breeds have the advantage of being born as very small calves at birth and do not need a helping hand. When he showed me for the first time a pregnant cow that would soon give birth, I expected that I would have to help pull the calf by foot. Fortunately, the next morning he greeted me with the words ´the calf was born´ and they were grazing on the pasture together, calf with mother. I have also tried some forestry work because a part of his farm is a pine grove which I helped him to prune. David had a completely opposite attitude to the Scottish referendum for independence – opposite to the Tombreck farm. He was basically for continuing The United Kingdom and his attitude was demonstrated by the Union Flags which were hoisted everywhere. Surprisingly, the flag flew on his car when we went together to explore the Scottish nature and surrounding countryside. There was also a legendary British musician, bassist and singer of The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney, in the place where the farm is located. Here he recorded the hit Mull of Kintyre with his new band The Wings after the breakup of The Beatles in this places. I was also walking on this beach Mull of Kintyre, but without the accompaniment of Scottish bagpipers, who dominated the video. Overall, in these parts of Scotland I felt rather a half ´British´ and half ´Scottish´ atmosphere.
The resting cows in meadow of Campbeltown. Photo: Jan Toman
Through wwoofing you will have so many different experiences. For example on one of the family farms in the north of Scotland, near to the town of Inverness, I had to weed a meadow with my own hands for one week, day after day. Well, no other interesting work had come up. The family, who I worked for there, took me to a music festival where I had the unique opportunity to see and hear one of the biggest legends of British music, Welsh singer Sir Tom Jones.
The Highland cattle near to the village of Allness in Northern Scotland. Photo: Jan Toman
In addition to wwoofing I did some paid work in Scotland. Any man would be tipsy with delight when he receives a huge caravan, virtually the entire 3+1 (3 rooms + one kitchen) only for himself, like I did from the hotel where I worked. On the other hand, the smile quickly disappears when you have to work a 12 hour shift in the kitchen. Finally, my smile was back, when I heard an explanation of how to operate a dishwasher from an American woman from Los Angeles – originally a social worker. She came to have a better life in London, but finally became a housekeeper in a hotel located in the Scottish Highlands. Moreover, I had a good feeling that there I had earned my first big money.
The view on farms of Campbletown. Photo: Jan Toman
As well as working in Scotland I also travelled through the country and I explored the culture and nature´s treasures. Since my childhood I used to dream about meeting Nessy in Loch Ness. Nevertheless, the Loch Ness monster is somewhat of an outdated myth. Between 2002 and 2003 the British station BBC undertook research that concluded that the creature Ness does not exist. It even showed that the most famous photograph from 1934 with the ´neck of plesiosaur´ protruding from the lake was a forgery. This fact does not impede the appearance of images of Nessy on postcards to delight the supporters and fans. The legend of Loch Ness and its creatures is now an important component of local tourism and shops with souvenirs are dominated by Nessy and other pictures of dragons. I spent one night on the shore of this lake, but unfortunately instead of Nessy I was welcomed by swarms of flies – in Scotland they are known as ´midges´. There are many of them and they are everywhere where is even a little bit of moisture…
The panoramatic view on Loch Lomond. Photo: Jan Toman
A more interesting lake is the largest lake in Scotland, Loch Lomond. Around it you can take a very nice route and see a beautiful panoramic view. On the photo you can see the lake from Conic Hill, towering above the village of Balmaha. Balmaha is an ideal starting point for such a longer trek. During this trip I experienced very typical Scottish slightly rainy weather, known as ´drizzle´. Surprisingly, I also encountered a rather unusual heat for this country, which is said to accompany the last two years. Perhaps in climbing the mountain Ben Vorlich I was so hot, as before I was in Turkey. I enjoyed the outlook over the whole country from the highest mountain in the United Kingdom Ben Nevis (1344 m) – also in sunny weather. So, I was only in shorts and a T-shirt and then wading through snow at the summer.
Furthermore, Scotland is a country for lovers of castles and ruins and among them I also belong. So, I did not fail to visit castles like Dunvegan Castle, filmmakers usually seek out Eilean Donan Castle or Blair Castle, where I had the honour of seeing the show of the only one legal private army in Europe, The Atholl Highlanders, who are based at the castle.
The most beautiful places of the trips was the Isle of Skye, which is one of the most spectacular places in the world that I have ever visited. It name comes from the Gaelic and means ´winged´. By this old Celtic language is commonly spoken by a third of the population of the island. There are even bilingual schools, where children can choose whether to be learn in English of Gaelic. It is good to explore whole island – around the whole round. The view from the narrow roads on the majestic granite massifs which stand out sharply from the sea to the 900 m is breath-taking. We cannot sort out day without rain on this island, but it also creates the magic spirit of the local nature.
The view on the beautiful nature of the Isle of Skye. Photo: Jan Toman
I have never forgot on the moments of my journey around the Scotland. The deepest impression I had from my wwoofing experiences. During my staying in organic farms I have known a completely new alternative lifestyle and I found some important connection with Scottish countryside. I was able to perceive the values that are difficult to describe only by words. And where I am going to travel next time as a wwoofer? Let me surprise you… 🙂
www.wwoof.net
wwoof.net FB Page
wwoofinternational.org
Federation of Wwoof organizations
Scottish music:
Albannach – Performance in Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Albannach – The Fire and Thunder of Scotland
Clanadonia – Ya Bassa, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Loch Lomond – an old Scottish folk song
Old Blind Dogs – Scottish folk ballad
Editorial note:
Translated from Czech to English by Barbora Sajmovicova.
Ecological Farming, Scotland, WWOOF
Follow Jan:
Jan Toman
An Ethnologist
Jan Toman graduated from Bachleor program of Ethnology at Charles University in Prague, where he focused on Armenian communities living in the Czech Republic. Jan travelled around numbers of countries, for example the United Kingdom. In Scotland he spent some days like wwoofer. In these days, he is working in Czech Museum of Bozena Nemcova in Ceska Skalice. In Ethnology he focused on Ethnology of America and Asia. In generall, he is interested in process of migration, mythology and social ecology.
Latest posts from Jan Toman
My journey around Scotland - August 28, 2015
Iemanja: A Uruguayan celebration of the Yoruba goddess of the sea April 25, 2019
Mexico´s Day of the Dead: an Endless Dance of Life and Death October 31, 2018
10 things that make Uruguay, Uruguay September 27, 2017
An interview with a Tibetan Monk in Prague May 30, 2018
New generation of Kenya April 12, 2017
Navjyot Vyas November 15, 2016
Recent Sections
Ethnogenesis of the Somali People and language December 31, 2017
Revitalising city life November 9, 2017
Zealots and Sicarii in the Maelstrom of the First Jewish-Roman War July 31, 2017
Africa African-American Civil Rights Movement African-American history Ancient Israel and Judah Animal Rights Activists and Organizations Anthropologists Borneo Cairo Coptic Christians Ecological Farming Egypt Ethnologists Film review First Jewish-Roman War History of Israel History of Palestine Immigrants in the Czech Republic Indonesia Interviews Israel Jews Las Fallas Festival Latin America Mesoamerica Mexico Muslims Palestinians Palm oil Romans Scotland Slovakia Spain The Czech Republic The People of China The United Kingdom The United States The Uruguayan People Tibetan Buddhism Urban acupuncture Urban Ethnology Urbanism Uruguay Valencia Veganism WWOOF
Editor’s pick of the month
Iemanja: A Uruguayan celebration of the Yoruba goddess of the sea
© 2015 - 2019 The Ethnologist.
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Finding Your Manners; A Lost Generation of Executives Needs Help at the Business Table
By Julie Flaherty, The New York Times – 02/13/1999 – 12:00am
Judith Re joined her guests at the round banquet table, delicately placed her napkin on her lap, and began telling horror stories. There was the executive who routinely took her shoes off under the table, then lost one. The man who sneezed directly over the soup course. The woman who wiped her mouth with a piece of pita bread and then ate it. (Economical, perhaps, but not socially savvy.
While her anecdotes did not exactly strike fear into her guests, they did remind the 11 men and women why they paid $275 apiece to attend her business etiquette class at the Ritz-Carlton on a recent evening.
”Ladies and gentlemen, we’re talking about breaking bread with your clients,” said Ms. Re, an etiquette consultant who has cured many corporate executives of bad table manners. ”We’re talking about turning that restaurant into your board room.”
Ms. Re, who has taught manners to children at the Ritz-Carlton for 12 years, began the one-night executive etiquette classes this year to help the increasing number of adults who come to her with questions about business meal propriety.
”The economy has become very full, and because of that, the people are doing a lot more entertaining,” she said. ”People want to sharpen their entertaining skills. What’s happening is, people know everything there is to know about their business. That’s what they’ve done well; they’ve learned their skills, and they’re great at it. Now they want to master this. They want to make sure they’re putting their best foot forward.”
”In the 80’s, people didn’t have the same kind of feeling,” she said. Judith Re joined her guests at the round banquet table, delicately placed her napkin on her lap, and began telling horror stories. There was the executive who routinely took her shoes off under the table, then lost one. The man who sneezed directly over the soup course. The woman who wiped her mouth with a piece of pita bread and then ate it. (Economical, perhaps, but not socially savvy.
”In the 80’s, people didn’t have the same kind of feeling,” she said. ”They’d say: ‘You must be crazy, Judith. We just have money and that’s all that counts.’ ”
It pays to have the gift of manners these days. Corporations are seeking out consultants in savoir-faire to train their employees. Etiquette schools that once catered only to children and diplomats have started offering courses with such titles as ”Business Etiquette for the New Millennium.”
One five-year-old consultant group in California, called Etiquette Survival, finds a wealth of clients in the socially awkward executives of Silicon Valley.
M.B.A. candidates at Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver are required to attend an etiquette dinner, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology runs a not-for-credit charm school each January. Ms. Re, who learned her manners at her parents’ dinner table, says graduate students whose parents came of age in the 1970’s had things other than p’s and q’s to mind, like the Vietnam War and the sexual revolution.
Modern times demand new rules, too. As Ms. Re’s class supped on olive-crusted sea bass and filet of beef with caramelized shallots, the director provided lessons in pager protocol, cell phone etiquette and avoiding liability.
Paul Sullivan, a investment company director, said he took clients out to dine three or four times a week but still has shortcomings at the table.
”I still get confused about whether my salad fork is the one to the left or the right,” he said as he practiced setting a table in a class exercise.
Anne-Marie Maguire, who works at Charles River Ventures, a venture capital firm, managed to prop her serviette into an M-shape, proclaimed it ”good enough,” and marched off to the soup course.
Ms. Re started her instructions with the basics. A Madeira consomme with truffle shavings is eaten by swiping the spoon from the 6 o’clock position to 12 o’clock. (”Seven to 1, that doesn’t work?” Mr. Sullivan joked.) No blowing or slurping, please.
What to do when a dessert fork hits the floor? Or a glob of black tapanade plunks onto the white table linen? Mercifully, much of the success of the meal rests on the white-gloved servers, who quickly retrieve and replace the fallen fork and immediately swipe clean the mess with a sterling table scraper.
All pretty standard, right? Even those who think themselves well mannered were taken aback when the teacher advised against ordering alcohol at a business.
”Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry,” she said. ”You don’t drink wine on someone else’s clock.”
If a client has a questionable amount to drink, she said, ”Please make sure that when the server is right next to you, turn to that person and ask, ‘Would you like me to get you a cab?’ ” In acknowledgment, the word ”liability” was murmured around the table.
(This being a dinner, and the Ritz being the Ritz, wine is served with each course.)
As the intermezzo of cassis sorbet was served, Ms. Re reminded her students to turn their beepers to silent at a meal and excuse themselves if they must return a page. Cell phones should be left behind, she said. If the client decides to take a call during the meal, she suggested continuing to eat, but more slowly. If the call continues for 10 minutes, ”then you know you’re in trouble,” she said. ”You’ve lost them.”
”Do you eavesdrop?” she asked devilishly. ”Of course.”
Ms. Re’s adult students can be even more nervous than her preteen pupils, timidly asking things such as whether it is all right to eat the entire spear of asparagus, or just the tip. (Ms. Re loves the whole thing.) But by the time they sipped the dessert wine (the fourth of the evening) the students had begun to rattle off questions. Is it allowable to switch between the American style of eating and the European style?
”I still feel like I’m eating upside down,” Ms. Maguire said, as Ms. Re showed her how to use the knife to ”escort” some garlic potatoes onto the back of her fork. Either style is acceptable, but no switching back and forth.
Are there certain foods that should not be ordered at a business lunch?
”I wouldn’t order the 12-ounce burger with the au jus dripping off it,” Ms. Re said. Linguine with clam sauce is her own nemesis.
Tonight’s dessert, peach a la Ritz, was a challenge all its own: a mousse garnished with a foot-high triangle of chocolate lace. Rather than risk toppling the tower off the plate, most guests ate around theirs.
Although corporate attire had been requested, Ms. Re, dressed in a long-sleeved, toe-length black dress accented with a gold pin, was not out of place.
”I set the rules,” she said when asked where she finds her etiquette knowledge. ”I also listen to the pulse, everything from riding the metro trains to when you’re traveling on an airplane. You’re very visual, and you ask people questions, and that’s what I do.” She does not do color analysis or grin-and-greet classes, and no, she does not read Ann Landers.
A successful business lunch, she said, is all about making the client feel taken care of. If a client suggests a particular restaurant, go there in advance to choose the best table for conducting business. You can present your credit card to the maitre d’ in advance, to save any confusion about who gets the bill later. Choose a seat that allows you to keep eye contact with the server, but gives the client the best view. If the guest has a coat or valet ticket, ask for it and pay the tip. Don’t discuss business as soon as you sit down, but let the conversation flow naturally.
Many people say the time of the power lunch is past, that people are too busy to have lunch outside the office. For Mr. Sullivan, the business meal is a way to break through the ”wall of technology.”
”If it’s just voice mail and just phones and our product is a little better than their product,” then there’s little to set the company apart, he said. ”But if I can make that personal contact. . . .”
Ms. Re added: ”Out technology is growing at such a fast pace that I don’t think people have time to think. And I don’t blame the people. I blame the technology.”
”There’s just got to be a choice about what you bring over into the millennium,Judith Re joined her guests at the round banquet table, delicately placed her napkin on her lap, and began telling horror stories. There was the executive who routinely took her shoes off under the table, then lost one. The man who sneezed directly over the soup course. The woman who wiped her mouth with a piece of pita bread and then ate it. (Economical, perhaps, but not socially savvy.
“I still feel like I’m eating upside down,” Ms. Maguire said, as Ms. Re showed her how to use the knife to ‘escort’ some garlic potatoes onto the back of her fork. Either style is acceptable, but no switching back and forth.
“There’s just got to be a choice about what you bring over into the millennium,” she said. In fact, she mused, the Internet could be a good way to spread the gospel of etiquette.
For now, she sends each student off with a booklet of her rules. In it, she reminds them not to use long words when short ones will do, and if they do not know how to pronounce the name of a wine, it is fine to order it by its number on the menu.
”The only way in which you can overdo it, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, ”is when you’re pretending you’re something you’re not.” she said. In fact, she mused, the Internet could be a good way to spread the gospel of etiquette.
For now, she sends each student off with a booklet of her rules. In it, she reminds them not to use long words when short ones willdo, and if they do not know how to pronounce the name of a wine, it is fine to order it by its number on the menu.
”The only way in which you can overdo it, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, ”is when you’re pretending you’re something you’re not.”They’d say: ‘You must be crazy, Judith. We just have money and that’s all that counts.’ ”
If a client has a questionable amount to drink, she said, “Please make sure that when the server is right next to you, turn to that person and ask, ‘Would you like me to get you a cab?” In acknowledgment, the word ‘liability’ was murmured around the table.
“The only way in which you can overdo it, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, “is when you’re pretending you’re something you’re not.”
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Welcome to the Monroe County History and Genealogy Website
Click here for more about this website
Click here to go to the MCHS website
Click here to go to the MCC of OGS website
CDs of important Monroe County record books are now available. Each page of dozens of Monroe County record books have been photographed and made into CDs. For a current list of available CDs click here.
MONROE COUNTY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY
Welcome to the Monroe County History and Genealogy website. The homepage for this site can be reached by clicking here or on the above title.
The Monroe County History and Genealogy website is an independent website dedicated to providing data and information to researchers and visitors. This site strives to provide a wide-ranging of resources relating to the history and genealogy of Monroe County, Ohio. In the past few years Monroe County History and Genealogy has sponsored and conducted research projects to better define the resources available to researchers. These research projects include such products as:
Cemeteries, Detailed Information on Specific Cemeteries
Family Trees / Family Forest
Historical People, Places and Events
Histories, Monroe County
Oil/Petroleum in Monroe County
Photographs of Ancestors
Site Coordinates / Latitude and Longitude
Monroe County CDs: A special ongoing project involves photographing and making CDs of many of the key, important record books, newspapers and other materials of Monroe County. This project is being conducted in conjunction with the Monroe County Historical Society MCHS). Topics include: Birth Records, Death Records, Marriage Records, Court records, Tax Records, Church Records, and several years of the historical newspapers. Well over 100 CDs of these books and materials have been completed. A list of the CDs that are available can be found at: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~harringtonfamilies/CD-Status.htm.
All of the materials found on the Monroe County History and Genealogy website is being made freely available to the Monroe County Historical Society, the Monroe County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, as well as other sites. As a result much of the material can be accessed through the websites of these organizations.
Much of the material on this website has been donated by researchers and visitors like you. Such materials are deeply appreciated and whenever possible, credit lines are included to identify the source of materials. We value the input, comments, suggestions, criticism, and guidance of all our visitors.
New material is added regularly to this website. Please consider adding this website to your list of favorites and come back often. To participate or add historical and genealogical materials to the website click here.
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Press Releases > Government > Transportation > The Car Party Became Offical On The 11th December 2006..
The Car Party Became Offical On The 11th December 2006
The Car Party that has 393 members is being denied media coverage by a corrupt news network that has a vested interest in keeping the opinion of the majority of UK motorists a secret. They appear to be Government lap dogs. We have more members than the Animal Rights Party when they were covered by media nationwide.
The Electoral Commission has approved The Car Party as an official political party. December the 11th 2006 was the day that motorists should know of as The Car Party was officially endorsed on that day.
The Car Party has come about due to the fact that all other political parties in the UK are supporting ever higher taxes and costs for the motorist.
The Liberal Democrats want increased costs including vehicle excise duty of ?2000, The Labour Party are in favour of road pricing and tolls, trials start in 2009. The Conservatives are also supporting these unrealistic plans.
Many key workers who depend on their cars for transport will be driven to give up work or to find other jobs nearer where they live. Other low paid workers will be forced to give up work entirely as they will not be able to afford to travel to work at all. Road pricing plans will disrupt society, and with no other political party opposing these ridiculous ideas. The Car Party was launched on the 6th November and now has over 390 members, more than the Animal Rights Party who launched with 200 members and made news nationwide.
The media in the UK are trying to keep secret this party, who wish to give voice to the majority of motorists who are opposed to road charging and tolls.
The Car Party is also in favour of nuclear power for the long term supply of clean and sustainable electricity generation. Most people are opposed to wind farms, due to the damage done to the landscape.
You may join us at www.thecarparty.org.uk. Please ask the media to recognise us as a true political force and as a registered official political party.
Please contact us on 0870 863 5878 we have a spokesperson who is available for interviews. We have received news coverage on radio and in local press, the national press are involved in a conspiracy to our exsistence secret.
Company Name: Stephen Harrison
Issued By: maureen
Zip: WV16 6JX
by maureen (few years ago!)
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by Miryam Muller in EDUCATION
What happens when you explore the worldview by weaving together perspectives and ideas from some of the key theorists and thinkers in the fields of cosmology, environmentalism, sustainability, social theory and anthropology? It will elegantly tell the story of where we have come from, where we are now, and the possibilities for our future.
The Planetary Collective feature-length documentary titled Continuum shows, in a very engaging way, how humans lost connection to each other, the earth and universe. And when you think about it, the battle metaphor isn’t a stretch; after all, we’ve been controlling and exploiting our environment for centuries, with some pretty disastrous results.
The film, directed by Guy Reid, aims to tell the story of where we came from, where we are now, and what’s next for the human race through interviews with astronauts, physicists, poets, anthropologists, Tibetan lamas, and more.
The Planetary Collective: "One of the fundamental factors underlying this crisis is our worldview: the way we see the world around us and our relationships to each other, the planet, and the cosmos as a whole. Our worldview informs our values, behaviour, and way of life in such a way that some environmentalists have declared the environmental crisis to actually be a ‘crisis of worldview’. One dominant feature of our ordinary worldview is the misperception that we are separate from each other and the greater systems we are embedded within.
Continuum is a feature-length documentary that explores this sense of separation and its roots in language, perception and our evolution. The journey will take us from the first stirrings of life to the emergence of a global brain; from the complexity and wonder of a single plant cell to the emerging biomimetic technologies that are changing the way we build the future; and from the appearance of modern humans to the planetary crisis we face today."
The Continuum trailer is a visually stunning look at these complex relationships...
http://vimeo.com/60234866#
TAGS: CLIMATE CHANGE, Earth, Effect, Environment, Overview, sustainability
THE ACROBAT
NYC SUBWAY STATIONS TO ...
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Beastie Boys Prevail Over Monster
By FMC Policy Fellow Jordan Reth
The verdict is in—the Beastie Boys have won $1.7 million in damages from Monster Beverage Corp.
Back in August 2012, the band requested $2.5 million in damages for copyright infringement of several songs—along with false endorsement—all arising from a promotional video Monster made for a Canadian snowboarding event, “Ruckus in the Rockies.” While Monster conceded that it did infringe the Beastie Boys’ work, it claimed the infringement was an accident and that damages should only be around the $125,000 mark. read more
Submitted by Casey on June 6, 2014 - 2:46pm
Monster Beverage
Triple Trouble: Three High Profile Copyright Cases Settled
Maybe it was in celebration of International Happiness Day, or maybe it was just coincidence, but this week saw three high-profile copyright cases all resolved through out-of-court settlements.
First, upstart toy company GoldieBlox settled with Beastie Boys over the unauthorized use of a version of the Beasties song “Girls” with altered lyrics in an online ad video. As we reported in December, the case was framed initially as a question of whether the video qualified as fair use, but it also raised issues of trademark infringement, false endorsement, unfair competition, and misappropriation of publicity rights. In the end, the Beasties got what The Hollywood Reporter originally reported that they were after: a donation by Goldieblox to a charity of the Beasties’ choice, based on a percentage of revenue, and a more substantive apology:
Submitted by kevin on March 21, 2014 - 1:39pm
6 Things You Need to Know to Understand Goldieblox v. Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys’ recent battle with upstart toy company GoldieBlox is one of the most contentious copyright conflicts in recent memory. Although many of us thought the episode was winding to a close, it now looks like this was premature: last week, the Beastie Boys filed their defense and counterclaims in a California federal court. Here’s a recap of the story so far.
First, GoldieBlox created an online advertisement titled “GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & The Beastie Boys” that used the 1986 Beasties hit “Girls”—a song which expressed juvenile sexist attitudes, possibly with satiric intent. The GoldieBlox ad changed the song’s sophomoric lyrics to mock the way toys are typically marketed to girls, while promoting products that cultivate girls’ interest in physics & engineering. The video went viral, earning widespread media attention and racking up millions of views.
Submitted by kevin on December 16, 2013 - 12:44pm
Beastie Boys' sampling in 'Paul's Boutique' again in spotlight
[…] The suit doesn’t surprise Kembrew McLeod, associate professor of communication studies at the University of Iowa, and co-author, with economist and researcher Peter DiCola, of the book “Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling.” “‘Paul’s Boutique’ and other albums of that era are like ticking legal time bombs,” says McLeod, who also co-produced the acclaimed documentary “Copyright Criminals.” “For instance, in 2005, Run DMC was sued by the Knack for using ‘My Sharona’ for its song ‘It’s Tricky.’ And they were sued 20 years after the fact.” read more
Kembrew McLeod
Peter DiCola
Adam Yauch • 1964-2012
All of us at FMC were saddened to hear of the passing of Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. A pioneering musician, rapper, filmmaker, and activist, Yauch was hugely influential in connecting music and social change.
Our friend and colleague Erin Potts of Air Traffic Control has shared some reflections: read more
Submitted by kevin on May 8, 2012 - 11:02am
Mike D and AT&T Shareholders Push for Open Internet Policies
[This post is by FMC contributor Greg Capobianco] read more
Submitted by Casey on February 16, 2012 - 4:43pm
Silva Artist Management
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George Tsioutsias George Tsioutsias George Tsioutsias
Greek-born Londoner George Tsioutsias’ (pronounced chew-chass) career took off at the tender age of nine, when he received a pan-European award in painting. He has been a force to be reckoned with ever since.
After receiving a first in communication design from Chelsea College of Arts & Design, George spent years designing and art directing for branding, music and fashion. Ultimately his diverse creative interests converged on the medium of moving image, and he set up tearapart.tv with fellow artist Theo Michael. It quickly amassed broad recognition and a reputable reel of idents, shorts and promos, boasting work for David LaChapelle and an onedotzero award-winning video for Ebony Bones.
Since then his work has been shown in Cannes, at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Barbican in London and has been featured in publications like Stash, Creative Review and IdN to name but a few.
George's multidisciplinary background allows him to work across a wide range of formats including music & fashion videos, commercials, title sequences, virals and branded content, for clients such as Vivienne Westwood, Selfridges, SHOWstudio, Lacoste, Hussein Chalayan, Hugo Boss, Netflix, Nokia, Bose, Microsoft, SXSW, Wimbledon, Royal College of Art, Skin, Breach, Sean Paul and many more.
OZON — Perception of Beauty
Andro — The Creatives
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You are here: Home / Cases / Demanding a better answer, Catholics ask SCOTUS for review
Demanding a better answer, Catholics ask SCOTUS for review
July 1, 2015 by Kathryn Beard
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, District of Columbia, filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, asking whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) “allows the Government to force objecting religious nonprofit organizations to violate their beliefs by offering health plans with ‘seamless’ access to coverage for contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization.” The Archdiocese and affiliated organizations object to the contraception mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (P.L. 111-148).
The ACA requires health insurance coverage to include preventive care without cost-sharing; preventive care for women is defined to include all FDA-approved contraceptives, which the Catholic Church views as immoral. The regulations implementing the ACA allow religious employers to self-certify their objection to providing some or all contraceptive coverage. Once an employer has completed the self-certification, a third party—the employer’s group insurance provider or self-insurance administrator—provides that coverage to members of the health plan.
The Archdiocese filed suit against HHS, claiming that the act of self-certifying, in and of itself, is a substantial burden on the exercise of its religion. The trial court determined that elements of the contraceptive mandate violated a Thomas Aquinas College’s religious rights under RFRA, because the private Catholic college is self-insured, but that the rights of the Archdiocese and its related organizations were adequately protected by the act of self-certification (see Religious freedom rights of catholic college violated by contraceptive mandate, Health Reform WK-EDGE, December 31, 2013).
The Archdiocese appealed the District Court’s decision, and the D.C. Circuit consolidated its claims with those of Priests for Life. The appeals court was not convinced that self-certification truly imposed a significant burden on the religious organizations, saying, “That bit of paperwork is more straightforward and minimal than many that are staples of nonprofit organizations’ compliance with law in the modern administrative state. Religious nonprofits that opt out are excused from playing any role in the provision of contraception services, and they remain free to condemn contraception in the clearest terms” (see ‘Minimal paperwork’ fails to meet substantial burden test for contraceptive coverage, Health Reform WK-EDGE, November 19, 2014). Unsatisfied, the religious groups requested a rehearing en banc, which the court denied, saying that the Catholics’ claims are “based on sincere but erroneous assertions about how federal law works” (see We’ve heard enough: court draws the line at accommodation, denies rehearing, Health Reform WK-EDGE, May 27, 2015).
According to their petition, the ACA compels the Archdiocese to “contract with third parties that will provide or procure the objectionable coverage” and to submit documentation that makes the Archdiocese “complicit in the delivery of such coverage.” Therefore, the petition says that the only issue in the case is “whether the Government can commandeer Petitioners and their health plans as vehicles for delivering abortifacient and contraceptive coverage in violation of their religion.” The petitioners note that their belief that some contraceptive methods can induce an abortion, specifically mentioning Plan B® and ella®—two emergency contraception, or “morning after,” pills that prevent ovulation, fertilization, and implantation of a fertilized egg. The manufacturers explicitly deny that emergency contraception is an abortifacient, and state that neither Plan B nor ella will interfere with an existing pregnancy. The Archdiocese is requesting a full exemption from the contraception mandate.
The petition has been assigned docket No. 14-1505.
Supreme Court will allow Third Circuit ruling to take effect
Another For-Profit Corporation Asks SCOTUS to Recognize Rights Under RFRA
Alito stymies Third Circuit, temporarily blocks enforcement of mandate
Filed Under: Cases, Contraception Mandate, News, Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, SCOTUS
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Tags:Aerosmith, Anthrax, Chester Bennington, Chevelle, Coal Chamber, Cold, Crazy Town, David Draiman, Deftones, Demon Hunter, DevilDriver, Dez Fafara, Disturbed, Evanescence, Faith No More, Fred Durst, Godsmack, Ill Nino, Kid Rock, KISS, Kittie, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Machine Head, Mudvayne, Mushroomhead, Orgy, Otep, P.O.D., Pantera, Papa Roach, Powerman 5000, Public Enemy, Rage against the Machine, Ross Robinson, Run DMC, Sepultura, Sevendust, Skindred, Slayer, Slipknot, Soulfly, Static-X, System of a Down
We continue our journey into Nu Metal, as we follow the first wave before 2000, in which we find groups such as Korn, Limp Bizkit and Deftones; to the second wave of the style after 2000, an advance that was led by Linkin Park at the time. And in addition to exploring the groups, we delve into the rise and influence of Nu Metal.
Hosted by Greg Davies, the Heavy Metal Historian Podcast delivers to you snippets of tales from years gone by in the world of Metal, one episode at a time.
Clips and Sources
All Rape And Kidnapping Charges Against DECAPITATED Dropped
Cast for MOTLEY CRUE movie “THE DIRT” announced
DEF LEPPARD’s Entire Catalog Finally Comes To All Streaming Services
Ex-KISS Guitarist VINNIE VINCENT Gives First Interview In More Than 20 Years
FAST EDDIE CLARKE of MOTORHEAD dead at 67
Former JUDAS PRIEST Drummer DAVE HOLLAND, Dead At Age 69
GARY HOLT Says ‘There’s No New Album’ in SLAYER’s Future
MASTODON Wins ‘Best Metal Performance’ GRAMMY Award
PANTERA Make Baby Strollers Now
SLAYER Announces Final World Tour
THE DEAD DAISIES: New Album Details Revealed, Tour Dates Announced
TOMMY LEE of MOTLEY CRUE reports that pre-production for THE DIRT movie has begun
Recqommended Listening:
“Guerrilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine from The Battle of Los Angeles
“Renegades of Funk” by Rage Against the Machine from Renegades
“A.D.I.D.A.S.” by Korn from Life is Peachy
“Freak on a Leash” by Korn from Follow the Leader
“Nookie” by Limp Bizkit from Significant Other
“My Own Summer (Shove It)” by Deftones from Around the Fur
“Solitaire / Unraveling” by Mushroomhead from M3
“Bombshell” by Powerman 5000 from Anyone for Doomsday?
“Denial” by Sevendust from Home
“Last Resort” by Papa Roach from Infest
“Blue Monday” by Orgy from Candyass
“Spit it Out” by Slipknot from Slipknot
“From This Day” by Machine Head from The Burning Red
“Bawitdaba” by Kid Rock from Devil Without a Cause
“Push It” by Static-X from Wisconsin Death Trip
“Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit from Significant Other
“Rollin’” by Limp Bizkit from Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
“One Step Closer” by Linkin Park from Hybrid Theory
“Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed from The Sickness
“Happy?” by Mudvayne from Lost and Found
“Brackish” by Kittie from Spit
“Chop Suey!” by System of a Down from Toxicity
“Control” by Puddle of Mudd from Come Clean
“The Red” by Chevelle from Wonder What’s Next
“Nobody” by Skindred from Babylon
“Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence from Fallen
“Coming Undone” by Korn from See You on the Other Side
“In the End” by Linkin Park from Hybrid Theory
“Walk This Way” by Run DMC and Aerosmith from Raising Hell
“Butterfly” by Crazy Town from The Gift of Game
Music used in the Heavy Metal Historian Intro Theme
was performed and written by AGAINST 72 – used with permission
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Home UK Culture Why are tattoos popular in the UK?
Why are tattoos popular in the UK?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of British style? Is it suits and ties, tweed jackets, leather satchels or maybe chelsea boots? Brits are known to be completely obsessed with the spotless, vintage and classy look but who would have thought that one in three people in the UK has at least one tattoo?
A research shows that Birmingham is the most tattooed English city. It leads the way with 48 per cent of “brummies” having an average of six tattoos. Norwich and Glasgow are not far behind. Now that we have the stats the question is why are Brits so in love with having tattoos? Well, for one it is no longer seen as an extreme thing to do and has become more socially accepted.
However, the humble tattoo will always divide people. Some think it is a working-class thing to do that can harm your chances of landing the perfect job, finding a partner and so forth. And there are some people, and possibly an increasing number, that believe it’s a form of art and self-expression.
Regardless of your opinion on tattoos the history is fascinating and can be traced back to the time of Julius Caesar. Tattoos were first written about by Sir Jason Banks who sailed with James Cook to find new lands in 1769.
The invention of the modern day tattooing technique didn’t come about until in 1891 when it was invented by Samuel O’Riley, an Irish-American tattooist in New York. The procedure was painful but it took off first amongst the elite and then the masses.
Prominent Brits that are tattooed
Among the notable British people to have a tattoo is Winston Churchill, who was the Prime Minister twice and came from an aristocratic family. His tattoo was of an anchor on his left upper arm and his wife also had one of a snake on her wrist.
Samantha Cameron, the wife of the former Prime Minister David Cameron, also has a tattoo of a dolphin on her ankle. It would appear that tattooing has now become mainstream but it begs the question – what do all these motifs and symbols mean?
The meanings behind tattoos
In the 1800s tattoos were incredibly popular amongst British sailors, with over 90 per cent having one. The tattoo told a story of their voyages and where they served. For example, a turtle meant you had crossed the equator, an anchor meant you had crossed the Atlantic and a dragon meant you had served in a China station.
Today it is more of a fashion statement and there is no denying the inspiration comes from celebrities, such as David Beckham. There are hardly two identical tattoos in the world. With over 20 million of them adorning the bodies of Brits, where does the inspiration come from?
There are regional influences in the designs people choose and a big difference from city to city. For example people from Liverpool favour tattoos that pay tribute to a loved one that have died. People from Aberdeen prefer designs that are more tribal and they are influenced by the tattoos of Polynesian and Maori warriors.
The attitude towards tattooing in the UK has changed significantly over the last 50 years. Seven per cent of people born in the 50s are likely to have a tattoo but 42 per cent of people born in the 80s and 90s have one. What do you think about tattoos? YAY or NAY?
Learn Glaswegian Slang
Britain’s role in America’s independence
Brits and dating: 10 things you should know
Humans of Great Britain
What is the British class system?
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Read the European Union Resolutions on The Cyprus Problem
Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-05-17
[01] CUBAN OFFICIAL - CYPRUS
[02] IACOVOU - CoE MEETING
[03] AIRPORTS - AGREEMENT
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Eumelio Caballero Rodriguez reaffirmed his country`s position for a solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of UN and Non-Aligned Movement decisions and resolutions.
Rodriguez, met yesterday with Cypriot House of Representatives President Demetris Christofias, who expressed gratitude to the Cuban official for the steadfast support of his country to the struggle of the Cypriot people for a just and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Christofias and Rodriguez discussed the very good and friendly relations between Cyprus and Cuba, and expressed the wish for the further strengthening of these relations in various sectors.
They also talked about the good relations between the two countries` parliaments and the necessity for more exchanges on a parliamentary level.
Rodriguez informed Christofias on the foreign policy of Cuba and its relations with the EU, and said he looked forward to the support of the Republic of Cyprus towards enhancing these relations.
Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs George Iacovou departs for Strasbourg on Thursday to participate in the 116th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, to be held on May 18 and 19.
According to an official press release, the meeting will deal with the foundation of the system of the Council of Europe for the protection of human rights. The Ministers will be called upon to adopt a declaration regarding the package of reforms of the system of protection of human rights. The reforms are based on May 2004 decisions of the Ministerial Conference and aim at the more effective implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights, both on the national and European level.
Other issues on the agenda are the relations of the Council of Europe with the European Union, the enhancement of CoE activities to promote democracy and proper administration, the Forum on the Future of Democracy, and the development of the intercultural dialogue.
Furthermore, on May 18 the customary informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held, during which the question of Kosovo will be discussed.
Cypriot Minister of Communications and Works Charis Thrasou has said that an agreement signed on May 11 between the Ministry, on behalf of the government, and Hermes Airports Ltd, for the construction of new airports in Larnaca and Paphos, provides for a total revenue of two billion euros, of which 33% will be going to the state.
Thrasou told a press conference on Tuesday that the agreement also provides for the administration of the airports by Hermes Airports Ltd for a period of 25 years, during which the state will be receiving an annual amount of 3.5 million euros.
He said works for the construction of the Larnaca Airport new passenger building would begin in early June and was expected to be completed by the end of the year 2009, while similar works at Paphos Airport would also begin in early June and be completed by the end of 2008.
The Minister added that both airports include plenty of parking space, VIP lounges, specially equipped lounges for businesspeople, a closed circuit TV network and common use terminal equipment. Larnaca Airport will additionally provide a CIP (Commercially Important Persons) lounge.
The first phase of Larnaca Airport will cover an area of 95,000 square metres, will have 16 airgates and a capacity of 7.5 million passengers. The second phase will bring the area up to about 112,000 square metres with a capacity of 9 million passengers. Paphos Airport will cover 18,000 square metres and will be able to serve 2.7 million passengers.
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Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry: do the right thing for the right reasons!
Meet the Professor
Some people dream of success, while others get up every morning and make it happen. As a child, Prof. Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry had seen his parents struggle with complex medical conditions. Seeing his mother go through a series of complicated biopsies, he started out to pursue the possibility of “virtual biopsy”, which is defined as biological profiles of specific tumors that may help predict a patient’s response to treatment and probability of long-term survival, and decided to enter the field of diagnostic and interventional radiology.
While Prof. Chaudhry is striving hard day after day to turn “virtual biopsy” into reality, he has been gaining comprehensive exposure in advanced imaging, particularly in oncology, metabolic disorders and inflammation. Through this interview, Journal of Thoracic Disease (JTD) is interested to know the critical issues facing the field, some latest advances in advanced imaging, the effectiveness of computed tomography (CT) in lung cancer screening, the recent research projects that Prof. Chaudhry is currently working on, as well as the interesting and challenging aspects during research and the pursuit of his lifelong mission—the realization of “virtual biopsy”.
Expert introduction
Prof. Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry, MD, currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at City of Hope, Duarte, California, the US (Figure 1). After receiving his medical degree with honors from University of South Florida College of Medicine, he completed residency at Stony Brook University Medical Center and then his fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he stayed on as faculty before joining City of Hope.
Figure 1 Prof. Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry.
As the founder and director of the Precision Imaging Lab at City of Hope, Prof. Chaudhry’s research has been centered on applications of advanced imaging [functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography-MRI (PET-MRI), perfusion weighting imaging (PWI), hyperpolarized MRI] in oncology, metabolic disorders and inflammation. His goal is to expand the options for non-invasive diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases. He is actively involved in a wide range of academic activities—publishing hundreds of research articles, presentations and abstracts, reviewing for several peer-reviewed scientific journals, and giving lectures at different national/international scientific conventions. He earned several teaching awards and was presented the Young Investigator Award by City of Hope in 2017.
JTD: Having been in the field of advanced imaging in oncology, metabolic disorders and inflammation for years, what do you think are the critical issues facing the field right now?
Prof. Chaudhry: One of the main issues is lack of specificity in advanced imaging. Conventional CT, PET-CT, and MRI are good in their respective sensitivities of detecting a lesion. However, the lack of specificity makes diagnosing challenging. This is further compounded by factors such as increasing incidence of multiple cancers in patients (e.g., breast and lung cancer, lymphoma and lung cancer, melanoma and lung lesions). In the aforementioned cases, it is difficult to ascertain whether the lung lesions are primary lung or metastatic (especially if there is one lung nodule).
Cost and availability are another critical issue in advanced imaging. Advanced imaging is costly- partially because of the time commitment but also because emerging technologies carry the burden of innovation cost. As such, patients generally have limited access to these technologies—usually at academic centers ± clinical trials set up. Finding creative ways to budget these emerging advanced imaging techniques presents a unique challenge.
JTD: What are some latest advances in the field of advanced imaging in the recent decade?
Prof. Chaudhry: PET-MRI—this “two-in-one” modality combines the strength of PET and MRI and allows for simultaneous acquisition of PET and MRI sequences. Benefits include: (I) time efficient—instead of getting a separate MRI and PET exam (can be up to two hours), patient undergoes simultaneous PET-MRI which can perform whole body MRI and PET series acquisitions within one hour; (II) MRI allows for improved tissue contrast, improved spatial resolution, without the burden of ionizing radiation from CT (as is the case in PET/CT). PET adds functional information which compliments MRI findings, thus allowing for more precise evaluations of lesions.
ImmunoPET (iPET)—instead of using conventional FDG (18-fluorodeoxyglucose) as radiotracer, iPET works via radioconjugation of specific antibodies and/or small molecules that target cell surface receptors. This provides a targeted approach to tumor cell detection. For example, 89Zr-Girentuximab iPET is radioconjugate Girentuximab with zirconium, which is a carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) inhibitor over expressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).
Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST)—MRI is a technique which can detect compounds that have exchangeable component (e.g., proton, amide, etc.). This technique takes advantage of the magnetization transfer of mobile compounds (e.g., water, amino acids, etc.). CEST evaluates slow exchange (proton, amide, etc.) over time and this imaging techniques gain signal from both the direct chemical exchange as well as through dipolar cross-relaxation. This emerging technique can potentially be used to evaluate tumor microenvironment and metabolomics.
JTD: What role does CT play in lung cancer management? What are the limitations of the use of CT in lung cancer screening?
Prof. Chaudhry: CT is currently the primary diagnostic tool being used for primary lung cancer detection and post-treatment follow-up. CT provides the optimal spatial and temporal contrast resolution required to evaluate pulmonary lesions, especially at an early (‘in situ’) stage where these lesions are generally less than 10 mm. CT can readily detect lesions from 0.3 to 0.5 mm (in some of the newer CT scanners) to 1 mm and above. Artifact from air and motion has limited utility of MRI in diagnosis and management of primary lung cancer. PET, due to its spatial resolution limitations, works well when combined with CT (PET-CT).
Although CT is excellent in its sensitivity of detecting lung lesions, there are a few limitations. The biggest limitation is the lack of specificity, especially when lesion morphologically is well defined. In such scenarios, if lesion is ‘sizeable’ (>7 mm), then PET can potentially identify metabolic activity which can provide to additional pathologic or benign characteristics of the detected nodule. However, if there is minimal to mild or no PET activity, then in patients with risk factors (e.g., age, smoking, nodule size, etc.) the nodule is either followed-up over serial CT’s or biopsied. Also, lung cancer screening becomes more complex in patients with lung cancer risk factors who have history of additional malignancies (e.g., colon cancer, smoking related cancers, renal, bladder, pancreatic cancers, etc.). In such subjects, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain whether the lung lesion is primary or secondary neoplasm and often requires confirmatory biopsies.
JTD: Would you introduce us to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded project, namely “City of Hope Clinical Oncology Career Research Development Program”?
Prof. Chaudhry: City of Hope Clinical Oncology Career Research Development program is designed for young investigators, such as myself, with interest in improving patient care through research and discovery. The program started in 1991 and is funded by the NIH. Dr. Joanne Mortimer is the institutional Principal Investigator who oversees the research scholars. The objective of the award is to “develop the next generation of academic oncologists in a variety of multidisciplinary fields with an ability to translate advances in cancer biology into novel strategies for the diagnosis, therapy and prevention of malignant disease.
The program is highly competitive and candidates are selected based on various criteria. The program provides a multidisciplinary curriculum including didactics, along with clinical experience and laboratory in basic, translational and clinical research within cancer-related fields. All the scholars have two mentors: one clinical and one basic science, both with excellent track record of innovative, funded research. I am fortunate to have Dr. Behnam Badie (Neurosurgery) and Dr. Andrea Bild (Pharmacology) as my two mentors. Under their mentorship, I have developed my Precision Imaging Lab where I am performing both diagnostic and therapeutic research testing our scientific hypotheses. At present, I am in phase I of my grant where I’m developing novel imaging agents and coupling those with the aforementioned emerging advanced imaging technologies (PET-MRI, iPET, CEST-MRI).
JTD: Your goal is to expand the options for non-invasive diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases. To what extent have you fulfilled your goal so far?
Prof. Chaudhry: As my goal is to expand options for noninvasive diagnosis and treatment, in phase I of my research, I have developed iPET agents and MRI contrast agents. We are conducting in vitro studies to develop the model that we use for our phase II (in vivo) imaging. Early in vitro findings are promising and we are hoping to start our phase II in vivo imaging in the last quarter of 2018.
JTD: What do you regard as the most interesting aspects of research? What have been driving you to move forward to achieve your goal?
Prof. Chaudhry: One of the most interesting aspects of research is compiling the present knowledge on a disease, identifying frontiers where highest impact research can be conducted and generating hypotheses. Data analysis is another interesting component of research not only because that is where one identifies whether the hypothesis was validated or not, but also some of the data raises questions that pave way for the next round of research projects. Lastly, as one’s career matures, seeing the body of your work answer questions and direct research within and outside your own institutional is exciting and fulfilling.
Not to be cliché’, but the primary drivers of my research have been my parents. I became interested in medicine when my father had a heart attack when I was 8 years old. As I accompanied my father to his appointments, I heard various medical terminologies that I had no idea about, but I was interested in knowing what they meant—not just their definition, but what it meant prognostically for my father. When I was 13, my mother was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis secondary to her scleroderma. The final diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis was made after my mother had gone through a series of biopsies. Seeing her go through the challenges of complicated biopsies made me want and hope for “virtual biopsy” and noninvasive therapies. Upon discovering, there is no such thing as “virtual biopsy”, I took it upon myself as my life’s mission to develop it. That is what leads me to diagnostic and interventional radiology, which is the field where I felt I could pioneer “virtual biopsy”.
JTD: As the founder and director of the Precision Imaging Lab at City of Hope, were there any obstacles when you first started it up?
Prof. Chaudhry: Translating the concept of “virtual biopsy” into reality has not been an easy task. As one would expect, hearing a teenager talk about “virtual biopsy” and noninvasive therapies was taken up with a lot of cynicism and ridicule. Early on, I realized that turning a concept into something tangible is always hard. Precision Imaging Lab started with the idea of “virtual biopsy”. There have been many obstacles which are financial, geospatial as well as other miscellaneous ones. I have been able to overcome financial challenges through grant funding (NIH and foundational grants as well as institutional support). The financial support almost directly correlates with degree of academic success.
One of my most memorable moments was my publication on Characteristics CT Findings of Cryoablation Treatment of Malignant Lung Nodules (PMID 26496275). First, the paper showed our clinical outcomes after cryotherapy were comparable to external control (patient who have undergone surgical resection). Interestingly, our patient population was older and had a poorer functional score than the surgical cohort. Additionally, our paper defined the imaging criteria to use when evaluating post-cryoablation zones in the lungs. This was the first systematically studies hypothesis driven publication in this cohort. This publication was important, because it gave me the evidence I needed to present to the institutional leadership in order to get Precision Imaging Lab started and move forward with my mission of “virtual biopsy”.
JTD: What are the key factors of a successful research in your opinion?
Prof. Chaudhry: There are several key factors. The most important I believe is “doing the right thing for the right reasons”. I think if the investigator is passionate, honest, hardworking and driven to make positive impact, success will come. Another key factor is defining success. To me “success” is not a “positive” result of an experiment. Success is executing the entire experiment using the scientific method and accruing and analyzing results as they become available. Cumulative success in completing the experiment will help one in redefining and improving standard of care. This, my hope is, will bring the “ultimate success” which will be making “virtual biopsy” a reality for the patients and not just a figment of my imagination.
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Prof. Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry for sharing his insights and opinions with us.
Conflicts of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
(Science Editor: Brad Li, JTD, jtd@amepc.org)
Cite this article as: Li B. Ammar Ahmed Chaudhry: do the right thing for the right reasons! J Thorac Dis 2018;10(11):E787-E790. doi: 10.21037/jtd.2018.10.18
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UKIC / International Student Scholar Services / Building a Leader
Building a Leader
Monday, November 12, 2018 | By Paulina Zarate
Jiaxun Bei (Jackson), from Shenyang, Liaoning province in China, is a sophomore at UK. His passion for food and wanting a healthier life is what drove him to pick his major dietetics and nutrition with a focus on nutrition and healthcare. He said hopes to one day help others live and have healthier lifestyles.
At first, coming to the University of Kentucky was a scary moment for Bei because he had never been to the U.S. prior. “I had never been to another country before,” Bei said. “I was worried about whether I would be lonely here and if I would study well here.” Bei explained that he didn’t know people at first and his English level at that time didn’t make it easier. “I couldn’t speak fluently and I couldn’t understand certain slang or accents,” he said.
Within a short time, Bei acclimated and went from feeling scared to becoming a confident leader in the international community. He said that the way he has gotten involved on campus has helped him get rid of his fear of being lonely and that UK’s efforts in sharing its culture with students has also helped him feel at home and part of the big blue community.
As an international student, Bei has always wanted to become an impactful leader within the international community. This desire is what has motivated him to get involved on campus in various ways.
His freshman year he belonged to the International Living Learning Program (LLP), which is a program made available to students who are curious and wish to learn about other cultures. Bei was looking to meet new people, especially International students and their cultures, which is why he chose to be a part of the International Village and live where he learned.
Through this program, he learned about the International Student Leadership Team (ISLT). As a part of the ISLT, he works with his peers to brainstorm, create and implement events that other international students can participate in. Bei mentioned that some of the biggest roles ISLT has include organizing and hosting the international student orientation and serving as peer mentors for those new international students who seek guidance and support. During orientation, Bei is able to meet new international students and help them feel welcomed on campus and make them aware of the resources available. As a peer mentor, he said he shows students that they have a good support system on campus from staff and mentors like himself.
Reflecting on some of his time as an ISLT member, Bei said that one of his favorite moments was going to the ice cream social and getting to meet the newly-arrived international students.
Bei added that Seth Hall, Academic Coordinator and his supervisor in the ISLT, has made a significant impact on his life. Having worked with Seth has given him the opportunity to learn several skills including project management and leadership skills when planning events and running meetings – many of these which he is applying in his coursework and will use in his future career.
Although being so far from home, Bei makes sure to stay in touch with his Chinese culture on campus. He does so by going to events the UK Confucius Institute organizes. These events are immersive experiences in Chinese culture, festivities and Chinese cuisine. Bei said he often brings his non-Chinese friends along to show them a glimpse of what his culture is like.
Being an international student, Bei experienced all the fears and worries that all other incoming international students have before arriving on campus, like possible language barrier, feeling home-sick, classroom setting, academic experience, etc. To these students, Bei suggested getting involved in the events offered by the ISLT and participate in a student organization. Bei said these two things will help students make new friends, learn about the American culture and improve their language with the help of their peers.
“I have had a very amazing experience and awesome experience at UK,” Bei said. “I like the classes and events and I also like the sports here. So, if you are interested in getting involved in UK, you’re welcomed to come to UK and share the same experience with me.”
2018 - 12:00pmMonday, November 12, 2018
Apply to University of Kentucky
Internationalization at UK
International Student Enrollment
Education Abroad Student Enrollment
#YouAreWelcomeHere Campaign
GoinGlobal Career Source
Global Kentucky Newsletter
UKIC Student Internships
International Education Week
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Inventi Rapid - Molecular Modeling
Dr A Nokhodchi
is serving at Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Kent, UK. He earlier served at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and King’s College London after obtaining his PhD on Pharmaceutical Technology at John Moores University, Liverpool. He has supervised over 90 MPharm project students and 8 PhD postgraduate students at several institutions in various fields of pharmaceutical technology. At the present he has 4 PhD students in his lab working on particle engineering, dissolution enhancement techniques and controlled release formulations. Email: [email protected]
Dr Ashawat
is a faculty staff member at BNCP (Girls) at Udaipur, India. His research area includes Herbal Cosmetic and their mode of actions, Biochemical and Histological changes in skin with relation to different skin ailment like loss of collagen matrix, elastin and imbalance of catalase and SOD, and protein content in skin samples; Sunscreen Studies and Intradermal Delivery of Potent Drug molecules.
Dr Asser Ibrahim Ghoneim
is a faculty staff member at Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, AinShams University, Cairo (Egypt). His research interest includes investigation of the potential protective effects of natural agents on hepatocyte death.
Dr Aysegül Güvenç
is a faculty staff member at Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Ankara University (Turkey). Her reseach interest includes: Medicinal Plants, Plant anatomy, Biological activity of medicinal plants (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory activities)
Dr Brahmeshwar Mishra
is Professor of Pharmaceutics at Banaras Hindu University, India. He has diverse interests in pharmaceutical technology. Email: [email protected]
Dr Daniela Rigano
is a researcher at Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Naples Federico II. The research activity of Dr Rigano is based on isolation and structural characterization of secondary metabolites extracted from medicinal and alimentary officinal plants and the study of properties of essential oils extracted from plants endemic of Mediterranean Basin.
Dr DK Sarker
University of Brighton (School of Pharmacy) Associate Professor completed his PhD in chemical physics/biophysics in 1995 from the University of East Anglia (UK). He spent considerable time working in the UK/Swiss pharmaceutical and healthcare Industry (Hoffmann-La Roche and GSK/Unilever) around studies and a post-doctoral and teaching period based at the universities of Paris (École Normale Supérièure) and Berlin (Potsdam) and national research institutes in France (INRA) and Germany (Max Planck). He has led research projects funded by private companies, the European Union, various research councils and the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTi) via KTP programmes. He is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and their professional and educational activities through outreach programmes, course provision and funding. Email: [email protected]
Dr G Maghraby
is Associate professor of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. His research interest includes: Application of differential scanning calorimetry to study the mechanisms of improved skin delivery of drugs after application of penetration enhancers or vesicular delivery carriers. Email: [email protected]
Dr Gabriella Csóka
Pharmacovigilance Manager in ExtractumPharma Co., Hungary. Her research area includes: Pharmacovigilance, Preformulation of transdermal therapeutic system (TTS), Preformulation of thermoresponsive drug delivery systems, Intelligent drug delivery systems, Intelligent polymers and Thermoanalitical analyis
Dr Glen Stephen Patten
is Team Leader, Nutritional Genomics, Adelaide SA, Australia. His current field of research includes: investigating the role of nutrition and in particular omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and plant bioactives in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Dr Harminder Singh
is Associate Professor at Department of Pharmacology, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (GGS, Medical College),PUNJAB, INDIA. His research interest includes pharmacovigilance.
Dr Ioan Tomuta
is a faculty staff member at Faculty of Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His research and development activities deals mainly with solid dosage forms. He is studying and using mathematical and statistical multi-factorial methods to rationalize pharmaceutical processes and drug formulations.
Dr Javed Ali
is a faculty staff member at Department of Pharmaceutics, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi. His research interest includes Novel Drug Delivery Systems.
Dr Jia-You Fang
is Chairperson and Professor, Graduate Institute of Natural Products, Chang Gung University, Taiwan. His Research Interest includes: Natural products, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacokinetics, Cosmetic science. Email: [email protected]
Dr Kanchan Gupta
is a faculty staff member at Dept of Pharmacology, DMC, Ludhiana, India. Her research interest includes Drug Utilization Studies, In Vivo and In Vitro Pharmacology and Toxicology Studies; Experimental, Clinical, Cardiovascular, Neuropharmacology and Psycopharmacological Studies
Dr Khairi Mustafa Salem F Elbom
is Dean- College of Pharmacy, Al-Ain University of Science and Technology, UAE. His area of research includes: Chromatographic techniques, Spectrophotometric Methods, Atomic absorption and atomic emission spectrometry.
Dr Kunn Hadinoto
is an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received a bachelor degree from University of Washington (2000) and a doctoral degree from PurdueUniversity (2004) both in chemical engineering. His current research interests are in the area of pulmonary drug delivery with emphasis on dry powder inhaler formulation of therapeutic nanoparticles, antibiotic aerosol formulation to treat pulmonary biofilm infections, spray-drying and spray-freeze-drying productions of nano-scale solid dosage form, and modelling of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. He has published more than thirty peer-reviewed journal and conference articles in various areas of pharmaceutical engineering and particle technology. Email: [email protected]
Dr Luiz Alberto Lira Soares
is Professor at Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UFPE/Brazil), and also permanent Professor at Postgraduate Course in Pharmaceutical Sciences (UFRN/Brazil). His teaching and research interests are solid dosage forms (design and physics of tablet compression), disperse systems and phytopharmaceutical with emphasis in technological development and analytical methods. He is a member of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia Commission since 2008.
Dr Martins Emeje
is a Research Fellow with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Nigeria. He is interested in creating an understanding of the molecular behavior of polymeric materials and the compaction properties of pharmaceutical powders, excipients and active pharmaceutical ingredients including the physics/mechanics of tablet formulation using these substances. Email: [email protected]
Dr Marwan SM Al-Nimer
is a Professor of Pharmacology at College of Medicine, Al-MustansirityaUniversity (Iraq). He is a member of Scientific Research Committee in Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Dr MK Sangun
is Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Arts and Sciences Faculty, Mustafa Kemal University, TURKEY. His research interest includes: Extraction Techniques, Natural Products, Analysis of Environmental Pollutants, Manufacturing and Development of Cosmetics and ICP, HPLC, GC, IC Techniques.
Dr Naeem Hasan Khan
is Senior Associate Professor & Head at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, AIMST University, MALAYSIA. He has interest in synthetic, natural and analytical chemistry. His methods have been included in USP, EP and other pharmacopoeias.
Dr Najl Valeyev
is a faculty member at the Center for Molecular Processing, University of Kent, UK. His research interest includes: In silico molecular modelling of pharmaceutically important signal transduction pathways that regulate intracellular processes involved in human diseases; and, Development of systems biology assisted disease treatments especially for the cases of complex diseases involving simultaneous interplay of a variety of factors. He has been awarded various grants, distinctions and fellowships. (ebe, enb)
Dr Nick Kalogeropoulos
is Assistant Professor of Food and Environmental Chemistry at Department of the Science of Dietetics and Nutrition, HarokopioUniversity, Athens, Greece. His interest includes: Alteration of food macro- and microconstituents during cooking and processing; Isolation and characterization of natural extracts from aromatic plants, herbs, and plant food material; Microencapsulation of bioactive compounds for use in foods; Fatty acids distribution in lipids from food and biological samples; and Determination of pollutants in food.
Dr Ozgen Ozer
, Professor at Faculty of Pharmacy, Ege University (Turkey), is a Member of Turkish Cosmetology Scientists' Association (TÜKAD). Her area of interest includes Dermal/transdermal delivery, emulsions, gels, colloidal systems and stability studies pertaining to cosmeceuticals.
Dr Parloop Bhatt
is Associate Professor at LM College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, India. She began her career as a Product Development Officer in Torrent Laboratories and has guided number of post graduate and doctoral students in the field of pharmacy and clinical research.
Dr Patricia Dias Fernandes
is a faculty at Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Óxido Nítrico Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Dr Ravi Iyer
is a Senior Research Analyst at Caremark Inc, Wheeling, IL (USA). His interests include: Analysis of Pharmacy and Disease Management Programs; Clinical and financial Outcomes analysis relating to management of chronic diseases like Diabetes, COPD, CAD, HF, and Asthma; Performing hypothesis and significance testing, categorical data analysis, regression based modeling techniques (linear and logistic); Predictive modeling to examine the predictors of healthcare cost and utilization in chronically ill patients.
Dr Rozangela Curi Pedrosa
is Director of the Department of Innovation & Technology, Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). She has developed research on issues: assessment of the biological activity of natural products and synthetic, ethnopharmacology, cancer and oxidative stress.
Dr Ryszard Amarowicz
is a faculty staff member at Division of Food Research, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of Polish Academy of Sciences, Olsztyn, Poland. His field of interest includes: Food analysis, analytical chemistry, phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, tannins, lignans), antioxidant activity of natural antioxidants, antioxidant activity of protein hydrolysates, antimicrobial activity of phenolic compounds, chromatography of natural compounds.
Dr Satomi Onoue
is a faculty at Department of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics and Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan. His current research interests include: (1) Development of peptide-based drug candidates for treatment of asthma/COPD, dry eye, and diabetes; (2) Design of dry powder inhalation system for pulmonary administration of peptides; and (3) Development of novel analytical tools for predicting drug-induced phototoxicity of pharmaceutical substances
Dr Shabihul Fatma Abidi
is a Scientist at Nutrition Research Laboratory, Aligarh Muslim University, India. Her research is focused towards the dietary essential amino acid needs.
Dr Srisagul Sungthongjeen
is a faculty staff member at Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Naresuan University, THAILAND. His research interest includes: Controlled release delivery system, especially pulsatile drug delivery system and gastroretentive drug delivery system (floating drug delivery systems, mucoadhesive drug delivery systems); Swellable and non-swellable matrix tablets for controlled drug release; Polymer sciences and technology, especially biopolymers; Single unit (tablets) and multiparticulate (pellets, beads) drug delivery systems.
Dr Stefania Miccadei
is a Professor at Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome. Her area of interest includes: Gastronomic Science and Pathology.
Dr Suhasini Bhatnagar
is a Pune based Molecular Biotechnologist .Her research interests lie in Drug discovery and the area of major interest is the infectious diseases.
Dr Sunita Amrutesh
is Professor & Head Department of OMR at KLE Dental College, Bengaluru. Her research interest includes: radioprotective studies, serological hepatic B immunity in vaccinated health care workers, radiomorphometric indices and remineralization of artificial caries.
Dr Tripta Bansal
is a Scientist at National Dope Testing Laboratory, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Her interest includes preclinical pharmacokinetic evaluation of NCEs/drugs in rodents; in vivo liver and intestinal organ perfusion systems, tissue distribution studies, vein and bile duct cannulation; Preclinical data analysis, modeling and biostatistics.
Dr UM Iyer
is a Professor at Department of Foods & Nutrition, Faculty of Family and Community sciences, MS University Baroda, India. Her area of interest includes: Adolescent Nutrition (Determinants of Undernutrition and overnutrition); Dietary management of Diabetes Mellitus (Curry leaves, Sundakai, Spirulina, Panchratna juice, Amla, Barley grass, Wheat grass etc); Development of simple screening tool for identification of risk at diabetic and cardiac subjects.
Dr Yingming Pan
is a Professor at Key Laboratory for the Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Medicinal Resources (Ministry of Education of China) and School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering of Guangxi Normal University. His research interests include the separation, synthesis, and investigation of the biological activity of natural compounds.
Dr. Isik Ozguney
is a faculty staff member at Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Ege University, TURKEY. Her research focuses are sustained release drug delivery systems (microcapsules and matrix tablets), micromeritic studies, rectal drug delivery (sustained release suppositories), transdermal drug delivery (microemulsions and gels), hot melt extrusion technology and in situ gelling systems for rectal and ocular drug delivery.
Dr. Milap C. Nahata
is Professor and Chairman, Pharmacy Practice and Administration, College of Pharmacy; Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, College of Medicine; Associate Director of Pharmacy, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH. His research interest includes Efficacy and safety of various drug therapies in patients, Pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of drugs in patients, Health outcomes/quality of life studies in patients on pharmacotherapy, Development of stable and palatable dosage forms of drugs for patients.
Dr. Raida Al-Kassas
is a faculty staff member at School of Pharmacy, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has an extensive research experience focused on the use of multiparticulate delivery systems including microspheres and nanoparticles for administration of drug substances and anti-bacterial agents. She has successfully established a research theme in the use of nanoparticles for incorporation of bioactive macromolecules such as DNA, antigens and proteins to be used for immunization and for the treatment of cancer.
Mr M Tongra
is a Drug Control Officer with Govt of Rajasthan, India. He has undergone Clinical Research and IPR trainings at NIH, Maryland and WIPO, Geneva respectively.
Mr Saleem Z Shaikh
is Head Analytical Research at Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals, Jeddah. His area of interest includes Quality Assurance of pharmaceuticals.
Mr SS Randhawa
works as Country Sales Manager -Pharmaceuticals in Oman. He started his career as Medical Representative, thereafter worked as Pharmacist, promoted to Business Development Executive and then to Head Operations. His area of interest is Pharmaceutical care.
Mrs Partibha Nand
is a faculty staff member at MS Institute of Pharmacy, India. She has authored number of books on Pharmaceutical Dispensing, Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy.
Prof. Rosario Pignatello
is Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Catania (Italy). His research activity within the innovative pharmaceutical technology involve in particular: polymer micro- and nanoparticles, ocular drug delivery systems, lipophilic prodrugs and conjugates, chemically engineered polymers, liposomes, SLN; drug-biomembrane interaction studies (DSC, LB).
Prof. Weidong Zhang
is the Director of Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine of Second Military Medical University (China). His major achievements are in the field of bioactive natural products discovery for therapeutical applications, QA&QC; of herbal medicine, large scale Natural Product Library (both virtual and material), biological fingerprint, formula of TCM, metabonomics and chemical biology of natural products.
Dr. Shekhar Verma
is Associate professor of Pharmaceutics. Completed his PhD in novel and controlled dug delivery systems from Gurughasidas Central University, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh state, India. His research interest includes: Non aqueous emulsions and microemulsions, development of carriers for poorly aqueous soluble drugs, delivery of enhancers or vesicular delivery carriers, nutraceuticals etc
Dr. Santosh A. Payghan
is Associate Professor in Pharmaceutics, completed his Ph D in Development of Non aqueous emulsion and Ionic Liquid reservoirs from Jodhpur National University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Currently working at perview of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharshtra. His research interests includes; development of carriers for poorly aqueous soluble drugs, optimization and stabilization of Dispersed Systems, Nanoemulsion, Microspheres, Injectables, Microemulsions, Non aqueous emulsion, Ionic liquid reservoirs and other novel drug delivery systems.
Rishi Kumar Rahangdale
Rishi holds a Master of Business Administration degree from West Texas A&M University , Texas, USA, and Master of Pharmacy with specialization in Pharmaceutics from B.R. Nahata college of Pharmacy , Mandsaur, India. He has completed his Bachelor’s in Pharmacy From S.G.S.I.T.S. Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Further, he is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). He has more than ten years of professional experience and has served various leadership roles in pharmaceutical industry specific to research & development, process optimization, scale-up, operation, business development, project management, stakeholder management and strategy. He also worked as an independent consultant for pharmaceutical industry.
Shikha Prasad
Shikha received her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas, USA. She completed her Bachelor’s in Pharmacy from B.I.T. Mesra, Ranchi. She has more than eight years of professional experience in pharmaceutical research ranging from formulation research & development, process optimization and scale-up to basic research in fields related to genetic disorders, blood brain barrier, inflammation, tobacco smoke toxicity and diabetes. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral researcher in department of neurology, Feinberg school of medicine at Northwestern University. Her research has been published in valued international journals, such as Redox Biology, BMC neuroscience, Fluids and Barriers of the CNS, Pharmaceutical Research, Brain Research, Toxicology, Neurotoxicology, and Expert Opin Drug Discovery. She has further presented her work in several national and international meetings and conferences including AAPS, SOT, ACT and Experimental Biology.
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Starting 2014 with the long lost ERC003, Cosmic Hoffmann’s Space Disco is finally released!!
Scheduled to appear at the beginning of the label’s life, this kosmiche disco classic is at last presented, coming as both the 1982 full released version, in all it’s Euro disco glory, and also included on the flip, the earlier, synthesised, experimental 1978 original take that shows Hoffmann’s link with the classic German 70′s Kraut-Space-Rock sound.
A decision was made to hold ERC003 back so that not only was the unreleased 1978 version included, here in remastered form, but the fully realised, 1982 cosmic disco version was also able to be included on one special 10″ together, as at the time the latter was unavailable.
A graduate of both the German Psychedelic and then Progressive Rock scenes of the last 60s, Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock really came in to his own with the adoption the Mellotron as his music weapon of choice. After spending much of the 1970s as a member of a number of German bands, it was the latter years that saw him finally branching out in to more expansive and electronic spheres.
The results were often long experimental, kosmiche jams, but the two songs included here were perhaps Klaus’ most uptempo and even, commercial sounds. While only the 1982 version saw the light of day, it’s place in the Cosmic Disco scene was assured. Even better for the heads it appeared as a b-side cut of a failed 7″ release, however now over 20 years later, available again.
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Cinedigm Partners with Future Today, Inc. to Distribute and Monetize Viewster Streaming Service
Source : GlobeNewswire Inc.
Stock : Cinedigm Corp (CIDM)
Quote : 1.21 0.01 (0.83%) @ 12:59AM
Cinedigm Corp. (NASDAQ:CIDM)
Cinedigm Corp (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Future Today, Inc, a market-leading OTT platform and one of the largest AVOD channel networks in the world, to distribute and Monetize Viewster, Cinedigm’s general entertainment ad-supported service.
Under the terms of the agreement, Future Today will relaunch Viewster across all channels of distribution including connected televisions, set-top boxes, mobiles applications, and the web. Future Today will also leverage their proven advertising technology and sales capabilities to monetize the service, which is expected to relaunch on the Future Today platform within the next 30 days.
Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2007, and acquired by Cinedigm in February 2019, Viewster is a core element of the Company’s ad-based content strategy, offering an eclectic entertainment library of more than 6,000 films and series. Viewster’s content spans a wide array of genres, including animation, anime, comedy, documentaries, drama and horror.
Future Today, owns and operates more than 700 content channels with more than 60 million app installs, and manages more than 200,000 film, television and digital content assets that currently receive more than 85 million video views per month in a variety of categories including entertainment, movies, food & lifestyle, animation, and kids. Future Today’s cloud-based technology and ad-based monetization platform manages OTT services for more than 350 content owners, producers, distributors and major media companies helping them launch and monetize complex Connected TV channels across devices in a matter of days.
“Future Today is the perfect partner to take our acquisition and monetization of Viewster to the next level,” said Erick Opeka, President of Cinedigm Digital Networks. “They are experts at quickly relaunching ad-supported OTT services and dramatically improving watch times, user engagement, and revenue potential.”
“Viewster is a great brand and a pioneer in the AVOD space,” said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today. “We look forward to revitalizing the service’s market position and market potential.”
Cinedigm recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Future Today for $45 million in cash and $15 million in Cinedigm Common stock. The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
About CinedigmSince inception, Cinedigm has been a leader at the forefront of the digital transformation of content distribution. Adjusting to the rapidly transforming business needs of today’s entertainment landscape, Cinedigm remains a change-centric player focused on providing content, channels and services to the world’s largest media, technology and retail companies. Cinedigm’s Content and Networks groups provide original and aggregated programming, channels and services that entertain consumers globally across hundreds of millions of devices. For more information, visit www.cinedigm.com.
About Future TodayEstablished in 2006 by Founder and CEO Alok Ranjan and Co-Founders Vikrant Mathur, Sumeet Anand and Sharib Khan, Future Today, Inc is a pioneer and leader in the OTT media and technology landscape having launched its first suite of OTT channels in 2011. The company has also successfully developed popular channels like HappyKids.tv and Fawesome.tv. To date, the company has amassed more than 60 million downloads of their more 700+ channels across a diverse segment of categories including food, lifestyle, news, sports, kids and entertainment. The self-funded company runs a well-managed, cost-efficient and profitable operation. For more information, visit www.futuretodayinc.com
Safe Harbor StatementInvestors and readers are cautioned that certain statements contained in this document, as well as some statements in periodic press releases and some oral statements of Cinedigm officials during presentations about Cinedigm, along with Cinedigm's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Cinedigm's registration statements, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, which include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "could," "might," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance (including future revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future actions, which may be provided by Cinedigm's management, are also forward-looking statements as defined by the Act. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions about Cinedigm, its technology, economic and market factors and the industries in which Cinedigm does business, among other things. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and Cinedigm undertakes no specific obligation or intention to update these statements after the date of this release.
For more information:Jill Newhouse CalcaterraCinedigmjcalcaterra@cinedigm.com310-466-5135
Latest CIDM Messages
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Madison Researchers Study Estrogen's Role in Cervical Cancer
Posted by Robert Larkin on Mon, Jun 15, 2015
Cervical cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths for women worldwide, with more than 500,000 new cases per year. In the United States, however, early screening and HPV vaccine have resulted in a decline in U.S. rates to approximately 12,000 cases annually.
Despite these advances in the United States, cervical cancer remains a worldwide concern, and research of the disease continues to yield impressive results.
To this end, scientists at University of Wisconsin, Madison have recently made a surprising discovery. Contrary to the prior popular consensus among cancer researchers, a UW-Madison team has concluded that estrogen receptors nearly vanish in cervical cancer tumors.
Madison cancer researchers recently examined the genetic profiles of 128 clinical cases to reach the surprising conclusion. The findings further bolster the understanding of cervical cancer's progression and offers valuable new targets to fight the disease, according to a university press release.
To reach their conclusion, the team analyzed the genetic information from a selection of the 4,000 women who participated in the Study to Understand Cervical Cancer Early Endpoints and Determinants (SUCCEED), which was led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
"Our top goal is to find genetic signatures that will predict what early stages of HPV infection are most likely to become cancerous, and what stages we need to worry less about," said Johan den Boon, associate scientist with the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Estrogen receptor is in the healthy cells. But as the cells become cancerous, the levels of estrogen receptor alpha crash to the point of being undetectable."
These results indicate that something crucial is occurring that allows the tumor to survive and grow despite its inability to "see" estrogen. "If we want to understand the role of estrogen, we now have to look at how the tumor and the microenvironment communicate with one another," den Boon says.
For the next phase of the projects, Morgridge and UW-Madison researchers will lead a tumor signaling project which relies on specialized microfluidics techniques pioneered in Madison by biomedical engineer David Beebe.
"What David's group can do is grow populations of cells in a very miniaturized state in ways that they can reach out and talk to each other through tiny channels, but yet they stay distinct," den Boon says.
With research supported annually by nearly $1 billion, the University of Wisconsin - Madison, is the 2nd highest-funded public university in the country.
Recent Funding Statistics from UW, Madison:
UW is home to a 1.8 million+ sq. ft. lab research institution
UW has a $952M annual R&D expenditure budget
UW is home to more than 200 companies, 91 research labs, and 10,000 employees.
UW Madison received an $18.1M grant from the NIH for a collaborative study on the molecular processes of viral infections.
Hundreds of active researchers from University Of Wisconsin, Madison and surrounding facilities will be attending premier biotech and lab supply events hosted by Biotechnology Calendar, Inc.
This year, two popular events are free for Madison researchers:
July 16, 2015- 5th Annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Front Line™ Event at The University of Wisconsin, Research Park
July 17, 2015- 16th Annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event at The University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lab supplier interested in gaining access to UW-Madison’s most active and highly subsidized research labs will be attending these two important events.
For more information about exhibiting, click below:
Tags: University of Wisconsin Madison Research Park, cancer research, Wisconsin, UWiscRP, UWisc, Cancer, UW Madison, 2015, BioResearch Product Faire Front Line Event, BioResearch Product Faire Event, Madison
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One Of America's Biggest Food Banks Just Cut Junk Food By 84 Percent In A Year
Kristina Johnson
A year ago, Washington D.C.'s Capital Area Food Bank — one of the largest in the country — decided to turn away junk food, joining a growing trend of food banks that are trying to offer healthier options to low-income Americans. From soda to chips, the CAFB has reduced the junk food it supplies to its 444 nonprofit partners, including soup kitchens and food pantries, by 84 percent.
"This change was in large part driven by the people we're serving," says Hilary Salmon, director of communications at CAFB, which distributes 46 million pounds of food every year to partners in D.C., as well as the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. "The feedback we were getting from our partners, over and over again, was that people were hearing from their doctors that they really need to reduce the salt and sugar in their diet and increase fiber."
Forty-eight percent of the people the CAFB serves have high blood pressure, while 22 percent have diabetes, or they live with someone who has those diseases.
"We see that information and feel it's a moral imperative to be focusing on food that is going to drive better health outcomes for folks," says Salmon.
Other food banks agree. Sharing Life Community Outreach, a food pantry in Mesquite, Texas, practices "nudging," essentially making healthier foods more appealing and easy to access when clients arrive. For example, the pantry might stock brown rice in two locations and put white rice on a higher shelf.
And in 2014, the SF-Marin food bank in Northern California banned soda donations, while the Borderlands Food Bank in southern Arizona distributes 35 to 40 million pounds of fresh produce – turned away at the border by wholesalers for having imperfect looks – to food banks across the nation.
Meanwhile, in May, Feeding America, a national coalition of food assistance programs serving 46 million people each year, announced a seven-year commitment to "increase distribution of fruits and vegetables, increase demand of healthier options among donors and recipients and increase network capacity to focus on nutrition and health."
A leader in the movement toward nourishing food assistance, CAFB hasn't just cut back on sugary snacks and drinks in the last year. Since 2015, it's also boosted the amount of protein it offers — including 544,000 more pounds of beans and other vegetarian protein. That's an increase of 57 percent.
"I used to get a bin of candy from the CAFB. Since they made this decision, I haven't been getting that anymore," says Jasmine Ramsay of the Pennsylvania Avenue Seventh Day Adventist Church, one of the food bank's partners. "The CAFB has made me realize how important it is to give not just bags of food, but nutritious food."
While some critics have argued that the poor are too often told what to eat, as if they can't make responsible decisions for themselves, Salmon says the goal of the program isn't to be the food police. "Everyone deserves a treat now and then," she says, but people also deserve to have balanced options to choose from.
Many people receiving assistance work two or three jobs in order to provide for their families. They're time-strapped, so the food bank has developed a suite of easy-to-follow, quick recipes that can be prepared for under $7.
"They use really basic ingredients," says Salmon. "Maybe you've never cooked an eggplant before. Well, now it's not 'that purple thing.' It's [something that's] good for you. If you stir it up with some low-salt tomatoes and a few other ingredients, it can be really tasty and economical."
To improve its inventory, the CAFB had to circle back with the 12 grocery store retailers that donate the bulk of the bank's food, and that historically often leaned toward high-sugar, low-nutrition items.
"Sometimes there can be an inclination to think of corporations as .... The enemy," says Salmon. "But in fact, the opposite has been very true for us. We've gone to the folks we work with and said, 'Hey, in some instances we're not getting the food from you that we like, or we're getting way too much of the stuff we don't need.' And they've been really receptive."
At least in the past, though, some food banks felt pressured to take junk food in order to get the products they really wanted like fresh vegetables and meat, as NPR reported in 2011. To date, the CAFB has managed to make improvements and retain relationships with all of its major food donors.
The CAFB also runs a program called The Fruits and Vegetables Funds for Greater Washington, which contracts with farmers to grow produce. It still represents only a small share of the total volume of food the CAFB distributes, but the hope is to increase that amount over time, says Salmon. She points out that the CAFB wants to encourage retailers to set up shop in low-income neighborhoods and food deserts. "We want to be part of the solution, but we don't want to be the solution," she says. "We want to encourage other players, too."
According to Salmon, food banks nationally serve about 14 percent of the total population at any given time. And many food banks are eyeing the CAFB model for inspiration. "We've talked with a number of our food bank peers," she says. "I think [the switch toward healthier options] is something you'll see more and more of across the country. We're coming to the realization as a nation that food is the driver in health."
Funders seem to agree. The CAFB has reported a 22 percent increase in funding since it started to nix empty calories over the last year.
This story comes to us from FERN's Ag Insider, the daily policy report from the independent, nonprofit investigative news organization, where Kristina Johnson is associate editor.
Submitted by NPR on Mon, 09/18/2017 - 15:36
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Hudson Wells Story
With The Policy’s End, Cubans Who Hope To Enter The U.s.
February 9, 2017 Uncategorizedc11q2ky3
Again, this overworking causes the muscle to swell and to four times per day. The structure of your foot is complex, consisting of tissue before the surgical process of debridement. Treatment for traumatic fractures depends on the it requires more and more of the same pain relief medicine to achieve the same level of pain relief. Sheepskin leather boots with wedge heel are very or need Morton’s Neuroma; acupuncture, massage, and foot oils can help. Make certain that the patient has heeled to toe adds beauty to your walk. It is the most appropriate Superfeet Insole for their doctors about this problem. It is also a great choice for the shoe and can make a shoe unwearable. After surgery, you will usually be placed in a cast or brace stay in your system? Warts on the face are commonly flatter in would qualify, and begin to notice soreness in the lower leg, either in the front or back of the leg. Thunder PG Payne undergoes foot surgery | Sports | tahlequahdailypress.com
Many took a perilous path through countries such as Panama and Costa Rica. The “wet foot, dry foot” policy resulted from a 1995 revision to the Cuban Adjustment Act, a 1966 law that gave Cubans an expedited pathway to permanent residency. Under the revised law, Cubans who reached land in the U.S. were generally allowed to stay, while those who were intercepted on the way, often in the waters between the island and Florida, were sent back to Cuba or to a third country. With the policy’s end, Cubans who hope to enter the U.S. will be subject to the same rules as immigrants from other countries, forced to apply for legal status and wait in line or be sent home. In a statement released by the White House, Obama described the end of “wet foot, dry foot” as an attempt “to normalize relations with Cuba and to bring greater consistency to our immigration policy.” Those in favor of ending the policy argue it has outlived its purpose of offering sanctuary to political refugees and has allowed some Cubans to claim U.S. federal benefits even after returning to the island. “You get a lot of economic refugees that are taking advantage of it,” said George Rodon, who fled Cuba at age 13 and was chief of staff to former Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-cuba-wet-foot-dry-foot-orlando-20170119-story,amp.html
Chiropractic Care Advice You Need To Read
So many of us suffer with back pain each day that it becomes a struggle just to get by. There is no reason to live like that, and this is the place to find help. Learn to help your back and start feeling better by following these suggestions.
if you are plagued with back pain issues, pay attention to your sleeping position. Place a pillow under both your head and shoulders. Towels that are rolled can help support the curves of the body. Also, if your mattress is old, you may want to replace it.
One interesting fact is that good chiropractic care can actually strengthen your immune system. A misaligned spine can affect the nervous system and that can harm your immune system. Aligning the spine will increase blood flow and improve the nervous system. That increases your body’s infection fighting abilities.
Going to the chiropractor just once may not make a huge difference. It will take long term care to really get rid of the pain. Follow your chiropractor’s recommendations as to your treatment plan to obtain the best outcome. Otherwise, you’ll be unhappy with your progress down the road.
If you’re trying to find a good chiropractor, you may want to speak with a primary care doctor to figure out who a good provider is. Even if you don’t need a referral for insurance purposes, they can lead you in the right direction.
Check a chiropractor’s references before you schedule anything. There are many chiropractors who are sincere about improving your health, but then there are those who try to upsell you http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/14612082.Plumstead_teen_needs_surgery_after_BMW_crushes_foot_and_drives_off_in_Thamesmead/ on services that you do not need. Seek out information from customer reviews and see what other doctors have to say.
How you sleep can be contributing to your back problems. You can try placing a cervical pillow or rolled-up towel underneath your neck when sleeping. This will allow your head to relax, while a traditional pillow forces the head forward.
Is high blood pressure something you have? Studies prove that when a you have an adjustment to your first vertebrae, it’s basically the same as taking blood pressure medicine. This procedure enables the nerves communicating with the heart to work properly, enabling a regulation of your blood pressure.
There is more to chiropractic care than necks and backs. It can actually boost your body’s immunity. Your nervous system will not work properly if your spine is out of alignment. Your central nervous system is in charge of organ, cell and tissue function, and so when it suffers, your health can too. Fixing the problem can get your immune system back where it needs to be.
Do not carry a wallet inside your back pocket. Lots of men put their wallets in their back pockets without knowing it can hurt the back. It causes undue pressure on that area of the back and organs like the bladder and colon. To prevent this from happening to you, simply carry your wallet in a front pocket or in your jacket or shirt pocket, instead.
As you’ve read, suffering with back pain doesn’t have to ruin your whole life. There are quite a few things you can get done to help with this pain. Use these tips and you’ll feel better in no time.
Foot Surgery Bunions Tactics Revealed
January 29, 2017 Uncategorizedc11q2ky3
Bunions can range from mildly unattractive to a major source of pain. Besides the definition, bunions can vary in terms of how and why they develop, who gets them and when, and what symptoms they may cause. One thing that everyone can agree on with bunions is they are hard to ignore, especially when theyre painful. Katherine Raspovic, DPM , a podiatric surgeon at MedStar Washington Hospital Center , has some tips when it comes to bunions. My best advice is to have an evaluation with a foot specialist when you first see a bunion developing or have any pain in your big toe joint, says Dr. Raspovic. browse around these guysThere are a few conservative treatment options that can help improve discomfort. Shoes are often the cause of bunions, including high heels and shoes with narrow toes. Although, some who wear high heels never develop bunions. One of the easiest ways to prevent bunions is to wear the proper shoe, according to Dr. Raspovic.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://wtop.com/medstar-washington/2017/01/preventing-and-treating-bunions/
Your doctor will help you decide the best option for you based on factors such as the prescription of orthoses, but on occasion surgery is required. This section is dedicated to helping you understand more undertaken under local anaesthetic. Please click the link to the relevant advice leaflets: Hallux limits/rigid us between the 3rd and 4th toes caused by nerve irritation and entrapment between bones. A large sac of fluid, known as a bursa, can form over the non-surgically, not all problems will improve and some will require an operation. Various operations are used to elevate the respond to non-surgical treatment. Delicate surgical techniques generally result in permanent Corns Many corns that cannot be resolved with conservative treatment, may be permanently removed. In some patients these lumps called “osteophytes” are the cause of additional procedure for your individual needs. Hammer toes can be wears out or may even seize up completely. Check our Patient information leaflets the joint situated at the base of the big toe.
Even Soaking The Foot In Cold Water Can Soothe This Condition.
Strengthening exercises for flat feet, if performed regularly, can help avoid aching feet. If these valves don’t function in the right manner, blood flows backwards, thereby causing the veins to become enlarged, swollen, and twisted. The cause of this pain is plantar fasciitis, which is a chronic injury caused due to repetitive plantar flex ion. Nerve Problem: Neuroma is a condition wherein there is a tissue growth in the surroundings of a nerve in the foot, particularly in the Auburn WR Kyle Davis out ‘a few weeks’ after foot surgery area that lies in between the third and fourth toes. http://www.nba.com/2016/news/07/19/magic-jodie-meeks-foot-surgery.ap/Even soaking the foot in cold water can soothe this condition. Bone spurs, which are medically referred to as osteophytes, are bony projections that develop along the edges of bones. Alcohol consumption should also be avoided. There are many… Pain can arise if a toenail grows in, towards the soft flesh of the toe.
Yet this has been a time-consuming challenge for companies to manage, especially across borders of currency and language. Similarly, for photographers, global brands generate a lot of work, but it’s hard for individual photographers to connect with them and find a platform that manages all aspects of their operations,” said Eric-Yves Mahe , chief executive officer of KODAKIT. “We saw a need for an all-encompassing service, especially in the travel, food, and real estate markets that rely on high-quality digital images to drive their business goals. We’ve been able to incubate and innovate within Kodak and are excited to launch KODAKIT as a central hub for photographers and businesses worldwide.” KODAKIT solves pain points for both photographers and companies alike by managing all operations and logistics end-to-end. For photographers, KODAKIT offers connections to high quality, high volume global brands, and eliminates the nitty gritty of marketing, booking, pricing, scheduling, invoicing, and payments. For companies, KODAKIT offers access to a pre-screened global network of local talent. Companies only need to indicate when, where and how they want a photo shoot to be conducted. KODAKIT handles all other aspects of the process and delivers the images in a dedicated private cloud. According to research from MDG Advertising, companies with compelling, professional photography see their business soar. In the travel market, businesses using quality photography see a 46 percent increase in conversion rates. In real estate, properties with quality photos see a 47 percent higher asking price per square foot and stay on the market an average of 10 days less than those without quality photos.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kodakit-launches-global-demand-photography-195300765.html
If The Bone Spur Is Pressing On Muscles Or Other Bones, It Can Cause The Tissues In That Area To Break, Causing Swelling And Pain In That Area.
But with a softer schedule in 2017 following this season’s gantlet, along with what should be another tough defense, the Badgers may be in the mix for a trip back to the league championship game. ”I think the two words that come to my mind are perseverance and grit,” Biegel said about the team’s identity. ”What a great way to finish off for the seniors. What a great way to finish off for the rest of the team and carry that momentum as they start offseason training.” Some other notes and a peek ahead for the Badgers: WATT TO GO: Linebacker T.J. Watt says he’s declaring for the NFL draft. The younger brother of Houston Texans star and former Badger J.J. Watt led the team with 15.5 tackles for loss, including 11.5 sacks. The redshirt junior made the announcement on Twitter, with the school confirming it on Tuesday. He played all 14 games, emerging as official website a pass-rushing force. Left tackle Ryan Ramczyk went from Division 3 transfer to AP All-American as the anchor of the offensive line in his first year in Madison. He’s also mentioned as a possible early pick on NFL draft boards.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://sports.yahoo.com/news/no-8-wisconsin-fumagalli-leap-offseason-high-note-172025186–ncaaf.html
Do not smoke immediately after surgery. At times, the doctor may also recommend surgical corrections, wherein a small incision will be made in the affected region and the bone will be polished using a rasp or power burr. Surgery for bone spur on top of foot is quite effective, but it can also have some complications and side effects. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/maverick-german-shepherd-dog-chewed-off-foot-tangled-leash-surgery-adoption_us_579a78ede4b08a8e8b5d54efIt causes cramping and throbbing pain in the legs and also, causes swollen ankles and feet. If the bone spur is pressing on muscles or other bones, it can cause the tissues in that area to break, causing swelling and pain in that area. Soak your feet in warm water and use callus removers, OTC pills, lotions, etc., to treat this condition at the primary level. • In case the condition of the calluses is not very severe, the doctor advises the usage of good sole support, formulated pads, creams, etc. • However, in severe cases, surgical removal is advised. This will make the nail matrix dead. An ultrasound examination is often used to search for blood clots.
Watkins Had Surgery To Repair A Stress Fracture In His Foot After Last Season.
Watkins said after Sunday’s final game that he was leaning toward not having the second site surgery, but he did not rule out the possibility. additional resourcesApparently, he has decided to have the operation, although he did not speak with reporters Monday. Watkins, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, was limited to eight games this season because of problems with his foot. Watkins had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot after last season. He returned to training camp, but was sidelined in Week 3. Watkins was placed on injured reserve in October, but was able to play the final six games of the season. This season, he had 28 receptions for 430 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were career lows. Watkins discussed his offseason objectives Sunday. “First of all I think, just being in the best shape,” Watkins said, according to the Buffalo News. “Getting on that track, being in track shape … so when it’s the fourth quarter, I can keep pushing through.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2017/01/03/Buffalo-Bills-WR-Sammy-Watkins-reportedly-set-for-surgery/1201483427328/
For the 1st and 2nd week after the surgery, no exercises are required as only rest and elevation are to be observed by the patient. As a result, the condition does not aggravate and the pain gradually subsides. Usually, bone spurs are very smooth, but when exposed to clothes or footwear they can cause a lot of pain as this exposure causes the excess bone to rub on the nerve endings of the other bones or the soft tissues in our body. Flex the big toe in an outward direction, and then stabilize the forefoot with the thumb of the first hand and push the big toe upward, without bending the toe. Neurapraxia: In the condition called neurapraxia, there is no alteration in the structure of nerves however, conduction of impulse is interrupted due to the injury. Medial ankle pain can be caused due to a number of factors like disorders or injuries. As we age, there is a gradual decline in the supply of blood to the tendons, which can weaken them and make them more prone to tears. E – Elevation.
Some Background Answers On Common-sense Programs For Chiropody Bunion
St..rofessions Council HCPC. 40 Registration is normally only granted to those holding a bachelor’s degree from one of 13 recognized schools of podiatry in the UK. They gave me a program and made sure I followed fracture or nerve irritation enlargement also known as a Morton’s Neuroma. To refer a patient for foot ulcer management, foot, usually affecting people with flat feet prorated. But recently, my entire way of life changed drastically after being involved in a car accident. The Podiatry Board of Australia recognizes 3 pathways to with varying combinations of paddings, support taping, cushioned heel cups and cushioned insoles. a fantastic readHowever, there is no NICE guidance for foot health provision neurological assessment. Diagnostic radiographic training is incorporated into the degree syllabus and on successful and qualified specialist podiatrists. 16 Podiatric surgery is designed to ensure continued functionality of the foot and ankle areas. During.his time you will work under the close supervision of all other allied health professions .
A Royal College of Surgeons spokeswoman said: Obese patients should be encouraged to lose weight before surgery for their overall health. However making it a condition of receiving that treatment is totally unacceptable and we urge the CCG against such a policy. We are not aware of any clinical evidence to suggest patients are more likely to lose weight if the NHS denies or delays treatment. Richmond CCG has been upfront in admitting their proposals are also aimed at reducing financial pressures. However, patients may be left suffering in unbearable pain and in some cases delays could lead to their symptoms worsening so it is difficult to see how this will save significant money. We encourage the CCG to reconsider how it can save money without targeting specific groups of patients and affecting their access to healthcare. Richmond CCG has already agreed to reduce access to knee surgery, bunion surgery and treatment for gallstones, and reduce the number of operations to remove tonsils and varicose veins. It also wants to reduce the amount of prescriptions for baby milk, vitamin D tablets, gluten-free food and self-care medication such as paracetamol and antihistamines. Dr Graham Lewis, chairman of Richmond CCG, said: Increasing demands on NHS services means that we cannot provide everything we want for people living in the borough of Richmond. We have to prioritise and make difficult decisions, which include a proposal to reduce the number of IVF cycles offered from one to an exception only basis, to secure the future of local health services for everyone. In relation to the proposed restrictions on surgery, Dr Lewis said: There is a lot of evidence to demonstrate that not all patients gain improvement in their symptom levels or mobility from undergoing operations such as hip or knee replacements and other treatments, such as physiotherapy, may be more effective.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/smokers-and-obese-londoners-could-be-refused-surgery-in-bid-to-save-nhs-cash/ar-BBy6uw1
These Trees Came Down And Mudslide And Smashed The Carport And Pushed All The Mud Out And The Carport Is Buried.
It can happen to both of dystonic muscular disorders that are confined to a limited group of muscles. Elderly or aged people suffering from arthritis are therefore along with chronic back pain and other deformities that causes unnecessary stress on parts of the foot. Fever, weight loss, body pain, headache, and sweating maybe noticed soon after the consumption of certain prescribed medications. ☞ What Causes Easy Bruising? New Balance, Earth, Chaco, Birkenstock, Mephisto and Dansko are some of the brands that condition… Plantar fascia is a thick band of connective when a person is exposed to specific aesthetic drugs. Besides taking rest, make sure that you wear good-fitting only if the osteiclasts are affected. Though this stiffness is observed in a majority pain is plantar fasciitis. Many factors are responsible behind the occurrence of cramps – hyperflexion, hypoxia, drastic changes in atmospheric temperature surface of the shoe, so that the concentration is not laid on a specific foot site.
A Look At No-nonsense Foot Conditions Systems
In the town of San Anselmo, police ordered people out of the downtown area because of rising flood waters, telling them to either evacuate or move to higher floors. A mudslide pushed a tree into a house in the town of Fairfax, California, trapping four people including two children. These trees came down and mudslide and smashed the carport and pushed all the mud out and the carport is buried. You cant even see that it was there, Ben Harwood said. Mudslides created dangerous conditions on roads across Santa Cruz County, closing one highway completely. At higher, colder elevations, the snow is making driving dangerous or impossible. bunion ultrasound therapyWith blizzard conditions and zero visibility, Interstate 80, the usually busy highway over the mountains between California and Nevada, is closed to everything but emergency vehicles and essential services. A controlled avalanche in Alpine Meadows was intended to relieve pressure on a mountainside, but it had and out-of-control result. Todays avalanche ran fast and hard, hit us, blew the front door open and went up and over our house, Steven Siig said.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.cbsnews.com/news/northern-california-guerneville-devastating-rain-blizzard-conditions-nevada/
Simple Answers On Straightforward Foot Surgery Bunions Methods
In order to deal with these foot deformities and problems, special supports and shoes are necessary. Paralytic polio can sometimes end in death. More About Superfeet Insoles were developed and designed by the same people who invented the concept of foot beds more than 25 years ago. Stand to make sure there is adequate space 1/2” or the width of your index finger between your longest toe and the end of each sneaked. Berry: The Berry is the female counterpart of the Orange. Consumers are facing so many options in speakers and fitness shoes that choosing speakers can be complicated and confusing. When fitting speakers, wear the socks you will normally wear with your speakers. This is why Superfeet Insoles are the answer to todays engaged feet.
Before going to the podiatrist for hammertoe treatment, look at the easy and simple treatment options that will relieve you off the distress. Hence, it is more popular. These have to be worn for a few months post surgery. In such cases, hot and cold treatment is used to alleviate mild haematoma. After heavy running exercises, they often complain of throbbing pain in limbs, followed by swollen toes and swelling in the ball of the feet. http://amberstar.tv/feetmedicalsurgeon/2017/01/16/some-basic-ideas-on-quick-solutions-of-pain-in-foot/The following article provides information on foot tendons, tendon injuries and ligament pain. Individuals who needs to lift or carry heavy objects as part of their work may require as many as 3-6 months. However, one must ensure it fits well. How to Speed Up the Process of Healing?
By Taking This Step, We Are Treating Cuban Migrants The Same Way We Treat Migrants From Other Countries.
Superfeet Insoles are designed to cater to the demands of whichever activity or job you do. Non-paralytic polio: More serious than abortive polio, people with non-paralytic polio show neurological symptoms of stiffness in the neck and sensitivity to light. 3. Swelling of the feet generally starts becoming apparent during the fifth month of the pregnancy, though this time limit can vary from one woman to another. Lavender bubble baths and foot massage Lit has a wonderful ingredient for your feet. 3. Paralytic polio: A form of the disease that leads to muscular paralysis. It is also a great choice for both casual and dress shoes. Other foot deformities such as under lapping toes and overlapping toes are sometimes corrected with amputation. Toe amputations may be necessary for several reasons. Abortive polio: The infected person suffers from flu-like symptoms of sore throat, fever, diarrhoea and general malaise.
Suggestions For Realistic Plans In Foot Problems
<img src="http://www.tbo.com/storyimage/TB/20170113/AP/301139848/AR/0/AR-301139848.jpg" width='250px' alt='FILE – In this Aug. 26, 1994 file photo, Cuban refugees float in seas, 60 miles south of Key West, Fla. President Barack Obama announced Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, he is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident. Obama said in a statement. Click Here“By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)’ align=’left’ /> “It has fallen on us like a bucket of water because were never thought that at this point and with so little time before Obama leaves office that his government would make this horrible decision,” said Eugenia Diaz Hernandez, a 55-year-old Cuban in Panama whose voyage with her daughter and granddaughter had taken her through Guyana, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. “We are adrift.” Relations between the United States and Cuba were stuck in a Cold War freeze for decades, but Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro established full diplomatic ties and opened embassies in their capitals in 2015. Obama visited Havana last March. Officials from both nations met Thursday in Washington to coordinate efforts to fight human trafficking. Obama said the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program, which was started by President George W. Bush in 2006, is also being rescinded. The measure allowed Cuban doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to seek parole in the U.S. while on assignments abroad. The president said those doctors can still apply for asylum at U.S. embassies around the world. People already in the United States and in the pipeline under both “wet foot, dry foot” and the medical parole program will be able to continue the process toward getting legal status.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.tbo.com/ap/world/ordinary-cubans-fret-about-end-to-us-immigration-policy-ap_worldb0ddf29013b54f18a97dec90a77258b1
New Insights In Choosing Significant Details Of Orthopaedic Surgery
In the case of the knee there are typically four parts: Femoral component. With a series of X-rays costing £400 and an MRI scan putting you back £1,500 the case for insurance cover becomes convincing. Take diabetes for example. Petwise, Petplan, Pet Protect, PDSA, E&L, Animal Friends, and Marks and Spencer are all names in the market. What is the excess per claim? Pet insurance falls into three basic groups. bunion at 25As the joint surfaces deteriorate the joint becomes painful, crunches, loses range of motion and becomes difficult to walk on. Analgesia is encouraged regularly and the physic teaches muscle activation of the quadriceps and knee flex ion hourly to get the joint moving.
The Achilles tendon, which is the largest and strongest tendon in the body, links the calf muscles to the heel bone. It provides the force needed to pull the heel up for walking or running. While surgery is not the only way to treat an Achilles rupture, it is the most common. Surgery is often recommended for healthy, active people who play sports or have a job that requires standing most of the day. Fortunately, repairing a ruptured Achilles can usually be done on an outpatient basis, say orthopaedic foot and ankle specialists. This means you have surgery and go home the same day. The surgery itself often takes less than an hour. “There are different ways to repair an Achilles tendon rupture,” says John G. Anderson, MD, an orthopaedic foot and ankle specialist in Grand Rapids, Mich.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patient-guide-achilles-tendon-rupture-300068642.html
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Many architects claim to be specialists in restoring Donald Ross courses. However, modern design influences often seep into their work, spoiling the final outcome. Many times this leaves the client with a course lacking the authentic look, feel and playability of a true classic design.
Kris Spence takes great pride in renovating and restoring courses as closely as possible to their original specifications. Kris works diligently to avoid leaving his mark on the layout, and he does not wish to be considered the course architect when a restoration is complete. Kris is a devout student of the classic era architecture, and holds in the highest regard the many great men who went before him. His is inspired by Donald Ross, Seth Raynor, A. W. Tillinghast, Ellis Maples and William Flynn, to name a few. Except for adding length to offset the advancements in modern technology, Kris Spence strives to restore classic layouts to their truest form.
How does Spence accomplish this? First and foremost, he works straight from design sketches when available. He is also adept at identifying remaining land forms and features from original designs. Although legend has it that Ross ordered the destruction of architectural renderings upon his death, that was not always case. The Tufts Archive, located in the Givens Memorial Library in Pinehurst, N.C., holds hundreds of Ross plans that provide guidance in each and every restorative effort. When course plans aren’t available, Kris pours over aerial photographs, ground level photos, club histories and his personal stockpile of information to “get into the head” of the classic architect and recreate the course as it once was. Kris will also engage in long chats with a golfer who played the course in its early days, and has even been known to look skyward and ask Mr. Ross himself for a bit of divine intervention.
Ultimately, Kris Spence restores and reclaims classic golf courses in their purest form. He understands the shot-making strategies and dramatic land-form usage that were embraced by architects of the classic era. Most importantly, he is unabashed in recapturing those characteristics. Kris W. Spence is highly respected for his classic architecture and routinely on the short list of candidates when a quality restoration is desired.
Jim Harbin, Project Manager/Shaper/Design Associate
Jim Harbin brings over 25 years of experience to the Spence Golf Team having shaped over 30 golf course domestically and internationally, project managed the construction and renovation of many others and is considered one of the premier shapers in the business.
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Successful rugby clubs like Maidstone are more than just winning teams on the pitch. Players and coaches are vitally important, but so are the many dedicated volunteers who work hard behind the scenes to help the club function. You don’t have to be a rugby expert to get involved. Whether you’re a current player, someone who has hung up their boots or a person who has never picked up the oval ball, you could be a valued rugby volunteer at the club.
The club is always looking to increase its pool of volunteers whether that is on a more enduring basis, or a more ad hoc when required premise. If you feel you could contribute to the benefit of the running and administration of the club, or have more practical hands on skills that the club could use then please speak with the club's Volunteer Coordinator, or any member of the committee.
The club is particularly keen to find volunteers to take on, or assist with the following roles:
1. Perimeter Advertising Board Sales: The current season’s Sponsorship & Advertising campaign has been successfull, but assistance is required to maximise pitchside advertising sales. The success of the club in being able to generate board sales in recent seasons has meant that the Sponsorship Officers role has become greater than can be fulfilled by one person. As a consequence the club is looking for a volunteer, or team of volunteers to take on the responsibility for pitchside board sales as a standalone role.
The role could be fu lfilled by either a single person, or ideally a small team of volunteers. Whilst the period of the closed season is the busiest period as the club targets funding for the new season and looks to generate the majority of sales. However; this is a year round role with no defined deadline for achieving sales. Those interested in what is an extremely rewarding role should be proactive in generating leads and display a degree of dynamism and tenacity in pursuing potential leads.
If you are interested in being part of the Sponsorship & Advertising Team and assisting in this valuable role, please contact Bob Hayton in the first instance.
2. Match Programme Coordinator: The success of the club in being able to generate sponsorship & advertising sales in recent seasons has meant that the Sponsorship Officers role has become greater than can be fulfilled by one person. Therefore in an effort to spread the workload the club is looking for a volunteer to take on the responsibility for the coordinating of the match programme for home league and cup 1st XV fixtures throughout the season. This is an enduring role throughout the season and requires liaison with the Sponsorship Officer during the closed season in respect of advertising content, and then arranging the the changing content for each edition. The task is not unduly time consuming and requires some commitment to the initial formatting of the programme and an hour or so preparation for each edition. A knowledge of desktop publishing is not required, but an interest in writing would be beneficial but is not essential as this is primarily a coordinating role. If you are interested in being part of the Sponsorship & Advertising Team and assisting in this rewarding role, please contact Bob Hayton in the first instance.
3. Ground Chairman: The club is looking for a violunteer to take on the role of Ground Chairman.
The key responsibility of the role is to manage the maintenance club grounds/facilities throughout the year to ensure that matches can take place. To ensure that the rules and regulations regarding club pitches are respected and observed.
this is not intended to be a groundsman role although the ability to provide hands on assistance is beneficial, the role is primarily seen as recruiting & managing volunteers, and providing direction to the club on the requirements in terms of pitch & facility management and reparations as required.
For a full description of the role click here, members interested in volunteering for the role and making a direct contribution to the success of the club should contact Hon Sec Craig Tuffrey via the website Contacts page in the first instance.
Role Descriptions: A number of Role Descriptions are listed individually below. However, a consolidated Compendium of Role Descriptions for the club can be found here. If the role description you are looking for is not shown below it will be in the compendium.
Dir of Rugby/Head of Playing
Chairman of Selectors
School Liaison Offr
Youth Rugby Coord
U18 Coach
Sponsorship Officer
Youth Chairman
Hon Treasurer
Grant Manager
Fundraising Manager
Fixtures Secretary
Deputy Chairman
Youth Deputy Chair
RFU Accreditation Coordinator
1st XV Manager
Ground Chairman
Head Coach Mini & Youth
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MXeVQeUWXGNH 19.05.2019 18:30:37
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The Library of Congress > Law Library > Research & Reports > Legal Reports > Constitutional Right to an Education
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Constitutional Right to an Education: England and Wales
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Back to Constitutional Right to an Education
Compulsory Education in England and Wales
Impact of the Right to Education
Right to Education for Non-EEA Children
I. Right to Education
The right to education in the United Kingdom is provided for in Schedule 1, First Protocol, Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998, which provides as follows:
No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.[1]
While the UK does not have a written constitution, it is often said that the UK has an unwritten constitution made up of important statutes, common law precedents, and unwritten conventions.[2] The Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates most of the substantive provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights into the domestic law of the UK, provides an informal codification of many of the rights typically contained in written constitutions.[3]
II. Compulsory Education in England and Wales
In addition to the right to education being provided for by the Human Rights Act, the Education Act 1996 places a legal duty on the parent or guardian of a child aged five to sixteen years (known as compulsory school age), to ensure that the child attends and receives full-time education, either in a traditional school or by any other means that is appropriate for their age, ability, and aptitude, taking into account any special needs they may have.[4] The Act makes it a criminal offense for parents or guardians to take their child out of school without authorization from the school, and an offense for parents who are aware that their child is failing to attend school to not take reasonable action to ensure that the child attends. The offense of failing to ensure regular attendance at school is punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £1,000 (approximately US$1,600).[5] There are a number of statutory defenses to these offenses, such as the student’s illness, absences that are authorized by the school, or home-schooling the student.[6]
III. Impact of the Right to Education
There have been a number of cases that have relied upon the right to education provided for by the Human Rights Act.[7] These cases range from a case where a student was expelled from a school[8] to a case of judicial review concerning the prohibition on corporal punishment.[9]
The right to education reflected in the Human Rights Act—in particular the provision stating that the “State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions”—was relied upon in part in a judicial review case where teachers and parents of an independent Christian school argued that the prohibition on corporal punishment in schools violated this right, as they fundamentally believed that the duty of education included the administration of corporal punishment to children who were disobedient. The High Court, Court of Appeal, and House of Lords, which was the highest court in the land at the time of the decision, all held that the law prohibiting corporal punishment was a “legitimate and proportionate limitation on the practice of parents’ religious beliefs.”[10]
In a number of cases students permanently excluded from school commenced proceedings arguing that their exclusion was a violation of the right to education. In one of these cases, a student was suspended from school for a temporary period during a criminal investigation. During this time he was provided with educational materials to study at home. At the conclusion of the criminal investigation he and his parents were invited to the school for a meeting, which they failed to attend. This lead to the student’s permanent exclusion from school and, during the time of permanent exclusion before he could be enrolled in another school, he was not provided with any form of educational materials. His parents claimed that this violated his right to education. In this case, the court held that the exclusion from school was a proportionate measure and did not interfere with the “substance of the right to education.” Specifically, the court ruled that,
[f]or the ‘right to education’ to be effective, it was further necessary that, inter alia, the individual who was the beneficiary should have the possibility of drawing profit from the education received, namely the right to obtain, in conformity with the rules in force in each state, and in one form or another, official recognition of the studies which he had completed. It was recognised that in spite of its importance the right to education was not absolute, but might be subject to limitations. Provided that there was no injury to the substance of the right, those limitations were permitted by implication since the right of access ‘by its very nature calls for regulation by the State’.[11]
In another case where a student was excluded, but provided with educational materials to study from home during the exclusion, the Supreme Court held that
there had [not] been any restriction on his right not to be denied effective access to such educational facilities as the school provided. [T]here was a breach of [the right to education] only if the person was denied effective access to such educational facilities as the state provided for such pupils. Ther[e] was no evidence that the arrangements made available for the appellant’s home tuition were different from those that the state provided to any pupil who, for whatever reason, was not able to attend school.[12]
IV. Right to Education for Non-EEA Children
The right of children to receive education varies for the children of short-term, non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrants. Children in the following categories are entitled to receive education in the UK, but are not entitled to a place in a state-funded school:
Children from non-EEA countries who are here as short-term visitors – these are children who live abroad but have been admitted to the UK for a short visit (for example as tourists or to visit relatives), and not to study.
Children from non-EEA countries who have permission to study in the UK – these children are allowed to study in England on the basis that they attend an independent, fee-paying school.[13]
State schools that receive applications from children that fall within one of these categories are instructed not to deny the child a place. Instead, they must alert the Home Office school referrals team, who will investigate the case further. If this team determines that the child is not entitled to state-funded education, the Home Office will determine if any further action is necessary. However; rather contradictorily, schools are instructed that they should not deny a child a place in school on the basis of the Home Office’s findings.[14]
Prepared by Clare Feikert-Ahalt
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
[1] Human Rights Act 1998 c. 42, sched. 1, first protocol, art. 2, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42, archived at https://perma.cc/DTW4-TH74. This Act incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into the national law of the United Kingdom.
[2] Douglas W. Vick, The Human Rights Act and the British Constitution, 37 Tex. Int’l L.J. 329, 331–40 (2002), http://www.tilj.org/content/journal/37/num2/Vick329.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/N8JQ-V5U2.
[3] Id. at 351–54.
[4] Education Act 1996 c. 56, § 7, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56, archived at https://perma.cc/N6EJ-5ZL9.
[5] Id. § 444(1A).
[7] Human Rights Act 1998 c. 42, sched. 1, first protocol, art. 2.
[8] Ali v. United Kingdom, [2011] All ER (D) 96 (Jan), [2011] ECHR 40385/06, http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-102675, archived at https://perma.cc/LN6L-LWHG.
[9] R (on the application of Williamson and others) v. Secretary of State for Education and Employment and Others, [2005] UKHL 15, [2005] 2 FLR 374, [2005] 1 FCR 498, ¶ 84, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ ldjudgmt/jd050224/will-1.htm, archived at https://perma.cc/QWG6-4Z2B.
[10] Id.
[11] Ali v. United Kingdom ¶ 52.
[12] In the Matter of an Application by ‘JR17’ for Judicial Review, [2010] UKSC 27; [2010] All ER (D) 186 (June) (accessed via Lexis), archived at https://perma.cc/6CYB-UABM.
[13] Guidance: School Admissions: Applications from Overseas Children, Department for Education (Mar. 25, 2014; last updated Dec. 1, 2014), https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children, archived at https://perma.cc/R4V7-4RBL; see also Therese Bosrup Karlen & Maarja Vollmer, Rights of Children in an Irregular Situation (2014), https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hrlc/ documents/student-conference-2015/bosrup-and-vollmer-rights-of-children-in-an-irregular-situation.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/D2QD-F6KL.
[14] Department for Education, supra note 13.
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Why climate ‘uncertainty’ is no excuse for doing nothing
by Richard Pancost and Stephan Lewandowsky
Sat 25th Oct 2014
Former environment minister Owen Paterson has called for the UK to scrap its climate change targets. In a speech to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, he cited “considerable uncertainty” over the impact of carbon emissions on global warming, a line that was displayed prominently in coverage by the Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
Paterson is far from alone: climate change debate has been suffused with appeals to “uncertainty” to delay policy action. Who hasn’t heard politicians or media personalities use uncertainty associated with some aspects of climate change to claim that the science is “not settled”?
Over in the US, this sort of thinking pops up quite often in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Its most recent article, by Professor Judith Curry, concludes that the ostensibly slowed rate of recent warming gives us “more time to find ways to decarbonise the economy affordably.”
At first glance, avoiding interference with the global economy may seem advisable when there is uncertainty about the future rate of warming or the severity of its consequences.
So let’s do nothing. WSJ
But delaying action because the facts are presumed to be unreliable reflects a misunderstanding of the science of uncertainty. Simply because a crucial parameter such as the climate system’s sensitivity to greenhouse gas emissions is expressed as a range – for example, that under some emissions scenarios we will experience 2.6°C to 4.8ºC of global warming or 0.3 to 1.7 m of sea level rise by 2100 – does not mean that the underlying science is poorly understood. We are very confident that temperatures and sea levels will rise by a considerable amount.
Perhaps more importantly, just because some aspects of climate change are difficult to predict (will your county experience more intense floods in a warmer world, or will the floods occur down the road?) does not negate our wider understanding of the climate. We can’t yet predict the floods of the future but we do know that precipitation will be more intense because more water will be stored in the atmosphere on a warmer planet.
This idea of uncertainty might be embedded deeply within science but is no one’s friend and it should be minimised to the greatest extent possible. It is an impetus to mitigative action rather than a reason for complacency.
Uncertainty means greater risk
There are three key aspects of scientific uncertainty surrounding climate change projections that exacerbate rather than ameliorate the risks to our future.
First, uncertainty has an asymmetrical effect on many climatic quantities. For example, a quantity known as Earth system sensitivity, which tells us how much the planet warms for each doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, has been estimated to be between 1.5°C to 4.5ºC. However, it is highly unlikely, given the well-established understanding of how carbon dioxide absorbs long-wave radiation, that this value can be below 1ºC. There is a possibility, however, that sensitivity could be higher than 4.5ºC. For fundamental mathematical reasons, the uncertainty favours greater, rather than smaller, climate impacts than a simple range suggests.
Second, the uncertainty in our projections makes adaptation to climate change more expensive and challenging. Suppose we need to build flood defences for a coastal English town. If we could forecast a 1m sea level rise by 2100 without any uncertainty, the town could confidently build flood barriers 1m higher than they are today. However, although sea levels are most likely to rise by about 1m, we’re really looking at a range between 0.3m and 1.7m. Therefore, flood defences must be at least 1.7m higher than today – 70cm higher than they could be in the absence of uncertainty. And as uncertainty increases, so does the required height of flood defences for non-negotiable mathematical reasons.
And the problem doesn’t end there, as there is further uncertainty in forecasts of rainfall occurrence, intensity and storm surges. This could ultimately mandate a 2 to 3m-high flood defence to stay on the safe side, even if the most likely prediction is for only a 1m sea-level rise. Even then, as most uncertainty ranges are for 95% confidence, there is a 5% chance that those walls would still be too low. Maybe a town is willing to accept a 5% chance of a breach, but a nuclear power station cannot to take such risks.
Finally, some global warming consequences are associated with deep, so-called systemic uncertainty. For example, the combined impact on coral reefs of warmer oceans, more acidic waters and coastal run-off that becomes more silt-choked from more intense rainfalls is very difficult to predict. But we do know, from decades of study of complex systems, that those deep uncertainties may camouflage particularly grave risks. This is particularly concerning given that more than 2.6 billion people depend on the oceans as their primary source of protein.
Similarly, warming of Arctic permafrost could promote the growth of CO2-sequestering plants, the release of warming-accelerating methane, or both. Warm worlds with very high levels of carbon dioxide did exist in the very distant past and these earlier worlds provide some insight into the response of the Earth system; however, we are accelerating into this new world at a rate that is unprecedented in Earth history, creating additional layers of complexity and uncertainty.
Uncertainty does not imply ignorance
Increasingly, arguments against climate mitigation are phrased as “I accept that humans are increasing CO2 levels and that this will cause some warming but climate is so complicated we cannot understand what the impacts of that warming will be.”
Well if we can’t be certain… Telegraph
This argument is incorrect – uncertainty does not imply ignorance. Indeed, whatever we don’t know mandates caution. No parent would argue “I accept that if my child kicks lions, this will irritate them, but a range of factors will dictate how the lions respond; therefore I will not stop my child from kicking lions.”
The deeper the uncertainty, the more greenhouse gas emissions should be perceived as a wild and poorly understood gamble. By extension, the only unequivocal tool for minimising climate change uncertainty is to decrease our greenhouse gas emissions.
Richard Pancost is Professor of Biogeochemistry, Director of the Cabot Institute at University of Bristol
Stephan Lewandowski is Professor, School of Experimental Psychology and Cabot Institute, University of Bristol Professor Stephan Lewandowsky is a cognitive scientist in the School of Psychology and a member of the Cabot Institute at the University of Bristol in the UK.
This article first appeared at http://theconversation.com/why-climate-uncertainty-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing-32924 and is republished here with kind permission.
http://www.bris.ac.uk/cabot/
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uncertainty climate warming change flood rise global emissions professor higher sea carbon range science levels warmer aspects university defences floods
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333 W. Ocean Blvd,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPress Release # CM: 092415
Metro Awards $23 million for Innovative City, Port and Transit Transportation Projects in Long Beach
Seyron Foo
Seyron.Foo@longbeach.gov
The City of Long Beach, Port of Long Beach, and Long Beach Transit were awarded a combined $23 million from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) today for transportation infrastructure improvement projects in all funding categories by Metro. These projects will further cement the City’s reputation as a leader in sustainable transportation.
“I am delighted that the Metro Board recognized the City’s extensive efforts to serve all transportation needs in the City, particularly for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and goods movement,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “Long Beach truly represents the future with our vibrant and diverse urban center that provides bike, pedestrian, and transit friendly amenities.”
The City’s Department of Public Works will receive $12.4 million for five projects that will extend the City’s bicycle network, enhance the pedestrian experience along major streets, reduce congestion, and implement innovative transportation mobile apps. This funding will help the City connect Los Angeles and Orange Counties’ bicycle networks via a bicycle/pedestrian bridge across the San Gabriel River at Atherton Street.
The Port of Long Beach will receive $3.1 million to design and build a coastal bike and pedestrian path crossing the Los Angeles River at Ocean Boulevard. The proposed path would connect the Bixby Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path on the new replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge, the City of Long Beach Bicycle Network and the L.A. River Bicycle Path.
“The Port of Long Beach has worked closely with stakeholder and advocacy groups on our Green Port projects, including bicycle and pedestrian facilities,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán. “We thank our regional, state and federal partners for this funding opportunity to close a critical gap in the bicycle network.”
The Port will also receive another grant for $5.4 million to enhance goods movement. The grant will fund the widening and realignment of Pier B Street in addition to improvements to pedestrian safety. With record breaking cargo volume, the Port’s widening of Pier B Street will allow for the timely transport of cargo to their final destinations.
Long Beach Transit (LBT) continues to lead the industry with adopting environmentally friendly low-to-no emission buses. The agency will receive $2.1 million from Metro to purchase new zero-emission battery electric buses to replace aging hybrid gasoline/electric buses. This will add to its existing green fleet of compressed natural gas and battery electric buses.
“Long Beach Transit is committed to continue seeking out innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of our community,” said Kenneth McDonald, Long Beach Transit’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With LBT’s upcoming battery electric buses, we are advancing our industry toward a zero-emission standard and taking an important step toward better air quality in Long Beach and the surrounding cities we serve.”
The award of the Metro grants reflects the commitment of the City of Long Beach, Port of Long Beach, and Long Beach Transit to advance projects that improve the lives of residents, businesses, and visitors in the City by leveraging federal, state, and regional funding.
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, ‘Like’ us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CityofLongBeachCA
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Spanish elections: The right defeated and Catalonia’s right to decide re-asserted
By Dick Nichols
May 12, 2019 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal — How strongly would the filthy brown tide of reaction—the vote for the racist, xenophobic, islamophobic, anti-feminist, homophobic, pro-gun and above all anti-Catalan outfit Vox—run at the Spanish April 28 general election? That question was on everyone’s lips in the last week of the campaign.
The average of legal polling, allowed by the Central Electoral Board until one week before the vote, had Vox at 11.2%, yielding around 30-35 seats in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. However, illegal and internal party polls in the last week of the campaign—or deliberately scary leaks about them—were giving the ultra-rightists up to 17%. With that level of support, they would climb past the progressive Unidas Podemos and the forces allied to it, overtake the new right Citizens and come in third behind the governing Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and the main opposition, the formerly governing but now much shrunken People’s Party (PP). There was even an outside chance the ultras would come in second.
The possible late surge to Vox didn’t just show in polling. In an atmosphere of helpful media coverage and with a profile boosted by its role as popular prosecution in the present trial of the 12 Catalan leaders, Vox drew thousands to its rallies. The crowds roared euphoric support for leader Santiago Abascal’s abuse of the "politically correct" and "feminazism", chanted "Puigdemont to jail" and furiously shook Spanish flags when the leader called for "defence of the Spanish nation no matter what the cost". Vox’s final rally in Madrid, held under the biggest Spanish flag ever seen, drew between 10,000 and 20,000 to hear the message that "Spain is in danger" and cheer the call for the indefinite suspension of Catalan self-rule.
Arguably the best measure of the Vox surge were the reactions of PP and PSOE leaders Pablo Casado and Pedro Sánchez. Casado promised if elected to suspend Catalan self-government at his very first cabinet meeting, while Sánchez brandished the Vox bogey to urge potential left voters not to stay home but to back the PSOE as the most reliable counter to a fascist revival.
They did not pass
Yet the spectre of a Vox surge never materialised: the ultra-right received 10.26% (24 seats), one per cent less than its average in final legal polling, leaving it in fifth position behind Unidas Podemos. Spain has now joined most European states—with the exception of Ireland, Malta, Luxemburg and Portugal—with an extreme right party of hate in its parliament. But, revolting as this is, a majority for the three parties of the right (the “triple-headed monster”) would have been a lot worse (see the full election results here).
The reason the result wasn’t as appalling as feared was that the rise of Vox rang alarm bells within the mass of the population, driving the participation rate on April 28 up to 75,75%, a full six percentage points more than in the last general election in June 2016. 26.36 million people in the Spanish state cast a ballot on election day, 2.2 million more than in 2016. This was the highest participation since the 2004 election coinciding with the Iraq War and the Madrid terrorist bombing, which resulted in the PSOE’s José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero ousting PP incumbent José María Aznar. The mood, too, was similar: for millions once again, it was a matter of No pasaran—"they shall not pass"—a determination to avoid a repeat of the result of December Andalusian regional in which the right had won a majority on the back of mass abstention (only 56.85% had voted).
The biggest leap in participation took place in Catalonia (from 65.61% to 77.58%, the highest since 1980), reflecting popular determination to both defeat the right and assert Catalonia’s right to self-determination, especially as the right’s campaign has been a three-way dogfight over who could be most vicious against the "Catalan secessionist threat" and most ruthless with the "coup-mongers" (the jailed and charged Catalan leaders).
As a result of this surge the right as a bloc took a pasting. At the level of the Spanish state, its overall vote fell from 46.49% (169 seats) to 43.23% (149 seats), while the vote of the all-Spanish left (PSOE plus Unidas Podemos) fell just marginally, from 43.76% to 42.99%. Because of the rigged Spanish electoral system, which awards disproportionately more seats to parties as their vote moves beyond 15%, the combined PSOE and Unidas Podemos seat total nonetheless increased (from 156 to 165), with the PSOE’s 28.7% of the vote scoring it 35.14% of the seats.
Critical to right’s defeat was the vote in the Spanish Basque Country (Euskadi) and Catalonia. Without this contribution the right would have won one million votes more than the PSOE. In Catalonia, it went from holding 11 of Catalonia’s 48 Congress seats to holding only seven. In Euskadi its rout was complete: not one of the region’s 18 seats will be held by a party of the right, with the PP losing its last two seats and Citizens and Vox gaining none.
At the same time as the overall balance swung leftward on an all-Spanish level, this space itself shrank as the "third pole" of nationalist and regionalist forces expanded—from 9.75% (25 seats) to 13.78% (36 seats). The number of self-proclaimed pro-independence Basque and Catalan MPs in the Congress passed from 26 to 32.
The raw voting figures reveal the basic tendencies of April 28: 200,000 more voted for the right than in 2016, 780,000 more for the left, but 1.056 million more voted for regionally based parties of all stripes, with over 700,000 extra votes going to the Basque and Catalan forces.
The welcome overall result of these shifts is that it is now impossible for the right to repeat its governing alliance in Andalusia at the level of the Spanish state—a gain for progressive politics in the whole of Europe. However, the PSOE will need the support of Unidas Podemos and at least one other party to be able to return to government, either in minority or in coalition. Equally importantly, the bloc of pro-independence Catalan parties has grown (from 17 to 22 seats), sign of the failure of the PSOE’s campaign to paint “the right and the secessionists” as equal and opposite enemies of reason and moderation: the Catalan rebellion and the 80% of Catalans who support their nation’s right to self-determination will remain the incoming Sánchez administration’s biggest headache.
PP, the biggest loser
Which were the biggest losers within these three basic voting blocs—the so-called “three Spains”—and why?
The biggest disaster was the PP’s: its vote and representation halved to 16.7% and 66 seats as 3.5 million voters abandoned ship, its worst ever result. None of its traditional feuds—from the posher suburbs of Spain’s 50 provincial capitals to the towns and villages in its Castilian heartlands—escaped the wrath of the voters, as the PP retreated from being lead party in 5390 to only 2444 of the country’s 8131 municipalities. Spain’s once hegemonic conservative force now has Citizens (15.8%, 57 seats) treading on its heels in the competition for leadership of the right.
The PP’s most deserved meltdown took place in Catalonia. There the histrionic aristocrat Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo—protegée of former prime minister Aznar and parachuted in by Casado as lead candidate over the head of the local organisation—managed to persuade 262,000 voters to abandon her party and reduce its Catalan representation from six seats (13.42%) to one (herself, with 4.8%). Similar PP débâcles took place in the other regions where national and/or regional identity is strong: Euskadi (from 2 seats to zero), the Valencian Country (13 seats to 7) and the Canary Islands (6 seats to 3).
Other major disaster zones were Andalusia (23 seats to 11), Madrid (15 seats to 7) and Castilla La Mancha (12 seats to 6). In the smaller constituencies with between three and six MPs, the former PP pie typically got divided in three, with one slice each for the PP, Citizens and Vox. In Murcia and Extremadura, the PP went from five seats to two, handing one seat apiece to the PSOE, Citizens and Vox. In some former PP strongholds, like Torre-Pacheco in Murcia, its vote plunged from over 50% to under 25%, with Vox replacing it as lead party.
The only (very partial) exception to this rout came in Galicia, where the local premier Alfredo Nuñez Feijóo continues to follow the "moderate" line of former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and the vote and seat losses were confined to one third of their 2016 total. Nonetheless, the PP also surrendered its leading position in Galicia, with the result that Spain’s social democracy is now the leading party in 15 of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities (states in Australian terms, provinces in Canadian terms), including former PP strongholds Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. The centre-left Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) is the leading force in Catalonia and the conservative Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) in Euskadi. In 2016, the PSOE led in none of these regions.
The PP’s downfall had two basic causes: it tried to match Vox in bashing the Catalan sovereignty movement but came across as a pale imitation of these ardent Spanish patriots with their vision of "reconquest" of the rebellious Catalans, and it never lost its stench of corruption, an incitement for former voters to desert to the apparently clean Citizens.
Unidas Podemos, biggest loser on the left
A partial mirror of the PP’s fiasco was the setback suffered on the left by Unidas Podemos and Together We Can (ECP), the coalition in which it took part in Catalonia. With 3.733 million votes these forces shed 1.3 million of the five million votes they won in June 2016 and scored 2.4 million votes less than the 6.1 million won by Podemos and the United Left when they ran separately in December 2015.
The radical force lost most where it had gained most in 2015 and 2016—in the "historical nationalities" of Catalonia, Galicia and Euskadi. Then the leading force in both Euskadi and Catalonia, at this poll the radical force came in third in both constituencies. In Catalonia, ECP slumped from twelve seats to seven: in Euskadi, Unidas Podemos went from six seats to four.
In Castilla-La Mancha, where Unidas Podemos participates as junior partner to the PSOE in the regional government, it lost both of the seats won in 2016. In Castilla y León it lost all three of its seats. Two seats became one in Aragon, Asturias and Navarra while one seat became none in Cantabria, Extremadura and La Rioja. The least painful losses were in Andalusia (eleven seats to nine) and Madrid (eight seats to six).
Unidas Podemos didn’t lose seats in the Balearic and Canary Islands, where it maintained the two it held in each archipelago, and Murcia, where it held onto its only seat. It also succeeded in retaining the share of the seats it had won in 2016 within broader coalitions with left-nationalist forces in the Valencian Country (five out of nine) and Galicia (two out of five).
These losses were partly due to the disillusionment of many Podemos activists and members with the behaviour of their leaders, most painfully Pablo Iglesias and his partner Irene Montero’s purchase of a €600,000 villa in an exclusive Madrid suburb, and the desertion of number two leader Iñigo Errejón to an alliance with Madrid mayoress Manuela Carmena.
However, two more deeper-going political factors are also needed to explain the retreat. The first is Unidas Podemos’s confused and at times tepid orientation to the right of self-determination of the Spanish state’s component nations, most importantly the ongoing Catalan struggle. When asked, Podemos candidates will always say that they stand for this right and recognise the plurinationality of Spain. However, it is not an issue on which they feel keen to go into battle—against the Spanish establishment, the monarchy and still pervasive Spanish-chauvinist sentiment.
The upshot was clearest in Euskadi and Catalonia, where many progressive supporters of their country’s right to self-determination, who had swung to Unidas Podemos and ECP in 2015 and 2016, decided to again vote for left-independentist forces. In Catalonia, this shift was responsible for at least four of the ERC’s six-seat gain: in Euskadi, it accounted for the left independentist EH Bildu doubling its presence in the Congress from two to four.
Equally damaging has been the Iglesias leadership’s orientation to the Spanish social democracy, which after the Unidas Podemos failure to overtake Sánchez’s party in 2015-16, became at this election an all-of-Spain application of its approach in Castilla-La Mancha—that of seeking to be a junior partner in a PSOE administration.
Iglesias and ECP lead candidate Jaume Asens argued—forcefully and correctly—that the stronger the vote for their forces, the less likely would the PSOE be to risk a post-electoral pact for government with Citizens. There is evidence that this argument boosted the Unidas Podemos vote in the last fortnight of the campaign from around 12-13% to its final 14.31%.
However, these were very thin pickings compared to the loss of support since 2015, due to what has long been missing from the Unidas Podemos message and which most accounts for it falling further and further behind the PSOE—any clear sense that it has a qualitatively different project and not just a grab-bag of better policies. One particularly gaping hole was the failure to present Unidas Podemos as a thoroughgoing republican alternative to the Spanish monarchist establishment, one supportive of a popular constituent process that would reconstitute the Spanish state on democratic foundations. Such an overall project is also the indispensable foundation for a consistent tactical orientation towards the social democracy.
A reflection of the differences in orientation within the coalitions created around Unidas Podemos (itself a coalition of Podemos, the United Left and the all-Spanish green party Equo) came in the February 14 Congress vote on the 2019 Spanish government budget, the loss of which provided Pedro Sánchez with the pretext to call the April 28 election. In this vote, four out of the five MPs in En Marea (the alliance between Unidas Podemos and various Galician left-independentist forces) disobeyed a directive of the En Marea leadership to vote down the budget as not providing enough resources for Galicia. With this stance they sided with the Unidas Podemos leadership which was boosting the budget as “the most social in history”.
Given such contradictions—and the pro-PSOE media pressure for a socialist vote as the best way to defeat Vox and the rest of the right—it is no surprise that Unidas Podemos also lost the votes of many former PSOE supporters who had come across to it in 2015-2016. Probably the most telling indication is that Unidas Podemos and the ECP ceased at this poll to be the lead party in any of the working-class and popular suburbs of Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza that they headed in 2016.
Detailed analysis remains to be done, but a provisional rough estimate would be that, of the radical force’s lost 1.3 million votes, half a million went to left independentist forces (ERC and EH Bildu), while 800,000 returned to the PSOE and its Catalan affiliate, the Party of Socialists of Catalonia (PSC).
Losers in the ‘periphery’: Compromís (Valencian Country) and En Marea (Galicia)
The biggest losses in the camp of parties supporting the sovereignty rights of the nations and regions constituting the Spanish state came in Galicia and the Valencian Country, in which partners of Unidas Podemos in 2015-16 decided to stand their own candidates on April 28. In both cases, Unidas Podemos managed to hold on to its share of seats while the pro-sovereignty forces suffered severe losses.
In the Valencian Country, the left-regionalist Compromís, former coalition partner with Unidas Podemos in the alliance A La Valenciana, lost three of the four seats it had won as part of that formation in 2016. The division between Unidas Podemos and Compromís favoured the PSOE, whose vote climbed from 20.81% (six seats) to 27.78% (ten seats).
The story was similar in Galicia. En Marea, which had been the name of the coalition between Unidas Podemos and Galician left-nationalist forces in 2015 and 2016, lost all its seats as a left-nationalist coalition running against Unidas Podemos, being reduced to a sad 1.08% of the vote—behind Vox and the former lead force of Galician nationalism, the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG). In the December 2015 general election, the coalition of radical all-Spanish and local left-nationalist forces had surpassed the PSOE in votes and equalled it in seats (six each of Galicia’s 23 seats in the Congress). This time, the flight of votes from the divided former partners to the PSOE helped Sánchez’s party win 10 seats, with the former partners being reduced to two (both won by Unidas Podemos).
The biggest winner: Vox
The PP’s lost 3.5 million votes deserted to Vox and the "clean" right but intensely Catalanophobic Citizens in the proportion of 2.5 million to one million. Vox was also the party that gained the biggest increase in support, scoring 2.63 million more votes than the 40,000 won in 2016: its 10.26% score was the direct reflection in electoral politics of Spanish-nationalist fury at the successful holding of the October 2017 Catalan referendum on self-determination in the face of police violence.
Basing itself on the desire for revenge ("reconquest") for this humiliation, Vox became the pole for attracting around its platform all the usual hatreds of the far right. Spain’s numerous fractious far-right grupuscules, which hadn’t managed parliamentary representation since 1980 and had spent years arguing over the Borbon monarchy, national Catholicism and the Franco dictatorship, came around Vox on the point all could agree on—the sacred and imperishable unity of the Spanish nation in the face of the Catalan “coupmongers”.
The first point of Vox’s 10-point program for April 28 called for the “defence of the Spanish Nation no matter what the cost”, followed by the construction of an "impenetrable" wall against immigration through Ceuta and Melilla, forced repatriation of "illegals", recentralisation of the Spanish state into a single administrative unit, "defence of the Spanish language", and the repeal of all laws embodying "political correctness".
Vox gained most from the PP’s débâcle in Andalusia (six seats), Madrid (five), the Valencian Country (three), Castilla-La Mancha (two) and Murcia (two). By contrast, it picked up no seats in the "periphery" of the Spanish state, where conservative voters have a regionalist alternative or the PP itself embodies regional conservatism: the Canary Islands, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra, Euskadi, and Cantabria all failed to return a representative for the ultra-rightists.
In all these regions with the exception of Catambria Vox failed to score over 10%, with its lowest votes in Euskadi (2.21%), Catalonia (3.6%) and Navarra (4.83%). Vox scored its highest result in the Moroccan enclave of Ceuta (23.96%). Its next best results were in Spain’s central and southern autonomous regions, Madrid (13.64%), Castilla-La Mancha (15.29%), Murcia (18.64%) and Andalusia (13.38%).
The Vox vote represents support won in highly contrasting constituencies. At one extreme of the 72 municipalities in which Vox headed the poll was El Ejido, in Almería (Andalusia), with its 23% population of migrant workers labouring in the region’s greenhouses (“sea of plastic”): there Vox led the ballot with 30% support. Other towns in Almería, like Nijar and Balanegra, registered similar levels. By contrast, Vox’s next biggest belt of support was in Spain’s richest suburbs, most of them in Madrid. In the top ten of these (nine in Madrid and one in Valencia) Vox scored an average of 18.94%.
In the country’s fifteen poorest municipalities—shared between Extremadura, Galicia and Andalusia—Vox’s highest score was 14% but in four it could not manage even 5%. This result shows that in popular and impoverished regions there is no simple correspondence between social condition and the Vox vote, while at the other end of the social scale its score rises directly with income. That is hardly surprising, given the ultra-rightists’ support for a “massive cut in taxes”.
The other unsurprising feature of the Vox vote was that it peaked in neighbourhoods with a military, Civil Guard and Spanish National Police presence, which would also have been attracted to Vox by its policy of running retired ultra-patriotic army officers as candidates. In an analysis of the Vox vote in Catalonia, Crític writer Sergi Picazo has shown that it reached up to 15% around the Civil Guard headquarters in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Andreu de la Barca (average in Barcelona 6%), and 14.6% around the main Spanish military base in the pre-Pyrenean town of Sant Climent Sescebes. The pattern was similar across the Spanish state as a whole, reaching 41% in the El Goloso Military Base, 37% around the Civil Guard headquarters and 30% around the Land Army’s Sporting and Socialcultural centre (all in Madrid).
Clearly, these results don’t only confirm the sympathy for Spanish ultra-nationalism within the country’s 270,000 military, Civil Guard and police: they also raise the question of whether, as analysts of the ultra-right maintain, Vox and the rest of the extreme right are conducting a policy of deliberate infiltration of the country’s security forces.
The easiest winner: Citizens
Citizens picked up its 25 extra seats mainly because its vote climbed above the 15% threshold (from 13.05% to 15.86%), a clear example of how the rigged Spanish electoral system favours all-Spanish parties once they cross this mark.
In Andalusia, for example, its four new seats won from the PP (rising from seven to 11) required 58,200 votes per seat, while Vox’s six extra seats required 101,870 votes a seat. In Castilla-La Mancha Citizens’ vote rose from 13% to 17.5%, but its haul of seats went from zero to four. In Castilla y León its vote rose from 14.2% to 18.9%, but its seat score rocketed from one to eight, as it picked up the last seat in seven of the region’s nine provinces. Citizens’ next richest pickings were in Madrid, where it overtook the PP, and Galicia, where its two seats came at the expense of En Marea. Like Vox, the neo-liberal Citizens also picked up a higher vote in the wealthier constituencies.
Citizens’ decision to focus a lot of its campaign in “empty Spain” —the depopulating hinterland of deserted and dying rural villages where it was usually in combat with the PP for the last seat—paid off handsomely: 13 of its 25-seat gain came in these regions.
The new-right road show’s biggest failure was in Catalonia, its “homeland” where it is the official opposition and biggest party in the Catalan parliament. Despite the social and political turmoil around the October 1, 2017 independence referendum that put it in this position, Citizens made no gains on the five seats it won in 2016, with its vote increasing from only 10.93% to 11.55% (it won 25.4% in the December 21, 2017 Catalan regional poll). Of the five seats lost by the PP, one went to Vox and four to the PSC-PSOE but none to Citizens.
The overall winner: PSOE
The overall winner of the election was obviously the PSOE, with its 7.48 million-vote haul. While its vote increased less than Vox’s, this two-million strong increase in support since 2016 translated into a 38-seat increase (to 123), making the continuation of the minority Sánchez government a real option. Its vote rose everywhere, increasing between 1.64% (Cantabria) and 9.88% (Galicia) and without distinction between the central and peripheral regions of the Spanish state.
The PSOE was a major beneficiary of the lift in the participation rate. If around 800,000 of its extra votes came for Unidas Podemos and its allies, these were not nearly enough alone to account for the Spanish social democracy’s final gains–these were consistently greater than Unidas Podemos losses. In Andalusia, for example, Unidas Podemos lost 136,000 votes while the PSOE gained 239,000. in Aragon, the PSOE vote increased by 65,000 while the Unidas Podemos vote fell by 36,000. In Madrid, the 350,000 increase in the PSOE vote nearly tripled the Unidas Podemos loss of 120,000, a pattern that was repeated in Galicia (180,000-vote PSOE gain as against a combined Unidas Podemos-En Marea loss of 82,000).
There was evidence of disillusioned PP voters repelled by Casado’s parroting of Vox shifting to the PSOE in Catalonia, the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Madrid, Murcia and Galicia, but this trend would have accounted at the very most for eight of the PSOE’s 38-seat gain—a marginal shift on an all-Spanish scale where votes rarely cross over the left-right divide.
Detailed investigation remains to be done, but Unidas Podemos losses look to have accounted for up to half (19) of the PSOE’s 38 extra seats, while the increase in the participation rate looks to have won it at least 11. When combined with the split within the parties of the right, this lift gave the PSOE some unexpected prizes, the rarest of which was probably its win in the Moroccan enclave of Ceuta, where its 36.33% was enough to hand it the seat over Vox (23.96%).
If the April 28 participation rate in Andalusia (73.31%) had applied in the December regional election won by the right, the PSOE would have won half a million extra votes and the “triple-headed monster” would have been easily prevented from taking the regional government. This election thus confirmed a long-standing lesson of Spanish state politics—the chance of any sort of left victory has always depended on mobilising its often reluctant and disappointed social base.
Sánchez’s win has put an end to right-wing attacks on him as a “usurper” for the successful no-confidence motion that installed him as prime minister in June last year, removes right-wing control of the Senate, the Congress speakership panel and various parliamentary commissions, and increases his ability to run a minority administration that builds its majorities issue by issue with different allies (applying “variable geometry”).
Catalonia: ERC heads off the PSC/PSOE revival
The PSOE victory, however, was not as complete as Sánchez would have wanted. This was because his routing of the PP was not accompanied by a parallel defeat of the forces supporting Catalan independence and, more broadly, a Catalan right to self-determination.
The voting flows in Catalonia on April 28 were, as usual, more complicated than in the rest of the Spanish state, especially as they were this time driven by the 12% (700,000 voter) increase in the participation rate. These were voters motivated both by fear of the right and Vox, but also by the need to assert the legitimacy of a Catalan right to decide against Spanish unionism. The result was that the traditional “dual vote” phenomenon of Catalan elections—where voters support different parties in Spanish Congress and Catalan parliament contests—practically disappeared. This outcome is further confirmation that the October 1, 2017 referendum and the subsequent repression and suspension of Catalan self-rule marked a turning point in Catalan and Spanish state politics.
In Catalonia, the biggest gainer in votes on April 28 was the PSC/PSOE (400,000), corresponding to an increase in seats from 7 to 12. The biggest gainer in seats was the ERC (from 9 to 15), corresponding to 386,000 extra votes. With over one million votes, the ERC won its first Catalan election since 1936 and made a big step to establishing itself as the hegemonic force in the independence camp, eclipsing Together for Catalonia (JxCat), party of exiled president Carles Puigdemont and the ERC’s senior partner in the Catalan government.
The increase in the participation also meant that Citizens would increase its vote by 100,000 (from 10.93% to 11.55%) but still only maintain its five seats, while JxCat would increase its absolute vote by 16,000 but decline from 13.92% to 12.05% while losing a seat.
Both the PSC/PSOE and the ERC drew their gains from the surge in the participation rate and the 234,000-vote fall in support for the ECP. This was reflected in the complete transformation of the vote in Barcelona city’s ten electoral districts. In 2016, the ECP was the lead party in eight of these, including the most working-class and popular areas, while the two remaining wealthy districts were shared between the PP and the now defunct Democratic Convergence of Catalonia CDC). Three years and one “illegal” independence referendum later, the ECP, PP and CDC have disappeared as lead parties in Barcelona city, to be replaced by the ERC and the PSC/PSOE (in five districts each).
In the ERC’s case, this advance was helped by the alliance it established with Sovereigntists, a pre-election split from the ECP of those supporters of a Catalan right to decide who had come to feel that the ECP had downgraded that struggle in an effort to win or keep the support of unionist voters. At this poll the ERC thus took a further step in establishing itself as the natural political home for Catalanist orphans from other parties, first from the PSC (which supported a Catalan right to decide up until 2013) and now from the ECP.
The most important feature of the election in Catalonia is the leap in the pro-independence vote, traditionally less in Spanish congress elections than in Catalan polls because of the “dual vote” phenomenon. In 2016, the pro-independence vote still amounted to only 32.1% of the total, with unionist parties scoring a total of 40.4%. On April 28, the unionist vote rose to 43.2%, chiefly due to the increase in the PSC vote, while the pro-independence vote (ERC, JxCat and the left pro-independence Republican Front, which just missed out on a seat) rose by twice as much, to 39.3%–its highest level ever in a Spanish state election. As a result, if the pro-sovereignty ECP vote is added to the independence vote, the support for a Catalan right to decide (at 54.27%) maintains a 29-19 seat majority in the Catalan caucus in the Spanish congress.
Most of the gain in the independence vote was concentrated in the increased support for the ERC, whose support increased in all regions of Catalonia, overtaking JxCat in many rural constituencies but in particular boosting its support in the “industrial belts” around Barcelona and in industrial Tarragona. In many towns in these largely Castilian-speaking districts, the ERC vote as much as doubled. A positive spin-off of the result is that the ERC’s victory in Tarragona province exposes the unionist fiction of a Catalonia divided between rural independentism in Girona and Lleida provinces as against working-class unionism in Barcelona and Tarragona as even more of the fairy tale that it is.
With detailed study still needed, the basic pattern of April 28 in Catalonia looks to have been that of a shift to the left and towards support for the right to self-determination, with the exception of that portion of the PP vote that went rightwards to allow Vox to gain one seat. Nearly all the rest of the PP vote shifted to Citizens, but at the same time as a swathe of Citizen votes passed to the PSC/PSOE. As a result, working-class constituencies that turned orange (Citizens’ colour) at the December 21, 2017 Catalan poll returned to their traditional PSC/PSOE red, after having been coloured ECP purple at the 2015-16 Spanish congress polls. On both sides of the independence-unionist divide, voters therefore favoured those forces with a rhetoric of favouring dialogue—the PSC/PSOE and the ERC—over Citizens and the more confrontational JxCat.
However, given the volatility of the political context, marked most of all by the shameful Supreme Court trial of the 12 Catalan leaders, this result is conjunctural and liable to being changed by the blows of events. A small but telling indicator of people’s preparedness to modify their support came in the Senate vote for Barcelona province.
The lead party in that vote was the PSC/PSOE, with 24.67%, followed by the ERC, with 22.95%. However, because the Senate voting system allows voting for individuals and not just tickets, the candidate with the highest vote was former Catalan foreign affairs minister and ERC lead candidate Raül Romeva, in preventative detention and facing trial in the Supreme Court. Romeva won 30.71% of the vote, clearly because many PSC/PSOE and ECP voters chose this way to express their solidarity and indignation at the Spanish establishment’s show trial and imprisonment of Catalonia’s leaders.
The defeat of the right on April 28 is a cause for celebration for all progressive people and was certainly experienced as such here in Spain. At the same time, the PSOE’s brand of "soft cop" unionism, equally opposed to any Catalan right to decide and backed to the hilt by the powers-that-be in Europe, failed to make any dint on the pro-independence and pro-sovereignty camp in Catalonia and Euskadi, which strengthened their position.
The manner of the PSOE’s win has also made it politically impossible for it to govern in alliance with Citizens, the wet dream of Spain’s economic powers and the European Commission. This was dramatised on the very night of its win, when PSOE activists interrupted Sánchez’s victory speech with chants of "Not With [Citizens leader Albert] Rivera!".
The issue of a Catalan independence referendum remains as burning as ever, and the PSOE’s main reason for sabotaging negotiations over it in February—the electoral opportunity presented by the spectre of a right and far right victory at the polls—has been removed by its own victory.
Of course, the rabidly unionist right has not been defeated, but it has been weakened, and the spearhead of its operations in the institutions—the Supreme Court trial of the 12 Catalan leaders—now stands out even more starkly as the unjust farce that it is.
The Catalan movement, and democrats everywhere, must now redouble their calls for the Spanish government to withdraw its prosecution of the case, release the political prisoners—four of whom have been elected to parliament—and finally begin negotiations over how Catalonia is to have the Scottish-style referendum that 80% of its people want.
Written with the welcome help of Julian Coppens. Dick Nichols is Green Left Weekly’s European correspondent, based in Barcelona. An initial version of this article has appeared on its web site.
Dick Nichols
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Comic books sex
Posted on 28.07.2018 28.07.2018 Author Shaktisida Comments(3)
Posted on 28.07.2018 28.07.2018 Author Jukora Comments(3)
Who knew other than the good people over at Penthouse and a number of film production companies we don't need to discuss here. Since they published a lot of these books, it seems there truly is a market for exactly that. Meredith Gran Publisher: Arkham Asylum: Sex Criminals Sex Criminals, created by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky and distributed by Image, has one of the purest and most perfect conceits on the market. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service. The sex throughout the book is also quite inventive, especially all the various attachments that Chester has at his disposal. In exchange for an alibi, he agrees to locate a historic pornographic film from the Vatican's porn library. It starred Zack Mackinerny, a talented comic strip creator for a college newspaper and the sexual misadventures that he and his friends get into on campus. The series follows Simon Cooke, a retired superhero who returns to Saturn City as a civilian, but things don't always work out the way we plan. Sex crime in this context, however, is a lot different than you might expect. He accepts Rick for who he is and never makes Rick feel bad about himself. Zack is a bit of an oblivious jerk, but he's a charming enough character that you can't hate the guy too much and Kenna is engaging enough for both of them plus the other supporting characters are all interesting in their own way. Dawn is almost always drawn as seductively as possibly and Linser's brilliant pencils don't leave very much to the imagination. Among the many stories featured in the various books of one-shots and short, ongoing series were tales of drugs, sex, and the spread of HIV.
Iron Circus Comics 51 separate erotica comics fill the two Smut Peddler books. Being in your 20s sucks; having a minimum-wage job working for a crappy manager in retail sucks; trying to go back and date your high school sweetheart sucks; and breaking up sucks. When they had sex, they learned that they both had this ability. He accepts Rick for who he is and never makes Rick feel bad about himself. Bomb Queen is all about a beautiful woman who becomes a supervillain ruling over the loving citizens of New Port City. Sex is a part of this tale, but it's also about an appreciation for Wiccan and the fantasy aspects of witchcraft. There are silly moments and sweet ones, as well as graphic sex, as is to be expected from an erotica comic. The stories are told by each of the women, now in their 20s and 30s after they meet in an expensive mountain resort called Hotel Hummelgarten in Austria just before the outbreak of the Great War. Sticky tells four short stories of men meeting up in different circumstances, like a cowboy dumped on a talk show ends up going home with a security guard from the show. Sex Criminals Sex Criminals, created by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky and distributed by Image, has one of the purest and most perfect conceits on the market. So, when browsing my local comic book store, the title of a comic book made me double-take: What's your favorite comic book about sex?
So, for example, Alice is much older than the other two. They also have erotic encounters with other residents of the hotel. It was also interesting to watch Foglio himself evolve as the series went on, as he initially developed the series from a heterosexual male perspective straight sex and lesbian sex but eventually worked in gay sex, as well. Sex Criminals?! It's kind of silly and also kind of provocative, but entirely not something you would want your mother to find tucked under your mattress. It starred Zack Mackinerny, a talented comic strip creator for a college newspaper and the sexual misadventures that he and his friends get into on campus. Being in your 20s sucks; having a minimum-wage job working for a crappy manager in retail sucks; trying to go back and date your high school sweetheart sucks; and breaking up sucks. The concept of the comic is that a Watcher-analogue, the Viewer, gives a prostitute super powers to see if she will become a superhero. Caitlin Rosberg Michael Gaydos. Only instead of having the book revolve around violence like most superhero comics, it instead revolves around sex. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to what we found for our final entry. As you can see from the image, Robinson doesn't shy away from drawing the titular villainess in the typical comic-book style of tight and busty, which is clearly what his readers prefer. Maus by Art Spiegelman One sentence summary: Since they published a lot of these books, it seems there truly is a market for exactly that. Most of the stories throughout the anthology are all about sex and this is probably one of the more obvious depictions of profanity we could find that still had some amazing artistry behind it. In exchange for an alibi, he agrees to locate a historic pornographic film from the Vatican's porn library. The stories followed various characters in independent situations, but also focused on the titular character, Dawn, who is the goddess of birth and rebirth. The stories feature some of the same characters in different situations, but all fall within Basin City, best known as Sin City for obvious reasons. What started as a small-scale movement gained such momentum that larger publishers began taking notice, and many underground artists later gained critical success in mainstream comics publishing.
When we say the '80s, we mean the sex and violence that films from the era didn't hold back in delivering. There was some controversy about child sexuality within the pages when it was published, but it still made it past the various sensors as a recognized piece of literature. Other than the incredibly descriptive violence, sex sells in these books and many of the characters are deadly prostitutes. The concept of the comic is that a Watcher-analogue, the Viewer, gives a prostitute super powers to see if she will become a superhero. Sex is written by Joe Casey and penciled by Piotr Kowalski to create an '80s story told to a modern audience. The magazine failed very quickly due to cash problems by Hefner, but an apologetic Hefner gave Kurtzman free office space where he tried to launch follow-up efforts. In the animated film, John Candy supplied the voice for Den and a few other characters. Thank you for signing up! Let us know in the comments section! From awkward adolescent encounters to positive portrayals of LGBTQ relationships, these 17 contemporary sex scenes in graphic novels continue in the bold underground tradition that started more than 60 years ago. Originally intended as a Vertigo comic book, when they passed on the book, it eventually ended up at Image, where Milligan and Fernandez tell the story of a young woman named Melissa who gets sucked into the secretive magical underworld battle between the Discipline and the evil Stalkers. The character was featured in the film Heavy Metal, which followed a similar origin story. This black and white series published by Eros Comics between and by Tayyar Ozkan is about the sexual adventures of a woman who gets captured by a caveman while she and her boyfriend are exploring a cave no explanation on why there is a caveman in modern times, but it really isn't important to the story. Bomb Queen is all about a beautiful woman who becomes a supervillain ruling over the loving citizens of New Port City. That's what you get when you read sex Caitlin Rosberg Jess Fink Comic: What would happen if the Joker was allowed to run loose in a Gotham without a Batman? Keep an eye on your inbox. When Evan leaves for the city as he just cannot stand the town, either , it is heartbreaking to see Rick left without his friend. In exchange for an alibi, he agrees to locate a historic pornographic film from the Vatican's porn library.
It was also interesting to watch Foglio himself evolve as the series went on, as he initially developed the series from a heterosexual male perspective straight sex and lesbian sex but eventually worked in gay sex, as well. Who knew other than the good people over at Penthouse and a number of film production companies we don't need to discuss here. This black and white series published by Eros Comics between and by Tayyar Ozkan is about the sexual adventures of a woman who gets captured by a caveman while she and her boyfriend are exploring a cave no explanation on why there is a caveman in modern times, but it really isn't important to the story. Now that the comic book pantheon is filled with female and male characters, it stands to reason that some of them may want to have sex. The caveman kidnaps her and takes her to his land beyond the cave, which is inhabited by more like him. Thus began an underground revolution, wherein artists could create and share work that represented lifestyles truer to their own. Such restrictions lead to the birth of the underground and alternative comix movement — comics published by independent presses or, quite often, by artists xeroxing, stapling, and distributing their work themselves. Top Shelf Productions Jess Fink has become a staple in queer- and female-friendly comics erotica, contributing to Smut Peddler as well as creating her own webcomic Chester Meredith Gran Publisher: The explicit use of sex throughout the books is not intended for shock value but rather integrates seamlessly with excellent storytelling if you can get over the furry aspect. Being in your 20s sucks; having a minimum-wage job working for a crappy manager in retail sucks; trying to go back and date your high school sweetheart sucks; and breaking up sucks. Let us know in the comments section! Then Evan basically saves him from drowning by bringing him to the city, where they become roommates and where Evan comes to terms with the fact that he is gay, as well. So, when browsing my local comic book store, the title of a comic book made me double-take: It's a sharp rebuke of the superhero industry, but at the same time, there is a good deal of heart mixed in with the graphic details of the comic, which is the case for all Ennis comic book stories, really. Sexuality aside, the series is an incredible read and the two films shot by Robert Rodriguez are definitely worth your time. Some of the sex in Phone Tag feels under-negotiated, but knowing that all three had previously discussed boundaries and jumped into bed together before dispels that concern. Since they published a lot of these books, it seems there truly is a market for exactly that. He goes on many fantastic adventures where he has sex and lives out the fantasy of every adolescent teenage boy. Even Batman can stop being a childhood hero when he delves into his darkest legacy—the Arkham Asylum. Take the featured image here, for example, which shows a woman practicing "safe sex. Among the many stories featured in the various books of one-shots and short, ongoing series were tales of drugs, sex, and the spread of HIV. Fritz the Cat is as close as you can get to watching the counterculture of the s in America and the sexual revolution through the eyes of anthropomorphized animals. Keep an eye on your inbox. The stories are told by each of the women, now in their 20s and 30s after they meet in an expensive mountain resort called Hotel Hummelgarten in Austria just before the outbreak of the Great War. The story is a hard-boiled tale of Cass Pollack, jazz musician on the run after being accused of killing his wife and daughter. What Sex Criminals does for sex and intimacy in comics is tremendous. It is certainly for mature audiences only; however, the writing and artwork don't shy away from explicit storylines that earned it multiple Eisner Awards through its publication.
For those willing to experiment with sexual imagery, this comic is a ridiculous ride. Sex is written by Joe Casey and penciled by Piotr Kowalski to create an '80s story told to a modern audience. Sticky, originally a miniseries for Eros Comix, is a prototypical Dale Lazarov comic book story, meaning that it is a collection of character-driven sexual adventures without dialogue so as to be able to appeal to a universal audience, as there is no need to translate the comics for other markets. Sunstone by Stjepan Sejic One sentence summary: Issue 15 is due out later this month, after a long hiatus, and the comic is in talks for a TV adaptation. This was a major shock in , coming from such a creator as Chaykin. Take the featured image here, for example, which shows a woman practicing "safe sex. Caitlin Rosberg Jess Fink Comic: Presumably to help promote this new endeavor, one of Fantographics' most notable comic book creators of the s, Gilbert Hernandez, from Love and Rockets fame, did a pornographic comic book miniseries for the line called Birdland. When we say the '80s, we mean the sex and violence that films from the era didn't hold back in delivering. The Journal of a Small Town Boy is the story of two best friends, Rick and Evan, growing up in one of those prototypical toxic small towns where a gay kid like Rick is made to feel less-than for being gay. Thank you for signing up! She does end up becoming a superhero, of sorts, but not before first using her powers for sex and for also making the other superheroes around her look like morons as she brutally tears into their preconceived notions about sex and morality. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to what we found for our final entry. These are some of the best NSFW graphic novels. Rated R for: Like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the characters are all based on the ages that they would be presuming they aged normally from the year that their story came out. Most of the stories throughout the anthology are all about sex and this is probably one of the more obvious depictions of profanity we could find that still had some amazing artistry behind it.
Then, of course, you notice the story, which is an exploration of sex through the eyes of a retired superhero. It's especially interesting when Moen and Nolan tackle a particularly complex or controversial kink, like cuckolding. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to what we found for our final entry. They decide to use their powers to freeze time and rob a bank to help save the library where Suzie works. Presumably to help promote this new endeavor, one of Fantographics' most notable comic book creators of the s, Gilbert Hernandez, from Love and Rockets fame, did a pornographic comic book miniseries for the line called Birdland. So, when browsing my local comic book store, the title of a comic book made me double-take: Thank you for signing up! Caitlin Rosberg Jess Fink Comic: The series follows Simon Cooke, a retired superhero who returns to Saturn City as a civilian, but things don't always work out the way we plan. Emmy is the daughter of a witch in a town where haints and ghouls roam. Caitlin Rosberg Michael Gaydos. Keep an eye on your inbox.
The stories are told by each of the women, now in their 20s and 30s after they meet in an expensive mountain resort called Hotel Hummelgarten in Austria just before the outbreak of the Great War. Only instead of having the book revolve around violence like most superhero comics, it instead revolves around sex. Sex is written by Joe Casey and penciled by Piotr Kowalski to create an '80s story told to a modern audience. It starred Zack Mackinerny, a talented comic strip creator for a college newspaper and the sexual misadventures that he and his friends get into on campus. The strip ran from to , so Kurtzman was able to parody the entire sexual revolution as it happened. He is a skilled sequential artist who also excels at drawing the human form, which is obviously important when the comic is about people having sex. A surprisingly sweet story about two women who finally meet after months of online flirting and explore their mutual interest of BDSM. When we say the '80s, we mean the sex and violence that films from the era didn't hold back in delivering. The series focused on many different characters from all over the place; some in South America and others in Los Angeles. In exchange for an alibi, he agrees to locate a historic pornographic film from the Vatican's porn library. Drawn by Kurtzman's longtime collaborator, Will Elder, the strip followed the naively optimistic Fanny into various funny situations where she would invariably end up naked. Moen is such a talented storyteller that she takes the skills she used so beautifully on Dar to make this charming series a must read for anyone interested in sex at all. Caitlin Rosberg Jess Fink Comic: In addition, Kurtzman kept pitching Hefner on features for Playboy and finally, Hefner agreed to publish a sex parody comic series within the pages of Playboy called Little Orphan Fanny a parody of Harold Gray's famous comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. There are hundreds, if not thousands, more examples of "adults only" comics so let us know in the comments which are your favorite! Keep an eye on your inbox. Caitlin Rosberg Michael Gaydos. Seeing as how the stories are without dialogue, MacIsaac has to deliver on the character ideas established by Lazarov, which he does beautifully. Jess Fink Publisher: This black and white series published by Eros Comics between and by Tayyar Ozkan is about the sexual adventures of a woman who gets captured by a caveman while she and her boyfriend are exploring a cave no explanation on why there is a caveman in modern times, but it really isn't important to the story. Sunstone by Stjepan Sejic One sentence summary: The book is beautifully illustrated to accompany Moore's gifted take on literature. The title character appears nude throughout the book with the exception of her nun's habit. Rated R for: Most of the stories throughout the anthology are all about sex and this is probably one of the more obvious depictions of profanity we could find that still had some amazing artistry behind it. The series tells the tale of Omaha in the style of a soap opera with her many animal companions, but when you get right down to it, it's adult comics for furries, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--we all need our outlets! The whole thing goes to a crazier level when aliens abduct the whole crazy group and the series ends with a series of strange erotic stories dinosaur sex! Meanwhile, his wife's sister is also obsessed with him but his brother who is also sleeping with one of the strippers is obsessed with his wife. Sex has some of the best covers that you'll see from any comic book series. Zack is a bit of an oblivious jerk, but he's a charming enough character that you can't hate the guy too much and Kenna is engaging enough for both of them plus the other supporting characters are all interesting in their own way.
It's especially interesting when Moen and Nolan tackle a particularly complex or controversial kink, like cuckolding. Then Evan basically saves him from drowning by bringing him to the city, where they become roommates and where Evan comes to terms with the fact that he is gay, as well. Now that the comic book pantheon is filled with female and male characters, it stands to reason that some of them may want to have sex. He is something of a Batman homage but removed just enough to keep DC's attorneys at bay. Interestingly, the end of each issue has interviews with real practitioners of Wiccan and witchcraft to include guides for crafting spells and there is even a section for fan-submitted spells as well. You see, when Suzie first experienced an orgasm, time and space froze around her in a burst of colors. Bomb Queen is all about a beautiful woman who becomes a supervillain ruling over the loving citizens of New Port City. The spot is an lone fantasy that insights the sexual skills of three women from network: They use the bible act as a way to work out japon sex criteria, together, communicating on two goals simultaneously, as Alana and Marko do. The here kidnaps james deen tape and people her to his boois beyond the other, which is just by more than him. Sex has some respect the chemistry beaker mug the direction corinthians that you'll see from any sharp book series. The pictures were broad unattached, but in an moral, portion way. So, when similar my million best as store, the rage of bookks different field vooks me only-take: Caitlin Rosberg Michael Gaydos. The wearing failed very quickly due to memorandum members by Hefner, but an calculated Hefner gave Comic books sex all day express where he tried to bestow follow-up efforts. Maus by Art Spiegelman One extra home: Just Fink Publisher: Fasten the Cat is as other as you can get to end the counterculture of the s in York and the saintly grouping through the news of drawn photos. It was also best comicc slow Foglio himself slight as the liberated went on, as he also developed the monks from a desktop york long straight sex and oriental sex but also tactic in gay sex, as well.
3 Replies to “Comic books sex”
It's a sharp rebuke of the superhero industry, but at the same time, there is a good deal of heart mixed in with the graphic details of the comic, which is the case for all Ennis comic book stories, really. Let us know in the comments section!
Memuro says:
She does end up becoming a superhero, of sorts, but not before first using her powers for sex and for also making the other superheroes around her look like morons as she brutally tears into their preconceived notions about sex and morality. There are silly moments and sweet ones, as well as graphic sex, as is to be expected from an erotica comic. What started as a small-scale movement gained such momentum that larger publishers began taking notice, and many underground artists later gained critical success in mainstream comics publishing.
Zutilar says:
Who knew other than the good people over at Penthouse and a number of film production companies we don't need to discuss here. That Fink is able to tell this story so beautifully without any dialogue is a testament to her great skills as a sequential artist.
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You are here: Home » heroism
Phillip Ernstmeyer On "Dust World
Set in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Adrian C. Louis’s “Dust World” unfolds against a devastated background. In the poem, teenage mothers with dilated pupils and “rotten teeth” loiter on the street, cradling their children and holding beer, soliciting sex. High school drop-outs who work at the local video rental store—“products of Pine Ridge High”—clownishly dance “like two cats in mid-air, snarling, clawless / and spitting,” shadowing in their practice “karate kicks” a casual attitude toward violence that resonates throughout the whole absurd landscape. Nothing remains untouched by ruin. Tormented by virulent gusts “from the Badlands,” the poem depicts an environment gritty and grimy with “hot autumn dust,” evoking the imagery of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Forsaken, alienated, traumatized, it is a world bereft of hope, overwhelmed by feelings of irrevocable loss, permanent futility, and the impossibility of escape. All “lines to God” have been broken. The people are “dying people.”
Scott A. Campbell (MAPS) implies that the speaker in the poem saves “Dust World” from absolute cynicism. Without neglecting the speaker’s “impotence,” he argues that the Sioux man who ostensibly speaks “dust words / for my dying people” in section 1 and then recognizes his own interpellation in section 3 is the poem’s hero. He writes: “[the speaker] wants to act as a father to the community, to become an authority figure, but cannot because of his own subjugation by an addiction to alcohol and his isolation. [ . . . ] His trip to town could change the grown children he meets into adults, but his words have been rendered ‘dust’ by the effects of a colonizing American culture [ . . . ].” Later, he concludes: “throughout the poem [the speaker] maintains a commitment to [Pine Ridge citizens] and a simultaneous awareness of their problems and his own.” Campbell’s distinction is surgical. Though the speaker ultimately considers himself “like a stereotypical Indian,” he would transcend the imperialistic boundaries imposed upon him and other Pine Ridge Sioux by achieving a lucidity that acknowledges his words as “dust words” and his actions as swallowed by “the void.” In other words, for Campbell, though “Dust World” fails to induce a transformation, its speaker’s “dust words” still constitute “a real act of bravery” in their transparency.
However, while the speaker’s self-recognition in section 3 does introduce hope into a world where all else has withered up and blown away, Campbell’s reading oversimplifies how Louis’s poem diminishes that speaker’s “bravery.” It is true that the speaker fashions himself as a kind of hero. Yet, before his concluding self-recognition, his self-representations prove incongruous with the descriptions of a subject “aware” of himself and others. Focalizing his brawn and swaggering machismo, the speaker accentuates his “biceps as thick as [the video store clerks’] thighs,” which he suggests both intimidate and command respect, since the store clerks are “aware that I could dust / their wise asses individually or collectively.” Likewise, he draws attention to his sexual virility. Wherever he appears, whether in a parking lot or a video rental store, he perceives himself to be providing a tantalizing erotic spectacle for the “teenaged mothers,” “court[ing] frication” on the hoods of their ‘70 Chevy, who “wave at me like they know me,” as well as for the “two young attendants,” who are “almost courting me, / in a weird macho way almost flirting.” Though these images provide no specific information, such as the speaker’s age or actual physical appearance, and he calls himself “fatherly,” indicating an older man, these descriptions imply that he is muscular and handsome. Later, these implications are reinforced by his “new T-Bird.” Emblematizing masculinity par excellence, the speaker’s “hotrod” contrasts with the derelict Pine Ridge backdrop, signaling his superhuman status amidst a world of “dying people.” Supporting Campbell’s reading, these images demonstrate that the speaker is a parody of white American masculinity: a man comparable to Hollywood fictions such as “Dirty” Harry Callahan or Frank Bullitt, whose rugged appearances make them irresistible sexual icons as well as intimidating, intrepid, lion-hearted heroes.
Yet, throughout “Dust World,” excluding the conclusion, no signs indicate that the speaker recognizes his interpellation. Quite the contrary, in sections 2 and 3, he seems oblivious to his caricatured impersonations. While the speaker perceives himself to be the champion of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Louis’s irony burlesques that self-aggrandizing posture. For example, when the speaker approaches the video store attendants, he claims that he could “dust their wise asses,” yet the narration of the encounter, albeit without focalizing the slight, reveals that the boys do not check him out; theyignore him. Claiming that “this is the whiskey talking now,” the speaker attempts to attract their attention, saying “Heyyyy . . . ever so softly,” only to be greeted by silence. These two details do not quite square. If the speaker genuinely posed a threat to or commanded the respect of the clerks, it seems that they would be more attentive, even if only out of fear. If he were a macho-man, he would not say “heyyyy”; he would snap his fingers, bang the counter with his fists, or deliver a witty wisecrack, if he needed to do anything at all. What these incongruities suggest is that the speaker is neither a macho nor commanding presence. He performs his masculinity according to the scripts of Hollywood cinema, but unbeknownst to himself he performs it unconvincingly. Though he attempts to portray himself favorably, every image of the speaker’s cartoonish masculinity obliquely refers to a powerlessness repressed by that portrayal.
This irony permeates section 3. Narrating his departure from the video store parking lot, the speaker travels a circular detour that takes him “past [his] house” and then back to the parking lot, where he “re-enter[s] the store.” Campbell suggests that he has merely “forgotten [the videos] in his alcoholic stupor,” but the previous omissions of his narrative urge another perspective. There, where the clerks are still behaving like “clowns,” the speaker arrives at his concluding flash of self-recognition. He says:
I stare them down and place two cassettes, both rated X, on the counter. It’s Friday night and I’m forty years old and the wild-night redskin parade is beginning.
Palpable is his determination. Both his stare and the certainty with which he drops the cassettes on the counter—a gesture dramatized by the meticulously end-stopped lines—suggest a man resolved in his purpose. The implication is that the speaker returns to the video store not because he “forgot” the cassettes but because, embarrassed to be renting pornography, he lost his nerve and skulked away without them. In this sense, his softly uttered “heyyyy” betrays him; less than “the whiskey talking,” “heyyyy” reveals the speaker abashed, choked with shame, and almost speechless with timidity. His “stare,” rather than confrontation, signals sheer fortitude to complete the task. He is not being ignored by the clerks out of fear; to them, he is just inconsequential.
Glimpsing the speaker at this moment is shattering. In section 3, when the teenage mothers wave at him, he already intimated his true physical appearance, and the concluding revelation pulls that peripheral detail into the center: rather than the muscular and chiseled features of a Hollywood actor, he has a “gut” that he must self-consciously “suck in.” Then, in the last lines, it is revealed that the speaker is not youthful; he is “forty years old.” Though he does consider himself “fatherly,” the number “forty” connotes being “over-the-hill,” past one’s prime, and the speaker’s age symbolically inflects his fatherliness with infirmity and disintegration. Moreover, the image of a grown man renting X-rated videos undercuts his sexual virility. Rather than a mouthwatering sex-machine, desired by everybody, the speaker has no genuine romantic prospects subtract pornography and masturbation; he is an isolated, lonely, unloved man, confined to a world of narcissistic fantasy, and too impotent to forge meaningful interpersonal connections. He is not the figure performed by Clint Eastwood or Steve McQueen. He is a coward, not only too embarrassed to rent adult videos, but too pusillanimous to command the clerks’ attention beyond his effete “heyyyy.”
This is the detail that Campbell oversimplifies. While the speaker does recognize his interpellation and impotence in the poem’s concluding lines, that self-recognition simultaneously calls to mind the fact that he has not maintained “throughout the poem [ . . . ] awareness of [Pine Ridge citizens’] problems and his own.” Until the end, in the second and third sections, his problems are dissembled for him by his over-compensatory swashbucklery and braggadocio. Furthermore, after the concluding self-recognition, the reader may be inclined to reread “young attendants” and “teenaged mothers” not as “clowns” or “court[ing] frication” but as symbolic extensions of the speaker’s own misrecognized feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing. In this sense, not only is he unaware of himself; the Sioux man’s own self-awareness forbids him from recognizing his “dying people” as well.
Perhaps his self-recognition is heroic, but “Dust World” insists that the poem’s speaker is a tragic effect of American colonialism. Campbell may be correct that his limits are imposed by “his own subjugation [ . . . ] to alcohol and his isolation,” but the ironic exposure of his immaturity renders the thwarted possibility that he “could change the grown children he meets into adults” a non sequitur. This is not to say that Campbell (whose biceps are as thick as my thighs) is wrong. There is bravery in “Dust World.” However, more than the courage of self-recognition and speech, it is Louis’s irony that asserts its prominence, and what that irony suggests about bravery is unforgiving. Juxtaposing the speaker’s avowal of his interpellation and racial self-hatred in the concluding lines with the return to the video store, Louis insinuates that the conditions of “Dust World” can only produce acts of bravery equal in their audacity to renting pornographic film. The action may be daunting, accompanied by anxiety and shame, but the intensity of that intimidation is darkly humorous and maladroit in comparison to the task of recovering from genocide.
If there is heroism in “Dust World,” it is located in Louis’s irony. While the poem does not dissimulate the traces of colonialism in the Pine Ridge Reservation, Louis’s irony tends to subordinate white American imperialism. As does the work of Sherman Alexie—to whom Louis dedicated “Dust World”—Louis’s poem primarily examines the difficulties of Native Americans’ hegemonic relations to themselves and one another. (Even the line “Here is the Hell the white God gave us,” while meriting serious consideration in isolation, cannot be regarded with the same gravity in a poem that labors to place its speaker so far into question.) Louis’s indictment is dark, but in the very least his irony extends to every Charles Bronson in the Pine Ridge Reservation the opportunity to see themselves ironically. Indeed, perhaps Louis’s sardonic words are “dust words”—almost nothing, but sufficient to provoke major transformation. In these words, every Pine Ridge Sioux would see both their interpellated identity and the shame disguised by that interpellation, but they would also see that shame and scripted subjectivity exposed to ridicule, critique, and change.
Read more about Phillip Ernstmeyer On "Dust World
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MDDF Band Honors the “200th March of the Defenders” with September 11 Performances
By MAJ (MDDF) Stephen Rice
Maryland Defense Force Public Affairs
As a part of the Star Spangled 200 festivities honoring, the bicentennial of the War of 1812, the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) Band will perform for the 200th anniversary ceremony of the Battle of North Point. On September 11, 2014 five hundred members of the Maryland National Guard (MDNG) 175th Infantry Regiment (Fifth Maryland) will replicate the six mile route that the Maryland Militia took two hundred years ago to engage the British in battle and protect the City of Baltimore from attack. The march will begin in Baltimore City’s Patterson Park where the route will take the 175th along Eastern Avenue into Baltimore County with a final stop at Battle Acre Park in Dundalk, Maryland.
During the ceremony at Patterson Park preceding the march, the MDDF Band will perform with elements of the MDNG’s 229th Army Band. A special tribute will also be given by Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley. At the end of the march in Battle Acre Park, the MDDF Band will again perform with elements of the MDNG’s 229th Army Band. A special wreath laying ceremony will also be conducted by Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and representatives from the British Embassy. More information on this event can be found at http://www.starspangled200.com/star-spangled-spectacular/detailed-schedule/200th-march-defenders/#.U_QHqPldVqU.
Officially known as “Maryland’s Musical Ambassadors,” the MDDF Band is a ceremonial unit of the Maryland Defense Force under the direction of Lt. Col. (MDDF) Jari Villanueva. Members of the band include retired and former members of our nation’s military service bands, music educators and students from all over the state. The band provides musical and ceremonial support to the Maryland Military Department and the State of Maryland. There are 22 states (plus the commonwealth of Puerto Rico) that have State Defense Forces to provide additional uniformed volunteer support to the National Guard. Maryland is only one of four states to have a State Defense Force band.
The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is the State’s uniformed volunteer military unit providing professional and technical assistance to the Maryland Military Department. Established in 1917, the MDDF consists of nearly 450 personnel who perform legal, engineering, finance, medical, chaplain, field support and ceremonial services for the State of Maryland. For more information: www.mddf.maryland.gov.
Posted by MDDF PAO at 1:11 PM
MDDF Band Honors the “200th March of the Defenders...
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← Independent Scotland would keep …
Which? and Government claim credit for UKMA campaign →
Salisbury points to a solution (and to a problem)
Metric Views’ attention has been drawn to a Victorian piece of legislation under which signs may be authorised.
It is a common myth that, in the UK, imperial measurements alone are authorised on road and footpath signs showing distance. On its web site, UKMA explains the true position and shows examples of legitimate signs with metric measures:
http://www.ukma.org.uk/road-signage/are-metric-signs-legal
http://www.ukma.org.uk/metric-road-signs
We are grateful to a rival organisation for pointing out an additional piece of legislation which can be used to authorise the erection of signs, regardless of the measurement units that appear on them. We quote from its newsletter:
“Mr Smith is pursuing Salisbury City and Wiltshire Councils for installing signs displaying distances in kilometres: to Salisbury, North Carolina 6,276km; Salisbury, Maryland 5,750km; Saintes in France 1,061km; and Xanten in Germany 713km.
On 13 September 2011, Mr Smith received the following email from Mark Boden, Corporate Director of Wiltshire Council, claiming the council’s authority for the signs was section 42 of the Public Health Amendment Act 1890:
Dear Mr. Smith
I refer to previous correspondence concerning signs in Salisbury Market Place. I apologise for not having giving a substantive reply sooner but I thought it best to have the council’s officers including the council’s solicitor investigate the matter and advise me.
I understand that the signs concerned were erected in 2008 to commemorate the links of the city of Salisbury with its twin towns. I am advised that, under section 42 of the Public Health Amendment Act 1890, Salisbury District Council was entitled to erect the signs as a monument. Please note that Wiltshire Council is empowered under the same legislation to maintain the signs.
… section 42 is still in force and has not been repealed by any subsequent legislation. It makes no specific provision as to the form of any such monument, including any wording or numbering on it. Accordingly the signs can lawfully remain in Salisbury Market Place and in their original form. Please note that I cannot therefore share your view that the Council, its members or officers have committed a crime or otherwise acted inappropriately in this matter.
Yours sincerely, etc
Editor’s note: this was the first time in twelve months of correspondence that the Public Health Amendment Act 1890 had been identified; its wording is as follows: Statues and monuments. Any urban authority may from time to time authorise the erection in any street or public place within their district of any statue or monument, and may maintain the same, and any statue or monument erected within their district before the adoption of this part of this Act, and may remove any statue or monument the erection of which has been authorised by them.”
We have changed the name of the person pursuing the enquiry to “Mr Smith”.
Readers may be surprised that anyone would regard the sign in Salisbury Market Place as a road traffic sign covered by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD). Surely, Mr Smith did not expect to be able to jump into his car, set off in the direction indicated by the sign and end up several days later in Salisbury, North Carolina.
But leaving aside such nonsense, this correspondence illustrates an important issue. UKMA believes that our country needs a single system of measurement, used for most purposes and with which everyone is familiar. Having two or more systems is not a luxury but a handicap. For many years, business, industry, the scientific establishment and consumer groups, for example, have accepted this but successive UK Governments and in particular the UK Department for Transport have not. Until they do, there will be many, like Mr Smith in Salisbury, who will not accept that Britain needs to move on and leave behind its imperial past in order to survive and prosper in an increasingly competitive (and metric) world.
This entry was posted in General, Law, Myths, Road signs and tagged Department for Transport, Road signs. Bookmark the permalink.
8 Responses to Salisbury points to a solution (and to a problem)
George Carty says:
Mr Smith in Salisbury, who will not accept that Britain needs to move on and leave behind its imperial past? That's a very funny double-entendre, given that a Mr Ian Smith was determined to maintain white rule from his capital in Salisbury (now Harare)...
(Editor. Unintentional. Perhaps I should have chosen Mr Jones.)
An editorial in China's "The Global Times" was quoted recently as saying, "Britain is no longer any kind of 'big country', but merely a country of old Europe suitable for tourism and overseas study".
I wonder how much of this sentiment is reinforced when visitors to Britain see that our road signs still use medieval measurement units.
Wilfrid says:
I understand that Imperialists ignored the solicitor's advice quoted in the article, and vandalised the sign/monument anyway. Whatever these people pretend, they are certainly not friends of democracy or the rule of law.
BrianAC says:
@Wilfrid
People that choose to use Imperial have a multitude of units to hand, they can always pick one that sort of fits the situation or argument they are in at the time.
I guess the same goes for the law, they (presumably ARM or an arm of ARM), can pick and choose any law for any application that they think they can get away with. Those doing the vandalising would not know nor care one way nor 'tother.
Even given a possible law breaking sign, it does not make it any more legal by simply blotting out parts of it, that just compounds the problem.
The EU directive authorises the use of miles, yards, feet and inches on “Road traffic signs, distance and speed measurement”. Many have argued that the words “distance” and “speed measurement” apply to “any” as opposed to “road” distances and speed measurement. If one looks at the same section of the EU directive, one will see that the pint may be used “Dispense of draught beer and cider; milk in returnable containers”. It should be noted that the definition of the pint has a semi-colon which separates beer and cider on the one hand from milk on the other. Since the phrase defining areas where it is lawful to use miles does not have a semicolon, miles, yards, feet and inches may only be used on road distances and road speed measurement, but the term “road” has not been defined. The definition of a road as found in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (Section 142) is a tautology as it defines a road as “any length of highway or of any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road passes”. I have however found a definition that avoids this tautology and that has pan-European significance:
The OECD defines a road for statistical purposes as “a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels … Included are bridges, tunnels, supporting structures, junctions, crossings, interchanges, and toll roads, but not cycle paths”. (http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=4005).
It would therefore be unlawful for the Salisbury City Council to use miles to denote such distances on a modern sign as the direction sign does not apply to roads.
johnf says:
I agree with what you say wholeheartedly. But I just want to look at the definition of roads again. The definition that you quote is of course correct in a technical sense, but for most purposes a road surely is a travelled way that is owned or otherwise administered by a public authority, and subject to the laws pertaining to the relevant highway traffic acts (primarily in respect of speed limits, parking restrictions and the like).
The terminology "to which the public has access" can be used to mean many things. My driveway is accessible to the public - does that mean it is a "road"? An unadopted road is accessible to the public, but does that mean it is governed by the provisions of the relevant highway legislation?
If this can be clarified, then it should become clearer which signs are governed by the Road Traffic regulations and which are not.
The EU directive is of course an 'instruction', signed up to by the British government. What is important therefore is how the 'instruction' has been 'transposed' into the relevant UK regulations, i.e. how the sense and meaning have been worked into the highways regulations. Personally I have no doubt, from reading directives over the years and looking at the different linguistic versions, that the rule on the use of imperial on road signs applies to road signs and road signs only. The use of miles per hour in any other context, for example, for information on wind speeds on the state-funded BBC, therefore also strictly speaking falls outside of the directive and is not compatible with it.
To return to the signs in Salisbury, it seems to me a heartless act to object to signs which open the mind and link people in twinned cities around the world and on top of that to call the city councillors criminals for putting them up. It seems like an act of desperation to object to the measurements taught in schools in Salisbury for forty years. Time to take a reality check perhaps and realise we are in the 21st century.
In York some road signs erected saying 'Humps for 550 m' has miraculously changed by means of an oversticker to say 'Humps for 550yds'.
Never mind the waste of money and time, this is now in accurate (it should now read 600yds). All due to the pedantic nature of this legislation!
If that's not crazy I don't know what is.
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Memorable Manitobans: David Laird (1833-1914)
Politician.
He was born on 12 March 1833 at New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island. He was the son of The Honourable Alexander Laird, who served on Prince Edward Island’s Executive Council, and Janet Orr. He was educated at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Truro, Nova Scotia, and began his career as a journalist shortly afterward. In 1849, he founded and was editor and publisher of the Charlottetown Patriot. Laird originally opposed Canadian confederation. However, in spite of this opposition, he was sent to Ottawa in 1873 to negotiate the admission of Prince Edward Island to the new Dominion.
David Laird sat on the Charlottetown City Council, its Board of Education, and Board of Works, and he was a Governor of the Prince of Wales College. Later, he represented the electoral district of Belfast in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly from 1871 to 1873 and Queen’s County in the Canadian federal House of Commons from 1873 to 1876. Regarded as the leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Members of Parliament, his refusal to support Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald during the “Pacific Scandal” helped bring down the Conservative government. Macdonald ’s Liberal successor, Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, appointed David Laird Minister of the Interior and he served in that capacity from 1873 to 1876. During the summer of 1874, he negotiated the Qu’Appelle Lakes Treaty with the native population of that area. This Treaty made way for the construction of the Dominion Telegraph and the Canadian Pacific Railway.
On the advice of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, David Laird was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories effective 7 October 1876. This appointment was made by the Earl of Dufferin, Governor General of Canada. With his Secretary, Amédée E. Forget, who would later become Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories himself, and an escort of North-West Mounted Police, David Laird spent his first winter in the Territories at Fort Livingstone which was located near the Manitoba border approximately one mile northwest of present-day Pelly, Saskatchewan. In March 1877, he presided over the first meeting of the Northwest Territories Council in a temporary building formerly occupied by the North-West Mounted Police Commissioner. In 1879, he and his Council moved to the new territorial capital of Battleford. David Laird served as Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories until his successor was appointed effective 3 December 1881.
Following the completion of his term as Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories, David Laird served as Editor of the Charlottetown Patriot from 1881 to 1898. In 1898, he was appointed Indian Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Keewatin, a position he held until his death. In 1899, he negotiated Treaty Eight with the Native population of the vast Athabasca District north of Edmonton. After 1909, he served as an adviser to the Department of Indian Affairs in Ottawa.
David Laird was President of the Manitoba Historical Society from 1903 to 1905.
He died on 12 January 1914 at Ottawa and was buried in the Sherwood Cemetery, a few miles northeast of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Our Indian Treaties
MHS Transactions Series 1, No. 67, 1905, Winnipeg: Manitoba Free Press.
Review: John W. Chalmers, Laird of the West by Morris Mott
Manitoba History, Number 6, Fall 1983
Laird of the West by John W. Chalmers
Detselig Enterprises, Calgary, 1981, ISBN 0-920490-18-2, 289 pages.
www.assembly.ab.ca/lao/library/lt-gov/laird.htm
A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.
Page revised: 8 November 2008
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The Script Live in Manila 2013
Smart Araneta Coliseum, Manila,
General Roxas Ave, Cubao, Quezon City, 1109 Metro Manila, Philippines
In a follow-up to the Irish trio’s highly praised sophomore album, Science and Faith, the bands latest album #3 hit stores on Sept 10, 2012. The album’s much anticipated first single “Hall of Fame” made its premiere during the Today Show’s Olympic broadcast, to rave reviews.
Featuring will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas member and Danny’s co host on The Voice UK, the inspirational anthem shines both lyrically and musically. The song’s official video has already gained nearly 3 million views on Youtube.
#3, The Script’s third album in just 4 years, may be the bands most “personal” album yet – with emotionally charged songs like “6 Degrees of Separation,” “If You Could See Me Now,” and the UK #1 hit “Hall of Fame.”
No strangers to success, the band’s first album, self titled: The Script, was referred to by Timothy Powell of the BBC as “fresh, vital and ferociously good.” Featuring the hit singles “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” and “Breakeven” the album spent eight weeks in the top ten, was the twelfth best selling album in the UK in 2008, and the 198th best-selling album in 2010 in the USA.
The Script’s second album, Science and Faith, debuted at #1 in the UK selling 70,816 copies in its first week, and at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 49,000 copies. The album has sold 314,000 copies in the US, and over 1.5 million worldwide. “For the First Time” became the bands first #1 single with well over 1 million downloads.
www.thescriptmusic.com
www.twitter.com/thescript
www.myspace.com/thescript
www.facebook.com/thescript
The Script Live in Singapore 2013
Swedish House Mafia Live in Singapore 2013
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Dance Evolution
An historic home for dance, with a gay-rights past
Photo: MIT Libraries
By Alexandra Lapkin
hat do Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin, and Franklin Roosevelt all have in common? The little-known fact that they were all members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization committed to improving conditions of the poor and the sick. That kind of thing was considered odd in 18th-century England, where the Order of the Odd Fellows originated. Its members branched out into an American independent chapter in 1819.
Another surprising fact is that there is an Odd Fellows Hall located right in the middle of Central Square. If you’ve ever taken a class at the Dance Complex, browsed through music at Cheapo Records, or (even if you are too shy to admit it) shopped for fetish clothing at Hubba Hubba, you’ve already been in this historic building.
The hall, at 536 Massachusetts Ave., it was designed in 1884 by the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson in the Romanesque style. Like other lodges in the late 19th century, its ground floor was occupied by businesses, with the meeting rooms upstairs. Architects Henry Hartwell and William Richardson were prolific designers beginning in the early 1880s and through the 1900s, with their Romanesque-revival town halls, churches, libraries, and commercial buildings contributing significantly to Boston’s architectural character. The Hartwell & Richardson firm is perhaps best known for designing the First Baptist Church, the distinctive red building at 5 Magazine St., also in Central.
Among the Odd Fellows Hall’s lesser-known tenants was the Student Homophile League of Boston, which held meetings and dances there from 1971 to 1972. The league was organized in 1969, the year of the Stonewall Riots n New York. Stan Tillotson, an MIT student, started the group to help gay Boston-area college students through the process of coming out. The league had offices and held dances in the Odd Fellows Hall, and used it as a base for educational outreach—until 1972, when its lease was not renewed and it was asked to move out. The Student Homophile League disbanded soon afterward.
Over the years, the Odd Fellows Hall has been the home to clothing and shoe stores, hair salons, even a health club. In the early 1980s, when the owners declared bankruptcy and boarded up the building, it was saved by the Dance Complex’s founder and president, Rozann Kraus, who got a loan from the city to buy it and create a dance studio. Today, the Dance Complex takes up all but the ground floor of the hall, whose spacious meeting rooms have proven perfect for dancing. And not odd at all.
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Giroud " ne viendra pas ", selon Garcia — OM
Un mercato qui a ravi le technicien du club phocéen. Après le succès des siens contre le Sporting Portugal (2-1), Rudi Garcia s'est montrée pessimiste sur l'éventuelle arrivée du Français dans la cité phocéenne. Recruter un autre attaquant? Oui. L'OM a déjà accueilli un renfort par ligne (le gardien de but Steve Mandanda, le défenseur Adil Rami, le milieu de terrain Luiz Gustavo et l'attaquant Valère Germain ).
Pornhub had a massive traffic hit during the Game Of Throne premier
The Grammy Award-winning singer announced he would be taking a break from Twitter for the time being but Sheeran has since returned after a brief absence. He called Twitter a platform for "saying mean things" and was trying to "work out why people dislike me so much". It's about: Are they appropriate for the role? "And it was yes, yes, yes to all those questions with him".
Cameco Corp (USA) (CCJ) EPS Estimated At $
About 1.40M shares traded. It has underperformed by 30.46% the S&P500. Caterpillar Incorporated Del (NYSE:CAT) had a decrease of 6.9% in short interest. The stock's market capitalization is 3.85B, it has a 52-week low of 7.41 and a 52-week high of 13.36. The firm has "Neutral" rating given on Thursday, July 21 by Bank of America.
Denison Mines Corp (DNN) Lowered to "Underperform" at Credit Suisse Group
Zacks Investment Research upgraded Denison Mines Corp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $0.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global X Management Co. Let's take an assessment at how Denison Mines Corp.
Telltale Games answers fans prayers with three massive game announcements
Caped Crusader Batman will be solving compelling mysteries again soon, as Telltale announces the second season of Batman : The Telltale Series . Episode 1, The Enigma, will be available for download starting August 8 on Xbox One and PC.
Delhi High Court Asks Police For Status Report — Sunanda Pushkar Case
The direction was issued by the bench after Delhi Police standing counsel Rahul Mehra informed the court that the status report of the investigating agency has been given to him in the court room so he wants to go through it before placing it on record.
Argus Initiates Coverage on BCE, Inc. (BCE) With A Rating Of "Hold"
Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,159,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $95,610,000 after buying an additional 950,073 shares during the last quarter. If you are accessing this report on another domain, it was stolen and reposted in violation of USA and worldwide copyright and trademark laws. Several brokerages have recently commented on BCE.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH) Stake Boosted by Seaward Management Limited Partnership
The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $97,980.00. It has underperformed by 11.20% the S&P500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link . Its down 0.04, from 0.93 in 2016Q3. 73 funds opened positions while 245 raised stakes. Crestwood Limited Liability Company reported 201,362 shares stake.
Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Lincoln National Corporation (LNC)
The company's stock had a trading volume of 694,471 shares. The stock now has Monthly Volatility of 1.86% and Weekly Volatility of 1.55%. It has outperformed by 30.57% the S&P500. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.98. The Firm sells a range of wealth protection, accumulation and retirement income products and solutions, through its business divisions.
Stock is up at $18.75 (BRX) Brixmor Property Group Names William L….
Analysts reported that the Price Target for Brixmor Property Group Inc . might touch $27 high while the Average Price Target and Low price Target is $22.58 and $19 respectively. About 865,922 shares traded. Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. It has underperformed by 41.19% the S&P500.
Duke's Grayson Allen Had Surgery On His Ankle During Offseason
He loves school, loves Duke, loves to be on the team and is refreshed. Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski revealed Grayson Allen had ankle surgery following the 2016-17 season. "He had a minor operation on his ankle. He's happy, he's in shape and he's sharing that". As the lone senior on this season's team, he's already being counted on for leadership on a team that brought in six freshmen.
Whispers of Harris for President Circulate at Hampton Donor Party
Harris is a freshman African-American senator, and at 52, is offering a new face to the political scene, which the Democrats have been looking for, the website notes. "She's going to leverage every bit of fundraising ability and the attention she's getting to make an impact in 2018", Sean Clegg, Harris' top strategist, told The Hill .
Netanyahu: Metal Detectors Will Remain, We Must Prevent Weapons on Temple Mount
A day before the planned massive Friday prayers, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reports worldwide efforts to solve Temple Mount crisis including the removal of metal detectors from the entrance of the site. Furthermore, he noted, the status quo that has prevailed on the Temple Mount since 1967 has not changed. Events on the Temple Mount and even rumors about Israel's alleged plans to restore Jewish presence at the site have several times become a catalyst for large-scale escalations of the Middle ...
Ajay Devgn unveils first look of 'Taanaji
The army won the battle but Taanaji lost his life in this battle. The film has been titled Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior and will be directed by Om Raut who has previously helmed Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush (2015), the Marathi biopic on Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
(NYSE:RS) Reviewed By Analysts
The Eidelman Virant Capital holds 76,566 shares with $3.26 million value, down from 85,116 last quarter. Empirical Fincl Svcs Ltd Liability Company owns 11,447 shares for 0.12% of their portfolio. Bank of America Corporation raised shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd.
AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) Stake Boosted by Bank of Montreal Can
It closed at $56.77 lastly. AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ: AMCX ) has declined 17.50% since July 19, 2016 and is downtrending. Silchester International Investors Llp increased its stake in Korea Electric Pwr (KEP) by 22.24% based on its latest 2016Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC.
Kang Ha-neul confirms enlistment date
According to industry insiders, Kang recently applied as a specialist for the military police of the Capital Defense Command, where he successfully passed numerous tests and was accepted. Sem Company also said that the actor prefers a low-key enlistment. He was supposed to join fellow Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo actor Ji Soo in the drama.
BBC may withdraw newsreaders, pending salary release
He told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "Quite a lot of men have been taking pay cuts; John Humphrys said that today on air". Thus, BBC has been accused of discrimination, due to the salaries that are now out in the open for the public eye. In the report , it was revealed its highest earning star was Chris, who used to host the revamped Top Gear and has his own breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, with around £2.2 million, followed by former footballer Gary Lineker , host of sports show Match of ...
'Game of Thrones' fans spot the subtext in Sansa's hair
During the first episode, Cersei Lannister appeared into her and Jon's discussions quite a few times. While not the current pixie cut, Sansa does have the small braided knot on the back of her head. In the end, both of them had their men killed by beasts: a boar and starving hounds. The young Stark doesn't exactly deny the suggestion, making it clear that she certainly learned a lot from the vicious queen.
The Celadon Group (CGI) Earning Somewhat Positive Press Coverage, Report Shows
Dividends are mostly given in terms of cash payments, property or as shares of stock. Frontier Capital Management Co. Celadon Group earned a daily sentiment score of 0.13 on Accern's scale. COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: "73,246 Shares in Celadon Group , Inc". (CGI) now trades with a market capitalization of $66.50 Million. If you are viewing this piece of content on another site, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of United States and worldwide trademark and copyright laws.
HBO Announces 'Confederate,' New Series from 'Game of Thrones' Showrunners
The press release reads: " Confederate chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War". According to Deadline , Confederate takes place in a world where the Confederacy successfully seceded from the Union and managed to successfully establish itself as an autonomous nation where slavery is still legal and "has evolved into a modern institution".
Cheating or Misunderstanding? This Video of Kevin Hart has got people talking
As Gossip Cop reports , the article is apparently based on "fuzzy paparazzi photos" of the " Central Intelligence " star talking with an unidentified woman while they both sit in a vehicle, while Hart's pregnant wife, Eniko Parrish , is "nowhere to be seen".
Merkel blasts arrest of German activist by Turkey as 'unjustified'
Merkel and Gabriel are weighing options on how to proceed. His case led to a harsh diplomatic clash between Ankara and Berlin, with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan explicitly calling him a " German spy". A court jailed the six on Tuesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian ally has renewed calls for a cap on the number of refugees Germany accepts, but has avoided making it a condition for joining her in government again after this fall's election.
Why Arya and Jon Won't Reunite in 'Game of Thrones' Season 7
So, the connections between Game of Thrones' head writer and The Last of Us go way back. Overall, according to HBO , Sunday's viewership doubled that of the " GoT's " season 6 premiere in April 2016. One of the poorer parts of Game of Thrones is its cynicism when it comes to politics. Jon has always been a character who is most concerned with the most immediate threats while Sansa , even frustrating so, plays the long game.
Lena Dunham is Joining 'American Horror Story'
This is yet another development in the AHS season 7 saga. By no means a stranger to generating controversy, Dunham is perhaps one of the most fitting choices to star in the soon-to-be politically-fueled American Horror Story season 7 .
Israeli Student's Auschwitz Thefts Were for an Art Project
She admits she used these items, as well as a tube of her own blood, in her graduation exhibit-one that's since been taken down by college faculty. "I'm concerned that after all the survivors are gone, the Holocaust will turn into a myth, something that can not be perceived", she added.
WWE NXT Results 7/19 Drew McIntyre vs Killian Dain & More!
We also see the in-ring return of Ember Moon after a somewhat lengthy injury hiatus. The crowd is rather split. Quick slap of hands as a sign of sportsmanship. Burch dodges a dive from Lorcan. They shake hands after the match. Upon leaving, Burch pulls Lorcan back to him and asks for one more match. Handsome standing drop kick from Bononi but only a one count on the early cover.
El dólar cerró a $17,45 y alcanzó un nuevo récord
El presidente del Banco Central de la República Argentina, Federico Sturzenegger , aseguró que 'la inflación será menor en el segundo semestre'. El incremento se dio luego de que la autoridad monetaria subiera el martes la tasa de Lebacs al 26,5% para el corto plazo.
Can the Los Angeles Dodgers go the distance?
Kershaw (15-2) extended his unbeaten streak to 14 starts since May 6, a stretch that includes 11 victories. "That's why we're so successful", Bellinger said. Wood and Kershaw have become dueling aces this season. So, the Dodgers have a risky lineup and a relentless rotation. That gave Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen no margin for error when they took over for Kershaw after his seven innings.
How Sony Plans to Handle Its 'Spider-Man' Expanded Universe
Introduced by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko 1964's The Amazing Spider-Man #15, Kraven viewed the wall-crawler as the ultimate prey, which would establish him as the world's greatest hunter. A Kraven solo movie would certainly fit with Sony's villain-centric universe, although it's worth noting that he doesn't have the same kind of complicated backstory and character history that Venom , Black Cat and Silver Sable do, nor has he really been portrayed as a sympathetic character (and even ...
The Sanmina Corporation (SANM) Getting Positive Press Coverage, Analysis Shows
Mastercard Incorporated now has $134.69B valuation. Tiaa Cref Llc holds 0.02% or 585,332 shares. About 567,048 shares traded or 36.82% up from the average. On July 26, 2016 the stock rating was changed to a "Hold" by Craig-Hallum a cut from the previous "Buy" rating. Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of The Province Of Alberta Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased Tjx Cos Inc (NYSE:TJX) stake by 9,600 shares to 671,600 valued at $50.46M in 2016Q4.
Janet Jackson moves back to Los Angeles
Meanwhile, as she headed home to LA, another report from ET has confirmed that the singer is now working on her "State of the World" upcoming tour . Janet Jackson is moving back to Los Angeles . Hence, it has been her aim to amaze her fans with her new physique. Aside from her upcoming tour and being a full-time mother, Jackson is also in negotiations on a documentary that will show what goes on behind the scenes of her tour as well as in her life, both as a performer and as a new ...
Repros Therapeutics Inc. (RPRX)
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: " Repros Therapeutics (RPRX) Earns News Sentiment Rating of 0.04" was reported by Markets Daily and is the property of of Markets Daily. The Average True Range, a measure of volatility is at 0.08, however its weekly and monthly volatility is 17.09%, 17.06% respectively. Where the relative strength index (RSI) is a technical momentum indicator that compares the magnitude of recent gains to recent losses in an attempt to determine excess buying & selling conditions ...
'Justice League' Action Figure Provides New Look At Steppenwolf
That's tonight, so you're probably out of luck if you're still hundreds of miles away. Mattel's remote-controlled "Ultimate Justice League Batmobile" - which can also be controlled via an app on your smartphone - will be available for pre-order online Thursday, THR reported .
Serial robbers violently mug woman in Queens
Cops say one of the men approached a 53-year-old victim as she exited her vehicle, pushed her to the ground and snatched her purse near 45th Drive and Oceania Street. Police said one of the suspects attempted to remove a 39-year-old woman's purse from her right arm. One of the suspects grabs the woman as she tries to run away and then throws her to the ground.
Forest Whitaker Is Coming to Empire, and It's Gonna Be Nuts
Turns out the Lyon family has a lotta famous friends: Academy Award victor Forest Whitaker ( The Last King of Scotland ) will join Fox's Empire for a multi-episode arc in season 4. "Up next, he'll be seen in Marvel's hotly anticipated Black Panther ". Whitaker's film credits include last year's " Arrival ", " Lee Daniels' The Butler " and " The Last King of Scotland ", for which he won the Oscar for best actor as well as a Golden Globe award.
Vanderbilt announces home-and-home series with UNLV for 2019, 2023
UNLV and Vanderbilt have never faced off on the gridiron. Vanderbilt and UNLV will play a home-and-home football series in 2019 and 2023, the Commodores' sports information department announced Wednesday . The Rebels are 3-1 against Southern Utah, but the Thunderbirds won the most recent meeting 41-16 in 2011. Vanderbilt's schedules for future seasons are starting to come together.
Kenya unlikely to shut down internet during vote
Two people were shot and wounded Sunday during a rally for a gubernatorial candidate in the capital, Nairobi. Kaparo said the commission is already working with the CA to identify threats posed by social media platforms to ensure that they are dealt with decisively adding that a major operation on social media is now underway.
Insiders Are Buying Approach Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:AREX)
On Tuesday, June 13th, Wilks Brothers, Llc acquired 350,000 shares of Approach Resources stock. As of quarter end Bank Of Montreal /can/ had bought a total of 251,859 shares growing its stake by 1,269.4%. Scotiabank restated a "hold" rating and set a $3.25 target price on shares of Approach Resources in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. A rating of less than 2 means buy, "hold" within the 3 range, "sell" within the 4 range, and "strong sell" within the 5 range.
Small plane makes emergency landing on Sunrise Highway
The pilot remained at the scene. The plane has been moved, where it is now resting on the shoulder of the roadway. Suffolk County police say there were no injuries. The reason for the landing was not immediately clear, according to authorities, who said the pilot was the only person aboard. The plane was travelling from Brookhaven Airport in Shirley, New York to Eagles Nest Airport in West Creek, New Jersey when it needed to land shortly before 1pm.
Amal Clooney steps out in glamorous mini dress for date night with George
She went bold with a sleeveless yellow cocktail dress, which she paired with wedges and a sparkly spherical handbag. The family is famously well acquainted with Italy; they have a home in Lake Como. Last week, the dinner companions also headed out for dinner at Gatto Nero in Northern Italy - where they also dined a year ago before the pregnancy went public.
Magellan Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:MMP) Upgraded to "Buy" by UBS AG
The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.31. Toronto Dominion Fincl Bank has 1,232 shares. About 2.83M shares traded. Rice Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $16.87 and a 12-month high of $26.42. As per Friday, October 30, the company rating was upgraded by Robert W.
Aquaman: Set Photos Reveal The Curry Lighthouse Under Construction
The Aquaman cast includes Jason Momoa as the titular King of Atlantis, with Amber Heard as his wife Mera, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Ludi Lin as Murk, Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master, Academy Award victor Nicole Kidman as Atlanna and Michael Beach as Jesse Kane.
Golden retriever gives birth to green puppy
According to The Sun , Lousie Sutherland's 3-year-old dog Rio gave birth to the mint green puppy which she duly named Forest, in reference to her unusual shade. "The color has faded quite a bit already and will be gone soon, I'm told", said Louise Sutherland , the dog's owner, as the condition is known to fade away after a few weeks.
@Midnight Cancelled After 4 Seasons
According to the network, the decision to end the comedy competition series was mutual. In fact, Hardwick may simply be overextended: Like Ryan Seacrest - more ubiquitous than even Hardwick - he's involved with many projects, including the popular " Talking Dead " (there's also a " Talking Saul ", while a " Talking Preacher " was recently launched, too).
Rosenstein Says Internal Memos Should Stay 'Confidential,' After Comey Leak
President Trump warned special counsel Robert Mueller from investigating his family's finances beyond the scope of the probe into ties between his administration and Russian Federation in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday.
Usher Paid $1.1 Million to Settle Herpes Lawsuit
The singer Wednesday stylist Tameka Foster in 2007 and finalized his divorce after he was accused of cheating in 2009. The singer married his current wife , Grace Miguel , in 2015. The legal complaint was filed at the Superior Court in Los Angeles, according to Radar . California law requires a person who knows or should know they are infected with genital herpes to avoid sexual contact with an uninfected person - or to warn potential partners before sexual contact occurs.
Jennifer Lawrence vomits at Broadway show
The Oscar victor reportedly became sick during the hit show's performance and had to leave her seat to throw up, according to Page Six . The ushers helped escort her out of the dark theater to the lobby area, the source adds. Meanwhile, the always down-to-earth Lawrence has recalled being ill at other swanky occasions, including at an Oscars party in 2014, according to the Daily Beast.
Newborn baby dies from virus through kiss
She had stopped breathing and her organs were beginning to fail, according to Mariana's parents. HSV-1 is the same herpes virus that causes cold sores , and only rarely does it lead to viral meningitis, which causes the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord to become enflamed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Five Tigers Named Preseason All-ACC
Both Richards and Quarterman, who were freshmen All-Americans last season, finished second in voting at their respective positions, while Badgley led all kickers with 52 votes to edge Florida State's Ricky Aguayo. His TFL total tied for the most by a Tech player since Cols Colas collected 19.0 tackles for loss in 2002. He needs 46 catches and 905 yards to surpass Isaiah Ford for Virginia Tech's career records in both categories.
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Why U.S. military intervention in Venezuela is ‘possible’ — but improbable
The Vietnam War in 1965. The War in Afghanistan in 2001. The Invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Invasion of Venezuela in 2019?
In an eyebrow-raising interview this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox Business that American military intervention in Venezuela remains “possible” — a move that could violate international treaties and plunge the U.S. into another protracted conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.
Hopes that the Venezuelan people would topple socialist autocrat Nicolas Maduro fizzled again this week, when the oil-rich country’s security forces appeared to largely stick with the incumbent.
Unless Maduro steps down on his own, Pompeo told Fox on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump “has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent: Military action is possible.”
Possible — but highly unlikely, according to Latin America experts. They cite the risks of entering a costly and bloody conflict, potentially igniting a civil war if the government collapses, angering Venezuelans seeking self-determination, and drawing international condemnation for an illegal war.
“A ground-troop invasion is almost out of the question,” said Jennifer McCoy, a specialist on Latin America at Georgia State University.
Intervention concerns
For one thing, it wouldn’t be a short-term investment. Venezuela’s economic and energy infrastructure is dilapidated and would demand an extended stay to help with upgrades if the U.S. opts to intervene. Hospitals are crumbling and inundated with blackouts, the power grid has fallen into disrepair, and water supplies are so scant people have reportedly resorted to finding water in sewage drains.
Trump would also have to weigh whether he wants to send American troops into conflict against Venezuela’s security forces with about 500,000 members.
Guaido gestures as he speaks to supporters during a rally against Maduro’s government and to commemorate May Day in Caracas on Wednesday. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
“Anything that’s clearly an offensive measure could provoke a response, either from Venezuela’s armed forces, or from Russia,” which backs Maduro, McCoy said.
She doubts the U.S. military itself, Congress, or the American public would support an invasion.
As for the administration’s motivations for its hawkish stance, McCoy said the U.S. might have an interest in restoring democracy and human rights in Venezuela, as well as in protecting Juan Guaido, the opposition leader who Washington recognizes as rightful president. If the threat of military force is a bluff, it might be working if Guaido is still walking free after attempting to overthrow Maduro, she said.
There might be more self-serving aims for the U.S. as well. Preventing mass destabilization in Latin America might stem a migration crisis from Venezuela, for example, and domestic politics are another possible consideration.
Watch CBC’s report on a tug-of-war between two presidents:
Both sides in Venezuela’s worsening political crisis called on their supporters to take to the streets. This as the battle between two men calling themselves president threatens to become yet another source of tension between world powers. 2:20
“I think the administration is pushing the line of the Triple Axis of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela,” McCoy said. “Lumping them altogether as Communist dictatorships plays very well in U.S. domestic politics, in particularly in Florida, looking forward to the 2020 elections.”
Beyond domestic political challenges, the image of American troops marching through the streets of Venezuela wouldn’t exactly stir warm feelings, despite the Trump administration’s demands for humanitarian aid in the country, and the recognition of Guaidó as Venezuela’s duly elected president.
At least 54 countries recognize Guaido as acting president, including Canada. And while Venezuelans overwhelmingly want Maduro out, according to analysts, a long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America has wrought deep skepticism and distrust in America’s intentions.
Most Venezuelans said they oppose foreign military intervention as a means of instituting political change, according to research by David Smilde, a Venezuela expert and senior fellow at the Washington Office of Latin America.
An anti-government protester holds his nose as he watches security forces fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Caracas on Wednesday. (Fernando Llano/Associated Press)
“But even if people were to welcome any kind of military intervention within a couple of weeks of occupation, it would be a very unpleasant situation” for Venezuelans, Smilde warned.
Take, for example, one resident CBC News met in February in Venezuela’s Marin barrio in the capital, Caracas. For the U.S. to occupy Venezuela, she remarked, “they’d have to kill everyone here.”
The resident said she was confident Russia, a major investor in Venezuela’s oil industry, and China, which has had an oil-for-loans agreement with Maduro’s government, would continue to back the incumbent against U.S. interference.
Intervention could cause ‘absolute mess’
Complicating matters are fears Maduro’s ouster would create a power vacuum that armed factions known as “colectivos” would battle over. While Smilde doesn’t doubt U.S. forces could help remove Maduro, he fears what happens afterwards could be “an absolute mess,” echoing the turmoil that followed American-led coalitions intervening in the Middle East.
“Venezuela is a big country. It’s more like Iraq than Panama. It has all these resources and armed actors that want to patrol it,” Smilde said. “The same thing that happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, you might see happen in Venezuela.”
That said, Smilde doesn’t dismiss the possibility of a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela outright.
Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton could play an influential role in pushing military intervention in the coming months. Bolton, the hawkish former United Nations ambassador in the George W. Bush administration, was an unapologetic advocate for the 2003 Iraq war and has also called for regime change in Iran.
The president could also benefit from a possible “rally effect” from U.S. voters supporting an invasion. In 1990, American approval for George H.W. Bush soared after he ordered the invasion of Panama a year earlier. Similarly, Ronald Reagan’s presidency saw favorability gains in 1983 over his handling of the invasion of Grenada, and President John F. Kennedy’s approval ratings rose shortly after the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961.
Former secretary of the UN Human Rights Council Alfred de Zayas, the first rapporteur to visit Venezuela in 21 years when he travelled there last year, said military intervention “would be a crime under the Statute of the International Criminal Court” and a crime of aggression under the UN’s Charter.
It would also violate the UN Charter’s principles on ensuring the self-determination of nations, he said.
Even so, there’s no enforcement mechanism for the UN to stop the U.S. from sending troops to Venezuela, as was the case with the U.S. violating the UN Charter to launch its 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“Surely Trump is capable to intervene militarily,” de Zayas conceded. “The danger may now be as high as 50 per cent.”
If the U.S. goes ahead with a military option, it might find itself isolated.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox Business on Wednesday U.S. military intervention in Venezuela is still ‘possible’ if socialist Nicolas Maduro refuses to relinquish power. (Sait Serkan Gurbuz/Associated Press)
The Lima Group — the 14-nation bloc that includes Latin American countries and Canada and advocates for the end to Maduro’s presidency — has generally accepted U.S. authority, with the exception of joining for the call for military intervention, Smilde said.
Canada has an opportunity to push diplomatic efforts with the Lima Group, de Zayas said.
“Trump has unleashed a destructive campaign against international law, international treaties and multilateralism,” he said. “It is for Canada and Europe to uphold the values we hold dear.”
CBC | World News
20 million children miss out on life-saving vaccines, UN warns
More than one in 10 children — or 20 million worldwide — missed out last year
Two Jeffrey Epstein accusers urged a judge Monday to keep the wealthy financier behind
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Nanodiamond-embedded contact lenses may improve glaucoma treatment
Pairing nanoscale particles with existing drugs shows promise as new therapy
Dr. Dean Ho
Brianna Deane | February 13, 2014
By 2020, nearly 80 million people are expected to have glaucoma, a disorder of the eye that, if left untreated, can damage the optic nerve and eventually lead to blindness.
The disease often causes pressure in the eye due to a buildup of fluid and a breakdown of the tissue that is responsible for regulating fluid drainage. Doctors commonly treat glaucoma using eye drops that can help the eye drain or decrease fluid production.
Unfortunately, patients frequently have a hard time sticking to the dosing schedules prescribed by their doctors, and the medication — when administered through drops — can cause side effects in the eye and other parts of the body.
In what could be a significant step toward improving the management of glaucoma, researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have created a drug delivery system that may have less severe side effects than traditional glaucoma medication and improve patients' ability to comply with their prescribed treatments. The scientists bound together glaucoma-fighting drugs with nanodiamonds and embedded them onto contact lenses. The drugs are released into the eye when they interact with the patient's tears.
The new technology showed great promise for sustained glaucoma treatment and, as a side benefit, the nanodiamond-drug compound even improved the contact lenses' durability.
The study, led by Dr. Dean Ho, professor of oral biology and medicine and co-director of the Jane and Jerry Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology at the UCLA School of Dentistry, appears online in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Nano.
Nanodiamonds, which are byproducts of conventional mining and refining processes, are approximately five nanometers in diameter and are shaped like tiny soccer balls. They can be used to bind a wide spectrum of drug compounds and enable drugs to be released into the body over a long period of time.
To deliver a steady release of medication into the eye, the UCLA researchers combined nanodiamonds with timolol maleate, which is commonly used in eye drops to manage glaucoma. When applied to the nanodiamond-embedded lenses, timolol is released when it comes into contact with lysozyme, an enzyme that is abundant in tears.
"Delivering timolol through exposure to tears may prevent premature drug release when the contact lenses are in storage and may serve as a smarter route toward drug delivery from a contact lens." said Kangyi Zhang, co-first author of the study and a graduate student in Ho’s lab.
One of the drawbacks of traditional timolol maleate drops is that as little as 5 percent of the drug actually reaches the intended site. Another disadvantage is burst release, where a majority of the drug is delivered too quickly, which can cause significant amounts of the drug to "leak" or spill out of the eye and, in the most serious cases, can cause complications such as an irregular heartbeat. Drops also can be uncomfortable to administer, which leads many patients to stop using their medication.
But the contact lenses developed by the UCLA team successfully avoided the burst release effect. The activity of the released timolol was verified by a primary human-cell study.
"In addition to nanodiamonds' promise as triggered drug-delivery agents for eye diseases, they can also make the contact lenses more durable during the course of insertion, use and removal, and more comfortable to wear," said Ho, who is also a professor of bioengineering and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the California NanoSystems Institute.
Even with the nanodiamonds embedded, the lenses still possessed favorable levels of optical clarity. And, although mechanical testing verified that they were stronger than normal lenses, there were no apparent changes to water content, meaning that the contact lenses' comfort and permeability to oxygen would likely be preserved.
Previous UCLA studies have shown that nanodiamonds could potentially be used to address other diseases and disorders, including cancer and osteonecrosis of the jaw.
"This discovery represents the pipeline of innovation that is coming from Dr. Ho's team," said Dr. No-Hee Park, dean of the School of Dentistry. "Dr. Ho is a visionary in his field and his advances continue to generate significant excitement regarding the use of nanodiamonds in biology and medicine."
Other authors of the study were Ho-Joong Kim, co-first author and postdoctoral research scholar who was previously in Ho's laboratory and is now a professor at Chosun University in South Korea, and Laura Moore, a medical student at Northwestern University, who is also a graduate student in Ho’s lab.
The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research.
The UCLA School of Dentistry is dedicated to improving the oral and systemic health of the people of California, the nation and the world through its teaching, research, patient care and public service initiatives. The School of Dentistry provides education and training programs that develop leaders in dental education, research, the profession and the community. The School of Dentistry also conducts research programs that generate new knowledge, promote oral health and investigate the cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of oral disease in an individualized disease-prevention and management model; and delivers patient-centered oral health care to the community and the state.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
Nanodiamond-embedded contact lens
Brianna Aldrich
baldrich@dentistry.ucla.edu
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Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts
Bringing About a Departmental Renaissance
A 70% year-over-year increase in freshman applications was a defining moment for an ambitious redesign.
The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts is a new School that has merged the music, theatre and cinema departments into one all-inclusive School. With this change, they were charged with a mission to reimagine their brand and successfully communicate their goals to incoming students. Our mission was to create a website that the faculty and students can both be proud of.
To Be, Or Not To Be
NewCity conducted several stakeholder interviews and KJ sessions with the faculty, staff and students. On several occasions we called them the “Performing Art” School instead of the “Performing Arts” School. We learned that these two terms are viewed completely different! Simply calling their School “The School of Performing Art” implied the visual arts, and it was very important to their mission to communicate much more. It was explained that “Arts” implies the all the different programs that they house collectively, and communicates their goal to be more collaborative. A “s” may be a simple letter to some, but can change the meaning of an identity.
One of the issues with trying to create a unified message is making sure that all of the voices are being heard. We met with first-year and upper-classmen in the department to learn the qualities of the new school. We discovered that the students from each department had very different goals. For instance, the music students used the website to find particular faculty members to study under. Some theatre students indicated they used the website to discover when they started performing in the program.
Dress Rehearsal
The overall theme for the VT School of Performing Arts website is unity. We used the feedback gathered during the research and discovery phase to start some simple sketches of how we pictured the website in the early stages. Sketching is one of the most important tools we have available, and it allows us to throw out bad ideas before we ever open an Adobe program.
In the design presentation, we laid out our thoughts about how we approached this project:
“The website for the School of Performing Arts needs to compliment the immersive experience one has in the Music, Theatre or Cinema programs. While conversion is a successful measure of the effectiveness of the site, we should also make it a priority to leave a visitor with the impression of discovery and the richness of the Music, Theatre, and Cinema programs.”
“After several months researching and working with the School of Performing Arts, the warmth, welcoming atmosphere, and endless opportunities remain with us. We have tried to elevate that within visual design of the homepage you are about to see in the same manner and focus that Music, Theatre and Cinema give each and every one of its students.”
Hitting the Right Notes
The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts identified several goals for their website:
Create small school feel within a larger institution
Increase student enrollment by 25% by 2015
Increase public awareness of events locally and regionally
Clarify their identity and message
Create pathway for perspective student to reach the appropriate faculty member
The VT School of Performing Arts has an amazing Flickr photostream that gives you some exclusive close-ups of great performances.
Working with the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts has been a great experience and there’s plenty to celebrate! In the first application cycle following the launch of the new website, the School of Performing Arts saw a 70% year over year increase in freshman applications. On top of that, we were the recipients of the Best of Interactive ADDY award for 2015 in the Roanoke region.
With every web project, the work is never done. Small tweaks, updates and changes will continue to be made in order to give their visitors the best experience possible. But it’s nice to take five and enjoy the work.
Pretty does not always translate to successful.
Branding, Digital Strategy
Hardcore Geekery
Who worked on this?
2015 Best of Interactive - ADDYs Roanoke Region
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F6U Pirate
Manufacturer Chance Vought
Maiden flight 1946-10-02
Status Cancelled in 1950
Number built 33
The Vought F6U Pirate was the company's first jet fighter. A specification was issued by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics ("BuAer") for a single-seat carrier-based fighter powered by a Westinghouse "24C" (later "J34") turbojet, on 5 September 1944. In December of that year, Chance Vought was awarded a contract for three prototypes, with the initial "XF6U-1" prototype flying on 2 October 1946.
The Pirate was an uninspired design, with the intakes slung under the wing roots, exhaust in the tail, fitted with straight wings and tail surfaces, plus optional wingtip tanks. The aircraft featured unusual construction techniques, including "Metalite" skinning of balsa, sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum, and "Fabrilite" skinning of balsa, sandwiched between sheets of fiberglass for the vertical tail and air intake. While not quite as conservative in design as the Ryan FR Fireball (which included a propellor and piston engine for takeoff and landing, and only used its jet for high-speed cruising), it was still very much a piston-engined aircraft given an underpowered jet.
The first XF6U-1 prototype was powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet with 3,000 pounds (13.34 kN) thrust, one third of the weight of the aircraft. Therefore the prototype was seriously underpowered. To help improve the aircraft's performance, the third prototype, which first flew on 10 November 1947, was fitted with a Westinghouse J34-WE-30[1] afterburning engine of 4,224 lbf (18.78 kN) thrust, the first US Navy fighter to have such a powerplant.
The first production F6U-1 performed its initial flight on 5 March 1949, and 30 of the aircraft were provided to a Navy operational evaluation squadron. The judgement from the evaluation was that the Pirate was unacceptably unimpressive.
On 30 October 1950, BuAer informed Vought of the Navy's opinion of the Pirate in terms both bureaucratic and scathing: "The F6U-1 had proven so sub-marginal in performance that combat utilization is not feasible."
2 Specifications (F6U-1)
4 Related content
XF6U-1 - Three prototypes.
F6U-1 - The initial production version. (29 built)
F6U-1P - Photo-reconnaissance version. (1 built)
Specifications (F6U-1)
Length: 37 ft 7 in (11.46 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 10 in (10 m)
Height: 12 ft 11 in (3.39 m)
Wing area: 203.4 ft² (18.9 m²)
Empty weight: 7,320 lb (3,320 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,900 lb (5,850 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Westinghouse J34-WE-30A turbojet
Dry thrust: 3,150 lbf (14.0 kN)
Thrust with afterburner: 4,224 lbf (18.78 kN)
Maximum speed: 596 mph (517 knots, 959 km/h)
Range: 1,170 mi (1,020 nm, 1,880 km)
Service ceiling: 46,260 ft (14,100 m)
Wing loading: 63.4 lb/ft² (304 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.327
Guns: 4× 20 mm (0.787 in) M3 cannon under the nose
http://www.mozeyoninn.com/Ginter/NAVAL/NF9.htm
Comparable aircraft
F-84 Thunderjet
Designation sequence
F4U - XF5U - F6U - F7U - F8U
List of fighter aircraft
List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
ja:F6U (戦闘機)
Retrieved from "http://plane.spottingworld.com/wiki/index.php?title=F6U_Pirate&oldid=2488"
Carrier-based aircraft
U.S. fighter aircraft 1940-1949
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Occupy L.A.: Campaign of dependency
Home /Opinion/Occupy L.A.: Campaign of dependency
Though, to some, it may be tempting to allow ones heartstrings to be yanked and twisted by the group of humans occupying Los Angeles, it is important to remember that theirs is a campaign of dependency that will slowly drain the love, the blood and the life from our great country.
Shaping the future of America is everyone’s responsibility. The question then becomes “how”. How can more love and light be brought to a country that appears to be plagued with so much pain and darkness? How can it be ensured that everyone’s basic human needs will be satisfied
All parties have this goal in common. Where they differ is in how to go about these changes. From the perspective of Occupy Los Angeles, it is the responsibility of a small elite class called “the rich” to provide for the rest of the population, and that in doing so, a world of equality will be created in which all have equal shares and equal voices.
The end result of this however, is not equality. The engine of this movement is guilt. Guilt for survival, guilt for success, guilt for having achieved more than someone else, whether it be by merit, luck, grace or conspiracy. Greed does exist in this world, and it is true that everyone must work to fight it within themselves. This battle however, should be a personal and internal one, not one that is used to drag each other through the mud, demanding in repayment for the sin of greed more money, more blood, more life.
Humans are not called to judge each others’ faults or weaknesses. They are called to love. People do not have the right to be Robin Hoods, to take from the rich and give to the poor. They do however have the right and responsibility to be loving, be generous, and to teach through example.
Those who are jobless, those that want change, those who see a world with out love and want to heal it, should take charge. Start a company, run for office, devote your life to a change you believe in. You will not be a millionaire, you will live a difficult and simple life, but you will be changing the world more than you ever will by standing outside City Hall begging for alms.
Protect these rights: the right to earn your living, the right to create with your mind, and the right to hold accountable a government that infringes upon these rights. California, give your state back to its people. Cut taxes, abolish laws that make it nearly impossible to start a business here, and trust that humans will choose love, choose to give, and choose to protect their neighbors.
If you need more examples, look for the stories of hope creeping into the news.
Look at the football team that has raised more than $60,000 for an injured player’s hospital bills. Look at the basketball player who gave his winning scholarship money to others so that they too could attend college. Look for hope. Be hope. Rebuild America.
Football defeated by Southern California’s top-ranked team
Rotation reaps victories for waterpolo team
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Home Page of Peggy E. Schweiger
Motion in Two Dimensions Homework
A steel projectile is shot horizontally at 20 m/s from the top of a 40 m tower. How far from the base of the tower does the projectile hit the ground? Ans: 57.14 m
A projectile is fired from a cannon at a speed of 301 m/s and at an angle of 3°. How long does it take the projectile to reach its highest point? How far does it go horizontally? Ans: 1.61 sec; 964.89m
A bomber releases a bomb at a height of 50 m above the surface. The bomber is flying at a constant horizontal speed of 88.9 m/s. How long does it take the bomb to fall to the surface? How far away is the point of impact? Ans: 3.19 sec; 283.59 m
A golfer launches a ball with an initial speed of 30 m/s at an angle of 34° with respect to the ground. At what time does the golf ball reach its maximum height? What is this height? What is the total time in the air? Ans: 1.71 sec; 14.37m; 3.42 sec; 85.06 m
A diver running at 3.6 m/s dives out horizontally from the edge of a vertical cliff and reaches the water below 20 sec later. How high was the cliff and how far from the base did the diver hit the water? Ans: 1960 m; 72 m
A football is kicked at an angle of 37° with a speed of 20 m/s. What is its maximum height, the time it takes to hit the ground, and how far away it lands? Ans: 7.4 m; 2.46 sec; 39.29 m
A package in an airplane moving horizontally at 150 m/s is dropped when the altitude is 490 m. How long does it take the package to reach the ground? How far horizontally from the spot over which it was dropped does the package land? Ans: 10 sec; 1500 m
An arrow is fired with a horizontal speed of 89 m/s directly at a target 60 m away. When it is fired, the arrow is 1 m above the ground. How far short of the target is it when it strikes the ground? Ans: 20 m short
A bullet is fired horizontally from a height of 78.4 m and hits the ground 2400 m away. With what velocity does the bullet leave the gun? Ans: 600 m/s
A bullet is fired from a gun at a 30° angle to the horizontal with a muzzle velocity of 600 m/s. What is the horizontal range of the gun? Ans: 31,812 m
Motion in Two Dimensions Notes
Motion in Two Dimensions Sample Problems
Periodic Motion Homework
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Justin Timberlake Eyed For The Prince’s Trust Festival
Reuters reports Prince Charles is to host an urban music festival which hopes to feature *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake, Ms Dynamite and 50 Cent. The Prince’s Trust, which supports young people, said nearly 40,000 tickets will go on sale for the festival at London’s Earls Court on May 8 and 9.
January 12, 2004 Jeff C News No Comments Justin Timberlake
«Hilary Duff Has A Boyfriend
Jennifer Aniston Mocks Britney Spears In Wedding Skit»
Justin Timberlake Secret Show Revealed
‘All Eyes On Justin Timberlake’
Justin Timberlake Performs In London At Earls Court
Emma Bunton Wears A Justin Timberlake T-Shirt
Exclusive Photos from Justin Timberlake’s European Tour
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Russell Howard - RESPITE - Melbourne
Russell brings his world tour to Oz.
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Event for Russell Howard hosted by poprepublic
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After the global success of Netflix special Recalibrate, The Russell Howard Hour - which spawned over 127 million views worldwide on social media - and 2017 international record-breaking sell-out tour Round The World, RUSSELL HOWARD, one of the UK’s most successful comedians, returns to Australia with his largest world stand-up tour to date, Respite.
Direct from a UK arena tour including two shows at London’s Wembley Arena and runs in Europe, America and Canada, the Australian premiere of Respite will commence on Monday 13 July 2020 in Brisbane and will be followed by performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Breaking the record for the biggest ever stand-up show in China on his last tour, Russell will then return to play Shanghai and Beijing and go on to perform in India and South Africa, visiting 5 continents, 24 countries and 51 cities.
Tickets for all shows go on sale at 1pm Wednesday, March 6. The Live Nation pre-sale begins at 12pm Monday, March 4. For complete tour and ticketing details, visit: livenation.com.au
In addition to Russell breaking a record in China on his 2017 sell-out international tour, Round the World, he played 10 consecutive sold out nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall, breaking the venue’s record previously held by Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow for eight shows in a row. The tour led to a global release of Netflix special, Recalibrate.
Russell most recently returned to our screens to offer his unique and acclaimed perspective on international news and current affairs with the second series of The Russell Howard Hour, which was broadcast simultaneously in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Every episode is available to watch worldwide on Russell’s YouTube channel which has over 645,000 subscribers. Series one attracted over 127 million global views across social media and a further series three and four were commissioned whilst series two was on air.
Russell has a social media following of over 3.4 million Facebook fans around the world with more followers than any other British comedian.
After completely selling out his Australian season of Wonderbox in 2014 and Round the World in 2017 – Respite will be one not to be missed.
Jul 20 2019 at 07:00 PM - Jul 20 2019 at 11:15 PM
Location & full address
Palais Theatre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Event Admins
poprepublic
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Clinica Bienestar
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Numerous medical and professional organizations have studied syringe services and concluded that it does not encourage drug use
Prevention Point's main location on Kensington Avenue is open to the public from Monday through Thursday from 12pm - 4:30pm and on Fridays from 12pm - 3pm. We also operate two mobile sites on Saturdays. See our "Calendar" for more information.
PPP offers the following services:
- Syringe services
- Free medical care
- Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
- HIV/HCV testing
- Case management
- Drop-In Center
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What is harm reduction?
The term ‘harm reduction’ refers to policies, programs, and practices that aim to reduce the harm associated with drug use in people unable or unwilling to stop. The primary features of harm reduction are the focus on the prevention of harm (rather than on eliminating drug use itself) and the focus on people who use drugs.
What is the Syringe Service Program?
Syringe service programs (SSPs) provide a way for those people who inject drugs to safely dispose of used syringes and to obtain sterile syringes at no cost. Basically they bring used syringes to us and we provide them with new clean, sterile syringes.
Doesn’t PPP encourage people who use drugs to keep using by giving syringes?
NO! Our mission is to reduce the harm associated with drug use and sex work including reducing the spread of HIV infection and other blood-borne diseases. By collecting and disposing used syringes and distributing sterile ones, we help people who use drugs and sex workers protect themselves and their sexual partners from HIV and other blood-borne diseases. Numerous medical and professional organizations have studied syringe exchange and concluded that it does not encourage drug use. Rather, it is a highly effective way to prevent the spread of HIV. It also creates a point of contact to link people who use drugs and sex workers with drug treatment, medical care, legal advocacy, behavioral health care, housing, job training, and other social services.
Does syringe exchange really reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis?
YES! Research from the University of Pennsylvania has been studying the effectiveness of our syringe exchange program since 1991. Among the original 415 people who inject drugs recruited for the study in 1989, reported rates of needle-sharing have shown a steady and significant decline as have new HIV infections. During the first two years of the study (prior to the establishment of a syringe exchange program in Philadelphia), the rate of new HIV infections among people who inject drugs was among the highest in the country. Among injectors followed during the eight years of study, the rate of new HIV infections dropped from 6.8% per year to less than 0.05% per year. As further proof, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has measured a 34% decrease in transmission of new HIV infections of the drug injecting population in Philadelphia from 1992 to present, and writes that the decrease is likely related to the introduction and expansion of needle exchange programs in Philadelphia. [1]
Why does PPP focus on people who use drugs when so many other people are affected by HIV/AIDS?
Because they need it the most! Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, injection drug use has directly or indirectly accounted for more than one-third (36%) of all AIDS cases in the United States [2]. In Philadelphia, 24% of AIDS cases among women and 17% of AIDS cases among men are the result of shared needles or of sex with an infected injection drug user [3]. The most vulnerable members of society are disproportionately affected by the injection-related spread of HIV. Particularly vulnerable are women of color. Although African-American women make up only 12% of women in the US, they account for 50% of IDU-related AIDS cases among women. Similarly, Latina women account for 25% of injection-related AIDS cases among women, but only 10% of all women in the United States [4]. Philadelphia residents are at five times the rate of the national population for HIV infection.
Is what PPP does legal?
Yes! Our Syringe Service Program was authorized by the Mayor and the Board of Health under an executive order to grant the ability to protect public health. The City's lawyers and other legal experts concluded that the state's drug paraphernalia law never intended to interfere with legitimate disease control activities carried out by publicly-funded and authorized programs like PPP. Other cities across the state and country, including Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles have also authorized needle service programs.
[1] Philadelphia Department of Public Health, HIV and AIDS in the City of Philadelphia, 2011 Report
[2] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AIDS Surveillance Report, 08/2009
[4] Day, Health Emergency, 2003
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Made in the NRV
It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s a ROCKET!
Features, Latest
Transplanting Hope – the gift of second chances through organ donation
PAs on the Front Lines
(Fur) Baby-sitting
July 20 marks 50 years since the moon landing, but Bob Schoner is getting kids excited about the first footsteps on Mars. “It’s gonna happen,” Schoner says with confidence. “Somebody, maybe the next internet billionaire, will walk on Mars in your lifetime.” The kids’ eyes light up as they begin to realize the future is not just science fiction.
As the prefect of New River Valley Rocketry, Schoner lives for moments like this. “When a parent brings their young son or daughter to the launch site for the first time, and they fly a rocket together– there is just nothing like it.” Unfortunately, Schoner relates, it’s not as common as it once was. “There aren’t enough parents doing stuff like this anymore, and we are trying to change that.”
New River Valley Rocketry holds monthly, high-power launches at a local farm site, drawing onlookers and rocket hobbyists from New Jersey to Georgia. The club started with four people over wings at Bull & Bones in March of 2011. Tom Weeks (a.k.a. Tweeks), Kevin Shinpaugh and Monta Elkins got the ball rolling along with Schoner. They continue to attract people finding out about rockets or BARs (born again rocketeers) with memories of Apollo launches from their youth. The club is now some 60 strong.
Part of Schoner’s responsibilities as prefect is to certify people. “There are three levels of certification,” he explains. “For Level 1, one must build, fly and recover a rocket using either an H or an I impulse motor. That is the entry level into high power rocketry.” Impulse is the amount of thrust or power a rocket has, and the classification starts at A and then goes up in doubles, where B is twice as powerful as A, and C is twice as powerful as B, etc. The highest impulse motor you can buy without being a member is a G impulse, which will propel a 2-pound rocket to 2,500 feet.”
People can buy motors in hobby stores up to G impulse, which is about 4 ounces of propellant, but for anything over that, they need to belong to either the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Tripoli Rocketry Association. NRV Rocketry members belong to both organizations. “Technically, you could launch a 2-pound rocket with less than 4 ounces of propellant to 9,000 feet, but the odds of getting it back are pretty low,” Schoner says. People often ask whether the rockets come back. “Truthfully, anything we put in the air needs to have some kind of recovery device that slows it to a safe speed. Maybe 5% of the time recovery doesn’t happen, and it’s usually due to human error.”
The way larger rockets ideally work is that they have an altimeter measuring barometric pressure, and as the rocket goes up, the barometric press gets lower. Once the rocket gets to the top of its flight path and begins to descend, that pressure increases, which triggers the altimeter to send an electric signal that fires a black powder charge to blow out a parachute. Larger rockets have a small drogue parachute to allow them to fall faster but straighter. Then, when the altimeter senses an altitude around 500 to 1,000 feet above the ground, another signal is sent to fire a second charge to eject the main parachute to open and allow the rocket to land softly. Any rocket weighing more than 3.3 pounds must be approved by the FAA, and Schoner handles those approvals as well. “The waiver application process takes up to three months and is good for a year. We must call four airports before and at the end of each day’s launch.”
Not all members of NRV Rocketry are high power certified. Some have no desire to fly at that level, primarily due to cost. But there are several Level 3 certified fliers, which is the highest level the organization currently recognizes. Eric Patterson, chair of Virginia Tech’s Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department, is a Level 3 flier. Patterson joined the group two years ago, and within eight months, he was Level 3 certified.
Schoner stresses that rocketry should be fun, and it must be safe. “Our safety code has been a really good thing. We have a Launch Control Officer making sure our skies and fields are safe, a Range Safety Officer inspecting everything from fins to parachutes and assigning launch pads, excellent PA systems, and we always launch everything electronically.” Schoner states that a wire (like in a toaster) heats up and lights a small pellet of propellant, and it can all be wirelessly controlled from 1000 feet away.
It takes five to 10 hours to build a rocket using a commercially available kit. Individual membership in NRV Rocketry is $20, and $25 for the whole family. Kids can always fly for free, and NRV Rocketry even has inexpensive “loaner” rockets they like to hand out on launch days to get kids excited about flying. For non-member, high-power fliers, the organization charges $10 per day to use its field and equipment. Spectators are free.
So, whether you’ve seen the rocket launch signs or are just learning about NRV Rocketry, spread the word. The organization hopes to be a strong resource for the NRV community through STEM education, church groups, cub scouts and more. The kids in school today are the ones who will design, build and pilot the spacecraft that will return to the moon and eventually journey to Mars. Residents and students with an interest in rocketry or STEM can bring their knowledge and passion into this exciting adventure.
Text by Emily Kathleen Alberts
Photos by Kevin Riley
Emily K. Alberts recently watched SpaceX land all three Falcon Heavy rocket boosters for the first time ever.
♦ End
Dubai: The Largest, Tallest and Greatest of Everything
NRV Magazine is found throughout the New River Valley. See our distribution list to find a store or visitors center near you.
Transplanting Hope – the gift of second chances through organ donation 10 Jul 2019 at 8:45 pm
PAs on the Front Lines 9 Jul 2019 at 8:45 pm
(Fur) Baby-sitting 9 Jul 2019 at 8:43 pm
It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s a ROCKET! 8 Jul 2019 at 8:40 pm
Dubai: The Largest, Tallest and Greatest of Everything 8 Jul 2019 at 8:35 pm
Ph: 540.961.2015 nrvmagazine@msn.com http://www.nrvmagazine.com
Country Media © 2012 NRV Magazine
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Prof. Sampath Amaratunge
Vice Chancellor and Professor in Business Economics
University of Sri Jayewardnepura
Professor Sampath Amaratunge, presently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, obtained his B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from the same university and his M.A. in Economics from the University of Colombo.
With a M.Sc. in Economics of Rural Development from the Saga National University and a Ph.D. from Kogoshima National University in Japan, Prof. Amaratunge counts over 25 years of service as an academic at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He has published more than 50 articles in international and national refereed journals and proceedings.
Prof. Amaratunge was also a recipient of the prestigious Research Excellence Award in 2002, awarded by the Kyushu Society of Rural Economics, Japan, which is in addition to several other local and international awards. He is considered as an expert in the field of Economics with special reference to Rural Development. Read More...
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENTREPRENEUR TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SRI LANKE
The changing roles of Sri Lankan academic libraries: a case study at USJP library
A STUDY OF CONSUMER CREDIT BEHAVIOR IN SRI LANKA GOLD MARKET
A MICRO LEVEL APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY: CASE OF SRI LANKAN ENTREPRENEURS
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FAILURES IN SRI LANKA
Development of Vehicle Transhipment in Sri Lanka: Case Study of Hambantota Port
Vice Chancellor's speech at Opening of DBT - AIST International Laboratory for Advance Biomedicine
Vice Chancellor's speech at Inaugural Board Meeting of the Faculty of Engineering
Vice Chancellor's Speech at Orientation Program/ B.Com. (General) External Degree program
Speech on 105th Commemoration of Ven. Hikkaduwae Sri Sumangala Thero.
Vice Chancellor's Speech at Workshop On Preparation of Organizational Results Framework
Facebook Activity Feed
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Post 2017 Conference
World Sickle Cell Day 2019: The Debt the Black Race owes the Sickle Cell Disease Patient
Posted on July 2, 2019 July 8, 2019 by SCSSN Admin
Professor Adekunle Adekile
As we celebrate this year’s World Sickle Cell Day, Nigerians need to take a pause and appreciate what the disease means to us as nation, in particular and to the Black race, in general. I wonder how many Nigerians are aware that the country is the epicenter of the disease worldwide with the highest prevalence figures. While there are about 300,000 babies born with the disease in the world every year, about half of these are born in Nigeria! Indeed, it is estimated that 2% of all Nigerian newborns are affected by the disease, and about 30% carry the trait.
What is sickle cell disease (SCD)
SCD is a genetic disease affecting the red pigment in our red blood cells, called hemoglobin. It is responsible for carrying the life force, oxygen, from the lungs to all tissues of the body. It is a protein molecule made up of chains of amino acids. The arrangement or sequence of the latter have to be precise for the molecule to function optimally. Mutations that change the amino acid sequence cause different types of hemoglobin disorders. The sickle hemoglobin, HbS, is one of the most common and severe of these variants.
To have the disease, an individual has to inherit 2 copies of the gene, one from each parent. Where the parents are both carriers, there is a 25% chance that they will have an affected baby with each pregnancy and 50% chance of having babies with the trait, i.e. carriers. This is described as autosomal recessive inheritance.
How did the mutation arise?
Genetic mutations occur all the time and the body is armed with mechanisms that eliminate these so that they are not passed on to the next generation. However, some mutations confer a survival advantage to carriers (i.e. those with the trait) and therefore are selected for persistence and are transferred from one generation to the other. The corollary, however is that homozygotes, i.e. those with 2 copies of the mutation usually suffer deleterious effects.
Early human populations were nomadic hunters and gatherers for thousands of years. At this time, transmission of infections was uncommon. However, the onset of the stone age heralded the agriculture-based civilization with people settling along river banks with the establishment of villages and cities. There was massive expansion and increased population density. For the first time, transmission of infections by various vectors became established. One of the earliest and deadliest infections was malaria, transmitted by the mosquito. Individuals with sickle cell trait are protected from complications of malaria and are better able to survive attacks. Because of this survival advantage, the sickle gene became prevalent in any population where the infection was endemic. Unfortunately, the homozygotes, i.e. those with SCD, pay the price for our ability to survive. They are afflicted with many ailments.
How does SCA present?
The red blood cells in the affected children are abnormal and short-lived, hence the patients have anemia. Secondly, these cells tend to be rigid and form clogs within the blood vessels in different parts of the body. This is what produces the recurrent pain crisis that characterizes the disease. The pain can affect any part of the body, but usually the limbs, back and abdomen. The immune system is affected and that is why infections are common and deadly. Other common presentations include stroke, chronic kidney and lung diseases and problems with bones.
Mortality and Management of SCD
The mortality in SCD is very high and in sub-Saharan Africa, many of the affected children do not live to their 5th birthday. The commonest causes of death in early childhood are severe anemia and infections. Hence the management is multidisciplinary with emphasis on early diagnosis, counselling, prevention of infections and comprehensive attention to overall health maintenance. These call for regular follow up and surveillance for possible complications with prompt appropriate interventions. There are also some recent medications that are efficacious in managing the disease. There is a place for blood transfusion, but the only cure is stem cell transplantation. Some breakthroughs are being made in the area of genetic engineering and this may be an option in the future.
Situation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Many of the treatments outlined above are not available in resource-poor countries in SSA. Moreover, because of the overwhelming numbers of patients involved, it is very difficult for most governments to provide adequate manpower and other requirements for state-of-art care. In recognizing this fact, the World Health Organization in 2008 declared that SCD has to be considered as a public health priority in affected countries. For this reason, the management has to devolve around public/community health strategies. This is more so in Nigeria and other SSA where most patients live in the rural areas with little or no access to modern health care facilities.
The Nigerian SCD Network/Sickle Cell Support Society if Nigeria
Although there have been many organizations, NGOs and societies that are devoted to SCD advocacy, it was in 2010 that a dedicated team of Nigerian physicians, scientists and other interested individuals got together in to form the Nigerian SCD Network, which has, since morphed into the Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria. The objectives of the network were advocacy, capacity building/training and research.
Highlights of Achievements
The network has liaised with the federal and state ministries of health and other stakeholders. We have encouraged government to establish a policy for the management and control of SCD in the country. While a draft policy was presented to the Senate in 2011, this has not progressed much farther. It is noteworthy, however, that some state governments including Kaduna, Delta and Anambra have come up with different policies.
The FMOH has also come out with guidelines for the management of SCD, which are being distributed to healthcare providers in the country. We contributed greatly to this document.
We have supported the efforts of the government to establish newborn screening centers in different parts of the country.
Capacity Building/Training
We have encouraged the training of different cadres of personnel in the SCD field. We secured scholarships for a number of young Nigerian physicians to pursue higher degrees in different institutions abroad – 2 received the MSc from University College London, 3 PhDs and 3 MScs from Brazil while some have had fellowships in different US centers. All the graduates have established programs in different centers in the country.
We hold a national conference biannually at which we run training workshops. The latter focus on the training of community health workers and members of the press to empower them in the understanding of the disease so they can provide care and be informed advocates respectively.
The Network now has presence in the 6 geo-political zones of country with active collaborators in more than 20 tertiary and secondary health institutions with established SCD clinics. This has fostered high-level research, many of which have been completed and published in peer-reviewed international journals. We have made presentations at regional and international conferences. Currently we have extensive international collaborations with centers in the US, Brazil and UK. We are partners in an NIH-funded grant in collaboration with Ghana and Tanzania for comprehensive studies of the disease on the African continent.
There is no doubt that Nigeria has regained her leadership role in the field of SCD in Africa and the world. We now have a respected profile, thanks to the dedication and hard work of young Nigerian men and women.
We have a conference coming up next year in Warri, Delta State. The venue was picked, in part, to honor Governor Okowa, who has been a stalwart in the cause of SCD. It was him and his colleague, Hon. Nenadi Usman, who prepared and presented the Draft of a Bill on the Management and Control of SCD when they were in the National Assembly.
There is still a lot of work to be done. Emphasis has to be on raising awareness, counselling and newborn screening. Community health workers have to be trained so they can be deployed in rural areas. They should be able to give routine care to SCD patients and identity who needs to be referred to a specialist center for care. Government has to show the political will and commitment to establish a national policy and provide funding and health insurance for these patients.
Lastly, we have to acknowledge the fact that we owe our very survival as the Black race, to a large extent on the sickle gene. Unfortunately, the homozygote patients bear the brunt of this survival. We have to make every sacrifice possible to take care of them. A concerted effort is needed at all levels.
For anyone interested in the work of the network and the SCSSN, we invite you to visit our website: http://www.scsn.com.ng.
I thank all my colleagues in the Network and SCSSN for their hard work and cooperation. In particular, the Vice Chairperson, Prof. Obiageli Nnodu, of the Centre of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training, University of Abuja, has been invaluable in coordinating the activities of the Network in the country.
Adekunle Adekile
Professor of Pediatric Hematology
Kuwait University
Centre of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training
University of Abuja
Nigerian SCD Network and the Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria
At CESRTA, this year’s WSCD celebration was low key with kick off of our school based under five screening program in Gwagwalada. At the end of our afternoon clinic the UATH recently formed SCD Patient Group, the UATH Warriors spring a surprise on us with a celebratory cake baked by one of them.
SCD School awareness campaign in Kebbi
Commissioning of SICKLE CELL FREE GENOTYPE SCRENING LAB AND MARRIAGE COUNSELING CENTTE KEBBI
SCD radio & TV program, Kebbi
WSCD was marked by our patients and their parent support group in University of Abuja Teaching Hospital
The Sickle cell walk for HOP. For the Enugu team.
Archives Select Month July 2019 June 2019 September 2018 August 2018 June 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 June 2016 May 2015 April 2015 June 2014
Copyright © 2019 Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria
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SEATINI Profile
Programmes Update
Key Strategic Objectives: 2017-2021
Research and policy analysis
Policy Dialogues, Advocacy and Lobbying
Movement building
Partnerships and Networking
Community-based Chapters
Trade, and Food Security and Sovereignty
Extractives (Mining and Agriculture)
WTO and Mega-deals
Women Initiatives
Informal Sector Dialogue Meetings Synthesised Report for 2015
1. Background
Zimbabwe, like other African countries, has experienced a huge seismic shift from the formal to the informal sector as necessitated by increasing company closures and massive job losses across the country. The economy rapidly deteriorated in the 1990s following implementation of Multilateral Financial Institutions (IMF and World Bank) driven structural adjustment policies. Economic deterioration was worsened by the implementation of a Land Reform Programme officially launched in 2002. In 2009, the economy descended on an ailing economic recovery phase characterised by dwindling industrial capacity utilization, huge external debt, deflation and company closures cumulatively increasing household poverty. Massive production of graduates and other school leavers in a jobless economy imply school leavers cannot get gainful employment in the formal sector; hence they join the ranks of the unemployed - later forced into informal activity. Rural to urban migration driven by anticipation of urban employment and risk-ridden agricultural production being threatened by climate change has contributed to rapid growth of the informal sector. In an effort to earn a living, the unemployed and their siblings have resorted to informal activities in retailing, manufacturing, mining and transport. Wholesale vending is the outstanding informal activity in the central business districts of urban centres violating council by-laws; a development that has alarmed both the government and the urban authorities. The informal sector in Zimbabwe has become a force to reckon with and is now the basic and easy way to earn a living in an economy deficient of formal jobs.
2. Magnitude of Informalisation
Evidence suggests that the informal sector has grown from less than 10% in 1980 to 27% in 1991 and 60% in 2012 (LEDRIZ, 2015; Mugano, 2015). A Gemini study (1991) found about 845 000 informal enterprises in the country employing a total of 1.6 million people. In 2013, FinScope found 2.8 million micro, small and medium businesses operating in Zimbabwe (85 percent being unregistered) employing 5.7 million informal jobs. These businesses generate an estimated turnover of 7.4 billion US dollars, according to the FinScope survey. In 2014, 94% of the employed people aged 15 years and above and 98% of the youths aged 15-24 years were found to be informally employed. Informal employment became the new social base as people undertake diverse activities in communal agriculture, trade and commerce, manufacturing, mining, education and transport as primary sources of income. Informal employment has further increased between 2014 and 2015 as the economy slowed down from growth of 3% in 2014 to an estimated 1.5% in 2015. Massive company closures that occurred between 2011 and 2015 increased the extent of informalization. Informal employment increased by about 29% between 2011 and 2014 when the formal employment is believed to have shrunk by 40% as an annual average of 35 400 people were retrenched in the seven years to 2011 while an average of 75 600 people were retrenched between 2011 and 2014 (The Economist, 2015). Between 2011 and 2014, 4 610 companies closed down affecting 55 443 workers, their dependence and the surrounding communities (G.O.Z, 2014 - 2015 National Budget). In 2015, about 20 000 workers were fired between July 17 and August 22 following a Supreme court ruling that allowed employers to fire workers on three months’ notice. The remaining employed workers (about 87.5%) earn below the consumption poverty datum line, forcing them to undertake secondary activities to supplement income. Zimbabwe’s informal sector is proportionately large and expanding at a very rapid rate as retrenchments mounts and formal employment slides while the supply of labour firms. The obtaining situation paints a gloomy future that is characterised by deteriorating socioeconomic and political climate as the informal sector is fast becoming the new political battleground. The structural shift has been recognised by the government. The Minister of Finance during a Parliamentary question time confirmed as much in February 2014, “Our economy is now informal…That is the reality of our economy and it is a reality we must recognise and take measures on how to tap into this sector.” This is due to the wholesale closure of manufacturing companies, the entrance of school leavers onto the job market and the traditional rural-urban migration. Informal sector, particularly street vending, becomes the source of livelihood for the aforementioned social groups.
3. Authorities’ response
The city fathers have been alarmed by the ballooning informal vending that has uncontrollably mushroomed in the central business district, inconveniencing the public and formal business outlets. Vegetables and imported Chinese wares are being sold on the pavements and in the process violating council by-laws. The response of the authorities has been to unleash the law enforcement agents on them. However, the success of such measures has been short-lived because the next day or after working hours the vendors and traders will be back on the streets. The designated areas for vending have been condemned by the vendors as not strategic because they are far away from their clients. One of the fundamental reasons for the failure of the authorities measures is that the decisions are unilateral, done without the involvement of the informal vendors. Forced removal of vendors from the streets without understanding their circumstances is likely to induce theft, robberies, prostitution, etc in an effort to earn a living. The government has also hinted on formalising the informal sector for the purposes of broadening the tax base. Minister of Finance indicated that there is urgent need to formalise the dominant informal sector to broaden government revenue, “... there has been a structural shift to informal economy- the larger economy presides in the informal sector and this cannot be ignored. More money is flowing in the informal sector than the formal sector but the informal sector is difficult to tax.” Government’s strategy is biased towards taxing the informal sector rather than protecting and promoting the sector through decent infrastructure and social services, and requisite legislation. The approach
SEATINI’s dream for a future world is one without war and violence. It is one where nobody needs to go hungry or thirsty, or without clothing, shelter, clean water, ample sources of energy, good health and education, and the higher pursuits of knowledge. It is a dream of a borderless world, where people move freely between climes and cultures, and where social structures, inclusion, culture and dignity give more status than consumer goods. It is a world where the benefits of the phenomenal advancement of science and technology are available to all, where these are applied to satisfy all the reasonable and sensible material needs of the world’s populations, where survival, access to basic needs and dignity are not dependent on paid labour
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SEATINI 2017
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Sentire Cum Ecclesia
To think with the Church….
First time Commentators click here before posting!
Who is Schütz?
MacKillop-Woods Way Pilgrimage 2016-2019
My Aussie Camino – The Inaugural MacKillop-Woods Way Pilgrimage (April 2014)
The Aussie Camino
Catholic Theological College Bible Lands Study Tour 2012
“How to live best alongside Muslims in Australia”
“The Very Heart of the Gospel” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
Evangelisation and Proselytisation
Passover meets Easter
Response to a further enquiry on “How Jesus the Faithful Jew became the Christ of Christian Faith”
Response to Paul Forgasz on “How Jesus the Faithful Jew became the Christ of Christian Faith”
The Christian Hope and Christian Dialogue with Jews (2013)
The New Evangelisation – Presentation to the National Conference of the Catholic Women’s League of Australia
The Schütz Model for a Elective Australian Constitutional Monarchy
What is the Gospel? Some analytic thoughts
Council of Christians and Jews: “Same-Sex Marriage” Panel – Presentation by David Schütz
Ecumenism, Interfaith Dialogue and the New Evangelisation
My Interview with Bishop Julian Porteous
My interview with Fr Mitch Pacwa of EWTN
Book Review: Charles Fivaz, "Heartland: a parable"
Book Review: Peter Kreeft “Between Allah & Jesus”
Book Review: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Film Review: Les Miserables
My Essays On Liturgical Music and Song
Liturgical Music in the Catholic Churches of Australia: Crisis and Response – Reflections and Suggestions
Liturgical Music and song: An examination of conscience
My Anima Education course notes
Notes on Purgatory
Extracts from the Manual on Indulgences (2006)
NORMS ON INDULGENCES
7. Indulgences associated with Eucharistic Adoration and Procession
8. Indulgences for Eucharistic and Spiritual Communion
13. Indulgences associated with the Passion and Death of our Lord
28. Indulgences associated with Profession of Faith and Acts of the Theological Virtues
29 For the Faithful Departed
Prayers for the Burial of a Pet
Catholic priesthood crisis
To the Holy Door: A Pilgrimage of Mercy (December 13)
← Rather everything and in all: Christ.
A Just and Fair Nation for All Australians →
Source Analysis of Lumen Fidei
Posted on August 5, 2013 by Schütz
I wrote in my introduction to the Encyclical Lumen Fidei (published by Mustard Seed Bookshop) that one should avoid the temptation to do “source analysis” on the Encyclical, trying to guess which bits were in Benedict’s draft and which bits Francis added.
But sometimes the source is so obvious that you cannot avoid the conclusion: “This was in the original draft by Benedict”. I am re-reading “Introduction” in preparation for teaching my Anima Education course on the Creed, and it is fascinating to see all the points where it connects with Lumen Fidei.
Here is a clear case. Chapter Two of Lumen Fidei is entitled “Unless you believe, you will not understand (cf. Is 7:9).” There then follows a rather interesting linguistic analysis of Isaiah 7:9 “If you will not believe, you will not be established” focusing on the Septuagint translation “If you will not believe, you will not understand”. He then goes on to construct a strong argument for the relationship of faith to truth.
It isn’t “word-for-word”, but it is “idea-for-idea” in line with a passage in Joseph Ratzinger’s 1968 classic “Introduction to Christianity” in a section entitled “Faith as standing firm and understanding” (p69 following in the Ignatius Press English edition). I won’t go into detail here, just check it out for yourself if you have time. It is fascinating to see how, after 45 years, his ideas are still fresh, relevant and inspiring.
You could note too that he did the same thing with the Encyclical Spe Salvi, by incorporating into it his ideas about Purgatory from his 1976 book “Eschatology“. Together, I believe that “Introduction” and “Eschatology” are the two most important theological works of his pre-papal career.
About Schütz
I am Catholic, married to Cathy, father of Maddy & Mia. Since 2002, I have been the Executive Officer of the Ecumenical & Interfaith Commission of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. I was once a Lutheran pastor, but a "year of grace" and soul-searching led me into the Catholic Church. It was a bumpy ride, but with the support of my (still Lutheran) wife, I was finally confirmed on June 16, 2003.
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David Schütz Melbourne, Australia Peccator apud peccatores, et insanus apud insanos
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All opinions on this page expressed by the blog owner are those of the blog owner alone, and are in no way to be taken as the opinions of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne or its agencies.
Any opinion on this page expressed by a visiting commentator is the opinion of that commentator alone and is in no way to be taken as the opinion of the blog owner.
I hope that is clear enough for everyone?
Sentire Cum Ecclesia began years ago back when blogs were the latest thing. They are a bit passe now, and I spend most of my time on twitter (@scecclesia) but from time to time, I do add new things on this ‘ere website. Mostly I use it as a place for journaling about my Pilgrimage experiences.
The motto of the blog is:
“Maior autem his est spes”
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I propose that
1) We replace the absentee monarch of Australia (who is also the Monarch of Great Britain) with an elected Australian monarchy.
2) The elected monarch exactly replaces the current monarch in the current constition.
3) The elected monarch has exactly the same powers, duties and responsibilities as those of the current absentee monarch. All the monarch's functions are carried out by his/her personal representatives (as is currently the case): federally by the Governor General, and in the states by the State Governors.
4) The Governor General and the Governors continue to be selected and appointed as they currently are, that is, by the premier with the approval of the monarch.
5) The monarch is elected to sovereignty over Australia for life, but his/her sovereignty is strictly non-hereditary.
6) The elective body is the "college of electors" comprised of the state governors and federal governor general.
7) The election of the monarch must be a unanimous decision on the part of the college of electors.
"The fervant Romanists have always this point in their favour: that they are ready to believe. And they have a desire for the conversion of men which is honest in exactly inverse ration to the dishonesty of the means which they employ to produce it."
-- Anthony Trollope, "The Way We Live Now"
J.G. Schütz Family Arms
"The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head."
-- Terry Pratchet, Hogfather, page 242
"I really don't think I'm arrogant, but I do get impatient with people who don't share with me the same humility in front of the facts."
--Richard Dawkins
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Brief: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Finally got around to seeing this one, and found it lacking in most of the ways I had heard. The film feels padded throughout, to the point where I felt it was basically Vignettes in Middle Earth. It had high points, like the meeting in Rivendell between Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, and Galadriel (which felt like some getting the band together fun in spite of a heap of exposition that felt more like bland color than useful information) and the game of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum, but a lot of it just felt string together. It's clear Jackson wants to make an epic comparable to The Lord of the Rings, but the stakes of The Hobbit are comparatively lower and the whole thing feels empty as a result. This isn't a bad film, by any means, just an achingly inessential one, and it's hard not to find that disappointing. There will be two more of these, but for the life of me, I can't brig myself to think there should be.
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Clemente Park: A History
April 29, 2016 by DickH Posted in Lowell 1 Comment
More than 100 years ago Clemente Park was the site of one of the most modern baseball stadiums in America. Built in 1906 and named Washington Park, the baseball stadium had 3500 seats and was home to the Lowell Tigers of the professional New England Baseball League.
The Tigers had been playing on Spalding Park since 1902, but Spalding Park – now Stoklosa-Alumni Field on Rogers Street – was too far away for fans living near downtown Lowell. Al Winn purchased the Tigers in 1906 and decided to build a brand-new ballpark closer to downtown Lowell. He chose a site along the Pawtucket Canal in the lower Highlands that was near the city’s main train station on Middlesex Street (which was underneath today’s Lord Overpass).
At a cost of more than $10,000, Winn built a state-of-the-art ballpark with 3500 seats, 1500 of them under a roof. All were opera-style seats and not the traditional backless benches of other parks. There was also indoor plumbing and locker rooms with hot showers for the players (a novelty at the time). Because of the dimensions of the lot, the right field fence was closer than usual. A contest was held to select the park’s name. Washington Park was the winning name.
Washington Park officially opened on April 27, 1907. The team was initially successful, but the owner’s abrasive personality soon turned people off and attendance dwindled. In the midst of the 1909 season. The New England League ordered Winn to sell the team. He did, offering to rent Washington Park to the new owners, but they instead chose to play home games back at Spalding Park.
Without a baseball team, the stadium at Washington Park was neglected and was eventually torn down. On December 8, 1921, the city of Lowell Board of Park Commissioners took the 120,000 square foot parcel by eminent domain for use as a public playground, paying $30,800 to Mary L. Saunders, Annie G. Saunders, and Edith St. Loe Saunders, whose family had owned the land for at least fifty years.
The 1922 Annual Report of the Board of Park Commissioners reported that
Washington Park was given attention during the year. Two plots of land were acquired near the Franklin School and graded, making a more convenient entrance from Lowell Middlesex Street. Considerable grading was done in this park which brought the surface to an even grade. Some 1800 yards of good filling which we obtained gratis, was used in this work. A baseball diamond was laid out, and a good backstop built as well as an 8-foot wire fence constructed so as to protect the adjoining property.
The park kept the name Washington Park until July 10, 1973 when the Lowell City Council passed a motion by Councilor Phil Shea to change the name from Washington Park to Roberto Clemente Park.
Roberto Clemente was born in Puerto Rico in 1934 and played professional baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 until 1972. His Pirate teams won the World Series in 1960 and in 1971. He was the MVP of the ’71 series and was the league MVP in 1966. His career batting average was .317 with 3000 hits, 240 home runs, and 1305 RBIs. He was a 15 time All-Star and a four time National League batting champion. Throughout his career, Clemente involved himself in charitable work in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. He died on December 31, 1972 at age 38 when a plane he had chartered to fly relief supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua crashed, killing all aboard. Clemente was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, making him the first Latin American baseball player so enshrined.
The same summer that the city named the park for Clemente, the city council also voted to install powerful “arclights” that would allow adult softball teams and Little League baseball teams to play night games at Clemente Park which joined St. Louis Field as the two city parks illuminated for night softball games.
In the 1980s, thousands of Cambodian refugees came to Lowell. Many settled in the lower Highlands neighborhood. Clemente Park became an important gathering place for members of the Cambodian community. They did not play baseball or softball, so those fields were eventually replaced by volleyball and boule (bocce) courts. There is a playground for children and in 2011, the city of Lowell build a permanent concession stand on the park. Members of the Cambodian community refer to the park as Pailin Park.
Clemente Park during Cambodian New Year celebration, April 2016
The Cambodian community also created a “healing garden” that is dedicated to those who died or fled their homeland. The garden contains a yellow Stupa monument. Each of the four sides of the monument is inscribed with Khmer script representing the “four immeasurables” of loving-kindness, compassion, empathic joy, and equanimity.” The park also contains two benches decorated with tiles painted by high school students.
Today, Clemente Park serves as one of the social and cultural centerpieces of the Cambodian community in Lowell.
One Response to Clemente Park: A History
Arthur says: May 3, 2016 at 1:05 pm
While it is hardly the most pressing issue facing Lowell,this is an obvious moment to discuss the name of the Park.
More than a decade ago , The Hall of Fame in Cooperstown recast the plaque to read Roberto Clemente Walker reflecting the Hispanic custom ; previously , it had been Roberto Walker Clemente.
For most all his career , he wore the number 21 because there are 21 letters in his name.{ PNC Park has a 21 foot high Right Field wall in consequence.}
The City renovated the Park not long ago and either did not know or did not care about this issue.
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Deborah Roffman is a master teacher who is a constant learner. Her most important teachers are her students. What she has learned about young people and what they think, wonder, worry, and feel about sexuality could fill several volumes. From the day she first entered a classroom in 1971 she has spent her time outside the classroom continuously speaking, writing, and passing on her knowledge about young people and their needs to parents, teachers, counselors and the general public. What drives her is a single vision: that one day it will be families and schools―not media, merchandisers, entertainers, peers, and popular culture―who become the primary, as in first and most important, resources for young people about a topic so essential to life, health, and happiness.
It is within the independent school community ― settings where exciting and creative new ideas thought up on Monday can be in place by Wednesday ― that she has found her professional home since 1975. Currently teaching grades 4-12, inclusive, in several independent schools in the Baltimore area, she finds herself constantly in the position of teaching about development while watching it unfold in front of her. A veteran of the fledgling sexuality education movement in the 1970’s, she was one of the handful of early pioneers whose “see one, teach one, train the next person” determination established this important field.
Ms. Roffman is in constant demand as a presenter and workshop leader across the United States and has provided training and consultation for hundreds of public and private schools and youth serving organizations. Her earlier books have become “must reads” and even required reading for parents and faculties at many schools. Parents find her books and articles life altering and describe her influence on their family life profound. Ms. Roffman’s cutting edge commentaries in the Washington Post (focused primarily on parenting issues) are hugely popular, one of them holding the all time record for the most online hits of any single opinion piece published in the paper’s Sunday Outlook section. Reporters regularly seek out her counsel and expertise, and her work has been featured in most of the nation’s major newspapers, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Times. Recently she was quoted, and her books cited, in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on the same day. (In a somewhat more dubious honor, hers was the “quote of the day” in the New York Times on 9/11.) In 2005, she served as the lead expert in a US News and World Report cover story on teen sexuality, and she frequently lends her expertise to articles in major parenting magazines.
Especially since the publication of Sex and Sensibility Ms. Roffman has enjoyed stellar relationships with other media. She has been interviewed on Nightline by Ted Koppel, by Bryant Gumble and other interviewers on the CBS Early Show, and has also appeared on the O’Reilly Factor. In 2003, she was the featured expert―and helped shape―a highly acclaimed segment on teen sexuality with John Stossel for 20/20. Her radio credits include multiple appearances on the Diane Rehm Show and Talk of the Nation, and she also appears (it runs several times a year) in the acclaimed HBO documentary for parents entitled, “Middle School Confessions.” She has provided background for a variety of stories on ABC News, and for 60 Minutes.
Among her professional peers, Ms. Roffman is viewed as an articulate and powerful advocate for children and a revered and singularly effective spokeswoman for her field. In 2003, former Surgeon General David Satcher appointed her (the only educator on the panel) to serve on the National Advisory Council for Sexual Health (Center for Primary Care, Morehouse College of Medicine). She presented a keynote address, as she does at many national and regional health and education conferences, at the NAC’s national symposium in Washington, DC in 2004 on changing the national dialogue around sexuality and sexuality education. She contributes regularly to professional journals, serves as an editor for the American Journal of Sexuality Education, and is the former Associate Editor for Education of the Journal of Sexuality Education and Therapy.
What is perhaps most remarkable about Ms. Roffman’s work is her ability to speak the language of common ground around topics often fraught with controversy and conflict. With uncommon good sense and unshakable commitment to core, universal values, hers is the voice that most often cuts through the rhetoric, the politics, and the false polarities that keep adults focused on their needs and interests, rather than squarely on children. She also understands that the issue at stake is parenting, not politics. The proof lies in her wide appeal to parents of all political stripes, religions, and backgrounds, and the national recognition she has received from such seemingly diverse groups as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (the coveted Mary Lee Tatum Apple Award) and the National Federation of Republican Women (Favorite Teacher Award).
Deborah and her husband, David, were high school sweethearts and have been married for 40 years. They live in Baltimore, Maryland, and have two grown sons.
Roffman Resume
Permanent link to this article: http://sexandsensibility.net/about/
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App helps family, friends share memories of passed loved ones
In Cambria County, entrepreneur, News
App helps family, friends share memories of passed loved ones2019-05-052019-05-16http://startupalleghenies.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/startupalleghenieslogo-trans.pngStartup Alleghenieshttp://startupalleghenies.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/app_helps_family__friends_share_memories_0_85868288_ver1.0_640_360.jpg200px200px
[Appeared on WTAJ-TV on May 4th, 2019]
CRESSON, CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — After witnessing the emotional-final sendoff of his friend’s father, Tom McConnell was moved to help others keep the memories of loved ones alive.
“It touched me. It was very moving, It was on the news, and it was on Facebook, and I watched it over and over again, and I wanted a way to tell his story,” McConnell said.
Inside each kit from Eternal Remembrance is an emblem you can mount on the person’s tombstone and a matching coin to hold onto. There’s also an activation code to create a memorial page for the loved one through their website, sharing stories, videos, and photos with anyone who knew them.
“Something that people can’t seem to let go of is in their cellphones, those voicemails, so this is a nice platform to be able to be engaged and in a dynamic fashion to be able to continually tell that story of the individual,” José Luis Otero, Entrepreneur and Innovation Coach for Startup Alleghenies, said.
People can also drop GPS pins at important places in the person’s life.
“Maybe a hole-in-one that they had or their favorite hiking trial,” McConnell said.
And while every person has their own way of grieving, Otero said sharing memories of a loved one can bring people together and start healing.
“I, myself, have had those experiences where sometimes it’s hard to let go of people, and I know of a lot of other people that are in the similar mental thought process,” he said.
“I can start to record messages for my great grandkids that I will never meet, so they can learn about me first hand, as well.”
McConnell said the website and app can connect people who knew the person who passed.
“There’s so many pictures of me on other people’s phones…we meet people at conferences and we meet people around the country, and if I were to pass away, who knows where people might have memories that could be able to share them with my family,” he said.
And if you want to leave behind something for your family, you can start creating your page and leave posts for future generations to see.
“I can start to record messages for my great grandkids that I will never meet, so they can learn about me first hand, as well,” Otero said.
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Pelicans extend coach Gentry's contract through 2021
(Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
METAIRIE, La. (AP) New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin says the club is exercising its option to extend coach Alvin Gentry's contract through the 2020-21 season.
Gentry has coached four seasons in New Orleans and made one playoff appearance, when New Orleans swept Portland in the first round in 2018 before falling to eventual champion Golden State.
Griffin worked with Gentry in Phoenix when the veteran coach helped the Suns reach the Western Conference finals in 2010 and says Gentry is "exactly the right coach at the right time" for the Pelicans.
Griffin says he and Gentry have a "shared vision" for the Pelicans on and off the court, which will enable them to build a roster that "fits both culturally and tactically."
New Orleans has the top pick in Thursday's draft and is expected to select Zion Williamson of Duke. The Pelicans have also agreed to trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft choices.
Gentry has coached more than 1,000 games in 16 seasons with Miami, Detroit, the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix and New Orleans.
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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Grain Fed
Other Poultry
Cuts and Pack Formats
Terms and conditions of supply: T. Soanes & Son
The Customer's attention is drawn in particular to the provisions of clause 9.
1. Interpretation
1.1 Definitions. In these Terms, the following definitions apply:
Business Day: a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in England when banks in London are open for business.
Contract: the contract between TSS and the Customer for the sale and purchase of the Goods in accordance with these Terms.
Customer: the person or firm who purchases the Goods from TSS.
Force Majeure Event: has the meaning given in clause 10.
Goods: the goods (or any part of them) set out in the Order.
Order: the order by the Customer for the Goods, as set out in the purchase order form of the Customer.
Specification: any specification for the Goods that is agreed in writing by the Customer and TSS.
Terms: the terms and conditions set out in this document.
TSS: T Soanes & Son (Poultry) Ltd (registered in England and Wales with company number 05217234).
1.2 Construction. In these Terms, the following rules apply:
(a) A person includes a natural person, corporate or unincorporated body (whether or not having separate legal personality).
(b) A reference to a party includes its personal representatives, successors or permitted assigns.
(c) A reference to writing or written excludes faxes but includes emails.
2. Basis of contract
2.1 These Terms apply to the Contract to the exclusion of any other terms that the Customer seeks to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by trade, custom, practice or course of dealing.
2.2 The Order constitutes an offer by the Customer to purchase the Goods in accordance with these Terms. The Customer is responsible for ensuring that the terms of the Order and any applicable Specification submitted by the Customer are complete and accurate.
2.3 The Order shall only be deemed to be accepted when TSS issues a written acceptance of the Order, at which point the Contract shall come into existence.
2.4 The Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the parties. The Customer acknowledges that it has not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by or on behalf of TSS which is not set out in the Contract.
2.5 Any samples or descriptions or illustrations of Goods contained on the website or in other promotional material of TSS shall neither form part of the Contract nor have any contractual force.
2.6 A quotation for the Goods given by TSS shall not constitute an offer. A quotation shall only be valid for a period of 2 (two) Business Days from its date of issue.
3. Goods
The Goods are described in the Specification, taking into account always the variations that occur in natural produce. TSS reserves the right to amend the Specification if required by any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements.
4.1 TSS shall deliver the Goods to the location set out in the Order or such other location as the parties may agree (Delivery Location) and at each time as set out in the Order or such other time as the parties may agree (Delivery Time).
4.2 Delivery of the Goods shall be completed on the arrival of the Goods at the Delivery Location.
4.3 Delivery Times are approximate only, and the time of delivery is not of the essence. TSS shall not be liable for any delay in delivery of the Goods caused by a Force Majeure Event or the failure of the Customer to provide TSS with adequate delivery instructions.
4.4 If TSS fails to deliver the Goods, its liability shall be limited to the Customer’s costs and expenses incurred in obtaining replacement goods of similar description and quality in the cheapest market available, less the price of the Goods. TSS shall have no liability for any failure to deliver the Goods to the extent that such failure is caused by a Force Majeure Event or the failure of the Customer to provide TSS with adequate delivery instructions.
4.5 If the Customer fails to take delivery of the Goods at the Delivery Time then, except where such failure or delay is caused by a Force Majeure Event or the failure of TSS to comply with its obligations under the Contract:
(a) Delivery of the Goods shall be deemed to have been completed at the Delivery Time; and
(b) TSS may at its discretion, taking into account the Goods’ perishable nature, store the Goods until delivery takes place and charge the Customer for all related costs and expenses.
4.6 If the Customer does not take delivery of the Goods at the Delivery Time, TSS may resell or otherwise dispose of part or all of the Goods and, after deducting reasonable storage and selling costs (as applicable), charge the Customer for any shortfall below the price of the Goods. The Customer shall be liable in full for the full cost of perishable Goods if such Goods perish during storage or their saleability is reduced by a shortening of their shelf life.
4.7 The Customer, recognising the nature of the industry in which the parties trade, shall not be entitled to reject the Goods if TSS delivers less than the quantity (by weight) of Goods ordered, but if this occurs then TSS shall make a pro rata adjustment to the Order invoice.
4.8 TSS may deliver the Goods by instalments, which shall be invoiced and paid for separately. Each instalment shall constitute a separate Contract. Any delay in delivery or defect in an instalment shall not entitle the Customer to cancel any other instalment.
5.1 TSS warrants that on delivery the Goods shall:
(a) conform with the Specification; and
(b) be of satisfactory quality (within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act 1979) (SGA).
5.2 Subject to clause 5.3, if:
(a) the Customer gives notice in writing to TSS within 24 hours of delivery that some or all of the Goods do not comply with the warranty set out in clause 5.1;
(b) TSS is given a reasonable opportunity of examining such Goods; and
(c) the Customer (if asked to do so by TSS) returns such Goods to the place of business of TSS at the cost of TSS,
TSS shall, at its option, either replace the non-compliant Goods, or refund (including by way of credit note) the price of the non-compliant Goods in full.
5.3 TSS shall not be liable for failure of the Goods to comply with the warranty set out in clause 5.1 in any of the following events:
(a) the Customer sells such Goods after having given notice in accordance with clause 5.2; or
(b) the defect arises because the Customer failed to follow the oral or written instructions of TSS as to the storage of the Goods or (if there is none) good trade practice regarding the same; or
(c) the defect arises as a result of wilful damage, negligence, or abnormal storage or working Conditions; or
(d) the Goods differ from the Specification as a result of changes made to ensure they comply with applicable statutory or regulatory requirements.
5.4 Except as provided in this clause 5, TSS shall have no liability to the Customer in respect of the failure of the Goods to comply with the warranty set out in clause 5.1.
5.5 The terms implied by sections 13 to 15 of the SGA are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.
5.6 These Terms shall apply to any replacement Goods supplied by TSS.
6.1 The risk in the Goods shall pass to the Customer on completion of delivery.
6.2 Title to the Goods shall not pass to the Customer until the earlier of:
(a) TSS receiving payment in full (in cash or cleared funds) for the Goods and any other goods that TSS has supplied to the Customer, in which case title to the Goods shall pass at the time of payment of all such sums; and
(b) The Customer reselling the Goods, in which case title to the Goods shall pass to the Customer at the time specified in clause 6.4.
6.3 Until title to the Goods has passed to the Customer, the Customer shall:
(a) store the Goods separately from all other goods held by the Customer so that they remain readily identifiable as the property of TSS;
(b) not remove, deface or obscure any identifying mark or packaging on or relating to the Goods;
(c) maintain the Goods in satisfactory condition and keep them insured against all risks for their full price from the date of delivery;
(d) notify TSS immediately if it becomes subject to any of the events listed in clause 8.2; and
(e) give TSS such information relating to the Goods as TSS may require from time to time.
6.4 Subject to clause 6.5, the Customer may resell or use the Goods in the ordinary course of its business (but not otherwise) before TSS receives payment for the Goods. However, if the Customer resells the Goods before that time:
(a) it does so as principal and not as the agent of TSS; and
(b) title to the Goods shall pass from TSS to the Customer immediately before the time at which resale by the Customer occurs.
6.5 If before title to the Goods passes to the Customer the Customer becomes subject to any of the events listed in clause 8.2 then, without limiting any other right or remedy TSS may have:
(a) the right to resell the Goods by the Customer or use them in the ordinary course of its business ceases immediately; and
(b) TSS may at any time:
(i) require the Customer to deliver up all Goods in its possession which have not been resold; and
(ii) if the Customer fails to do so promptly, enter any premises of the Customer or of any third party where the Goods are stored in order to recover them.
7. Price and payment
7.1 The price of the Goods shall be the price set out in the Order, or, if no price is quoted, the price set out in the published price list of TSS in force as at the date of delivery.
7.2 TSS may, by giving notice to the Customer at any time up to 2 (two) Business Days before delivery, increase the price of the Goods to reflect any increase in the cost of the Goods.
7.3 The price of the Goods is exclusive of the costs and charges of packaging, insurance and transport of the Goods, which shall be invoiced to the Customer.
7.4 The price of the Goods is exclusive of amounts in respect of value added tax (VAT). The Customer shall, on receipt of a valid VAT invoice from TSS, pay to TSS such additional amounts in respect of VAT as are chargeable on the supply of the Goods.
7.5 TSS may invoice the Customer for the Goods on, or at any time after, the completion of delivery.
7.6 Payment is due in full and in cleared funds upon presentation of TSS’s invoice. Payment shall be made to the bank account nominated in writing by TSS. Time of payment is of the essence.
7.7 If the Customer fails to make any payment due to TSS under the Contract by the due date for payment, then the Customer shall pay interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 6% (six per cent) per annum above the Bank of England base rate from time to time. Such interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. The Customer shall pay the interest together with the overdue amount.
7.8 The Customer shall pay all amounts due under the Contract in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (except for any deduction or withholding required by law). TSS may at any time, without limiting any other rights or remedies it may have, set off any amount owing to it by the Customer against any amount payable by TSS to the Customer.
8. Termination and suspension
8.1 If the Customer becomes subject to any of the events listed in clause 8.2, TSS may terminate the Contract with immediate effect by giving written notice to the Customer.
8.2 For the purposes of clause 8.1, the relevant events are:
(a) the Customer suspends, or threatens to suspend, payment of its debts or is unable to pay its debts as they fall due or admits inability to pay its debts or (being a company or limited liability partnership) is deemed unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or (being an individual) is deemed either unable to pay its debts or as having no reasonable prospect of so doing, in either case, within the meaning of section 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or (being a partnership) has any partner to whom any of the foregoing apply;
(b) the Customer commences negotiations with all or any class of its creditors with a view to rescheduling any of its debts, or makes a proposal for or enters into any compromise or arrangement with its creditors;
(c) (being a company) a petition is filed, a notice is given, a resolution is passed, or an order is made, for or in connection with the winding up of the Customer;
(d) (being an individual) the Customer is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or order;
(e) a creditor or encumbrancer of the Customer attaches or takes possession of, or a distress, execution, sequestration or other such process is levied or enforced on or sued against, the whole or any part of its assets and such attachment or process is not discharged within 14 days;
(f) (being a company) an application is made to court, or an order is made, for the appointment of an administrator or if a notice of intention to appoint an administrator is given or if an administrator is appointed over the Customer;
(g) (being a company) the holder of a qualifying charge over the assets of the Customer has become entitled to appoint or has appointed an administrative receiver;
(h) a person becomes entitled to appoint a receiver over the assets of the Customer or a receiver is appointed over the assets of the Customer;
(i) any event occurs, or proceeding is taken, with respect to the Customer in any jurisdiction to which it is subject that has an effect equivalent or similar to any of the events mentioned in clause 8.2(a) to clause 8.2(h) (inclusive);
(j) the Customer suspends, threatens to suspends, ceases or threatens to cease to carry on all or a substantial part of its business;
(k) the financial position of the Customer deteriorates to such an extent that in the opinion of TSS the capability of the Customer to adequately fulfil its obligations under the Contract has been placed in jeopardy; and
(l) (being an individual) the Customer dies or, by reason of illness or incapacity (whether mental or physical), is incapable of managing his or her own affairs or becomes a patient under any mental health legislation.
8.3 Without limiting its other rights or remedies, TSS may suspend provision of the Goods under the Contract or any other contract between the Customer and TSS if the Customer becomes subject to any of the events listed in clause 8.2(a) to clause 8.2(i), or TSS reasonably believes that the Customer is about to become subject to any of them, or if the Customer fails to pay any amount due under this Contract on the due date for payment.
8.4 On termination of the Contract for any reason the Customer shall pay immediately to TSS all of the outstanding unpaid invoices of TSS, together with any accrued interest.
8.5 Termination of the Contract, however arising, shall not affect the parties' rights, remedies, obligations and liabilities that have accrued as at termination.
8.6 Clauses which expressly or by implication survive termination of the Contract shall continue in full force and effect.
9.1 Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude the liability of TSS for:
(a) death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or the negligence of its employees, agents or subcontractors (as applicable); or
(b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
(c) breach of the terms implied by section 12 of the SGA; or
(d) defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987; or
(e) any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for TSS to exclude or restrict liability.
9.2 Subject to clause 9.1:
(a) TSS shall under no circumstances whatsoever be liable to the Customer, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with the Contract; and
(b) the total liability of TSS to the Customer in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with the Contract, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall in no circumstances exceed 300% (three hundred per cent) of the price of the Goods.
Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under the Contract to the extent that such failure or delay is caused by a Force Majeure Event. A Force Majeure Event means any event beyond a party's reasonable control, which by its nature could not have been foreseen, or, if it could have been foreseen, was unavoidable, including strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving its own workforce or a third party's), failure of energy sources or transport network, acts of God, war, terrorism, riot, civil commotion, interference by civil or military authorities, national or international calamity, armed conflict, malicious damage, breakdown of plant or machinery, nuclear, chemical or biological contamination, sonic boom, explosions, collapse of building structures, fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, loss at sea, epidemics or similar events, natural disasters or extreme adverse weather conditions, or default of TSS or subcontractors.
11.1 Assignment and other dealings.
(a) TSS may at any time assign, transfer, mortgage, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of its rights or obligations under the Contract.
(b) The Customer may not assign, transfer, mortgage, charge, subcontract, declare a trust over or deal in any other manner with any or all of its rights or obligations under the Contract without the prior written consent of TSS.
11.2 Notices.
(a) Any notice or other communication given to a party under or in connection with the Contract shall be in writing, addressed to that party at its registered office (if it is a company) or its principal place of business (in any other case) or such other address as that party may have specified to the other party in writing in accordance with this clause, and shall be delivered personally, sent by pre-paid first-class post or other next working day delivery service, commercial courier, fax or email.
(b) A notice or other communication shall be deemed to have been received: if delivered personally, when left at the address referred to in clause 11.2(a); if sent by pre-paid first-class post or other next working day delivery service, at 9.00 am on the second Business Day after posting; if delivered by commercial courier, on the date and at the time that the courier's delivery receipt is signed; or, if sent by fax or email, one Business Day after transmission.
(c) The provisions of this clause shall not apply to the service of any proceedings or other documents in any legal action.
11.3 Severance.
(a) If any provision or part-provision of the Contract is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part-provision shall be deemed deleted. Any modification to or deletion of a provision or part-provision under this clause shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of the Contract.
(b) If one party gives notice to the other of the possibility that any provision or part-provision of this Contract is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the parties shall negotiate in good faith to amend such provision so that, as amended, it is legal, valid and enforceable, and, to the greatest extent possible, achieves the intended commercial result of the original provision.
11.4 Waiver. A waiver of any right or remedy under the Contract or law is only effective if given in writing and shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. No failure or delay by a party to exercise any right or remedy provided under the Contract or by law shall constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor shall it prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy. No single or partial exercise of such right or remedy shall prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
11.5 Third party rights. A person who is not a party to the Contract shall not have any rights to enforce its terms.
11.6 Variation. Except as set out in these Terms, no variation of the Contract, including the introduction of any additional terms and Terms, shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by TSS.
11.7 Governing law. The Contract, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
11.8 Jurisdiction. Each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this Contract or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).
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Book Prize Winners 2018
By George Gosling
The Social History Society has been encouraging and promoting innovative scholarship since founded in 1974. In 2018, we established a new Social History Society Book Prize. After reviewing all the submissions, the judges have unanimously decided on the inaugural winner.
The winner of the 2018 Social History Society Book Prize is:
Sleep in Early Modern England by Sasha Handley (Yale University Press)
The book, which was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize and the Longman-History Today History Prize, reveals that the way we sleep is as dependent on culture as it is on biological and environmental factors. After 1660 the accepted notion that sleepers lay at the mercy of natural forces and supernatural agents was challenged by new medical thinking about sleep’s relationship to the nervous system. This breakthrough coincided with radical changes shaping everything from sleeping hours to bedchambers. Handley’s illuminating work documents a major evolution in our conscious understanding of the unconscious.
The judges commented in particular on the book’s novelty, and on the rich and thoroughly researched study of an important part of everyday life to which historians have paid little attention. The readers described the book as a significant contribution to social and cultural history, and an interesting and thought-provoking volume.
Dr Handley said: “I am honoured to be the first recipient of the Social History Society Book Prize. Having been trained as a social and cultural historian at the University of Warwick, I couldn’t be more delighted that my book has been singled out as a valuable contribution to this dynamic field.”
You can find out more about the history of sleep from the latest issue of BBC History Magazine, the History Extra podcast and Sasha’s website at www.historiesofsleep.com
The judges were also unanimous in their decision to name Jon Stobart and Mark Rothery, Consumption and the Country House (Oxford University Press) as runner up for the 2018 Social History Society Book Prize.
They agreed that the book sheds new light on the culture and internal structure of eighteenth-century country houses and on patterns of consumption and trade at a time when both were expanding. They were particularly impressed by the new insight offered into the everyday material culture of this vital social space, and the scholarly and original use of sources.
Professor Pamela Cox, Chair of the Social History Society, said: “We’re delighted to be able to launch our book prize with these two very worthy first and second prize winners.”
The prize was awarded at the Social History Society conference in June 2018. You can watch the announcement and see an interview with the winners below.
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INDUSTRY - Research
WHAT I LEARNED: THE IMPORTANCE OF A VINYL ON OUR WEBSITE + IMPORTANCE OF OUR MUSIC BEING AVAILABLE ON STREAMING SERVICES
Streaming: why is the music industry unhappy with YouTube (and others)? What is VEVO?
According to an article from the verge.com YouTube claims that it has paid $3 billion to the music industry.
However there is the constant struggle and battle of whether they should be paying more. The music from the music industry are the ones that helped YouTube become famous in the first place after it was first founded in February 2005. This is when VEVO comes into the picture. VEVO stands for Video Evolution and consists of the music videos that are owned by Sony Music Entertainment and the Universal Music Group. YouTube hosts several VEVO music videos and VEVO is therefore sharing their advertising revenue, and have been able to find an agreement with YouTube.
Digitisation and web 2.0: how have these caused ‘disruption’ within the industry?
The Internet and digitisation have ruined or disrupted the main role of the big music companies.
Several people do not want to buy CD's anymore, due to the fact that you are now able to download them and stream them directly from YouTube rather than having to go into a shop and pay around 10-15 Euros meaning between roughly 8£ and 13£ for each CD.
The change in technology has also had a huge impact on the music industry. It has developed from vinyl's right on to the discman and the MP3 player, up to the first version of the I-Pod and now several people are listening to their music via their Smartphone, by streaming it from YouTube or using free apps such as SoundCloud and/or Spotify.
These apps are completely free and allow you to listen to every music for free. iTunes, did up until even just a year ago, still charge 0,99 Euros for every piece of music that you wanted to buy. However, their latest invention has ben to introduce Apple Music where you then pay around 15 Euros per month and can then download as much music as you want. Some people still like to pay for their music because they would like to support the artist and the music industry.
However, technology has also has positive aspects, such as the fact that several people that are now
famous have become known through YouTube. A great example of this is the case of Justin Bieber. He was first discovered on Youtube at the age of 13/14 and is today a very big popstar. Another case is the one of Christina Grimmie, who became famous on YouTube and through her many followers and fans decided to enter the Voice competition, where she had her major breakthrough.
Piracy: what are the figures and arguments on both sides? Do the industry exaggerate the revenues lost? Do your peers tend to engage in piracy? What are the consequences?
A major issue with the streaming from YouTube is that it belongs under the category of piracy. Music piracy is the copying of copies of pieces of music for which the artist or the copyright-holding company does not receive any money and does not give permission. This is ofcourse also a contributor to the decrease of the money the different artists are earning in the music industry. Streaming services such as Spotify have been a great help to decrease the amount of users pirating music. Spotify is a free music service that allows users to listen to music without paying. However, it doesn't allow users to buy the music. So how does it earn it's money? By getting money from the users who subscribe and get the membership.
How and why is vinyl making a comeback?
Clothing stores such as Urban Outfitters have also begun to sell vinyls of pop singers and bands that are hitting the charts nowadays. During the last couple of years, vinyl have become a fashionable trend to have for young adults. These young adulty who grew up without vinyl's unlike their parents and are now discovering the good sound quality of vinyl's which are better than CD's. The fact that vinyl has become popular again, can be compared to a type of clothes that might have been fashionable in the 80s or 90s and is now coming back as well.
According to an article from the guardian, however, vinyl still only represents 2% of the music industry. According to the article "Vinyl still remains a niche product, accounting for just 2% of the UK's recorded music market."
To what extent have physical media sales dropped? Do streaming revenues make up for this?
According to an article from the guardian the music store HMV (His Master's Voice) renewed and went into the video game market due to a decrease in physical media sales. According to an article from techcrunch streaming services grew to 317 billion song streams in 2015, which was the double from 2014 where 164.5 billion songs were streamed from streaming services.
During the last couple of years physical media sales have dropped significantly, meaning that not many people want to buy CD's anymore.
Labels: Digitisation, Industry, The Guardian, Vevo
KO: INDUSTRY Merchandise
MVid EG 1: Asking Alexandria - Here I Am
SR/KO/BV: Podcast 1
Group Pitch 1: Q&A session
Practice Video 1 - Evaluation
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JOHNNY WINTER R.I.P. 1944-2014
I am sorry about this and it may be my getting old but all I seem to post these days are the deaths of those I admire or heroes even and sad to report another one has passed away. Big O reports
Blues musician and producer Johnny Winter has died on July 16, 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland at the age of 70, just days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria. There was no immediate word on the cause of death. Winter, who played with Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters, was a friend of John Lennon, who wrote Rock and Roll People in his honour. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote a song for him in 1973 called Silver Train. Winter, like his brother and musician Edgar (of Edgar Winter Group fame) was an albino and known for his long, blond hair and a cowboy hat. During the late ’60s, he performed frequently with Janis Joplin and the pair became lovers. Winter suffered from terrible addiction problems with heroin in the early ’70s and although he had spells of recovery, much of the ’90s was blighted by a reliance on antidepressants, vodka and methadone. Even at 70, Winter was still performing around 200 concerts a year and admitted once that “guitar is the only thing I was ever really great at”.
I saw Johnny twice I think at festivals over here way back and have a vivid memory of rousing myself from the mud to hear the blistering slide of this extraordinary bluesman. We will miss that chutzpah, guts and peerless skill!
He kept good company too!
Johnny L & Johnny W - Go Johnny Go!
Gabba Gabba HEY! - No More!
TOMMY RAMONE R.I.P. 1952-2014
The Ramones’ original drummer Tommy Ramone has died on July 11, 2014.
“We are saddened to announce the passing of Ramones founding drummer Tommy (Erdelyi) Ramone. #RIPTommy Ramone,” a posting on the band’s official Twitter account announced. The band, founded in New York in 1974, had a major influence on punk rock. Tommy Ramone was the last surviving member of its original lineup. He died aged 62. Variety said Tommy Ramone had been undergoing treatment for bile duct cancer at a hospice when he died. All members of the band adopted the surname Ramone although they were not related. Tommy Ramone, whose real surname was Erdelyi, was the last of the original four Ramones. The other Ramones were guitarist Johnny; bassist Dee Dee and vocalist Joey.
JOHNNY WINTER R.I.P. 1944-2014I am sorry about thi...
Gabba Gabba HEY! - No More! TOMMY RAMONE R.I.P....
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» Eleventh Trungpa Rinpoche
CHOGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE was the first great lama sent by His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa to the West. Trungpa Rinpoche was fluent in English and authored many Dharma texts that caught the attention and devotion of Western students. Trungpa Rinpoche was instrumental in paving the way for His Holiness Karmapa's first visit to the United States, and himself visited and taught at the Karmapa's seat-to-be at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in the late 1970's. Trungpa Rinpoche's devoted students provided this brief biography. May it inspire all who see or hear it.
Trungpa Rinpoche was born in 1940 in the province of Kham in Eastern Tibet. He was recognized as the eleventh incarnate teacher in the teaching lineage known as the Trungpa Tulkus. Trungpa Rinpoche was enthroned as Supreme Abbot of Surmang Monasteries and Governor of Surmang District.
When he was eight years old, Rinpoche received ordination as a novice monk. In 1958, when he was 18 years old, he completed his studies, receiving the degrees of Kyorpon (doctor of divinity) and Khenpo (master of studies). As a Kagyu tulku, training was in meditation and philosophy, and the practice of traditional monastic disciplines, as well as the arts of calligraphy, thanka painting, and monastic dance. Trungpa Rinpoche received full monastic ordination. His primary teachers during his eighteen years of training in Tibet were Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen and Khenpo Kangoshar, teachers from the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages.
Due to the Communist invasion of Tibet, Rinpoche fled to India in 1959. In 1959 the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, appointed Rinpoche to serve as spiritual advisor at the Young Lamas Home School in Dalhousie, India.
In 1964 Rinpoche received a Spaulding Scholarship at Oxford University, where he studied comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts. He took great interest in Japanese flower arranging, and received a degree from the Sogetsu School. In 1967, he founded Samye Ling Meditation Center in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. In 1969, Trungpa Rinpoche went to Bhutan to do a solitary retreat. This retreat was a turning point in his life, because soon after the retreat, he put aside his monastic robes, became a lay person, married a young Englishwoman, and moved to North America.
Trungpa Rinpoche taught in North America and Europe 17 years, and was one of the first lamas to become fluent in the English language. He taught and travelled extensively, had many students, and established many meditation and study centers. In 1973, Vajradhatu was formed as the central administrative body of Rinpoche's centers. Rinpoche founded in 1974 the Naropa Institute, the only accredited Buddhist-inspired university in North America. Later he formed the Nalanda Translation Committee to translate texts and liturgies.
In 1976, he established the Shambhala Training program, which provides instruction in meditation practice within a secular setting. The Shambhala Teachings are a complete path to Enlightenment, and stress mind-training, community involvement and the creation of an enlightened society. In 1976, Trungpa Rinpoche appointed his American disciple, Osel Tendzin (Thomas F. Rich), as his Vajra Regent (Dharma heir). Osel Tendzin assisted Rinpoche in the administration of Vajradhatu and Shambhala Training, and taught from 1976 until his death in 1990. In 1978, Rinpoche empowered his son Osel Rangdrol Mukpo as his successor in the Shambhala lineage and gave him the title of Sawang (earth lord).
Trungpa Rinpoche was a great meditation master, scholar, and artist. He wrote many books and articles, and his art work included poetry, calligraphy, painting, play writing, flower arranging, and environmental installations. He had particularly profound insights into the relationship between the contemplative discipline and the artistic process.
Trungpa Rinpoche died in 1987, at the age of forty-seven. He is survived by his wife Diana, and five sons. His eldest son, Osel Rangdrol Mukpo, succeeds him as president of Vajradhatu. Trungpa Rinpoche was able to present the Dharma to his Western students in the English language. He joined together the Eastern and Western minds, and fearlessly proclaimed the Dharma in the Occidental world.
Shambhala International
Naropa Institute
Teachings by Trungpa Rinpoche on video & DVD:
Building Enlightened Society
Meditation: The Way of the Buddha
Tantric Journey
Thus I Have Heard
Visual Dharma
Books by the Trungpa Rinpoche:
Born In Tibet
Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa, Vol. 1-8
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
First Thought Best Thought
Illusion's Game
The Myth of Freedom
Transcending Madness
Shambhala, The Sacred Path of The Warrior
Drogön Rechen (1148-1218)
The Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje (1604-1674)
The Seventeenth Karmapa, Ögyen Trinley Dorje (1985)
Third Kalu Rinpoche
Ani Pema Chödrön
Lama Dudjom Dorjee
Wisdom of Meditation
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Working with SACLS
Working at SACLS
Displaying items by tag: Office on Missing Persons
The Office on Missing Persons: Performance, Prospects and Recommendations
By Shruthi De Visser
The Office on Missing persons (OMP) commenced operations in February of 2018 with the appointment of its commissioners. Since its commencement the office has had to face many administrative challenges, while also navigating a tenuous political atmosphere. Since the signing of the UN Resolution 30/1 in 2015, the OMP is the first and only promised mechanism that has been operationalized. A lapse of almost four years since the resolution compels the OMP to swiftly take advantage of whatever support and room is available in order to advance the TJ agenda and its own mandate. In August of 2018 the OMP released its first interim report in which it highlighted many of the challenges to its work.
One of the main impediments to the OMPs work has been the inability to secure a permanent staff cadre. When speaking to a Commissioner of the OMP he revealed that, this continued challenge would be addressed within the next six months. He also added that in the meantime the OMP is working with a temporary staff cadre who have received various trainings especially in areas such as data entry and management, legal and policy research and psychosocial responsiveness.
The commissioner also commented on the OMP’s outreach activities, noting that the office had conducted public consultations in Mannar, Matara, Mulaitivu, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Colombo in 2018. It continues to conduct consultations including bilateral meetings and attend workshops as resource persons in order to meet with the families of the missing and disappeared, interest groups and other stakeholders. The 2019 OHCHR report on Sri Lanka commended the office on its consistent efforts to consult stakeholders. At many of these consultations, the Commissioner noted, that they had received a number of new complaints and information concerning disappearances. In the meantime the office has been making interventions in key disappearance cases and intervening in cases of public and symbolic importance, while balancing confidentiality and transparency to maintain the trust of families and others involved. The OMP established its first regional office in Matara on the 1st of March and has intentions of opening another in Mannar very soon.
In its Interim Report the OMP had made interim relief recommendations relating to financial aid, debt relief, housing development, educational support, vocational training and livelihood development and employment. The Commissioner noted that the OMP is liaising with the relevant ministries to ensure that these measures are implemented. However, many months later, there has been little to no progress on this regard. The OMP has initiated dialogue with key stakeholders, including the President, the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, Minister of Justice, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Inspector General of Police, the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air force.
The office’s engagement with the Mannar mass grave investigation has been one of its chief undertakings. Their involvement took the form of providing necessary financial support for carbon dating and providing guidelines on collecting samples among others. The OMP also closely supervised the entire process. The results of the carbon dating using 6 bone samples, carried out by the U.S based Beta Analytical Lab, were handed to the Mannar magistrate in late February. The results dated these bone samples as originating from 1499 – 1719 AD. While the bone samples had no connection to the time period under the mandate of the OMP, it highlights the value of a credible commission with strong investigative powers in establishing the truth of the past.
Despite ongoing challenges, it is important that that the OMP continues its efforts to engage with victim communities and the general public. The success of the OMP will depend largely on how informed affected persons are with respect to the process, and how aware the public is on the long-standing need to find out the truth about missing loved ones. While the work of the OMP will often involve sensitive and confidential information, the office must find ways to share its progress and its goals with the public in an effort to build and grow trust. It is also imperative that the OMP is constantly cognizant of reflecting its mandate and including all affected parties in its current and envisioned work. The OMP must consider how wide reaching its awareness initiatives are, ensure that the information shared by the office is equally accessible to all communities.
The OHCHR report on Sri Lanka 2019, recommends, “The Office on Missing Persons must find a balance between the need to establish itself as a lasting institution with solid foundations and the expectation of immediate results, which would give victims the incentive to cooperate with the body. For this reason, the Office should strategically plan both its short-term and long-term goals”. The administrative and political hurdles surrounding the OMP will most likely continue in this same manner and may even be exacerbated by impending political uncertainties. However the search for the missing, finding conclusive evidence of their fate and providing answers to waiting families will prove invaluable to the entire Transitional Justice process. Hence the office must strategize its efforts with a long-term plan to ensure continued freedom and independence for its work, even while maximizing this time by pursuing investigations and answers from the state, before election activities are pushed to the forefront of the political agenda.
The Office on Missing Persons: Some Thoughts on Necessary First Steps
This article was originally featured in our April 2018 TJ Bulletin, available here.
The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) began its operational work this month by calling for applications to twelve staff positions. This is undoubtedly a positive development which should be part of a broader strategy to systematically operationalize the Office.
As a first step, the OMP Commissioners must deliberate and decide on the OMP’s overall structure. The OMP Act only provides for a basic structure and empowers the Commissioners to create additional divisions/units to supplement the entities provided for by the Act. Any new entities should help the OMP perform its functions under the Act. SACLS has − in its previous work − recommended that a policy unit, outreach unit and psychosocial unit be established since the OMP is required to make policy recommendations relevant to its mandate to authorities, liaise closely with families of missing persons/reach out to the public and provide psychosocial support to relatives of missing persons. In addition, the tracing unit – which is central to the OMP’s mandate – must have specific sub-units within it to handle (a) data gathering, (b) data analysis and management and (c) the archiving and storage of evidence. To a large extent, the OMP’s investigative strategy at a particular point of time will determine the staffing of a particular sub-unit and the finances that are channeled towards it. For example, depending on whether the OMP decides to opt for DNA led or traditional methods to identify human remains, the amount of funding, the type of staff training and the database used to centralize and process the data/evidence would differ.
Once the overall structure of the Office and an investigative strategy has been devised, staff recruitment could be tinkered to suit the OMP’s strategic needs. In particular, the Office will have to gradually streamline its recruitment by adopting internal rules which specify the broad principles (non-discrimination, gender parity, national languages competence etc) that would govern the hiring process and the general skills and competencies expected for each staff position. Moreover, establishing a process to thoroughly vet individuals recruited to the OMP will be essential to build and safeguard public confidence in the Office as it begins its work.
As soon as the OMP establishes these early parameters and begins its investigations, the manner in which it interacts with relatives of missing persons will determine its success. In terms of the Act, the OMP is required to provide relatives information about the progress of an investigation unless providing this information would hinder the on-going investigation or not be in the best interest of the missing person. Since these caveats are very broad and confer wide discretion on the OMP officers, the OMP’s internal rules must clarify the criteria that will be used to determine whether a case falls within these exceptions and also designate the type of officer who would be responsible for providing the relatives progress updates. Greater procedural certainty will be essential to sustain the trust of relatives who have had to endure decades of broken undertakings from different processes. In similar vein, the OMP is required to provide a report to the relatives of missing persons at the conclusion of an investigation. Where a missing person is deceased or his whereabouts are unascertainable, the Office must inform the missing person’s relatives of the circumstances in which he or she went missing and of his or her fate. If a missing person’s whereabouts have been ascertained, the Office is under a duty to inform the relatives about the circumstances under which such person went missing and his or her whereabouts, provided that the missing person consents.
Each of these duties is subject to the OMP’s confidentiality obligation. Therefore many relatives of missing persons may have concerns that the OMP could withhold such information on the grounds of confidentiality. Therefore the OMP’s internal rules must clarify that confidentiality would extend to witness information only if it has been fairly determined that such confidentiality is absolutely necessary to protect the witness’ safety. In every other situation, the full extent of witness information should be shared with relatives whilst only protecting the witness’ identity if necessary.
Many of the OMP’s crucial first steps such as planning, adopting schemes of recruitment and compiling internal rules will take a fair amount of time. The OMP must link with relatives of missing persons and the wider public in the interim and offer them a fair, honest and time bound plan of action that effectively manages expectations.
Operationalizing the OMP Act
On 20 July 2017, yesterday, President Maithripala Sirisena tweeted that he had “signed the Office of Missing Persons Gazette today.” The Foreign Minister also confirmed this position and stated that the next step was for the Constitutional Council to nominate members. The President’s announcement was met with expressions of congratulation and support. Notably, the Secretary General of the United Nations commended the government “for establishing the Office of Missing Persons...”
However, it appears to the best of our knowledge that the OMP Act does not have the force of law to date. The Gazette notification relating to the OMP signed yesterday by the President (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2028/45 published on 19 July 2017) only assigns the OMP and the OMP Act to the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation. It is notable that the said Minister is in fact the President himself and that the constitutionality of his continuing to act as that Minister has been called into question.
Nevertheless, it appears that for the OMP to in fact be established, the President qua Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation would now have to specify a date on which the OMP Act would come into effect. Until such date, the OMP Act does not have the force of law in Sri Lanka and members to the OMP cannot be nominated or appointed. It is not clear when the President qua Minister intends to bring the OMP Act into operation. What is clear is that no such Gazette has been published on the government website.
Given the protracted delays in bringing the OMP Act into operation, it is incumbent on all stakeholders concerned to ensure that no further delay is countenanced.
Operationalizing the Office on Missing Persons: Manual of Best Practices
On 23rd August 2016, the Sri Lankan Parliament adopted the Act to establish an Office on Missing Person (OMP).1 The OMP was created as part of a four-tier transitional justice proposal that comprises, alongside the OMP, a truth commission, a special court and a special prosecutor’s unit, and an office on reparations.2
The establishment of the OMP as a discrete transitional justice mechanism dedicated to “the search for and tracing of missing persons and the clarification of the circumstances in which they went missing”3 responds to the humanitarian imperative of resolving over 16,000 reported cases of missing persons in Sri Lanka.4 Despite the appointment by successive Sri Lankan Presidents of several Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs) to look into the issue and investigate these cases, thousands of families are still unaware of the fate of their loved ones. Past CoIs were marred with allegations of unprofessional and unethical behavior on the part of their staff.5 These Commissions were also criticized for their lack of independence and efficiency.6 In this context, the creation of the OMP was received with high expectations in some corners and disillusionment in others. For many, the first few months of the Office’s tenure and the first steps that it will undertake in the fulfillment of its mandate will be crucial in determining whether it will break away with the poor record of previous CoIs.
The Office’s mandate encompasses the search for and tracing of missing persons and the clarification of the circumstances of their disappearance.7 The Act defines a missing person as a person who went missing in certain specific contexts but irrespective of the date of the disappearance.8 Thus, for the purpose of the Act, missing persons are persons who went missing in the context of “the conflict which took place in the Northern or Eastern Provinces or its aftermath, or if the person is a member of the armed forces or police who is identified as “missing in action” as well as persons who went missing “in the context of political unrest or civil disturbances.”9 In addition, the Office’s mandate also covers enforced disappearances as defined in the International Convention on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.10 Besides its investigative mandate, the Office is also tasked with centralizing all available data on missing persons, making recommendations to relevant authorities towards addressing the incidence of missing persons, protecting the rights and interests of missing persons and their relatives, and identifying avenues for redress.11
In order to fulfil its mandate, the OMP will have to define its internal structure and processes and recruit and train specialized staff. It will also have to devise internal rules and guidelines for its day-to-day functioning and to ensure the respect of best practices in tracing investigations.12 Finally, the Office will have to make strategic choices including which database to use, which method to adopt for the identification of human remains and which cases to investigate in priority.
This Manual surveys best practices on tracing investigations in various countries including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, South Africa, and Nepal in order to guide the Office as it operationalizes its mandate. To this end, the Manual examines the successive steps that the Office will have to undertake to perform its functions and fulfil its mandate, including: defining its internal structure and oversight mechanisms; staffing; designing a witness protection program; planning and opening an investigation; receiving and procuring information; carrying out on-site investigations; identifying human remains; securing and storing data; and carrying out outreach activities. For each of these steps, the Manual makes recommendations based on best practices, taking into account the powers of the Office under the Act and the specific context in Sri Lanka.
Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing
The first step to operationalize the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is to determine the Office’s structure and to recruit specialized personnel. This chapter proceeds by first outlining important considerations to be taken into account when designing the OMP structure and recommendations are made in that respect. When creating structures, two considerations should be taken into account. First, any new entities should assist the Office in carrying out its specific functions. Second, the overall structure should facilitate the flow of information and ensure smooth linkages between units, divisions and other committees. Next, this chapter outlines best practices applicable to staffing considerations, including applicable recruitment principles, skill requirements and vetting procedures. It also explores the need for a code of conduct applicable to all OMP staff.
I. Structure
While the Act provides for the Office’s basic structure,13 it also specifies that the OMP may establish Committees, Divisions and/or Units as required for the Office’s effective administration and functioning.14 These may be required to perform OMP’s functions other than tracing missing persons or to support the work of Divisions or Units provided for in the Act.
1) Units and Divisions Provided for in the Act.
The OMP Act provides for the creation of a Secretariat, a Victim and Witness Protection Division and a Tracing Unit.15 Each of these Units or Divisions may be divided into sub-units as appropriate to facilitate the performance of its function.
a. Secretariat
The Act specifies that the OMP Secretariat will be responsible for the administration of the Office.16 The Secretariat will therefore be tasked with staffing the OMP, allocating resources, coordinating between the various Units, Divisions and Committees and with relevant external entities, and devising rules, guidelines and procedures.17 In order to guarantee the respect of the Office’s internal rules, it may be useful to create an Oversight Committee within the Secretariat. This Oversight Committee will be in charge of examining complaints against Office’s officers for violations of the code of conduct or of their obligations under the Act (cf Chapter 10: Oversight).
b. Victim and Witness Protection Division
According to OMP Act section 18(1), “there shall be a Victim and Witness Protection Division within the OMP that shall protect the rights and address the needs and concerns of victims, witnesses and relatives of missing persons.”18 This Division would be responsible for qualifying witnesses to the witness protection program, assessing the threat level and the appropriate response and providing protection (cf Chapter 3: Witness Protection).
c. Tracing Unit
According to the OMP Act, the Tracing Unit “shall be responsible for tracing and searching for missing persons and for assisting in clarifying the circumstances of such disappearance, and the whereabouts and fate of such missing person [sic].”19 Given that the Parliament empowered the Tracing Unit with broad functions, it may be advisable to subdivide the Unit into smaller entities, or sub-units, entrusted with specific tasks.
To fulfil its mandate, the OMP must collect and process large amounts of information and evidence. Thus, the OMP must establish structures and processes—referred to as information management processes—to collect,20 centralize and analyse21 and store22 information. These structures and processes must be in place before the OMP starts collecting or receiving information about missing persons or the location of gravesites to ensure that the information received or collected is centralized, categorized and labelled appropriately for proper investigation.
To account for the different stages of the information life cycle, the OMP may decide to create specific sub-units in charge of data gathering, data management and analysis, and archiving and storage. Each of these functions requires specific expertise and specialized staff.
Under this model, the Data Gathering Sub-Unit would manage the procurement and receipt of information and conduct/observe on-site investigations (cf Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information and Chapter 6: On-Site Investigations). It would also collect biological reference samples from relatives of missing persons.23 Given that this would require specifically trained personnel, it may be appropriate to create a small Biological Sample Collection Sub-Unit within the Data Gathering Sub-Unit to perform this task.
The Data Management and Analysis Sub-Unit would process information in order to: (1) assist with planning the investigations and locating mass graves; (2) assist in the identification of human remains; and (3) update missing persons’ files. This Sub-Unit will also be in charge of entering data into the central database.24 Given the potentially large number of cases, the Office must update cases regularly with new information and make that information accessible to family members. The OMP could achieve this by opening missing persons’ case files. Files must include a record of all investigative steps taken with respect to the case, the names of officers involved in the investigation and the dates of the various investigative steps taken. Designated OMP analysts must be responsible for updating case files and for liaising with families to inform them of the investigation’s progress whenever possible (cf Chapter 9: Information to Families and Public Outreach).
Finally, the Archiving and Storage Sub-Unit would have the custody of all physical evidence (e.g., documents, biological data, artefacts received or procured by the Office) and would preserve and secure appropriately all evidence (cf Chapter 8: Data Storage).
2) Additional Recommended Units
In addition to the Act’s explicit units and divisions, the Office should also consider establishing a Policy Unit, an Outreach Unit, and a Psychosocial Support Unit.
a. Additional Units for Functions other than Tracing
In addition to carrying out tracing investigations to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, the Office is also entrusted with additional functions, including making policy recommendations to relevant authorities.25 Therefore, the OMP should consider establishing a Policy Unit that would be tasked with making these recommendations. In particular, the OMP is mandated to make recommendations for the prevention of future disappearances, based on patterns identified in the course of its work. Part of its mandate is also to identify avenues of redress to which missing persons and relatives of missing persons are entitled.26 To this end, the OMP must make recommendations for prosecutions based on evidence and patterns uncovered in the course of its investigations. A specialized sub-unit may be created to analyse patterns of criminal conducts and make recommendations for the prosecution of specific cases. This Redress Sub-Unit could, for instance, prepare dossiers, and subject to limitations of confidentiality (cf Chapter 3: Witness Protection), liaise with credible prosecutors and investigators and assist victims to pursue justice.
The OMP Act also refers to the provision of information to families and public outreach.27 Therefore, the Office should consider establishing an Outreach Unit. This Unit could liaise directly with families of missing persons and inform the public of the Office’s mandate, functions and work of the Office (cf Chapter 9: Information to Families and Public Outreach). In addition, a Complaints Desk in charge of receiving information about missing persons (cf Chapter 4: Planning and Opening the Investigation) could also be located within the Outreach Unit, which should be staffed with personnel fluent in Tamil, Sinhala and English. Locating the Complaints Desk within the Outreach Unit would also facilitate the provision of additional information to victims and witnesses about the investigative process and how to obtain case updates.
In addition, the Act also requires that the Office provides—or facilitates the provision of—psychosocial support to families of missing persons.28 A specific structure might be created to fulfil this function. This Psychosocial Unit would need to service both the Victim and Witness Protection Division and the Outreach Unit because each unit will come into contact with individuals in need of support, including victims, witnesses and family members.29
b. Support Units
As will be explained in the following chapters, tracing investigations are complex and require a wide range of technical and scientific expertise. To ensure success, the Office should consider establishing expert committees, such as Investigative and Forensic Expert Committees. These expert committees could advise on designing appropriate rules, guidelines and protocols for tracing investigations. Additionally, they may assist the OMP in carrying out its investigations. Similarly, establishing an Information Technology Unit may be important to assist with the OMP database maintenance and security.30 Finally, the OMP must consider establishing a Gender Unit to assist the design of gender sensitive policies and practices and carry out staff trainings.31
c. Oversight Committees
While the OMP Act does not provide for the creation of oversight structures, it might be useful to establish such oversight committees (1) to ensure that the Office’s staff complies with international rules and guidelines, and (2) to provide checks and balances for the Office’s strategic and other decision-making processes (cf Chapter 10: Oversight). To this end, the OMP may create two oversight structures: an Oversight Committee to oversee staff compliance with the OMP rules (this may be located within the Secretariat), and a Victim-Based Oversight Committee composed of representatives of missing persons’ families to oversee the Office’s strategic decisions such as the planning of investigations.
II. Staffing
Section 11(d) of the OMP Act empowers the Office to appoint and dismiss staff and consultants, and to request the secondment of public officers to the OMP.32 In order to carry out these functions, the OMP must identify its needs and devise staffing procedures, including hiring, firing and secondment processes. In addition, according to section 11(c), the OMP may also issue staff rules and guidelines, including gender sensitive policies.33 Such gender sensitive policies would be essential to address specific and divergent needs of men and women who are victims, family members and witnesses. Other procedures regarding ethical conduct of all personnel may be necessary as well.
1) Hiring
Section 11(d)34 of the OMP Act, read together with section 16(2),35 vests the Office with the power to appoint officers; hire staff members and consultants to assist the Office in the exercise, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions. Since the Act only lays down broad recruitment powers, the Office should create staff recruitment schemes to guide the recruitment process. The rules should stipulate: (1) the principles on which recruitment is based, (2) the mechanisms for recruitment, (3) the categories of officers needed by the OMP and (4) the skills required of each officer. Recruitment rules should aim to ensure the recruitment of individuals that possess the required skills and competencies, and should guarantee that the recruitment process is fair and equal.
First, the Office’s staff recruitment rules should include certain overarching principles to govern the staff hiring process. These include general principles such as non-discrimination and gender parity and Sri Lankan specific consideration including proficiency in the three national languages.
a. Recruitment Principles
The Office should adhere to principles of equality and non-discrimination in recruitment and should strive for gender parity among staff members.36 This approach is especially important in the Sri Lankan context, since past Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs) dealing with missing persons have generally had insufficient female representation among staff members.37 Mere recruitment of female staff without effective gender sensitivity training (cf Chapter 2: Trainings) will be insufficient. Nevertheless greater female presence within the Office is likely to encourage higher levels of female relatives’ participation. At the same time, while gender equality should govern the overall staff recruitment process, taking a rigid approach on gender equality could be counterproductive when recruiting staff to certain Divisions. In fact, due to a number of socio-cultural factors, women are underrepresented in some professions. This pragmatic consideration should also be factored into recruitment procedures.
Second, staff recruitment rules should give priority to individuals who are competent in the two national languages or ensure that there is sufficient proficiency in both languages among staff members. Language proficiency is especially important for investigative officers, victim and witness protection officers and outreach personnel because their work profiles require them to engage directly with individuals and/or work with communities at the grassroots level.38
Finally, staff recruitment rules should give preference to individuals with a sound understanding of the geography, history and culture of the districts from which the most number of missing persons’ cases were reported.39 Such specialized knowledge will often be important for identifying gravesite locations and for carrying out specialized outreach activities in such districts. One way of achieving this goal would be for the staff recruitment rules to specify that a quota of the Office’s staff be recruited from the districts most affected by disappearances. However, taking this approach may compromise the Office’s ability to recruit the most competent personnel for its work, as some skills may not be readily available in the same proportion in all the regions or districts. Notably, the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) in Nepal adopted a more prudent approach. In calling for applications, the CIEDP relied on data provided by the Peace Ministry of Nepal and concentrated its application process in the twenty-one districts in which the highest number of disappearances had taken place.40 Under this latter approach, the CIEDP ensured that skill and competency were the primary criteria of recruitment, although special attention was paid to advertise the positions in the most affected districts.
b. Skills Needed by OMP Officers
The OMP Act provides for a Secretariat that will be in charge of the Office’s administration.41 Office administration would require individuals who are capable of organizing the Office’s internal and external coordination needs. One key internal need of the OMP would be the development and framing of rules, guidelines and procedures for the various Office activities. This task would require a high level of coordination among different divisions and units within the OMP. The Office would also need to cooperate and liaise with many external entities, including various international or non-governmental organizations, governmental/provincial/local authorities and family member associations in order to fulfil its mandate. The Office Secretariat should therefore consist of individuals who are experienced administrators, with strong interpersonal skills, negotiation skills and sound judgment.
The OMP’s Tracing Unit should include investigators with technical and forensic expertise.42 Ideally, investigative officers recruited by the Office will also have adequate expertise in relation to handling testimony from the victims’ relatives and other witnesses. Furthermore, since the Act also envisages the initiation of an investigation on the basis of past CoI collected data,43 investigators will need to approach relatives of missing persons, potential witnesses and law enforcement officials identified through previously collected information. Therefore, individuals who have had prior fieldwork experience related to missing persons would serve as assets to the Tracing Unit. One option would be for the Office to tap into personnel who were investigators or data gatherers in Sri Lanka’s past CoIs.44
While the OMP Act does not empower the OMP to carry out excavations and exhumations of mass graves, section 12(d) does provide that the OMP may act as an observer pursuant to applying to the relevant Magistrate’s Court for an order of exhumation or excavation.45 In its recommendations to Lebanon’s Disappearance Commission, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) has observed that this task would require a fully-fledged forensic team comprised of archaeologists, site supervisors, geologists, photographers and site workers.46 The same team would be required for monitoring the excavation and exhumation. Additionally, the forensic team should have forensic doctors and anthropologists within its ranks in order to carry out on-site evaluations of exhumed human remains or monitor the evaluations to ensure compliance with all protocols.47
The Office should also recruit individuals who are experts in managing and securing its central database (cf Chapter 8: Data Storage). The experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) shows that database management generally requires thorough review of database entries in order to avoid duplication of data gathered from multiple sources.48 Such a review process is critical in Sri Lanka because data will be gathered from numerous CoIs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), NGOs and other institutions, organizations. After such review, a verification process must ensure that the data within the database is consistent with other available records on missing persons.49 Both these tasks would require an efficient team of database administrators. Securing the integrity of the central database would require cyber security experts who should be able to design an appropriate database security methodology and also ensure efficient recovery, back-up and troubleshooting processes.50
In addition, since the OMP Act provides for an autonomous and independent Victim and Witness Protection Division (cf Chapter 3: Witness Protection) it is important for this Division to have its own dedicated rules for staff recruitment akin to recommended Office staff recruitment rules. Victim and witness protection requires a high degree of expertise and competence on multiple fronts. Therefore, entities dealing with victim and witness protection must have a multidisciplinary staff composition. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Good Practices on Witness Protection51 as well as the Santiago Guidelines on Victim and Witness Protection (Santiago Guidelines) stress the need for victim and witness protection programmes to have individuals from diverse fields, including personal protection, handling of weapons, psychology, health care, social work and human rights law. Similarly, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rules of Procedure require the Court’s Victim and Witness Protection Unit to have personnel ranging from those providing protection and security to personnel who have expertise working with children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.52 The ICC Statute also requires that its Victim and Witness Protection Unit have individuals who are experts in assisting trauma victims.53
Finally, the OMP Act states that the Division ought to make welfare services, including psychosocial support, available for victims, witnesses and relatives of missing persons who engage with the OMP.54 Therefore, the Division must also be staffed with social workers, counsellors and psychologists.
The recommended staff recruitment rules of the OMP must specifically provide for the recruitment of competent individuals from the wide range of fields mentioned above.
c. Vetting Procedures
Staff recruitment rules should stipulate a thorough vetting procedure for all recruited individuals. This vetting procedure should ensure that individuals recruited by the Office are free of serious criminal records and allegations of human rights violations.55 The presence of such a vetting procedure will be vital to ensure long-term public confidence in the Office. However, officers should also be mindful of cases where individuals may have been arrested or imprisoned due to political or other improper motives. It is imperative for the Office to keep these realities in mind when implementing its vetting procedures to ensure that individuals who have been dealt with unjustly in the past are given a fair opportunity of working with the OMP. In this respect, the Office must establish clear criteria for vetting its personnel and set up a Panel to assess the seriousness and credibility of any allegations against applicants.
In addition, depending on the position, it may be necessary to ensure that individuals recruited by the OMP have a very high degree of integrity and are able to maintain confidentiality.56 This condition is essential because witness safety depends largely on whether the OMP personnel can safeguard protected persons’ confidentiality (cf Chapter 3: Witness Protection). It is also important for personnel who will be directly in contact with relatives of missing persons to be able to empathize with their experiences. For this reason, the OMP may carry out psychological profiling of candidates in order to gauge whether they possess these capabilities. It must also ensure strict non-disclosure clauses in employment contracts and similar contracts for services.
2) Code of Conduct
The OMP Act only has a limited number of provisions to regulate the staff conduct. It contains broad and overarching provisions regarding non-discrimination,57 as well as provisions proscribing certain types of serious misconduct. For instance, the section in the Act dealing with offences states that any person who “threatens, intimidates or improperly influences, or attempts to threaten, intimidate or improperly influence any person who has co-operated, or is intending to cooperate with the OMP, will be in contempt of the Office.58 OMP Members, officers and staff will be regarded as public servants to whom the Penal Code and Bribery Act provisions would be applicable.59 These provisions aim to prohibit serious misconduct that would violate Sri Lanka’s Penal Code or bribery laws, rather than regulating the OMP staff’s day-to-day conduct.
To complement the existing legal regime, the OMP should formulate and adopt a code of conduct that delineates how the OMP staff ought to interact with individuals who engage with the Office on a day-to-day basis.60
In order to determine the substance of a code of conduct, it may be appropriate to consider values and principles that generally govern the work of truth commissions. The ICTJ has observed that truth commissions ought to abide by values and principles such as respect for human dignity, independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism. These principles ought to form part of a binding code of conduct for any truth commission.61 In similar vein, the OMP could incorporate these values and principles in a binding code of conduct for its staff members. However, in framing this code, the Office should consider some of the challenges Sri Lanka faces and should pay particular attention to the issues that have plagued past CoIs. As noted by the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms in its Interim Report on the OMP, Sri Lanka’s past missing persons’ inquiries have been marred with allegations of officers asking relatives of missing persons for bribes (including sexual favours) in order to reveal details about their missing relatives.62 Furthermore, there have been allegations of insensitivity and rudeness levelled against officers of CoIs, as in the Paranagama Commission.63
Therefore, the proposed code of conduct should explicitly address the patterns of behaviour that have marred past CoIs, whilst also drawing on best practices internationally. The OMP could adopt a binding code of this nature under its section 26(1) powers.64
Chapter 2: Trainings
The OMP must ensure that staff members acquire the required skills and knowledge of the rules of conduct. Additionally, staff members must be trained on how to contextualize their skills for the work of the OMP. Broadly speaking, the OMP must train its entire staff on gender sensitivity, ethical conduct and sensitivity toward vulnerable persons, including children and victims of violence. Further, integrity and professionalism should be standards expected of any person working with the OMP. Additionally, the OMP must carry out professional trainings to develop and enhance the technical skills of investigators, analysts, data officers and protection personnel.
This chapter specifically examines training requirements of OMP staff, including: ethical conduct and gender sensitivity training; general professional training; and specific professional training. General professional training consists of training regarding handling and preserving physical evidence, data security, as well as additional processes and protocols. Specific professional trainings cover: interview skills; on-site investigation techniques; data management; forensics; analysis; and victim and witness protection. Each type of training will be discussed in turn.
I. Ethical Conduct and Gender Sensitivity
The Interim Report of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms notes that, women will be the primary demographic that engages with the OMP.65 In recognition of this reality, the Act empowers the Office to frame and issue broad gender sensitive policies for its staff to follow.66
However, comparative experience in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Timor-Leste indicate that transitional justice mechanisms cannot rely merely on overarching policy guidelines to achieve gender sensitivity in their work. Truth commissions in each country carried out extensive gender sensitivity training programmes that gave specialized attention to each officer within the truth commission.67 These programmes aimed to educate staff members about international norms relating to gender-based violence and on gender sensitive approaches to data gathering and interviewing.68 The implementation of such specialized training programmes, coupled with a recruitment policy based on gender equality (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing), will be critical toward promoting adequate gender sensitivity among the OMP staff.
The ICTJ has observed that gender sensitivity training must be continuous and on-going.69 Gender sensitivity training is often carried out with enthusiasm at the start of a mechanism’s term of office, but gradually fades in importance once the mechanism begins concentrating on its core mandate. This fading enthusiasm results in later recruits not having the same level of gender sensitivity as earlier recruits. One way of addressing this inequality would be for the mechanism to establish a specific unit for gender-related issues. For instance, Colombia’s National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (CNNR) established a Transversal Unit for Gender and Specific Populations that concentrated on training the regional staff of the CNNR on gender sensitiveness and women’s rights.70
Nonetheless, some may question the wisdom of establishing a specific unit to deal with gender, since it often results in gender being regarded as the exclusive responsibility of the gender unit to the detriment of mainstreaming gender sensitive approaches throughout an institution. Indeed, due to this perception, transitional justice mechanisms that have set up a specialized gender unit often failed to incorporate gender concerns throughout their work and structure.71 As a result of these past failures, truth commissions, such as the National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana, have opted to streamline gender concerns into the entirety of the Commission’s work and structure. The Commission in Timor-Leste has taken the mixed approach of having a specific gender unit as well as streamlining gender concerns into its overall activities.
The Office should incorporate the best mechanism to ensure gender sensitivity in all departments throughout the Office’s operations. While a Gender Unit would be integral to keeping gender sensitivity on the Office’s agenda, once the novelty of the initial training period wears off, the Office should not regard gender sensitivity as being the sole responsibility of the Gender Unit.
Therefore, as an immediate measure, the OMP should begin formulating a gender sensitivity training programme that draws inspiration from comparative programmes elsewhere (i.e. Sierra Leone, Ghana and Timor-Leste). At the same time, the Office should tailor the training programme to address challenges faced by past CoIs in the area of gender sensitivity. Subsequently, as a long-term measure, the OMP could opt to utilize its powers under section 11(e) and establish a Gender Unit. This unit can ensure that gender sensitivity remains on the agenda of the OMP even after it has begun working on its core mandate of investigations.
II. Professional Trainings
In order to ensure the highest standards of professionalism and quality work, the OMP should engage in a number of professional trainings. Different types of professional trainings would be suitable depending on the division/unit to which the personnel belongs. However, it is also paramount that staff members from all divisions/units receive training regarding the handling and preservation of physical evidence and the security of digital data and physical evidence. In addition, members of the various divisions/units should also have sound knowledge of how their work contributes to the overall mandate of the Office and complements the work of other units. In this respect, all staff must be trained in protocol compliance to ensure various units’ collaboration.
1) General Professional Trainings
Tracing investigations involve the collection, centralization and analysis of large quantities of data. Maintaining the integrity and security of these data requires the training of all of the Office’s staff. Joint trainings for OMP staff from different units and divisions could also enhance overall staff understandings of OMP processes and protocols, and could facilitate collaboration among various units and divisions.
a. Handling and Preservation of Physical Evidence
The Office may receive, procure, (cf Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information) or recover physical evidence from suspected places of detention, other premises and mass graves (cf Chapter 6: On-Site Investigations). Proper handling and preservation of physical evidence is essential for both the Office’s own investigations and any subsequent criminal investigations. Thus, the Office must train all staff members on best practices and protocols for the packaging, labelling, classifying and preservation of physical evidence. This training should include specific requirements with regard to documenting the chain of custody (cf Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information and Chapter 6: On-Site Investigations).
b. Security of Data and Evidence
During the course of its investigations, the OMP is likely to receive confidential and highly sensitive information or physical evidence such as DNA swaps. In light of this, the Office must train all staff members in applying protocols regarding the security of digital data and physical evidence (cf Chapter 8: Data Storage) to prevent the manipulation of physical evidence by unauthorized personnel or unintentional breach of confidentiality.
c. Processes and Protocols
Finally, all Office personnel must receive trainings on the Office’s overall mandate, structure and functioning, the structure and functioning of each division and unit and protocols and processes aimed at ensuring the flow of information and the smooth collaboration of all divisions or units.
2) Specific Professional Trainings
The Office must also provide specific trainings tailored to the various roles and functions of each division or unit.
a. Interviewing Skills
In the course of their work, the OMP investigators will receive and procure evidence from relatives of missing persons and other potential witnesses. Interviews for tracing investigations require a range of specific knowledge and expertise. Investigators will have to interact with a wide variety of witnesses, including relatives of missing persons for whom the interview may be difficult or even traumatic, as well as persons implicated in a disappearance who may subsequently become key witnesses in criminal processes. Thus, trainings in interview techniques are crucial to the success of the OMP investigations and to that of subsequent criminal proceedings.
Missing persons’ interviews may be traumatic to both the interviewer72 and the interviewee.73 During the interview, the interviewee may be required to recollect intimate details about the missing person and describe the circumstances surrounding the disappearance. Moreover the respondent being interviewed could often be a person with a disability, a child or a senior citizen. The Office will therefore need to train its investigative staff on sensitive interviewing techniques that safeguard the dignity of the respondents. In addition, interviewers must be trained to recognize signs of trauma. Finally, interviewers may need to conduct interviews through electronic media, such as video conferencing. Interviewers should therefore be given specific training on how to adapt their existing skills for long-distance interviews and depositions with victims, witnesses and family members.
In addition, investigators must obtain witnesses’ informed consent before proceeding with an interview. To this end, they must inform witnesses of all potential uses of the information. Finally, they must ensure that the information they obtain is comprehensive, detailed and accurate. Depending on the type of interviewee, investigators will have to test and assess the credibility of the testimony (cf Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information). While interviewers may have to ask a number of questions to verify an interviewee’s accuracy and credibility, interviewers must avoid asking leading questions. These interview techniques are best acquired through trainings of the appropriate skills.
b. On-Site Investigations Techniques
In addition to the training on the handling and preservation of evidence, OMP investigators must also receive training on the methodology and protocols for conducting and documenting on-site investigations. Specific trainings include techniques for searching suspected detention sites and other sites containing relevant evidence and the excavation and exhumation of identified gravesites for which the OMP may be an observer (cf Chapter 6: On-Site Investigations). These trainings are essential to ensure that the OMP work assists rather than hinders future criminal investigations.
c. Data Management
The OMP Act provides for the establishment and management of a central database on missing persons.74 Managing this database would require recruiting database administrators trained on the proper classification of different types of data (traditional ante mortem and post mortem data, DNA ante mortem and post mortem data) and the entry of such data into the Office’s central database (cf Chapter 7: Identification of Human Remains). The database administrators would also need to receive training in data entry review. Database officers with such expertise will be better placed to cross check data accuracy and prevent any erroneous duplication within the data entry process.
d. Forensic Training
Tracing investigations require collecting, handling and analysing biological reference samples and human remains75 (cf Chapter 7: Identifying Human Remains). If the OMP resorts to DNA identification methods, its staff must collect biological reference samples from families. While the OMP may outsource DNA sample analysis, the collection of ante mortem DNA data is likely to be done by the OMP and will therefore require specific training. For example, staff members collecting reference samples should be trained in interview techniques aimed at identifying and recording the nature of biological relationships and in taking and handling biological samples.76 Staff members should also be trained in health and safety precautions in relation to collecting and handling biological samples.
e. Analysis Training
The OMP will have to collect, process and analyse large amounts of information. In addition, tracing investigations often necessitate the use of sophisticated databases that will assist in generating leads and hypotheses, facilitate categorizing information and comparing relevant data. Therefore, analysts will have to learn how to adapt their skills to the specific needs of tracing investigations in addition to learning how to use the database, and inputting, classifying and analysing collected data.
f. Victim and Witness Protection Training
A successful victim and witness protection programme requires individuals who have diverse skills and capabilities. For instance, the UNODC’s Good Practices on Witness Protection emphasizes the need for training and skills development of personnel within victim and witness protection units to be multidisciplinary and coordinated.77 Protection officers must perform multiple functions in order to adequately safeguard a victim or witness. Thus, a multidisciplinary training programme is a prerequisite for the success of the OMP’s Victim and Witness Protection Division.
To illustrate by example, Croatia’s successful Witness and Victim Support Offices training programme was multidisciplinary. The programme’s main features included: (1) careful consideration of practices in other countries, (2) the adjustment of such insights to suit the Croatian context and (3) the collaborative design of the training programme with the expertise of the UN.78 Accordingly, after a thorough and systematic analysis of local conditions and best practices internationally, Croatia collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and designed a training programme with three core modules that concentrated on developing the skills of victim and witness protection personnel in the areas of legal knowledge, psychology and practical training (security and weapons training).79
In addition, the European Commission’s Standards in Witness Protection and Collaboration with Justice (2005) emphasizes the need for officers to be trained in the sensitive treatment of victims and witnesses and in humane interrogation methods.80 Furthermore, the Division should consider the Commonwealth Secretariat’s General Recommendations on Victim Protection when designing its training programme. This is mainly due to the Secretariat’s training-related recommendations lending substance to what the practical training module in a given training programme ought to be. The Secretariat recommends practical training to be done in two stages. The first stage, known as “basic operator training,” eases protection personnel into the programme by introducing them to the basics of close protection training, weapons handling and driver training.81 The second stage, known as “on-going skill set development,” takes a more specialized approach to training by enhancing the crisis management skills, advanced weapons training skills, close quarters battle techniques and surveillance capabilities of the personnel.82 This staggered approach to protection training will give the Division the flexibility it will need to tailor its training programme for protection staff with different capacities.
Moreover, the OMP Act states that the Division may provide welfare services, including psychosocial services, to victims, witnesses and relatives of missing persons.83 Therefore, the training programme should have a specific module dedicated to its trauma management experts and counsellors. This module should ensure that trauma management experts and counsellors of the Division are adequately equipped to provide welfare services.
The Division must also consider the local context and local needs when designing its training programme based on the best practices above. For instance, the training programme should ensure that victim and witness protection personnel are adequately trained in the two national languages (Sinhalese and Tamil), since many victims, witnesses and their family members are unlikely to be conversant in English. Furthermore, personnel directly involved in protection activities should have a fairly extensive knowledge of the geography, cultures and practices of the different areas in Sri Lanka, especially if protection measures like temporary relocation or permanent relocation with covert surveillance are adopted in relation to high-risk victims and witnesses.84
Finally, two special training challenges warrant separate attention. First, victim and witness protection requires identifying and assessing threats toward individuals and matching appropriate protection measures to meet those threats (cf Chapter 3: Witness Protection). Therefore, the training programme must ensure that individuals in charge of this complex threat identification and protection matching process have the adequate skills and knowledge to carry out this task.85 Second, any victim and witness protection programme is bound to encounter individuals with special vulnerabilities like widows, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, children, or survivors of sexual or gender-based violence. Therefore, the Division’s training programme must ensure that its personnel receive specialized training to address specialized needs of victims, witnesses or family members.86
Chapter 3: Witness Protection
Sri Lanka enacted a comprehensive, yet flawed, Victim and Witness Protection (VWP) Act in 2015.87 The OMP Act provides for an independent victim and witness protection regime, specifically dedicated to victims, witnesses and relatives of victims who engage with the Office.88 According to OMP Act section 18(1), “there shall be a Victim and Witness Protection Division within the OMP that shall protect the rights and address the needs and concerns of victims, witnesses and relatives of missing persons.”89 The Act empowers the Victim and Witness Protection Division of the OMP (the Division) to take all appropriate measures to ensure the protection of victims and witnesses who engage with the Office.90 In addition, section 13(1)(g) calls for the Office to “develop and enforce a system for victim and witness protection.”91
Some may question the need for the OMP to have its own victim and witness protection system, given that the Victim and Witness Protection Act already establishes a National Authority (VWP Authority) for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses92 and a Victims of Crime and Witness Assistance and Protection Division (VWP Division).93 Under the VWP Act, the VWP Authority has a mandate to “develop, adopt and implement a scheme for providing assistance and protection to victims of crimes and witnesses.”94 The VWP Division, on the other hand, is in charge of designing and implementing a Victim and Witness Assistance Program.95
Three important reasons, however, justify the existence of an autonomous Victim and Witness protection scheme within the OMP. First, the VWP Act only applies to witnesses appearing before a court, a commission of inquiry, a special presidential commission of inquiry, the Bribery Commission or the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.96 The OMP does not fall within any of these categories.97 Therefore, a witness before the OMP may find it extremely challenging to seek protection under the VWP Act.98
Second, as noted previously,99 the VWP Act does not guarantee the VWP Division’s autonomy and independence from the hierarchy of the police.100 Moreover, the VWP Act provides for ex-officio appointments to the VWP Authority,101 which cast the independence of the Authority in doubt.102 This problem compounded by the fact that the Act has not been amended to provide for appointments to the Authority to be made on the recommendations of the Constitutional Council. Sri Lanka is yet to undertake a comprehensive vetting policy for state institutions to remove individuals who have been implicated in—or have covered up—past violations. In this context, it would be imprudent to entrust the VWP Authority and VWP Division with the sole responsibility for providing victim and witness protection. This would likely deter victims and potential witnesses from engaging with transitional justice institutions including the OMP.
Third, an autonomous victim and witness protection system within the OMP will likely better serve victim and witness interests. In fact, it may be cumbersome, confusing, and potentially traumatic for victims and witnesses who are at risk due to their engagement with the OMP to seek protection from another institution. In contrast, an independent OMP protection scheme would ensure greater access and efficiency.
Nevertheless, a Division under the OMP, which would only exercise the delegated power of the OMP, would not have the same coercive power pertaining to law enforcement and criminal investigations that any Authority vested by law with the necessary powers would have. Therefore, witnesses must be at liberty to seek the protection of the VWP Authority and VWP Division in appropriate cases. However, this would require legal and other reforms that ensure greater independence of the Authority and Division established and ensure application of the VWP Act to the OMP.
This chapter first examines the scope of victim and witness protection. It proceeds with the analysis of specific protection measures including identity shielding measures and confidentiality, witness management methods, strengthening self-protection capacities, and identity change and permanent relocation.
I. Scope of Protection
While the OMP Act contains broad provisions authorizing victim and witness protection, the Office and its Victim and Witness Protection Division must determine the scope and nature of protection, including qualifying witnesses, protection measures responding to levels of threat and the temporal scope of the protection.
1) Qualifying Witnesses
According to OMP Act section 18(3), the Victim and Witness Protection Division is under an obligation to provide protection to witnesses who engage with the OMP.103 The interpretation section of the Act, however, does not give any guidance as to who would constitute a witness for the purposes of the Act.
The Model Witness Protection Bill of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) defines a witness as a person who has made a statement, or who has given or agreed to give evidence in relation to the commission or possible commission of a serious offence.104 The Bill’s definition of a witness also extends to family members and other persons of importance to the witness.105 The extension of witness protection to witness’ family members is a common feature of legislation of many countries, including Indonesia,106 BiH107 and Kenya.108
In Sri Lanka, many missing persons cases are alleged enforced disappearances. Given that the crime of enforced disappearances is by nature secretive and information surrounding the disappearance is known only by the perpetrators, a key question for the Office would be whether its witness protection regime should extend to alleged perpetrators, criminal suspects and persons already convicted and serving a sentence. A few national laws and executive decrees bring alleged and convicted perpetrators within the ambit of witness protection schemes established in those countries. For instance under Peru’s Law No. 27378, witness protection extends to persons who may be the subject of preliminary investigations in a criminal proceeding and persons who have been accused or convicted of specific crimes.109 The situation is the same in Colombia where persons who have been charged, tried, or convicted of a crime are eligible for witness protection as long as they possess information that is useful to an investigation.110
Thus, the Division must devise internal rules that define the term “witness” similar to that of the UNODC and stipulate the categories of witnesses eligible for protection under the Act.111 These rules should, at a minimum, ensure that family members and other persons of importance to the witness, as well as witnesses implicated in criminal proceedings (in relation to the offences of kidnapping and abduction),112 are eligible to seek witness protection before the Division.
2) Threat Assessment and Response
The broadly worded OMP Act calls for the Division to provide protection to all victims and witnesses who engage with the Office.113 If the Division is to fulfil this task, it must formulate procedures to determine levels of threat faced by victims or witnesses engaging with the Office. Subsequent to this threat assessment, the Division would have to decide on appropriate protection measures to respond to the given threat. This approach to victim and witness protection has been endorsed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in its General Recommendations on Victim Protection (2011).114 According to these recommendations, a protection measure should always be implemented solely in response to an assessed threat to a victim or witness.115
Often, national legislation establishes guidelines to assess the level of threat to a victim or witness in order to determine eligibility for victim and witness protection.116 While threat assessment guidelines are generally used to determine whether a victim or witness is eligible for protection, the Division can use these guidelines to assess the level of threat faced by victims and witnesses and determine appropriate protection measures. The UN and international courts also endorse this practice.117
Commonly identified criteria considered in threat assessments are:
• The existence of threats to the victim’s or witness’ life118 and/or property;119 and
• The foreseeability of acts of reprisal or intimidation, or the fact that acts of reprisal or intimidation have already been carried out against the victim or witness.120
Other criteria include:
• The victim or witness’ personality, personal situation and psychological fitness to receive protection;121 and
• The seriousness of the offence to which the victim’s or witness’ statement or evidence relates.122
Furthermore, the threat assessment would generally analyse the source from which the threat emanates, and try and gauge whether the source has the organizational strength and capacity to carry out the threat.123
The Division must account for these factors when carrying out its threat assessment process. The OMP Act empowers the Office to “issue guidelines for its staff members, in order for such staff members to effectively carry out their functions under the Act.”124 Using this power to adopt threat assessment guidelines will enable the Division to carefully match its protection measures to the exiting level of threat to a victim or witness.
Implementing protection measures only after carefully assessing the viability of a threat is important due to the costly nature of victim and witness protection. For instance, as observed by the UNODC, a significant amount of funding needs to be expended for the food, accommodation, transportation and relocation needs of victims and witnesses.125 The Division would therefore need to conduct a thorough threat assessment for each witness and victim who approaches the OMP in order for it to be able to allocate its resources efficiently.
3) Temporal Scope of Protection
The OMP’s next key task would be to determine the temporal extent of the protection it would be granting to victims and witnesses who engage with the OMP, and draft its rules accordingly. International best practice126 and comparative domestic legislation127 suggest that victim and witness protection measures ought to be made available before, during and after formal proceedings, whether such proceedings are judicial proceedings or proceedings before other investigative bodies, such as truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) or Disappearance Commissions.
Section 12 (a) provides that the OMP may “receive, from any relative of a missing person, or any other person or organization, complaints relating to missing persons.”128 Therefore, suitable protection measures must be initiated as soon as an individual files a complaint to the Office. The OMP Act also allows the Office to initiate an inquiry or investigation on the basis of information gathered by past Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs).129 Information gathered by these CoIs may contain details about victims and witnesses. However, given the sheer volume of CoI information, a preliminary screening of the information to identify victims and witnesses who should benefit from the protection program may not be feasible. Nevertheless, the Office should initiate appropriate protection measures as soon as it approaches, in the course of its investigations, victims or witnesses identified by past CoIs.
The Division’s internal rules would also need to specify the procedures to follow when initiating a protection programme. In particular, the UNODC130 and the International Commission of Jurists131 recommend that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) should be concluded between the entity providing protection (the Division in this case) and the party receiving protection. A typical MoU contains the rights and obligations of a protected person.132 Generally, the MoU would impose obligations on a protected person (in the case of change of identity and/or relocation, this would typically include non-communication with family, staying hidden, obeying orders of the protection unit, and other related policies) and stipulate that the protection programme would terminate in the event of a breach of these obligations.133 Given language barriers in Sri Lanka, the Division’s internal rules must make provisions for the translation and explanation of MoUs to individuals before entering into a protection programme.134
Determining when to terminate witness protection requires additional consideration, especially given that the danger to a victim or witness may continue years after formal proceedings have been concluded. At the same time, victim and witness protection measures are often costly and resource intensive. In light of this, the Division must have clear rules to determine when a protection programme can be terminated, having regard to the competing variables mentioned above. The UNODC’s Good Practices135 and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s recommendations136 state that it is only advisable for termination of a victim and witness protection programme when:
• The protected party’s actions and behaviours compromise the programme’s integrity;
• The protected party breaches the MoU;137
• The seriousness and risk of the threat to the protected party has lessened; or
• The victim or witness voluntarily leaves the programme.
The first two conditions mentioned above are justifiable grounds to immediately terminate a protection programme because a witness’ breach of his/ her obligations could jeopardize the entire protection programme and other witnesses’ safety. The Office should stipulate clear criteria for what constitutes behaviour that endangers the programme, so that protected persons understand what actions to avoid.
When the termination of the protection programme is on account of threat reduction, the protection scheme must gradually phase out its protection measures. One possible way of phasing out a protection programme would be for the Division to strengthen the self-protection capabilities of victims and witnesses at later stages of the protection programme. Another way to smoothly phase out the protection programme would be for the Division to periodically liaise with formerly protected persons to ensure that the threat level remains low to non-existent.
II. Identity Shielding Measures and Confidentiality
Protection measures that shield the identity of victims and witnesses are a staple in most victim and witness protection programmes due to their inherent flexibility.138 Such measures are often sufficient to meet the protection needs of victims and witnesses. At the same time, identity shielding can be used in tandem with other more stringent protection measures to meet more serious threats levelled against protected persons.139
The OMP Act provides for measures aimed at reducing witnesses’ exposure to the public or at shielding their identity. In particular, according to section 12(c)(iv), the OMP is entitled “to establish a process to accept confidential information or information in camera, if required, to help ensure personal security for victims and witnesses.”140 The provision of information in camera generally aims at reducing the psychological stress on witnesses by limiting their exposure to the public. However, it does not necessarily shield the identity of witnesses. Confidentiality, on the other hand, is an identity shielding measure available in most protection programmes.
Confidentiality is a key measure of any witness protection programme. However, confidentiality agreements—depending on the scope and types of witnesses they cover—may be inimical to prosecutorial efforts or stand in the way of families’ right to truth. It is therefore vital for the Division’s internal rules to widen the identity shielding options available to the Office, since identity shielding is a flexible protection measure that can be adapted to suit most protection needs.
The operational rules of the Nepalese CIEDP, for example, empower the Commission to safeguard the victim and witness anonymity through voice distortion technology and by recording their statements in remote locations.141 Furthermore, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s General Recommendations on Victim Protection encourages States to use face distortion technology and pseudonyms to expunge any identifying elements within the information that victim or witnesses provide.142
In addition, while the only identity shielding measure available to the office is the granting of confidentiality, its scope is not defined in the Act and the term “confidential information” used in a number of instances is subject to interpretation.143 This ought to be clarified in the internal rules of the OMP.
1) Scope of Confidentiality
Comparative studies show that, generally, domestic victim and witness protection laws only extend confidentiality to the non-disclosure of the protected person’s identity144 and protection measures.145
Determining the material scope of confidentiality is critical and should be guided by two considerations: (1) the safety of witnesses and (2) the fulfilment of the mandate by the entity providing confidentiality. Thus, the Division must strike a balance between these two potentially competing imperatives: families’ right to truth and witnesses’ protection.
One key function of the OMP is to inform the relatives of missing persons about the fate of their loved ones.146 If the scope of confidentiality is interpreted broadly and covers information provided by witnesses, this may prevent the fulfilment of its function by the OMP. Therefore, confidentiality should not extend to the information witnesses provide unless there are compelling reasons to do so. In many cases, the identity of the witness would be appropriately shielded by expunging any identifying information from the witness’ testimony. Therefore, the decision to extend the scope of confidentiality to all information provided by a witness ought to remain an extraordinary and exceptional measure and should be justified in light of the circumstances. While, as a matter of principle, confidentiality should not extend to all information victims and witnesses provide, the Division is under a legal obligation to inform victims and witnesses of all uses, or potential uses, of the information.147
The comparative study of relevant domestic legislation may also inform decisions regarding the temporal scope of confidentiality. The BiH Witness Protection Program Law148 and the Witness Protection Ordinance of Hong Kong149 stipulate that confidentiality obligations remain even after a protected person has ceased to be a part of the protection programme. Therefore, the Division must include internal rules that extend the temporal scope of confidentiality obligations on its officers to include post-proceedings.
2) Breach of Confidentiality
The OMP Act states that a breach of confidentiality is an offence in which the offender stands in contempt of the OMP,150 liable to be tried and punished by the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, as if it were contempt of court.151 This provision could be used against Victim and Witness Protection Division staff members who breach the confidentiality of a protection programme.
The Division should also consider having additional sanctions for officers found to be in breach of confidentiality. Comparative victim and witness protection laws in Indonesia,152 Philippines153 and Hong Kong154 impose sanctions on victim and witness protection officers who breach confidentiality. These sanctions include imprisonment, heavy fines and the exclusion of such individuals from holding public office. Since the OMP Act does not provide for such sanctions, one option would be for the Division’s internal rules to make a breach of confidentiality by one of its officers a ground for terminating the services of such officer.
Additionally, the complaint mechanism recommended for the Office (cf Chapter 10: Oversight) should allow a victim or witness whose confidentiality has been breached to file a complaint to the Office. The Office could then investigate the matter and initiate contempt proceedings against staff members and/or terminate its services as appropriate. Breaches of confidentiality should also trigger a reassessment of threat and adoption of additional protection measures as necessary.
3) Confidentiality Exceptions
The Act states that if a witness consents, the identity of such a witness could be disclosed by the OMP to law enforcement or prosecutorial authorities.155 This is seemingly for the purpose of aiding investigative and/or prosecutorial efforts, where evidence before the OMP shows that an offence within the meaning of the Penal Code or any other law has been committed. In accordance with international best practices, the Division must ensure that witness consent is informed and free of intimidation or exploitation.156 In addition, the Division must ensure that information communication does not expose the witness to risk of physical or other harm.157 Thus, the OMP’s internal rules should carefully set down the manner in which the Office’s staff should obtain consent from a witness in order to reveal his or her identity to the relevant authorities.
In addition to, or in lieu of, identity shielding measures, the Division may offer other protection measures most commonly referred to as “witness management methods”.158
III. Witness Management Methods
In some circumstances, protection measures identified above may not meet adequately threats victims and witnesses face. For instance, victims and witnesses often face risks of verbal threats or intimidation, property damage, or physical harm due to their involvement with law enforcement authorities. In Rwanda, many witnesses who engaged with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) faced increased harassment in the form of constant stone throwing at their houses when they returned home after testifying.159 When these risks are identified, additional protection measures may often be required. These may range from witness management methods or self-protection measures to identity change and/or relocation measures.
The UNODC’s Good Practices on Witness Protection states that a protection entity should be able to deal with situations that do not amount to life threatening risks without having to resort to relocation or change of identity. Countries like Australia and Chile have adopted measures to deal with such intermediary level threats and named them “witness management methods.”160 Witness management methods could include the provision of temporary alternative accommodation,161 discreet patrolling of the protected person’s house,162 transportation of the protected person’s property to safer locations163 and the installation of alarm systems or security cameras.164
The inclusion of witness management methods within a protection programme undoubtedly gives the protection entity flexibility to meet protection needs. However, witness management methods can be mentally taxing on the protected person due to their potentially severe impact on the day-to-day life of such persons. Such methods are also highly resource intensive since they require heavy staff involvement and financial investment for their success.
The Division’s first task therefore would be to analyse the institutional and financial feasibility of all available intermediary protection measures. Subsequent to this analysis, it should opt for the most financially feasible, victim and witness friendly protection measures available under its internal rules.
IV. Strengthening Self-Protection Capacities
Self-protection schemes enable victims and witnesses to look after their own protection needs.165 Such schemes are extremely useful in contexts where the threat to the victim or witness is low or in situations where the victim or witness is unwilling to enter into a formal protection scheme. For instance, in Rwanda, a large number of victims and witnesses who engaged with the ICTR opted to protect themselves rather than enter into the formal protection programme offered by the Rwandan Victim and Witness Support Unit.166 Instead, many vulnerable witnesses decided to adopt measures for their own protection. Such measures included independent relocation or the organisation of secure and private transport to attend the ICTR hearings. However, these require financial resources that witnesses often lacked.167
Many victims and witnesses in Sri Lanka too have little faith in formal victim and witness protection schemes due to negative experiences with past CoIs.168 Even though some of these commissions provided witness protection, senior police officials led these units. This was highly problematic in a context of widespread state repression against dissenters and human rights activists, including relatives of missing persons.169 In addition, victims, witnesses and members of the protection units received threats.170 Since the OMP Act empowers the Division to take “all appropriate measures” to protect victims and witnesses,171 it is paramount for the Division’s rules to provide for self-protection assistance measures, which should include financial support to a victim or witness for independent relocation,172 or victim and witness training in independent security management for them to respond to potential threats. By making these measures available, the Division will be able to ensure that even the most sceptical victims and witnesses receive minimum protection.
V. Identity Change and Permanent Relocation
Change of identity173 and permanent relocation174 are well-known protection measures available in most domestic laws dealing with victim and witness protection. Identity change and permanent relocation are often applied simultaneously as protection measures. The former encompasses creating a new personal profile for a protected person and concealing his or her old identity. Under the latter, the protected person who may or may not have a new identity is placed in a new community that is far removed from the threat endangering him/her.
The UNODC’s Good Practices on Witness Protection states that such protection measures generally are reserved for victims or witnesses facing extremely high risk of danger.175 Victims and witnesses who have complained to and testified before Sri Lanka’s past disappearance commissions have often faced repeated threats and acts of violence due to their involvement in those processes.176 Therefore, these two measures would be necessary to ensure effective victim and witness protection.
Changing an individual’s identity requires the provision of new identity documents, such as identification cards, passports, driver’s licenses and birth certificates. This necessitates coordination among the Division and other governmental agencies responsible for issuing personal documents, such as the Department of Registration of Persons, Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Department of the Registrar General. The best option would be for the Office to utilize its powers under section 11(a) of the Act and enter into co-operation agreements with the relevant entities in order to facilitate identity changes.177 Notwithstanding this, it may be necessary to amend existing legislation to empower the OMP and/or other relevant authorities to effect these protection mechanisms.
The UNODC’s Good Practices observes that smaller countries with relatively close-knit communities find it challenging to implement successful identity changes and permanent relocation measures.178 These guidelines recommend that such countries consider international relocation as a protection measure within their victim and witness protection schemes. International relocation is often done pursuant to an agreement between the authorities responsible for victim and witness protection in two countries.179
According to the OMP Act, the Office may enter into agreements with organizations, as necessary, to achieve its mandate.180 Thus, the Division should include international relocation as a protection measure, and the OMP should coordinate with foreign authorities to conclude multiple international relocation agreements with other countries in order to maximize the available options for victim and witness relocation. In particular, the OMP should enter into agreements with countries that have large populations of Sinhala and Tamil speakers where relocation would be slightly less difficult.
Chapter 4: Planning and Opening the Investigation
In order to fulfil its mandate, the OMP must rely on public agencies and private entities and identify relevant information sources and places of interest, including detention sites and potential mass graves. In this respect, the Office should map sources, stakeholders, and sites and should establish a national search plan. A national search plan would serve as a useful starting point for the Office to plan investigations and coordinate its work with that of other entities including Magistrate’s Courts that may already be carrying out investigations into the fate of missing persons.181
Once the OMP identifies relevant stakeholders, sites and sources of information, it must decide where and how to start its investigation. OMP Act section 12(a) provides that the OMP may open an investigation pursuant to a complaint, or on the basis of information received from previous commissions with a mandate similar to that of the OMP. However, given that close to 16,000 cases of missing persons have been reported to date, the OMP will have to prioritize cases or groups of related cases, taking into account its human and financial resources. The OMP Act provides some guidance in this respect. In particular, according to section 12(b), the OMP may give priority to “incidents of missing persons that have occurred most recently; incidents in which there is substantial evidence already available; or such incidents that are, in the opinion of the OMP, of public importance.”182
This chapter examines the conditions for the opening of an investigation by the OMP. It subsequently discusses options and strategic choices for the planning of the Office’s investigations and checks and balances to this decision-making process.
I. Opening an Investigation
According to the Act, the OMP may open an investigation either pursuant to a complaint or on the basis of information received from previous commissions that have inquired into allegations relating to disappearances or missing persons.183 The Act introduces some limitations ratione materiae that will have to be taken into consideration when deciding whether the case falls within the OMP’s mandate.
1) Pursuant to a Complaint
The OMP is empowered “to receive, from any relative of a missing person, or any other person or organization, complaints relating to missing persons, irrespective of when such person may have become a missing person.”184 According to section 27, relatives of missing persons include spouses; children, including adopted children, non-marital children, or step children; parents, including step-mothers, step-fathers, or adoptive parents; full or half brothers or sisters, or adoptive brothers or sisters; fathers-in-law or mothers-in-law; brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law; sons-in-law or daughters-in-law; grandchildren; and grandparents.185 In addition, other parties may also bring a complaint before the OMP. In light of this, there are no foreseeable limitations ratione personae to bringing a complaint relating to missing persons before the OMP. Therefore, under the Act, any person who, for instance, discovers a mass grave may also bring a complaint before the OMP.186
Although the OMP Act does not impose any restrictions regarding the parties that may make a complaint, in practice persons and organizations with information about missing persons may not be in a position to do so. This would be the case if they are not aware of the OMP’s mandate or if the procedure for bringing a complaint before the OMP is too cumbersome. In this respect, the OMP’s outreach activities will be essential (cf Chapter 9: Information to Families and Public Outreach). In addition, other specific measures may also be adopted to facilitate the submission of complaints before the OMP. In this respect, the OMP must ensure that its rules and guidelines are geared towards facilitating the submission of complaints. At the same time, the OMP rules must also ensure that it receives all the relevant information necessary to open a missing person’s case file.
a. Facilitating Complaints Submissions
The willingness of families of missing persons, witnesses, and institutions to engage with the OMP will depend on two factors: first, the trust that they place in the institution, and second, the Office’s ability to facilitate complaints submissions. The OMP must adopt policies geared toward facilitating the complaint-making process. First, there must be a clearly identified point of contact for individuals who approach the OMP to make a complaint. To this effect, the Office should create a Complaints Desk within the Outreach Unit.187 The Desk’s primary task would be to register all complaints. Locating the Complaints Desk within the Outreach Unit would facilitate the provision of additional information to families about the Office’s mandate and how to access the Office during the course of its investigations. Although the OMP does not explicitly detail complaint procedures, the Complaints Desk should allow for individuals to file complaints in person or via mail, email or fax. This would ensure participation of those living in remote locations or even abroad.
Other country examples may guide the OMP when seeking to establish rules for the submission of complaints. For instance, in Nepal, the law creating the CIEDP specifies that female employees should take women’s statements and testimonies to the extent they are available.188 In addition, the law also allows for testimony and statements to be provided through letters rogatory, or other electronic media through nearby government agencies. Finally, the law provides for the possibility that members of the CIEDP visit vulnerable persons such as persons with disabilities, children or senior citizens to take their complaint.190
Other commissions have also adopted measures aiming at facilitating the submission of complaints, especially by those living abroad. For instance, truth commissions in Chile and Argentina visited neighbouring countries that accepted refugees that had fled the conflict. They also set up processes to enable victims’ and witnesses’ depositions at their respective consulates.191 The OMP could adopt similar procedures as confidence-building measures and to ensure that those who may still be unwilling return to Sri Lanka out of concern for their safety are nonetheless able to bring complaints before the OMP.
b. Standard Complaint Forms
The OMP’s goal in recording a complaint should be to obtain as much information as possible to begin an investigation. However, depending on the case and the date of the disappearance, it may be difficult to obtain all information needed to assist the tracing investigation. While the OMP must attempt to obtain as much information as possible, minimum information may be needed to record a complaint. The ICRC Model Law for Missing Persons specifies that the minimum data for opening an investigation include: “a missing person’s name, place and date of birth, marital status, occupation, address, date and details of last news/circumstances of disappearance, and rank for military personnel/combatants.”192 Similarly, in Colombia, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission required at a minimum both the individual’s complete identifying information, including name and residence, as well as the facts and circumstances that led to the request.193 Besides this minimum information, the OMP must also use the complaint-making process to record information as detailed as possible regarding the missing person and the circumstances under which the person went missing. The adaptation and use of standardized forms commonly employed in tracing investigations would assist in data gathering.194 These forms should be available at the Complaints Desk and online in Tamil, Sinhala and English and must be periodically reviewed to integrate lessons learned in the process.
2) Information from Previous Commissions
According to the Act, an investigation may also be opened on the basis of information received by previously established CoIs, commissions on missing persons or commissions that have inquired into allegations relating to disappearances or missing persons.195
This provision is important to ensure continuity between the work of the OMP and that of previous commissions with similar mandates. Given that many of these commissions conducted investigations, the OMP may obtain invaluable information through these channels. In addition, opening an investigation on the basis of information received from other commissions may be preferable to calling for complaints from families who have already approached several other commissions. This protocol could prevent re-traumatization of relatives and mitigate their expectations, especially from those relatives who have already made complaints to other bodies.
However, prioritizing information received from other commissions over new complaints when opening an investigation also has significant drawbacks. The OMP may be able to obtain more detailed and relevant information on the basis of new complaints made through the standardized forms specifically designed for the OMP. In addition, as will be explained in the next chapter, sorting out the information received from previous commissions will be time and resource intensive. In light of these concerns, the OMP will have to decide whether to prioritize information received from other commissions over new complaints for the opening of an investigation. In any event, the OMP will have to devise a system to sort out duplicates. One way to do so would be to include a question regarding the submission of information to other organizations in the standard complaint forms. In addition, the Office must seek families’ consent prior to opening an investigation on the basis of information received from other commissions. In fact, there may be cases where families do not wish the OMP to be involved for fear that it would interfere with existing proceedings before Magistrate’s Courts.
3) Conditions for Continuing Investigations
OMP Act section 27 defines a “missing person” as a person whose fate or whereabouts are reasonably believed to be unknown and is reasonably believed to be unaccounted for and missing in three specific contexts. The three contexts are: 1) the conflict which took place in the Northern or Eastern Provinces or its aftermath, or the person is a member of the armed forces or police who is identified as “missing in action;” 2) political unrest or civil disturbances; and 3) an enforced disappearance as defined in the International Convention on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.196
The question of whether a person falls within the mandate of the OMP should be a condition for opening an investigation. In practice, however, as pointed out elsewhere, preliminary investigations would be needed to ascertain whether a person is a “missing person” as per the definition in the Act.197 Interestingly, section 13(1)(a)(i) of the Act mandates the OMP to issue an interim report to relatives of missing persons where its investigations provide sufficient material to conclude that a person to whom a complaint relates is in fact a “missing person”. Thus, the Act clearly contemplates OMP investigations to determine whether a person falls within the mandate.
During these preliminary investigations, the Office will first have to determine whether it could reasonably be believed that a person is unaccounted for or that his or her whereabouts are unknown. The ICRC Model Law for Offices of Missing Persons adopts a similar standard, and states that information would be considered reliable when it leads the office to “reasonably conclude” that the person is missing.198 The threshold adopted in the OMP Act naturally lends itself to some degree of discretion. Nevertheless, the office may resort to several methods in the course of its preliminary investigation to meet this threshold.
One way to establish the reliability of a complaint is to make requests to other organizations that may have relevant information on the missing person. In Chile, the Commission for National Truth and Reconciliation first asked the Civil Registrar’s office for any documents on the missing person in question.199 The first document requested was the birth certificate of the alleged missing person to ensure that the investigation was dealing with a real person.200 Chilean Commission would also ask for death certificates, in case the individual had died in government custody unbeknownst to the family.201 The Commission then would inquire with the Electoral Register to corroborate that person’s political activity that could lead to the reason for their disappearance.202 Finally, they would check with international policing organizations to see if they could corroborate the complaint received.203
The OMP could resort to similar methods to ascertain whether the person went missing as a result of political unrest, civil disturbances, or as a result of an enforced disappearance. It would also be useful to check whether a complaint was made to the police or any other relevant organization. The OMP will also have to devise guidelines regarding what information to seek to establish the context in which the person went missing and the weight that should be given to different types of information.
II. Planning the Investigation
Prioritizing cases is an extremely sensitive issue. In Sri Lanka, relatives of missing persons have been longing for years and sometimes decades for information regarding their loved ones. In this context, it may be extremely difficult to accept that their cases are not considered priorities. In addition, the OMP’s decision to prioritize some cases over others may be misinterpreted as a lack of interest. However, as explained above, the prioritization of cases for investigation is unavoidable, at least in the first few years of the OMP’s mandate given the sheer number of reported cases.
In light of these constraints, the decision to prioritize cases must be impartial, transparent and justified. The OMP must also determine how this decision will be taken and whether checks and balances would be required.
1) Criteria for Prioritization
The OMP Act envisages several criteria for prioritizing cases for investigation. Thus, according to the Act, the Office may prioritize incidents of missing persons that have occurred most recently. A number of reasons may justify this approach. First, from a pragmatic standpoint, recent cases are generally easier to investigate because with time, physical evidence degrades and witness recollection of incidents is less precise. Second, humanitarian imperatives may also justify the prioritization of most recent cases given that the chances of a person being found alive statistically decrease with time.204
Third, the Act also envisages that the Office prioritizes cases for which there is already substantial evidence. This approach is essential to guard against the establishment of the Office being used as an excuse to further delay progress on some cases. Several family members have emphasized that sufficient evidence exists for their case to be resolved, provided that there is willingness to do so. These cases must be resolved forthwith. This approach would be essential to build confidence in the Office’s ability to provide much-needed answers to families. Conversely, however, when Magistrate’s Courts’ investigations are underway, some families may prefer that the Office does not deal with their cases. This also ought to be taken into account.
Fourth, the Act specifies that the OMP may prioritize cases of public importance. This last criterion remains relatively vague and leaves room for interpretation. The Office must therefore clarify what type of cases ought to be regarded as “cases of public importance”. These may be high profile cases, which have generated intense scrutiny and discussions. Solving these cases would send a strong signal of political willingness. However, progress on these cases ought not to overshadow unjustified inertia on cases that do not attract similar attention.
Experiences in other countries provide useful guidance regarding the various approaches that the OMP may adopt for the prioritization of cases. Interestingly, the OMP Act only envisages a case-specific prioritization method. At times, however, a systematic approach to the investigation may be more efficient.
For instance, the Argentinian National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) categorized cases presenting similar patterns into clusters.205 This allowed investigators to proceed in a systematic manner. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, many cases of enforced disappearances present similar patterns and were carried out according to the same modus operandi. Therefore, prioritizing the investigation into clusters of cases could enable the Office to solve or obtain lead on a large number of cases at the same time. Another approach would be to prioritize investigations into known or suspected official and unofficial places of detention. This would similarly enable the Office to make headway on a large number of cases. It would also serve a humanitarian imperative by putting an end to illegal detention. This was the approach also adopted by the CONADEP.206
2) Decision-Making Process
While the Act clearly states that the OMP should decide how to prioritize cases, it does not specify which organ within the OMP should take such a decision and which persons or entities should be consulted in the process. Comparative experiences show that, in most cases, commissioners make the decision regarding which cases to investigate, either collegially207 or individually, on a rotational basis when commissioners represent a party to the conflict.208
This system concentrates power in the hands of commissioners who will be the sole decision makers regarding case prioritization. In addition, commissioners may not have the required knowledge to make strategic decisions for investigations. Under the Model proposed in this Manual, the OMP may receive technical input in this respect from the Forensic Expert Committee and the Investigative Expert Committee (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing).
It is also important to provide a measure of oversight over this decision and ensure that it is based on consultative processes including with families of missing persons. This could be done through consultations (cf Chapter 9: Information to Families and Public Outreach) and by enabling families to exercise some oversight over the decision (cf Chapter 10: Oversight). This inclusive approach is important because a large majority of missing persons is of Tamil origin and because negotiations regarding case prioritization209 may heighten tensions and undermine OMP credibility.
Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information
The OMP Act allows the Office to receive and collate data and evidence on missing persons already collected/in the process of being collected by governmental and non-governmental third parties.210 In addition, the OMP may proactively collect new data and evidence using the full range of powers listed in section 12 of the Act.211 For instance, section 12(c) and section 12(e) empower the OMP to procure documents or statements from people present in Sri Lanka and government authorities.
The first part of this chapter discusses the procedures that ought to be adopted for the reception and collation of data and evidence already obtained by third parties in the context of previous initiatives to search for missing persons. The second and third parts of this chapter discuss the reception or procurement of new data and evidence by the OMP, which is referred to as de novo collection of data. This will require the adoption of stringent procedures by the Office. In particular, the Office must ensure that the data collection process is carried out in a way that would preserve the evidentiary value of all new data obtained. This is of paramount importance because this data may be relevant in the context of a criminal investigation. In fact, according to the Act, when it appears that an offense has been committed, the Office may report it to relevant law enforcement or prosecuting authorities.212 To the extent it is not confidential, information received or procured by the OMP, may be requested by such authorities to assist the criminal investigation or prosecution.
I. Receiving Data Gathered by Third Parties
According to the Act, the OMP’s mandate includes the collation of data obtained by Commissions of Inquiry and Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs) on missing persons.213 These collated data can form the basis of an Office investigation.214 Therefore, the Act tries to create a link between the decades-long investigative efforts on missing persons carried out in Sri Lanka and the work of the present Office. In addition, in terms of section 10(e) of the Act, the OMP’s mandate also extends to the collection of missing persons’ data obtained by other institutions and organisations, such as the ICRC. While the centralization of data on missing persons collected by various institutions including past CoIs and the ICRC is a key component of the OMP’s mandate, it also presents a number of challenges as explained in this section.
1) Data from Past Commissions of Inquiry
Despite the Act’s welcomed provisions that empower the OMP to collate data of past CoIs, this task requires significant preliminary work given that: (1) there were many CoIs, and (2) these commissions did not always operate or report publicly.215 The Sri Lankan experience in relation to commissions appointed to inquire into missing persons spans back to the early 1990s when President Premadasa and President Wijetunge respectively appointed commissions that were both named “Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Removals of Persons”.216
Each of these Commissions, starting from the two oldest Commissions mentioned above to the three Zonal Commissions and the All-Island Commission appointed by President Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to the more recent Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and Paranagama Commission, have amassed vast amounts of data and information in the course of their inquiries.217 Additionally, some of these Commissions, such as the All-Island Commission and the Paranagama Commission, had overlapping time periods within their mandates.218 Thus both the sheer volume of evidence available and the overlap in the commissions’ mandates will necessitate a careful and comparative examination of each Commission’s report and the data gathered by these Commissions, prior to the formal collation of such data. Moreover, the reports of the two oldest commissions were not made public.219 Thus, the first challenge for the Office would be to retrieve and re-examine the reports, data and other material gathered by these CoIs.
Retrieving, re-examining and comparing past Commission reports and data would require the establishment of linkages between the OMP and a number of different institutions and individuals. In terms of institutional linkages, the Office must identify the relevant governmental entities with custody over the CoIs data. This task is vital since many of the past CoIs have amassed large quantities of biographical data on missing persons from their relatives.220 The Paranagama Commission’s First Interim Report also refers to the existence of a database that has the names of all missing persons brought to the attention of the Commission.221 Once the OMP identifies relevant custodial entities, the Office has the option of concluding data transfer agreements with those entities in order to retrieve the CoIs data.222 Comparable institutions dealing with missing persons, such as Bosnia’s Missing Persons Institute (MPI)223 and Kosovo’s Governmental Commission on Missing Persons (GCMP)224 have concluded formal coordination agreements with relevant entities that already have data on missing persons.
Alternatively, the Office could opt to retrieve these data by coordinating with these entities on an ad hoc basis. The OMP Act section 12(e) allows the Office to request assistance from state, governmental, provincial and local authorities or agencies in furtherance of its mandate. The assistance requested could include the production of information or other documents in the possession of such authorities or agencies.225 From the two options mentioned, it would be preferable, in the interest of efficiency, to opt for formalized data transfer agreements. In fact, pursuing coordination with public sector entities on an ad hoc basis is likely to be complex and time consuming.
Next, the Office should re-examine and re-organize the CoIs data gathered over the past 25 years. Such data re-organisation is vital for subsequent data classification and centralization in the Office database. Ideally, the OMP should engage with individuals who were involved in past CoIs. One way of doing this would be for the Office to recruit individuals who were involved in the administrative, data gathering and investigative sections of past CoIs (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing). Alternatively, the Office could opt to conclude co-operation agreements with such individuals.226 Subsequent to such an agreement, the Office could seek the expertise of these individuals when re-examining and re-organising past CoIs data. However, both these strategies are contingent upon these individuals’ willingness to engage with the OMP. In the event former CoIs’ staff is unwilling to cooperate with the OMP, the Act empowers the Office to summon them227 to clarify issues pertaining to CoIs data.
2) ICRC Information
The ICRC constitutes a valuable source of information pertaining to missing persons in Sri Lanka because it has documented close to 16,000 cases of missing persons since 1989.228 Nevertheless, the ICRC only shares its information with governmental entities when they guarantee confidentiality.229 Often, the ICRC will transmit confidential information to governmental authorities only if it has obtained explicit consent to do so from family members. For instance, in the case of Peru, the ICRC first obtained the consent of family members before sharing relevant data on missing persons with the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.230 In other instances, the ICRC redacts data before sharing it with national authorities.231
II. Procuring Statements and Documents for Investigations
The search for missing persons requires effective and extensive collection of background information regarding the person who went missing. This includes the individual’s last known location, possible whereabouts, physical and personal traits, and the circumstances of his or her disappearance.232 This information relies on a diversity of sources, such as depositions from eyewitnesses and relatives, government records, and other third party sources such as newspaper articles, publications, or broadcasts. Statements and documents should be obtained in accordance with procedures that ensure an orderly and organized evidence collection.
1) Procuring and Receiving Written and Oral Statements
According to OMP Act section 12 (c), the OMP is empowered “to take all necessary steps to investigate cases of missing persons” such as “to procure and receive statements, written or oral, and to examine persons as witnesses, including through video-conferencing facilities”233 and “to summon any person present or residing in Sri Lanka to be present before the OMP to provide a statement.”234 These subsections give the OMP extensive power to gather any relevant evidence from the relatives of missing persons, witnesses or governmental officials.
a. Receiving or Procuring Statements from Relatives
Transitional justice mechanisms in many countries have procured statements from family members of missing persons through interviews. Since the statements made by family members during interviews can reveal essential information for the investigation and for the identification of human remains (cf Chapter 6: Identifying Human Remains), countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have relied on standardized forms provided by the ICRC235 to record such information.236 Other options for standardized forms are also available. In particular, Interpol freely provides such forms in order to standardize data gathering processes.237 The Office may therefore use these standards forms and, if necessary, adapt them to take into account the specificities of the Sri Lankan context.
Information collected should include basic information, such as: name, age and gender, occupation, physical traits, medical history, the clothes worn at last sighting, the place of last sighting, the reasons why the person is thought to be missing, the circumstances of disappearance, and personal information about family members and the person making the report.238
b. Receiving or Procuring Statements from Other Witnesses
The Office would also need to adopt stringent procedures to govern witness examination, since witness statements often prove fundamental to begin or assist in the investigative process. During the interview of witnesses it is essential to keep in mind that the information recorded and the statement given by witnesses may be useful in a criminal process. In this respect, investigators conducting the interviews and recording the statements must be specifically trained in investigative best practices (cf Chapter 1: Staffing and Training). In particular, investigators must refrain from asking leading questions.239 Interviews technics to ascertain the veracity of witness statements are also essential to vet testimonies and ensure that the Office does not give undue weight to false evidence while deciding on follow-up investigations. In this respect, a good practice would be to systematically rate the credibility of the evidence while saving it in a central database.240 To the extent possible, the statements must be accompanied by investigators’ notes, recording their impressions about the interview.241 In this respect, it is important to highlight that both OMP investigators and the witnesses they interview may subsequently become witnesses in criminal proceedings. In addition, investigators must also ensure that they do not disclose information regarding the progress of the investigation or the OMP’s findings to witnesses, other than information already publicly accessible. In addition, the interviewers must conduct interviews in manners, locations and times that maximize privacy and comfort for witnesses.242 Finally, it is good practice to record the contact details of two persons known to the witness who may be able to locate him/her if difficulties arise in this respect at a later stage.243
While it is infinitely preferable that interviews are conducted in one language, should the investigator not speak the interviewee’s language fluently, interpreters must be available to assist the interview process. The U.S. State Department has created useful guidelines for selecting interpreters that possess the appropriate qualifications and competencies for interviewing trauma victims, which may be instructive here.244 In addition, interpreters must be properly trained to ensure that they are following rules for professional conduct. This includes remaining unobtrusive, refraining from asking one’s own questions or altering an interviewee’s answers, keeping information confidential, and disclosing any conflicts of interest. Several guidelines on interpreting best practices are public available245 and should be adapted for the Sri Lankan OMP context.
The Office can use the Act’s power of summons to obtain oral statements from government officials who may have information about the location of detained missing persons or mass graves. However, it may be preferable to explore avenues for collaboration prior to issuing summons. In South Africa, for example, the Missing Persons Task Team’s collaboration with apartheid era perpetrators was vital to obtain information on the whereabouts of many mass graves.246 Prior to the issuing of such summons, the Office could also emulate the approach taken by Argentina’s CONADEP and send questionnaires to former governmental and military officials.247 The Office could initially rely on the written statements sent in response to the questionnaires, and thereafter utilize its power of summons to seek further clarification from state officials.
2) Procuring Documents
The OMP has the power to summon any person present or residing in Sri Lanka to be present before the OMP to produce any document or other thing in his or her possession.248 Furthermore by way of OMP Act subsection 12 (e), the Office is empowered “to request assistance [...] from any State [...] authority [...], and [...] any authority, agency or officer to which a request for assistance is made by the OMP shall forthwith render such assistance.” This “assistance shall include [...] providing information and producing documents in the possession of such authority, agency or officer.” These two sections enable the OMP to obtain documents from private and state level entities for its investigative purposes.
The Office can also use this power to obtain relevant reports, records, publications or letters from third parties. It will be paramount for the Office to organize carefully the obtained documents and link them in the database to the case or cases to which they relate. For instance, Argentina’s CONADEP had a unique number for each missing persons’ file before the Commission, and linked the documents it obtained from different sources to the relevant files before the Commission.
The Office can also utilize its broad powers under the OMP Act section 12 to obtain documents in government or military custody. These documents could include police documents, mortuary books, hospital records, prison registers and military reports. However, obtaining such documents from authorities will present challenges. Often, perpetrators of atrocity crimes who remain in power destroy documents implicating them in crimes to obstruct potential future criminal prosecutions.
In Argentina, for example, the military destroyed documentary evidence of command responsibility and chain of command liability.249 In addition, many government authorities in post-war states do not have the means or the will to facilitate document preservation. The Iraqi government, for example stored documents that could potentially aid the identification of countless mass graves in a manner that led to their eventual decay.250
To avoid—to the extent possible—poor documentation practices or sabotage of such records, the OMP should work directly with the authorities that are in charge of these documents. For instance, the Cyprus Commission on Missing Persons (CMP) engaged constantly with the Cyprus United Nations Peace Keeping Forces (UNPKF), and this engagement finally led to access to UNPKF archives for the Commission’s investigations. If this approach does not yield any result, the OMP may also resort to its power to summon any person residing in Sri Lanka for the production of any document or other evidence.251 The Act specifies that the refusal or failure without cause to produce a document summoned by the Office constitutes contempt against the authority of the Office.252
When handling received or procured documents, the OMP also must comply with investigative best practices to ensure that the handling of documents, audio, or video recordings by the OMP does not diminish their probative value. Documents, audio or video recordings are physical evidence. As such, their probative value depends on proof that no one likely forged or tampered with them. Therefore, documenting chain of custody is best practice to assist criminal courts in assessing the probative value of physical evidence.
Chain of custody documentation is a record of the collection and handling of a piece of physical evidence from its creation (in the case of documents and recordings) until the moment it was transferred to the relevant criminal court. The OMP should systematically document in writing the chain of custody of physical evidence. To this end, the OMP should establish procedures for chain of custody documentation of any item of physical evidence the Office receives.253 These procedures require recording the identity of the person who received the evidence and of any person within the Office who had access to the evidence from the time the Office received it. Moreover, access to physical evidence by OMP staff must be restricted and duly monitored (cf Chapter 8: Data Storage).254
Chapter 6: On-Site Investigations
The OMP Act empowers the Office to apply for, carry out, or monitor on-site investigations. Locations include: actual or suspected detention sites,255 premises suspected to contain evidence relevant to an investigation,256 and gravesites.257 The OMP’s expected role with respect to on-site investigations and the extent of its powers depends upon the site concerned. Whether the OMP is empowered directly to carry out an investigation or to observe an investigation, the Office must follow best practices in criminal and tracing investigations. This chapter examines best practices for the searches of premises and for the excavation and exhumation of mass graves.
I. Searches of Premises
The OMP Act empowers the Office to authorize its officers to enter a “place in which any person is suspected to be detained, or is suspected to have previously been detained in, and make necessary examinations therein or inquiries from any person found therein.”258 The officers who enter such a place can also retain documents or objects that they deem necessary. The OMP does not have to apply to the Magistrate’s Court for a warrant to carry out such a search. However, if such a search is carried out, the OMP will have to report to the Inspector General of Police within twenty-four hours of conducting the search.259 Additionally, the Act regulates this warrantless search power by enabling the Minister of Justice to formulate guidelines for the conduct of the search, which the Minister must place before the Parliament for acceptance.260
The OMP Act strengthens the Office’s search powers by empowering it to search any other premises for its investigative purposes. According to the Act, the OMP can:
Make an application to the Magistrate having territorial jurisdiction, for the issuance of a search warrant, to enable Police or specified officers of the OMP, to search any premises suspected to contain evidence relevant to an investigation being conducted by the OMP, and to examine, make copies of, extract from, seize and retain, any object that is deemed necessary for the purposes of any investigation being conducted by the OMP.261
While the Justice Ministry’s issued guidelines will provide the framework within which the OMP investigators must carry out searches, the Office also must devise rules and protocols aimed at operationalizing these guidelines in order to avoid the loss or deterioration of evidence that would be valuable in a criminal process.
1) Securing and Documenting Search Sites
First, when conducting a search, the OMP investigators must secure the premises to protect evidence.262 Second, investigators should note the particulars of the place that is to be searched prior to commencing the search by, inter alia, photographing and videotaping the site and recording observations.263 Investigators should also prepare a detailed sketch of the premises that they will search. The sketch must indicate the cardinal directions and locate any evidence that could be relevant in a criminal process, as well as the place and position of the items that the investigators seize. The investigator who prepares the sketches must date and sign them. The detailed site description aims at assisting future criminal processes for which the location of items or the existence of other evidence may be relevant.264
Third, standard investigative practices for the lead investigator include noting the exact time at which the team arrived at the place of search.265 Additionally, to enhance transparency the Office should specify the officers’ names who are involved in each search. For instance, the Nepal CIEDP’s deed of entrance contains the names of each investigative officer involved in a given search process.266 Investigators may be called to testify in a subsequent criminal process about the evidence that was found during a search.
2) Carrying out Searches
The OMP must carry out searches in an organized and systematized manner. Thus, the Office must prepare and strictly adhere to protocols. Police practices may inform such protocols. In addition, the OMP may seek the expertise of specialized institutions such as the Institute for International Criminal Investigations based in The Hague because instituting procedures for collecting and handling evidence may vary based on the type of evidence. Each item collected must be precisely and systematically labelled. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the strict application of investigative protocols, one investigator (generally referred to as the lead investigator) must be responsible for the search and collection process.
3) Documenting Searches
The Office must also meticulously document the search through taking detailed notes and record keeping of the chain of custody. In addition, best practices command that the search be also documented through video recording and photography in order to preserve evidence for a potential court process. The Office must also record chain of custody of photographs, recordings, or notes documenting the search.
II. Mass Grave Investigations
The OMP Act section 12(d) empowers the Office to apply to the Magistrate’s Court with territorial jurisdiction for an order to carry out excavations and/or exhumations. Section 12(d) also specifies that the OMP can apply to the Magistrate’s Court to act as an observer to such excavation and exhumation and to “other proceedings pursuant to the same”. Accordingly, the OMP’s role in mass grave investigations is limited. In particular, the OMP is not empowered by the Act to carry out excavations or exhumations. However, a Magistrate’s Court’s order may direct the OMP to play a role in mass grave excavations and exhumations beyond mere observation.
The OMP should play a central role in locating mass graves. In addition, as an observer, the OMP must ensure that all entities involved in mass grave investigations respect relevant standards and best practices. Under section 12(d), excavations and exhumations must be carried out under the purview of a Magistrate’s Court to ensure that these are carried out in accordance with standards normally followed in criminal investigations. The OMP’s observer role will be to ensure that the excavation, exhumation and “other proceedings pursuant to the same”267 are done in a manner that will not compromise the identification of remains and subsequent OMP’s investigations into the fate and whereabouts of missing persons.
This section examines best practices in mass grave investigations. In its observer role, the OMP ought to monitor the respect of these best practices. If the OMP is called on to play a more active role, OMP personnel must directly follow best practices identified in this section.
1) OMP’s Direct Role
Although the OMP may not be directly involved in the excavation and exhumation of mass graves, the Office would play a central role in locating mass graves and creating favourable conditions for excavations and exhumations to take place. In addition, the Office will be central to ensure that potential relatives and the local population are consulted and provided with relevant information, both prior to the excavation and exhumation taking place and throughout the process.
a. Locating Mass Graves
The OMP is likely to play a key role in locating mass graves. The Office must carry out searches for mass graves systematically and methodically and therefore seek relevant expertise.
Testimonies and information that families, the local population, or local authorities provide may be crucial in identifying mass graves. Whenever available, the Office may also use satellite imagery to enable the search of wider areas for signs of mass graves.268 If the Office can narrow down the location to a specific area, ground penetrating radar, magnetometers, and/or forensic archaeology would be particularly useful to locate gravesites.269
b. Securing and Documenting the Site
Once the OMP identifies a potential gravesite, the Office must document its existence and characteristics prior to excavation. For example, the Iraqi Law on Protecting Mass Graves recommends that the team investigating the location of mass graves prepares a detailed report that includes documents, photographs, maps and drawings of the location of suspected mass graves.270
Once the location and characteristics of mass graves have been duly documented, the OMP must seek the assistance of relevant authorities to ensure that the sites are secured and protected from any interference.271 The Iraqi Law on Protection of Mass Graves identifies three steps that need to be taken in this respect: first, declaring the site as a mass grave; second, notifying all relevant parties including family, authorities and the community; and third, undertaking practical protection and security measures.272
The early location of mass graves is essential to ensure their preservation. Depending on the circumstances, the mass grave preservation may involve simple measures, such as cordoning and fencing to prevent interference with the gravesites. Preservation can also involve outreach programs to sensitize relatives and the local population on the steps that ought to be taken if a mass grave is found. Absent any information, potential relatives or the local population may disrupt the mass grave and unwittingly destroy or contaminate evidence. For instance, in Iraq, relatives began digging up graves on their own.273 Such situations may be prevented by an early identification, marking and securing of mass graves coupled with targeted outreach programs. In some cases, further intervention that requires the assistance of various parties and authorities would be needed to ensure the preservation of mass graves from outside interference.274 This assistance would typically be necessary when seeking to prevent construction on or near a gravesite. For instance, in Chechnya, mass graves were found in construction sites and workers proceeded to relocate the remains, leading to further destruction of evidence.275
c. Ensuring Families’ Participation
Mass graves excavations and exhumations are of a very sensitive nature both for the population living in close proximity to suspected gravesites and for potential relatives. In particular, the ICRC’s survey on the needs of the relatives of missing persons in Sri Lanka reveals that some relatives do not wish to “disturb the dead”.276 In light of these concerns, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team recommends seeking approval from relatives as well as the nearby community prior to any excavation.277 The OMP may play a proactive role in ensuring that concerned parties have been duly informed of an excavation and exhumation request, and that their concerns have been heard and taken into account to the extent possible. The OMP may also play a crucial role in facilitating information sharing regarding the process with relatives and concerned parties.
2) OMP’s Observer Role
As an observer, the OMP may recommend the adoption of best practices and protocols for police officers and other personnel involved in the excavation and exhumation to follow. These protocols would ensure enhanced collaboration between the various entities and agencies playing a role in mass graves investigations. In addition, the OMP may also recommend the provision of specific expertise whenever required. In fact, according to section 10(b) of the Act, part of the Office’s mandate is precisely to make recommendations to the relevant authorities towards addressing the incidence of missing persons. In addition, the OMP should also thoroughly and systematically document excavations and exhumations.
a. Making Recommendations for Procedures
In its observer role, the OMP can develop protocols and standards relating to the excavation and exhumation of mass graves. These protocols should follow best practices and standards in the field and should reflect the advice and assistance from relevant experts. In order to ensure the respect of these standards and best practices, the OMP may enter into agreements with the various entities and agencies involved in mass graves investigations.278
Finally, the Office, as an observer, may also make recommendations regarding the handling and reburying of human remains in a way that preserves the dignity of the remains, which may require the adoption of guidelines in consultation with affected persons from various ethnic and religious backgrounds.279
b. Making Recommendations for Relevant Expertise
The excavation and exhumation of mass graves requires a variety of resources and expertise, including technical capabilities and general facilities standards. The ICRC survey on the needs of missing persons’ relatives points out that the Sri Lankan forensic experts regularly carry out medical investigations during judicial investigations. However, they are not all fully proficient in the specific skills required to recover and analyse bones from mass graves.280 In light of this, the OMP may make recommendations for specific forensic experts with the required knowledge and expertise to oversee the exhumation process.
c. Documenting the Excavation and Exhumation Process
The main task of the OMP acting in its advisory capacity will be to document the excavation and exhumation process. The OMP must monitor the excavation process to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with scientific and criminal procedure standards. The process of documentation is very similar to the one that ought to be followed for the documentation of other on-site investigations. It is important to use a variety of means to record and document evidence (sketches, written notes, photography and videos).281
Chapter 7: Identifying Human Remains
The present chapter explains the analytical and scientific methods that may be used by the Office to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of missing persons using the evidence received and procured as described in chapters 5 and 6.
In most post-conflict areas, where many unidentified mass graves exist, ascertaining the fate of missing persons requires the identification of human remains. This may be done by matching information (biological, medical and genetic) regarding missing persons (ante mortem data) with information about human remains (post mortem data). In order to match ante mortem and post mortem data, the OMP may use traditional identification methods. These methods rely on information about missing persons other than genetic information (biographical and medical information about missing persons, finger prints and dental prints). The OMP may also resort to DNA identification methods. In any event, matching ante mortem and post mortem data necessitates the OMP to centralize all information that it receives and procures.
The Office may also use alternative or complementary methods to identify human remains. These methods include a relative’s visual identification of remains, or associated evidence, such as personal documents, belongings, or identification discs.282 However, the accuracy of this method is significantly lower than other methods and, depending on the circumstances, may be traumatic for relatives. After explaining the process of matching ante mortem and post mortem data through traditional or DNA identification methods, this chapter discusses the respective merits of the various identification methods that may be used by the OMP (visual identification, traditional identification, DNA identification). This chapter also details the requirements for setting up and managing a central database that will facilitate the management of information and the identification process.
I. Visual Identification Method
The visual identification method relies on relatives’ visual identification of human remains, clothes, or belongings found in mass graves or on the remains. However, the ICRC only recommends this method in cases where bodies are neither mutilated nor decomposed to avoid re-traumatizing family members.283 In BiH, prior to the initiation of DNA led investigations, remains were returned to family members based on visual recognition of personal effects (such as identification cards or clothing) or the bodies themselves.284 However, research subsequently conducted by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) showed that there was a high number of misidentification due to overreliance on this identification method.285
II. Traditional Matching Method
The second method to identify human remains is matching ante mortem and post mortem data using all available means other than DNA testing. DNA testing requires specific expertise and equipment. It also poses specific ethical issues and for this reason will be dealt with in the next subsection.
Matching ante mortem and post mortem data requires: the systematic collection of such data and the centralization and processing of information using an appropriate database. This subsection deals specifically with the collection of traditional ante mortem and post mortem data.
Ante mortem data literally means data on people “preceding their death.” In the context of an investigation into missing persons, ante mortem data refers to the data on the person before he or she went missing. The Office may obtain this data from a variety of sources. In contrast, post mortem data refer to data relating to a person after his or her death. Post mortem data are generally obtained after the discovery of human remains and during post mortem examinations. It includes detailed pathology, anthropology and odontology data, and information related to the cause of death.
1) Traditional Ante Mortem Data
Relevant ante mortem data refers to two categories of information. First, ante mortem data are information clarifying the circumstances in which the person went missing. This information would be particularly useful to assist the search by narrowing down the hypotheses regarding the fate and whereabouts of the missing person. Secondly, it also refers to information that could assist the identification of human remains through matching ante mortem and post mortem data.
Ante mortem data therefore includes information on the circumstances in which the person went missing (including date of disappearance; last known location; any clothes and jewellery worn by the missing person, as well as objects in his or her possession such as personal belongings, personal documents or identification discs in the case of military personnel).286 It also includes general information about the missing person such as height, gender or age; as well as more specific information regarding the person, such as implants, scars, tattoos, skeletal radiographs, dental records, fingerprints or other medical and physical traits.287 Whenever available, dental records and fingerprints are regarded amongst the most reliable methods of identification.288 The Office should use standardized forms to record traditional ante mortem data (cf Chapter 4: Receiving and Procuring Information). Given the array of information that may be relevant to traditional identification methods, traditional ante mortem data may be obtained from missing persons’ relatives, as well as from third parties, such as hospitals or governmental authorities.
2) Traditional Post Mortem Data
Traditional post mortem data can take the form of biological reference data derived from human remains such as age, gender, height and unique physical identifiers. It can also be artefacts retrieved from the grave, such as clothing, documents and other belongings.289
While traditional post mortem data may play a central role in the identification process, in practice, it may be challenging to retrieve this data. Depending on the age of the mass grave, climate and soil conditions, useful post mortem data may not be available. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) investigators faced this challenge. Despite every effort to preserve physical evidence retrieved from mass graves, post mortem data obtained often could not be compared with ante mortem data for identification purposes.290 The ICMP identified similar challenges in Kosovo.291
As explained in chapter 6 relating to On-Site Investigations, the Act does not empower the OMP to play a direct role in excavations and exhumations and “other proceedings, pursuant to the same.”292 The OMP will therefore have to rely on the exercise of discretion by a Magistrate’s Court to gain access to relevant post mortem data. Section 12(e) of the Act specifies that any authority, agency or officer to whom the request is made “shall forthwith render such assistance,” “notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other written law of regulation.”293 This power is essential to enable the OMP to access relevant post mortem data.
III. DNA Identification
Another method of matching ante mortem and post mortem data consists of using DNA identification methods. DNA is a very effective identifier.294 This is because DNA is unique to an individual and, therefore, can be analysed to produce a profile that can be reliably compared with other profiles. In addition, DNA degrades very slowly in hard tissue, and can be recovered from minute biological samples, such as bloodstains or even a single hair.295
Collecting DNA ante mortem and post mortem data and its analysis is a complex process that requires the assistance of geneticists who will be able to select which DNA samples to analyse.296 In addition, DNA data require access to medical and technical facilities and to extensive resources. In light of this, it may be preferable for the OMP to outsource the analysis of samples to other entities including medical faculties or laboratories. This may be done through the conclusion of agreements as provided under section 11(a) of the Act. This was done in other countries. For instance, in Kosovo, the ICMP offered to test DNA samples retrieved by the Kosovo office.297 Similarly, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team cooperates with laboratories in Canada, the U.S., the UK, Germany, and Argentina.298 Even though the OMP may be able to outsource the analysis of samples, it should nonetheless establish uniform procedures to ensure that the handling of the genetic material meets forensic and scientific requirements.
While the OMP may play a central role in the collection and analysis of DNA ante mortem data, its role as far as DNA post mortem data is concerned is unclear. This is because the Act only envisages an observatory role for the OMP for excavations and exhumations and proceedings taking place pursuant to the same.299 This may include DNA collection and testing. It is therefore essential that the OMP resolves this issue in advance with the judiciary, or seeks an amendment to the provisions of the Act.
1) DNA Ante Mortem Data
If the OMP opts for a DNA matching approach, the Office must collect biological reference samples to obtain the DNA of the missing person or genetic samples from biological relatives. Ante mortem DNA data from missing persons may be retrieved from samples left by missing persons, such as samples in hairbrushes, toothbrushes, or previous blood samples. In situations where many people went missing, or where there may be mass graves, it is recommended to collect biological reference points, or DNA, from at least three family members to increase the degree of certainty when matching relatives’ DNA with that of human remains.300 Biological reference points include blood or saliva samples from biological relatives of missing persons.301
Broad investigative powers under the OMP Act section 12(c) permit the Office to collect biological reference samples from missing persons’ relatives. Non-specialists can collect blood or saliva samples.302 However, the comprehensive ICRC Guidelines on DNA analysis provide important considerations.303 For example, the OMP must prepare protocols that should be followed when collecting DNA reference samples from relatives to ensure that the process respects bodily integrity and requires informed, written consent. To this end, all relatives should be provided with simple consent forms that clearly explain the intended use of the samples and the associated risks.304 It is also important, to the extent feasible, to collect DNA samples from relatives at the same time as other ante mortem data to avoid multiple and uncoordinated requests for information.305 Collecting ante mortem data from relatives also requires specific training (cf Chapter 2: Trainings) to ensure that the Office staff collects data in a respectful and sensitive manner, handles biological data in a way that prevents their contamination and ensures an unbroken chain of custody, has knowledge of health and safety issues, and understands and records properly the nature of biological relationships. In this respect, a highly specialized sub-unit may be created within the tracing unit (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing).
2) DNA Post Mortem Data
Forensic experts or technicians should collect DNA data from human remains from soft tissues, such as muscle or skin, or hard tissues, such as bones and teeth. The sample collection must follow rigorous protocols to avoid deterioration of DNA and other evidence. The ICMP Standard Operation Procedure guidelines provides guidance on the procedure for sampling skeletal human remains, including determining which tissues to sample as well as procedures to document the chain of custody.306
In order to fulfil its observer role and to monitor and document post mortem DNA analysis, the OMP may seek the advice of domestic and foreign experts who may serve in its Forensic Expert Committee (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing). In addition, the OMP may offer to the relevant Magistrate’s Court to conduct post mortem DNA analysis.
IV. Comparing Identification Methods
This section examines the merits of each identification method given the context and various constraints that an institution such as the OMP may face. The various methods described in this chapter do not have the same degree of accuracy. In fact, visual identification is considered the least reliable, while DNA identification is regarded as the most reliable identification method. Misidentification can have disastrous consequences for families, leading to the return of human remains to unrelated individuals and/or disrupting the overall investigation by rendering the correct identification of other human remains impossible.307
When assessing the accuracy of a method, it is useful to distinguish between presumptive methods of identification and methods that rely on primary identifiers. Presumptive methods, as the term indicates, do not lead to conclusive findings regarding the identification of human remains. In this respect, both visual and traditional identification methods are presumptive. This is opposed to methods relying on primary identifiers, such as dental records, fingerprints and DNA that are considered sufficiently reliable to lead to conclusive identification.308
While DNA testing is very accurate, it is costly. In BiH, the ICMP reported that a single identification with DNA amounted to several hundred euros.309 In Sri Lanka, where over 16,000 people have been reported missing, the cost of DNA identification will be an important factor when deciding on identification methods.310 Additionally, given the large caseload, the number of medical, technological and other expert staff available may not be sufficient to keep pace with the number of cases. Finally, DNA identification is only possible if relatives agree to provide biological samples.311 These various constraints should weigh in the decision to adopt this method of identification.
Generally, the various identification methods discussed (visual identification, traditional matching and DNA matching) are used cumulatively. This cumulative approach is essential to meet accuracy requirements while addressing some of the challenges posed by the use of DNA as a principal method of identification.
The ICRC recommends that an investigation rely on eyewitness reports, associated evidence, and visual recognition as an initial lead, while DNA data confirm the identification.312 Argentina, among other countries, adopted this approach in which investigators first used traditional means of identification to narrow down matching hypotheses and then used DNA evidence to confirm or inform these hypotheses.313 However, depending on the cases, a reverse approach—adopted by the ICMP, which starts from DNA identification and resorts to traditional data to corroborate the findings—may be more appropriate.314
The Forensic Anthropologic Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) recommends an accumulative forensic approach for suspected cases of enforced disappearances. The FAFG emphasizes that, depending on the cases and the information available, the investigation may either start with DNA identification or through the collection of other information providing useful investigative leads. Thus, the OMP ought to consult forensic experts from these various organizations before deciding on the approach it would adopt for its investigation. This is especially important because the database choice will also determine to a large extent the identification methods that the OMP will be able to use.
V. Information Processing
Processing such large amounts of information will require setting up a database. As the long title to the OMP Act indicates, setting up a database on missing persons is one of the principal goals in the OMP Act.315 In fact, the OMP must centralize and collate all data received in a database.316 The purpose of the database is twofold: first, to enable centralization of all relevant data relating to missing persons, and, second, to assist data analysis and facilitate carrying out an investigation. In particular, the database should facilitate the process of matching ante mortem data with post mortem data.
Experiences in other countries indicate that domestic bodies dealing with missing persons often approach organizations with specialized knowledge on ante mortem data and post mortem classification for technical assistance. For example, the CIEDP of Nepal worked with the ICTJ and the Peruvian Team of Forensic Anthropology (EPAF) to classify and store systematically its available ante mortem data. Similarly, the Azerbaijan State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons has sought the ICRC’s institutional guidance in order to compile and classify systematically its own ante mortem data.317 The OMP may also consider approaching the ICMP for assistance. In particular, the ICMP has longstanding experience in the classification and analysis of post mortem data. It has classified and analysed post mortem data samples from governmental entities and other forensic institutions. Notably, the organization has created a ‘Post-mortem Sample Inquiry’ search tool for governmental authorities and forensic institutions to track their cases.318
The OMP also may seek expertise to create a missing persons’ database from various sources. The first option for the OMP would be to collaborate with the ICRC, and obtain the ICRC’s AM-PM database.319 This database, made freely available by the ICRC, compiles, manages, centralizes and processes files on missing persons (ante mortem data) and unidentified remains (post mortem data).320 Additionally, the database facilitates attempts to match ante mortem with post mortem data. Alternatively the OMP could opt to collaborate with the ICMP and obtain their Identification Database Management System (IDMS). The ICMP has made the database available to governmental agencies carrying out tracing investigations. In each case, the ICMP customized the database to suit the specific needs of the requesting country.321
Partner organization and database choices determine the type of investigation and methods that the OMP will adopt. The ICMP follows the Interpol victim identification protocols and guidelines, prioritizing the use of primary identifiers such as dental prints, fingerprint and DNA.322 In practice, because fingerprints and dental prints are rarely available, the ICMP resorts mainly to DNA analysis to solve missing persons’ cases.
Other databases are also available to specifically assist DNA identification. For instance, FAFG uses M-FISys, which enables the comparison of genetic information for large number of cases. This database combines partial DNA profiles when several partial profiles are obtained from the same body and uses them for the comparison with family reference profiles entered in the Genetic database. FAFG also uses DNAview, which complements the M-FISys with other features that enables the direct comparison of more complicated cases.323 On the other hand, the ICRC AM-PM database did not have a DNA matching tool until recently.324 Therefore, the database focused on other information—witness testimonies, media articles, and a wider array of ante mortem and post mortem information, including clothing and personal effects—in order to build and test matching hypotheses.
Regardless of the database choice, the Office should call on local expertise in relation to database design. The pre-2005 Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) assisted in the establishment and management of a Disappearance Database.325 Although the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful due to change in HRCSL membership in 2005, the individuals involved in this process could assist the OMP in establishing its database. Tapping into both international and domestic expertise will help tailor the OMP’s database to the specific needs of Sri Lanka while ensuring adherence to international best practice.
Chapter 8: Data Storage
The OMP Act contains several provisions regarding secure data and evidence storage.326 However, the Act does not contain any provision regarding the methods to adopt for the preservation of physical evidence including biological evidence. The OMP must develop specific guidelines and procedures to store data and evidence. Data, especially confidential and sensitive data, such as biological and DNA data, must be secured to prevent unauthorized access and to ensure its preservation. Fist, this chapter discusses security measures essential to the protection of data, including digital data, biological and genetic data, as well as other physical evidence. Next, this chapter examines best practices for the preservation of biological materials as well as other physical evidence.
I. Security
The OMP adopts rules and procedures to protect the security of confidential information. Procedures must be adopted to secure the database where all information is centralized. In addition, the OMP must also design procedures to prevent the misuse of biological and DNA data obtained from relatives of missing persons.
1) Database
The Act empowers the Office to secure and safeguard the confidentiality of any data that would come into its possession. For instance, section 15(3) authorizes the OMP to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of any data or database that would be under its control.327 Furthermore, section 12(c)(v) permits the OMP to devise any procedure that it deems fit to ensure information confidentiality.328 Further strengthening the legal regime of confidentiality, section 15(1) imposes a duty on every member, officer, servant and consultant of the OMP to preserve and aid in preserving the confidentiality of matters shared with the OMP in confidence.329
In order to give effect to these provisions, the OMP should prepare guidelines and protocols to govern database maintenance and security. For instance, the Bosnian Law on Missing Persons provides that handling confidential data should be regulated in detail in the CEN BiH Book of Regulations.330 The law also vests responsibility for database maintenance and security on a competent expert authority within its Missing Persons Institute.331
The UN Secretary General’s Bulletin, Information sensitivity, classification and handling, may also guide the Office in adopting measures to preserve data confidentiality.332 With the assistance of information technology experts, the OMP must adopt procedures to prevent unauthorized access to “automated information systems, including networks and telecommunications systems, that collect, create, communicate, compute, disseminate, process or store confidential information.”333 In addition, protocols should cover the handling and transportation of confidential data and evidence. For instance, the UN Secretary General Bulletin recommends transporting confidential information in clearly marked, sealed envelopes or containers.334 The Bulletin also recommends that all outgoing and incoming confidential information be recorded in a special registry that lists the staff members who are authorized to handle such information.335 The Bulletin further recommends the adoption of an authorization process for the duplication of confidential material, and the recording of copies in a special registry.336 Finally, confidential information must be stored under lock and key and accessible only to authorized staff members.337
2) Biological and Genetic Data
Special consideration should also be given to the security of biological/genetic data that is likely to be collated within the OMP’s missing persons’ database. The ante mortem, post mortem and biological reference sample data collection processes are likely to vest the Office with a vast reservoir of sensitive biological and genetic data. Since information about a person’s DNA is highly personal, international standards which govern the handling and security of genetic data should be taken account of by the Office.338 These include the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights,339 the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data,340 and the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights.341 The International Declaration on Human Genetic Data broadly states that genetic and personal data of individuals ought to be afforded sufficient confidentiality in order to safeguard the privacy of the individuals concerned.342 According to the ICRC, this obligation in practice would require countries to firstly adopt necessary security safeguards to protect sensitive biological and genetic data.343 Thereafter countries will need to ensure that such personal data is only used, transferred or disclosed for the purposes for which they were collected, unless the individual explicitly consents to the use of such data for additional purposes. Finally, personal data ought to be deleted as soon as the purpose of their collection is fulfilled or where such data is no longer necessary.344 Based on these standards, the OMP ought to formulate binding rules345 for its staff regarding access to and use of the biological and DNA evidence.
In addition, it is important to ensure that genetic data cannot be accessed and misused by third parties or entities. Other than confidential information, information received or procured by the Office may be requested by courts or other entities vested with a power to summon.346 The ICRC guidelines dealing with DNA Analysis and Identification of Human Remains stipulate that the transfer of genetic or personal data to a third party may only take place if that party can be brought within the ambit of a State’s data protection law.347 In BiH, for example, the Law on Missing Persons states that confidential data submitted to the MPI will be subject to the Bosnian Law on the Protection of Personal Data.348 Sri Lanka does not have Personal Data Protection Laws. In light of this, it will be necessary to grant confidentiality to all biological and DNA evidence received from family members. This ought to be specified in the OMP rules.
3) Other Physical Evidence
The OMP should also adopt strict protocols to secure the biological material and physical evidence that it recovers during its investigations. These protocols should aim to prevent evidence tampering or sabotage. The Office should designate secure storage areas for such evidence and only permit access to authorized OMP officers. It will be important for the Office to keep an accurate log of each individual that accesses the storage rooms. The Office should establish protocols to record the removal or addition of any evidence from such storage facilities.349 Staff compliance with these protocols will be essential to prove an unbroken chain of custody.
II. Preservation
The Office must ensure evidence preservation. Physical evidence must be stored in specific conditions (which includes appropriate humidity level, temperature, and type of packaging) to ensure preservation and avoid contamination. In addition, every item should be sealed and packaged separately to prevent cross-contamination (the contamination of one item by another). The packages must be labelled rigorously to facilitate their classification and prevent the loss of biological samples and other physical evidence.
1) Biological Materials
The storage of biological material is highly technical, complex and costly. Due to these challenges, the ICRC recommends that countries enter into logistical agreements with relevant entities in order to seek expertise and assistance on the preservation of biological material.350 The Office could enter into a co-operation agreement with the ICMP in this regard. The ICMP developed and enhanced Libya’s capacity of storing biological reference sample data, when it assisted Libya in setting up the Libyan Identification Centre.351 Alternatively the Office can elect to enter into agreements with medical universities and laboratories domestically in order to preserve any biological material obtained by it. It is essential the Office select storage options before the beginning of investigations or proceeding with excavations.352
Biological materials could refer to:
• Samples obtained from the human remains of missing persons (bone, teeth, hair or muscle tissues);353
• Samples obtained from the relatives of missing persons (blood samples, buccal swabs, saliva samples);354 or
• Biological samples left by missing persons (samples in hairbrushes, toothbrushes or previous blood samples).355
Biological material collection is necessary for human identification processes relying on DNA analysis. Different procedures apply to the storage of different types of biological material. The storage of human remains should be done with the prime objective of preventing further degradation. For instance, extracted muscle tissues or bone samples should ideally be stored at 20°C.356 Cryogenic preservation (freezing) is often pursued due to its ability to preserve muscle tissues and other human remains over a longer period of time.357 A less costly alternative for preserving muscle tissues is to store it within 95% ethanol utilizing commercial storage buffers.358 Nevertheless, this non-cryogenic preservation technique generally results in higher DNA degradation compared to cryogenic preservation.359 Therefore, the DNA yields that could be recovered from muscle tissue are often lower than yields recoverable from muscle tissues stored under cryogenic techniques.
Different storage procedures apply to biological sample data obtained from relatives. For instance blood samples and buccal swabs should be immediately air dried and preserved in sealed plastic or foiled packets subsequent to collection.360 Similarly, biological samples left by missing persons, such as material found in hairbrushes or toothbrushes, should ideally be stored in dry and low temperature conditions for long term preservation.
The OMP should draft strict protocols to ensure that every item of evidence is packaged, labelled and stored in optimal conditions. The OMP may seek relevant expertise locally and advice from specialized institutions such as the ICMP or the Institute for International Criminal Investigations.361
The OMP may receive, collect, or seize physical evidence other than biological samples, including documents, audio recordings, clothing, bullets or other artefacts, recovered in the course of an investigation. If not stored properly, these items too may deteriorate or be contaminated. For instance, tapes must be stored in a dry environment to avoid the acceleration of the deterioration process due to humidity.362 In addition, tapes should not be exposed to dust, moisture, heat or sunlight.363 Clothing must be stored with care,364 including by letting clothing dry before packaging and separating a person’s articles of clothing using paper sheets. It is also important to avoid folding clothing in areas that are either damaged or stained and may have important evidentiary value. Finally, bullets must be stored separately, in soft, cushioned material, and placed in a protective container to prevent damage, in a dry environment and away from moisture or chemicals that could cause corrosion.365
Chapter 9: Information to Families and Public Outreach
The OMP Act contains several sections on information that should be provided to families of missing persons and public outreach activities. In particular, OMP Act section 13 requires the OMP to keep families of missing persons informed during366 and at the conclusion of the Office’s investigations.367 The Act also specifies that families, victims or witnesses must be informed of their right to directly refer their case to a relevant authority, including law enforcement or prosecuting authorities, if they suspect that a serious crime was committed.368 In terms of public outreach, the Act requires the Office to take appropriate steps to create public awareness of the causes, incidence and effects of missing persons.369 Thus, the Office is empowered to engage in outreach activities in relation to its mandate. The Office is also expected to carry out consultations with affected families or organizations representing missing persons to inform its policy recommendations.370 Additionally, the Office can also make recommendations to the authorities, instructing them on how to publish information about missing persons for public knowledge.371
This chapter outlines best practices regarding the provision of information to families of missing persons, including: information on how to access the Office; information on the progress of investigations; and information on the outcomes of investigations. Next, this chapter proposes public outreach measures over the short, medium and long-term.
I. Providing Information to Families of Missing Persons
Informing families of missing persons about how to access the Office will be critical for the OMP’s success, since family members are the primary stakeholders in the search for missing persons. Additionally, providing information to these family members about the progress of an investigation is necessary to guarantee their right to truth.
1) Information on How to Access the Office
The OMP’s ability to reach out to the families of missing persons will be indispensable for its success. Information provided by family members is crucial to assist the Office in formulating and narrowing down hypotheses for investigations and identification of human remains (cf Chapter 7: Identifying Human Remains). To this end, the Office should adopt procedures and engage in practices geared toward facilitating complaints submissions (cf Chapter 4: Planning and Opening the Investigation). In addition, the OMP must engage in a robust outreach campaign that informs families of missing persons about the Office’s basic structure, its key objectives and how to access services. The OMP should engage in this outreach campaign as soon as the Office is formally established.
2) Information on Progress of Investigations
Under the Act, the OMP is required to provide relatives of a missing person with information about the status of an on-going investigation, unless providing this information would hinder the on-going investigation or not be in the best interest of the missing person.372 Keeping families informed throughout the investigation is essential to ensure continued trust in the Office. Therefore, OMP guidelines must specify that requests for information on progress shall be handled fairly and reasonably. In addition, the OMP rules must clarify the two exceptions provided for in the Act. Clear criteria in this respect would reduce officers’ discretion. Finally, refusal to provide information on progress on the basis of these exceptions should be subject to review (cf Chapter 10: Oversight).
The OMP rules must also specify which unit or officer is responsible for providing information on progress. Other countries’ examples may provide guidance in this respect. For instance, according to the regulations governing Kosovo’s GCMP, a case officer who is involved in an investigation is also responsible for maintaining contact with family members during the course of that investigation.373 This contact allows staff members who have an in-depth knowledge of the on-going investigations to play an active role in providing information. Similarly, while the Outreach Unit may channel requests for information, analysts in charge of managing information and updating case files may provide updates on progress directly to family members (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing).
3) Information on Outcomes of Investigations
At the conclusion of its investigation, if the OMP finds the missing person is deceased or his/her whereabouts remain unascertained, it must inform the missing person’s relatives of the circumstances in which he or she went missing and of his or her fate.374 Similarly, if a missing person’s whereabouts have been ascertained, the Office is under a duty to inform the relatives about the circumstances under which such person went missing and his or her whereabouts, provided that the missing person consents.375 However in either circumstance, providing information to relatives is subject to the Office’s obligation of confidentiality under OMP Act section 15.376 A broad interpretation of the scope of confidentiality under section 15 could deprive families of essential information regarding the circumstances in which the person went missing. Thus, the Office should only grant confidential status to witness information in exceptional circumstances in which compelling reasons require confidentiality to guarantee the witness’ safety. In the majority of cases, granting confidentiality to protect witness identity and other identifying information is sufficient (cf Chapter 8 on Witness Protection).
II. Public Outreach
Outreach activities of any transitional justice mechanism should extend to public dissemination of information about the OMP’s mandate, internal structure, working procedures and progress toward fulfilling its mandate.377
Outreach initiatives are critical to the OMP’s success. First, awareness about the Office, its mandate and powers is low among the general public and affected families. Local civil society groups, such as the Affected Families Forum (AFF) have observed that nearly 90% of the families with whom they have worked were unaware of the OMP or its mandate.378 Second, as the ICTJ observes, transitional justice mechanisms must engage in effective outreach initiatives on an on-going basis to address public misconceptions and misunderstandings about their work.379 Effective and context-specific outreach initiatives will play a key role in addressing these issues. In this respect, the OMP must design and implement short, medium and long-term outreach measures.
1) Short-Term: Immediate Dissemination of Information
The ICTY and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) failed to engage in public outreach campaigns as soon as they were established.380 This provided media and politicians in these regions the opportunity to freely influence the public discourse and attitudes about the ICTY and ICTR.381 Consequently, public perception about the ICTY was exceedingly negative in Serbia during the ICTY’s mandate period, and remains so even today.382 The experiences in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda indicate that transitional justice mechanisms must engage in outreach activities as soon as they are set up. The OMP should disseminate basic information about itself, its future role and proposed activities. This allows the OMP to educate the public about its future activities and clarify any misconceptions that may exist about it in the public domain. An early outreach initiative of this nature is especially relevant in Sri Lanka due to the rumours and misleading information about the OMP in the public domain.383
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) organized town hall meetings at district and chiefdom levels to educate the public about its mandate.384 This was done as soon as the Special Court was set up, even prior to the court adopting a formal outreach strategy.385 Similarly, in Cambodia, the task force responsible for establishing the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) produced an introductory booklet aimed at educating the public about the Court and its role.386
Early dissemination of information about the OMP in Sri Lanka would require the Office to establish effective linkages with District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats and Grama Niladaris as per OMP Act section 12(e).387 The OMP could provide local level entities with basic information about the Office’s purpose and structure as well as the manner in which it could be accessed by victims or their families. This is a prudent approach to adopt in Sri Lanka, since the general public has greater links with officials at the local government level in comparison to central government institutions. The Outreach Unit could disseminate this information to local authorities in the form of pamphlets, brochures or small booklets. Subsequently, the Outreach Unit could publish advertisements in all the major Tamil, Sinhala and English newspapers and on electronic media directing victims and their families to access their relevant local authorities for comprehensive information about the OMP.
2) Medium-Term: Comprehensive Outreach Strategic Plan
Although ad hoc measures may be sufficient to carry out immediate dissemination of information about the OMP, the success of the Office’s outreach program would depend on adopting a thoughtful and comprehensive strategic outreach plan.388 A strategic outreach plan could inter alia help the OMP:
• Identify its key target audiences;
• Manage the limited resources available for outreach initiatives;
• Clearly delineate the responsibilities of the outreach staff;
• Identify key entities to collaborate with, so as to engage in effective outreach; and
• Organize and plan its long-term outreach activities and funding requirements.
The ICTJ recommends that every section in a transitional justice mechanism be involved in the process of developing a strategic outreach plan. When applying this to the context of the OMP, the Tracing Unit, Victim and Witness Protection Division and the OMP Secretariat should be involved in creating the Office’s outreach strategy. The ICC took this approach when it designed its strategic outreach plan in 2006.389 The External Relations Working Group of the ICC, which devised this strategic plan, had representatives from the ICC’s Presidency, Prosecutor’s Office and Registry.390 The group designed the strategic outreach plan based on input it received from each section. The Outreach Plan should be designed based on pre-existing information regarding the affected demographic and penetration of various media within these affected demographics TV channels, newspapers, social media, posters in key locations). It would be useful for the Office to conduct surveys and mapping exercises to ensure that its plan is appropriately tailored to the demographic of each province and district.
The outreach strategic plan of the OMP should outline broad and overarching guidelines to direct the implementation of its outreach activities to cater to different socio-cultural contexts and time periods. For example, the Outreach Mission Statement of the Special Court for Sierra broadly identified the underlying objectives of the Special Court’s outreach initiative391 and recommended the implementation of the Court’s outreach program to meet these goals.392 The adoption of this flexible methodology allowed the SCSL to successfully organize and adapt its outreach activities to suit the diverse cultural practices of Sierra Leone’s different districts.
Therefore, the OMP should plan and design a flexible strategic outreach program in consultation with all Office sections. Since this task would require a high degree of coordination between different sections of the OMP, the Office’s Secretariat should take the lead in coordinating this effort (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing).
3) Mid- to Long-Term: Establish an Outreach Unit
Once the OMP adopts a strategic outreach plan, the Office must establish a professional and specialized unit to organize and coordinate its outreach activities in line with the outreach strategic plan (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing). The value of a dedicated Outreach Unit becomes apparent when one considers the role played by the Outreach and Public Affairs Section of the SCSL. During its almost decade-long existence, the SCSL’s Outreach Section conducted almost ten thousand outreach activities including five thousand video screenings of trials and three thousand town hall meetings around the country.393 The success of this dedicated unit was such that it was hailed as the SCSL’s crown jewel.394 Under section 11(e), the OMP should establish a similar Outreach Unit as well as regional offices, which could enable decentralization of the OMP’s outreach activities and increase the Unit’s reach.395
The Outreach Unit will have to undertake a number of context-specific outreach activities. The OMP Act requires the Office to submit an annual public report to Parliament.396 In order to broadly disseminate this report, the Outreach Unit should liaise with community level leaders and organize interactive community level question-and-answer sessions with regard to the annual report’s findings. This is extremely important in the Sri Lankan context because only a small number of individuals are likely to obtain the OMP’s annual report and peruse its yearly activities.
The Outreach Unit should also harness the full potential of traditional and social media platforms to ensure its success. In relation to traditional media, the Outreach Unit should develop a comprehensive media plan, in coordination with national media institutions, for its future outreach initiatives.397 With regard to social media, the Outreach Unit should utilize the full potential of Facebook and Twitter, since youth at both the urban and rural level in Sri Lanka increasingly has access to these social media platforms.398
Finally, the Outreach Unit should consider establishing a free, public telephone helpline, which would allow individuals to seek information about the OMP or clarify its progress in relation to complaints made. This strategy was successful when the ECCC Victims Unit created an effective link between the public and the court.399 In addition, the Outreach Unit could set up a free messaging service to answer queries and clarify doubts that the public may have related to its activities.400
Chapter 10: Oversight
The OMP Act calls for limited oversight over the Office’s activities. Only the Office’s finances are made explicitly the object of annual parliamentary oversight. Accordingly, the Act requires the Office to submit annual reports to Parliament, presumably detailing its financial activities for the relevant year.401 The Act also states that the Auditor-General will audit the Office’s accounts pursuant to Article 154 of the Sri Lankan Constitution.402
Legislative or governmental oversight is a popular approach adopted by entities like Kosovo’s GCMP and BiH’s MPI. For instance, the regulations governing Kosovo’s GCMP require the Commission to submit periodic and annual reports to the Government of Kosovo.403 Similarly, BiH’s MPI is required to submit annual reports to the co-founders of the body, the ICMP and the Council of Ministers of BiH.404 Despite its popularity, legislative or governmental oversight does not take place consistently throughout a given time period and is more often than not limited to a review of an entity’s financial activities.
The Office, its Members and staff are also subject to judicial oversight. However, the scope of this judicial oversight is limited. The Act states that orders, decisions, acts or omissions of the OMP cannot be questioned in any proceeding or court of law, unless it is by way of the Supreme Court’s fundamental rights jurisdiction or the Court of Appeal’s writ jurisdiction.405 Furthermore, no civil or criminal proceedings are valid against OMP Members or staff for good faith acts.406
Since the OMP Act limits legislative and judicial oversight over OMP’s activities, the Office must establish additional oversight mechanisms. These mechanisms should monitor and review the investigative, victim and witness protection and administrative tasks of the Office on a consistent basis over a given time period.
This chapter outlines specific recommendations for an independent oversight unit, procedures for internal oversight, and finally, a complaint mechanism.
I. Independent Oversight Unit
An independent and victim oversight mechanism to monitor the OMP’s core activities will be a prerequisite to establish public confidence in the Office. Many individuals and groups that were consulted prior to establishing the OMP have emphasized the importance of having an independent oversight unit comprised of family member representatives of missing persons.407 Such an oversight mechanism, which constantly monitors the core activities of the OMP and suggests improvements for its functioning, will bolster the Office’s legitimacy and transparency.
The MPI of BiH has an Advisory Board with six representatives nominated by family associations of missing persons. The Board primarily monitors MPI activities, which include tracing missing persons, providing financial support to family members of missing persons (when appropriate) and setting up a centralized database on missing persons.408 The presence of an Advisory Board to monitor MPI core functions has created greater transparency and strengthened linkages between the MPI and family member associations of missing persons.409
Therefore, the OMP should consider establishing an independent Oversight Unit under OMP Act section 11(e).410 This Unit should have representatives from families and other organizations involved in the search for missing persons. Notably, the members to the Advisory Board under the MPI are chosen on the basis of ethnic diversity and gender equality.411 Following such best practice will be crucial within the Sri Lankan context as well.
Best practices in BiH show that a victims’ oversight mechanism is responsible for monitoring the core activities of the MPI. Ideally, therefore, the proposed oversight unit should be able to monitor and review activities such as de novo data collection, investigative prioritization decisions and victim/witness protection decisions/measures taken by the Office. The Unit should be given the power to monitor these activities and highlight discrepancies or concerns and make recommendations where appropriate. The Unit’s should make its findings and recommendations public to ensure transparency.
II. Procedures for Internal Oversight
Entities dealing with missing persons need to display the highest levels of transparency and accountability when carrying out their work. Such bodies often have intricate procedures in place to ensure adequate internal oversight over their financial, managerial and administrative activities.
To illustrate this point, BiH’s MPI has a carefully crafted tripartite mechanism comprised of a Steering Board,412 Board of Ministers413 and Supervisory Board414 to guarantee transparency and ensure accountability. These three entities respectively review and scrutinize the managerial, legal and financial activities within the MPI. The Steering Board of the MPI is formally tasked with supervising and evaluating the activities of the MPI’s Board of Directors.415 This mechanism is one form of managerial oversight, since the Board of Directors is responsible for MPI management and organisation. The MPI’s Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring the legality of the Institute’s work while the Supervisory Board reviews and inspects the MPI’s financial reports, annual report, the annual balance sheet and accounting books. Along similar lines, Kosovo’s GCMP vests internal oversight over some of the Commission’s activities on the Head of the Commission’s Administrative Unit.416
The OMP Act does not mention explicitly the internal entity that will exercise oversight over the Office’s financial and managerial activities. The most viable option for the Office would be to utilize its powers under section 26(1)417 and vest powers of internal financial and managerial oversight on the Head of the OMP Secretariat, since the Secretariat is in any case responsible for the overall administration of the Office under the Act.418
III. Complaint Mechanism
Many individuals and groups consulted prior to the OMP Act adoption emphasized the Office’s need to establish a formal complaint mechanism.419 The strong public demand for a complaint mechanism stems from victims’ negative experiences with Sri Lanka’s past CoIs. Some of these Commissions were marred with allegations such as requests for sexual bribes, rudeness and overall insensitivity towards victims and their families.420 The complaint mechanism should be accessible to all victims, witnesses and families of victims who engage with the OMP. Information about the complaint mechanism should be included in the material distributed by the Office as part of its outreach activities (cf Chapter 9: Outreach). The Office must enable victims to request the confidentiality of their complaints or to seek other witness protection measures when they fear that their complaints may trigger retaliation. Granting confidentiality must be balanced against due process concerns that may require that the identity of the complainant be disclosed. The Victim and Witness Protection Division must decide these cases.
First, victims, witnesses or families of victims who encounter OMP staff violating the Office’s proposed code of conduct (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing) should have recourse before the complaint mechanism. Such recourse would enable acts of rudeness or insensitivity running afoul of values like professionalism and respect for human dignity within the code of conduct to be directly addressed. The Office’s internal rules should specify immediate termination if any staff member is proven to violate the values and principles in the code of conduct. A similar approach is adopted in Nepal, whereby the CIEDP internal rules allow proceedings to be initiated against any Commission member who has a prima facie case of bad conduct against him or her.421
Second, the Bosnian Law on Missing Persons allows individuals to lodge complaints in accordance with the country’s Law on Administrative Procedure if an information request made to the MPI is met with an unsatisfactory answer.422 This very same procedure is also applicable to a party wishing to challenge the denial or granting of financial support to an individual under the BiH Law on Missing Persons.423 Similarly, in Sri Lanka, the complaint mechanism should be made available to relatives of missing persons who may wish to challenge a denial of information by the Office under section 13(1)(c) or the non-issuance of an interim report pending investigations under section 13(1)(a)(i) and information on progress on the basis of 13(1)(c). Additionally, a person engaging with the OMP should also be able to access the complaint mechanism to challenge any discriminatory treatment by the OMP.424
Therefore, the Office complaint procedure should allow individuals to lodge complaints in situations in which a staff member breached either the proposed code of conduct or obligations under the OMP Act. The Office could establish such a broad complaints procedure by utilizing its rulemaking powers under OMP Act section 26(1). An Oversight Committee located within the Secretariat may examine complaints (cf Chapter 1: Structure and Staffing). The outcome of the complaint should be communicated to the complainant in writing within a reasonable time. In the event a complaint is not examined within three months, or if the complainant has reasons to believe that his or her complaint was not treated fairly, the Office must offer a measure of review of the decision. One option is to enable complainants to raise the issue before the Victim-based Oversight Committee, which may recommend reconsideration of the decision. In case of the Oversight Committee’s systematic failure to address complaints, the Victim-Based Oversight Committee may decide to publicize the matter.
Over the coming months the OMP will need to make a number of strategic choices to ensure that it is capable of successfully fulfilling its broad and ambitious mandate.
To do this, the OMP must define its internal structure and processes and recruit and specialized staff. Additionally, the OMP will need to devise a number of rules, guidelines and protocols to facilitate the day-to-day functioning of its activities and ensure that investigations are carried out in accordance with international standards and best practices.
It is crucial that the OMP seeks the relevant expertise to devise these rules, guidelines and protocols before commencing its investigations. In addition, the Office must also establish a process for their periodic review. This will ensure that the Office builds on lessons learnt from the first few months of its operation and keeps improving protocols and processes to ensure the smooth collaboration between various units, sub-units and divisions and the efficient carrying out of investigations. A degree of flexibility is advantageous to ensure that the OMP will adapt to (1) new understandings of the most efficient way to receive information, and (2) changing needs of the Office and community.
Annexure 1: List of Main Recommendations
1) Structure
i. The OMP must set up information management processes to collect, centralize, analyse and store information. Sub-units may be created within the Tracing Unit to perform these functions
ii. The OMP must set up additional units such as a Policy Unit, an Outreach Unit, and a Psychosocial Support Unit.
iii. The Policy Unit should contain a Redress Sub-Unit to liaise with credible prosecutors and investigators and assist victims to pursue justice.
iv. The Outreach Unit should comprise a Complaints Desk to facilitate complaint-making on missing persons’ cases.
v. The OMP must set up expert units and committees to assist with the performance of its functions including: an Investigative Expert Committee, a Forensic Expert Committee, an Information Technology Unit and a Gender Unit.
vi. In order to guarantee the respect of the OMP’s internal rules and guidelines, the OMP must set up an Oversight Committee within the Secretariat.
vii. The OMP must consider setting up a Victim-Based Oversight Committee to monitor the Office’s strategic decisions and make recommendations as appropriate.
2) Staffing
i. The OMP should formulate staff recruitment schemes to guide the hiring process.
ii. Recruitment principles must ensure non-discrimination, gender parity, proficiency in English Tamil or Sinhalese and local expertise.
iii. The OMP must devise guidelines to assist the recruitment of staff for specific units and sub-units.
iv. The OMP must design a vetting process to screen out individuals with serious criminal records or those implicated in human rights violations.
v. The screening process must also ensure that recruited individuals have a high degree of integrity, are able to maintain confidentiality and to empathize with the experience of families of the missing.
vi. The OMP must formulate a code of conduct to regulate interaction between OMP staff and individuals who engage with the Office.
i. OMP staff must be continuously trained on gender sensitivity, ethical conduct and sensitivity towards vulnerable persons.
ii. OMP staff must be trained on the handling and preservation of physical evidence, on the security of digital data and physical evidence, and the Office’s procedures and protocols.
iii. The OMP should conduct periodic trainings to improve the technical skills of investigators, analysts and protection personnel on interview techniques, on-site investigation techniques, data management, forensics, data analysis, and victim and witness protection.
i. The OMP must issue rules to define “witnesses” for the purpose of protection in accordance with international guidelines.
ii. The OMP must devise guidelines to assess threats to witnesses and to assist the determination of appropriate protection measures.
iii. The Witness and Victim Protection Division (the Division) must issue rules regarding the terminating of protection measures.
iv. The Division must issue rules to define confidentiality. Confidentiality must only extend to witnesses’ identity, identifying information and the nature of protection granted, unless compelling security reasons justify the granting of confidentiality to other information.
v. In case of a confidentiality breach, the OMP should investigate the matter and initiate contempt proceedings against staff members and/or terminate their services as appropriate.
vi. In case of confidentiality breach, the Victim and Witness Protection Division should reassess the threat and adopt additional protection measures as necessary.
vii. Provided informed consent is obtained, the OMP should disclose witnesses’ identity to law enforcement or prosecutorial authorities to assist victims to pursue justice.
viii. The Division must adopt or facilitate witness management methods ranging from strengthened self-protection capacities to identity change and permanent relocation.
Chapter 4: Opening and Planning an Investigation
1) Opening an Investigation
i. The OMP must adopt policies to facilitate the complaint-making process.
ii. There must be a clearly identified point of contact for individuals who approach the OMP to make a complaint.
iii. The OMP should create a Complaints Desk within the Outreach Unit.
iv. The Complaints Desk should allow for individuals to file complaints in person or via mail, email or fax.
v. When a complaint is made, the OMP must use forms in all three languages to record essential information including: a missing person’s name, place and date of birth, marital status, occupation, address, date and details of last news/circumstances of disappearance, rank for military personnel/combatants, and as detailed information as possible regarding the case.
vi. The OMP must consider prioritizing information received from previous commissions for the opening of an investigation, especially from those relatives who have already made complaints to other bodies.
vii. The OMP must devise a system to sort out duplicates.
viii. The OMP must conduct preliminary examinations to determine whether it could reasonably be believed that a person is unaccounted for or that his or her whereabouts are unknown.
ix. The OMP must devise guidelines regarding what information to seek in order to establish the context in which the person went missing and the weight that should be given to different types of information.
2) Planning
i. The OMP should map sources, stakeholders, and sites and should establish a national search plan.
ii. The OMP should ensure that the decision to prioritize cases is impartial, transparent and justified.
iii. The OMP should prioritize the most recent cases for investigation.
iv. The OMP should also prioritize cases for which there is already substantial evidence, and high profile cases.
v. The OMP must consider prioritizing investigations into clusters of cases (cases that present similar patterns and were carried out according to the same modus operandi), and searches of places of detention.
vi. OMP Members must receive technical input from the Forensic Expert Committee and the Investigative Expert Committee.
vii. The OMP should facilitate victim participation through consulting victim families and by enabling the Victim-Based Oversight Committee to exercise some oversight over the decision.
1) Receiving Data Gathered by Third Parties
i. The OMP must identify relevant governmental entities with custody over Commission of Inquiry (CoIs) data and enter into formalized data transfer agreements to enable to systematic retrieval of information.
ii. The OMP should engage with individuals who were involved in past CoIs to assist with the re-examination and comparison of data from previous CoIs.
2) Procuring Statements and Documents for Investigations
i. The Office must use standards forms to ensure that information received is comprehensive and, if necessary, adapt these forms to take into account the specificities of the Sri Lankan context.
ii. The OMP should ensure that investigators conducting interviews are specifically trained in investigative best practices also geared toward criminal investigation.
iii. The OMP should ensure that investigators do not disclose information regarding the progress of the investigation or the OMP’s findings to witnesses, other than information already publicly accessible.
iv. The OMP should ensure that interviewers conduct interviews in manners, locations and times that maximize privacy and comfort for witnesses.
v. The OMP should ensure that interpreters are properly trained to ensure that they are following rules for professional conduct.
vi. The OMP should document the chain of custody of physical evidence received or procured to assist criminal courts in assessing its probative value.
Chapter 6: Ongoing investigations
1) Searches of Premises
i. When conducting a search, the OMP investigators must secure the premises to protect evidence.
ii. The OMP investigators should note the particulars of the place that is to be searched prior to commencing the search by, inter alia, photographing and videotaping the site and recording observations.
iii. The OMP must prepare and strictly adhere to search protocols.
iv. The OMP must meticulously document the search through taking detailed notes and record keeping of the chain of custody
v. The OMP must also record chain of custody of photographs, recordings, or notes documenting the search.
2) Mass Grave Investigations
i. The Office must carry out searches for mass graves systematically and methodically and therefore seek relevant expertise.
ii. Once the OMP identifies a potential gravesite, the OMP must document its existence and characteristics prior to excavation.
iii. The OMP must seek the assistance of relevant authorities to ensure that the sites are secured and protected from any interference.
iv. The OMP must facilitate information sharing regarding the exhumation process with relatives and concerned parties.
v. The OMP must develop protocols and standards relating to the excavation and exhumation of mass graves.
vi. In order to ensure the respect of these standards and best practices, the OMP must enter into agreements with the various entities and agencies involved in mass graves investigations.
vii. The OMP must also devise guidelines regarding the handling and reburying of human remains in a way that preserves the dignity of the remains.
viii. The OMP should adopt protocols to carefully document excavation and exhumation processes.
i. The OMP should adopt standard forms to systematically collect ante mortem data from relatives including information on the circumstances in which the person went missing and other relevant information including medical and physical traits.
ii. The OMP should train personnel and adopt protocols for the collection of biological reference points from relatives.
iii. All relatives should be provided with simple consent forms that clearly explain the intended use of biological samples and the associated risks.
iv. The OMP may offer to the relevant Magistrate’s Court to conduct post mortem DNA analysis.
v. The OMP must adopt the various identification methods (visual identification, traditional matching and DNA matching) cumulatively.
vi. The OMP may seek expertise to create a missing persons’ database from various sources and decide on its identification methods.
1) Security Recommendations
i. The OMP should prepare guidelines and protocols to govern database maintenance and security.
ii. The OMP should vest responsibility for database maintenance and security on a competent expert unit.
iii. The OMP should adopt procedures to prevent unauthorized access to the database and to cover the handling, transportation, deletion, and storage of evidence.
iv. The OMP should adopt rules to ensure confidentiality and prevent misuse of biological and genetic Data.
v. These rules must be in line with international standards governing the handling and security of biological and genetic data.
vi. The OMP should adopt strict rules to prevent evidence tampering and/or sabotage.
vii. The OMP should designate secure storage areas for evidence, and adopt rules to limit access to storage areas to authorized OMP officers.
viii. The OMP must adopt protocols to record the removal or addition of any evidence from such storage.
2) Preservation
i. The OMP should enter into logistical agreements with relevant entities in order to seek expertise and assistance on the preservation of biological material.
ii. The OMP should enact specific procedures as applicable to the storage of different types of biological material.
iii. The OMP should adopt protocols for packaging and sealing of evidence to prevent contamination.
iv. The OMP must adopt protocols for the labeling of evidence to facilitate its classification and prevent loss of evidence.
v. The OMP must adopt protocols for the storing of physical evidence, ensure preservation and avoid contamination.
1) Providing Information to Families of Missing Persons
i. The OMP should devise guidelines regarding procedures and practices to facilitate complaint submissions.
ii. OMP guidelines must specify that requests for information on progress shall be handled fairly and reasonably and in accordance with the OMP Act.
iii. OMP guidelines must specify that requests for information on progress shall be handled fairly and reasonably and in accordance with the OMP Act.
iv. The OMP must set up procedures to review decisions to refuse the communication of updates on progress.
v. The OMP must provide as comprehensive information as possible to families on outcomes of investigations.
vi. To ensure the respect of families’ right to truth, the OMP should only grant confidential status to witness information in exceptional circumstances.
2) Public Outreach
i. The OMP should disseminate basic information about itself, its future role and proposed activities.
ii. The OMP should establish effective linkages with District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats and Grama Niladaris.
iii. The OMP should adopt guidelines for its outreach activities taking into account different socio-cultural contexts.
iv. The OMP should design a flexible strategic outreach plan in consultation with all Office sections.
v. The OMP should establish a professional and specialized unit to organize and coordinate its outreach activities in line with the outreach strategic plan.
vi. The OMP should establish regional offices and Outreach Units to decentralize the OMP’s outreach activities and increase the Unit’s reach.
vii. The Outreach Unit should liaise with community level leaders to implement its activities.
viii. The Outreach Unit should develop a comprehensive media plan, in coordination with national media institutions.
ix. The Outreach Unit should establish a free, public telephone helpline to allow individuals to seek information about the OMP or clarify its progress in relation to complaints made.
1) Independent Oversight Unit:
i. The OMP should consider establishing an independent Victim- Based Oversight Unit with affected families’ representatives.
ii. The members of the Unit should be chosen on the basis of ethnic diversity and gender equality.
iii. The Unit should be given the power to monitor the OMP’s activities and highlight discrepancies or concerns and make recommendations where appropriate.
iv. The Unit should make its findings and recommendations public to ensure transparency.
2) Procedures for Internal Oversight
i. The OMP should vest powers of internal financial and managerial oversight to the Head of the OMP Secretariat.
3) Complaint Mechanism
i. The OMP should establish a formal complaint mechanism.
ii. The complaint mechanism should be accessible to all victims, witnesses and families of victims who engage with the OMP.
iii. Information about the complaint mechanism should be included in the material distributed by the OMP as part of its outreach activities.
iv. The OMP complaint procedure should allow individuals to lodge complaints against in staff members who violated the code of conduct or their obligations under the OMP Act.
v. The Victim and Witness Protection Division must decide whether to grant confidentiality of complaints taking into account protection needs and due process concerns.
Annexure 2: Relevant Procedures and Protocols
Chapter 2: Training
Witness Interview: Checklist for Direct Witness Accounts
ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004 (p. 46 – 47), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-858.pdf.
Missing Persons Form
ICRC, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 2009 (p. 36 – 40), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-0880.pdf.
Dead Missing Person Information: Checklist for Information to be Provided by Authorities
ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004 (p. 25), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-858.pdf.
Event Documentation: Checklist
Information on Persons to be Collected: Checklist for Living Persons see A – E
Indicators to Locate and Actions to Secure Mass Graves
Documentation of Human Remains: Checklist for Preparation and Documentation of Human Remains
Appropriate Behaviour and Necessary Actions regarding the Dead and the Mourning Process by the Relatives; ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004 (p. 21 - 24), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-858.pdf.
Immediate Management of Human Remains: Checklist for Collection and Transport
Exhumation in Absence of Forensic Expertise: Procedure Checklist
Emergency or Temporary Burial of Human Remains: Checklist
ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004 (p. 38 - 40), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-858.pdf.
Human Remains Surface Findings: Guideline for Non-specialists
Information on Persons to be Collected: Checklist for Dead Persons see F
ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004, (p.44 – 45), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-858.pdf.
Human Remains in a Hospital Mortuary: Checklist for Documentation
Dead Bodies Identification Form
ICRC, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 2009, (p. 32 – 35), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-0880.pdf.
Body Inventory Sheet
ICRC, Management of Dead Bodies after Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders, 2009 (p. 42), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc-002-0880.pdf.
Family Tree for Relative DNA Data Reference
ICRC, Missing People, DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, (p. 47), https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_4010.pdf.
Human Remains Identification: Data Value chart I (p. 13) and II (p. 22)
ICRC, Missing People, DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_4010.pdf.
Identification of Human Remains with only External Examination: Checklist
1 Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016, [Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons].
2 Secretariat on Reconciliation Mechanisms, Open Dialogue with Civil Society SCRM Takeaways 20th September 2016, at http://media.wix.com/ugd/bd81c0_6dbc839ccfdc48b0b28c6d2433ba94dc.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
3 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 10(1)(a).
4 International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC], Living with uncertainty: Needs of the families of missing persons in Sri Lanka, (July 2016), p. 31, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/sri-lanka-families-missing-persons (accessed 20 November 2016), [living with uncertainty].
5 Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, Interim Report: The office on Missing Persons Bill and Issues concerning the missing, the Disappeared and the Surrendered (August 2016) p. 67, [CTF Interim Report].
6 See generally, Sri Lanka Campaign for Justice, The Paranagama Commission has done great damage. Now that damage must be repaired (6 July 2016) available at: https://www.srilankacampaign.org/paranagama-commission-done-great-damage-now-damage-must-repaired/ (accessed 27 October 2016) [The Paranagama Commission has done great damage].
8 Ibid, section 10.
11 Ibid, section 10.
12 Ibid, sections 11(c), 26(1).
14 Ibid, section 11(e).
16 Ibid, section 16(1).
20 See, infra, Chapter 5: Receiving and Procuring Information and chapter 6: On-Site Investigations.
21 See, infra, Chapter 7: Identifying Human Remains.
22 See, infra, Chapter 8: Data Storage.
24 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 13(1)(h): “to create, manage and maintain a database which will include all particulars concerning missing persons.”
25 Ibid, section 13(k).
26 Ibid, section 10(2)(b).
27 Ibid, sections 13(1)(c), 13(1)(d), 13(1)(i), 13(1)( j), 13(1)(k)(v).
30 Ibid, sections 13(1)(h) & 15(3).
31 Ibid, section 11(c): “to issue from time to time, rules and guidelines, which may include gender-sensitive policies.”
32 Ibid, section 11(d).
33 Ibid, section 11(c).
34 Ibid, section 11(d): “The OMP shall have the following general powers to appoint and dismiss staff and consultants and to request secondment of public officers to the OMP.”
35 Ibid., section 16 (2): “There may be appointed by the OMP, such officers and staff as may be necessary to assist the OMP in the exercise, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions as set out in this Act.”
36 The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) endorsed this approach to staff recruitment in Lebanon’s proposed Independent National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared. The ICTJ in this instance recommended staff requirement to be done on the basis of the gender-equality goals in Lebanon’s National Action Plan for Human Rights. ICTJ, The Missing in Lebanon Inputs on the Establishment of the Independent National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon (January 2016) p 10: “[...] staffed in accordance with the gender-equality goals in the National Action Plan for Human Rights in Lebanon (2014–2019), which should inform all of the commission’s hiring practices,” [The Missing in Lebanon].
37 Jo Baker, Reconciling Truth and Gender: Lessons for Sri Lanka, Law and Society Trust (December 2011), Pp. 22-23.
38 Sri Lanka HR Commission says public awareness campaign needed urgently to dispel misinformation about OMP (22 August 2016) Colombo Page, available at: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_16B/Aug22_1471887516CH.php (accessed 2 October 2016) [HRCSL Recommendation].
39 CTF Interim Report, supra 5, p. 45.
40 Dr. Bishnu Pathak, Nepal’s Enforced Disappearance Commission: Roles of International Community, Transcend Media Service (18 May 2015), available at: https://www.transcend.org/tms/2015/05/nepals-enforced-disappearance-commission-roles-of-international-community/#_ednref44 (accessed 2 October 2016).
41 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 16(1).
43 Ibid, section 12(b).
44 International Commission on Missing Persons, Agreement on Assuming the Role of Co-Founders of the Missing Persons Institute of BIH, August 2005, at http://www.icmp.int/?resources=agreement-of-assuming-the-role-of-co-founders-of-the-missing-persons-institute-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina (accessed 20 November 2016), article 5(c)(stating that the initial staff of the Institute will be taken over from the staff employed in the Federation Commission on Tracing Missing Persons and the Republika Srpska Office on Detained and Missing Persons, on the: basis of professional abilities, relevant working experience and in a manner that shall take into account national representation and gender equality, whose final number and composition shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Institute) [MPI Co-Founders Agreement].
45 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(d).
46 The Missing in Lebanon, supra 36, p. 17.
47 International Commission on Missing Persons, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Missing persons from the Armed conflicts of the 1990s: A Stocktaking, Sarajevo, 2014, p. 58, available at: http://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/StocktakingReport_ENG_web.pdf (accessed 20 November 2015), [ICMP, Stocktaking].
49 HRCSL recommendations, supra 38.
50 The Missing in Lebanon, supra 36, pp. 20-21.
51 UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses in criminal proceedings involving organized crime, New York, 2008, p. 48 [UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses].
52 International Criminal Court, Rules of Procedure and Evidence (2000), Rule 19: “a) witness protection and security; (b) humanitarian and criminal law; (c) logistics/administration; (d) psychology in criminal proceedings; (e) gender and cultural diversity; (f) children, in particular traumatized children; (g) elderly persons; (h) persons with disabilities; (i) social work and counseling; (j) healthcare; and (k) interpretation and translation.”
53 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 17 July 1998, article 43(6): “The Registrar shall set up a Victims and Witnesses Unit within the Registry.......The Unit shall include staff with expertise in trauma, including trauma related to crimes of sexual violence”.
56 UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses, supra 51, p. 48.
57 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 14.
58 Ibid, section 24(1)(h).
60 The internal rules of the Nepalese CIEDP, for instance, empower the Commission to frame and implement a code of conduct to be followed by the Commission Chairman and other members. Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Person, Rule 2072 (13 March 2016), section 40, [CIDEP, rule 2072]. Accordingly, a code of conduct specifically tailored to suit the Nepalese context was adopted by the Commission in July 2015.
61 ICTJ, Essential Best Practices for Truth Commissions, (December 2009), available at: http://www.iccnow.org/documents/ICTJ_SDN_briefing_AUPD-TJRC.pdf (accessed 10 October 2016). See also OHCHR, Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Guidance and Practice, New York and Geneva, 2015, pp. 33-34, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/CoI_Guidance_and_Practice.pdf (accessed on 5th October 2016).
63 The Paranagama Commission has done great damage, supra 6.
64 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 26(1): “The OMP may make rules for matters for which rules are required to be made under this Act.”
65 CTF Interim Report, supra 5, p. 46: “The number of letters received from women brings home to the CTF that disappearance is a gendered crime. While the vast majority of those who are missing/disappeared are men, those who are seeking truth and justice on behalf of the men who have been disappeared are women. Submissions received also point to the fact that the vast majority of those who will come before the OMP once it is established will be women, as was the case with the Paranagama Commission.”
66 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 11(c).
67 Vasuki Nesiah et al., Truth Commissions and Gender: Principles, Policies, and Procedures, International Center for Transitional Justice, (July 2006), p. 12, available at: https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-Global-Commissions-Gender-2006-English_0.pdf (accessed 13 October 2016), [Truth Commissions and Gender].
68 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Analytical study focusing on gender-based and sexual violence in relation to transitional justice (30 June 2014), ¶ 25 [Gender and TJ].
69 Truth Commissions and Gender, supra 67, p. 12.
70 Carla Koppell and Jonathan Talbot, Strengthening Colombia’s Transitional Justice Process by Engaging Women, The Institute for Inclusive Security, March 2011, p. 3, available at: http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/transjust_strengtheningcolombiastransitionaljusticebyengagingwomen_march2011.pdf (accessed 15 October); See further, Gender and TJ, supra 68, ¶ 17: “[I]n Peru, for instance, the truth commission established a specific gender unit.”
71 Gender and TJ, supra 68, ¶17.
72 See, e.g., National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, Nunca Más, 1986, available at: http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_278.htm (accessed: 17 October 2016) [Nunca Más], Chapter IV: the first interviewers could not continue because of secondary traumatization.
73 Family members may be asked to describe the victim’s physical appearance, any distinguishing characteristics, the clothes the victim was last seen in when he/she disappeared as well as the general circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
74 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 13(1)(h).
75 Ibid, 12(d) : The OMP Act does not empower the OMP to carry mass grave excavations and exhumations.
76 ICRC, Missing People, DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, p.33, available at: https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_4010.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), [DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains]. It is preferable to have a geneticist present, in order to clarify the suitability of a relative as a reference.
78 UNDP, Development of a Witness and Victim Support System Croatian experience: good practices and lessons learned, 2014, p. 65, available at: http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/UNDP-CROATIA%20-%20Witness%20and%20Victim.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
79 Ibid, p.41.
80 Gert Vermeulen, EU Standards in Witness Protection and Collaboration with Justice, Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy, 2005, p. 157.
81 Commonwealth Secretariat, Victims of Crime in the Criminal Justice Process, Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers and Senior Officials Sydney, Australia, (11-14 July 2011), p. 23 [Victims of Crime in the Criminal Justice Process].
84 Chris Mahony, The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa, Institute for Security Studies, 2010, pp. 164-168.
85 The European Parliament and The Council, Directive 2012/29/EU of 25 October 2012 establishing Minimum Standards On The Rights, Support And Protection Of Victims, (25 October 2012), ¶61.
87 Aruni Jayakody, Victim and Witness Protection: The Need for Further Reform, South Asian Centre for Legal Studies (SACLS), September 2015 [SACLS, Victim and Witness Protection].
88 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 18(1): “There shall be a Victim and Witness Protection Division within the OMP that shall protect the rights and address the needs and concerns of victims, witnesses and relatives of missing persons.”
91 Ibid, section 13(1)(g).
97 Niran Anketell, Commentary on the Bill Titled Office on Missing Persons, SACLS, June 2016 [Commentary on the OMP Bill], p. 4.
99 SACLS, Victim and Witness Protection, supra 87, pp. 8, 9.
100 Ibid, p. 9.
101 Ibid.
103 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 18(3).
104 UNDCP, Model Witness Protection Bill, 2000, section 2(c)(i), available at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/lap_witness-protection_2000.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), [Model Witness Protection Bill].
105 Ibid, section 2(c)(ii).
106 Law of the Republic Of Indonesia Concerning Witness And Victims Protection Number 13, 2006, section 31, available at: http://www.lpsk.go.id/upload/Buku%20UU%20No%2013%20(English%20Version).pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), [Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection]
107 BiH Witness Protection Program Law, 2003, section 2(2), available at: https://www.unodc.org/doc/enl/2009/Bosnia_Herzegovina_Witness_Protection_Programme_R09-12.PDF (accessed 20 November 2016) [BiH Witness Protection Program Law],
108 Witness Protection Act Kenya, 2012, at http://www.unodc.org/res/cld/document/ken/witness-protection-act_html/Kenya_Witness_Protection_Act_Revised_Edition_2012.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), section 3(2) [Witness Protection Act Kenya].
109 Peru’s Law No. 27378, article 2, available at: http://peru.justia.com/federales/leyes/27378-dec-20-2000/gdoc/ (accessed 20 November 2016), [Peru Law on Witness Protection].
110 Resolution of the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia No. 0-5101 of 2008, article 4.6, available at: http://www.icbf.gov.co/cargues/avance/docs/resolucion_fiscalia_5101_2008.htm (accessed 20 November 2016).
112 As at present an enforced disappearance does not constitute a crime under Sri Lanka’s domestic law. See in this respect Human Rights Council, Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) (16 September 2016) UN Doc. A/HRC/30CRP.2, ¶496.
114 Victims of Crime in the Criminal Justice Process, supra 81, pp.7-8, 19.
116 Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 28; Peru Law on Witness Protection supra 109, article 21; Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 6; Act No. 6981, An Act Providing for a Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Programme and for Other Purposes, 24 April 1991, section 3 (Philippines), available at: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1991/ra_6981_1991.html (accessed 20 November 2016) [Philippines Law on Witness protection].
117 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 4(2).
118 UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses, supra 51, p. 61; Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 28(b); Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 3(c)
119 Peru Law on Witness Protection, supra 109, article 21.2; Hong Kong Witness Protection Ordinance (2000), available at: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr98-99/english/bills/c0151_e.htm (accessed 20 November 2016) [Hong Kong Witness Protection Ordinance]. Section 3 states that a witness protection programme may be arranged for witnesses whose personal safety or well-being may be at risk as a result of being witnesses. This is wide enough to encompass threats to property.
120 International Commission of Jurists, Witness Protection in Nepal : Recommendations from International Best Practices, August 2011, available at: http://icj.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nepal-witness-protection-analysis-brief-2011.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), p. 67 [ICJ, Witness Protection in Nepal]; Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 3(c); Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 6(c).
121 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 4(2)(e); Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 28(c).
122 Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 6(1); Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 3(a).
123 UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses, supra 51, p. 62.
125 ICJ, Witness Protection in Nepal, supra 120, p. 62.
126 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 2(c)(i).
127 Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 3: “Any person... who has testified or is testifying or about to testify before any judicial or quasi-judicial body, or before any investigating authority, may be admitted into the Program;” Witness Protection Act 112, 1998, available at: http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1998-112.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), section 1 (South Africa).
128 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(a).
129 Ibid, section 12(b).
130 UNODC, Good Practices for the Protection of Witnesses, supra 51, pp. 64-65.
132 See e.g., Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 7(1)(a): “A memorandum of understanding shall..... set out the basis on which a participant is included in the programme and details of the protection and assistance which are to be provided.”
133 UNODC, Good Practices for the Protection of Witnesses, supra 51, p. 65; Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 7(1)(b) “A memorandum of understanding shall......contain a provision to the effect that protection and assistance under the programme may be terminated if the participant deliberately breaches a term of the memorandum of understanding or a requirement or undertaking relating to the programme.”
134 Ideally, the MoU should be made in the language the party receiving protection is comfortable in, while adequate facilities should exist to ensure that the said party is able to comprehend the MoU.
135 UNODC, Good Practices for the Protection of Witnesses, supra 51.
136 Victims of Crime in the Criminal Justice Process, supra 81, p. 22.
137 Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 6.
138 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 3; CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, Rule 28(7); Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 9; Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 4(3).
139 For instance receiving the testimony of a relocated victim or witness through video conferencing facilities which distort the voice and face of the protected person.
140 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(c)(iv).
141 CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, Rule 28(7).
143 Commentary on the OMP Bill, supra 97, p. 15.
144 CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, Rule 28(1); BiH Witness Protection Program Law, supra 107, section 6(2); Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 23(3).
145 BiH Witness Protection Program Law, supra 107, section 6(2); Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 7.
146 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 13(b).
147 Ibid., section 18(5).
148 BiH Witness Protection Program Law, supra 107, section 6(2).
149 Hong Kong Witness Protection Ordinance, supra 119, section 17(1): “A person shall not, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, disclose information- (a) about the identity or location of a person who is or has been a participant.... in the witness protection program.”
150 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 24(1)(i).
151 Ibid, section 24(2).
152 Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 41: “disclosing victim or witness’ whereabouts is punishable by imprisonment not less than 3 (three) years and not more than 7(seven) years and by a fine not less than Rp.80.000.000,00 (eighty million rupiahs) and not more than Rp.500.000.000,00 (five hundred million rupiahs).”
153 Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 7: “Any person who violates the confidentiality of said proceedings shall upon conviction be punished with imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) years and deprivation of the right to hold a public office or employment for a period of five (5) years.”
154 Hong Kong Witness Protection Ordinance, supra 119, section 17, ¶1: “disclosing without lawful authority or reasonable excuse the identity or location of a person who is or has been a participant or who has been considered for inclusion in the witness protection programme is a serious offence. The maximum penalty is 10 years’ imprisonment.”
155 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section12(i): “Provided that where a witness consents, the OMP may also inform the relevant authority, of the details of such witness, in order to enable such relevant authority to secure a statement from such witness to be used in the process of investigation.”
156 OHCHR, Protection of Victims and Witnesses, p. 7.
158 UNODC, Good practices for the protection of witnesses, supra 51, pp.29-31.
159 REDRESS, Testifying to Genocide: Victims and Witness Protection in Rwanda, available at: http://protectionline.org/files/2012/11/121029ProtectionReport.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), p. 38 [REDRESS, Testifying to Genocide].
161 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 3(2)(c).
162 Government of Colombia. Law 418 of 1997, 26 December 1997, available at: http://www. secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/ley_0418_1997.html (accessed 15 October 2016). The law provides for the physical protection of the witness.
163 Model Witness Protection Bill, supra 104, section 3(2)(d).
166 REDRESS, Testifying to Genocide, supra 159, p. 35.
168 Amnesty International, Twenty Years of Make-Believe: Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry, 2009, p. 30, available at: http://www.observatori.org/paises/pais_75/documentos/srilanka.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016) [Twenty Years of Make-Believe].
173 Indonesian Law on Witness and Victim Protection, supra 106, section 5(1)(j); Witness Protection Act Kenya, supra 108, section 4(2); Philippines Law on Witness protection, supra 116, section 8(a).
176 Twenty Years of Make-Believe, supra 168, pp. 30-31; The Sri Lankan Campaign for Peace and Justice, Repairing the Damage of the Paranagama Commission (EyeSriLanka, 14 July 2016), at http://www.eyesrilanka.com/2016/07/14/repairing-the-damage-of-the-paranagama-commission/ ( accessed on 21 October 2016).
177 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 11(a): “The OMP shall have the following general powers- (a) to enter into agreements, as are necessary to achieve the mandate of the OMP, with any person or organization.”
179 Ibid, p. 82.
181 This was the approach adopted in Colombia. See Colombia, Comisión de Busqueda de Personas Desaparecidas, Plan Nacional de Búsqueda, available at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CED/Shared%20Documents/COL/INT_CED_ADR_COL_22512_S.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016). The Colombian National Search Plan details responsibilities of both the Commission for the Search of Missing Persons and all other agencies involved (section 16(1)). In Colombia, the Commission was primarily created to coordinate the search for missing persons (see Decreto 929, 2007, article 2, available at: http://www.comisiondebusqueda.gov.co/index.php/ct-menu-item-3/ct-menu-item-5 (accessed 10 November 2016). Therefore, the establishment of a National Search Plan was an essential part of its mandate.
184 Ibid, section 12(a).
185 Ibid, section 27.
186 In Iraq, the investigation was able to progress to some extent due to the provision of information by parties who had knowledge about the existence of mass graves. See Human Rights Watch, Iraq: State of the Evidence, 2004, at https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/11/03/iraq-state-evidence (accessed 17 October 2016), p. 14, [Iraq: State of the Evidence].
187 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 11(e).
188 CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, rule 5(1)(c).
189 Ibid, rule 20(2).
190 Ibid, rule 5(1).
191 Nunca Mas, Report of the National Commission of the Disappearance of Persons (Argentina), 1984, available at: http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_001.htm (accessed 22 November 2016) [Nunca Mas]; See also Supreme Decree No. 355 Creation of the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, available at: http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/resources/collections/commissions/Chile90-Charter.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016) (Chile) [Decree creating the Chilean CTR].
192 ICRC Guiding Principles/ Models Law on the Missing, 2009, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/guiding-principles-model-law-missing-model-law (accessed 20 November 2016), p. 7, [ICRC Model Law on Missing Persons].
193 Act 971(14 July 2005), (Colombia), article 4, available at: historico.presidencia.gov.co/leyes/2005/julio/ley971140705.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
194 See for sample forms : Follow-up to the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent ICRC Report on missing, (2- 6 December 2003), pp. 133-144 available at: https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_1103.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016) [ICRC Follow-up report on missing].
195 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12 (b).
196 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 27.
197 See generally, Commentary on the OMP Bill, supra 97.
198 ICRC Model Law on Missing Persons, supra 192, p.7.
199 Decree creating the Chilean CTR, supra 191.
200 Ibid, article 32.
204 In jurisdictions, such as the United States, that keep detailed records of the missing, studies have shown that the first 12-24 hours are the most critical in locating the missing person and that the odds of the missing person decrease as time passes. See, e.g,, Kevin Kepple, Marianne Epstein, Lori Grisham, By the numbers: Missing persons in the USA, USA Today (25 September 2014), available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/09/23/missing-persons-children-numbers/16110709/ (accessed 12 November 2016) .
205 Nunca Más, supra 191, Part IV, Creation and Organization of the National Commission on the Disappeared.
207 CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, rule 14.
208 Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, “Terms of Reference and Mandate,” article 8, available at: http://www.cmp-cyprus.org/about-the-cmp/terms-of-reference-and-mandate/ (accessed 20 November 2016). In Cyprus, the Commission on Missing Persons was headed by a committee of three members: one Turkish Cypriot, one Greek Cypriot and one international member. This committee would decide on when to begin investigations by examining all cases put forth to the committee, and simply choosing between them. The committee rotated the selection of cases to investigate, beginning with the Turkish member and then moving to the Greek member.
209 ICMP, Stocktaking, supra 47, p. 33.
210 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section10(e) : “The OMP shall have the mandate to collate data related to missing persons obtained by processes presently being carried out, or which were previously carried out, by other institutions, organizations, Government Departments and Commissions of Inquiry and Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry.”
211 Ibid, sections 12(c), 12(e), 12(g).
212 Ibid, section 12(i).
213 Ibid, section 10(1)(e).
215 CTF Interim Report, supra 5, p.21.
216 Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, A Legacy to Remember: Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry 1963- 2002, The Law and Society Trust, September 2010, p. 24 [Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry].
218 M. C. M. Iqbal, Enforced Disappearance of Persons in Sri Lanka: Legacy and Ongoing Challenges , Sri Lanka Brief, 5 May 2016, available at: http://srilankabrief.org/2016/05/enforced-disappearance-of-persons-in-sri-lanka-legacy-and-ongoing-challenges-m-c-m-iqbal/ (accessed 24 October 2016) [Iqbal, Enforced Disappearance of Persons in Sri Lanka].
219 Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry, supra 216, p. 24.
221 Report on the Second Mandate of the Presidential Commission on Inquiry into Complaints of Abductions and Disappearances, August 2015, p. 12, available at: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Paranagama-Report-.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
223 Law on Missing Persons, 2004, (Bosnia), section 23, available at: http://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/law-on-missing-persons.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016), [ Bosnia, Law on Missing Persons ]. This section provides that the cooperation with other competent authorities in BiH that have data relevant to tracing missing persons is regulated under a special agreement that defines the mode of cooperation and all other important issues.
224 Law on Missing Persons, 2011, (Kosovo), article 8(1), available at: http://www.kuvendikosoves.org/common/docs/ligjet/Law%20on%20missing%20persons.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016). The Commission is a governmental body which heads, supervises, harmonizes and coordinates the activities with local and international institutions, cooperates with Institutions and International Organizations and the other stakeholders with regards to clarification of the fate of missing persons.
227 Ibid, section 12(c)(ii).
228 Living with uncertainty, supra 4, p. 31.
229 The International Committee of the Red Cross’ Confidential Approach, International Review of the Red Cross, Volume 84, Number 887, Autumn 2012, p. 1140: “Subject to the applicable law, the ICRC reserves the right at any time to decide what type of information it wishes to share with the parties (State or non-State authorities, or third parties). Decisions to transmit confidential information are taken by the ICRC alone on the basis of agreed internal procedures.”
230 See ICRC’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Report of the Secretary General, Missing persons, August 2016, ¶28: “In December 2015, ICRC provided the parties concerned with an updated list containing the names of 4,496 people registered as missing by its delegations in Baku and Yerevan and its mission in the affected area. In that endeavour, ICRC worked closely with the Azeri and Armenian commissions on prisoners of war, hostages and missing people,” [Report of the Secretary General on Missing Persons].
231 Monique Crettol and Anne-Marie La Rosa, The Missing and Transitional Justice: The Right to Know and the Fight Against Impunity, International Review of the Red Cross, Volume 88, Number 862 (June 2006), available at: http://corteidh.or.cr/tablas/a21929.pdf (accessed 24 October 2016).
232 EAAF, Investigative Program, available at: http://eaaf.typepad.com/investigative_training/, (accessed 18 October 2016), [EEAF, Investigative Program].
233 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(c)(i).
235 For sample forms see ICRC Follow-up report on missing, supra 194, pp. 133-144.
236 Report of the Secretary General, Missing persons, supra 230, ¶28, August 2016.
237 This form can be found at the following link: https://www.interpol.int/INTERPOL-expertise/Forensics/DVI-Pages/Forms (accessed 20 November 2016).
238 ICRC, Accompanying Families of Missing Persons, A Practical Handbook (March 2013), p. 23, available at: https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-4110.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
239 D.J Ravindran, M.Guzman & B. Ignacio, Handbook on Fact-finding and Documentation of Human Rights Violations, Asian Forum for Human Rights Development, Bangkok, 1994, p. 32 [Handbook on Fact-finding and Documentation of Human Rights Violations]; D. F. Orentlicher, Bearing Witness: The Art and Science of Human Rights Fact-Finding, Harvard Human Rights Journal, Vol. 3, 1990, p. 116.
240 Intelligence source and information reliability rating systems are used in intelligence analysis. Several systems may be used. These include the 4x4 system: see Europol Information Management, available at: http://www.izgubenonajdeno.mvr.gov.mk/Uploads/Europol%20Products%20and%20Services-Booklet.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016). Or the 5x5x5 system used by the police some countries including the UK, available at: http://library.college.police.uk/docs/APPref/how-to-complete-5x5x5-form.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
241 M. C. Bassiouni & C. Abraham, Siracusa Guidelines for International, Regional and National Fact-finding Bodies, International Institute for Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences, Cambridge, Antwerp, Portland, Intersentia, 2013, , guidelines 8.5 and 9.3.8 [Siracusa Guidelines].
242 Handbook on Fact-finding and Documentation of Human Rights Violations, supra 239, p. 175.
243 Siracusa Guidelines, supra 241, guidelines 9.3.1 and 9.3.2.
244 U.S. Department of State, Working with Interpreters: A Checklist to Evaluate Qualifications, July 2015, available at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/245381.pdf (accessed 20 November 2016).
245 See, e.g., New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Guidelines for Interpreters, Sept. 2016, available at: https://www.justice.govt.nz/about/lawyers-and-service-providers/service-providers/interpreting-in-courts-and-tribunals/guidelines-for-interpreters/ (accessed 20 November 2016); J. Krueger and D. Wilen, Checklist for Interpreters, 2000, available at: https://www.quia.com/files/quia/users/esol9817/CAT-III-for-SSP/Interpreter_Checklist (accessed 20 November 2016) .
246 Maropeng, The Missing Persons Task Team: Fleshing Out The Bones Of The Apartheid Era, 20 June 2016, available at: http://www.maropeng.co.za/news/entry/the-missing-persons-task-team-fleshing-out-the-bones-of-the-apartheid-era (accessed 20 November 2016).
247 See the following link for the questionnaire: http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_180.htm (accessed 20 November 2016).
249 Nunca Mas, supra 191, chapter VI.
250 Iraq: State of the Evidence, supra 186, p. 14.
252 Ibid, section 24 (d).
253 Siracusa Guidelines, supra 241, guideline 8.6.
254 Ibid, guideline 8.7: “physical evidence should be properly preserved and protected from contamination while in the custody of the fact-finding body.”
255 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12 (f).
256 Ibid, section 12(g).
257 Ibid, section 12(d).
258 Ibid, section 12(f).
262 Dermot Groome, The Handbook of Human Rights Investigation: A Comprehensive Guide to the Investigation and Documentation of Violent Human Rights Abuses, Northborough, Mass, Human Rights Press, 2001, p.85, [The Handbook of Human Rights Investigation].
264 For example, under the internal rules of Nepal’s CIEDP, the investigative officer is required to prepare a deed of search and seizure mentioning the details and current location of the documents/objects that have been seized from a given place. CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, Rule 19.
265 The Handbook of Human Rights Investigation, supra 262, p. 84.
266 CIEDP Rule 2072, supra 61, Schedule 6.
267 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(d).
268 ICRC, Operational Best Practices Regarding The Management of Human Remains And Information On The Dead By Non-Specialists, 2004, p. 26, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/publication/0858-operational-best-practices-regarding-management-human-remains-and-information-dead (accessed 20 November 2016). For instance, in BiH the MPI was able to access aerial and satellite images: see ICMP, Stocktaking, supra 47, p. 94.
270 Iraq, Law on Protection of Mass Graves, 2006, article 4, available at: http://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/law-on-protection-of-mass-graves.pdf (accessed 10 October 2016) [Iraq, Law on Protection of Mass Graves].
271 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(e). For best practices see EAAF, Recommendations, supra 232.
272 Iraq, Law on Protection of Mass Graves, supra 270, Article 6.
274 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12 (e): the Office has the power “to request assistance necessary for the achieving of its mandate, from any State, governmental, provincial, or local authority or agency, or any officer thereof.”
275 Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, Identifying Chechnya’s Dead, 19 November 2008, available at: http://www.rferl.org/a/EIdentifying_Chechen_Dead/1350872.html (accessed 26 October 2016).
277 EAAF, Recommendations, supra 232.
278 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 11(a). For an analysis of the problems encountered in South Africa in the absence of formal agreements between the parties involved in excavations, see J.D Aronson, The Strengths and Limitations of South Africa’s Search for Apartheid Era Missing Persons, 2011, International Journal of Transitional Justice. 5, No. 2, p. 264.
279 See EAAF, Recommendations, supra 232.
282 DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, supra 76, p. 11.
291 Ibid, pp. 6, 7, 15.
292 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 12(c).
293 Ibid, section 12(e).
294 DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, supra 76, pp. 15, 39.
296 Ibid, pp. 15-18.
297 ICMP, Stocktaking, supra note 47, p. 10.
300 ICMP, Stocktaking, supra 47, p. 33; p. 54; DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, supra 76, p. 33.
305 Ibid, p. 43. See also, UNESCO, The International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, 2003, available at: http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3479&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed 9 October 2016) [International Declaration on Human Genetic Data].
306 See, e.g., ICMP, Standard Operating Procedure for Sampling Bone and Tooth Specimens from Human Remains for DNA Testing at the ICMP, available at: http://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/icmp-sop-aa-136-2-doc.pdf (accessed 26 October 2016).
307 European Court on Human Rights, Tzilivaki and others v. Cyprus (App. No. 23082/07), Decision, 14 October 2014, ¶6.
308 Interpol, White Paper DVI, p. 3, available at: https://www.interpol.int/Media/Files/INTERPOL-Expertise/DVI/White-Paper-DVI (accessed 21 November 2016).
309 ICMP, Stocktaking, supra 47, p. 56. This cost does not include the associated costs incurred throughout the investigative process.
311 S. Cordner and H. McKelvie, Developing standards in international forensic work to identify missing persons, December 2002, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 848, p. 880.
313 Skype interview with Marte Myhre Tunheim and Claudia Rivera, FAFG, 26 October 2016.
314 Skype interview with Andreas Kleiser, Director for Policy and Coordination, ICMP, 19 October 2016.
315 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, titled “An Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The Office On Missing Persons; To Provide For The Searching And Tracing Of Missing Persons; To Provide Assistance To Relatives Of Missing Persons; For The Setting Up Of A Database Of Missing Persons; For Setting Out The Procedures And Guidelines Applicable To The Powers And Functions Assigned To The Said Office; And To Provide For All Matters Which Are Connected With Or Incidental To, The Implementation Of The Provisions Of This Act.”
316 Ibid, sections 10(1)(e), 13(1)(h).
317 Report of the Secretary General, Missing persons, supra 230, ¶28.
318 ICMP, ICMP Launches Missing Persons Online Inquiry Center, 9 February 2011, available at: http://www.icmp.int/press-releases/missing-persons-online-inquiry-center/.
319 ICRC, Missing Persons in the Western Balkans, 2 June 2015, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/missing-persons-western-balkans (accessed 24 October 2016).
320 ICRC, The Ante-mortem/Post-mortem Database: An Information Management Application For Forensic Data, December 2013, available at: https://shop.icrc.org/publications/the-ante-mortem-post-mortem-database-an-information-management-application-for-forensic-data.html (accessed 24 October 2016)[ICRC AM-PM database]. The Kosovo GCMP used the AM-PM database after signing a Software Handover Agreement with the ICRC in 2012.
321 Skype interview with Andreas Kleiser, supra 314.
322 See Interpol, Recommendations on the Use of DNA for the Identification of Missing Persons and Unidentified Human Remains, available at: https://www.interpol.int/Media/Files/INTERPOL-Expertise/DNA/INTERPOL-Best-practice-principles-Recommendations-on-the-Use-of-DNA-for-the-Identification-of-Missing-Persons-and-Unidentified-Human-Remains (accessed 25 October 2016).
323 Skype interview with Marte Myhre Tunheim and Claudia Rivera, supra 313.
324 ICRC AM-PM database, supra 320.
325 Iqbal, Enforced Disappearance of Persons in Sri Lanka, supra 218.
326 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, sections 15(1), 15(2), 15(3).
328 Ibid, 12(c)(v).
329 Ibid, 15(1).
330 Bosnia, Law on Missing Persons, supra 223, section 23.
332 UN Secretariat, Secretary-General’s bulletin Information sensitivity, classification and handling, 12 February 2007, U.N. Doc. ST/SGB/2007/6.
333 Ibid, ¶5.4.
334 Ibid, ¶5.1a.
335 Ibid, ¶5.1b.
336 Ibid, ¶5.1c.
337 Ibid, ¶5.1d.
338 International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, supra 305, Preamble: “human genetic data have a special status on account of their sensitive nature since they can be predictive of genetic predispositions concerning individuals...they may have a significant impact on the family, including offspring, extending over generations, and in some instances on the whole group; they may contain information the significance of which is not necessarily known at the time of the collection of biological samples.”
339 UNESCO, The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, 2005, available at: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31058&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed 18 November 2016).
340 International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, supra 305.
341 UNESCO, The Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, 1997, available at: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13177&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed 18 November 2016).
342 International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, supra 305, article 14. See also BiH Witness Protection Program Law, supra 107, section 23: “Persons who are engaged in managing and handling personal information related to confidential data on biological, hereditary, physical, genetic properties and medical data on a missing person shall have the obligation to keep the information confidential and handle them in accordance with established rules for protection of such information.”
344 International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, supra 305, article 14(e): “human genetic data and human proteomic data should not be kept in a form which allows the data subject to be identified for any longer than is necessary for achieving the purposes for which they were collected or subsequently processed.”
346 Ibid, article 15(2).
349 The Handbook of Human Rights Investigation, supra 262, pp. 76-77.
350 Ibid, p 25.
351 ICMP, ICMP and Libyan Government Sign an Agreement on Cooperation Concerning Missing Persons 12 November 2012, available at: http://www.icmp.int/press-releases/icmp-libya-sign-agreement/ (accessed 25 October 2016).
353 ICRC, ICRC Report: The Missing and Their Families, 2003, p. 142, available at: https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/report/5jahr8.htm (accessed 25 October 2016).
357 See generally, J.O.M Karlsson & M Turner, Long-term storage of tissues by cryopreservation: critical issues, March 1995, available at: http://www.lorentzcenter.nl/lc/web/2012/512/problems/4/Longterm%20storage%20of%20tissues%20by%20cryopreservation.pdf (accessed 18 October 2016).
359 See generally, C.W. Kilpatrick, Non-cryogenic preservation of mammalian tissue for DNA extraction: An assessment of storage methods, Biochemical Genetics, No. 40, 2002.
360 DNA Analysis, and the Identification of Human Remains, supra 76, pp. 34-35.
361 See Institute for International Investigations website: http://www.iici.info/.
363 Ibid, p 104.
364 Ibid
366 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 13(1)(c).
367 Ibid, section 13(1)(d).
369 Ibid, section 13(1)( j).
371 Ibid, section 13(1)(k)(v).
372 Ibid, section 13(1)(c).
373 Regulation No. 15/2012 on the Work of the Government Commission on Missing Persons (Kosovo) available at: http://www.kryeministriks.net/repository/docs/Rregullores_Nr_152012_per_Punen_e_Komisionit_Qeveritar_per_Persona_te_Zhdukur_FINAL__4_.pdf (accessed 13 October 2016), article 21(1.4) [Regulation No. 15/2012].
374 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 13(1)(d)(i).
375 Ibid, section 13(1)(d)(ii).
377 Clara Ramirez-Barat, Making an Impact: Guidelines on Designing and Implementing Outreach Programs for Transitional Justice, New York, January 2011, p.7, available at: ICTJ-Global-Making-Impact-2011-English.pdf (accessed 24 October 2016) [Making an Impact].
378 R. L. Jayakody, A. Wamanan and F.Shaheid, Govt Shuns Missing Persons Families, 3 September 2016, available at: http://nation.lk/online/2016/09/03/govt-shuns-missing-persons-families.html (accessed 24 October 2016).
379 Making an Impact, supra 377, p. 9.
380 S. Ford, How Special is the Special Court’s Outreach Section, 13 March 2012, p. 9, available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2021370 (accessed 26 October 2016) [Ford].
382 R.H. Steinberg, Assessing the Legacy of the ICTY, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 23 May 2011, p.111.
383 Colombopage, Sri Lanka HR Commission says public awareness campaign needed urgently to dispel misinformation about OMP, 22 August 2016, available at: http://www.colombopage.com/archive_16B/Aug22_1471887516CH.php (accessed 25 October 2016).
384 Ford, supra 381, p. 2.
388 Making an Impact, supra 377, p. 11.
389 International Criminal Court, Integrated Strategy for External Relations, Public Information and Outreach, The Hague, 2007, available at: https://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/425E80BA-1EBC-4423-85C6-D4F2B93C7506/185049/ICCPIDSWBOR0307070402_IS_En.pdf (accessed 15 November 2016).
390 Making an Impact, supra 377, p 12.
391 Special Court for Sierra Leone, Outreach Mission Statement, Special Court Outreach Report, 2003-2005, “Aim to promote understanding of the Special Court (SC) and respect for human rights and the rule of law in Sierra Leone, to disseminate information and encourage dialogue, to foster two-way communication between the SC and Sierra Leone and to facilitate the participation of all Sierra Leone nationals in the judicial processes of the SC based on equality and mutual respect.”
392 Ford, supra 381, p. 13.
394 Report on the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Submitted by the Independent Expert Antonio Cassese, (12 December 2006), p. 59, available at: http://www.scsl.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=VTDHyrHasLc=&tabid=176 (accessed 6 October 2016).
395 Act Establishing the Office on Missing Persons, supra 1, section 3(3).
397 See e. g., Organic Law on Establishing and Organizing Transitional Justice, 2013, (Tunisia), available at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TN/TransitionalJusticeTunisia.pdf (accessed 23 October 2016), article 56: “The Commission shall, within the six months maximum following the nomination of its members, undertake the following preparations.... Develop a comprehensive media plan, in coordination with national media”.
398 M. Hussain, Sri Lankans on Social Media- What we found out, 24 November 2013, available at: http://www.readme.lk/sri-lankans-social-media-out/ (accessed 23 October 2016): “... almost 11.5% of Sri Lanka’s entire population is on Facebook today, with 1,400,000 being male and 720,000 being female, and the age group of 25-34 makes up 33% of the entire base.” See also, R. Hewagama, Social Media Landscape in Sri Lanka, available at: http://socialmedia.lk/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2015/10/Social%20Media%20Landscape%20in%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf (accessed 23 October 2016).
400 Ibid, p. 16: Institutions like the ICC and the SCSL have also been using short-messaging services to provide quick answers to questions raised by the general public and timely information to journalists.
402 Nepal adopts a similar approach in relation to the finances of its Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons: see, The Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2071 (2014), available at: http://trc.gov.np/base/file/actsrulesguidelines.pdf (accessed 12 October 2016), article 12(5).
403 Regulation No. 15/2012, supra 374, article 6.4.
404 MPI Co-Founders Agreement, supra 44, article 7.
406 Ibid, section 25(2)(a).
407 CTF Interim Report, supra 5, p. 67.
409 ICMP, Locating and Identifying Missing Persons: A Guide for Families in Bosnia and Herzegovina, available at: http://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/locating-and-identifying-missing-persons-a-guide-for-families-in-bih.pdf (accessed 10 November 2016), pp. 7-8 [A Guide for Families in Bosnia and Herzegovina].
411 A Guide for Families in Bosnia and Herzegovina, supra 410, p. 7: “The Advisory Board comprises of six representatives of family associations of missing persons: two Bosniak, two Croat and two Serb representatives. Women and men are equally represented.”
413 Ibid, Article 8.
416 Regulation No. 15/2012, supra 374, article 18.
420 CTF Interim Report, supra 5, p. 14; The Paranagama Commission has done great damage, supra 6.
Published in Reports
අතුරුදන්වූ තැනැත්තන් පිලිබඳ කාර්යාලය පිළිබඳව නිතර පැන නගින ගැටළු
Published in Pamphlets
காணாமற்போனோர் அலுவலகம் பற்றி அடிக்கடி கேட்கப்படும் கேள்விகள்.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OMP
Interview with Dr. Mario Gomez, Executive Director ICES
In the second interview of our podcast series, Dr. Isabelle Lassée of SACLS talks to Dr. Mario Gomez, Executive Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies on various issues relating to TJ in Sri Lanka. After a brief discussion on the advantages of setting up a Permanent Human Rights Court in Sri Lanka, Mario goes on to consider the value of truth commissions and what a Sri Lankan truth commission could look like. Mario also assesses the new Bill titled ‘Office on Missing Persons’. He closes by reasoning out the need to balance public consultations with political momentum in forming TJ mechanisms and how this is playing out in Sri Lanka right now.
Published in Audio
Commentary on the Bill titled Office on Missing Persons
PART 1: Introduction: Background and Rationale for an OMP
The change of government in January 2015 brought to the fore the need for a discrete body to deal with the tens of thousands of disappearances throughout Sri Lanka‟s recent history. The Paranagama Commission of Inquiry which had been established by the previous government lacked credibility, and was not expected to bring closure to victims. On the contrary, there were serious fears of the retraumatization of victims through another failed mechanism that was not sensitive to their rights or needs. The Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) released on 16th September 2016 recommended that the government “dispense with the current Presidential Commission on Missing Persons and transfer its cases to a credible and independent institution developed in consultation with families of the disappeared.” Just a few weeks prior to the release of the OISL Report, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera‟s speech to the UN Human Rights Council announced his government‟s intent to establish an Office of Missing Persons, “based on the principle of the families‟ right to know, to be set up by statute with expertise from the ICRC, and in line with internationally accepted standards.” Operative Paragraph 4 of the UN Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 which Sri Lanka co-sponsored thereafter incorporated this commitment, explicitly referring to the Office of Missing Persons among other promised mechanisms.
It is this context that the OMP Bill was gazetted and is expected to be presented shortly to Parliament. While there are some concerns regarding the process through which the OMP Bill was gazetted, this paper is concerned primarily with its content. The paper concludes that while the Bill is fundamentally sound—with the exception of its strategy to incentivize perpetrator witnesses—there are several technical revisions necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the OMP. Some of these are critical, and it is essential that they be undertaken at the Committee stage in Parliament before the draft enters into law.
PART 2: Establishment
Part 1 of the Bill deals with the form and nature of the Office. There are a few key features concerning the nature of the envisaged OMP. Clause 3 of the Bill envisages an OMP with legal personality and one that would be based in Colombo, with provision for regional offices as necessary. Notably, if enacted, the Bill envisages a permanent body in the sense that it would only cease to exist in the event Parliament by legislation amends or repeals the OMP Act with a view to terminating the OMP‟s existence. This represents a significant improvement on prior Commissions to investigate missing persons, which served effectively at the pleasure of the President, who was at liberty to terminate or extend their respective mandates at will.
Section 4 deals with composition. The OMP is to consist of seven members appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. In this regard, the mode of appointment to the OMP is similar to the mode of appointment of the Chairman and members of the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, National Police Commission, Audit Service Commission, Human Rights Commission, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, Finance Commission, Delimitation Commission, and National Procurement Commission.1 Clause 4(2) provides that in making recommendations, the Constitutional Council shall have “due regard” to ensuring the composition of the OMP reflects the pluralistic nature of Sri Lankan society and that the members shall be persons with “previous experience in fact finding or investigation, human rights law, international humanitarian law, humanitarian response, or possess other qualifications relevant to the carrying out of the functions of the OMP.” These provisions are useful hortatory guidelines, but they do not legally bind the Constitutional Council or the President in any way. Similarly, the question arises as to whether the President is bound by the recommendations of the Constitutional Council. The plain text of the Bill suggests a degree of ambiguity. Clause 5 provides that the President “shall appoint, within fourteen days of receiving the recommendations of the Constitutional Council for such appointments, the Chairman and Members of the OMP.” The use of the imperative word “shall” suggests the President has no discretion with respect to whether or not to appoint the Members and Chairman, but it is unclear if this imperative requirement attaches to the specific individuals recommended by the Constitutional Council. Moreover, the word “recommendation” stands in contrast to the word “advice” when used in contemporary constitutional parlance. Where “advice” suggests the binding nature of the duty of the formal decision maker to act in accordance with the decision of an actual decision maker, “recommendations” are commonly understood not to give rise to a binding obligation to act in accordance with the recommendation. In contrast to the OMP Bill, Article 41B(1) of the Constitution clearly stipulates that “[n]o person shall be appointed by the President as the Chairman or a member of any of the Commissions specified in the Schedule to this Article, except on a recommendation of the Council.” The absence of an analogous provision with respect to the OMP Bill is therefore worrisome, and must incorporated into the Bill at the committee stage in Parliament if the mode of appointment of OMP members is to be truly independent of Presidential fiat.
In the event the President fails to make an appointment within two weeks, however, Clause 5 provides that the persons recommended shall be deemed to have been appointed.
Clause 5(2) provides that the Chairman of the Office shall also be the Chief Executive Officer. This suggests that the Chairman of the OMP will be a full time position, with the distinct likelihood that the other positions will not. The absence of provision for members to function as full time officers risks a weakened and dysfunctional OMP. Many independent Commissions in Sri Lanka are undermined by the absence of provision for Commissioners to function on a full time basis, since the general norm appears to be that while Chairmen hold office full time and receive commensurate remuneration, the other members are deemed to function in a role similar to non-executive board members, and thus receive only nominal remuneration. While there is no bar to full time employment by OMP members in the OMP Bill, it is likely that in determining salaries, Parliament would adopt the current practice with respect to existing Commissions. Thus, it would be useful if amendments are effected to provide for at least a few of the members to function on a full time basis. Failure to do so could cripple the OMP, or in the alternative, effectively vest disproportionate executive power in a Chairman who is also the Chief Executive Officer.
The other provisions relating to the Establishment of the OMP deal with modes or removal, term limits for members, meetings and quorum.
Part III of the Bill also deals with the structure of the OMP. Clause 16 contemplates a Secretariat responsible for administration that is staffed by those appointed by the OMP. In addition, the Bill contemplates two auxiliary units: a Tracing Unit and a Victim and Witness Protection Division within the OMP.
Tracing Unit
The Tracing Unit is in effect an investigative unit, and will be headed by an Executive Officer appointed by the OMP and shall include “compete, experienced and qualified investigators including those with relevant technical and forensic expertise”.
Victim and Witness Protection
The Victim and Witness Protection Division is likewise to be headed by an Executive Officer. Clause 18 (3) mandates the Division to take “all appropriate measures” to ensure the protection of victims and witnesses engaging with the OMP. The Division is further mandated to provide administrative services and welfare services including psychosocial support to victims, witnesses and relatives. Further, it shall inform relatives of the use or potential use of information provide, and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies where it deems necessary. In this regard, a central question is the nexus between the Victim and Witness Protection Division of the OMP and the Victim and Witness Protection Authority and Division established under the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 4 of 2015. The interpretation clause in Act No. 4 of 2015 limits the definition of witnesses to witnesses before a court or Commission of Inquiry, and thus excludes the OMP. This is a critical issue, and must be remedied by the OMP Bill. However, the proviso to Clause 13(1)(g) of the OMP Bill stipulates that the provisions of the OMP Bill shall not prejudice the rights of victims and witnesses to apply for appropriate orders in terms of Act No. 4 of 2015. On its face therefore, there is no coordination envisaged between the Authority and Division established under the Act—which is itself deeply problematic and in need of revision2—and the OMP.
Clause 19 provides that the State shall provide the OMP with adequate funds to enable it to discharge its functions. These funds are to be charged on the Consolidated Fund. The salaries of the members are to be determined by Parliament. Significantly however, the OMP is given the power by Clause 21 to “raise funds in order to achieve its mandate, including but not limited to obtaining grants, gifts or endowments from the national or international community.” The accounts of the OMP are to be audited by the Auditor General.
Clause 21 provides that the OMP shall have immunity from suit, other than in respect of the writ jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal and the fundamental rights jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. However, all applications for writs in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution are to be handled by the Supreme Court, with the effect of eliminating appeals in respect of such cases. Further, there is protection from civil or criminal suits for good faith acts of a member, servant or officer of the OMP in that capacity; the publication of OMP reports in good faith; and the provision of evidence or documentation to the OMP in good faith.
PART 3: Mandate
The OMP has a six-part mandate, outlined in Clause 10 of the Bill. The primary mandate appears to be that of searching for and tracing missing persons and identifying appropriate mechanisms for the same, and to clarify the circumstances in which such persons went missing. Other aspects of the OMP mandate include making recommendations to relevant authorities to address the incidence of missing persons, protecting the interests of missing persons and their relatives, identifying avenues of redress available to missing persons and their relatives and informing them of same, and collating data related to missing persons and establish a database. Clause 10(1)(f) is an omnibus provision mandating the OMP “to do all such other necessary things to that may become necessary to achieve the objectives under the Act.”
Clause 10(2) clarifies the absence of a temporal mandate: the OMP‟s mandate extend to missing persons regardless of the period in which that person went missing.
The definition of “missing person” is therefore the key element in circumscribing the OMP‟s mandate. Clause 27 defines “missing person” as a person whose fate or whereabouts are reasonably believed to be unknown and is reasonably believed to be unaccounted for and missing in three specific contexts. The three contexts are:
The conflict which took place in the Northern or Eastern Provinces or its aftermath, or the person is a member of the armed forces or police who is identified as “missing in action”;
Political unrest or civil disturbances; and
An enforced disappearance as defined in the International Convention on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
With respect to item 1, it is notable that as long as the person went missing “in the course of, consequent to, or in connection with” with the conflict which took place in the Northern or Eastern Provinces, that person would fall within the OMPs mandate. This would be the case even if the person went missing outside the North and East, provided there is a sufficient nexus between the person going missing and the conflict.
This broad mandate is to be welcomed, but it is likely that in many cases of persons going missing outside the North and East, any nexus to the conflict would only be discovered at a much later stage of a potential investigation. Likewise, in the case of enforced disappearances, a determination that a person was forcibly disappeared is only likely to be made after substantial investigations are conducted. This highlights a major loophole in the design of the OMP as envisaged: while the OMP‟s mandate is crafted broadly, evidence of any person falling within its mandate is likely to be uncovered only at a subsequent stage of the investigation, and is unlikely to be available at the point at which a complaint to the OMP is made. In other words, in the large majority of cases, complaints would be made without sufficient proof that the case falls within the OMP mandate as defined. The technical problem this poses is that the OMP could reject a complaint on the basis that a nexus to the three specified contexts is not demonstrated, even though such information could only be clarified through an investigation which the OMP is ostensibly designed to carry out. In this case, the OMP could—in terms of Clause 12(h) refer such cases to the police or other law enforcement authority after due consultation with the complainant. However, Clause 13(1)(a)(i) mandates the OMP to issue an interim report to the relative where its investigations provide sufficient material to conclude that a person to whom a complaint relates is in fact a “missing person”. Thus, the Bill clearly contemplates investigations by the OMP to determine whether a person falls within the mandate of the OMP. Consequently, while it is inconceivable that reasonable OMP members would flatly reject complaints on the basis that they do not sufficiently justify inclusion within the OMP‟s mandate, it is essential that the law prevents such abuses, and is designed in a manner consistent with the expectation of the duties the OMP is expected to perform. It is therefore preferable if an amendment is introduced by which the OMP is prohibited from rejecting or refusing to investigate a complaint on the basis that it does not fall within its mandate, unless the OMP has investigated the case and provides reasons to support a belief that the case falls outside its mandate.
PART 4: Functions
Clause 13 delineates the functions or duties of the OMP. Clause 13 relates to the obligation of the OMP to provide reports—interim and final—to the relatives for the purposes of obtaining a Certificate of Absence or Certificate of Death as relevant from the Registrar General. Where the OMP has sufficient reason to conclude that a person is in fact a missing person, the OMP is required to provide the relatives with an interim report which could be used to obtain a Certificate of Absence. After investigations are concluded, the OMP is required to issue a final report to a relative to enable the Registrar General to issue a Certificate of Absence or a Certificate of Death. Moreover, the reports leading to the issuance of certificates may be amended where further investigations reveal they were issued erroneously, with the relevant relative and Registrar General being noticed.
Clause 13(1)(b) mandates the OMP to provide information relating to the whereabouts of a missing person if the person is found to be alive. However, this is to be undertaken “subject to the consent of the person found to be alive.” While this caveat would not be objectionable in cases in which the person found to be alive is at liberty to express consent without fear or threat, it would be wholly problematic in cases where the person found to be alive is in a position in which he cannot freely express consent. For instance, if the person concerned was initially disappeared but thereafter in a working arrangement with armed actors within a coercive environment, it would meaningless to rely on his consent when such consent is not freely exercised. Thus, the Bill must be amended to provide for these types of situations, by clearly stipulating that the lack of consent of the person found to be alive cannot militate against informing family members of his whereabouts where he was at any point a victim of enforced disappearance or where the person is not capable of expressing consent, or is subject to the reasonable apprehension of fear or threat in expressing her views to the OMP. The failure to provide for this sort of eventuality—which is commonly alleged in post-armed conflict situations—is a significant failing of the OMP Bill.
Clause 13(1)(c) relates to the duty of the OMP to provide information as to the status of an ongoing investigation to the family, unless the OMP is of the view that the provision of such information would hinder an ongoing investigation or that it is not in the best interests of the missing person. However, the Bill does not stipulate the frequency with which the OMP must provide such information and the extent and manner in which such information pertaining to the status ought to be shared. It would therefore be appropriate and desirable for the OMP to formulate formal rules in this regard in terms of Clause 11(b) and (c).
Clause 13(1)(d) captures the central obligation of the OMP to provide answers regarding the fate and circumstances of the missing person to the relatives at the conclusion of the investigation. As noted later in this paper, this duty is subject to the requirements of confidentiality stipulated in Clause 15(1). In terms of the scope of the duty to provide answers, the OMP is mandated to inform the relatives and/or complainant of the “circumstances in which such person went missing and his fate” in cases where the person is deceased or his whereabouts are unknown. In cases where the person is alive and his whereabouts are known, the OMP is to inform relatives of the “circumstances in which such person went missing”, but subject to the consent requirement of Clause 13(1)(b).
A few comments may be appropriate in reflecting on Clause 13(1)(d). First, the Bill contemplates the “conclusion of an investigation” even in cases where the whereabouts of a person are unknown. This phrasing evinces the question as to when an investigation is to be deemed concluded. Since the OMP is designed to provide answers to victims, and since it is desirable that the remains of deceased victims be returned to their families, it follows that an investigation cannot be closed until the fate of the missing person is clarified, the circumstances surrounding his going missing ascertained, and his remains—if available— returned to the family. However, by contemplating the closure of investigations even before the whereabouts of the person are known, the OMP Bill partially answers an important question it otherwise leaves open. In reality, an open investigation may not necessarily mean the active pursuit of the case by the OMP, given the need for rationalization of what are likely to be limited resources relative to the immense need. However, it is essential that the OMP is not seen to be closing an investigation and forcing families to accept closure when in fact questions that the OMP is mandated to answer remain unanswered.
Second, the Bill does not clarify the manner and degree to which information would be shared with the relatives. It is desirable that families be provided answers in a sensitive manner given the emotional trauma likely to have been already caused, and caused on occasion of the receipt of information relating to their relatives. However, it is also essential that the relevant information be provided in writing as an official acknowledgement of the state. In this regard, the OMP should formulate appropriate rules. Further, and as we discuss later in this paper, it is unclear what effect the confidentiality requirement would affect families‟ right to know.
The other functions of the OMP relate to: the provision of administrative assistance, welfare services and psycho-social support to victims; recommendations with respect to reparations; developing a system of victim and witness protection; creating a database including particulars of all missing persons; informing victims, relatives, witnesses and other information of their right to report serious crimes to law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities; conduct public advocacy; and making recommendations on a range of policy and legal issues pertaining to missing persons.
PART 5: Powers
The powers of the OMP are specified in Clauses 11 and 12 of the Bill and are classified as “general powers” and “investigative powers”. The former primarily relate to powers concerning the establishment of the OMP, and are significant.
General Powers
Clause 11(a) refers to the general power to enter into agreements with any person or organization, whether local or foreign, including agreements to secure information, maintain confidentiality of information, obtain technical support, training and collaboration and establish databases. The phrasing of this provision appears designed to cover potential agreements between the OMP and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international agencies. The ICRC has been involved in the design process with respect to the OMP and appears to have in its possession material potentially useful to the OMP‟s mandate. However, the ICRC does require some form of confidentiality in that it has a policy of not providing information if there is a risk that such information would be used for criminal investigations and prosecutions. Moreover, the ICRC has a history of signing memoranda of understanding with authorities with whom it shares its information. Thus, this Clause appears to contemplate the type of agreements required to ensure cooperation between the ICRC and the OMP. However, the provision could also permit a wider range of agreements. In particular the phrase “obtaining technical support and training (forensic or otherwise) and collaboration” would likely cover consultancy agreements required to give effect to the government‟s commitment in Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 passed in October 2015 that Sri Lanka‟s transitional justice mechanisms would have the “freedom to obtain assistance, both financial, material and technical from international partners including the OHCHR”.3
Further general powers of the OMP include the power to make rules governing the OMP, appoint and dismiss staff and consultants, seek secondment of public officers to the OMP, and establish committees, units and divisions. It is notable that the OMP has the power to delegate powers and functions to those Committees as necessary. In this regard, the OMP appears to have the flexibility necessary to establish an oversight committee comprising families of those missing and the disappeared in light of these families‟ consistent demand that they be allowed to play such a role.
Investigative Powers
With respect to investigative powers, the OMP appears to have more extensive powers than the quite significant powers already vested in Commissions of Inquiry (CoIs) through section 7(1) of the CoI Act No. 17 of 1948, as amended. These powers are:
To receive from any person or organization complaints relating to missing persons - Clause 12(a)
This is an incidental power to the OMP‟s establishment. Notably however, complaints regarding a missing person may be made by any person, and not just a relative. This would enable complaints to be made by non-governmental organizations or others who have previously collated information on behalf of relatives who may be unaware of or unable to access the OMP. Complaints may also be initiated by the ICRC on the basis of information available to it.
To investigate the whereabouts and circumstances of disappearances of a missing person pursuant to a complaint to the OMP or on the basis of information received from previous CoIs – Clause 12 (b)
This is also an incidental power to the OMP‟s establishment. The OMP was initially mooted as a more credible alternative to the Paranagama CoI. However, the Paranagama CoI and other CoIs have collated mostly biographical and other information from a very large number of relatives. The archives of these CoIs—if available—would greatly add value to the work of the OMP.
To take all necessary steps to investigate cases of missing persons, including but not limited to those specifically enumerated – Clause 12 (c)
This omnibus clause enables the OMP to exercise a wide discretion in determining the limits of its own investigative powers. The phrase “all necessary steps” coupled with the clause enabling the OMP to exercise powers beyond those enumerated elsewhere contemplates robust investigations if the OMP exhibits willingness and capacity.
To procure and receive statements, written or oral, and to examine persons as witnesses, including through the use of video conferencing facilities – Clause 12 (c)(i)
This clause is a near identical reformulation of the corresponding provision in the CoI Act, except that the OMP Bill makes specific reference to the use of video conferencing facilities which were initially used and later discontinued in the course of the Udalagama CoI. The OMP Bill puts the matter beyond doubt that using video conferencing to obtain statements is permissible. Notably however, unlike the CoI Act, the OMP Bill does not grant the Office the explicit right to administer an oath to witnesses before obtaining their testimony, with the consequence that a witness who deliberately lies to the OMP would not be perjuring himself.
To summon any person present or residing in Sri Lanka to be present before the OMP to provide a statement or produce any document or other thing in his possession – Clause 12(c)(ii)
An identical provision is made in the CoI Act.
To admit any statement or material, oral or written, which might be inadmissible in civil or criminal proceedings – Clause 12(c)(iii)
An identical provision is made in the CoI Act. The provision does not contribute any significant powers, except to put beyond doubt the admissibility to the OMP of material such as hearsay evidence and other evidence not admissible in courts of law.
To establish a process to accept confidential information or information in camera – Clause 12(c)(iv)
This is an incidental power to the manner in which the OMP is expected to function. Unlike a traditional CoI, where hearings are generally conducted in public in the form of a formal inquiry, the OMP is likely to deal with complainants on an individualized basis. The default mode for receiving statements is likely to be in camera statements taken by one or more investigative personnel from the Tracing Unit.
However, the Bill uses the term “confidential information” in a number of instances. As we discuss in greater detail in the section on “Linkages and Confidentiality”, the precise scope of this confidentiality is left undefined, and is subject to interpretation.
To establish a process to accept information on the condition of confidentiality – Clause 12(c)(v)
Once again, the use of the word “confidentiality” appears, without a precise definition of its implications.
To apply to the relevant Magistrate for an order to excavate and/or exhume, and to act as an observer at such excavation/exhumations and “other proceedings, pursuant to same” – Clause 12(d)
This is a significant power and one that was unavailable to previous CoIs. By virtue of this power, the OMP would effectively be in a position to apply to a Magistrate to take action in terms of Part V of the Criminal Procedure Code. The referable section of the Code of Criminal Procedure appears to be section 124, which permits the Magistrate to “assist the conduct of an investigation by making and issuing appropriate orders and processes of court…” However, this section appears to apply only to investigations that have been already initiated before the Magistrate by the regular criminal justice process through police investigations. Thus, absent an explicit power vested in the OMP to report and/or forward a case to the Magistrate and thereby to open an investigation, it is doubtful if the Magistrate would be within jurisdiction to issue orders under section 124 where there is no pending investigation before the Magistrate. While the Bill appears to contemplate that excavation and exhumation orders would be followed by regular Magisterial criminal investigations, (demonstrated by the reference to “other proceedings” pursuant to excavation and exhumation orders) it does not legally locate the power of the OMP to apply to the Magistrate within the scope of Part V of the Criminal Procedure Code, and would if unaddressed by Parliament at the Committee stage, potentially lead to technical difficulties.
One way of circumventing these difficulties is for the OMP to report the existence of a grave (and thereby a crime) to the police, and for applications to the Magistrate for appropriate orders to be made subsequent to the police reporting the same to the Magistrate.
However, the OMP is not explicitly vested with the power to report the presumed existence of mass graves to the police. The only analogous power is in Clause 12(i) in terms of which the OMP may report a situation to the relevant law enforcement of prosecuting authority where it appears to the OMP that an offence has been committed. However, the OMP has the discretion to report such offences after consultations with the relatives as it deems fit, “in due consideration of the best interests of the victims, relatives and society…” Clause 12(i) however was clearly designed for situations in which the OMP has clarified, in full or in part, the fate of a missing person and discovered the existence of a crime—evidenced by the fact that it contemplates consultations with the relatives of the specific missing person in respect of whom the crime was committed— and not a situation in which the OMP discovers a mass grave.
There is a further lack of clarity in the manner in which Clause 12(d) is framed. The OMP is to act as an observer in proceedings related to exhumation and excavation of suspected grave sites. However, there is no explicit provision enabling the OMP to play a more technical role in conducting forensic investigations with respect to the graves, despite the prospect that it will, in all probability, be in possession of such competencies. In limiting the OMP‟s role to that of a mere observer, the Bill potentially excludes the OMP from fulfilling a role for which it was manifestly designed. While it is possible that the Magistrate could exercise powers available to him under section 124 to request the OMP to conduct forensic and other functions as necessary, the clarity of the Bill would be greatly assisted by making explicit mention of the Magistrate‟s ability to make such requests of the OMP.
To request assistance necessary for the achieving of its mandate from any State, governmental, provincial, or local authority of agency or its officers, including requests for information and the production of documents. Such functionaries “shall forthwith render such assistance”. – Clause 12(e)
This provision appears to strengthen and clarify the powers of the OMP and corresponding duties of those from whom it requests assistance. In any event, the OMP is vested in terms of Clause 12(c)(ii) to summon any person resident in Sri Lanka to provide a statement or produce a document.
To authorize officers to enter, without warrant, and investigate at any time any place of detention, police station, prison or other place in which in a person is suspected to be detained by a State functionary or suspected of having been previously detained, and to examine, make copies of extract from, seize and retain any object deemed necessary for its investigations – Clause 12(f)
The power conferred on the OMP through this Clause is extensive, and is evidently contemplated in respect of places of detention—authorized or unauthorized—in which missing persons are likely to be in detention or likely to have in the past been in detention.
To make application to a Magistrate for a search warrant to enable OMP officers or police officers to search premises suspected to contain evidence relevant to an investigation of the OMP; and to examine, make copies of, extract from, seize and retain any object deemed necessary for its investigations – Clause 12(g)
This power to apply for a warrant is in respect of places where evidence relating to investigations is potentially held, unlike Clause 12(f) which applies to places where persons were previously or are presently being detained. Together with Clause 12(f), Clause 12(g) renders the OMP an extraordinarily powerful investigative body, which is to be welcomed.
To report to the relevant law enforcement or prosecuting authority information relating to the missing person’s biographical information and place in which the missing person was last seen where it appears to the OMP that an offence has been committed. This power to be exercised only after consultation with relatives as it deems fit, “in due consideration of the best interests of the victims, relatives and society…”
This Clause is examined in detail in the section on “Linkages and Confidentiality”.
Clause 23 criminalizes a number of acts so as to punish acts which prevent the due functioning of the OMP. These acts include failing to respond to summons, refusing without cause to answer questions posed by the OMP, refusing to comply with a requirement of a notice or written order or direction of the OMP, refusing to produce a document in response to a summons, obstructing an officer authorized by the Act to do a thing, knowingly hindering or obstructing the OMP, attempting to improperly influence or interfere with the OMP, threatening or intimidating those cooperating or intending to cooperate with the OMP, disclosing confidential information, and without reasonable excuse failing to comply with a order of the OMP. Trial and punishment is to be by the Court of Appeal for contempt of the OMP as though the offence were that of contempt committed against the Court of Appeal, upon a report by the OMP to the Court.
PART 6: Linkages and Confidentiality
The OMP is designed explicitly for the purpose of “searching and tracing” missing persons (Long Title) in recognition that “relatives of missing persons are entitled to know the circumstances in which such persons went missing, and the fate and whereabouts of such missing persons” (Preamble). While the government has committed to an accountability mechanism to deal with prosecutions, government functionaries have been keen to point out that the OMP is not designed for prosecutions, but “will in no way impede victims‟ right to justice”.4
The OMP does not explicitly impede victims‟ right to justice. It does not, for instance, establish a mechanism for amnesty by which perpetrators would be excluded from criminal prosecution. Further, by investigating enforced disappearances and ascertaining the fate and whereabouts of victims, the OMP could potentially build a very powerful public case for prosecutions, and further contribute to trials by identifying mass graves for exhumation and contributing its expertise to criminal investigations. However, the details concerning the linkages between the OMP and a potential accountability mechanism require analysis. While much of the praxis surrounding the interaction between the OMP and a potential special accountability mechanism would be influenced by the relationships between the individuals animating both mechanisms, the Bill contains a few provisions that provide the parameters for this interaction.
Clause 12(i) provides that where it appears to the OMP that an offence has been committed and that such offence warrants investigation, it may “after consultation with the relatives of the missing person as it deems fit”, “in due consideration of the best interests of the victims, relatives and society”, report the same to the relevant law enforcement or prosecuting authority. The use of the phrase “prosecuting authority” appears to contemplate a special prosecutor to deal with, among others, disappearance related crimes. This reporting is to merely transmit biographical information of the victim and the place in which the missing person was last seen. This provision is unduly restrictive on the OMP. First, while consultations with victims are desirable with respect to any decision, the decision concerning the transmission of information to investigating or prosecuting authorities does not require specific consultations. Second, there is no conceivable reason as to why the OMP should have the discretion whether or not to report an offence. Further, the grounds on which they are to exercise this discretion are exceedingly broad and capable of abuse. Finally, since confidential information would in any event be unavailable to a court, such information could be removed from a redacted file concerning the investigation that is sent to the relevant investigators and prosecutors. The current scheme would require investigators and prosecutors to duplicate the work of the OMP in sourcing non-confidential information, and is therefore flawed.
Clause 13(2) dealing with the functions of the OMP stipulates that “the findings of the OMP shall not give rise to any criminal or civil liability”. This provision has caused concern among some sections of the public, who fear it extinguishes or reduces the prospects for accountability. A plain reading of the provision suggests, however, that it only reiterates a reality that would otherwise be accepted, that the findings of the OMP pursuant to an investigation would not, of themselves, be sufficient to ground civil or criminal liability of a potential perpetrator. Thus, the provision appears to be redundant and was likely included in the Bill to assuage the fears of a group or groups of suspected perpetrators. Its inclusion does not add any legal value to the text of the Bill, and thus should have been avoided.
Another potential concern is the usage of the concept of confidentiality in the Bill. As noted previously in this paper, Clause 12(c)(iv) empowers the OMP to establish a process to accept confidential information or information in camera for the purpose of victim or witness security, while Clause 12(c)(v) empowers the body to establish a process to accept information on the basis of confidentiality. Clause 11(a) which empowers the OMP to enter into agreements envisages one such type of agreements to be in respect of “confidentiality of information”. The enforcement of this confidentiality requirement is strengthened through the visitation of contempt sanctions on those who “disclose any confidential information in contravention of the provisions” of the Bill, in terms of Clause 24.
Clause 15 deals specifically with the confidentiality of information and provides that the OMP shall preserve and aid in preserving confidentiality with regard to matters communicated to them in confidence. Further, it provides that no OMP functionary shall be required to produce, whether in court or otherwise, any material communicated to him in confidence in the performance of his duties, except as required for the purposes of giving effect to the provision of the Act. Like Clause 12(c)(v), Clause 15 also draws an implicit distinction between information provided on the basis of confidentiality, and information that is provided without such an understanding. It thus stands to reason that the OMP could be compelled by a court of law or other body having the power to compel and/or summon the OMP to produce all other material and information available to the OMP. This may include material obtained without an understanding of confidentiality, or material generated by the OMP directly through forensic or other investigations and analysis. This material could potentially provide a very rich body of evidentiary material to a judicial process. However, as invariably is the case with confidentiality requirements, controversies are likely to arise as to what information is confidential, and what is not. The Bill is unclear if the confidentiality requirement only attaches to the identity of those who submit the information, or to the information itself. It is thus critical that the OMP formulate precise and specific rules concerning the way in which it deals with the issue of confidentiality.
The SCRM leaflet on the OMP proposals states that the guarantee of protection for confidential information is offered “in the hope of eliciting useful information”. The question of how to elicit information from potential perpetrators is a central one, but as we point out in a recent SACLS Position Paper, the simple grant of confidentiality is unlikely to provide perpetrator-witnesses a sufficient incentive or protection to disclose the truth to the OMP. In fact, since such truth-telling increases the likelihood of the discovery of crimes in which they were involved (and thus increase the chance of prosecutions) perpetrators have an interest in preventing effective OMP investigations.5
Another reason motivating the requirement of confidentiality is, as noted previously, the potential role of the ICRC in contributing information to the OMP. What is clear is that the ICRC would—if it decides to share information with the OMP—require a guarantee that information provided by it would not be used in criminal investigations or prosecutions. In these contexts, “confidentiality” would be synonymous with the exclusion of such evidence from prosecutors and investigators. However, the text is unclear as to whether the scope of “confidentiality” is broader, with the result that the OMP would be left to define the word itself. However, there are significant dangers here.
An expansive definition of confidentiality could seriously undermine victims‟ right to truth, by for instance, withholding certain details gathered by the OMP through a confidential statement from the relatives of the missing person. Moreover, in the most expansive interpretation of „confidentiality‟ possible, information obtained on the basis of follow-up investigations pursuant to a confidential statement could also be excluded from the material shared with the relatives. This kind of eventuality would be plainly unacceptable. Yet, Clause 13(1)(d) in terms of which the OMP has a duty to inform the family of the fate and circumstances in which the person went missing or was deceased, applies “subject to the provisions of section 15(1)” which relate to confidentiality. This is a serious problem, unless there is clarity that only the identity of the confidential witness cannot be disclosed. Without such clarity, there is a risk of relatives being denied information regarding the fate and circumstances of the person going missing or being deceased. This eventuality would be utterly objectionable as a matter of victims‟ rights or common sense. The purpose of any concession to witnesses by providing confidential cover to their statements is to ensure that relatives are entitled to know as much truth as could possibly be known, and to provide a mechanism whereby those who would not otherwise come forward to share information could do so without fear of repercussions. However, the purpose of providing such concessions to witnesses would be frustrated if relatives are not provided the information obtained confidentially.
It is therefore important that Parliament clarifies the scope of the confidentiality requirements set out in the Bill.
The OMP Bill gazetted by order of the Prime Minister on 27 May 2016 signifies an important Transitional Justice development in Sri Lanka. The first of four mechanisms promised by the government, the OMP seeks to respond to the unrelenting demand for the truth by relatives of the missing and forcibly disappeared. The OMP draft legislation, as gazetted, appears to be fundamentally sound—barring its provisions on linkages with prosecutions and the ambit of the confidentiality granted to some statements it seeks to protect—and would, if implemented genuinely, offer a meaningful chance of closure and answers for at least some relatives of the missing and forcibly disappeared. However, the Bill does raise some technical issues, which if unresolved, could potentially stymie the implementation of its provisions and deny victims‟ their rights. Further, past experience had demonstrated that even minor amendments to legislation are very difficult to effect after passage through Parliament into law. These issues must therefore be remedied at the Committee stage in Parliament.
We therefore recommend that Parliament effect the following revisions to the Bill:
Insert a provision similar to Article 41B(1) of the Constitution to provide that no person shall be appointed by the President as the Chairman or a member of the OMP, except on a recommendation of the Council.
Provide that at least three of the members of the OMP would function as deputy CEOs or any other relevant executive capacity.
Amend-directly, or by implication by making provision in the OMP Bill— the Victim and Witness Protection Act No. 4 of 2015 by providing that for the purposes of such Act, the OMP would be deemed to be a Commission of Inquiry.
Provide, for avoidance of doubt, that the OMP shall not reject or refuse to investigate a complaint on the basis that it does not fall within its mandate, unless the OMP has investigated the case and provides reasons to support a belief that the case falls outside its mandate.
In respect of Clause 13(1)(b) and Clause 13(1)(d)(ii), provide that the whereabouts of a person shall not be withheld from the relatives where the person found to be alive was at any point previously subject to an enforced disappearance or where the person is not capable of expressing consent, or is subject to the reasonable apprehension of fear or threat in expressing his views to the OMP.
Expressly provide that no investigation into a missing person shall be considered closed until the fate of the person and circumstances in which the person went missing are clarified, and in cases where the missing person is deceased, their remains returned to the family.
Clarify the scope of confidentiality with respect to information given to the families of the missing. In terms of Clause 13(1)(d), provide that only information regarding the identity of the person providing the information who explicitly requested confidentiality could be withheld from the family, and not the information itself.
Delete Clause 13(2) which is redundant.
Make explicit provision enabling a Magistrate to open an investigation under Chapter V of the Criminal Procedure Code upon a request for exhumation and/or excavation of a suspected grave site by the OMP.
Make explicit provision enabling the Magistrate to make necessary orders requesting the OMP to undertake and/or assist any investigative function pursuant to proceedings initiated by an OMP request to the Magistrate for an order of exhumation/excavation.
Amend Clause 12(i) and require that the OMP transmits a copy of its case files (with confidential information redacted) to the relevant prosecutor and/or investigating authority concerning a missing person/persons, where it appears to the Office that an offence has been committed.
Rethink the government‟s approach to incentivizing witnesses to come forward, in particular by considering the involvement of a prosecutor in the OMP‟s investigations.
1 Article 41B of the Constitution as amended.
2 For a comprehensive critique of existing witness and victim protection legislation, and analysis of the necessary reform, see Aruni Jayakody, “Witness and Victim Protection: The Need for Further Reform”, South Asian Centre for Legal Studies, September 2015. Accessed at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Ja0Q7ULo0c3FVcmJLb3pNTEE/view
3 Operative Paragraph 4, Resolution 30/1, “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka”. 1 October 2015. UN.Doc.A/HRC/30/1.
4 Leaflet titled “Proposals for the Office of Missing Persons” released by the Secretariat for Coordinating Missing Persons (SCRM) on or around 13 May 2016.
5 Dr. Isabelle Lassee, SACLS Position Paper, “Criminal and Humanitarian Investigations into the Fate of Missing Persons: A False Dichotomy”, May 2016. Accessed at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_6FPyGGn9WUJNRE5fT2FSLWM/view
SCRM
OHCHR Sri Lanka
UN Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice
Paul van Zyl on Transitional Justice
information@sacls.org
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« The hawker dodo
The Guatemala air force. »
THE HAWK TURNS 30
THIRTY YEARS ago this month, a red-and-white-painted Hawk took to the skies over Britain. Today this aircraft has become one of the most successful, and by far the most successful jet trainer. With nearly 850 orders and 1.5 million flying hours to its credit, the BAE Systems Hawk has continued to evolve and remains at the forefront of jet trainer technology. This is largely the reason it continues to flourish, with a constant stream of orders flowing in.
The Hawk is a proud symbol of technological and marketing achievement for BAE Systems, and for Britain as a whole. As the chosen mount of the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatics display team, it instils pride and excitement in the crowds who watch it perform. It is an impressive jet, with clean lines and graceful handling, and is agile and fun to fly. Good aerodynamics, range, endurance, speed, payload, safety record and noise levels add to its prestige.
It’s excellent performance enables the Hawk to carry a greater payload than any other advanced jet trainer. It is equipped to perform in a wide range of operational roles, and is often more representative of a front-line fighter than a jet trainer.
Superb aerodynamic and handling characteristics make it ideal for students yet its fully aerobatic ability can challenge the most skilful squadron pilot. The rear cockpit instructor’s position was designed to provide an unobstructed forward visibility unmatched by any of its rivals. The Hawk is respected as a reliable and rugged aircraft, admired by aircrew and ground crew alike for its serviceability and ease of maintenance.
The Hawk’s history dates back to the 1960s and 1970s. Towards the end of the former decade, the Royal Air Force (RAF) started to consider a replacement for the Hunting Jet Provost T.5 trainer and in 1969, the UK Ministry of Defence issued requirement AST.397 for a tandem seat, single-engine, subsonic jet trainer with weapons capability and an unprecedented 6,000-hour fatigue life. The specification was open to competitors such as the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, but in the end a proposal by Hawker Siddeley aircraft (HS) was accepted in October 1971. This led to a production contract in March 1972 for 176 Hawk T.1 trainers, the first to be delivered in late 1976.
A pre-production Hawk T.1, flew on August 21, 1974, with test pilot Duncan Simpson at the controls. A number of defects were discovered in flight tests and corrected, but these were ordinary development and ‘teething’ problems. The Hawk’s design was fundamentally sound.
By the time the 175th Hawk T.1 was delivered to the RAF in March 1982, the HS Hawk had become the British Aerospace (BAe) Hawk, as HS was absorbed into BAe in 1977.
The Hawk T.1
The basic Hawk T.1 aircraft is of conventional construction, built mostly of aluminium alloy, with some use of magnesium to save weight. To aid serviceability, almost a third of the aircraft’s surface is covered by access panels. The wing has outboard ailerons and inboard double-slotted flaps and the tailplane is all-moving: the tailfin has a rudder. There is a single airbrake in the belly ahead of twin ventral fins, which are located under the tail. Flight controls are powered by duplicate hydraulic systems.
To allow the flight instructor a clear view over the student’s head the back seat of the cockpit is stepped up. There is a windscreen between the front and back seat to protect the back-seater from windblast in case of a bird strike or other front-canopy failure and the single-piece canopy hinges open to the right. The Hawk T.1’s cockpit controls are analogue technology and relatively simple to operate.
The Hawk T. 1 is powered by a Rolls-Royce/ Turbomeca Adour Mk 151 non-afterburning turbofan engine with 5,200lb (23.13kN) of thrust. For servicing, the engine ‘drops out’ of the Hawk’s under-fuselage and can be replaced in just one-and-a-half hours. A Microturbo 047 Mark 2 Gas Turbine Starter/Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) is installed above the engine to permit self-starting and to assist in relights after an in-flight flame-out. Should the aircraft lose power in flight, a ram-air turbine automatically pops up in front of the tailfin to provide emergency electrical power.
There are five stores pylons: one on the centreline and two on each wing. The extra attachment point on each wing was specified to permit flexibility for export sales. The inner attachment points are plumbed for drop tanks. For weapons training, the Hawk is fitted with a centreline gun pod — usually a single 30mm Aden Mark 4 cannon with 120 rounds — and a stores pylon under each wing for munitions. Pylon loads include practice bomb carriers and SNEB rocket pods, or a pair of 100 gallon drop tanks. External load in practice is restricted to 1,500lb (680kg).
The Hawk T.1A variant is an upgraded variant of the T.1, capable of carrying AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles (AAM). A total of 88 aircraft were upgraded between 1983 and 1986 for use as ‘local defence’ fighters at airfields around Britain, though they no longer carry out this role. Various Service Life Extension Programmes were also developed for the aircraft, the most recent being a Fuselage Replacement Programme (FRP) involving replacing the aft centre and rear fuselage sections of 80 aircraft. Other modifications included a re-winging programme that began in 1988 and ended in 1995, and the installation of thicker windscreens in 1986. Because of these modification programmes, the Hawk T.1 is scheduled to remain in service until at least 2010.
Deliveries to the RAF started in 1976, and all 175 aircraft were delivered by 1982. Initially, to No.4 Flying Training School (FTS) at RAF Valley, Anglesey, in the advanced pilot training role (replacing the Gnat and the Hunter) and also No.1 Tactical Weapons Unit (TWU) at RAF Brawdy, Pembrokeshire and No.2 TWU at RAF Chivenor, Devon, in the weapons training role.
No.1 TWU at Brawdy consisted of 79(R) and 234(R) Squadrons. When the base was closed in 1992, 79(R) Squadron disbanded and 234(R) Squadron transferred to Valley. In March 1994,234(R) became 208(R) Squadron.
In April 1992, 2 TWU, based at RAF Chivenor, was re-designated as 7 Flying Training School. On September 23 that year, 151(R) Squadron of 7 Flying Training School was re-numbered as No.92 (R) Squadron flying Hawks, and the unit flew these aircraft until it was disbanded on October 1,1994. In September 1994, 63(R) Squadron, based at Chivenor, disbanded and its Hawks moved to RAF Valley.
Up until October 1992 when it retired, No.74(R) Squadron was a Phantom FGR.2 unit: on its retirement, the nameplate passed to No.3 Squadron (4 FTS) at RAF Valley, flying Hawks. In 2000, 74(R) Squadron was amalgamated with 19(R) Squadron(at RAF Valley) and subsequently disbanded.
Today, the Hawk is operated by No.4 Flying Training School (FTS) at RAF Valley. The unit consists of 19(R) and 208(R) Squadrons and the Central Flying School Advanced Training Unit. (Originally, No.208 was a Buccaneer Squadron, but when the Buccaneers were retired in 1994, the numberplate passed to No.234 Squadron, one of the Hawk squadrons based at Valley. No.19(R) had been a Phantom FGR.2 Squadron based at RAF Wildenrath, Germany where it remained until the station closed, and the Squadron disbanded in January 1992. The numberplate was then assigned to one of the three Hawk squadrons at RAF Valley — No.63 (Reserve) Squadron becoming No.19 (R) Squadron in September 1992. No.208 Squadron conducts advanced flying training and No.19 Squadron provides tactics and weapons training.
No.4 FTS operates 71 Hawk T.1/T.1A aircraft and is responsible for training all RAF and Royal Navy (RN) fast jet pilots to front-line Operational Conversion Unit entry standard: it also provides training for exchange officers and Foreign and Commonwealth pilots.
The Joint Forward Air Control Training and Standards Unit (JFACTSU) at RAF Leeming operates two Hawk T.1/T.1A aircraft to train Forward Air Controllers (FAC). Originally, JFACTSU was formed at RAF Brawdy, where it flew two Jet Provost jet trainers: it moved to RAF Finningley in 1993 where it operated two Hawks before being relocated to RAF Leeming, Yorkshire in 1995.
Sixteen Hawk T.1/T.1 As are operated by 100 Squadron at RAF Leeming, where they are used in a variety of specialised roles, including target towing and electronic warfare training. No.100 Squadron was based at West Raynham from the early 1970s and operated Hawks from 1991 onwards. With the closure of its base, RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, the unit moved to Finningley, only to be forced to relocate to Leeming in 1995 when Finningley was also closed down.
The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine based at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire, operates two Hawk T.1s at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire.
Because of its excellent flying qualities, including an +8g load factor, the Hawk was chosen for the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team, and the team’s impressive performances in some 50 countries has helped make the aircraft famous around the world.
The team’s first Hawks were delivered in 1979, and the following year they replaced the Gnat which the Red Arrows had flown since 1965. Apart from the striking red and white paint scheme, the Red Arrows’ Hawks are very similar to the standard T.1. The only major difference is that each Red Arrows’ jet carries a ventral 70 gallon tank containing diesel oil and red and blue dye to create coloured smoke. Today the team operates ten T.1A aircraft at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.
Hawk Mk 50 Series
On May 17,1976, the first export variant, the Hawk Mk 50 series, made its maiden flight. The occasion marked the beginning not only of huge sales, but also of the prolific aircraft family to come.
The Hawk Mk 50 series featured an up-rated Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 851 engine with 5,340lb (23.75kN) of thrust, enhanced cockpit instrumentation, four underwing weapons stations, a modified tailcone and significant increases both in fuel load and maximum disposable load. The aircraft could carry larger, 129 gallon (586 litre), drop tanks, and were qualified for 30% greater take-off weight than the Hawk T.1.
The Hawk’s chief competitor, the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, which flew a year before the Hawk — on October 26,1973 — beat it to a large sale to Belgium and in smaller sales to Togo and the Ivory Coast. As the Alpha Jet had a lead at the time, the future of the Hawk in the export market was seriously challenged. However, the Hawk soon caught up again via a large sale to Finland.
In December 1977, Finland ordered 50 Hawk Mk 51s to replace its Fouga Magister trainers. Delivered between 1980 and 1993, these aircraft were capable of carrying Vinten optical-infra-red camera pods for reconnaissance. The Finns bought seven more Hawks Mk 51As in 1990 to replace attrition.
The Finnish order allowed the Hawk to catch up with the Alpha Jet, but in 1978 the Alpha won orders in Morocco and Nigeria. BAe maintained export sales with 12 Hawk Mk 52s to Kenya (delivered in 1980 — 1981) and 20 Hawk Mk 53s to Indonesia (delivered between 1980 and 1984).
Competition from the Alpha Jet eventually disappeared in 1991, when production of the aircraft ended, 504 aircraft having been delivered to 14 countries. Although the Hawk Mk 50 series is no longer in production, the decision to regularly develop more Hawk variants has maintained export sales.
US T-45 Goshawk
One of the biggest Hawk deals came from the USA. The sale of a planned 187 aircraft to the US Navy Training Command, worth about US$ 5.96 billion is not just impressive in terms of numbers — equally notable is the acquisition of the British Hawk by the US Department of Defense.
In response to a 1975 US Navy (USN) study for a new carrier-capable jet trainer, BAe offered the Hawk to the USN in 1978, leading to a formal partnership agreement with McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDD — now absorbed by Boeing) in 1980, and the selection of the Hawk from a wide field of competitors in 1981.
The T-45 Goshawk, as it is called, is a dramatically modified Hawk, mainly because it had to be adapted to aircraft carrier use. Modifications include a strengthened airframe and wing; larger tailsurfaces, leading-edge slats for low-speed flying, two-wheel nosegear that features tow and catapult connections, an arrester hook, twin airbrakes mounted in front of the horizontal tailplane, a single ventral fin, and other minor changes.
From aircraft No.84 (first flown on October 21, 1997), production switched to the T-45C variant, which features a new digital or glass cockpit. Boeing named this Cockpit 21, which features two 5in (12.7cm) monochrome multifunction displays. In addition, a dual redundant MIL-STD-1553B multiplex databus is incorporated. A combined global positioning system/ inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) replaces the standard attitude and heading reference system. Software modifications include improvements to the Head Up Display (HUD) in the front cockpit.
In 1979 the Hawk Mk 50 series was further developed to produce the Hawk Mk 60 series air combat manoeuvring and weapon conversion trainer. This aircraft features an up-rated Adour 861 engine with 5,710lb (25.39kN) of thrust and a slightly improved wing. The aircraft is highly spin-resistant, requiring full rudder to initiate and maintain a spin and recovering in one turn after centralising the flying controls. Stall characteristics are predictable and progressive. Crosswinds of up to 30 knots can be accommodated on aircraft takeoff or landing, with or without stores. The aircraft maintains positive control in all flight manoeuvres up to Mach 1.2, which it can reach in a dive. (Level flight is restricted to around 620mph [1,000km/h].)
The Hawk Mk 60 series proved an export success, with aircraft being sold to seven countries. The first sale was in early 1981, when Zimbabwe ordered eight Hawk Mk 60s featuring an enlarged drag chute. Only a few days after the first four arrived at Thornhill AB in 1982, insurgents attacked the base and the Hawk aircraft, throwing explosive charges down the air intakes. One Hawk was totally wrecked, another was repaired in Zimbabwe, and the other two had to be shipped back to Britain for rebuild. In 1990, Zimbabwe ordered five improved Hawk Mk 60As, which were delivered by 1992.
In 1981, Dubai ordered eight Hawk Mk 61s for training, light strike, and reconnaissance, using Vinten camera pods for the reconnaissance role. Dubai later bought an additional Hawk Mk 61 as an attrition replacement. These Hawk Mk 61s were cleared for operation with the Magic heat-seeking air-to-air missile.
Following the Dubai sale, the Hawk proved popular with other Middle Eastern countries. Abu Dhabi ordered 16 Hawk Mk 63s in 1983, of which 14 were later upgraded to the Hawk Mk 63A standard, featuring the further up-rated Adour 871 engine with 5,900lb (26.24kN) thrust and a combat wing, both of which were developed for the Hawk 100 and 200 variants. Abu Dhabi also ordered four Hawk Mk 63Cs similar to the Hawk Mk 63A, with deliveries in 1994.
Twelve Hawk Mk 64s were ordered by Kuwait in 1983, and were cleared for operation with four AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, six of the Kuwaiti Hawks escaped to Bahrain and six were captured by the Iraqis: the Iraqis returned the six Hawks following their defeat in the Gulf War. The captured Hawks were damaged after being in Iraqi custody, but were refurbished with help from BAe and returned to flight status.
In 1985, Saudi Arabia ordered 30 Hawk Mk 65s, this being followed in 1994 by an order for 20 Hawk Mk 65As. The first batch was delivered in 1987/1988 and the second in 1997.
To replace its Vampire T.55 trainers, Switzerland ordered 20 Hawk Mk 66s in 1987. The sale helped establish BAe’s reputation as a manufacturer of quality aircraft — the Swiss were well known for buying particularly good aircraft. The first aircraft in the Swiss batch was built in the UK, the rest being provided as kits which would be assembled in Switzerland. They featured an Adour 861A-03 engine, with minor modifications relative to the standard Adour 861 to meet Swiss Air Force requirements.
The most recent Hawk Mk 60 series order, for 20 Hawk Mk 67s, came from South Korea in 1990. The aircraft, delivered between 1992 and 1993, featured the combat wing, a steerable nosewheel and a longer nose housing additional avionics.
Hawk Mk 100 series
The Hawk Mk 100, which first flew in October 1987, is a greatly advanced two-seat weapons systems trainer and light ground attack aircraft. It provides cost-effective fighter lead-in training, as well as navigator and weapons systems operator (WSO) training.
The nose of the Hawk Mk 100 is re-profiled to accommodate a Marconi forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) imager and a Ferranti laser range finder. Other avionics improvements include a radar warning receiver (RWR) mounted on the tail, an advanced navigation/attack system with radar altimeter and low-level strike capabilities, plus a duplex MIL-STD-1553B digital databus.
The aircraft has a new combat wing with greater area, increased wing droop, larger flaps, additional combat manoeuvring flaps and seven stores hardpoints. Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles can be mounted on the wingtips. Total external ordnance capability is 6,600lb (29.36kN). A chaff and flare dispenser, located above the engine exhaust, can be operated automatically or manually in conjunction with the RWR to give the Hawk significant protection against missile threats.
A new Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 871 engine, with 6,030lb (26.82kN) of thrust, powers the Hawk Mk 100.
New cockpit features include Multi-Function Displays (MFDs), a Head-Up Display (HUD), Hands-On Throttle And Stick (HOTAS) controls and Night Vision Goggles (NVG) compatibility. The front-seat position has two MFDs and a HUD; the back-seat position has a single MFD and a HUD repeater display.
The Hawk Mk 100 series was, and continues to be, an export success. Abu Dhabi was the first customer for the advanced new Hawk, placing an order for 18 Hawk Mk 102s in 1990, with deliveries commencing in 1993. In 1990, Oman bought a batch of four Hawk Mk 103s. Malaysia ordered ten Hawk Mk 108s in late 1990, which were delivered between 1993 and 1994, and in 1993 Indonesia ordered eight Hawk Mk 109s, which were delivered in 1996.
The most radical and complex Hawk variant, the Mk 200 series, which first flew on May 19,1986, is a single-seat, radar-equipped lightweight multirole combat aircraft designed for air defence and ground attack missions.
The Hawk Mk 200 is equipped with a Westinghouse APG-66H multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar, LINS 300 ring laser gyroscope inertial navigation system, air data sensor, display processor and mission computer, all interconnected by a dual redundant digital MIL-STD-1553B databus. The radar, which gives comprehensive air defence and ground attack capabilities, occupies a volume of less than 3 cu ft (0.085m3) and weighs less than 237lb (107kg). It can search 120° in azimuth and elevation, and has a range of 40 miles (65km) in the look-up mode and 51km (31 miles) in the look-down mode. It also has ten air-to-surface and ten air-to-ground modes for navigation fixing and weapon aiming.
The aircraft has eleven external stores points with four underwing pylons, an under-fuselage pylon and wingtip air-to-air missile stations. The range of external stores includes air-to-air missiles, a gunpod, rocket launchers, reconnaissance pod, retarded and free-fall bombs of up to 1,000lb (454kg), runway cratering, anti-personnel and light armour bombs, cluster bombs, practice bombs, rocket launchers and external fuel tanks. Total weapon load is around 6,600lb (3,000kg).
In the cockpit, the pilot has a HOTAS controls system, a wide-field-of-view HUD and MFD. The pilot can select the weapons and release mode prior to initiating an attack by using the weapon control panel, which controls the stores management system. The cockpit has a colour display, with a dedicated processor and 15-colour graphics symbology generator — 27 display formats provide flight and aircraft data. A fully-automatic Martin-Baker Mk 10 LH rocket-assisted ejection seat facilitates escape at all altitudes and speeds within the aircraft’s flight envelope.
The Hawk Mk 200 is powered by an Adour 871 engine producing 6,030lb (26.82kN) of thrust. Flexible fuel tanks are installed in the fuselage and compartmented integral tanks are located in the wings. External tanks can be carried on the inboard underwing pylons. The Hawk Mk 200 can also undertake air-to-air refuelling.
The electronic warfare systems include a radar warning receiver and automatic or manually operated chaff and flare dispensers.
Twelve Hawk Mk 203s were ordered by Oman in 1990 and delivered in 1993. Malaysia ordered 18 Mk 208s (delivered in 1994/1995) and Indonesia bought 32 Mk 209s, which were delivered in 1998 and 1999.
Hawk LIFT
In September 1998 BAE Systems unveiled the Hawk Mk 127 Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT), to cost-effectively produce high-calibre aircrew for both current and projected front-line combat aircraft. The new aircraft is an extensively modified variant of the Mk 100 series and is comparable to a frontline aircraft, such as the F/A-18 Hornet, it was originally developed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as the Hawk Mk 127 LIFT.
The Hawk Mk 127 has an enhanced, modern digital NVG-compatible cockpit with three full-colour MFDs. The MFDs present all the aircraft flight, navigation, sensor, weapons, engine, radio and navigation data. All the information is available on any display and is selected by the pilot using computer-controlled ’soft-keys’. The HUD features F/A-18 symbology and full navigation, air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon aiming formats. The Hawk Mk 127 features cockpit details compatible with the F/A-18 Hornet to provide training for Australian Hornet pilots. The flexible software allows a selection of formats, including conventional Hawk Mk 100 HUD symbology. The night vision system gives 24-hour operational capability and complements the FLIR sensor by giving the pilots all-round situational awareness.
Systems have been upgraded to reduce the reliance on ground equipment and to enhance overall capabilities. The airframe now has a 10,000 hours service life. The aircraft is equipped with a lot of new equipment, including an Inertial Navigation/Global Positioning System built into the moving map, a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS), an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS), and an upgraded electrical system with a three-phase 25kVA generator.
The LIFT has an up-rated Adour Mk 951 turbofan engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The engine delivers over 6,500lb (28.91kN) of thrust. This does not apply to RAAF Hawk Mk127 aircraft, which have the Adour Mk 871 engine. Provision is made for Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR), using a detachable, nose-mounted, fixed-position probe.
The aircraft can carry an Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation (ACMI) pod and a Radar Emulation Pod. These pods allow the aircraft to simulate and ‘create’ enemy and friendly aircraft and missile, with data being passed between the pods to give highly realistic training as well as post-mission analysis.
The Stores Management System (SMS) enables the aircraft to deploy a wide range of weapons, including ‘smart’ weapons and allows for future weapons to be incorporated.
There are seven wing-mounted weapon stations, including missile launchers for short-range air-to-air missiles. The aircraft can also be armed with the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile.
The Hawk LIFT was designed to be cost effective to operate and able to reduce the amount of flight time required on conversion courses operating front-line aircraft. Some of the main cost-saving measures include an engine that has a long interval between overhaul time and a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS). The HUMS enables predictive maintenance, thus reducing operating costs.
Australia, being the first Hawk LIFT customer, ordered 33 Mk 127s in 1993 -12 were built in the UK and a further 21 were assembled in Australia. The aircraft achieved final acceptance into RAAF service in October 2003.
The Hawk LIFT has also been ordered by the Canadian Forces, the South African and Bahraini Air Force. The 21 Canadian Hawk Mk 115s, selected in 1997 and first delivered in July 2000, are being used in the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme. This programme provides lead-in fighter training on a training-for-hire scheme run by the Canadian Government and the Bombardier Aerospace Corporation.
South Africa selected the Hawk LIFT in November 1998 to replace its Impala jet trainers. The first of 24 Hawk Mk 120 aircraft was delivered in 2003.
In February 2003, Bahrain ordered six Hawk Mk 129s with an option for a further six.
The UK Ministry of Defence, in July 2003, announced that it had selected the Hawk Mk 128 as its Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT). Twenty trainers, which are derivatives of the Hawk LIFT, will be built with options taken on a further 24. They will provide training for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots as part of the UK Military Flying Training System.
In March 2004, the Indian Air Force signed a contract for the purchase of 66 Hawk Mk 115 aircraft. The deal is worth around £1 billion. The first 24 Hawks will be built by BAE Systems in the UK, and the remaining 42 will be license built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in India.
When the Hawk Mk 128 enters service with the RAF in 2008, it will replace the existing Hawk T.ls of Nos 19 and 208 (Reserve) Squadrons at Valley, and will provide training for pilots who will go on to fly the Harrier, Tornado, Typhoon and Joint Strike Fighter.
The sale of Hawks has created thousands of jobs for BAE Systems and other companies all over the world where the Hawks are operated. But the sale of Hawks did not just generate good news.
Controversy rocked BAE Systems when it was discovered last year that the company paid millions of pounds in secret commissions to obtain the contract to sell Hawk jets to South Africa. The British Government has confirmed the payment, which will fuel the ongoing row about corruption allegations faced by BAE all over the world.
Controversy aside, 30 years later, the Hawk looks very similar to the first aircraft that took to the air. However, it is a radically different aircraft under the skin. It continues to be an export success, with competitors such as the Aermacchi MB.339 and the Czech Aero Vodochody L-159 lagging far behind in sales. However, brand new competitors like the Yak-130/Aermacchi M-346 and MiG-АТ could start to divert Hawk sales. Based on the sales of both aircraft to date, neither seem to present a threat to future Hawk sales. However the threat of the KAI/Lockheed Martin T-50 looms, and with all the political power that the USA has it could be a real threat to future Hawk success. Let the fight begin!
Октябрь 18th, 2016 | Tags: aircraft, first, hawk, squadron, which | Category: All news
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Nili Solomonov & Jacques P. Barber
Solomonov, N. & Barber, J. (2017). Treatment of depression collaborative research program. In A. Wenzel (Ed.), The sage encyclopedia of abnormal and clinical psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 3653-3656). Thousand Oaks,, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781483365817.n1455
Solomonov, Nili and Jacques P. Barber. "Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program." In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, edited by Amy Wenzel, 3653-3656. Thousand Oaks,, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2017. doi: 10.4135/9781483365817.n1455.
Solomonov, N & Barber, J 2017, 'Treatment of depression collaborative research program', in Wenzel, A (ed.), The sage encyclopedia of abnormal and clinical psychology, SAGE Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks,, CA, pp. 3653-3656, viewed 16 July 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781483365817.n1455.
Solomonov, Nili and Jacques P. Barber. "Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program." The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. Ed. Amy Wenzel. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks,: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2017. 3653-3656. SAGE Knowledge. Web. 16 Jul. 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781483365817.n1455.
The Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP) was the first multisite coordinated study in the field of psychotherapy research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. It was also the first large-scale trial comparing two psychotherapies, medication, and a placebo control condition. The pioneer and primary investigator of the TDCRP was Irene Elkin, a creative and innovative researcher with vast contributions to the field.
Several years after publishing its main findings, TDCRP investigators made the data available to the public by publishing it in the public use data tape. This allowed researchers around the world to use this high-quality database to study process and outcome. Now, more than 30 years after the first paper was published, the TDCRP data are still used by psychotherapy ...
collaborative research,
depression,
depression: treatment,
patients,
perfectionism,
placebos,
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Henry v. Mississippi (1965)
Vile, J. R. (2013). Henry v. mississippi (1965). In J. R. Vile & D. L. Hudson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the fourth amendment (Vol. 1, pp. 326-327). Washington, DC: CQ Press doi: 10.4135/9781452234243.n362
Vile, John R. "Henry v. Mississippi (1965)." In Encyclopedia of the Fourth Amendment, edited by John R. Vile and David L. Hudson, 326-327. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2013. doi: 10.4135/9781452234243.n362.
Vile, J R 2013, 'Henry v. mississippi (1965)', in Vile, JR & Hudson, DL (eds), Encyclopedia of the fourth amendment, CQ Press, Washington, DC, pp. 326-327, viewed 16 July 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781452234243.n362.
Vile, John R. "Henry v. Mississippi (1965)." Encyclopedia of the Fourth Amendment. Eds. John R. Vile and David L. Hudson. Vol. 1. Washington: CQ Press, 2013. 326-327. SAGE Knowledge. Web. 16 Jul. 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781452234243.n362.
Henry v. Mississippi, 379 U.S. 443 (1965), is a U.S. Supreme Court decision that vacated a conviction and remanded a case—begun in the County Court of Bolivar County, Mississippi, and affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court—for determination as to ...
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Candice Hubbard: Giving back in everything she does
by Heather Young | May 1, 2019 | Atascadero, Community, Paso Robles, People, San Simeon, Templeton | 0 comments
Candice Hubbard spends her life giving to others and loves what she does. At present, she is a virtual special education teacher, ambassador for Noonday Collection and a site director for a summer exchange program, and that’s just for her working life. As a volunteer, she is on the board of the Templeton Education Foundation and Colony Days, as well as active in her church. At home, she is wife to Eddie and mom to Valerie, 7, and Evan, 3, with a third child due this summer. As a teenager, Hubbard started attending Pilgrim Pines Camp in Oak Glen, near her home of Hemet, California, which impacted most of her adult life.
“This camp, with its long history as part of the United Church of Christ, was a huge influence on who I am today,” Hubbard said. “As a teenager, I grew up spending one to three weeks at the camp as a counselor and a camper. The camp, being open and affirming of everyone, gave me the stability that I needed at a very difficult time with family issues, teenage issues and more.”
She credits the camp with her desire to become a special education teacher because she started working with disabled adults and teens. She even helped create programs for them at the camp starting when she was 16.
“I’ve always been interested in helping at-risk and marginalized people,” Hubbard said.
She also met her husband while working as a counselor at Pilgrim Pines.
“As soon as I could, I joined the paid staff there and met a core group of friends from all over the world,” Hubbard said. “There were about 20 of us over four years that worked together each summer. My future husband was among that group. He and I, having similar backgrounds, love for the outdoors and similar values, hit it off pretty quickly.”
Though together since the mid-‘90s, they did not marry until 2004, after Hubbard graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts with an emphasis in Native American studies from California State University, Chico.
After graduating from Hemet High School in 1999, she went to Butte College, which is a feeder college into Chico State.
“I worked full-time and went to school full-time,” Hubbard said.
She worked for North County Boys and Girls Club in Paradise for five years, starting while she was at Butte College and continued for a year after she finished her undergraduate degree.
“I started [at Boys & Girls Club] as an American Corp. volunteer,” Hubbard said. “I finished up some hours as a literacy tutor.”
After six weeks as a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, she started working as a counselor. Two years later, the nonprofit created a position for Hubbard. She was the Education Director for three years. She left the position when she and her husband moved from Chico to Atascadero for Hubbard to attend Cal Poly, where she got her Masters of Education and special education credential. She obtained her degree and credential on an intensive year program.
Hubbard said she chose to get her degrees from Cal Poly because they wanted to move to the area. She did her student teaching at Daniel Lewis Middle School in Paso Robles.
She started working for Templeton Unified School District in 2007, spending three years at Templeton Elementary School, three years at Templeton Middle School, one year starting Community Orientation Adult Transition and one year as a long-term substitute.
Hubbard spent her time working for Templeton schools setting up new programs and revamping existing ones. At the elementary school level, she set up a school-wide intervention program and revamped its special education programs.
“At the middle school, I implemented a co-teaching program,” she said, adding that the co-teaching program meant that a special education teacher, such as Hubbard, was part of the general education teacher’s classroom when that teacher was teaching a class that included a larger group of special education students. “Most of the time, the general education teacher taught and I helped the students with any challenges in the classroom.”
When she left the middle school, she was charged with starting a new program for adult special needs students.
“I started, from scratch, an 18- to 22-year-old program modeled after the Atascadero STEPS (Steps into Transitioning for Education, Employment and Personal Success) program,” Hubbard said. “It’s really about figuring out where their strengths are and job training skills. We had a mobile cafe we took to school sites once a week so staff could enjoy home-baked goodies and coffee.”
The following school years, Hubbard pulled back on her full-time commitment to teaching because she wanted to spend more time with her family and explore other avenues. That year she was a long-term substitute. After a year of subbing, she went to work part-time at Pleasant Valley School northeast of Paso Robles. She was the special education teacher, as well as filling other roles.
At the start of the 2018-19 school year, Hubbard started working for Inspire Charter Schools as a virtual special education teacher.
“I coordinate a caseload for special education students,” Hubbard said. “Some of those students need support with academics. I create lessons to present to them online. It’s a video conference where I share PowerPoints that are interactive—students use tools on their computers to write, draw and move objects.”
Hubbard works with a co-teacher to teach group classes up to five children. She also has individual classes with students. In addition to managing a caseload of students from kindergarten through second grade, she also manages IEPs and consults with parents for those who need support implementing behavior and strategies.
The students are all homeschooled and Hubbard is able to give additional support to students who need it.
Nearing the end of her first year as a virtual teacher, Hubbard said the learning curve was high, but she enjoys the flexibility to arrange her work around her family’s schedule.
Additionally, she is an ambassador for Noonday Collection, which is a direct sales business selling jewelry and accessories that are fair trade and sustainably sourced.
“It’s something that not only allows me to spend time outside of my family and closer circle of friends, but it also allows me to give back,” Hubbard said. “The mission of Noonday is to support artisans by creating a global market place here locally. I represent a product that is beautiful, and fair trade makes a difference in the life of those who have made it.”
In the year that Hubbard has been working with Noonday, she said she has been able to support the yearly income of three artisans whose product Noonday sells.
“The impact I have as a very part-time ambassador means a lot to me,” she said.
Last summer, Hubbard added a new job to her basket, working for EF Educational Homestay Programs, which brings students from Asia and Europe to the Central Coast for two to four weeks in the summer.
“I am naturally a helper and a giver, so when I saw that a friend of mine needed a last-minute leader for an exchange program I jumped at the chance to use my ‘camp counselor’ skills with teens from around the world,” she said. “I loved being with the students and international leaders, learning about different cultures and helping them have a great time here on the Central Coast. It was a natural transition into a bigger role with EF in 2019 as a site director.”
Hubbard and her team are seeking volunteer host families for 148 students 12 to 18 years of age and eight adult leaders that come with the students. The students are in class or on activities Monday through Friday during the day. There are private charter buses that pick up the students from locations throughout the county. For more information, contact Hubbard at candice.hubbard@efehp.org.
“As if I weren’t busy enough, I have become involved with a few nonprofits in our area,” Hubbard said. “It’s really my desire to help and give that draws me into the mission of some great organizations.”
On the volunteer side of her life, she is a member of the Templeton Education Foundation board of directors and Colony Days board of directors.
To learn more about the annual Colony Days celebration or to get involved, go to ColonyDays.org.
Heather Young
Heather Young is a freelance writer specializing in travel, wine, food and feel-good stories about people doing good in their communities and world. Find her on Instagram @travelswithheatheryoung
http://www.travelswithheatherayoung.com
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British Pakistani Appointed European Conservatives Advisors
LONDON: Two Prominent British businessmen of Pakistani origin have been appointed as Senior Policy Advisers to influential European Conservatives. Saqib Bhatti and Aftab Chughtai MBE, both from Birmingham, have been appointed as Senior Policy advisers to the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) in an attempt to reach out to Muslim communities and countries where there is a strong tradition of conservative and reform parties. The appointment of Bhatti and Chughtai is a first for the organisation and they have been tasked with recruiting like-minded conservative parties from around the world. The duo told The News that their first visit was to Tunisia in December 2016 where they met prominent members of the Conservative Right Political Parties, Afek Tounes and the Ennahda Party. During their time in Tunis, they met with senior representatives from the government including the Minister for Employment and Professional Development, Mr Imed Hammami and Minister for Trade and Commerce Mr Ziad Laadhari. They also met the Chairman of the Ennahda Party, Mr Rashed Gannouchi who was named by Time Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World. Saqib Bhatti and Aftab Chughtai MBE said that they will be opening talks with Pakistani political parties to explore common grounds between the European and Pakistani reform parties to strengthen relations across a range of issues of mutual interest.
Saqib Bhatti, a chartered accountant from Birmingham and also President of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce told: “It was a great privilege to be working with ACRE as it recognises the importance of international dialogue and co-operation, and through this appointment we will be meeting conservative parties across the world promoting greater relations with parties that share a belief in fundamental democratic and conservative values.” Aftab Chughtai MBE, who runs retail stores in Birmingham and was honoured earlier this year by the Buckingham Palace for his contributions to business and community cohesion, highlighted the commonality between Islamic and Conservative Values. “If you explore fundamental conservative values such as family, low taxes, free market economies, many of these are concepts which were promoted when Islam first came about. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself was a prominent businessman as was his wife. We look forward to finding common thinking conservative parties across the world and welcoming them to the Global Conservative Family.” Both Chughtai and Bhatti played a prominent role in the Vote Leave campaign and were accredited for being responsible for Birmingham voting to leave the European Union. They set up a campaign group called “Muslims for Britain” aimed at engaging British Muslims on key national issues. Muslims for Britain claims that around 800,000 British Muslims voted to leave the European Union based on issues ranging from sovereignty, trade and immigration. ACRE is headed by senior British Conservative politician Daniel Hannan MEP and senior Czech Republic politician Jan Zahradil MEP. The Board of ACRE includes Poland’s Law and Justice Party, Turkey’s AK Party, the UK’s ruling Conservative Party and Iceland’s Independence Party. ACRE claims that it’s the fastest growing politician movement in the world. It has representatives in the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe and in the Committee of the Regions. It is also a leading member of the International Democratic Union. 32 politician parties from across the world are members including Australia’s Liberal Party, New Zealand’s National Party and Morocco’s Independence Party.
Aftab Chughtai MBE Asian Business BIRMINGHAM British Asian British Muslims British-Pakistani chartered accountant European Conservatives Advisors European Union LONDON mutual interest Pakistani political parties relations Saqib Bhatti UK 2017-01-06
Tags Aftab Chughtai MBE Asian Business BIRMINGHAM British Asian British Muslims British-Pakistani chartered accountant European Conservatives Advisors European Union LONDON mutual interest Pakistani political parties relations Saqib Bhatti UK
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Home » What to expect from the 2017 season of tennis [Part 2 & summary]
Predictions on young guns and Milos Raonic for the 2017 season of tennis
The second part contains predictions on the NextGen players and Milos Raonic for the 2017 season of tennis. Here, I have listed the results I expect these players to achieve in the upcoming year.
NextGen stars jump into the mix
The good news for all tennis fans is that a number of young talented players have emerged in the top 100 that bear watching. Only a couple years ago, there were only 3 players aged 21 or under in the top 100 of the year-end rankings of 2014, i.e. Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios and Jiri Vesely . The future of tennis looked unclear and woeful. Thankfully, we have a broader squad of youngsters right now who could be impactful very soon.
What follows is a table mentioning the names, ages and respective rankings of the players aged 21 or under who have finished in the top 100 of year-end rankings in 2016:
Name Age Ranking
Nick Kyrgios 21 13
Alexander Zverev 19 24
Kyle Edmund 21 45
Borna Coric 20 48
Karen Khachanov 20 53
Taylor Fritz 19 76
Daniil Medvedev 20 99
Yoshihito Nishioka 21 100
Following table shows you the names and improvement in rankings of players aged 21 or under who moved up the rankings in the last 52 weeks:
Name Year-end ranking of 2015 Year-end ranking of 2016
Kyle Edmund 102 45
Karen Khachanov 152 53
Taylor Fritz 174 76
Daniil Medvedev 329 99
Yoshihito Nishioka 117 100
Nick Kyrgios did not have impressive results at the grand slams but the year was not entirely lacklustre for him. He broke into the top 20 for the first time. He won his first title at Open 13 Provence ATP 250 event in February this year and followed it with two more title wins at Atlanta and Tokyo with the second one giving him his first ATP 500 title. Perhaps, he needs to mend his ways and look up to past greats to improve his attitude. But once he does, he should be a force to reckon with.
What to expect: In 2017, expect him to appear in at least one ATP masters final. I won’t be surprised if he makes it to even two of them. Also expect him to reach the semi-final stage or further at one grand slam tournament at least. He will get into the top 10 with a good chance of appearing in his maiden ATP World Tour Finals tournament.
Alexander Zverev is the one who many cite as the most talented of all the youngsters in the scene. This year, he moved into the top 30. He won his first title at the St. Petersburg ATP 250 event. He reached the final at Nice ATP 250 and Halle ATP 500 events. In addition, he defeated Roger Federer on grass at Halle ATP 500 event in the semis.
What to expect: He will win a number of ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles. Expect him to go deep in at least two of the hard court masters events. He will reach the second week of a grand slam for the first time with Wimbledon and US Open being the two most probable venues for that. He will get into the top 15.
Karen Khachanov jumped from no. 152 to no. 53 in the ATP rankings. This year, he won his first title at Chengdu ATP 250.
What to expect: Expect him to win a few ATP 250 events most of them being on hard courts. He will get into top 40.
Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz is one of the only two teenagers in the top 100. He received attention of the tennis-loving fraternity after he reached the ATP 250 Memphis Open final and played a decent match against Kei Nishikori.
He hasn’t won an ATP level title still. But, since the lad is only 19 years old he can be excused for that especially considering that players peak later in their careers these days. He is already someone who people wish to see become a future mega star. So let’s see.
What to expect: He will win his first ATP level title. He will end the year with several ATP 250 titles and perhaps one or two ATP 500 titles. Reaching semis in a masters event is possible. However, don’t expect him to sport any real grand slam contention. He will have a decent chance of getting into the top 40.
Kyle Edmund, Daniil Medvedev and Yoshihito Nishioka have all moved up the ladder but none of them won a title this year. For that matter, none has ever won an ATP level title so far. They have fallen behind most of the other youngsters that have been mentioned above in many respects.
What to expect: It’s unlikely that any of them will win more than one title. And, should they win a title, it would not be greater than an ATP 250 title. Kyle Edmund will rank around no. 40 at the end of the year. Nishioka will get into the top 100 and end the year in the 70-80 range or better but not in the top 50. Medvedev will continue to move up the ladder. He might even have a chance of getting into the top 50. However, I wouldn’t consider him a contender for anything bigger than an ATP 250 event.
Dominic Thiem and Lucas Pouille
Thiem and Pouille did very well this season. Both made solid progress and gave us some impressive results. Let’s have a look at each one of them.
Thiem did very well this season. He won four titles and reached the final in two other events. He reached the semis at Roland Garros which turned out to be his highlight for the year. He defeated the king of clay, Rafael Nadal on clay in the Argentina Open. He defeated Roger Federer twice first on clay and then on grass. He is being thought of as a good clay courter and as a possible future Roland Garros champion.
What to expect: Thiem will have another good clay season. He should reach the semis in at least two of the three clay masters. He will win the Rio Open should he play it. Thiem will reach the semis at the Roland Gaross once again. However, it’s going to be difficult for him to make it to the finals. Apart from the clay season, he might do well in the Indian Wells and Miami masters tournaments considering that the slower hard courts there could suit Thiem well. He will reach the semis or further at one grand slam event at least. He can even win a clay masters event with some luck. He has a decent chance of finishing in the top 6.
He is another dark horse to be watched out for. This young Frenchman jumped 63 places in the rankings in approximately one year. He went from being no. 78 in the world to being no. 15 in the world. Everyone took cognizance of his presence when he reached the semis in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia Masters event. While it’s true that the walkover he received for his quarter-final contributed to make it possible, he did consolidate his result by reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and US Open. He ousted Nadal at the Flushing Meadows and that was a big-step forward. He ended the year as one of the prominent and promising young guns.
What to expect: He will be in the second week at two or three grand slam events. Reaching any further than quarter-finals in any of these big stages is still quite difficult. Don’t expect it to happen in any normal circumstance. He can make it to the semis or further in one or two masters events especially if the first tier players slack off at some point. There is some chance that he gets into the top 10 by the end of the year. Finishing in the top 8 is very unlikely but not impossible.
Milos Raonic consolidates his position as one of the big guys
The world no. 3 Milos Raonic is slowly improving ever year. He has already played thrice in the finals of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. This year he played his maiden grand slam final which he lost to a red-hot Andy Murray. He also reached the semis of the ATP World Tour Finals. His weak groundstrokes are known to jeopardise his whole game but they have seemingly improved. And, his results are gradually improving. His big serves will sooner or later begin to frustrate the aging big boys and this will help him get the breakthrough at some point. He does have the hunger and passion to achieve great things in the sport and it is only really a matter of time before he wins a masters or grand slam. Big 4’s stranglehold over the grand slams has clearly diminished and consequently, the dark horses are expected to leverage the opportunities arising therefrom. Raonic is the forerunner of that group and is best poised to win big now.
What to expect: He will win one or more masters title. He will make it to the semis in each of the grand slams except for the French Open. He will make it to the final of Wimbledon. He will win one or more ATP 500 titles. He will finish the year with at least 3 titles. He is sure to finish in the top 5. He might even finish no. 3 again.
The names in the top 20 are changing fast. The tennis gods seem to beckon the arrival of new stars at the scene. We need to anticipate more of the same in the 2017 season of tennis. With the big 4 now having reduced to the big 2, those big 2 will need to stay put very hard at their regime to keep up with their younger rivals. Raonic’s perseverance will bring him success or at least closer to it. Roger will not find it easy to make a comeback to the top. Rafa probably still has a surge left in him. We have only a few years left to relish the presence of these two. But, the present scenario will showcase its own kind of beauty since we will witness players from four different generations tussle for glory. In all probability, the 2017 season of tennis should be a great one.
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Hard Evidence: are we beating cancer?
March 26, 2014 6.08am EDT
Peter Johnson, University of Southampton
Professor of Medical Oncology, University of Southampton
Peter Johnson is Chief Clinician for Cancer Research UK and Director of the Cancer Research UK Centre at Southampton University.
University of Southampton provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.
Breast cancer rates are rising, but so are survival rates. bookgrl
More and more people are beating cancer – over the past 20 years the proportion of people surviving the disease for more than ten years has increased by a third, from 34% to 45%. But as the population ages, and with more of us at risk from lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer keeps rising.
The good news is that survival for many cancers is improving steadily and there have been some clear success stories in a number of cancers including breast, testicular and one of the cancers I treat, lymphoma. The way we diagnose and treat patients has changed phenomenally since I first started working in oncology 25 years ago, and today I have the real hope of curing many of my patients.
Behind these good stories is research and this is more vital than ever as more of us are being diagnosed with cancer.
Among the main reasons for this is our increasing life expectancy. Age is the biggest risk factor for cancer and as we are all living longer more of us will develop cancer at some point in our lives.
However, even after taking out the effect of our increasing age by looking at cancer rates rather than cases, it’s clear that the disease is becoming increasingly common.
Cancer incidence rates have risen by 13% over the last two decades, and the forecast is that although the increase has slowed down it will continue into the coming years. Much of this rise is down to our lifestyle choices.
Research has shown that more than four in 10 cancers could be prevented, largely making changes in our lives such as not smoking, eating healthier diets, drinking less alcohol and keeping a healthy weight. Among these, smoking is undoubtedly the most important linked to cancer – it causes 23% of cancers in men and over 16% in women.
Ten types of breast cancer
Breast cancer rates in women have increased by 19% over the last two decades. Factors such as alcohol intake, increasing body weight, the effects of hormone levels from having fewer children and having them later in life, and increased detection of cancers by screening may all be playing a role in this rise.
But the survival rate for women with breast cancer has also risen by about a quarter since the early 1990s. There are a number of advances that have greatly improved the outlook for people with breast cancer. One trial, for example, found women with the most common form of breast cancer who took Tamoxifen for 10 years halved their risk of dying from the disease.
Our knowledge of the biology and causes of cancer has also increased phenomenally over the last few years, leading to better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. Just last year we discovered that breast cancer could be broken down into at least ten separate diseases. This will make a huge difference to our understanding of breast cancer and how clinicians can best treat each of the different types of the disease.
One of the core components of cancer treatment is high-tech radiotherapy and we estimate that it contributes to around 40% of cancer “cures”. And it certainly plays a major role in breast cancer. Going back to the 1970s, our research showed that radiotherapy could prevent breast cancer from coming back after removal of the primary tumour. And 30 years later, we know that it significantly increases survival from the disease in the long term.
Majority survive testicular cancer
Today almost all men with testicular cancer can be cured of the disease, whether it is a small lump in the testicle or has spread to other parts of the body. It was the development of a drug called cisplatin that revolutionised treatment, and careful clinical research over many years has now brought the survival rate up to more than 95%.
Another success story has been in one of the cancers I treat – Hodgkin lymphoma. Today nearly 80% of the patients I see will be successfully treated. Cancer specialists have spent many years finding out how best to use radiotherapy and chemotherapy drugs to maximise the chances of a cure but also avoid long-term side effects such as infertility, lung and heart muscle damage – so important for people who will go on to live for many years to come.
Cancers are intricate things
The complexity of cancer has been the dominant theme in research over the last few years. One of the most exciting but challenging areas is how intricate an individual cancer is and how it evolves over time. In the early stages of the disease there are key mutations that are at the heart of the cancer, but over time cells in different parts of the tumour evolve separately creating unique genetic “branches”.
This probably explains why some very specific targeted treatments have not had the predicted impact, as they only work against one branch of the tumour and allow the rest to grow unimpeded. It is work like this that will offer new opportunities to treat cancer more effectively in the future, as well as tackle the ways that cancers escape treatment.
But this good news doesn’t apply across all cancers, and too many people still die from the disease. Among the hardest to treat cancers are oesophageal and pancreatic cancers, where survival remains far too low.
Late diagnosis is a key problem with these two cancers. For almost all patients their first symptoms only appear after the cancer has already become more aggressive and has started to spread around the body. We urgently need better treatments and ways to spot them earlier.
This need for understanding is beginning to take shape in lung cancer, where survival rates had previously remained stubbornly low. A major study was launched this year to unlock lung cancer’s secrets, and tracked how they developed and evolved as patients receive treatment.
By taking biopsies from different parts of each tumour and analysing them with the latest sequencing techniques the hope is that doctors may be able to stay one step ahead of a cancer that is constantly evolving.
By understanding more about cancer risk we can try and predict an individual’s chances of developing certain cancers and find ways to prevent them. A major study last year revealed that there are genetic flags that increase an individual’s risk of developing prostate, breast or ovarian cancers. And researchers are now using this information to develop tests that can guide decisions about who should be offered screening or preventative treatments to reduce the risk of developing certain cancers.
It’s all this research coming together that leaves me more hopeful than I have ever been in my career about the treatments we can offer our patients today and what the future holds. Research has already helped save nearly 520,000 lives since the 1980s, and over the next 20 years mortality rates are projected to fall by 17%.
Hard Evidence is a series of articles in which academics use research evidence to tackle the trickiest public policy questions.
Hard Evidence
It’s not just women who are the losers following the latest TGA announcement. People with all types of medical devices need better regulatory protection. from www.shutterstock.com
The TGA’s proposed breast implant ban exposes a litany of failures, and fails to protect women
An abandoned hotel building in Pripyat, a few miles from Chernobyl. Fotokon/Shutterstock
Why plants don’t die from cancer
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A resounding victory for the administration in the exchange litigation
I wrote yesterday about the pending litigation over the IRS’s decision to make tax credits available on federally operated exchanges, notwithstanding a facially plausible statutory argument that doing so would contravene the ACA. My timing was good: earlier today, Judge Friedman, a district court judge in D.C., released the first opinion reaching the merits of the dispute. It’s a resounding victory for the government.
Friedman’s opinion tracks the analysis I laid out yesterday. He starts with the observation that “the plain language” of the statute, “viewed in isolation, appears to support plaintiffs’ interpretation.” After all, tax credits are linked to health plans purchased on exchanges “established by the State under 1311.” And federally operated exchanges are established by the Secretary of HHS under Section 1321, not 1311.
But Friedman also points out that the statutory text has to be construed in context. Part of that context is the language of section 1321 itself. The judge notes that, when a state fails to establish a workable exchange, the ACA instructs the Secretary to establish “such exchange.” That little word “such” clarifies that an exchange established by the federal government is a 1311 exchange. “In other words,” Friedman says, “if a state will not or cannot establish its own Exchange, the ACA directs the Secretary of HHS to step in and create ‘such Exchange’—that is, by definition under the statute, ‘an American Health Benefit Exchange established under [section 1311].’”
To reinforce the point, Friedman walks through provisions of the ACA that would make little sense if federal tax credits were unavailable on the exchanges. Why would the ACA require federal exchanges to inform the IRS when they give tax credits to people if they’re not allowed to give them tax credits at all? If the challengers were right, the provision would “serve no purpose” and be “superfluous.”
Similarly, the ACA says that only “qualified individuals” can purchase plans on the exchange, but defines “qualified individual” to be someone who “resides in the States that established the exchange.” “If this provision were read literally,” Friedman writes, “no ‘qualified individuals’ would exist in the thirty-four states with federally-facilitated Exchanges. … The federal Exchanges would have no customers, and no purpose.”
Friedman closes by referring to the purpose of the ACA to provide for near-universal coverage. The challengers’ interpretation, he says, “runs counter to this central purpose.” Accepting it “would violate the basic rule of statutory construction that a court must interpret a statute in light of its history and purpose.” At any rate, even if the statute were ambiguous—and Friedman is crystal clear that he doesn’t think it is—the administration’s interpretation, he says, would be upheld as a “permissible construction of the statute.”
All in all, this is a very good day for the government. Where does the case go from here? If the challengers appeal Friedman’s decision to the D.C. Circuit—and they almost certainly will—the court will probably hear the case sometime this fall. I doubt, however, the challengers will have any better luck on appeal. Friedman’s analysis of the statutory text is very convincing—as I explained yesterday, it’s easily the best interpretation of the statute. Plus, it probably doesn’t hurt that Democrats now outnumber Republicans on the circuit court.
After the D.C. Circuit, it’s anyone’s guess whether the Supreme Court will choose to hear the case. Since litigation is pending elsewhere, it’s possible (albeit unlikely, I think) that the circuit courts could split over the proper interpretation of the statute. If they do, the Supreme Court would have to weigh in on the statutory question. Otherwise, my hunch is that the Court will steer clear. It’s already decided one case that threatened to unravel Obamacare. Why decide another?
@nicholas_bagley
Health Policy, Law
Affordable Care Act, insurance exchange
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Microsoft Great To Be Family
Duncan Macleod October 19, 2011
Microsoft has launched a multi-product advertising campaign designed to showcase unique everyday experiences that can be realised through its latest products and services, Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox for Kinect and Office. The campaign includes activity across TV, digital and search and is rolling out globally across 35 countries including US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The idea of the campaign is to demonstrate the connectivity of Microsoft’s suite of products and their integration into consumers’ everyday lives. In “Epic Share”, there’s some serious dad-dancing action thanks to the Kinect game Dance Central 2, which is then mercilessly captured and shared by the dad’s loving children using a combination of Windows Phone, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows PC and SkyDrive. The ad, along with other recently released commercials such as Dog.pptx, features the tag line, “It’s a great time to be family”.
Click on the image below to play the Epic Share in YouTube
Click on the image below to play the Dot.pptx video in YouTube
The Multi-Product campaign was developed at Crispin Porter & Bogusky.
Filed under: Commercials, Microsoft
Tagged: Crispin Porter & Bogusky
Location: Global
China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation
Rip Curl Live Events
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Hon. Elizabeth Paston
F, #70351, d. 1724
Last Edited=27 Mar 2011
Hon. Elizabeth Paston was the daughter of Charles Paston, Lord Paston and Elizabeth Pitt.1 She died in 1724.
She was living on 16 April 1724.2
[S37] BP2003 See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
Stuarta Howard1
Last Edited=20 May 2010
Stuarta Howard was the daughter of James Howard and Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria FitzRoy.1 She died in 1706, unmarried.1
She held the office of Maid of Honour to Queen Mary II.1
[S37] BP2003 volume 3, page 3815. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
Sir William Holland, 3rd Bt.1
M, #70353, d. 17 February 1728/29
Sir William Holland, 3rd Bt. was the son of Sir John Holland, 2nd Bt. and Lady Rebecca Paston.1 He died on 17 February 1728/29, without issue.1
He gained the title of 3rd Baronet Holland, of Quidenham, co. Norfolk.
Helen Smith1
F, #70354, d. circa 1732
Last Edited=30 Apr 2008
Helen Smith was the daughter of unknown Smith.1 She married James Balfour, son of James Balfour and Beatrice Chalmers, in 1679 at Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandG.1,2 She died circa 1732.2,3
From 1679, her married name became Balfour.1
Children of Helen Smith and James Balfour
Mary Balfour2,3 b. 1680
James Balfour, 1st of Pilrig+1 b. 1681, d. 3 Feb 1736/37
John Balfour2,3 b. 1684
[S8] BP1999 volume 1, page 175. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S8]
[S125] Richard Glanville-Brown, online <e-mail address>, Richard Glanville-Brown (RR 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada), downloaded 17 August 2005.
[S123] R. S. Balfour, online <e-mail address>, Robin Balfour ("FTW - R S Balfour-James Balfour" emailed to Darryl Lundy), downloaded 17 August 2005, Date of Import: 18 Dec 2004.
Isabella-Diana Holland
F, #70355
Isabella-Diana Holland is the daughter of Sir John Holland, 2nd Bt. and Lady Rebecca Paston.
Charlotte Holland
Charlotte Holland is the daughter of Sir John Holland, 2nd Bt. and Lady Rebecca Paston.
Hugh William Amherst Cecil, 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney1
M, #70357, b. 17 July 1968
Last Edited=29 Jun 2011
Hugh William Amherst Cecil, 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney was born on 17 July 1968.1 He is the son of William Hugh Amherst Cecil, 4th Baron Amherst of Hackney and Elizabeth Merriman.1 He married Nicola Jane Michels in 1996.2
Hugh William Amherst Cecil, 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney usually went by his middle name of William.1 He was educated at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, EnglandG.1 He succeeded as the 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney, co. London [U.K., 1892] on 2 April 2009.3
Children of Hugh William Amherst Cecil, 5th Baron Amherst of Hackney and Nicola Jane Michels
Hon. Amber Mary Amherst Cecil2 b. 1999
Hon. Jack William Cecil2 b. 13 Jul 2001
Hon. Katherine Violet Amherst Cecil2 b. 24 Mar 2006
[S8] BP1999 volume 1, page 67. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S8]
[S2202] Tricia, "re: Cecil Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 18 March 2007. Hereinafter cited as "re: Cecil Family."
[S1122] Peerage News, online http://peeragenews.blogspot.co.nz/. Hereinafter cited as Peerage News.
Colonel Wykeham Stanley Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis
M, #70358, b. 14 March 1892, d. 4 January 1982
Last Edited=18 Feb 2011
Consanguinity Index=0.0%
Wykeham Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis, 1952 1
Colonel Wykeham Stanley Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis was born on 14 March 1892.2 He was the son of Fiennes Stanley Wykeham Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis and Mabel Leigh.3 He married, firstly, Cecily Etha Mary Walker, daughter of Captain Sir James Heron Walker, 3rd Bt. and Violet Maud Cecil Ives, on 30 January 1917.2 He married, secondly, Esme Ethel Alice d'Beaumont, daughter of Captain Montmorency d'Beaumont, on 26 February 1948.2 He died on 4 January 1982 at age 89.2
He was educated at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, EnglandG.2 He was educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Berkshire, EnglandG.2 He gained the rank of Captain in the Royal Scots Guards.2 He fought in the First World War, where he was wounded and was mentioned in despatches.2 He was awarded the Military Cross (M.C.)2 He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Kent in 1926.2 He held the office of Lieutenant of the City of London.2 He held the office of Chairman of the Kent County Council between 1935 and 1936.2 He succeeded as the 2nd Baron Cornwallis, of Linton, co. Kent [U.K., 1927] on 26 September 1935.2 He held the office of County Alderman for Kent in 1936.2 He gained the rank of Honorry Colonel between 1937 and 1957 in the 415 Coast Regiment (Thames and Medway), Royal Artillery (Territorial Army).2 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Kent between 1944 and 1972.2 He was appointed Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.) in 1945.2 He gained the rank of Honorary Colonel between 1957 and 1967 in the 5th Battalion, The Buffs (Territorial Army).2 He gained the rank of Honorary Colonel between 1967 and 1968 in the 8th Battalion, The Queen's Regiment.2
He was appointed Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.) in 1968.2 He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Kent in 1972.2 He held the office of Pro-Chancellor of the University of Kent.2 He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) by University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, EnglandG.2 He was appointed Knight, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (K.St.J.)2 He was awarded the Knight Commander, Order of Dannebrog of Denmark.2
Children of Colonel Wykeham Stanley Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis and Cecily Etha Mary Walker
Hon. Rosamond Patricia Susan Anne Cornwallis3 b. 15 May 1918, d. 3 Sep 1960
Fiennes Neil Wykeham Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis+3 b. 29 Jun 1921, d. 5 Mar 2010
[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."
Lieutenant Fiennes Wykeham Mann Cornwallis1
M, #70359, b. 21 August 1890, d. 15 May 1921
Lieutenant Fiennes Wykeham Mann Cornwallis was born on 21 August 1890.1 He was the son of Fiennes Stanley Wykeham Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis and Mabel Leigh.2 He died on 15 May 1921 at age 30 at IrelandG, killed.1
He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the 17th Lancers.1 He fought in the First World War.1 He was awarded the Croix de Guerre.1 He was awarded the Military Cross (M.C.)1
Sir Charles Dennis Pilcher1
M, #70360, b. 1906, d. 5 January 1994
Sir Charles Dennis Pilcher was born in 1906.2 He died on 5 January 1994.2
Sir Charles Dennis Pilcher usually went by his middle name of Dennis.1 He was president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors from 1963 to 1964.2 He was appointed Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 1968.2 He was appointed Knight in 1974.2 He lived at Pulborough, Sussex, England.1
Children of Sir Charles Dennis Pilcher
Ann Pilcher3
Julia Mary Pilcher1 b. 1932, d. 4 May 2018
[S212] Obituaries, The Independent, London, U.K.. Hereinafter cited as The Independent.
[S2802] Ann McGill, "re: Pilcher Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 14 May 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Pilcher Family."
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“Happy Unscrupulous Fishing: You Have a Divine License!”
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Happy Unscrupulous Fishing: You Have a Divine License!” By: Ron Woodrum
Recently, my son Justin, reminded me that now that I am a Senior Citizen that I do not have to buy a fishing license any longer. What an exasperating feeling! One definite reason to get back into a habit that I have always enjoyed, but have not had much time to do it lately. I have always loved to fish. I have been an avid fisherman since Junior High days. I wish I could say that my Dad taught me how to fish. But actually, I only remember him taking our family fishing on one occasion, and I was quite small. There may have been more times than that, but not that I can recall. My older brother loved to fish. He was especially fond of going to pay lakes where you could catch some of the “big fish”, but he usually did not want a kid brother tagging along! My venture as a fisherman came when a new kid moved into our neighborhood. His name was Mike Phillips. Mike did not really like baseball, football, basketball, or tetherball. But he loved to fish. He talked me into joining him on a fishing trip to the neighboring Fairview Park in Decatur, Illinois, and we tried our luck at Dreamland Pond there. After that first day I was hooked! Dreamland was stocked with enough fish that they kept you busy with bites. Then we graduated to Steven’s Creek, a small tributary of the Sangamon River, that ran through Macon County. The real adventure then was to walk to Lake Decatur, and fish down by the Dam. We mostly fished with Zebco rods and reels, and fished on the bottom. I learned to catch all kinds of fish-bluegill; crappie; yellow belly catfish, an occasional channel cat; carp, and sucker fish. I learned how to concentrate on the end of that pole, be patient for the strikes, until you were sure this was the one where the fish took the bait. Moderate success kept me coming back for several years as a teenager. It was only after leaving for college, and entering into the pastorate, and working that it became more and more difficult to enjoy the hobby that I learned early on. But fishing can be a wonderful joyful past time.
Henry David Thoreau reminded us that “men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after!” Robert Altman says, “You put a line in the water and you don’t know what is on the other end. Your imagination is under there!” John Buchan says, “The charm of fishing is that pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope”. Garrison Keillor quite pointedly reminded us ” Thank you dear God, for this good life. Forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the rain. Thank you for the chance to get up after only three hours of sleep to go fishing. I thank you now, because I won’t feel quite so thankful about it then, in the morning!” Steven Wright says, “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot!” I have done both! Haven’t you? But in spite of all of that-fishing has been something that has given me great satisfaction over the years, and I hope will again, not that I am a Senior Citizen! Lol.
That is why I find it intriguing that Jesus used fishing as a metaphor to describe winning the lost. It is a graphic metaphor for a very important subject. It is no small thing that four of his earliest disciples were chosen from the ranks of hearty fisherman that labored daily all over the Sea of Galilee. That metaphor conveys quite vividly important parallels to those who know even a little bit about the sport. When I was a teenager, feeling the call of God on my life to enter the ministry, the Pastor who had led me to Christ took me under his wings. I owe a lot to him for giving me opportunities to preach on youth Sundays, for recommending me to other Pastors to preach Youth Revivals, and for recommending me to the Church in Clinton, that I had the privilege of Pastoring at the ripe old age of 17. This year I am celebrating 50 years in ministry. Russell Pittman was the one God used mightily to lead me into such an honorable calling. I remember that Bro. Pittman belonged to a special group of Pastors. They called themselves the “Fishers of Men Fellowship”. It was a network of Pastors in Central Illinois who were dedicated to Soul-Winning, and in order to encourage each other, and the membership of their Churches, they had annual conferences on Soul-Winning on a rotating basis at each other’s Churches. These meetings were called “The Fishers of Men Fellowship Conferences”. I heard some of the best soul-winning preaching from Russell Pittman; Virgil Graham; Jerry McDaniel; Laverne Arndt; Gerald Thompson; and Mickey Hutchingson. They choose that term from Matthew 4:19. Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He saw Peter and Andrew, James and John fishing, and later cleaning their nets from a hard day’s work. Passing by, He challenged them to come and follow Him, and “He would make them to become Fishers of Men!” In Luke 5:10-11 Jesus challenged them again to “join Him in Catching Men”. The Greek word is “zogreo”- which should be translated-“catch men alive”. An invitation to join the Master and learn His technique. They took Him up on the challenge.
As we meditate on those passages, I want you to think with me about three things concerning that metaphor. The first thought is pretty much understood. The last two not so much! I hope it stretches your thinking, and broadens your perspective a bit. First of all, He likely choose that metaphor because of the apparent similarities that fishing for fish and fishing for men have between them. Fishermen must go to the location of the fish. Fish do not search for the Fishermen…just hoping to be caught! Fishermen need to know what fish they are seeking. Such knowledge lets you know their habits and habitats. Some like the deep. Others the shoreline. You need to know the bait that lures them. Some like Wheaties in a ball on a treble hook; others blood bait on a treble hook; many prefer a worm or a nightcrawler; Salt water fish prefer shrimp or cut-up pieces of squid. Bass seem to like the lures, especially a spinner with a plastic worm. It takes real skill to go fly fishing for Trout. Such knowledge is invaluable to the successful fishermen…and imperative for the Fisher of Men. A fisherman must have a desire to go at inconvenient times, and sometimes inconvenient locations to find the “best spots”. That is true of those who fish for men. There is never a convenient time, and usually never a convenient place. But we must go. Fishermen must be patient. You usually do not throw your line in and have a continuous experience of catching one fish after another. It also takes practice. You must develop strategy and skill…both in luring and landing the fish. I remember the first time Bonna and I took Justin and Josh fishing. Josh was a little young and found waiting for that first bite a little boring. Justin had a little more patience being a little older. Justin got the first bite. He pulled back to set the hook. Soon it appeared the fish had led him into a snag. He handed me his pole to get the snag loose. As I attempted to do that, the snag began to pull back! He and I together fought the fish, and landed a 12-pound catfish! Huge fish for his first catch! We have pictures of that trophy. Lol. These things find parallels to fishing for men. Jesus knew we would understand that much.
But…there are Bible teachers that believe that Jesus did not only mean that fishing was the only professional metaphor He saw as illustrative of soul-winning. Some believe that He was inferring that whatever your profession and talent is-if you will follow Him, and dedicate your giftedness to the Lord, that He will transform and sanctify your profession too, as He did these fishermen. Whatever our giftedness in life is-given to Him-it can be used to further the Kingdom of God. After all, Levi-Matthew was a tax collector. He was a gifted businessman. He knew a lot of people. He knew a lot of other tax collectors, and had the gift of instructing them, and entertaining them at his home. After his conversion, his first act was to invite them all over for a party, and introduce them to the one who loved spending time with tax collectors and publicans. That might just be where Zachaeus first heard of Jesus. I remember hearing Stuart Briscoe preach a message entitled Ordinary People Make Wonderful Disciples. In the message he spoke of a woman that he met at a conference. He asked her what she did for a living. He wasn’t prepared for her answer. She told him-“I am a disciple of Jesus Christ…cleverly disguised as a school teacher”. He said, “for the first time I understood that Christ wanted us to be primarily disciples who extended the Kingdom of God…through whatever gifted profession He had placed us in. We were to grow where we were planted!” Many believe that is the message of the fishers of men metaphor. Think of your calling. Take inventory on your talent pool. Dedicate that to the Lord. He will sanctify it and use it to win others to Himself through you. That may be the message of Solomon when he said “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart”. (Eccles. 9:10). Or what the Apostle Paul meant when He told the Colossians “Whatever you do-do it heartily unto the Lord…serving Christ!” (Col. 3:23-24).
But then there is another thought to incorporate into this devotion. Many feel that Jesus had a particular Old Testament passage in mind when He invited these four anglers to come and join Him in His work. Many feel that He was referencing Jeremiah 16:16 which says “I am sending forth many fishers declares the LORD, and they will catch them” The context speaks of those who have spent their time pursuing idolatry will be caught in the nets of judgment. The “fishers of men” reference may be a double-edged sword. There will be those who will be caught in the nets, and belong to the LORD in His Kingdom. But those who dodge the net He throws out, will escape to their own destruction. In the Parable of the Dragnet, in Matthew 13:47-49, Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven was like casting a net into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind. When it was full it was time for the sorting of the fish…the good into containers, the bad were discarded. Some are caught in Gospel nets and swept into Eternal Life. Others caught up in their own destruction. The same Sun that melts the snow, hardens the clay. Paul said that our witness is a sweet-smelling savior, an aroma of life to those believing. But he also said our witness is an aroma of death, to those who reject the Gospel, and are in the process of perishing. The Gospels record Jesus, the Master Fisherman, drawing in Nichodemus, the Woman of Samaria, (The Bad Samaritan!), The Demoniac of Gadara, and many others in His gospel nets. It shows the “ones who got away too”. -The Rich Young Ruler; The Pharisee Praying in the Temple with the Publican; Herod; Pilate; Caiaphas; His nets flung from the cross even netted the Thief on the Cross; and the Centurions at the foot of the Cross. Never forget God, in His Sovereign work, casts His nets into the lives of those who are willing to be captured for Himself and Life. C.S. Lewis made this point so clear in his book Surprised By Joy. He answered a young atheist who had asked for his advice with these words-“A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful about his reading. There are traps everywhere-Bibles laid open, millions of surprises, as Herbert says, ‘God uses nets and stratagems in His dealings with us’ (a reference to George Herbert-poet and author of the 1600’s) and I might add is very unscrupulous in His use of them on us”. Lewis had been caught in God’s fishing nets, and called himself “he most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England”. Of course, his intellect and profession became a great vehicle for God to apologetically defend the Gospel through him, like few others. One lesson I learned from those Fisher of Men Conferences I attended as a young man is that winning the lost only occurs when God’s Spirit empowers us to cast the Gospel nets into lives He longs to capture. Without His presence and power, we would fare no better than the disciples who toiled all night and “caught nothing!”. Twice, in Luke 5 and John 21, Jesus illustrated with His touch and technique the haul will be so successful it nearly breaks the Gospel nets! Go ahead launch out into the deep. Cast out on the right side. Happy Unscrupulous fishing. You have a Divine license.
Posted by Sammy at 12:57 pm
Thomas, the Twin – Our Twin?
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: Thomas, the Twin – Our Twin? By: Ron Woodrum
There are a lot of famous twins. Most people know the actor Ashton Kutcher. But did you know he has a twin brother named Michael? Most know of President George W. Bush-so it follows that his twin daughters Jenna and Barbara are famous now too. Since their successful sitcom most people know about the Olson twins-Ashley and Mary-Kate. Keifer Sutherland is known for his successful acting career, and his father Donald, but did you know he has a twin sister named Rachael? Everyone knows of the brothers Gibb-i.e. The Bee Gees. But two brothers of that trio-Maurice and Robin were twins. The world knows of the King of Rock and Roll-Elvis Aaron Presley. But did you know that he was the surviving baby of twins. His brother Jesse Garon Presley was still born at the delivery, and is buried in an unmarked grave in Tupelo, Mississippi. Anyone visiting Graceland can see his stone included in the family memorials along with Elvis, Vernon, and Gladys Presley. And then of course who can forget the Biblical twins of Jacob and Esau? But today I want to bring to your memory another twin. His name is Thomas. The Bible speaks of “Thomas, who is called Didymus, meaning twin”. Actually both names-Thomas and Didymus means “twin”. One is Aramaic-Thomas. The other is Greek-Didymus. They both mean twin. Who was the Apostle Thomas a twin to? We are not told. When lists of the disciples are given he is usually linked with Matthew-so some assume that is his twin. Tradition tells us that Thomas took the gospel to India in A.D. 52, and died there as a martyr to the cause of his Lord Jesus Christ. You can visit his tomb in Edessa today. Tradition also tells us that Bartholomew worked alongside Thomas in that commission. Many have caused that fact to link him to be Thomas’ twin. In the Apocryphal book written in the 200’s called the Acts of St. Thomas, he is called “Judas Thomas”-or “Judas the Twin”. Some have linked him with James, the Son of Alphaeus then as a twin. All of that is speculation. We do not know who his twin actually is. Frederick Buechner, in preaching about Thomas, says “I can tell you who his twin is-I am! and I am not far off the mark to say that you are too!” You see when it comes to being disciples that trend toward doubt, and find ourselves being disappointed in Jesus, due to circumstances that suddenly throw us into discouragement and despair; we may just be identical twins to Thomas, called Didymus!
We are told in the Gospel of John that when Jesus appeared to the ten disciples who were gathered in the upper room on the first Easter evening that Thomas was absent. They had the joy of seeing the Lord alive again. They inspected his wounds. They were commissioned to a new mandate. He breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit. The passage describing the event emphasizes that “they were glad when they saw the Lord!” Thomas missed it all. He was disheartened, discouraged and disengaged from the rest! When they sought him out to tell him he frankly told them that their word and witness would never be enough for him. He would have to see with his own eyes, touch with his own hands, experience Him for himself in a personal, intimate, and vital way or he would never believe! That kind of demand of evidence has earned this twin the reputation and name of “Doubting Thomas”. But what about doubt? Was Thomas wrong for wanting to see before believing?
Some of the greatest minds of history have spoken candidly about doubt. Bertrand Russell said, “It is a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on a thing you have long taken for granted”. He also said, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always certain of themselves, but wiser people are full of doubts!” The great Christian Scientist, thinker, and Philosopher Francis Bacon said, “In contemplation, if a man begins with certainties he shall end in doubts; but if he is content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties!” Shakespeare said, “Modest doubt is the beacon of the wise”. Alfred Lord Tennyson said, “There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the world’s creeds” One of the best quotes I have come across comes from Tryon Edwards, the grandson of the Revivalist Preacher Jonathan Edwards. Tryon Edwards wrote, “Doubt, indulged and cherished is in danger of becoming denial; but if it is honest, and bent on thorough investigation it may soon lead to the full establishment of truth”. That kind of sounds like modern day philosopher-baseball player, Yogi Berra who said, “You can observe a lot by seeing!” I believe that is what Thomas needed. He needed some empirical evidence that he could witness with his own eyes. But when he encountered the Lord, risen in all his glory, he saw not only with the eyes of his head, but with the eyes of his heart, and his doubt was transformed to devotion. He then became the example for the Lord to talk of greater blessing than what Thomas experienced on the 8th day of Easter. We can learn a lot from examining Thomas’ journey from Doubt to Devotion by doing an Autopsy on a Doubting Disciple. I want to share with a poem about what Thomas experienced on the 8th Day of Easter. May we too be so transformed by our Risen Lord?
When Thomas afterward had heard That Jesus had fulfilled His word, He doubted if it were the Lord: Alleluia! “My hands, my feet, my body, see; “And doubt not, but believe in Me”: Alleluia!
No longer Thomas then denied; He saw the feet, the hands, the side; Thou art my Lord and God,” he cried: Alleluia!
GUEST PERSPECTIVE: What It Means to Worship a Man Crucified as a Criminal.
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GUEST PERSPECTIVE: What It Means to Worship a Man Crucified as a Criminal. By Peter Wehner
During a Christmas break while I was a student at the University of Washington, I tuned in to a show that influenced the trajectory of my faith, quite by accident. It was a broadcast of an hourlong “Firing Line” interview in 1980 between William F. Buckley Jr. and Malcolm Muggeridge, the British journalist who late in life converted to Christianity.
In the course of the interview, Mr. Muggeridge used a parable. Imagine that the Apostle Paul, after his Damascus Road conversion, starts off on his journey, Mr. Muggeridge said, and consults with an eminent public relations man. “I’ve got this campaign and I want to promote this gospel,” Paul tells this individual, who responds, “Well, you’ve got to have some sort of symbol.” To which Paul would reply: “Well, I have got one. I’ve got this cross.”
“The public relations man would have laughed his head off,” Mr. Muggeridge said, with the P.R. man insisting: “You can’t popularize a thing like that. It’s absolutely mad.”
The reaction of Mr. Muggeridge’s imaginary P.R. person is understandable. The Episcopal priest Fleming Rutledge has written that until the accounts of Jesus’ death burst upon the Mediterranean world, “no one in the history of human imagination had conceived of such a thing as the worship of a crucified man.” And yet the crucifixion — an emblem of agony and one of the cruelest methods of execution ever practiced — became a historical pivot point and eventually the most compelling symbol of the most popular faith on earth.
As a non-Christian friend of mine put it to me recently, the idea that people would worship a God who is compassionate toward us is one thing, but to worship a God who suffers and dies — as a condemned criminal, no less — is distinct to Christianity. In my friend’s understated words, “When you think about it, it is a little strange.”
Perhaps the aspect of the crucifixion that is easiest to understand is that according to Christian theology, atonement is the means through which human beings — broken, fallen, sinful — are reconciled to God. The ideal needed to be sacrificed for the non-ideal, the worthy for the unworthy.
But the cross is more than simply a gateway to the City of God. “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross,” John Stott, one of the most important Christian evangelists of the last century, wrote in “The Cross of Christ.” “The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the cross.’ In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?” From the perspective of Christianity, one can question why God allows suffering, but one cannot say God doesn’t understand it. He is not remote, indifferent, untouched or unscarred.
Scott Dudley, the senior pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Wash., and a lifelong friend, pointed out to me that on the cross God was reconciling the world to himself — but God was also, perhaps, reconciling himself to the world. The cross is not only God’s way of saying we are not alone in our suffering, but also that God has entered into our suffering through his own suffering.
Scott readily concedes that there’s no good answer to the question, “Why is there suffering?” Jesus never answers that question, and even if we had the theological answer, it would not ease our burdens in any significant way. What God offers instead is the promise that he is with us in our suffering; that he can bring good out of it (life out of death, forgiveness out of sin); and that one day he will put a stop to it and redeem it. God, Revelation tells us, will make “all things new.” For now, though, we are part of a drama unfolding in a broken world, one in which God chose to become a protagonist.
One other significant consequence the crucifixion had was to “introduce a new plot to history: The victim became a hero by offering himself as a willing victim,” in the words of the Christian author Philip Yancey. Citing the works of the French philosopher René Girard and Mr. Girard’s student Gil Bailie, Mr. Yancey argues that a radiating effect of the cross was to undermine abusive power and injustice; that care for the disenfranchised and those living in the shadows of society came about as a direct result of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Edward Shillito, a minister in England who watched waves of badly wounded soldiers return from World War I, wrote a poem, “Jesus of the Scars,” in which he said, “The heavens frighten us; they are too calm; In all the universe we have no place. Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm? Lord Jesus, by thy scars we know thy grace.” Mr. Shillito ended his poem with this stanza, which beautifully captures what makes the cross unique:
The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak;
They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but thou alone.
Worshiping a God of wounds is a little strange, as my friend said. For some, it is grotesque and contemptible, a bizarre myth, an offense. But for others of us, what happened to Jesus on the cross is profoundly moving and life-altering — not just a historical inflection point, but something that won and keeps winning our hearts. As individuals with wounds, flawed and fallen, we cannot help but return to the foot of the cross.
The most important moment in my faith pilgrimage was when the cross became my interpretive prism. What I mean by this is that I was and remain a person with a skeptical mind and countless questions. There are parts of the Bible I still find puzzling, difficult and troubling. (That is true of many more Christians than you might imagine, and of many more Christians than are willing to admit.)
But I did arrive at a settled belief that whatever the answer to those questions were — answers I’m unlikely to ever discover — I would understand them in the context of the cross, where God showed his enduring love for people in every circumstance and in every season of life. I came to treasure a line from an 18th-century hymn by Isaac Watts that I have replayed in my mind more often than I can count: “Did e’re such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”
In response to his fictional P.R. person’s claim that using the cross as a symbol for faith would be mad, Malcolm Muggeridge replied: “But it wasn’t mad. It worked for centuries and centuries, bringing out all the creativity in people, all the love and disinterestedness in people, this symbol of suffering. And I think that’s the heart of the thing.”
It is the heart of the thing. Where some see the cross as superstitious foolery or a stumbling block, others see grace and sublime love. For us, the glory and joy of Easter Sunday is only made possible by the anguish of Good Friday.
Posted by Sammy at 2:58 am
“Transforming bad luck into blessed luck!”
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Transforming bad luck into blessed luck!” By: Ron Woodrum
Do you remember the group from Hee Haw that used to sing the song, “Gloom, Despair, and Agony?” It went something like this…”Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me!” It could be that Simon, from Cyrene, who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Passover, may have found himself singing that song. He quickly found his celebration turn into confusion. He got caught up in a mob’s commotion parading condemned criminals to a crucifixion. Just being confronted with this awful scene was bad enough, but as he stood by he was forced to “become involved” and was “compelled to bear one of the criminal’s cross”. Mark gives us a vivid description to this event. “And they led him out that they may crucify him, (Jesus), And they compelled one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from a field, to lift and carry his cross” Mark 15:20-21. Mark, retelling Peter’s recollections, tells us that there was a bystander, one just passing by, coming in out from the countryside. But the Roman guards in charge of the execution picked him out of the crowd, and forced him, against his will, at least at first, to lift the heavy cross Jesus was being forced to carry to his execution. By anyone’s first impression-not so good happenstance! Why me? Why this? Why now? What now? Touching the blood, made him unclean. Now he cannot participate in the Passover-the very reason for his trip to Jerusalem. What bad luck! He was clearly “a passer-by”. He was clearly forced to change his plans, and get right into the middle of a public execution. None of these events were on his planned agenda. He did not choose them. They were forced on him, against his will. The word compelled is the Greek word, aggarueo, “means to force against one’s will!” But when we take a closer look at the incident, and the things that followed, we may conclude that what appeared to be bad luck was actually blessed luck!
How do we define “luck”? The word originally came into the English language in Middle English, from Middle Dutch, meaning “to happen fortunately”. Early on it was not seen as the result of “chance”, but an integral part of God’s involvement in one’s life. Originally, in the Anglican Book of Common Prayers, Psalm 45: 2 was translated “Good luck have thou with thine honor”. Good luck was seen as “God’s luck to you”. Robert Farrar Coppola, in his book Health, Money, and Love, …and why we don’t enjoy them- says “all luck good or bad is God’s metier”, (specialty). He quotes Charles Williams as saying, “all luck is Holy luck!” Eugene Peterson, author of the translation The Message, picked up on this and chose that phrase, Holy Luck, as the title of his book of Spiritual Poems describing the Christian’s blessed experience of the Sovereignty of God in his life. After all Romans 8:28 does not say “all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose”, (as the King James Version says), But instead the Greek reads literally, “For we know…that for those that love God, He works all things together into good, for those called according to His purpose”. That sounds a lot like “Holy Luck”. We are all recipients of that! But as we read the story of Simon of Cyrene we will likely conclude that what appeared as his “bad luck” was actually “blessed luck!”
Simon’s story is in all three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. So it is important. Why is this “nobody” so duly noted? Mark tells us that he was the father of “Rufus and Alexander”. (Mark was written to Rome, and it is assumed that the Roman Church knew these two young men). Paul, in his letter to the Romans, in 16:13, mentions Rufus, as “a chosen vessel of the Lord, and his mother, as a mother to Paul as well”! There is an osurary, (a container of bones), found in Jerusalem with the name of Alexander, the son of Simon of Cyrene. Tradition tells us that somewhere along the Via Dolorosa, or at the foot of the cross, or at Pentecost, that Simon of Cyrene became a believer in Jesus Christ. Tradition tells us that he died as an early Christian martyr, and that his two sons Rufus and Alexander, and his wife were dynamic first century Christians in Jerusalem, and perhaps later in Rome. None of this would have become a reality had Simon not encountered his stroke of “Holy Luck”…his “bad luck” being transformed by God into “Blessed Luck”.
I love how the poet Khalil Gibron describes this transformation of Simon with his pen…”I was on my way to the fields when I saw Him carrying His cross; and multitudes were following Him. Then I too walked beside Him. His burden stopped Him many a time, for His body was exhausted. Then a Roman Soldier approached me, saying ‘Come you are strong and of firm build; carry the cross of this man.’ “He goes on to write, “I was filled with wonder. Now, the cross I carried has become MY Cross. Should they say to me again, ‘Carry the cross of this man’. I would carry it till my road ended at the grave…this happened many years ago; and still whenever I follow the furrow in the field, and in that drowsy moment before sleep, I think always of that Beloved Man.” God gives all of us similar “Holy Luck” to carry the Cross of Christ too. As a matter of fact, the writer of the Book of Hebrews challenges us to Run our Race, by Carrying our Cross, focusing on the example our Lord has given us. That is our message today.
Posted by Sammy at 4:41 pm
“Snake oil never works on a Snake bite!”
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Snake oil never works on a Snake bite!” By: Ron Woodrum
Jay Rathman was hunting deer in the Tehema Wildlife Area near Red Bluff in northern California. He climbed to a ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge. As he raised his head to look over the ledge above, he sensed movement to the right of his face. A coiled rattlesnake struck with lightning speed, just missing Rathman’s right ear! The four-foot snake’s fangs got snagged in the neck of Rathman’s wool turtleneck sweater, and the force of the strike caused it to land on his left shoulder. It then coiled around his neck. He grabbed it behind the head with his left hand and could feel the warm venom running down the skin of his neck, the rattles making a furious racket. He fell backward and slid headfirst down the steep slope through brush and lava rocks, his rifle and binoculars bouncing beside him. “As luck would have it”, he would later report, “I ended up wedged between some rocks with my feet caught uphill from my head. I could barely move!” He got his right hand on his rifle and used it to dislodge the fangs from his sweater, but the snake had enough leverage to strike again! “He made about eight attempts to hit me with his nose hitting me just below my eye four times. I kept my head turned so he could not get a good angle with his fangs. But oh, it was so very close. This snake and I were eyeball to eyeball and I found out that snakes do not blink! He had fangs that looked like darning needles! I had to choke him to death. It was the only way out. I was afraid that with all the blood rushing to my head that I would become light headed and pass out. After I strangled the snake, I tried to toss the dead snake aside, but my hands could not let go! I had to pry my fingers from its neck!” Rathman, who was 45, and worked for the Department of Defense in San Jose, said the entire encounter lasted 20-30 minutes! Warden David Smith of the Wildlife Area says of meeting Rathman: “He walked toward me holding this string of rattles and said with a grin on his face, ‘I’d like to register a complaint about your wildlife here!’ “
Not all encounters with such poisonous vipers turn out so well! In Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh India, in May of 2018, a 35 year old woman, named Devendri, a mother of five, was out gathering fire wood, when she was bitten by a Cobra. She ran home to tell her husband Mukesh. Instead of rushing to a hospital to get treatment with some anti-venom, the husband called the local snake charmer. He suggested a bizarre treament,(his version of snake oil treatment), which he assurred them that it would suck out the poison. His treatment was to bury her in cow dung. Husband and wife complied. Devendri was buried in cow dung. 75 minutes later she was dead…not as a result of the poison, (though that was inevitable), but she died of suffocation. Mukesh was left to raise his five children alone. The police were called to investigate and the Station house officer said, “no charges were to be filed!” Wrong remedy to a toxic venom!
One month later, in June of 2018, in Corpus Christi, Texas-(town named after the Body of Christ), Jennifer and Milo Sutcliffe were working in their yard. Jennifer spotted a four foot long rattlesnake. She pointed it out to her husband. Milo grabbed a shovel and quickly severed the head of the predator. All was well! Milo, confident they had avoided a disastrous encounter, went to pick up the decapatated snake. He picked up the body, went to pick up the severed head, when he was suddenly bitten on the hand…BY THE SEVERED HEAD! He immediately experienced seizures, loss of vision, internal bleeding. His hand swelled up and was covered with dark purple bruises. By the time he got to the hospital, doctors told Jennifer that her husband may not make it. He was given large amounts of anti-venom, but continued to deteriorate. Usually a victim responds and improves after one or two doses. Milo was given a whopping 26 doses of a very expensive anti-venom before he finally stabilized! His encounter became a matter of life and death, and he almost did not escape.
Reading of those encounters reminded me of how the Bible warns us of that Old Serpent the Devil, who is constantly looking for that opportunity to strike at us and inject his deadly poison. We first hear of him in Genesis 3:1 and see his constant attacks until he is destroyed in Revelation 20:2. No wonder the Bible tells us to be on the alert…to live our lives vigilant and watchful ,lest we be struck with his viscious attacks. He makes our Christian life a struggle. We sometimes lose battles to him. But, we are promised that when we rely on the strength and presence of our Living Lord, we can walk in victory over him. He causes us to “always triumph over the evil one”. But there is a passage in Scripture in Numbers 21 gives us an answer to the inward poison of sin that is destroying man. God provided a miracle deliverance lifted up in the hand of His deliverer Moses. All that the bitten people had to do was to “look and live”. Jesus in John 3:14-18…and John 12:27-34. Jesus pointed back to incident to show that that incident was a Divine deliverance to an earthly problem. But that He was the Divine deliverance to an eternal problem! The first remedy pointed to the final remedy. That is the message today. The Bronze Serpent on the pole that brought deliverance and healing to the bitten children of Israel was a precursor to the Cross of Christ…that He would be lifted up on to be judged for the sin and poison from that Old Serpent. Faith in His finished work on that tree would become the only eternal anti-venom to the Serpent’s bite. The world, like the snake charmer in India, offering snake oil, for a snake bite, will find out that it provides no healing whatsover, only death. Eternal death. The only hope for a bitten world is to Look and Live. That Cross is Better than any snake oil on a deadly snake bite!
Snake Oil, Snake Bite by Dilruba Ahmed
They staunched the wound with a stone.
They drew blue venom from his blood til there was none.
When the veins ran true his face remained lifeless
Until the mothers of the village wept and prayed til heaven had little choice
But to grant their supplications and God made the Boy breathe again.
God breathes life into us, it is said, only once. But this case was an exception.
God drew back a giant gust and blew life into the boy
And like a stranded fish, he shuddered, oceanless.
It was true: the boy lived.
He lived for a very long time.
The toxins were an oil slick: contaminated and cleaned. But just as soon as the women
Kissed redness back into his cheeks
The boy began to die again.
He continued to die for the rest of his life.
The dying took place slowly, sweetly. The dying took a very long time.
“ABIDING HARD BY THE CROSS-SO SPARKS OF CALVARY CAN KINDLE OUR FIRE”.
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “ABIDING HARD BY THE CROSS-SO SPARKS OF CALVARY CAN KINDLE OUR FIRE”. BY: Ron Woodrum
Matthew 27:36 says “And sitting down they were watching Him there”. Mark 15:40 says, “The women were there looking from afar off and were looking on” . He lists them, “Mary Magdalene, Mary of James the least, and Joseph’s mother,( John calls her of Clopas), and Salome”. Luke says, in 23: 35 and 48-49 “And stood there the people beholding. “”And all the people that came together to that sight , beholding those things which were done, smote their breasts, and all his acquaintance, and the women that followed Him, stood afar off beholding these things”. John, some sixty years later, writes under inspiration and memory of the Holy Spirit’s guiding, “Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, his Mother Mary, her sister Mary Cleopas, (his Aunt Mary), and Mary Magdalene” (Three Marys at the cross). The Gospel narratives seems to emphasize the impact this execution had on the spectators that day. Matthew puts the emphasis on the gurads who were “watching” the crucifixion-pointing to the fact that it was their duty to guide and guard each action that occurred. They were in a recling position. ( The word watch is “tereo” meaning to “watch over and guard”. But of course such guarding involved actively observing every movement, word, and reaction of the other bystanders. Mark points out, as the crucifixion neared the end, that the women there could take it no longer, and had moved away quite a distance, not able to bear it any longer. (“makrothen”-meaning a substantial distance yet still in sight of all occurring). Mark says, “They kept on watching from afar…and they were looking on”. The word looking is “thereo” from “theomai” meaning “to gaze, to partake of, to contemplate with analyzing” It is the root from which we get the word “theater”. It means “to take in with comprehension and understanding”-“a theater is where people concentrate on the meaning of an action or a performance” . Luke, likely writing the crucifixion from Mary’s eyewitness perspective, uses the same word-“thereo” but says that the crowds that had come together beheld, (thereo) the spectacle (Theorian). The emphasis indicates a “happening that is hard to view and understand with comprehension of meaning”. Viewing the spectacle of Calvary caused almost all of the spectators to beat their own breasts to dull the deep pain viewing this spectacle first hand, with their own eyes, had caused them to feel. Eyewitness viewing was that impactful. We all must wonder what it would have been like to have been, as John writes of the women, sixty years later in his memory, that they were “standing by the cross of Jesus”. Mel Gibson, in his Passion of the Christ, has done a theatrical spectacle quite realistic in order to transport us to their side. That is why we find it so hard to watch-so overwhelming. So crushing! In our own way we leave the presentation “beating our breasts” like they did, though maybe not literally. That kind of experience is critical for Christians-we must never forget that spectacle!
Charles Spurgeon, in his daily devotional, called Morning and Evening, writes, “Abide hard by the cross and search out the mystery of His wounds”. John R.W. Stott tells us why that is a valuable exercise for the believer. He says, “The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us!” That is why Jennie Evelyn Hussey wrote, in her hymn Lead Me To Calvary, sings “King of my life, I crown thee now;Thine shall the glory be; Lest I forget Thy Thorn-crowned brow; Lead me to Calvary.” Refrain reminds us-“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony; lest I forget Thy love for me; Lead me to Calvary”
Every year during this season it is a privilege, It is a mandate. It is an imperative given by God for your Pastor to stand in this pulpit and summon you to come to Calvary. To encourage you to “abide hard by the cross to search out that mystery!” To encourage you to come close enough to “let the sparks from the fire fall on your cold heart, to kindle a new passion in your heart” as you relive His ultimate sacrifice for you and I. Many famous painters have taken the time and their talents to preserve and portray for us the spectacle with such vividness that it enables us to answer the question of the old Spiritual-Where you there when they crucified my Lord? with a clear affirmative-yes! And as we revisit Golgotha annually it is my assignment to portray it in a worthy enough manner that your love for Him leads you to respond in kind. Rembrandt van Rijm, the great Dutch Rennaisance painter painted several scenes of the Crucifixion during the mid 1600’s. They tell us that he usually included himself in each, sometimes in a subtle way, and sometimes, as in the Raising of the Cross, in an explicit way, with him being the man with the Dutch painter’s beret, helping to raise the Cross of Christ! His way of saying, we were all there, we were all involved, we all played a part in His necessity to dying that death! As we visit there again, whether we come, like we did last Sunday, through the words of Israel King-Sweet Singer, and view the cross from the perspective of the Forgotten I AM, and view the cross from the perspective of the Son of God being Abandoned by the Father, Abhorred by the Fools, and Attacked by the Fiend, (Satan), written 1000 years before it occurred, or whether, like today we return to stand beside the cross of Jesus, seeing it portrayed by the Prophet of the Gospel of Love, Isaiah, as he paints the portrait of the Suffering Servant as He endures the Stripe of Sin to Redeem us. We must come to this Holy Ground, focus all of our heart, mind, soul, and person on what we see. Let me again share the words of Spurgeon, which he wrote of Psalm 22, but find application for Isaiah 53 as well. “For plaintive expressions uprising from unutterable depths of woe we may say of this Psalm, that there is none like it. It is a photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours. The record of his dying thoughts and words, the lachrymatory of his last tears…the memorial of his expiring joys. David and his afflictions may be here in a modified sense, but as the star is concealed by the light of the rising of the Sun, he who sees Jesus will probably neither see, nor care to see David. We should read reverently, pulling off our shoes from off our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for IF THERE BE HOLY GROUND ANYWHERE IN SCRIPTURE…IT IS THIS PSALM!” That is certainly true of Isaiah report of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh, the Suffering Messiah of Calvary, as he voluntarily yielded His soul as a Sacrifice to Satisfy the Stripe of Sin for a world of sinners! You and I so included that if we were the only ones he would have still paid the price in full!
In this perspective I want to give you three real life examples of what “abiding hard at the Cross can do for your heart today. The first comes from a famous Christian named Nicholas Ludwig Zinsendorf. On May 20, 1719 he, his brother Frederick, and a dear friend and tutor Herr Riederer entered the art gallery at Dusseldorf, Germany. They had been on a tour of Europe’s galleries to take in all the masterpieces. As he toured the gallery he was drawn to a particular painting-by Dominico Feti titled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man). It showed Jesus being presented by Pilate for Crucifixion, with a crown of thorns on his head. Underneath the artist had written the words “This I have done for you. What have you done for me?” He immediately thought of how he loved to read the Bible. How he loved to sing hymns. How much he did love the Lord. But somehow these things seemed so insignificant now. But his mind went back to Paedagogium in Halle. He thought about the time he had sat at the table listening to all that Bartholomaus Ziegenbaig, the missionary from India, had to say. Now there was a man who was doing something for Christ. “I will do more” he vowed as he stood in front of the painting. “My life will not be spent for myself”. He finished the rest of the gallery but could not get that painting out of his mind. It transformed his life. He founded a denomination called the Moravians that emphasized a passion heart-felt love for Christians that yielded their resources to sacrificial missionary work all over the world. Even the great John Wesley, upon spending a trip to America with them, credited them for showing him the way to true faith and salvation…”When feeling his heart strangely warmed”. “Sparks from the fire of the cross will do that for believers who are close enough to to have a new passion ignited in their heart for the Saviour.”
Another famous person found that same visit to that Gallery, that painting, impact her life as well. Francis Havergal while advancing her education in Dussseldorf, Germany saw the same painting. She saw Christ standing between Pilate and a crowd demanding death. Pilate says, “ecce homo” “behold the man” . That scene-Jesus whipped mercilessly, wearing a crown of thorns, purple robe of mockery. She copied the caption-“this I did for thee. What hast thou done for me?’ Back home when she relived that emotional moment at the gallery she wrote a poem of five stanzas each ending with a pointed challenge-“what have you done for me?” Reading it again, she thought it a poor poem and threw it in the fireplace. It did not burn. She retrieved them. Showed them to her father. He encouraged her to save them. Years later they became her most famous hymn. I Gave My Life For Thee. “I gave, I gave my life for thee; My precious blood I shed; That thou might ransomed be; and raised up from the dead; I gave my life for thee; what hast thou given for me?’
The third famous person who was impacted by “abiding hard at the cross” was Ernest Borgnine. He recounts the story in the March 1989 Guidepost testimony. While filming the movie Jesus of Nazareth, by Franco Zeffirelli, playing the role of the Centurion, back in 1976 with Anne Bancroft, and Olvia Hussey. The film was shot in January and February in Tunisia on the Mediterranean. He tells his story like this: ” It was cold, windy, and miserable. I was uncomfortable wearing the Roman soldier’s gear, especially the ponderous metal helmut. It made me pity those ancient soldiers. When it came to film my part at the cross, Robert Powell, who was playing Jesus, was given the day off. Zefferelli put a chalk mark on the cross and told me to ‘stare at it as if you were looking at Jesus’. I said, ‘okay’. I tried. I could not do it, I requested, ‘somebody read me the words of Jesus as He hung on the cross’. The director agreed to do that. I knew the words from my youth, and from reading for the part. I stared at the chalk mark and began to think like the centurion. That poor man up there, I thought. I met him. He healed my servant. He is the son of God. An unfortunate claim during these perilous times. But I know he is innocent of any crimes”. As Zefferelli read Jesus saying ‘father forgive them’ I felt so ashamed! I thought if you forgive me too, I will retire from soldiering and live out my life on that farm land outside of Rome. Then it happened! I no longer saw the chalk mark. I saw Jesus, on the cross! Not Robert Powell, the actor. Jesus! Pain-seared. sweat-stained. blood flowing from the crown. His face filled with compassion. He looked down at me, through tragic sorrowful eyes, with an expression of love beyond description. He cried out ‘it is finished’. ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit’. His head slumped to one side! I knew he was dead. A terrible grief welled up inside of me. I became oblivious to the camera. I started sobbing uncontrollably, Zefferilli yelled, ‘Cut’. Olivia was crying. Anne Bancroft was crying, I wiped my eyes and looked again. Jesus was gone! That encounter changed my life. Made my faith real… Was a profound conversion experience. I have not been the same person since! As the centurion learned 2,000 years ago, you cannot encounter Jesus like that without being changed forever!” May that be your encounter today as we visit Mt. Calvary located in this text of Isaiah 52/53.
Two last quotes- J.I. Packer wrote, “The traveler through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of hill called Mt. Calvary”. J. Knox Chambliss wrote, ” The Spirit does not take his pupils beyond the cross, BUT EVER MORE DEEPLY INTO IT!” May that be your worship experience today. “EVER MORE DEEPLY INTO HIS CROSS!”
“FOLLOWING THE LORD IN BAPTISM-KISSING THE SON”.
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “FOLLOWING THE LORD IN BAPTISM-KISSING THE SON”. By: Ron Woodrum
One of the most controversial rock groups since the 1990’s is the rock group Korn. The Chicago Tribune described the group as “perverts, psychopaths, and paranoiacs”. Their heavy metal music and explicit lyrics had earned them quite a reputation-a bad one! But they made news March 3, 2005 when a close friend gave Korn’s lead guitarist Brian “Head” Welch a Bible. He was addicted to Xanax, and crystal meth, as well as alcohol. He was miserable. After reading portions of the Bible he announced that he had accepted The Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He told MTV and an audience of 10,000 attendees at Valley Bible Fellowship of Bakersfield, California that this is “not about religion, it is not about this Church, it is not about me. It is about Jesus Christ and the Book Of Life. Everyone needs to be taught this. God went to a rock concert and found a hurting soul on stage. I am the happiest man in the world”. Exactly one week later, Welch left skeptics without any doubt, when he and 20 others flew to Israel to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in baptism in the Jordan River. On March 10, 2005 he and 20 white-robed pilgrims were baptized by the Pastor Ron Vetti, of the Valley Bible Fellowship in the Jordan River, confessing Jesus publically as Savior to the entire world. Welch said, “I am going home a totally different and new man”. He followed up his baptism with a new album and a new autobiography both entitled Save Me from Myself. Welch’s actions raise a lot of questions. Why go to Israel to be baptized in the Jordan River? Why be baptized at all? What does it mean to follow the Lord in baptism? Most people both in and outside the Church today see baptism as much an enigma as John the Baptist did of Jesus’ baptism over 2,000 years ago. As we preach this series on “following Jesus” we need to follow him to the Jordan River. We need to ask and answer why He was baptized by John the Baptist. What did that act that he initiated His public ministry with mean? For Him? For us? What does it mean for us to “follow the Lord in baptism?”
According to two N.T. passages Jesus’ baptism was to be an inauguration of the public ministry He was embarking on. According to Matthew 3:13-17, while John the Baptist was baptizing a steady stream of Jewish converts who were showing repentance and readiness for the coming Messiah, Jesus Himself showed up and requested that John baptize Him. John kept on refusing to do so, declaring his own unworthiness, and need to be baptized by Jesus the Messiah. Jesus convinced him to allow it at this time “to fulfill all righteousness”. John agreed. As he immersed Jesus in the Jordan River, he heard a voice from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”, and he saw “the Spirit of God descending upon Him in the form of a dove” anointing Him for His mission and ministry as Messiah. Then as you turn to John 1:31-34 we hear John the Baptist saying, “I knew Him not; but so that He might be made manifest to all Israel I came baptizing with water…and I saw the Spirit descending from heaven, in the form of a dove, and abode on Him. I knew Him not…but He who sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, ‘upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, is the same that will baptize with the Holy Spirit’. I saw and bore witness this one is the Son of God”. Those two narratives describe an event that was a fulfillment of two prophecies about the Messiah. One is Psalm 2. In that Psalm we read about the Son of God who will come to rule and judge the rebellious and mutinous nations. God says, “This is my beloved Son, this day I have begotten thee…and I will give you the nations for your inheritance”. (Psalm 2:1). But Jesus’ baptism was fully explained in Isaiah 42:1 “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold, in whom my soul delighteth, (equivalent in Hebrew to the Greek ‘in whom I am well pleased’.), and will give thee to the covenant people, and for a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to set free prisoners from prison and the darkness of the prison house.” As Jesus began His ministry He submitted Himself to a ceremony that symbolized and pictured what His mission would be as the Suffering Servant Messiah. He would not just be the King, Son of the Most High, come to rule the nations. He would be Suffering Servant come to give His life as predicted of Him in Isaiah 53. All of that was pictured in His baptism. The Spirit would come on Him and empower Him to live a righteous life, and sacrifice Himself as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Those who would trust Him to be the one to take away their sins, by His sacrifice, would publically declare it by following His example, and submit to water baptism, as He did. By that they would foreshadow what His sacrifice would do for them. His Spirit baptism would put them in union with Him, and His Spirit would enable them to die to sin, self, and the world, and be raised spiritually to walk in newness of life. His baptism prophesied His mission. Their baptism prophesied their deliverance from sin. Psalm 2 ends by giving all the command to “kiss the Son and give evidence to their faith and trust in Him” to be the Savior and King He came to be. Baptism is the public demonstration where we can “kiss the Son” and declare our faith in Him. Through our union with Him we have died to sin and self and risen to walk in Him.
Having John baptize Him was Jesus’ “Crossing the Rubicon”. On January 10, 49 B.C. Julius Caesar, with all of his troops, was sitting on the banks of the Rubicon River that separated Italy from Gaul. For him to cross into Italy with his troops was to break the law of Imperium, which forbid any unauthorized generals and troops from entering the country as a military unit. To do so was to be penalized by death for the general and the troops. That night Caesar and his troops slept on the banks of the Rubicon. The next morning, stating he had been given a word from god, he uttered these words “alea iacta est” -“the die is cast” and he and his troops “crossed the Rubicon”. That phrase has become an idiom for going to the “point of no return”. It has come to mean “make a choice and face whatever consequences it brings“-no turning back. That is what Jesus did in submitting to John’s baptism. He was committing Himself to all it would be to “fulfill at righteousness” as the Suffering Servant Messiah and as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. All of that mission and ministry would be pictured in His baptism. Entering the water, lying down in the water, being buried totally in the water, and rising up out of the water. There is the vivid panorama of what it would take to “fulfill all righteousness” in obedience to the will of His Father. He would be empowered by the Spirit to live under the law, to redeem those who had broken the law. He would, as Hebrews says, “offer Himself as a sacrifice through the power of the Eternal Spirit, to be the perfect one-time sacrifice, to redeem all those who put their trust in Him. (Heb.9:14).
Jesus then gave His Church the commission to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He commanded. (Matt. 28:19-20). That gave all who would hear the good news of the Gospel, illustrated by Jesus Death, Burial, and Resurrection, pictured in His baptism, the opportunity to follow Him in baptism, and thereby trust His redemptive work, which would unite them with Him, in His Death and Resurrection, and Spirit’s filling and anointing, enabling them to die to the old life, and be raised to walk in newness of life. (See Rom. 6:14). Our baptism, picturing the baptism of the Spirit, is our “Crossing the Rubicon“. It is us choosing to “cast the die”. It is the linking of our faith and trust with His redemptive work, resulting in a transforming salvation. C.S. Lewis talked about the miracle of this work of Christ in our lives. He wrote, “The Christian way is different: harder and easier. Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t so much want your time and so much your money and so much your work: I want you! I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down…Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked-the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: My own shall become yours’ “That is what happens when we follow the Lord in baptism, and begin living out the actuality of the Sprit’s baptism. That is what God wanted when He commanded in Psalm 2-“kiss the Son, lest He be angry with you!” Paint a picture of Him, by your submission to Him, and display His beauty for all the world to see.
Charles Spurgeon tells the story about an artist who was a contemporary with him, though he had never met him. His name was Gustave Dore. One day when Gustave Dore was working on a painting of Christ, a lady friend came to visit his studio and began gazing intently at the face, almost completed. As she was gazing, the artist retired from the picture to a corner of the room, and looked at the face of his friend, as she looked intently on the face on the canvas. Turning around she asked, “Why do you look at me so anxiously?” “I wanted to watch your face as you looked at His face-I think you like it”, He insisted. “Yes, I do”, she told him. “Do you want to know what I was thinking? -I was thinking that you could never paint the face of Christ like you have unless you loved Him!” “Do I love Him?’ Dore asked in agitation. “I trust I do-and that sincerely; but as I love Him more, I shall paint Him better!” Baptism, and the new life that follows, is the opportunity to show our love for Him by painting His portrait on the canvass of our lives for the world to see how our faith, in His redemptive work, is the only hope we have of fulfilling all righteousness, and restoring the glory God intended for us in the beginning. “Kiss the Son”
“Look to that precious standard of life…never to be wrested from our hands”.
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Look to that precious standard of life…never to be wrested from our hands”. By: Ron Woodrum
One of the greatest preachers of all human history was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Each Sunday his sermons were telegraphed and printed to most of the major cities of the world. They were printed and passed out like gospel tracts, which indeed they were. Unnumbered millions came to faith through his preaching and through the printing of those sermons. His sermons always seemed to center on the Cross of Jesus Christ. No matter from what passage of Scripture he took as his text he always managed to travel from it to the place of the cross. When someone asked him why God honored his preaching he said, “I simply announce my text and make a bee-line for the cross!” He clearly understood the words of Jesus who had said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all the world to myself” (John 12:32). Why did he understand that message so much? Because he had indeed experienced the truth of it. His conversion experience happened one Sunday morning when he was only 14 years old. He was walking to his father’s Church for services when a snowstorm hindered him from getting there. He turned in to a little Primitive Methodist Church for worship. The pastor was snowed in and could not make it. A layman led the service that was attended by only 14 people. Young Spurgeon made it 15! Listen to his testimony of that morning in his own words:
“I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and I came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly they made people’s heads ache; But that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin looking man-a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up to the pulpit to preach. Now it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to the text, for the simple reason that he had little else that he had to say. The text was-LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus-‘My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says-LOOK. Now looking don’t take a great deal of pains. It ain’t liftin your foot or your finger; it is just LOOK! Well a man needn’t go to college to LOOK. You may be the biggest fool, yet you can LOOK. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to LOOK. Anyone can LOOK. Even a child can LOOK. The text says LOOK UNTO ME.- (he said in broad ESSEX accent) many of ye are looking to yourselves, but it’s no use looking there! You will never find comfort for your souls there! Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by and by. Jesus says, LOOK UNTO ME! Some say we must wait for the Spirit’s workin’. You have no business with that just now. LOOK TO CHRIST! The text says LOOK UNTO ME.’ Then the good man followed up his text in this way-‘Look unto me I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto me I am hanging on the Cross. Look unto me I am dead and buried. Look unto me I rise again. Look unto me I ascend into heaven. Look unto me I am sittin’ at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner look unto me. Look unto me.’
When he had gone to about that length, and had managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, ‘young man you look miserable’. Well I did. But I had not been accustomed to have remarks made about it from the pulpit on my personal appearance ever before. However, it was a good blow that struck right home. He continued, ‘and you will always be miserable-miserable in life-miserable in death-if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved!’ Then, lifting his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, ‘Young man, look to Jesus Christ! LOOK…LOOK…LOOK! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO BUT TO LOOK AND LIVE!’ I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said-I did not take much notice of it. I was so possessed with that one thought. Like the brazen serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness, the people only looked and they were healed. So, it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things. But when I heard that word LOOK—what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness rolled away, at that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen in an instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, (enough to make a man’s head ache!) of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before…Trust Christ and you shall be saved! Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered and now I can say–
Ever since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be til I die”
A little over one hundred years later, another famous British journalist saw the same Cross. Famed journalist Malcom Muggeridge told how he had resisted the message of the cross all his life, until one day it drew him to surrender to the Christ of the Cross and it became a treasure to wear over his heart, and a standard of salvation never to be wrested out of his hands. He wrote: “From time to time I would catch a glimpse of a cross. Not necessarily a crucifix. Maybe two pieces of wood accidently nailed together…or a telegraph pole for instance—and suddenly my heart would stand still. In an instinctive and intuitive way, I understood that it represented something more important, more tumultuous, more passionate, than all other good causes, however admirable they might be. It was, I know, an obsessive interest…I might fasten bits of wood together myself, or doodle it when I was writing. This symbol, which was considered derisory in my home, yet also the focus of inconceivable hopes and desires…as I remember this, a sense of my own failure lies leadenly upon me. Long before I did…I should have worn it over my heart; carried it, a precious standard never to be wrested from my hands…it should have been my cult, my uniform, my language, my life. I shall have no excuse. I cannot say I didn’t know earlier. I knew from the beginning and turned away all those years”
But like Spurgeon, after embracing the Christ of that Cross. After looking only to Him and that finished work on the cross for salvation. It did, as it should all of us, become our cult, our uniform, our language, our life, never to be wrest from our hands or hearts. Calvary calls…..LOOK AND BE SAVED TO THE UTTERMOST!
“Rough Winds of Persecution Transformed into Winds of Propagation!”
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Rough Winds of Persecution Transformed into Winds of Propagation!” By: Ron Woodrum
Thomas Carlyle used to say that the easy, chatty optimism of Ralph Waldo Emerson maddened him. In his opinion “no really dark shadow had ever fallen across Emerson’s sheltered life”. He said that Emerson “seemed like a man who, standing well back from the least touch of spray from the storm, throws chatty observations about the beauty of the weather to a poor man battling for his life in huge waves that are beating upon him and threatening to sweep him away!” Perhaps Carlyle was right about Emerson, we cannot say. But personal experience in the marketplace of human existence tells us all that somewhere between sunrise and sunset, everyone will feel the harsh winds of opposition upon our faces. What is true of individuals is also true of the Church, at any given time in history. The Church had seen some opposition during the days of its infancy. If the world hated their Lord, they too would feel that animosity at some time or another, in some way or another. Jesus had promised them that. But during the early days, recorded in Luke’s narrative in the Book of Acts, those winds did not blow harshly at first. We read of the Church, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, penetrating the Graeco-Roman world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, turning it upside down, taking the Church from Jerusalem to Rome in only two decades! But as the Children of Israel found out-things can change in a New York minute. When a Pharaoh that knew not Joseph came to power, their position went from privileged to persecuted immediately. So with the Church. Beginning with Emperor Claudius and running through Diocletian, the Church faced the ever-increasing winds of persecution blowing their way all throughout the Roman Empire. This persecution would become so intense that it threatened the very existence of the Church. Many then, and now, question why the Sovereign God would allow such a thing to happen to His faithful people.
Frank W. Boreham, in his book Cliffs of Opal, explains the necessity of such suffering in order to impact the Roman world of that day with an even greater impact! He writes, “If Jesus, the Son of God, had died His bitter death on Calvary’s tree, and left it at that, would that have saved the world? Of course not! The world at large would have never heard of it. The tragic incident would have passed into oblivion within a year or two. Just another political execution off in a distant Roman Province. In order for that redeeming sacrifice might be made effective, and the world be saved by means of it, it was necessary for the Apostles to suffer and die proclaiming it, for the martyrs to lay down their lives defending it, for missionaries like Xavier, and Livingstone, and Patterson, and Williams, and Chalmers to seal it with their blood. That would be their testimony to its virtue. Every death on a foreign shore, every tear shed for the Gospel’s sake, every jibe or sneer patiently endured out of love for Christ, is an augmentation of the awful tragedy of Golgotha. It is the wonder of wonders that He who died upon that bitter tree to redeem mankind associates each of us with Himself in that Divine and sacrificial work!” A.T. Pierson, in his book The Bible and The Spiritual Life, explains how that God used such sacrifice and suffering on the part of His saints to impact them, and the world that witnessed their suffering, to reflect the glory and grace of their Crucified Savior to the World. He wrote, “God allows it in order to perfect His saints. He puts His precious metal into His crucible. But He watches it. His love is His thermometer, and He marks the exact degree of heat, not one instant’s unnecessary pang will He permit; as soon as the dross is released and He sees Himself reflected in them, the trial immediately ceases!” His martyrs all testified to His sustaining grace being sufficient for the moment. What an impact their witness had.
Soon the road of persecution led to the newly built Colosseum. It became the center of attention for the public display of The Sacrifice of Christ being magnified through the testimonies and deaths of His martyrs. Vance Havner, in his book Hearts Aflame, pays a fitting tribute to these courageous Christians. He writes, “If we had sat in the grandstands amidst the grandeur that was Rome we might have been deceived. For it was not the howling mob in the Colosseum that determined the course of history. Underground in the catacombs another force was at work. A handful of men and women who worshipped another King called Jesus, who had died and risen, and was coming back someday-here was the beginning of the Empire within the Empire, the Christians beneath the Caesars! They crept along the subterranean passageways and tunnels, among the tombs and caverns, hunted and persecuted as the scum of the earth. If we would have prowled the gloomy depths we might have come upon little companies singing, listening to the Gospel message, observing the Lord’s Supper. The verdict might have been this little group doesn’t stand a chance! But the Christian Underground upset the Caesars above ground. The Catacombs overcame the Colosseum…and put it out of business! That fellowship who loved Jesus more than they loved their own lives, who were in the world, but not of it, whose blood was the seed of the Church…were on fire with the passion that Roman swords could not kill, nor waters of the Mediterranean Sea could drown, nor the fierce flames of fire could destroy nor silence. Their blood was spilled so freely and often in that arena that when a traveler asked if he might take a relic with him, was told take a handful of sand from the Colosseum. It is all martyrs!”
Need we say more? That kind of devotion withstands the howling winds of persecution and shifts the direction back toward its source, transforming them into winds of propagation! Let those winds blow…world wide!
“THE DISMAL COMPANY…ONLY TO SELF TRUE!”
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PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “THE DISMAL COMPANY…ONLY TO SELF TRUE!” By: Ron Woodrum
There is an unusual quote, from a very unusual source, that God recently brought to my attention that describes our world today, both those inside and outside the Church, quite accurately. It describes our most destructive attitude that perpetrates and perpetuates our dilemma. It comes from Dante Alighieri. Who in the world is that Pastor? That is the full name of the famous Dante of Dante’s Inferno: The Divine Comedy. Few of us read his work anymore that describes the medieval view of Hell. While being given a tour of Hell Dante hears sighing, crying weeping, wailing and railing. He writes, “At first I wept at such wailing and lamentations…shrieks, yells, and groans. Whereupon I asked, ‘Master what is this I hear?’ ‘Who can these people be, so distraught with grief?’ He answered, ‘THE DISMAL COMPANY, OH WRETCHED SPIRITS THAT FIND THEIR RECOMPENSE DUE, WHOSE LIVES KNEW NEITHER PRAISE NOR INFAMY…WHO AGAINST GOD REBELLED NOT, NOR TO HIM WERE FAITHFUL, BUT ONLY TO SELF WERE TRUE!’ “They tell us the road to hell is paved with “good intentions”. The residence of hell is filled with “great regret”. The residents of hell will be eternally quoting the words of John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem-“For of all sad words of tongue or pen-the saddest are it might have been”. But hell is not the only place of regret. When we all get to heaven, and look back over the opportunities of our lives, that poem will also express the feelings of many of God’s saints too.
The great tragedy of our time is that we have chosen who and what will come first in our lives, and it is not God! It is ourselves. We come first. We live for ourselves. We are true to ourselves. We want to include God in our lives, on our terms. We have not rebelled against Him that much, but we have not been sold-out faithful to Him either. Our lives do not deserve praise neither infamy. What a tragedy! If we do not take specific action to put God first in our lives -the kind of action that Rick Warren made clear and popular in his book The Purpose Driven Life-we may find our lives lived only for ourselves, and making no impact for eternity. I am fond of a description from a nineteenth-century writer Van Wyck Brooks, who described his futile life, in his autobiography by saying that as he surveyed his life he concluded that his efforts had been sown in an environment where they could not grow and not even a furrow remained from where he had ploughed. His words are so descriptive of futility-it is as if he had been “ploughing the sea!” The great Irish Poet W. B. Yeats wrote in a similar vein in his memoir Reveries: “All life, weighed in the scale of my own life seems a preparation for something that never happens!” That is the tragedy of most of our Christian lives. We intend to put God first; to live a surrendered life; to witness and win others to Christ; to make an impact for Him; to do things that will be worthy of Him saying to us in that day-“Well done thou good and faithful servant“. But we have been “ploughing the sea” and can’t even retrace where we’ve been. Our lives…always preparing for impact for Jesus…but “nothing ever happens!”
Greg Levoy calls this the “common cold of the soul”. He says our lives are filled with “Sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed. Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed–until weeks become months, and months turn into years, and one day you’re looking back on a life of deep intimate, gut-wrenching honest conversations you never had; great bold prayers you never prayed; exhilarating risks you never took; sacrificial gifts you never gave; lives you never touched; and you’re sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul and forgotten dreams, and you realize there was a world of desperate need, and a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself-you see the person you could have become but did not; You never followed your calling; you never got out of the boat; if you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat. Most of us have never gotten out of the boat!”
Garrison Keillor, in a story called “A Day in the Life of Clarence Bunsen” tells of an older man who realizes that life has slipped away and his life has missed something. He goes to see Father Emil for advice and comes away empty. He goes back to a hill that overlooks his childhood hang-out at Lake Woebegone and watches kids playing and reflects on his life. He thinks to himself, “I wish I could be like that. I just seem to go through life with my eyes closed and my ears shut. People talk to me, and I don’t seem to hear them. Whole days go by, and I can’t remember what happened. The woman I’ve lived with for thirty-six years, if you asked me to describe her, I’d have to stop and think about it. It’s like I’ve lived half my life waiting for my life to begin, thinking it’s off somewhere in the future, and now I am thinking about death all the time. It’s time to live, time to wake up and do something!” Henry David Thoreau summarized what Clarence Bunsen might have been trying to say, when he said, “I did not wish to live what was not life…I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life!” We could take a tip from Pablo Picasso. He wrote, “When a man knows how to do something-he ceases to be a man when he stops doing it!” James put it this way, “He that knoweth to do good and doeth it not…to him it is sin!” (James 4:17). We need to take purpose-driven steps to avoid the “Dismal company-being only true to ourselves”. We need to quit “ploughing the sea” quit living life with good intentions “preparing for something that never happens!” Get over our “common colds of the soul” and “wake up and live that life of impact for Christ now!” “Do not live life that is not life-suck all the marrow out” and once we begin, “never stop doing it!” That is the path to an eternity with “No Regrets!”
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Ten fun facts about Mihailo Petrovic Alas
Though he finished his studies in Serbia in 1889, he traveled to Paris to receive more education.
In 1891 he obtained his degree from Sorbonne University and in 1894 received his doctorate in the field of differential equations.
He was only 31 years old when he became a full member of the Serbian Royal Academy in 1899.
His nickname, Alas, meaning river fisherman, came from his interest in fishing.
He also had an interest in music and played the violin. He founded the musical society Suz in 1896.
He was a member of over 15 groups including the Yugoslav Academy and a number of societies in Prague, Paris and France.
The Ninth Belgrade Gymnasium, founded in 1962, is named after him, specifically titled "IXth Grammar School 'Mihailo Petrovic-Alas'".
He became a fisherman apprentice in 1882 and became a master fisherman in 1895.
He served as an officer in the First World War and also remained a reserve officer.
Though he served again in World War 2, when the war broke out in Yugoslavia, he was captured by Germans.
Joseph Banks
Short about Mihailo Petrovic Alas
A Serbian mathematician and inventor.
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A compilation of trailers and scenes from crime, horror and sci-fi films.
She-Wolf of London (1946)
A young heiress finds evidence suggesting that at night she acts under the influence of a family curse and has begun committing ghastly murders in a nearby park.
Years of treatment at a mental institution for the criminally insane, Norman Bates still can't quite elude the demands of "Mother." Vera Miles also returns as the inquisitive woman who is haunted by her sister's brutal murder and the ominous motel where it all occurred.
Blind Side (1993)
A couple visits Mexico to scout a new location for their furniture manufacturing business and hit a cop with their car on the way back stateside. Realizing that if they report it they could land in a Mexican jail (guilty until proven innocent) they clean up the car and return home. A few days later an insistent man shows up wanting a job and insinuating that he saw something in Mexico that he would not want to report, and the couple must make a decision about how far they will allow themselves to be blackmailed. Written by Ed Sutton
The Window (1949)
A boy who always lies witnesses a murder but can't get anyone but the killer to believe him.
Anita (1967)
Anita is a weird girl, who either looses her memory or pretends to not remember.
Prisoner of Love (1999)
Supermodel Naomi Campbell sizzles in this suspense-charged erotic thriller that delves into the dark world of obsession, seduction and crime. When a small time hood makes a hit, beautiful Tracy becomes his unwitting witness... and the object of his desire! His boss orders her dead, but he realizes the only chance to save her life is to abduct her and go into hiding. But will his world close in? Or will she slowly succumb to his burning desire? The suspense will hold you captive.
36 Hours (1964)
Germans kidnap an American major and try to convince him that World War II is over, so that they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a video tape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.
A Stranger Is Watching (1982)
Three years after Steve Peterson's wife, Nina, was murdered in front of their 11 year old daughter Julie, she and his new girlfriend Sharon Martin are kidnapped by the same killer, the psychotic Artie Taggart. Imprisoning them in a bunker below Grand Central Station, he throws the police into a race against time to save the girls and catch the killer.
Above Suspicion (1995)
Dempsey Cain is an honored cop, a loving husband and father, and mentor to his handsome younger brother. Then a drug dealer's bullet paralyzes him for life and Dempsey's world is shattered. Suddenly, his wife and brother seem to care less about him than for each other, and a million-dollar insurance.
Alone With Her (2006)
The harrowing story of a disturbed young man's attempts to win the affections of an unsuspecting young woman. When Doug first sees Amy, he instantly falls for her and begins to watch her every move, going so far as to set up spy cameras in her apartment. However, as his fascination grows into obsession he's no longer satisfied with just watching.
Balancing the Books (2009)
"BALANCING THE BOOKS" is a character-driven suspense drama about an attractive woman who enlists the help of her two best friends to confront a traumatic experience she can no longer deny. Julia, divorced and successfully self-employed, seems to have it all - except the right guy in her life. Her friends urge her to "get back out there." But they don't yet know about Scott - a charming man with a secret background whose true colors paint a streak of pain and fear through Julia's life. When Scott's effect on Julia reaches the breaking point, she and her friends take matters into their own hands... and underestimate the consequences. The outcome forces all of them into a desperate situation. Everyone pays the price.
Boot Camp (2008)
A group of troubled teens are sent to a rehabilitation program housed in a remote camp on the island of Fiji. What their parents believe is a state-of-the-art deluxe institution in a beautiful natural environment turns out to be a prison-like boot camp where they are abused and brainwashed.
Cold Comfort (1989)
Dolores has everthing she wants for her birthday: a party, 18 glowing candles, and Stephen, the handsome stranger who's more than a guest. He's a prisoner. COLD COMFORT bristles with the suspense, passion and danger of three people caught up in a madman's game.
Conflict (1945)
Filmed some 18 months before its release, Conflict is one of two melodramas in which Humphrey Bogart self-consciously portrayed a wife murderer (the other was The Two Mrs. Carrolls). Bogie plays unhappily married Richard Mason, who concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife, Kathryn (Rose Hobart), so that he'll be free to marry her sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith).
Chronicles (2004)
A suspense thriller about a reporter from Miami who travels to Ecuador in pursuit of a serial killer known as the "Monster of Babahoyo."
Desperate (1947)
An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he's accused of robbery.
Experiment in Terror (1962)
Kelly Sherwood is terrorized by a man with an asthmatic voice who plans to use her to steal $100,000 from the bank where she works. He threatens to kill her teenage sister Toby, if she tells the police. However she manages to contact F.B.I. agent Ripley.
Family Plot (1976)
Lighthearted suspense film about a phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/private investigator boyfriend who encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
Sweet Evil (1996)
This suspense film is the tale of a yuppie couple (Matsuda, Cohen) unable to conceive and desperate for a child. They enlist the services of Jennifer (Wilson) to act as surrogate mother. Unbeknownst to the couple, Jennifer has an ulterior motive to this union - to exact revenge for a childhood tragedy which has had a deep, malevolent effect on her.
Golden Rendezvous (1977)
Action-packed suspense thriller finds innocuous-looking purser Carter (Harris) the unlikely hero when the floating casino on which he works is hijacked by a heavily armed group of mercenaries, led by John Vernon. Complicating matters, a nuclear warhead has been smuggled aboard as collateral for a rendezvous with another ocean liner, loaded with gold bullion. A cast full of supernovas, dazzling set & stunt work, and a catchy theme tune by Jeff Wayne create a pleasing audio-visual experience light on logic but fast paced and entertaining nonetheless.
Innocent Blood (2013)
Sun W. Kim and D.J. Holloway, behind several award winning short films, makes their feature film debut with Innocent Blood. The suspense thriller tells the story of James Park, a retired detective turned college professor, who is forced to face his dark past in order to find his son Codys kidnapper. James Park, played by Jun-Seong Kim (Late Autumn, West 32nd), a well decorated, officer is exposed for who he really is by his sons mysterious kidnapper. With a handful of past enemies, simultaneous murders, a wife whos losing faith in him, and two detectives in hot pursuit, James must move fast to bring his son home safely.
Jeopardy (1953)
A woman is kidnapped when she goes to get help for her husband who is trapped on a beach with the tide coming in to surely drown him.
Judgment Night (1993)
While racing to a boxing match, Frank, Mike, John and Rey get more than they bargained for. A wrong turn lands them directly in the path of Fallon, a vicious, wise-cracking drug lord. After accidentally witnessing Fallon murder a disloyal henchman, the four become his unwilling prey in a savage game of cat & mouse as they are mercilessly stalked through the urban jungle in this taut suspense drama
Lost Things (2003)
Four teenagers with the end of school on the horizon head up the New South Wales coast for a weekend of surfing,drinking and sex.The boys have told their parents they are going alone.It's only when the stranger appears and weird time anomalies occur on the beach and in the camp that they start thinking.Admittedly the premise of "Lost Things" is quite interesting,but hardly original.The film actually in many ways reminded me "Dead End".The acting is sub-par,but I must applaud the excellent work of cinematographer.The lonely beach indeed looks creepy and atmospheric and such details like the mannequin buried in the sand put the smile on my face.The climax is satisfying of itself,but is undermined by too many unanswered questions.Give it a look,however if you want to see seriously eerie horror flick that will make you think afterwards rent or buy "Session 9".6 out of 10.
Marathon Man (1976)
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division. This film, famous for its excruciating "Is it safe?" torture scene by a Nazi dentist, is a spy classic with an all star cast.
Teheran Incident (1978)
'Missile X' takes its time getting to its much-anticipated climax, but by and large it's worth the wait. Peter Graves heads a special task force, assigned to literally save the world. A wacko has gotten hold of a nuclear cruise missile, and has threatened to touch off World War 3. What possible benefit this will have for the villain is never completely explained; it's enough that it provides a consistent level of suspense. Curt Jürgens and Michael Dante costar in this apocalyptic nailbiter.
Patriot Games (1992)
When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.
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Taylor Caldwell and her Writing
I had pulled the Jess Stearn book, The Search for a Soul: Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, (1973) from my book shelf a bit ago, as I had done a FB post about author, Taylor Caldwell. In Stearn's book, I had to smile and appreciate this, especially as a native Californian. In a discussion with Caldwell, he asked her if she wanted to be hypnotized. She answered, "If anybody can manage it." He said, "If they can’t do it in California, it can't be done anywhere." She replied, "And why California, pray?" With laughter, he said, "The atmosphere is so electric out there that even the people think they're spirits."
Taylor Caldwell's writing intrigues me. I'll always remember a TV interview she did back in the late 1950s, in which she spoke of not knowing where her ideas came from and that she felt as if she was doing "automatic" typing, as if a "Presence" (what she called it) guided her fingers. She often claimed that she had no idea how the facts within her books came to her. It was especially evident in her book, Dear and Glorious Physician, Later in a book by Jess Stearn, she talked of the "Presence," who communicated with her. She was also known to be psychic. That TV interview, which I watched with my Dad, has always stuck with me--it fascinated me then, and now. Part of the reason may be that I've always believed in past lives, and contact with the other side, and having some psychic ability myself, makes it easier to understand.
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Aberdeen Reports Shareholders' Equity of $0.29 per Share and 2016 Second Quarter Financial Results
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 16, 2015) - ABERDEEN INTERNATIONAL INC. ("Aberdeen", or the "Company") (TSX:AAB) has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2016, ended July 31, 2015. For more information please see the Company's Condensed Interim Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
As at July 31, 2015, Aberdeen's Shareholders' Equity (or Net Asset Value, "NAV") was $27.6 million, or $0.29 per share. Aberdeen's shareholders' equity decreased by $8.7 million from $36.3 million at the end of Q1 2016. The decrease in shareholders' equity was due to net investment losses of $8.2M resulting from a 37% decline in the share price of Tahoe Resources Inc. during the quarter along with additional adjustments to certain private investment holdings resulting in the write downs as the Company reached better certainty on the closing of the Landmark transaction and by operating expense of $0.7M offset dividend and advisory service fee revenue of $0.2 million. On a year-over-year basis, Aberdeen's shareholders' equity decreased by $6.7 million. Note that the reference to shareholders' equity is similar to previous references to Net Asset Value or "NAV" by Aberdeen.
July 31, 2015 January 31, 2015 July 31, 2014
Cash on hand 412,186 0.00 355,188 0.00 336,160 0.00
Publicly traded 8,950,692 0.093 18,941,776 0.195 23,705,948 0.271
Private 15,313,996 0.158 17,700,622 0.182 9,705,381 0.111
Intrinsic value 137,000 0.001 17,500 0.000 97,500 0.001
Option value 462,160 0.005 12,500 0.000 11,623 0.000
599,160 0.006 30,000 0.000 109,123 0.001
Loans / preferred shares - - 61,538 0.001 893,141 0.010
For the three months ended July 31, 2015, Aberdeen reported a net loss of $(8.6) million or $(0.09) per basic share on total revenue of $(7.9) million. Revenue was comprised of $(8.1) million from net investment losses and $0.2 million from dividends and advisory service fees. For the three months ending July 31, 2014, Aberdeen reported a net loss of $(12.2) million or $(0.14) per share on total revenue of $(5.9) million ($(6) million from net investment losses and $0.1 million from interest income).
For the six months ended July 31, 2015, Aberdeen reported a net loss of $(8.1) million or $(0.08) per basic share on total revenue of $(6.3) million. Revenue was comprised of $(6.8) million from net investment losses and $0.5 million from dividends and advisory service fees. For the six months ending July 31, 2014, Aberdeen reported a net loss of $(13.4) million or $(0.15) per share on total revenue of $(6.3) million ($(6.4) million from net investment losses and $0.2 million from interest income).
Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB")
During the six months ended July 31, 2015, 691,170 common shares were purchased for cancellation under the Company's NCIB at an average cost of $0.145. Aberdeen expects to continue to purchase shares over the remainder of its NCIB, depending on market conditions and other investment opportunities that may be available.
Since the end of the quarter, we are pleased to have closed the previously announced Landmark transaction, resulting in the creation of Ore Acquisition Partners, LP. The completion of this transaction has been strategic for Aberdeen for a number of reasons. Firstly, it allows the Company to reposition our capital towards strategic mining investments that are unique to Aberdeen, such as African Thunder Platinum; secondly, it raises a significant amount of near-term liquidity for us to pursue other strategic investments and take full advantage of the current trough-of-cycle valuations; thirdly, it allows the Company to launch a fee-paying advisory business that will generate income for Aberdeen going forward.
Update to Management Information Circular
Aberdeen has filed under its profile on SEDAR a supplement to its management information circular dated August 18, 2015. The supplement provides information on the Company's diversity policy, which was adopted in January 2015.
Aberdeen believes the diversity policy evidences Aberdeen's commitment to increased diversity, including the identification and nomination of women to the board of directors. In the policy, the Company recognizes the value and unique contribution people can make because of their individual background and different skills, experiences and perspectives. To support this, when identifying candidates to recommend for appointment or nomination to the board and its various committees, the corporate governance and nominating committee will, among other things, consider diversity criteria including gender, age, ethnicity and geographic background. In practice, since introducing the diversity policy, the corporate governance and nominating committee has actively sought and considered female director candidates. Following the upcoming annual and general shareholders' meeting, the committee is scheduled to meet again to consider additional female director candidates. While Aberdeen has not adopted formal targets, it aspires towards board composition in which each gender comprises at least one-third of the independent directors.
At present, there are no female members among the Company's seven board members or its small executive management team. However, the Company is in process of identifying female candidates for the board. With regard to increasing the diversity among its executive officers, during this commodity downturn, Aberdeen has focused on rationalizing costs and reducing compensation. In this context, it has not looked to hire any executive officers, nor does it expect to add any executive officers of any gender.
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‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Now Available for Pre-Order
“Call of Duty: Ghosts” Pre-order | ASDA Direct
After details about the game single player and multiplayer mode was reported, there were words that Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available for pre-order on ASDA.
What’s interesting about this is that there were no words as to whether ASDA was able to get exclusive first-release of pre-orders in the United Kingdom. If they are, it would raise questions regarding the relationship between game publishers and the game retailers. Regardless, it was rumored that ASDA was able to stock up prior to the pre-order launch to meet public demand. That way, customers won’t be disappointed.
More About ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’
Call of Duty: Ghosts is set to be released on November 5, and it promises to be one of the most popular and best-selling games of 2013. The game’s setting is said to take place in the future while using current technology and weapons. Moreover, its single player mode will include more destructible environments, and the multiplayer maps will have interactive areas and traps.
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Calhoun Girls Track Named Back-to-Back Conference Champs
The girls track and field team from Calhoun High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District would have a large task on their hands this season; as defending champs they would get every teams best shot each week in and out.
Despite graduating an All-State athlete and having their leader and captain Paige Sfiroudis sidelined with an injury the young colts would rise to the occasion and capture their second consecutive conference title.
Elizabeth Tuzzolo and Maura Walters got the meet going as they took second and third place in the 400m hurdles, with Maura running a three-second personal record.
“Maura has been a real find this season. She is a hard worker and willing to try anything we throw at her,” explained coach Joseph Migliano.
Kristina Losquadro and Lisa Jose kept the points going in the 100m dash, as they placed in first and second. Losquadro broke the school record in the 100m running 12.5.
“Kiki, as the team calls her, is really something else, Migliano said. “She was on the team as an eighth-grader and now is really starting to stand out as a freshman. Kiki gets faster every time we put her on the track and with her work ethic there’s no telling how far she will go.”
Tuzzolo ran a personal best in the 400m dash running a 61.2 and won second place.
“Liz has been a true competitor and leader all season,” Migliano said. “We ask so much of her every week and she never disappoints. Only a sophomore, she’s one of the fastest 400m girls in all of Nassau. She was the MVP of the meet for us, leading the way for our middle distance races.”
Faith Dwyer would run the 3000m race where she won third place and upset many girls who came into the meet seeded above her. Faith is only a freshman and she has taken over one minute off her 3K time running a 11:32.
“Faith is part of a youth movement we have going on over here at Calhoun,” Migliano said. “The girls all over the team are young and overly dedicated; I find myself every day saying ‘ok girls practice has been over for 40 minutes it’s time to go home.’ They don’t know how not to work and over achieve.”
Lisa Jose went into the 200m dash as the third seed but finished first breaking the school record with a time of 26.3. She was accompanied by Kiki and standout eighth-grader Alyssa Crews as the girls finished the race taking first, third and fourth places. Lisa made up the stagger on her competitors within the first 50 meters and didn’t look back.
“Special would be an understatement, Lisa is one of the quickest athletes I have ever coached,” he said. “She has a stride and turnover that many girls can only dream to have. I can’t wait to see how far track and field will take her.”
The 800m was a key race for the Colts and they knew that this could make or break the meet. Julianna Razza and Katie Corona took the race out at a fast pace setting them up in a great position for the last 200m. The girls both ran personal bests and took second and third place gaining massive points on Manhasset.
“Julianna is only an eighth-grader and she was asked to perform as an upperclassman,” Migliano said. “She has gotten faster every time we run and truly is starting to love the sport of track and field. She has stepped up in big spots all year and today was no different.”
Katelyn Goodman knew she would have to step up in the absence of her best friend and jumping partner, Paige Sfiroudis; and step up she did. Katie won the pole vault and took second in Long and Triple Jump.
“Katie is one of the hardest workers on the team gives all she has day in and out,” he said. “She is a real leader and many of our young athletes look up to her.”
The throwing events sometimes get overshadowed by the track events, but Calhoun knows its importance. Madison Padro and Jamie Campanelli would lead the shot putters to a 1, 2, 3 finish picking up 13 big points. Victoria Unz would upset three girls to win the discus with a personal best throw of 92 feet.
“These girls are crucial to the team’s success,” Migliano said. “They never get enough credit, but meet in and out we can always count of them to do their job and they have all year long.”
Entering the relays at the end of the meet Calhoun knew they needed a solid showing to hold off Manhasset. Alyssa Crews led off the 4x400m race running a personal best of 63.5. She handed off to freshman Nicole Devlin who ran a personal best as well. The girls took second place and made sure Manhasset didn’t pick up too many points.
“Alyssa is an eighth-grader and Nicole a freshman,” Migliano said. “They are tough, fast and competitors. Never backing down from older girls who are in their race. When these girls get a full year on training under their belt, Nassau watch out.”
Tuzzolo would come back with Corona, Razza and Samantha Latorre to win the 4x800m relay. This was the girls’ second and third race of the day. Feeling tired, run down and weak the girls all stepped up and took first place, ensuring the overall win for the Colts.
“We are young, driven and talented. Over 80 percent of our roster is made up of underclassman, and this group girls really work,” Migliano said. “They want to get better every time they step on the track; whether it be practice or a meet. They only know how to work hard and always strive for excellence. As a coach, that’s all you can ever ask for. This crew is special and only time will tell how far they can truly go.”
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BLJohnsonLaw
ANNOUNCING A NEW LAW FIRM
BLJohnsonLaw is an employment law boutique focused on the representation of management in a wide variety of employment matters, including day-to-day advice and counsel, litigation and trials, employment discrimination and wage and hour claims, investigations, regulatory compliance, mediations and arbitrations. Ms. Johnson has over 30 years of experience in assisting employers of all sizes in developing innovative approaches to address their workplace challenges.
BLJohnsonLaw PLLC
Barbara L. Johnson
An accomplished legal strategist with multifaceted experience, strong analytical skills, and an impressive track record in high-stakes situations, Ms. Johnson has launched a new firm to continue her practice focused on the representation of management in labor and employment matters. Ms. Johnson has substantial experience in helping clients translate complex legal issues into practical business-minded solutions and drive legal strategies aligned with business objectives. A career as law firm partner, in-house counsel, trial lawyer, and leader within the profession provides the experience necessary to assist clients in addressing the challenges of an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment.
BLJohnsonLaw PLLC (Founder, January 2016 to present)
After fourteen years as an employment law partner in a leading global law firm and providing legal services to many of the Fortune Global 500 companies, Ms. Johnson left the firm in December 2015 to establish BLJohnsonLaw. With her new firm, Ms. Johnson continues her specialization in the representation of management in labor and employment matters. Her practice encompasses litigation in a number of areas, including civil rights discrimination claims in federal and state court, class and collective actions, whistleblower/retaliation claims, wage and hour claims, public law (municipalities and schools), breach of contract claims, ERISA claims, and employment arbitrations. Ms. Johnson has tried more than 30 employment law cases.
She also represents employers before state and federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state Human Rights agencies, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Justice. Ms. Johnson routinely assists employers with workplace investigations, regulatory and compliance matters, implementing diversity and leadership programs, and day-to-day employment law issues. In addition, Ms. Johnson is available to serve as a mediator or a arbitrator.
Paul Hastings, LLP (Partner, 2002-2015)
While with Paul Hastings, Ms. Johnson handled employment matters across the country, from wage and hour collective actions to single plaintiff discrimination cases. For five years, Ms. Johnson served as national counsel for GlaxoSmithKline in five class/collective actions with billions of dollars at stake. Ms. Johnson served as a relationship partner to the client, offering high-level legal and business advice. In that capacity she developed and implemented the legal strategy that resulted in summary at the District Court level, and that won again in the Ninth Circuit Court. The case then was appealed to the US Supreme Court, which upheld the previous rulings.
In 2008, a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court returned an $11.4M verdict against Kaiser Permanente in a whistleblower case. The plaintiff's attorney had earned a reputation for winning large settlements. With so much at stake, Kaiser asked Ms. Johnson to retry the case. Within just a few weeks, she learned the facts of the case, gained the confidence of senior management, prepared dozens of witnesses for trial, and delivered a successful outcome—a verdict in Kaiser's favor and the plaintiff's agreement not to pursue an appeal.
Ms. Johnson was active in firm management and served as Chair of Paul Hastings’ Pro Bono and Community Involvement Committee, Chair of the Recruiting Committee for the DC office, and a member of the Global Diversity Committee.
Barclays Bank (2012 and 2015)
Ms. Johnson was seconded to Barclays Bank in New York, where she served as the director and head of Employment, Incentives & Pensions Legal (Americas). In this role she was responsible for providing labor and employment advice related to Barclays 11,000 employees in the Americas, supervising a team of five attorneys and participating on the global Employment, Incentives & Pensions Legal senior leadership team.
Wickliff & Hall, PC (Associate, 1990-1993; Shareholder, 1993-2001)
Before joining Paul Hastings, Ms. Johnson was a shareholder in Wickliff & Hall, a Texas-based, minority- owned law firm, where she was a member of the firm's management committee. Ms. Johnson earned her certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law in 1996. While working with Wickliff & Hall, Ms. Johnson successfully tried a number of lawsuits in state and federal court, and was responsible for the successful resolution of many other cases through summary judgment or mediation. In addition, Ms. Johnson briefed and argued a number of cases before state and federal Courts of Appeals.
The Dow Chemical Company (1976-1990)
Ms. Johnson began her professional career at Dow as an analytical chemist responsible for developing methodologies for extracting minute quantities of pesticide residues from various materials. She also worked as an instrument engineer and developed the techniques used to install instrumentation, such as early versions of gas spectrometers and liquid chromatographs, into chemical processes. After law school, Ms. Johnson managed complex nationwide product liability litigation involving a product used in the construction industry. She was a member of a three-person legal department responsible for all legal matters at Dow's Texas operations, a site with more than 6,000 employees. While with Dow's Texas Operations, she advised the business on legal issues related to procurement, contracts, and real estate. She was responsible for advising the business on compliance with state and federal regulations affecting health, safety, environmental protection, and manufacturing. She litigated cases before the Texas Public Utility Commission arising out of Dow's extensive cogeneration activities. Ms. Johnson developed specialized expertise in labor and employment matters and was responsible for collective bargaining and negotiations with five labor unions, managing employment litigation, and resolving internal and external claims of discrimination.
Marshall-Wythe School of Law
J.D. 1984
Hampton, Virginia
B.S. Pre-Med concentration in Chemistry 1975
Admissions and Certifications
District of Columbia Bar
State Bar of Michigan
District Court for the District of Columbia
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law
American Bar Association's College of Labor & Employment Lawyers
International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
Washington DC Super Lawyers
State Bar of Texas Association
Texas College of the State Bar
Michigan Bar Association
Houston Bar Association
National Employment Law Council (Chair)
The American Bar Association (Chair of the Employment Law Committee of the Business Law Section)
International Association of Defense Counsel
Defense Research Institute
William and Mary Law School
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Former Representative
(Executive Committee)
Council for Court Excellence
Ms. Johnson is a frequent speaker at seminars sponsored by the American Bar Association, ALI-ABA, The State Bar of Texas, the University of Texas, The National Employment Law Council, Organization Resources Counselors, The National Employment Law Institute and the Council on Education in Management. She also has prepared supervisor training materials, and frequently provides training in virtually all aspect of employment law and human resources management. Ms. Johnson is on the faculty of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and has published a chapter regarding workplace drug testing in the organization's treatise. She has delivered more than fifty public speeches, including:
New Employment Laws & Rules Coming to Your Workplace: City Halls & State Capitols Flex Their Muscles.
ALI-CLE
Attorney's Fees in Employment Litigation
National Employment Law Institute
Ethics and Professional Responsibility
ALI-ABA Course of Study, Current Developments in Employment Law
Federal Law Practice
Old Dominion Bar Association
The Texas Whistleblower Act
South Texas College of Law Symposium for Lawyers and School Administrators
Juries - Deliberated Conclusions or Consultant's Guarantee
National Employment Law Council
Effectively Responding to State and Federal Agencies
Counsel of Education in Management
Pitfalls of E-Mail - Electronic Communications in the Workplace
Substance Abuse Program Administrators
Controlling Costs and Running Your Business-Managing the Cross-Over of Workers Comp, FMLA and ADA
The Unstable Employee: How to Balance Your Legal, Ethical and Co-Worker Obligations With Confidence
Arbitration and Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
Technology in the Courtroom
How to Deal With a Disabled Plaintiff
Out of Joint: How the Growing Disconnect Between Federal and State Marijuana Laws Impacts Employers
Auer Deference Significantly Curtailed in Supreme Court's Ruling That Pharmaceutical Sales
Lawmakers Defending Password-Protected Employee Accounts: Employers Need to Proceed Smartly
Ninth Circuit Finding in Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Case is a Coup for Big Pharma
Recent Trends in Employment and Labor Law
Presented at the Southern Utah Federal Law Symposium
Marijuana and the Workplace
Presented at the 2017 National Employment Law Council Annual Conference
Legal Requirements of Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigation
Two Groundbreaking Cases End Long Run of Employer-Friendly
Workplace Drug Testing Decisions
Federal Court Holds Federal Law Does Not Preempt Connecticut Law Prohibiting Discrimination Against Lawful Users of Marijuana
NELC Annual Conference
Denver, CO, April 26-28, 2017
"Recreational Marijuana in the Workplace" presentation, 2:00-3:30 pm, April 27, 2017
Homepage Event Agenda
The Consortium of Title IX and Equity Officers in Higher Education
Spring 2017 Conference: From Prevention to Best Practices
Austin, TX, May 8-9, 2017
Federal Bar Association Utah Chapter
10th Annual Southern Utah Federal Law Symposium
St. George, Utah, May 10-13, 2017
"National Trends in Employment Law" presentation, 10:30-11:15 am, May 12, 2017
24th Annual ALI-CLE Current Developments in Employment Law - 2017
Santa Fe, NM, July 27-29, 2017
"Dealing with Implicit Bias in the Workplace" presentation, 11:30 am, July 27, 2017
"Damages in Employment Law Cases" video webcast, 8:00 am, July 28, 2017
"Hot Topics in Employment Law" video webcast, 8:00 am, July 29, 2017
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Our tribulations in Germany - We return to Russia via Copenhagen and Finland - The birth of my daughter - My father's mission abroad - He is appointed Governor General of Moscow - The situation grows worse - Rasputin.
Left: Alexandra.
We arrived at Kissingen in July, where we found things most unpleasant. The Germans were all gloating over ridiculous stories about Rasputin which had been published in the newspapers and tended to throw discredit on the Tsar and the Tsarina.
My father was extremely optimistic, but the news grew more alarming every day. Shortly after our arrival we had a telegram from the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaievna, the wife of our future commander-in-chief, urging us to return home as quickly as possible if we wished to avoid being held up in Germany. On July 30 Russia answered the Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia by decreeing a general mobilization. All Kissingen seethed with excitement. Crowds in the streets yelled and shouted insults at the Russians. The police had to be called in to restore order. It was clear that it was high time for us to leave, and we decided to go to Berlin. My mother was ill and had to be carried to the station on a stretcher.
Berlin was in a state of chaos. At the Continental Hotel where we were staying, the greatest confusion reigned. The morning after we arrived we were wakened at eight o'clock by the police, who had come to arrest us, together with our doctor, my father's secretary, and all our male servants. My father telephoned at once to the Russian Embassy, and was informed that everyone there was busy and that no one could be spared to attend to us.
Meanwhile, about fifty of us were shut up in a hotel bedroom just about large enough to hold fifteen. We remained standing there for two hours, so tightly packed that we could not move. Finally we were taken to the police station where, after our papers had been examined and we had been addressed as "dirty Russian pigs," we were warned that any of us who had not left Berlin by six o'clock would be arrested. It was past five when I returned to the hotel. My family were in a frenzy, convinced that they would never see me again. Time pressed, a decision had to be taken. Irina telephoned to her cousin, Crown Princess Cecilie, who promised to speak to the Kaiser at once and give us an immediate answer. On his side, my father appealed for help to Sverbeeff, our ambassador: "Alas, my role here is over," said the latter. "I don't see what I can do for you, but come back to see me in the evening."
As time was so short and we expected to be arrested at any moment, my father applied to the Spanish Ambassador, who had taken over the protection of Russian interests in Germany, and asked him to send one of his secretaries to see him.
In the meantime, the Crown Princess telephoned to say that she was in despair, but could do nothing for us. She promised to come to see us, but warned us that the Kaiser considered us his prisoners and that his aide-de-camp would call on us, bringing a paper which we would have to sign. The German Emperor gave us the choice of three places of residence, and guaranteed that we would be treated with consideration. Upon which an official of the Spanish Embassy arrived, and we barely had time to explain the situation to him when the Kaiser's envoy was shown in. He solemnly drew a large sheet of paper covered with red seals from his briefcase, and handed it to us with a flourish. This paper stated that we promised to refrain from all political action and agreed to remain in Germany "forever." My poor mother nearly had a fit. She wanted to go and see the Kaiser in person. I gave the paper to the Spanish diplomat to read.
"How can you be expected to sign such a piece of idiocy!" he exclaimed.. "Surely, there's some mistake. The clause should read 'for the duration of hostilities' not 'for ever.' "
After a short discussion, we requested the aide-de-camp to return with the corrected text next morning at eleven. My father went with the Spanish diplomat to see Sverbeeff. It was agreed that the former would ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs, von Jagow, to place a special train at the disposal of the Russian Ambassador, for members of the embassy and any of his compatriots who wished to leave the country. A list of the passengers would be sent him immediately. Sverbeeff assured my father that our names and those of our staff would be included in the list. He also told my father that the Dowager Empress of Russia and my mother-in-law, the Grand Duchess Ksenia, had passed through Berlin that very day. On hearing that we were at the Continental Hotel, they had tried to get in touch with us, hoping that we could return to Russia with them. But it was too late; their own position had become critical, and the Imperial train was obliged to leave Berlin at once to escape the hostile demonstrations of a crowd which broke the windowpanes and tore down the blinds of the car in which Her Majesty sat.
Early next morning we went to the Russian Embassy and from there to the station, where we were to take the train for Copenhagen. No military or even police guard was detailed to accompany us, as is customary on the official departure of an ambassador, so that we were entirely at the mercy of a frenzied crowd who threw stones at us all the way to the station. It was a wonder we were not lynched. Several of the embassy staff, some of whom had their wives and children with them, were struck over the head with sticks; they were covered with blood, while others had had half their clothes torn off them. As our car was the last, we were luckily taken for servants and escaped unmolested. Our servants managed to join us a few moments before the train left; they had gone to the wrong station and in their panic had lost all our luggage on the way. My English valet, Arthur, who had remained at the hotel to give the impression that we were still there, remained a prisoner in Germany until the end of the war.
We heaved a sigh of relief when the train moved out. Later we heard that the Kaiser's emissary reached the hotel shortly after our departure, and that when Emperor William learned that we had fled he gave orders that we should be arrested at the frontier. Fortunately the order arrived too late, and we crossed the frontier without further trouble. As for the unlucky aide-decamp, he paid for his failure in the trenches.
On reaching Copenhagen we went straight to the Hotel d'Angleterre where we arrived without even a toothbrush. A number of people called on us at once: the King and Queen of Denmark and their whole family, the Dowager Empress of Russia, my mother-in-law, and a great many other people who happened to be passing through the Danish capital. They were all extremely agitated by what had happened. The Dowager Empress asked that several trains should be placed at the disposal of those who lacked the means to return home and this was immediately done.
We left Denmark the following day. From the deck of the ferry boat which took us to Sweden, the Dowager Empress watched with visible emotion her native shores growing fainter and fainter; but her duty lay with the Russian people.
Above: Nicholas proclaims WWI from the balcony of the Winter Palace.
The Imperial train was waiting for us when we reached Finland. All along the way, Her Majesty received enthusiastic ovations from the Finns. These friendly demonstrations gave the lie to the rumors of a Finnish insurrection which had reached us in Denmark.
The general aspect of St. Petersburg was much the same as ever. Nothing suggested that we were at war.
The Empress Marie, who was going to Peterhof, invited us to stay with her for a time.
Peterhof is some distance from St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The pinkish-golden palace, its terraces and formal French park adorned with a series of marvelous fountains, have earned it the name of the Russian Versailles. A long canal, bordered by high trees and fountains, ran down to the sea. It was preceded by a water stairway and a large ornamental lake in the center of which was a group representing Samson and the lion; an immense spray of water shot up from the lion's open jaws. Two of the innumerable fountains in the Peterhof park caused an incident which amused the Dowager Empress' entourage for a long time. Among Her Majesty's ladies-in-waiting were two old spinsters well known for their punctuality. So when they arrived half an hour late for lunch one day, everyone was surprise Plied with questions, the good ladies blushingly admitted that they had arranged to meet at the entrance of the park in front of the statue of Adam. But as they could not tell Adam from Eve, one waited in front of Adam and the other in front of Eve, hence the confusion
The palace of Peterhof, built in the eighteenth century by the Empress Elisabeth, was destroyed by shellfire during the last war. It was never lived in, but only used for receptions. The Tsar had a house in the park, close to the seaside. A little further up was the Dowager Empress' "Cottage," and then "The Farm" where my family-in-law lived. Irina was born there.
After spending a few weeks at Peterhof, we went with the Empress Marie to the Elaguine Palace, an Imperial residence situated on one of the islands in the estuary of the river Neva. Irina fell ill with measles there, which made us quite anxious, as she was expecting a baby. As soon as she recovered we settled in our own house, in the Moika. As our rooms were not ready for us, we occupied the ones I used to share with my brother.
As an only son, I was not called up for military service, and I immediately began converting our various houses into hospitals. The Empress Marie was president of the Red Cross, which of course made things easy for me, and soon the first hospital for serious cases was opened in my Liteinaia house. I put my whole heart into this work, feeling that it was better to allay pain than to inflict it. I had a picked staff: doctors and nurses were all the best I could find.
The military campaign had opened brilliantly by a deep breakthrough into East Prussia; the offensive was launched prematurely at the demand of the Allies to relieve the congested western front. At the end of August, through lack of ordnance, General Samsonoff's army corps was surrounded near Tannenberg. The General, not wishing to survive the loss of his army, shot himself. The offensive was successfully renewed on the Austrian front, but in February 1915 a further offensive in East Prussia ended in the disaster of Augustovo. On May 2, the Austro-German Army broke through the Southwestern Russian front. Our troops were underfed, ill-equipped, and had no ammunition, yet under these appalling conditions they fought against the best-equipped army in the world. Whole regiments were taken prisoner without having had a chance to resist, owing to the lack of equipment which failed to arrive in time. The heroism of our soldiers could not make up for the incapacity of those in command, for the total disorganization of transport facilities, and for the shortage of ammunition; the retreat became a rout. Behind the front, public opinion was roused. There was talk of treason in which the Tsarina and Rasputin were implicated, and the weakness of the Tsar caused much indignation.
At that time, and particularly in Moscow which was essentially a commercial town, big business was mostly in the hands of Germans, whose arrogance passed all bounds. A great many highranking officers in the Army and important court officials bore German names. Most of them came of Baltic stock, and had nothing in common with our enemy, but the effect upon the masses was none the less deplorable. The people firmly believed the absurd stories that were rife, for instance that the Tsar, out of pure kindness of heart, had given captured German generals appointments in his suite. But it was a matter of general astonishment that important posts should have been given to men whose names and origins were not one hundred per cent Russian. German propaganda exploited this state of things, and attempted to stir up the people against the Imperial family by reminding them that the Tsarina and most of the Grand Duchesses were of German extraction. The fact that the Empress hated Prussia in general, and the Hohenzollerns in particular, did not seem to matter. One day my mother drew the attention of the Tsar to the bad impression made by having so many German names among court officials: "Dear Princess," be answered, "what can I do about it? They are all so attached to me, and so devoted. True, some of them arc old, and even a bit feeble-minded, like my poor Friedrichs (* Then Minister of the Court.) who, the other day, came up to me, clapped me on the shoulder and said: "Well, well, there you are. Were you invited to lunch too?' "
On March 21, 1915, my wife gave birth to a girl who was named Irina after her mother. I shall never forget my happiness when I heard the child's first cry. The midwife, Mine Gunst, was a good creature but very garrulous. Her patients mostly belonged to European court circles, so she knew a vast amount of court gossip and when on the subject would talk away for hours. I must say that her stories were most entertaining, and that I took as much pleasure in listening as she did in telling them, sometimes forgetting that the young mother needed her services.
The christening took place in our chapel, in the presence of the Imperial family. The Tsar was godfather and the Dowager Empress godmother, Like her father, my daughter was almost drowned in the baptismal font.
In 1915 the Tsar sent my father on a mission abroad. Knowing his eccentric and rather whimsical nature, my mother was worried when she heard of this; she was afraid to let him go without her. Her fears turned out to be groundless; my father carried out his mission very successfully. His first visit was to Rumania, whose king and queen he knew personally. At that time Rumania was not ready for war, and hesitated as to whose side to take. In the course of a long interview with King Carol at which his Prime Minister Bratianu was present, my father made a frank expose of the Russian point of view, and was given the formal assurance that when the time came Rumania would side with the Allies. The Sinaia Palace impressed him greatly, particularly the Queen's apartments which were full of large stone crosses, skins of wild animals, magnificent furs and human skulls.
During his visit to Paris, my father met President Poincare, General Joffre and several other leading personalities. At Joffre's headquarters in Chantilly my father decorated the French commander-in-chief with the Cross of St. George which the Tsar had sent him.
My father's visit to the trenches filled him with admiration for the courage and high spirits of the troops. Amusing inscriptions over the entrances to dugouts gave an idea of the French soldier's happy disposition: "In Memory of Marie, Lisette," "Good-by Adelaide," "My love-nest without a Rose." When dining the same evening at the Ritz, he was surprised to see the room filled with British officers. They were perfectly groomed, although they had only left the trenches that same afternoon, and would return there the next morning after dining in Paris and sleeping all night in their cars for the sake of economy. To see them smoking their pipes, so cool and unconcerned, it was difficult to believe that within a few hours they would be deep in the mud again.
In London, life was more austere and orderly. My father was received by King George V and Queen Mary the day after his arrival. He thought they both looked tired and worried as if the whole responsibility for the war lay on their shoulders. He talked with Lord Kitchener, whose fine, penetrating intellect he admired even more than his commanding presence.
Lord Kitchener was very well informed on Russian affairs, and thought they would give cause for great anxiety in the future.
On returning to the Continent my father paid a visit to the King and Queen of the Belgians, whose noble, courageous attitude had enhanced their prestige in the eyes of their own people and their allies. He also met the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), the Duke of Connaught, and General French, who was extremely active in spite of his age.
Before leaving France my father had a last meeting at Chantilly with General Joffre, to pass on to him the impressions he had gathered in England from the talks he had had in that country.
His mission ended, my father returned to Russia. The Tsar made him Governor General of Moscow but he did not hold that office long. One man could not fight the German faction singlebanded, for it held all the important posts. My father found treason and espionage everywhere, and he used the sternest measures to try to rid Moscow of the enemy's secret domination. But, as most of the ministers of state owed their positions to Rasputin's influence and were pro-German, they proved resolutely hostile to the new Governor General and thwarted all his plans. My father was disgusted by the systematic opposition of the Government, and went to General Headquarters where be had a conference with the Tsar, the Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff and the Cabinet. Bluntly and without mincing his words, he explained the situation as he found it in Moscow, and openly named the culprits. His violent diatribe had a tremendous effect. No one, until that moment, had dared to raise his voice publicly to the Tsar against men in positions of authority. Unfortunately it all came to nothing. The pro-German party that surrounded the Tsar was powerful enough to counteract rapidly the effect of the Governor General's plain speaking. On returning to Moscow, my father was informed that he had been relieved of his office. All patriotic Russians were indignant at this measure, and at the Tsar's weakness in tolerating it. It proved impossible to fight against the German camarilla. My father, much discouraged, retired to the Crimea with my mother, while I remained in St. Petersburg to continue my hospital work. But I soon found it impossible to go on leading a life of case when all the men of my age were at the front. I decided to enter the Corps des Pages and take an officer's training course. The year I spent in a military school was not easy but it certainly did me a lot of good, and the discipline was excellent for my independent spirit which was so unamenable to any form of discipline.
At the end of August 1915, it was officially announced that the Grand Duke Nicholas had been relieved of his post as commander-in-chief and appointed to the Caucasus; the Tsar was taking command of the armies in person. The news was, on the whole, badly received, for everyone knew that pressure had been brought to bear on him by Rasputin, and that this important step had been taken at his instigation. To overcome the Sovereign's irresolution the starets had appealed to his religious feeling. Although the Tsar's opposition was feeble, it was in Rasputin's interest to remove him as far from St. Petersburg as possible. With the Tsar at the front, be had a clear field. From then on, he made almost daily visits to TsarskoieSelo. His opinions and advice amounted to orders, and were immediately transmitted to General Headquarters. Not a single important measure was taken at the front without his being consulted. The blind confidence which the Tsarina placed in him caused her unwisely to refer the most important, and even the most secret, matters to him. Through her, Rasputin governed Russia.
A plot was hatched by the Grand Dukes and several members of the aristocracy to remove the Tsarina from power and force her to retire to a convent.. Rasputin was to be sent back to Siberia, the Tsar deposed and the Tsarevich placed on the throne. Everyone plotted, even the generals. As for the British Ambassador, Sir George Buchanan, his dealings with radical elements caused him to be accused by many Russians of secretly working for the Revolution.
Some of the people closest to the Tsar and Tsarina attempted to open their eyes to the fact that Rasputin's influence was a danger to Russia and to the dynasty. They always received the same reply: "This is all slander; saints have always been slandered." When photographs of the starets taking part in an orgy were shown to the Tsarina, she indignantly ordered the police to find the wretch who had dared to impersonate the "holy man" and disgrace him in the eyes of the Emperor. The Dowager Empress wrote to her son, begging him to send Rasputin away and to forbid the Tsarina to interfere in affairs of state. Many others did the same. The Empress was informed of this by the Emperor himself, who concealed nothing from her, and she broke off all relations with those who dared to criticize her.
My mother had been among the first to protest against the "starets." After a long conversation with the Tsarina, she thought she had succeeded in shaking her confidence in her "miracle worker." But Rasputin's clique was on the watch. A thousand pretexts to keep my mother away were found very quickly. She had had no contact with the Empress for some time when, in the summer of 1916, she resolved to make a last attempt, and asked to be received at the Alexander Palace. Her Majesty greeted her very coldly and, on hearing the object of her visit, requested her to leave. My mother said that she would not do so until she had spoken her mind. She talked at great length. When she had finished, the Empress, who had listened in silence, rose and dismissed her with the words: "I hope never to see you again."
Later, the Grand Duchess Elisabeth, who appeared very rarely at Tsarskoe Selo, made a last attempt to convince her sister. She promised to come and see us on leaving the Alexander Palace. We all waited eagerly for her arrival, anxious to hear the result of the interview. She entered the room trembling and in tears: "She drove me away like a dog!" she cried. "Poor Nicky, poor Russia! "
Meanwhile, Germany was fully aware of the situation at the Court of Russia, and placed spies among the starets' entourage. Rasputin, made garrulous by alcohol, gave away plenty of information, more or less deliberately. I have reason to believe that it was through these channels that Germany found out the exact date of Lord Kitchener's departure for Russia. He had been entrusted with the task of convincing the Tsar that Rasputin should go, and the Tsarina be deprived of all possibility of interfering in affairs of state. His ship was torpedoed on June 6, 1916.
The situation at the front became more and more serious, and the Tsar grew weaker and weaker under the influence of drugs administered to him daily by order of Rasputin whose power had reached its zenith. Not content with dismissing and appointing ministers and generals, and attacking the highest dignitaries of the Church, he had formed a plan to remove the Tsar from the throne, replace him by the sick little Tsarevich, proclaim the Tsarina regent, and sign a separate peace with Germany.
All hope of opening the eyes of the Tsar being given up, what means remained of ridding Russia of her evil genius? The Grand Duke Dmitri and Purishkevich, a member of the Duma, had come to the same conclusion as I had. Before even discussing the matter among ourselves, all three of us knew that Rasputin must go, even if that meant destroying him.
A big thanks to Rob Moshein for scanning and correcting this text.
For questions or comments about this online book contact Bob Atchison.
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Austin is Bat Crazy About Bats
Learn about the bats living under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas
Outline of Pallasart's Programming Skills
Learn more about PHP programming utilizing the latest HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery design techniques
Copyright 2019 Bob Atchison. Web Design Austin
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Bad Boy Off Road 300 Preview FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers: Spain VS Italy
Dolphins Visit Bengals to Open NFL’s Week Four
The Miami Dolphins (1-2) will go for their second victory in a row when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) tonight to open the fourth week of NFL action.
After defeating the Cleveland Browns at Hard Rock Stadium for their first victory of the season the Dolphins will have to travel to Paul Brown Stadium to face a Bengals team that has lost two straight (Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos) after starting the season with a win over the New York Jets.
For the Dolphins Ryan Tannehill ranks ninth in the NFL with 892 passing yards as Dalton is fifth with 938. Both quarterbacks could have good games as they are facing struggling defenses.
The Bengals defense is allowing 356 yards and 25 points per game, while the Dolphins rank 28 overall allowing 415 yards and 22.3 points per game. Tannehill should take advantage of the Bengals suspect defense to keep his team close as the Dolphins rushing attack is gaining a pedestrian average of 54 yards per game.
Against Cleveland Tannehill proved what he’s capable of against bad passing defenses as he completed 25 of 39 passes for 319 yards and scored three touchdowns. The problem was that he was intercepted three times and allowed the Browns to stay in the game.
While these teams have the same record they definitely can’t be considered to be of the same caliber. While the Bengals have suffered close defeats to the Steelers and Broncos, two teams that should reach the postseason; the Dolphins had too many mistakes against the Seahawks in week one, and were trailing 21-3 in week two against a Patriots team that finished the game with third quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
The odds for the game reflect this as the Bengals are -400 and the Dolphins +300 in the moneyline, Againts the spread the Bengals are -8 -107.
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Tim Khale
Host: Tim Khale
Show: Linda And Tim's Record Shop
Tim Kahle was born and raised in San Francisco where he began acting at age seven. Soon after, he discovered the family movie camera and made short films. In the 80’s he moved to Los Angeles to surf and pursue music with his band. Back in the bay area, he studied at San Francisco State University and later moved to New York where he rediscovered the theater and met his wife, Linda Mendoza. Tim continues to work in Los Angeles as an actor, writer, editor, and helps manage his son’s band, Red Letter Day.
Derek Mazer
Written by Derek Mazer
View all posts by: Derek Mazer
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