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Editor’s note: Atlanta Loop’s editor is (mostly) on vacation through Jan. 3
“West End Remembers” by Malaika Favorite is a Beltline mural on White Street on the Lawton Street Bridge underpass. Photo by Dena Mellick
Readers,
I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend with your families and that your celebrations through the New Year will be safe and happy.
Due to personal obligations, I will be taking some time off this week. It’s a vacation, though that’s not the best word for it because I’ll still be monitoring my inbox and posting any major breaking news that comes my way.
We look forward to continuing to grow Atlanta Loop in 2017. Until then, have a great New Year.
– Dan Whisenhunt, editor
Beltline/ Business/ Metro ATL
Advocacy group raising funds for lawsuit over giving public streets to private developer
The entrance to Underground Atlanta. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons.
A recent decision by the Atlanta City Council to turn over streets around Underground Atlanta to a private developer has been the subject of scrutiny by the media.
The city is abandoning portions of lower and upper Alabama Street, Upper and Lower Pryor Street and Plaza Way to accommodate the multi-million dollar mixed-use project, according to Creative Loafing and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
A local advocacy group, ThreadATL, is threatening a lawsuit to prevent the streets from being turned over for the redevelopment project.
Mayor Kasim Reed said the abandonment is necessary for the redevelopment of Underground Atlanta to move forward, according to the AJC.
According to Creative Loafing, four council members – Natalyn Archibong, Felicia Moore, Alex Wan, and Mary Norwood – voted “no.”
ThreadATL is holding a “Drink Beer, Save Our Streets” fundraiser on Dec. 26 to cover the costs of filing a lawsuit.
A fundraising account set up by ThreadATL says, “We believe this transfer goes against every principle of sound city planning and, more importantly, limits the rights of the people to be in our public spaces, our streets and sidewalks. … Moreover, we have reason to believe that this transfer violates state laws regarding required public input and approval.”
The developer told Saporta Report that limiting public access to the streets isn’t the intent. The developer, WRS Real Estate Investments, said there would still be bike and pedestrian access, but the abandonment would allow control over vehicle access.
ThreadATL says a lawyer has been retained to file a demand letter against the city and the legal fees for filing are $1,000, hence he fundraiser.
It will be held at the Georgia Beer Garden, located at 420 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30312, on Dec. 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The invitation says, “All proceeds from the sale of a beautiful keg of quality local beer (TBD) will help pay for our legal fees.” Additional donations will be collected at the door.
“Join us for a discussion of the legislation and the legal justification for filing suit as well as the importance of our city streets,” the event announcement says.
Beltline/ Business
Redevelopment of former ‘Murder Kroger’ site begins
An artist’s rendering of the 725 Ponce project. Photo obtained via http://www.newcity-properties.com/
The Kroger on the Beltline, often referred to by its infamous moniker of “Murder Kroger”, is being torn down to make way for a new mixed-use project.
City officials recently celebrated the start of the redevelopment of the site. The new development will be called 725 Ponce.
“The new $188 million property, along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, will bring an urban and modern 60,000 square foot Kroger store and approximately 360,000 square feet of mixed-use development to fruition,” a press release from the city says.
It will include 350,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
“In addition, the tower and new Kroger will be constructed on top of a three-story underground parking deck, which will fill a need for additional public parking near the Atlanta BeltLine, Ponce City Market and Old Fourth Ward Park,” the press release says.
The city estimates there will be a $268 million total economic impact from the redevelopment. New City Properties purchased 5.5 acres for the project. New City was founded by Jim Irwin, the previous senior vice president for Jamestown Properties which revitalized Ponce City Market. The city sold its former City Hall East location to Jamestown $27 million. The developer, in turn, pumped $300 million into the project, making Ponce City Market the premiere mixed use development in the city.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that New City recently secured an $80 million construction loan for the project.
The old Kroger store, which opened in 1986, had recently received a $2.5 million face lift, was rebranded as the “Beltline Kroger” prior to the decision to knock the store down. It was dubbed “Murder Kroger” by shoppers due to a series of bizarre events at the sore: a murder that occurred in the parking lot in the 1990’s and a dead body that was discovered there in 2002. Not long after the store was rebranded as Beltline Kroger, there was another murder in the store’s parking lot.
Despite the store’s macabre past, Atlantans had a soft spot for it. Before it was knocked down, residents said goodbye by holding a candlelight vigil.
Application filed for ‘South Moon Under’ at Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market on the Beltline in Atlanta on August 5, 2016. Photo by Rebecca Breyer
An application has been filed with the city of Atlanta for a “South Moon Under” store that would be located at Ponce City Market.
The business would open in the mixed-use development at 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue. A Ponce City Market spokesperson confirmed that the store is part of a chain of retail clothing stores in the northeast. The spokesperson did not have any additional details. The company currently has no locations in Georgia, according to its website.
Atlanta Loop has also left messages with South Moon Under seeking comment.
The company’s website says, “What began as a small surf shack in Ocean City, Maryland in the summer of 1968 has since evolved into a sophisticated, upscale clothing retailer. Ever-evolving and effortlessly edgy, South Moon Under continues to grow, uprooting from its beach town headquarters and into Annapolis, Maryland, while staying true to its free-spirited, experimental, and adventurous mindset.”
Beltline/ Politics
(PHOTOS) – Protests don’t sway Georgia’s electors from voting for Trump
By Steve Eberhardt, contributor
Two hundred protesters gathered in the cold in Liberty Plaza at the Georgia State Capitol building to encourage members of the Electoral College to cast their votes against Donald Trump. The march and rally were organized by a coalition of groups lead by Democracy Spring Georgia.
Participants expressed concern about a variety of issues including the danger of nuclear weapons, Russian interference in the Presidential election, and rape culture. They chanted “Dump Trump” and “We reject the President-elect” while marching.
All 16 Georgia electors cast their votes for Trump.
A protester at the Georgia State Capitol carries a sign that reads, “Don’t fill America’s highest office with America’s lowest turd!”
A protester in front of the Georgia Capitol carries a sign that reads, “Trump is unfit.”
Margaret Harrell from Toco Hills said that she didn’t imagine ever needing to be an activist but thinks that this moment is too important for our country.
Chuck Woddail holds a sign that reads, “Stand with the framers and stand up for America” while saying that, “The electors need to do their job and stop the election of Donald Trump.”
Cheryl Beard holds a sign that reads, “Black lives matter” and says that, “Trump’s cabinet choices are detrimental to the sacredness of black lives.”
Triana Arnold-James leads marchers in chants in front of the Georgia State Capitol.
A protester holds a sign that reads, “We do not outsource America’s Presidency” during the march at the Georgia State Capitol.
A protester holds a sign tha reads, “Hate will not make us great” as he marches in front of the Georgia State Capitol.
During the rally in Liberty Plaza, protesters hold signs that read, “Our children deserve better than Trump” and “He made America hate again.”
A sign reading “The world is watching” is seen above the crowd during the rally in Liberty Plaza.
A crowd gathers in Liberty Plaza to encourage members of the Electoral College to cast their votes against Donald Trump.
Dani Atlanta speaks to the crowd gathered in Liberty Plaza saying that, “Hope itself is an act of resistance.”
Lucy Ahmann, Caroline Ahmann, Anne Landers, and Jayne-Anne Ahmann, representing three generations of Decatur residents attend the rally in Liberty Plaza.
Protesters march in front of the Georgia Capitol to encourage members of the Electoral College to cast their votes against Donald Trump.
Ray Dafrico holds a sign that reads, “The world is watching.”
Protesters gather at the gates of Liberty Plaza across the street from the Georgia Capitol as members of the Electoral College cast their votes.
Decatur resident Sara Cushing holds a sign that reads, “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly Donald Trump.”
Dana Bowers leads protesters in chants as members of the Electoral College cast their votes at the Georgia Capitol.
Protesters gather in Liberty Plaza as members of the Electoral College cast their votes for President at the Georgia State Capitol.
Melanie B. holds a sign that reads, “Rapist elect” and says that Trump has openly supported rape culture.
‘Real Housewives’ star Kandi Burruss connected to jazz lounge project
Photo obtained via https://www.facebook.com/KandiBurruss/
Records filed with the city of Atlanta reveal a famous name behind a plan to open a jazz lounge at 252 Walker Street.
An application filed with the city shows the property owner is Kandi Burruss, who currently appears on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” A further review of property records shows that the property is owned by a company, Patrick Raymond Enterprises, which was created by Burruss and her husband Todd Tucker.
It was sold to the company by another company affiliated with Burruss, Kandi Koated Entertainment.
Attempts to reach Burruss or her representatives have been unsuccessful.
Burruss is a Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter, as well as an entrepreneur.
Army Surplus Sales closing after 60 years in Atlanta
Photo obtained via Facebook
The Army Surplus Sales store on Peachtree Street has been in business for 60 years, but its last full day will be tomorrow, Dec. 20.
The company announced on Facebook that due to high demand, it will be open from noon until 3 p.m. Dec. 21 through Dec. 23.
Customers can take advantage of a store wide 40 percent off sale. The store carries a wide array of merchandise, from camping equipment to self-defense accessories.
The company’s website says, “Online purchasing coming soon,” but WSB-TV reports the company isn’t planning to open an online store.
According to WSB-TV, prior to opening as an Army Surplus store, the building served as a sewing machine factory and an car show room. It was founded by a Greek immigrant and U.S. Navy veteran Charlie Vlass, who worked at the store until he was 90 years old.
BeltLine wraps up successful year, plans to issue bonds
Mariann Martin 12/15/2016
The Atlanta BeltLine tour bus. Photo by Dena Mellick
In their final meeting of the year, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. board members and staff celebrated a successful year that included reaching an agreement with Atlanta City Schools in January and preparing to complete their first bond issuance in more than five years.
This year also saw major progress on both the Eastside Trail extensive and the Westside Trail, with both expected to be completed next year.
Marshall Norwood, chief financial officer for ABI, told the board they are on track to wrap up a series of five bonds totaling about $145 million to pay for a wide range of things including capital projects, affordable housing, economic development and refinancing. The bond paperwork has been sent to city council for final approval and should be finalized soon.
Those bonds will be issued at a slightly higher interest rate – about 3.5 percent — than ABI had hoped due to several factors, Norwood said. The bonds are backed by a single revenue source, the tax allocation district money, which means it is not considered as secure. Additionally, three of the series are tax-exempt, and the other two are not. A mixed series like that means a higher interest rate, Norwood said. Bond interest rates have also gone up in the last few weeks, Norwood noted.
Despite the higher-than-expected interest rate, Norwood said refinancing their current debt means they will cut their interest rate nearly in half and save ABI more than $9 million over the time of the loan.
About $71.98 million of the bonds will be used for refinancing, $40 million for capital projects, $11 million in affordable housing and $2.5 million in economic development.
In other business, Clyde Higgs, ABI’s Chief Operating Officer, noted ABI is moving ahead with plans to sell nearly 1.5 acres at 1016 Monroe Drive. The property is near the intersection of 10th Street and is close to both Piedmont Park and Ponce City Market.
The deadline for bids was Tuesday, and ABI received five bids, Higgs said.
ABI board members discussed the impact any development would have on Monroe Drive and 10th Street. Councilman Andre Dickens said the city is working with residents in the area to discuss traffic concerns. One option being discussed is to build a pedestrian bridge over Monroe Drive, directly connecting the Beltline to Piedmont Park.
ABI is also soliciting community feedback on three different Beltline benches that have been installed along the Eastside Trail. Whichever bench is chosen will be installed on all the trails.
Beltline/ Crime and Public Safety/ Politics
City of Atlanta to pay $1.86 million to settle claims about job training program
Atlanta City Hall. Photo by Bbenrath, obtained via Wikimedia Commons
This story has been updated.
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia says the city of Atlanta has agreed to a $1.86 million settlement to resolve allegations about a job training program.
In a related matter, Kevin Edwards – a nightclub owner and former political candidate – pleaded guilty to stealing program funds.
According to the U.S. Attorney, the city is making the payment on behalf of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. The settlement is intended to resolve allegations that the agency violated the False Claims Act. The AWDA spent grant money from the Department of Labor for a federal “On-the-Job Training” program.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said the purpose of the program was to help the unemployed find jobs. The program encouraged companies to hire employees that need additional training. The employer would provide that training in exchange for wage reimbursement. The idea was for the employer to eventually hire people who participated in the program.
But it didn’t always work out that way, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“The government alleged that, contrary to these regulations, AWDA distributed funds to employers that enrolled existing employees instead of new job seekers, failed to provide any training to the OJT enrollees, and hired highly skilled employees, including individuals with professional licenses, who were not eligible for OJT,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “The government also alleged that AWDA failed to provide any of the services required by Department of Labor regulations to participants prior to enrolling them in OJT.” ”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office added, “The claims settled in the civil settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.”
When asked for a comment, Mayor Kasim Reed’s office said the settlement will save the city money in the long run.
“The investigation’s initial findings suggested potential liability on behalf of the City under the False Claims Act,” the statement from Reed’s office says. “Recognizing these findings and the potential cost of protracted litigation, the City authorized settlement of this matter and preparation of a corrective action plan. No current employees of AWDA are known to have been implicated in any wrongdoing.”
A spokesperson for Reed’s office noted that in 2014 the mayor appointed an interim AWDA executive director, Michael Sterling, in response to the issues raised by the investigation.
The current executive director, Melissa Mullinax, said the agency has improved.
“AWDA has turned the corner and we are proud of the investments we’re making to engage and train Atlanta’s dislocated workers, low-income adults and youth, both in-school and out-of-school, so that they care obtain meaningful employment and participate in the economic growth of the region,” she said in a statement emailed to Atlanta Loop. “Last month, we launched the City’s first ever Regional Workforce Development Plan, along with the workforce agencies in Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and the Atlanta Regional Commission. This collaboration will be a game changer, allowing each agency to better serve our job seekers and the employers who need talent.”
The investigation into AWDA stemmed from an investigation of Edwards.
“Edwards, a former budget analyst with the City of Atlanta, political candidate and nightclub owner, owned or controlled three companies in Atlanta between 2010 and 2012,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “During this three-year period, the three companies owned or controlled by Edwards received approximately $649,000 in OJT funds from the AWDA.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Edwards “falsely represented” his companies to AWDA, saying he would hire and train employees with the goal of hiring them full time.
“Instead, Edwards failed to provide training programs, submitted forged and fraudulent wage reimbursement requests for employees that never worked for his companies, and paid workers only a fraction of the salary reported to AWDA,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Instead of receiving training, employees said they worked odd jobs like cleaning up properties, yard work and working at one of Edwards’ nightclubs.
“Despite these shortcomings, Edwards received full payments from AWDA through the OJT program,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The subsequent investigation of AWDA probed allegations of inadequate oversight and compliance with reporting regulations for the program.
Here is the full statement about the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:
EMPLOYER PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING FUNDS FOR JOB ASSISTANCE ADMINISTERED BY ATLANTA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
PLEA FOLLOWS $1.86 MILLION SETTLEMENT BY CITY OF ATLANTA OF CIVIL CLAIMS THAT AWDA FAILED TO ADEQUATELY OVERSEE FEDERAL WORKFORCE TRAINING FUNDS
ATLANTA – Kevin Edwards, a former political candidate and night club owner, entered a guilty plea today in federal court to stealing federal funds administered by the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA).
In connection with the guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced today that it has reached a civil settlement with the City of Atlanta, on behalf of the AWDA, which agreed to pay over $1.86 million to resolve allegations that AWDA violated the False Claims Act in its expenditure of Department of Labor grant funds for the federal On-the-Job Training (OJT) program.
“The resolution of these related cases ends a troubled chapter for the AWDA,” said U. S. Attorney John A. Horn. “AWDA exercised lax oversight over the OJT program, and this lack of controls set the stage for Edwards and his companies to abuse the program and steal funds that were intended to help citizens develop skills and find jobs.”
“This City of Atlanta settlement resolves the allegations that the AWDA failed to ensure that U.S. Department of Labor funds were used to benefit those who qualified for the Department’s On-the-Job Training Program. We will continue to investigate allegations of DOL grant fraud, especially when Americans workers may be deprived of training and employment opportunities.” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Atlanta Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
According to United States Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: AWDA’s OJT program was funded with grants from the United States Department of Labor. The purpose of the OJT program is to increase employment by encouraging companies to hire employees that need additional job skills that the employer is willing to provide in exchange for wage reimbursement. The ultimate goal of the OJT program is for the employer to hire the participant at the end of the OJT contract period.
Edwards, a former budget analyst with the City of Atlanta, political candidate and nightclub owner, owned or controlled three companies in Atlanta between 2010 and 2012. During this three-year period, the three companies owned or controlled by Edwards received approximately $649,000 in OJT funds from the AWDA.
In participating in the OJT program, Edwards falsely represented to AWDA that his companies, Cronus Development, LLC (Cronus), CGE Construction and Consulting, Inc. (CGE), and The Elite Academy and Learning Center (Elite), would hire and train employees with the goal of full-time employment. Instead, Edwards failed to provide training programs, submitted forged and fraudulent wage reimbursement requests for employees that never worked for his companies, and paid workers only a fraction of the salary reported to AWDA. More specifically, instead of receiving training, OJT employees for CGE and Cronus reported that they did odd jobs, including cleaning up properties, yard work and working at one of Edwards’ nightclubs. Despite these shortcomings, Edwards received full payments from AWDA through the OJT program.
After the Department of Labor initiated its investigation and identified criminal violations by Edwards and his companies, investigators initiated an investigation of AWDA’s oversight and management of OJT funds. The investigation identified no additional criminal violations, but resulted in a civil investigation of allegations of inadequate oversight and compliance with reporting regulations designed to ensure that OJT funds were administered properly.
The civil settlement resolves the United States’ claims that, between 2010 and 2014, AWDA falsely certified compliance with Department of Labor regulations related to OJT. The government alleged that, contrary to these regulations, AWDA distributed funds to employers that enrolled existing employees instead of new job seekers, failed to provide any training to the OJT enrollees, and hired highly skilled employees, including individuals with professional licenses, who were not eligible for OJT. The government also alleged that AWDA failed to provide any of the services required by Department of Labor regulations to participants prior to enrolling them in OJT. The claims settled in the civil settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney David A. O’Neal handled the civil investigation and Jeffrey A. Brown is prosecuting the criminal case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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About Derek Prall
Posts by Derek Prall:
Ammazza Offering New Vegan Menu
photo courtesy of Brian Wilson.
Atlanta-based pizzeria and restaurant Ammazza announced today it’ll be offering a new, all-vegan menu on top of their traditional fare. It features five antipasto dishes, eight pizzas, desserts and a kid’s section.
The pizzas feature vegan takes on old favorites like the vegan margherita with fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil as well as new creations like the vegan inferno – a fiery selection topped with spicy Calabria peppers and roasted tomatoes.
The new menu also features several new salads, vegan cheese bread and a seasonal vegan fruit tart. For the meat-free kiddos, Ammazza offers a vegan glitter pizza, topped with vegan cheese and edible sparkles.
Ammazza has two locations – one in Edgewood and one in Decatur. Both will be serving the new vegan options in addition to their original menus.
MARTA to Hold Police Department Job Fair
Image via MARTA.
Looking to protect and serve the community? MARTA wants to hear from you.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is holding a police job fair tomorrow, June 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their downtown headquarters. Available positions are eligible for full benefits, opportunities for advancement, competitive pay and a one-time signing bonus of up to $3,000, MARTA materials indicate. Base pay starts at about $37,800 annually.
The transit authority indicates applicants must meet these requirements:
Must be at least 21 years-old and have a valid driver’s license
Must pass all required tests, including a criminal background check, a credit checks, a polygraph test, drug and alcohol screenings, as well as meeting psychological and physical benchmarks
Must have completed one of the following: two or more years of college, one term honorable military service, two years as a certified peace officer, corrections, or jailer or pre-service academy.
MARTA officers are responsible for the safety and security of all MARTA properties, including buses, trains and stations, authority materials indicate. Precincts are located at Lindbergh, College Park, Indian Creek, Five Points and Dunwoody Stations as well as in Clayton County.
For more information, click here, or watch the following video:
City Council Unanimously Passes Atlanta FY2020 Budget
Image via Twitter.
The city council unanimously voted to approve Atlanta’s $677 million budget for FY2020.
The budget includes no increases to the city’s millage rate, a 3.1 percent pay increase for all fire rescue department sworn personnel, a 3.1 percent pay increase for 911 dispatchers, and an increase to the minimum wage of city employees to $15 per hour, according to council materials. Additionally, $800,000 was allocated to fund the Office of Independent Compliance and $150,000 will be used to enhance the programming of senior services.
“I commend the Council, including our City Council Research and Policy staff, along with the mayor’s team, for their collaboration toward making this another relatively seamless budget process,” City Council President Felicia Moore said in a statement. “The due diligence required to address many of the more complex budget issues was performed during the departmental hearings and an interactive public hearing. As always, the budget represents a substantive investment in service areas that directly impact the quality of life for citizens of Atlanta, and we look forward to continually serving the needs of our city.”
The council also approved a resolution authorizing a five-year cooperative purchasing agreement for public safety cameras and other equipment for the police department, a resolution to create a commission to determine how to best honor Lonnie King Jr., and an ordinance to name the community garden in Sara Gonzalez Park after fallen police officer Edgar Flores, according to council materials
City Council Approves Atlanta Department of Transportation
Image via Wikipedia.
The mayor’s plan for Atlanta’s first dedicated Department of Transportation (DOT) was approved today by the city council.
The new DOT will be a consolidated transportation agency that will combine the road construction and repair functions of the Department of Public Works with the planning capacities of the Department of City Planning’s Office of Mobility, according to city materials. Additionally, this two-fold effort will be integrated with the infrastructure investment functions of Renew Atlanta Bond/TSPLOST.
“Every aspect of our mass transit system must be improved in order for our city to meet the demands of our growing communities,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement. “Improving mobility not only makes it easier to get around Atlanta — it helps level the playing field for all Atlantans to thrive and get ahead in a 21st century economy. This newly created office provides a space for experts to convene and strategize how we can implement greater efficiency and support the transportation needs of residents.”
Plans for the new agency began last spring, according to city materials, and was allocated $750,000 to develop a strategic transportation plan and set key goals and accountability measures, according to city materials. It’s hoped that the new unified department will be in a better position to acquire funding for transportation projects from state and federal partnerships.
“I’m excited that Mayor Bottoms and I teamed up for over a year with several community leaders to form this department that will bring greater efficiency and effectiveness for transportation in our city,” City Councilman Andre Dickens, who sponsored the legislation to study the effectiveness of transportation department, said in a statement.
Census Block Party Tomorrow
The Dunbar Recreation Center. Image via Google Maps.
The first Census Community Block Party and Job Fair will be tomorrow afternoon.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in partnership with Atlanta’s Complete Count Committee, Bottoms will be throwing the celebration in order to educate and mobilize Atlanta residents ahead of the 2020 Census, according to program materials. The first event will take place in Mechanicsville, which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau has been historically undercounted.
The U.S. Constitution mandates everyone living in the United States needs to be counted every 10 years. An accurate count is important, because it ensures Atlanta receives its fair share of public resources according to city materials.
“This is more than just a count,” Mayor Bottoms said last April about the formation of the Atlanta Counts initiative. “The Census is about representation of each resident and ensuring our communities are reflective of the Atlanta we see every day. We have put together a team that represents the diversity of all Atlantans to ensure no one is left behind. I am confident that with everyone working together, we can get to an accurate count.”
Thec elebration will take place tomorrow, June 15, from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Dunbar Recreation Center. The event is open to the public, and free food, games, entertainment and employment resources will be provided.
Several Upcoming Beltline Community Meetings
The future Northeast Trail. Image via the Atlanta Beltline.
There are several upcoming meetings throughout the remainder of the month to inform the public and receive input on upcoming expansions to and improvements of the Atlanta Beltline.
The first will present the results of public input to the Subarea 5 Master Plan Update, according to Atlanta Beltline materials. The purpose of the meeting is to share findings from previous sessions and the draft final recommendations for land use, mobility parks and greenspace in Beltline Subarea 5. The meeting will be held at The Church at Ponce & Highland from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on June 20.
The next meeting, which will be held June 24 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Cosmopolitan AME Church on Vine Street, will be a discussion on the design of the Westside Trail Extension. Atlanta Beltline materials indicates this will be an opportunity for residents to give their input on the expansion, including trail alignment and the overall design process.
Finally, on June 25, a meeting will be held at the Rock Spring Presbyterian Church on Piedmont from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to discuss the Northeast Trail Design process. Here the public will learn about updates to the project and discuss the design process, According to Atlanta Beltline materials.
To learn more about these upcoming meetings and general Beltline progress, click here.
Council Considers Making Baker Street Two-Way
Image via change.org.
The Atlanta Bicycle coalition has created a change.org petition to convert Baker Street back to a two-way thoroughfare.
The Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee proposed an ordinance for the project which was referred to committee at the June 3 meeting. If approved, the project would cost approximately 2.7 million. The city would pay 1.3 of that, with Central Atlanta Progress covering the remainder, according to Curbed.
Opposition to the project has been vocal – so much so that the city council has moved slowly to approve the project so further study could be conducted on the implications, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
However, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and other like-minded groups and individuals feel that switching the corridor to a two-way street would make it safer for pedestrian and bike traffic. Two way streets they argue, are more appropriate for downtown areas and will help encourage alternative modes of transportation.
“[Converting Baker Street] will help bring the downtown street network up to date and back into sync with the City of Atlanta’s transportation vision and goals,” the petition reads. “It will benefit the downtown Atlanta community and the entire city.”
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This Is A Man's World Essay
This is a Man’s World
War is mentally and physically straining. When a country goes to war it depends on its military to be up for any challenge war has to offer. 50 years ago the thought of a woman joining the ranks were laughable; today it is a reality. Women have proved that they can doubtfully be called the weaker gender, and recently have been able to serve in combat roles. Combat roles are the most dangerous and physically demanding roles the United States military has to offer. When a soldier signs up for this role they understand that they will be put on the frontline and in the line of fire from the enemy. Nature has made women physically weaker and less ...view middle of the document...
Therefore, if this becomes reality our frontline will become slow and vulnerable to the enemy.
Secondly, there are many health issues women are endangered to. Research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that women that train hard every day increases the chances of infertility (Hard). Women also have problems with their menstrual cycles. Women that become pregnant while being deployed must return home as quickly as possible. Soldiers in combat roles may have to stay in a location for weeks before any help can reach them. Women that become pregnant are jeopardizing their health, their baby’s health, and the mission. When I was in the military my company would go out on training missions. During this time the men would not be able to shower for days. The women were able to leave and go shower every two days. The men in my company felt that this was very unfair. I asked one my female friends why they were allowed to do this. She told me it was because, if they did not clean, it could cause serious rashes and other bacterial infections. As I stated before soldiers on combat roles may have to stay in a location for days; this includes without showering. So without showers, women are putting themselves at-risk.
Lastly, sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems plaguing the military. A 2012 Defense Department survey of anonymous respondents found that about 26,000 service members said they were the victim of some type of unwanted sexual contact or assault 85% of them being women (Steele, 2014). Women represent a minority in the military. When I was in the military my company comprised of 200 soldiers; only 45 of them were women. Even with women being allowed to join combat roles there are only a few of them that are going. Imagine being the only woman in a squad full of men. Being surrounded by men is psychologically awkward for women and men as well; besides, chances of sexual harassment increase dramatically due to this psychological friction. Sexual harassment increases every year in the military and will only be worst for women in combat roles.
Supporters of letting women serve in combat roles say women are already being wounded or killed in war,...
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Home/Science And Technology/How autonomous vehicles could change the future
Science And TechnologyTravel
How autonomous vehicles could change the future
Although they’ve been a staple of science fiction novels for decades, it looks like self-driving cars and other autonomous vehicles are slowly (or maybe not that slowly!) becoming a reality. With ride-sharing companies like Uber and Google’s sister company Waymo already investing in their own self-driving fleets, and logistics companies like UPS already pre-ordering Tesla’s semi-autonomous all-electric ‘Semi’ trucks which go into production next year, the stage has been set for rapid innovation. Here’s how self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles (AVs) could change the future of transport forever.
More sustainable transport
One of the most obvious benefits of AVs is the possibility for reduced emissions as compared with their human-operated counterparts. This is because driving at speed followed by braking and re-accelerating (i.e. driving like a human) burns a lot more fuel or battery power than is actually needed to get from point A to point B. By drawing information in from multiple sources such as traffic conditions up ahead, extremely precise GPS and historical data, AVs can avoid this kind of behavior and travel more efficiently, reducing emissions and improving air quality. Combined with charging stations which utilize renewable energy sources, the potential for positive change is huge.
If the requirements of AVs are actually taken into account when constructing new roads, transport systems can become even more sustainable. Sustainable road pavements which make use of complementary technologies like PRS Geo-Technologies’ Neoloy geocells – which allow for the use of local or recycled materials, lower the project’s carbon footprint and improve durability while reducing maintenance costs – could be used in conjunction with new infrastructure for AVs.
Another obvious benefit is the need for fewer vehicles in the first place, as being able to easily access reliable driverless transport will mean fewer people feel the need to purchase their own vehicle. This trend could have the knock-on positive effect of reducing overall congestion. As technology improves and vehicles become more lightweight, emissions can be reduced even further.
Safer transport
Most of the time, cars don’t cause traffic accidents, drivers do. Automated vehicles have access to information that humans don’t – such as cameras, radar, and sensors that allow then to ‘see’ 360 degrees around the vehicle. Automated vehicles can monitor a number of data sets all at once and react much more quickly in a potentially dangerous situation than is humanly possible. They can’t get distracted by their passengers, drive drunk, disobey traffic regulations, exceed the speed limit, or fall victim to road rage. We have already been making use of assisted driving technologies such as emergency braking and cruise control for years – but it’s understandable that we’re still a little reluctant to relinquish control entirely. Despite a very small number of accidents involving autonomous vehicles, the potential for them to save thousands of lives should not be underestimated just because it might bruise our egos a little! No technology is perfect, but rapid improvement is possible. Air travel also suffered from teething problems in the early years but is now still the safest way to travel.
Like any technological revolution, there are those who suffer as a result as well as those who benefit. The impact on employment could be massive, with 3.5 million people employed as truck drivers in the USA alone. On the other hand, it could give reliable transport options to the disabled and elderly, as well as children and teenagers too young to drive themselves. Reduced cost of transport could make it easier for small businesses to compete with established corporates and encourage entrepreneurship.
Very different urban centers
If autonomous vehicles become the norm, city centers and urban environments could become far friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians. This is not just because of the reduction in the overall number of vehicles, but because driverless cars require less room to maneuver, allowing for narrower streets. Reduced need for parking space will free up room for other activities, and because traffic lights might become obsolete and AVs will automatically make room for pedestrians, crossing the road wherever it makes sense to do so could become possible.
Back home, families could convert what used to be their garage into rooms suitable for letting out as affordable housing – creating more living space where it’s needed while allowing families to make a small additional income.
Work and lifestyle
Instead of sitting in frustrating traffic for several hours a day, people could start working, studying or simply relaxing while their AV does all the driving. With the pressure off, they will probably consider living further away from the city center than they normally would. And while it’s still early days, the buzz around self-driving cars is growing very quickly. Life will still be a journey – but the ride might be a very different experience!
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Europe selected
Pope Francis says Church should apologise to gay people
Image copyright EPA
Image caption Pope Francis, flanked by Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, addressed journalists on the flight back from Armenia
Pope Francis has said that the Roman Catholic Church should apologise to gay people for the way it has treated them.
He told reporters that the Church had no right to judge the gay community, and should show them respect.
The pontiff also said the Church should seek forgiveness from other people it had marginalised - women, the poor, and children forced into labour.
The Pope has been hailed by many in the gay community for his positive attitude towards homosexuals.
But some conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality.
Speaking to reporters on his plane returning from Armenia, the Pope said: "I will repeat what the catechism of the Church says, that they [homosexuals] should not be discriminated against, that they should be respected, accompanied pastorally."
Pope Francis said the Church should seek forgiveness from those whom it had marginalised.
Image caption The Pope and Armenian patriarch Catholicos Karekin II released doves of peace near Mt Ararat
"I think that the Church not only should apologise... to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by [being forced to] work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons."
In 2013, Pope Francis reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's position that homosexual acts were sinful, but homosexual orientation was not.
"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said then.
Media captionPope Francis speaking to journalists about the EU: "Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water"
In other remarks on Sunday, the Pope said he hoped the European Union would be able to recover following the UK's decision to leave.
"There is something that is not working in that bulky union, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, let's try to jump-start things, to re-create," he said.
Image copyright AP
Image caption Thousands of Armenians travelled to see the Pope during his visit
During his visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, the Pope described the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman Turkish rule in World War One as "genocide".
Turkey has always disputed the numbers killed and angrily rejects the term "genocide".
In response, Turkish deputy prime minister Nurettin Canikli said the Pope's comments were "very unfortunate" adding it was "possible to see all the reflections and traces of crusader mentality in the actions of the papacy".
The Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, later told reporters: "The Pope is on no crusade. He is not trying to organise wars or build walls but he wants to build bridges. He has not said a word against the Turkish people."
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Personalized Healthcare Leader Receives Accolades
Josep Bassaganya-Riera, the director of a Leading Laboratory at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech, won the 2017 Innovator Award presented by the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council during its 18th annual TechNite Awards Dinner on April 21.
High standards in thought-leadership, innovation and technological breakthroughs were all noted when a Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech entrepreneur won a distinguished honor for his research that could one day transform healthcare.
Josep Bassaganya-Riera, the director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML), a leading Laboratory at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech, won the 2017 Innovator Award presented by the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council during its 18th annual TechNite Awards Dinner April 21.
Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has led the NIMML team for 15 years. His research team focuses on precision medicine and health, and how it can be customized to the needs of the individual patient. Bassaganya-Riera spoke about his vision for precision medicine during Virginia Tech’s most recent TEDx event. The team’s resolve to make groundbreaking contributions to health has brought them one step closer to the next generation of human clinical trials that capture human diversity and variation, enabling smarter, faster, more accurate and precise decisions for personalized, predictive medicine.
Bassaganya-Riera is a serial entrepreneur who founded three biotech Companies, including BioTherapeutics at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, and leads the NIMML at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech. He has demonstrated a track record of successfully leveraging advanced informatics and computational modeling to accelerate the development of innovative technologies into marketable nutritionals such as health waters containing abscisic acid or punicic acid, and therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as BT-11.
“My resolve to transform healthcare is the driving force behind the success we achieve in NIMML. By focusing on a unique iterative integration of large-scale clinical record mining, informatics analyses and computer modeling. We are making tangible progress toward the personalized treatment of diseases. It is a distinct honor and a privilege to be in the company of so many influential leaders and innovators who strive for progress in their fields and dig to find the answers that improve our society as a whole,” says Dr. Bassaganya-Riera. “
Dr. Chris Barrett, the Executive Director of the Biocomplexity Institute says, “Forward-thinking innovators, such as Josep Bassaganya-Riera and his team, are the very foundation of the Biocomplexity Institute. His team works tirelessly to uncover the solutions that will lead the transformation of healthcare in the future. We couldn’t be happier to see his cutting-edge work recognized by the broader community.”
In one of its largest yearly gatherings to recognize the area’s technology community, the RBTC recognized influential leaders in business and innovation. Bassaganya-Riera was one of dozens of nominees announced for awards that include STEM education, leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Published by Becky Freemal, April 27, 2017
Tags: Awards and Honors Precision Medicine
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The Voice Of The Greatest Show On Earth Is The Wealthiest Man In Show Business
October 8, 2016 Johnathan IversonFeatured, Media Coverage
P.T. Barnum once said, “The noblest art is that of making others happy.” Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson takes that quote to heart. A classically trained singer, he understands what so many successful artists and entrepreneurs discover, often later in life: that true success comes when the emphasis is on giving, making others happy, rather than self-promotion.
Johnathan Lee Iverson is the Voice of the Greatest Show on Earth. He began performing at age 11 with the world-famous Boys Choir of Harlem. For seven years, he was intensely trained in all forms of music including classical, jazz, hip hop and gospel. Johnathan experienced a string of unforgettable, inspiring moments as a member of the Boys Choir, which included being awarded the lead tenor role for the choir, singing at the intermission for Luciano Pavarotti’s Concert in Central Park, performing in a live show on Broadway for two weeks and winning second place in the Lena Horne Vocal Jazz Scholarship.
Johnathan graduated from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School in May 1998 with a degree in voice performance, and shortly after his graduation, Johnathan was invited to begin his professional entertainment career with the 129th Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. He would be the first African-American ringmaster in its history, and the youngest. Johnathan couldn’t refuse the offer and felt his prominent role in the show was an unbelievable dream come true.
Johnathan toured with Ringling Bros.® all around the United States, and his charismatic charm and incredible voice caught the eye of Barbara Walters, who within a year of his first tour named him one of the ten most fascinating people in 1999. Johnathan’s historical tenure with The Greatest Show On Earth is featured in numerous publications, including: the New York Daily News, the Huffington Post, Black First: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events by Jessie Carney Smith, African-American First by Joan Potter, Live Life! Be Young, Black, and Successful by Quincy Benton, and Beat of a Different Drum: The Untold Stories of African-Americans Forging Their Own Paths in Work and Life by Dax-Devlon Ross.
Notes from the Show:
He was a nominal fan of the Greatest Show on Earth (Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus) as a boy.
His favorite act was Globe of Death/Globe of Steel
He studied to be an opera singer. He planned to move to Europe to launch his opera career.
He auditioned for the Fireside Dinner Theatre in Wisconsin, which was directed by the director of Ringling Bros.
He loved being around the late great Gunther Gebel-Williams.
He credits the Boys Choir of Harlem for his commitment to excellence.
He saw Placido Domingo in Tokyo when he was with the Choir, and at 13 years old, knew he had to become an opera singer.
He credits Dr. Walter J. Turnbull for so much of his success. “You have to walk boys to manhood.”
He went to Fiorello LaGuardia High School.
Tyranny always targets artists and intellectuals.
“Believe me, when you’re 40 feet up in the air, about to turn a triple somersault, you could care less if your catcher is black, white, gay, straight, speaks English, whatever.”
“The Mongolian father has the same concerns for his kids as I do mine. The Chinese guy over there is just as romantic or he’s vying for that woman’s attention like I would have when I was single. We all have these same types of things. It’s really fascinating. I think the arts open the gateway to our common humanity.”
A check for the ego: the animals are the reason people come to the circus.
The circus is a singer’s nightmare.
His first year was vocally traumatic. Working in the circus is a “learn-on-the-job thing.”
Frank Sinatra was so much better after Ava Gardner.
Mortality is what distinguishes his colleagues from him.
The band is the hardest working band in show business.
“You can’t phone it in in the circus. You have to be focused.”
He puts Vaseline on his teeth and a lozenge under his tongue to have moisture in his mouth.
“I continue to be a student of my voice.”
“I’ve never trained with an academic. Ever. I don’t trust someone who’s just learned it from a book. They don’t know anything. People who’ve gone out and done it can teach it.”
“It’s a hard life to be a performer of any kind.”
His wife is his boss.
“I consider myself the wealthiest man in show business.”
Early in his career, it was all about self-promotion. But having wife and kids has changed his perspective. “How do I give?”
“The noblest art is that of making others happy.” – P.T. Barnum
If you’re a performer, be grateful.
Twitter: @Bigtopvoice
Recommends the documentary “The Last Great Circus Flyer”
“How I Broke Into” is now on iHeartRadio! Also, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, and Stitcher. Please subscribe!
: Arts Education, diversity, health, Michael Prywes, podcast, race, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Ringmaster, singing, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Voice, Walter J Turnbull, wealth
Johnathan Lee Iverson Shares His Love For The Circus
February 20, 2015 Johnathan Iverson
Circus Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson treasures parenting
October 22, 2014 Johnathan Iverson
Johnathan Lee Iverson, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baileys Circus Ringmaster, Speaks to New Look Atlanta Academy Youth
May 29, 2016 Johnathan Iverson
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Biohazard, Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup Services in Whatcom County, Washington
Bio-One is always prepared to remedy situations that arise from unexpected events such as death, traumatic injury, and hazardous situations. We deploy our teams quickly so you can focus on all the other necessary arrangements to begin the healing process.
Facts about Whatcom County, Washington
Whatcom County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 201,140. It is bordered by Canada on the north, Okanogan County on the east, Skagit County on the south, and the Strait of Georgia on the west. The county seat and largest city is Bellingham.
The county was created from Island County by the Washington Territorial Legislature on March 9, 1854. It originally included the territory of present-day San Juan and Skagit Counties, which were later organized after additional settlement. Its name derives from the Lummi word Xwotʼqom, meaning "noisy water."
Whatcom County comprises the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,503 square miles (6,480 km²), of which 2,107 square miles (5,460 km²) is land and 397 square miles (1,030 km²) (16%) is covered by water.
The county includes Lake Whatcom, which empties into Bellingham Bay by way of Whatcom Creek. Physiographically, Whatcom County is an extension of the Fraser Valley or "Lower Mainland" area of British Columbia. This is essentially the lowland delta plain of the Fraser River. At some periods in the past, one of the Fraser River's lower arms entered Bellingham Bay near Bellingham via what is now the mouth of the Nooksack River.
A very small part of the county, Point Roberts, about 5 square miles (13 km²), is an extension of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, which is bisected by the Canada–US border along the 49th parallel. The highest point in the county is the peak of the active volcano Mount Baker at 10,778 feet (3,285 m) above sea level. The lowest points are at sea level along the Pacific Ocean.
As of the 2010 United States Census, 201,140 people, 80,370 households, and 48,862 families resided in the county. The population density was 95.5 inhabitants per square mile (36.9/km²). The 90,665 housing units averaged 43.0 per square mile (16.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 3.5% Asian, 2.8% American Indian, 1.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.3% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.8% were German, 12.8% were Irish, 12.6% were English, 8.0% were Dutch, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 4.4% were American.
Of the 80,370 households, 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.2% were not families, and 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 36.6 years.
Serving Whatcom County, Washington
Bio-One services all types of trauma, distressed property, and biohazard scenes in communities throughout Northwest Area. We partner with local authorities, communities, emergency services personnel, victim services groups, hoarding task forces, apartment complexes, insurance companies and others to provide the most efficient and superior service possible.
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William Boyd biography
Eamonn McCabe
William Boyd has received world-wide acclaim for his novels. They are: A Good Man in Africa (1981, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize) An Ice Cream War (1982, shortlisted for the 1982 Booker Prize and winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Stars and Bars (1984), The New Confessions (1987), Brazzaville Beach (1990, winner of the McVitie Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize) The Blue Afternoon (1993, winner of the 1993 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction, 1995), Armadillo (1998) and Any Human Heart (2002, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet). His novels and stories have been published around the world and have been translated into over thirty languages. He is also the author of a collection of screenplays and a memoir of his schooldays, School Ties (1985); and three collections of short stories: On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995) and Fascination (2004). He also wrote the speculative memoir of his schooldays, School Ties (1985); three collections of short stories: On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995) and Fascination (2004). He also wrote the speculative memoir Nat Tate: an American Artist -- the publication of which, in the spring of 1998, caused something of a stir on both sides of the Atlantic. A collection of his non-fiction writings, 1978-2004, entitled Bamboo, was published in October 2005. His ninth novel, Restless, was published in September 2006 (Costa Book Award, Novel of the Year 2006) and his tenth novel, Ordinary Thunderstorms, published September 2009. His most recent novel is Waiting For Sunrise which published in February 2011.
Born in Accra, Ghana, in 1952, Boyd grew up there and in Nigeria. He was educated at Gordonstoun School and attended the universities of Nice (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow (M.A.Hons in English and Philosophy) and Jesus College, Oxford, where he studied for a D.Phil in English Literature. He was also a lecturer in English Literature at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, from 1980-83. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary Doctorates in Literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling, Glasgow and Dundee. In 2005 he was awarded the CBE.
His screenwriting credits include Stars and Bars (1987, dir. Pat O'Connor), Mr Johnson (1990, dir. Bruce Beresford), Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1990, dir. Jon Amiel), Chaplin (1992, dir. Richard Attenborough) A Good Man in Africa (1993, dir. Bruce Beresford), The Trench (1999, which Boyd also directed) and Man to Man (2005, dir. Régis Wargnier). He adapted Evelyn Waugh's Scoop for television (1988) and also Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy (2001). His own three-part adaptation of his novel Armadillo was screened on BBC 1 in 2001 and on A&E in the US in 2002. His film about Shakespeare and his sonnets A Waste of Shame -- was made in 2005 for BBC 4. He has written two original TV films about boarding-school life in England -- Good and Bad at Games (1983) and Dutch Girls (1985). He adapted his own novel Any Human Heart into a four-part drama for Channel 4 in 2010, which garnered much critical acclaim.
He is married and divides his time between London and South West France.
William Boyd's website
This bio was last updated on 10/01/2018. We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's a tough task. So, please help us - if the information about this author is out of date or inaccurate, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors and publishers: If you wish to make changes to a bio, send the complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we can replace the old with the new.
Sara Nelson talks with William Boyd about Sweet Caress, why he enjoys writing "full-life novels", and how he considers this book to be the third panel of a tryptich: New Confessions, Any Human Heart and Sweet Caress
One of the reasons I knew that my best friend Jessie was going to be my best friend, and that Sam was going to be my husband was because early on in both relationships, we shared a secret: we were both crazy about the British author William Boyd. Specifically, in the case of Sam, we bonded over Boyd's 2001 novel, Any Human Heart, the story of the 20th century through the eyes of an ordinary British man living through it.
So when Sweet Caress landed on my desk, and its editor told me that Boyd's latest novel was in "Any Human Heart" territory, I was especially motivated to read it. Like Any Human Heart and like another of Boyd's great novels, The New Confessions it is the story of a time and many places, as experienced by a specific character, in this case a female photographer named Amory Clay. Born in the first decade of the 20th century, Amory whose father named her that because he'd really wanted a son -- grows up to be independent-minded and ambitious. She travels the world from 1930s Germany to New York to the battlefields of WWII and ultimately Viet Nam living her life, telling stories through her photos. An added element to ...
Full Interview
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John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He was educated at a Christian Brother's school and St Peter's College in Wexford. After leaving college he worked for Aer Lingus in Dublin, Ireland - which gave him the ... (more)
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He believes poetry is the fountain of youth
By Amy Sutherland Globe Correspondent,Updated April 11, 2019, 7:43 p.m.
(ERIN PATRICE O’BRIEN)
Award-winning poet Major Jackson is the author of four collections, most recently “Roll Deep.” Jackson is a professor at the University of Vermont and poetry editor of the Harvard Review. He will be one of the writers at the Newburyport Literary Festival on April 26 and 27 at locations around town. Most events are free. Jackson reads at 2 p.m. Saturday with fellow Vermont poet Sydney Lea at Central Congregational Church.
BOOKS: What are you reading?
JACKSON: I try to keep up on contemporary poetry as much as possible, and the best way to do that is to read new volumes. One that I picked up a few days ago is Willie Perdomo’s “The Crazy Bunch.” His poems are saturated with the phrasing and diction of the ’80s and ’90s but that does not date the poems.
BOOKS: What other new volumes have you liked?
JACKSON: Deborah Landau’s “Soft Targets.” She has developed a style of writing poetry that reminds me of Maggie Nelson and Anne Carson, these long poems that feel dreamy because they are so lyrical. This is also her most political book.
BOOKS: Are there poets you return to often?
JACKSON: This will sound like a litany, but it’s true. I turn to Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Lowell, Derek Wolcott, Elizabeth Bishop, and Philip Levine as well as [more contemporary poets] Marie Howe and Sharon Olds.
BOOKS: When did you start reading poetry?
JACKSON: A long time ago. My grand
parents, who were Southerners, believed in literacy as a form of social ascension. So our house was full of all kinds of books. They had Faulkner. They had “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William L. Shirer. That’s how I learned about the Holocaust at a young age. I also stumbled on the works of Robert Frost and Langston Hughes.
BOOKS: Do you have a lot of books?
JACKSON: If you come to my house you’ll see I have a whole room devoted to books. When I got a Pew Fellowship a good deal of that money went to buying books. I even began collecting. I purchased about 120, including Gwendolyn Brook’s “The Bean Eaters,” Elizabeth Bishop’s “Poems: North and South,” and a first edition of John Ashbery’s “The Tennis Court Oath.” That was stolen out of my car along with other books [that the authors had autographed to him] when I was in graduate school in Eugene, Ore. in 1999. About four years ago I was signing books after a reading in Seattle, and the last guy in line was a collector. He put down these books on the table and asked me if they looked familiar: Jack Gilbert’s “Monolithos,” Martín Espada’s “Rebellion is the Circle of a Lover’s Hands,” and the Ashbery. Sure enough those were my books that had been stolen, but I didn’t tell that him. I didn’t ask him how he got them. I decided to just let it be a good story.
BOOKS: Do you read fiction or other types of books?
JACKSON: When I can. Often it comes as a result of judging for a prize or reading a friend’s manuscript, as was the case with my buddy Gregory Pardlo’s memoir about his dad called “Air Traffic.” My friend and colleague Emily Bernard’s book “Black is the Body” is important. All her stories center around race.
BOOKS: How do you treat your books?
JACKSON: My wife and I normally buy two copies of books because she marks them up. I barely even dog-ear them probably because of the impact books had on me when I was younger, of cracking them open for the first time, the smell of them and the feel of them in my hands.
BOOKS: What is on your upcoming pile?
JACKSON: “Nightingale,” a new book by Paisley Rekdal. She’s a terrific poet. Also Jericho Brown’s “The Tradition,” which just came out. I have this theory that those who read poetry live longer. Poetry is the fountain of youth.
The Boston Globe may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @GlobeBiblio. Amy Sutherland is the author, most recently, of “Rescuing Penny Jane’’ and she can be reached at amysutherland@mac.com
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Keeping it real by eating the peel
(Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times)
“Keep It Real, Eat the Peel” proclaims the bag of RIND Snacks. The line of non-GMO superfruits grow on small family farms in California’s Central Valley and are then sundried or dehydrated whole with their skins and peels intact. The New York company offers choices that include Tropical Blend (oranges, pineapples, and kiwis); Orchard Blend (persimmons, tarts apples, and kiwis) and Tangy Kiwi ($2.99 to $3.99 for 1½ ounces; about $6 for 3 ounces; $17.99 for a 3-pack, 3 ounces each). Chewy, not crispy or moist like prunes, the fruits are both sweet and tangy. “We consider nature’s fruit to be candy,” says founder Matt Weiss. He started the company to educate consumers that eating fruits whole maximizes their nutrition and fiber while minimizing food waste created by discarding the edible outer layer. Weiss has many “pithy puns” about his product, like “we have skin in the game” and says there is another reason that served as inspiration for his company: his great-grandmother, Helen Seitner. She ran a health food store in the 1920s in Flint, Mich., and lived to be 100. “Even before kale was cool, she was juicing fruits and vegetables,” he says. “She would always say the best part of the fruit was the outside and never let it go to waste.” Available at Nibble,
1 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, or go to www.rindsnacks.com.
ANN TRIEGER KURLAND
Going Quiet: Rhode Island among the states hiding 911 recordings from families, lawyers, and the general public
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Brattle Academic Advisor Josh Lerner Co-Authors Paper on Direct Institutional Investment in Private Equity
Brattle academic advisor Josh Lerner recently co-authored a paper analyzing the trade-offs at work when institutional investors eschew financial intermediaries in favor of direct investment in the private equity setting. The paper, “The Disintermediation of Financial Markets: Direct Investing in Private Equity,” was co-authored by Lily Fang, a Singapore-based associate professor of finance at INSEAD, and Victoria Ivashina, an associate professor of finance at the Harvard Business School.
In the paper, the authors argue that investors who make private equity investments directly in companies get better returns, with lower costs, than those who invest in private equity funds or those who co-invest alongside private equity managers. The authors examined 392 transactions over a 20-year period by seven large global institutional investors. They find that solo, direct investment outperformed all private equity benchmarks used in the study by between 13% and 19% and saved investors the typical 2% management fee as well as the 20% profit sharing charged by private equity funds.
The authors also find that solo institutional investors have a greater advantage when they invest locally, and much of the solo investment analyzed in the research was local to the investor. The paper was recently featured in a Pensions & Investments article, which quoted Dr. Lerner as saying, “If you look at the kind of settings where direct investing does particularly well, it is when it is local investing and investing relatively near to where investors are based. Presumably, investors have advantages of having unique information.”
To read the full paper, please visit the INSEAD website.
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New York man rewarded for turning in lost $10,000
Jan. 11 (UPI) — A New York man who turned in $10,000 he found at a subway station was rewarded by the money’s grateful owner at a police station.
Richard Taverna, who brought the Chanel bag containing $10,000 cash to New York Police Department’s 20th Precinct station after finding it at the 66th Street subway stop in December, was called to the station Thursday to meet the bag’s owner.
Aiya Tulemaganbetova, a Kazakhstan resident, said through a translator that she was traveling with cash because many businesses in her home country don’t accept credit cards. She said the money had been intended for her children’s Christmas gifts.
Tulemaganbetova presented Taverna on Thursday with a gift: a statue of Kazakhstan’s Golden Man, which is considered an object of good luck in the country.
“It was the right thing to do, and I truly think most people would have done it,” Taverna said.
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Pope Francis: People Have a ‘Moral Responsibility’ to Combat Climate Change
AP/Andrew Medichini
Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.
“Whoever denies climate change should ask the scientists, who speak with great clarity and precision on this,” Francis told reporters during his flight back to Rome from Colombia.
Asked by a journalist whether there is “a moral responsibility for political leaders who deny that climate change is the work of man and refuse to cooperate with other nations” (in an evident reference to President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord), the Pope said that “climate change can be seen in its effects and we all have a moral responsibility in making decisions.”
“The other day came the news of that Russian ship that went from Norway to Japan and crossed the North Pole without finding ice,” Francis said. He was referring to reports in August that a Russian tanker had become the first merchant ship to sail across the Arctic without the help of an icebreaker, sailing from Norway to South Korea in 19 days.
It perhaps should be mentioned that the ship he was discussing, named the Christophe de Margerie, is a brand new design (2016) of icebreaking LNG carrier, which features an ice-strengthened hull structure using E-grade high-tensile special steel. Covered with 7cm of steel plates, the bow is able to break through ice up to 1.5 meters thick.
In other words, it’s not exactly that the ship saw no ice in the Arctic, but it was the first to break through it without the assistance of a separate icebreaker.
In his Q&A, the Pope went on to speak of a climate change report that asserted “we only have three years to turn back, or there will be terrible consequences.”
“I do not know if the three years are true or not, but if we do not go back, we are going down!” Francis said. “Climate change is seen in its effects, and we all have a moral responsibility in making decisions. I think it’s a very serious thing.”
In this case, Francis was referring to an article appearing in Nature magazine in June called “Three Years to Safeguard our Climate.” The essay was written by Christiana Figueres, vice-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, along with five other authors.
In their article, the authors cite an earlier report which asserted that if carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise beyond 2020, or even remain level, “the temperature goals set in Paris become almost unattainable” and the UN Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon in 2015 would also “be at grave risk.”
In his evaluation of climate change, Pope Francis said: “Each person has his own moral responsibility and the politicians have theirs. Let each one ask the scientists and then decide. History will judge their decisions.”
Pressed further by another journalist for his opinion on why governments are so slow to act on climate change, the Pope made reference to the Bible.
“A line from the Old Testament comes to my mind: man is stupid, a stubborn one who does not see. He is the only animal that falls into the same pit twice,” Francis said, although it was not immediately evident to what biblical passage he was referring.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
London / EuropeNational SecurityPoliticsClimate ChangeGlobal WarmingPope FrancisVatican
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Events Venues Info Contact Buy Tickets
EventsVenuesInfoContact
Bringing world-class entertainment to the stages of Cape Cod and the Islands.
An Evening With David Sedaris
Barnstable High School Performing Arts Center (map)
Join best-selling author and NPR contributor, David Sedaris for an evening featuring all-new stories, an audience Q&A, and a book signing. With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Mr. Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. David Sedaris returns to the road following the release of his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious collection, Calypso. Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny-it’s a book that can make you laugh ’til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris’s powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. If you love David Sedaris’s cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you’re getting into at his live readings. You’d be wrong. To see him read his own work on stage allows his autobiographical narrative to reveal a uniquely personal narrative that will keep you laughing throughout the evening. Don’t miss this event!
Tickets: $47.50 / $52.50 / $57.50
Capitol Steps
Tickets: $39 / $49 / $59
Canadian Brass: Christmas Time is Here
Menopause the Musical
Mary Wilson of The Supremes and Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Tickets: $49 / $59 / $69 / $79 / $99
Peter Sagal, Star of NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!"
Tickets: $39 / $49 / $59 / $69
Mary Walker Auditorium (map)
All Tickets: $79
Old Whaling Church at the Edgartown Liturgical Arts Center (map)
Spectacle Management
1 (800) 657. 8774
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WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Michael O’Neil hails ‘excellent’ Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's Kyle Lafferty celebrates scoring his goal.
Gareth Hanna at Windsor Park
Published: 14:41 Saturday 12 November 2016
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill knows just how significant his side’s win over Azerbaijan could be.
Not just the three points to overtake Azerbaijan and head into second, but the swagger in which it was done could no doubt prove vital in Northern Ireland’s quest to reach Russia.
It ended 4-0 and could have been more as the hosts time and time again ravaged a defence that has kept three clean sheets in the first three Group C matches.
“The manner is important because we didn’t concede and we play Azerbaijan after Norway so this will still be fresh in their mind,” said O’Neill.
“At the end of the day, the game’s won and lost in the final third of the pitch in both halves. I thought tonight we were excellent defensively but also in capitalising on the opportunities that we had.”
Northern Ireland will have plenty of time to reflect on what was a job well done. Croatia do visit Windsor in a friendly on Tuesday evening, but the next World Cup qualifier isn’t until March 26, when Norway come to town.
“We’ve had a good start to the group,” continued a pleased manager. “We now have a massive game in March and a win would put us a good distance away from Norway.
“Azerbaijan will play Germany and as opposed to being four teams fighting to go to the World Cup with Germany, it might lessen. That’s what we’ve got to do. The fifth game for me is always crucial. Once you get to 10 points, you’re within touching distance of getting enough points to possibly get there.
“That’s what we’ve got to look to do. We’ve been very good here at home and the fact that the game in March is here is a bonus as well.”
Kyle Lafferty grabbed Northern Ireland’s opener early last night. That was undoubtedly the most crucial moment of the match - unhinging Azerbaijan’s constant defensive strategy.
“We worked hard on the opportunities we would get,” said O’Neill. “Azerbaijan are a very organised team but if you let them get into their defensive shape earlier, they’ll be hard to break down in the three games to date. We didn’t do that.
“We got the ball forward quickly and turned it into a very British style game and we don’t apologise for that. The quality of the goals, the delivery was very emphatic. The players took on board how we would play against them.
“You can be lulled into keeping the ball, thinking you’re playing well and nothing coming of it. We made sure that didn’t happen and we were excellent from start to finish.”
O’Neill, unexpectedly, named both Lafferty and fellow forward Josh Magennis in the starting line-up. Magennis played wide right of a front three, with Shane Ferguson pushed up on the opposite flank. And it was a spearhead that cut ruthlessly through the visitors’ back line.
“The decision was whether we would play Kyle from the start or from the bench,” said the boss. “I just thought with his aerial presence and dropping Josh onto the right would give us a lot of power and pace in the forward area. Kyle’s still short of match fitness but what he is capable of is getting you goals out of nothing.
“He knows his sharpness and fitness isn’t where it could be but the goal he scored is typical of him. He’s off and running in this campaign. He’s got three goals in four games and hopefully that will lead to an improvement in his club situation.
“When we look at the games we’ve had, there have been a lot of positives. We’ve probably had to deal with a few more problems in terms of injuries - Ward, Dallas, Cathcart, Washington - there’s four players that are important to us that weren’t with us tonight.”
And finally, of course, there was a word for the man who bagged his debut goal - along with another outstanding display at right-back.
“The decision to leave Conor (McLaughlin) out in Germany was tactical more than anything else,” explained O’Neill.
“I thought he was excellent tonight - he was back to the Conor that we saw previously - making great inroads into the opposition’s half, good deliveries, good use of the ball.
“I think we saw again what a top player Chris Brunt is as well. Tony Pulis put him straight back into the team and now he’s straight back into ours.
“I’m delighted for him to be back, delighted for him to score. It was a good night for him and you saw the reaction of the crowd to him - he’s a very important player to us.”
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Israeli Defense Ministry Selects Developer for $2-Billion Communications Base
The announcement marks a milestone for the military’s massive push to move its offices from the greater Tel Aviv area to the Negev desert region
Omri Milman 17:3811.06.18
The Israeli Ministry of Defense’s plan for a new technology and communications base in the country’s Negev desert reached an important milestone on Monday with the selection of a consortium to build and then operate the military base.
For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Shikun & Binui Ltd. and Africa Israel Investments Ltd. are the two Israel-based companies that teamed up for the proposal that won the ministry’s tendering process. The ministry will pay the companies nearly $2 billion for construction and additional fees for operating the base on a 25-year contract.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Photo: Orel Cohen
The new base will be built on 44 acres at an office park in the city of Be’er Sheva, adjacent to the campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and its highly regarded cybersecurity researchers, according to the ministry. The plan calls for 150,000 square meters of office space where 5,000 soldiers will serve, mostly in signal intelligence and technology units. The Air Force’s Ofek unit, which is in charge of developing software used in aircraft, and the military’s Southern Command headquarters will be located at the new base.
Many of these units are currently located at military bases in the densely populated Tel Aviv area, often on highly desirable real estate. The new base is part of a larger push by the military to move the bulk of its offices to the country’s sparse Negev desert, which is about sixty miles south of Tel Aviv.
Itzik Cohen, a retired brigadier general and a senior official at the defense ministry, said in a statement the primary goal of the project is to provide the military with advanced infrastructure for operational purposes. But he acknowledged that the move could help alleviate the demand for real estate around Tel Aviv while providing an economic boost to Negev communities. Mr. Cohen said the military’s relocation plan is a “national project” that will cost about $16 billion.
In anticipation of the move, international tech companies have been opening offices at the Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park in Be’er Sheva and recruiting graduates of Ben-Gurion University. Some of the neighbors that have moved in over the past several years include EMC Corp., the U.S.-based data storage and cloud computing company, Deutsche Telekom AG, Oracle Corp., and IBM Corp.
The Israeli government is hoping the exchange of research and personnel across academia, military, and industry will be fertile enough for the area to become a new global tech hub.
Israeli Defense Contractor Rafael Sells Iron Dome to Romania
New Device Could Reduce Friendly Fire, Hunting Accidents
Israeli Dronemaker Aeronautics Completes Acquisition of U.S. company Chassis Plans
The project “is more proof that investing in security equals investing in the economy,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement. “This will become a real revolution that will bring the Silicon Valley to the Negev desert.”
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This number has been reported 7 times to the FCC. The most common reported issue was Unwanted Calls. Reports have been made by users in 5 states. Most recently this number was reported on May 05, 2019.
The number 232 210 7504 was reported to the FCC on 2019-05-05 for Unwanted Calls from North Carolina
A complaint was made to the FCC on 2019-05-05 about a call from 2322107504
Other consumers have reported this number 7 times to the FCC. The most common reported issues were Unwanted Calls but 232-210-7504 has also been reported for . Reports have been made by users in 5 states (Tennessee, District of Columbia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Louisiana) Most recently this number was reported on May 05, 2019
Warning! Several people have complained about this number. It has been reported to the FCC and several other US scam agencies. This number has been on the FCC's blacklist for about 23 hours.
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Heather Gardiner
February 27, 2012 |Written By Heather Gardiner
Photo: Gail J. Cohen
The release of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s report on legal education in 2007 caused quite a stir in the law community. The report, “Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law,” featured a study of 16 law schools in the United States and Canada that found the schools were conducting too much theoretical teaching and not offering enough ethical and practical training. It recommended that law schools integrate legal analysis, ethics training, and practical experience into their curricula.
“Students need a dynamic curriculum that moves them back and forth between understanding and enactment, experience and analysis,” the report stated. “Law schools face an increasingly urgent need to bridge the gap between analytical and practical knowledge, and a demand for more robust professional integrity.”
The report cited two major limitations of legal education:
1. “Most law schools give only casual attention to teaching students how to use legal thinking in the complexity of actual law practice. Unlike other professional education, most notably medical school, legal education typically pays relatively little attention to direct training in professional practice. The result is to prolong and reinforce the habits of thinking like a student rather than an apprentice practitioner, conveying the impression that lawyers are more like competitive scholars than attorneys engaged with the problems of clients. Neither understanding of the law is exhaustive, of course, but law school’s typically unbalanced emphasis on the one perspective can create problems as the students move into practice.”
2. “Law schools fail to complement the focus on skill in legal analyses with effective support for developing ethical and social skills. Students need opportunities to learn about, reflect on, and practice [sic] the responsibilities of legal professionals. Despite progress in making legal ethics a part of the curriculum, law schools rarely pay consistent attention to the social and cultural contexts of legal institutions and the varied forms of legal practice. To engage the moral imagination of students as they move toward professional practice, seminaries and medical, business, and engineering schools employ well-elaborated case studies of professional work. Law schools, which pioneered the use of case teaching, only occasionally do so.”
Governor General David Johnston, himself a former law school dean at the University of Western Ontario, echoed the report’s findings in his speech at the Canadian Bar Association conference in Halifax last summer. “In my judgment, we have allowed too great a divide to develop between academia and the profession. We do not cure this by forcing the profession back in, but rather by making the compelling case that the three years at law school mark the beginning of the journey of preparing professionals with all three apprenticeships.
“We should not leave the practical and the ethnical apprenticeships to the end — articling and the bar admission course. We should start with how we choose an entering class. . . . Beginning in law schools, we need to integrate these three apprenticeships — the cognitive, the practical, the ethical-social — as one mutually reinforcing continuum,” he offered.
“As to curriculum in law, I would integrate the bar admission course with the LLB, similar to what medicine does,” Johnston suggested. “I would also intersperse internships or articling throughout the academic years. I would pair academic and practising lawyers as much as possible in the curriculum, in order to integrate the three apprenticeships.”
In the United States, law schools — including Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and New York University — have made radical changes to their curricula in order to incorporate more learning through experience. For example, at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, every third-year course is now hands-on. In Canada, it seems that most law schools are lagging. However, the movement is beginning. For instance, starting in the 2012 academic year, Osgoode Hall Law School will be the first Canadian law school to require students to take part in experiential learning in order to graduate.
Osgoode dean Lorne Sossin advocates more hands-on learning in legal education. Regardless of the type of experiential learning, whether it’s participating in one of the law school’s clinics or one of its various intensive programs, he says it breaks down the barriers between the classroom and community, effectively creating better learning opportunities for students. “What we’re hoping is it sets our graduates up to have a real advantage that not every graduate of every law school will have,” he says. “[It’s] that experiential component that is very much what gives them insight into, for example, the different perspectives or lenses that a client might have, or a regulator might have, or the government might have, or the justice system might have. You start to look at issues from those different perspectives when you’ve seen how they play out in action. I think those are things that if you just go to law school and sit in the classroom for three years, you’re just less likely to get exposed to.”
It also tends to be a more notable experience, says Sossin. “Invariably when I ask [Osgoode graduates] about their memories of what stuck with them, it’s the intensive program, it’s the clinic; it’s these kinds of learning experiences that also create the lasting memories. And I think those hours may have been the same as they spent on tasks, but it stays with them and is likelier to be those career-altering or perspective-altering experiences,” he says.
Adam Campbell, an articling student at labour and employment law firm Harris & Co. LLP in Vancouver, agrees that his time at the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre was his most memorable experience during law school. At the clinic, he worked on one main file related to storm water and the infrastructural issues with the city’s drainage system. He says his clinical work was much more inspiring than any of his classroom work, and even more beneficial than his articling term so far. “At times I actually found [the clinical work] more useful than the articling period that I’m doing right now. I had way more control over an actual file for the entire thing than I have so far while articling,” he says.
In an article he wrote for 4Students online, Michael Oxman points out the benefits he got from working at UVic’s Business Law Clinic. “I found it useful to get feedback from lawyers as opposed to law school professors. While professors may compare work against theoretical models and research papers, practitioners are focused on how work functions in the real world. Rhetoric and purple prose are discouraged. Rather than contemplating remote hypotheticals, students are pushed to consider the practical realities of running a business and the tangible concerns of business people.”
Campbell suggests students should have the option of completing experiential learning courses instead of articling, as it would add value to the student’s experience as well as the community. “[Law students] do all these moots and funny situations like that, which are sort of make-believe, when you can do exactly the same kind of experience actually in a courtroom . . . which would give you the same experience as a moot except you’re actually using your skills to help somebody,” he argues.
In Ontario, the option of taking a practical legal training course instead of articling has recently been proposed by the Law Society of Upper Canada’s articling task force as a possible solution to the province’s articling shortage. That option, among others — including abolishing articling altogether — was submitted in December in the task force’s report to Convocation, the society’s governing council. The task force was formed to address the current articling crisis in Ontario, where there simply aren’t enough articling positions available to accommodate the vast number of law students. Statistics show that the rate of unplaced articling students increased to 12.1 per cent in 2011 from 5.8 per cent in 2008. In recent years, law schools have been increasing their admissions and law firms have not been accepting additional articling students, which has exacerbated the problem.
Vern Krishna, a University of Ottawa law professor and a member of the LSUC articling task force, says it all comes down to one thing: money. Experiential programs tend to be very expensive. With articling, the law firm pays the student, while the cost of the proposed practical legal training course option would be downloaded either onto the students, the law schools, or the law society. “Before anything gets implemented, we have to face the cost consequences squarely in the eye and deal with it,” he says. “There’s no escaping that. Without addressing that issue, the rest is all talk because nobody is going to implement anything without a full assessment of what the costs are.”
The law schools can’t afford additional experiential learning programs unless they receive more funding, says University of Ottawa common law dean Bruce Feldthusen. “Canadian law schools are incredibly underfinanced, especially the ones out of Toronto, and as it is, we have three clinics here and they are hugely expensive. The cost per student is just overwhelming. So even if we thought everybody should be in a clinic — and there’s an argument that every student should at least have one clinical experience in law school — we couldn’t afford it. Unless the bar is prepared to put the money that they’re now putting into articling into supporting clinical education in law schools, I just don’t think it’s feasible.”
Feldthusen doesn’t really see the need for more experiential learning at law schools anyway. “In Ontario, it’s still the case that law students upon graduation are going to get a year of experiential learning called articling. I think that if you look at legal education as a combination of the bar’s role and the law schools’ role, there’s already a huge amount of experiential learning,” he argues.
Nancy Stitt, director of student programs at Goodmans LLP, says law firms aren’t necessarily interested in having more experiential learning at law schools either. “The main purpose of the law schools is not to teach the practical skills. The skills that lawyers will need will vary so much depending on what they end up doing and where they end up going,” she says. “I think the practical options that they give at the law schools should be that; they should be options.”
In hiring articling students, Stitt says an applicant who has hands-on learning experience is not considered to have an advantage over an applicant who doesn’t. “In terms of students coming in here, we will give them what they need. They will get the hands-on training and the hands-on feedback and the hands-on learning when they do it. I think that’s very difficult to replicate in a classroom setting. I don’t think that ever was supposed to be the purpose of law school,” she says.
Sossin begs to differ. “I think experiential learning at law school and articling are designed with different goals in mind. The former is meant to provide a deeper understanding of law while the latter is meant to train lawyers. That said, there are certainly kinds of experiential learning — spending a semester at a legal clinic, for example — which may provide students with similar exposure to legal practice,” he says.
Queen’s University has such a program: the Technology, Engineering and Management course (TEAM), a unique experiential program that goes beyond just law. TEAM is offered to arts, science, engineering, law, commerce, and business students. They are divided into multidisciplinary groups and matched with an industry client to complete an eight-month consulting project. Queen’s law student Joy Wakefield was part of an in-house team that produced a report on the feasibility of converting Perpetual Energy Inc.’s fleet to compressed natural gas vehicles. She told 4Students last fall that students who participate in the course get a sense of the in-house experience and discover the importance of not just producing top-notch legal advice, but also of ensuring it makes business sense. “It gives students a broader perspective, a chance to see how law interacts with business and technical operations.”
Doug Ferguson, director of Western’s Community Legal Services clinic, says there are several ways for law schools to integrate more practical training into their curricula. He says students should have the choice to take a certain number of credits in clinical and ethical courses to reduce or eliminate their articling term — much like the option suggested by the LSUC’s articling task force. Universities could integrate articling into the three years of law school, or offer a capstone course or a simulated summer program where students work at a virtual law firm, similar to the program at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, he suggests. These alternatives would also help address the current articling crisis in Ontario, he adds.
Ferguson claims the lack of discussion between the law society and law schools was a contributing factor to the articling crisis. “I feel that the law schools and the profession have lost touch with each other. One of the issues right now — the reason why we have the articling crisis — is that law schools have increased their admissions; the classes are bigger, but they did that without looking into how it’s going to affect the profession and how it might affect the articling situation. And I think there has to be a closer co-operation in the future between the profession and the law schools,” he says.
“I don’t see articling disappearing. I think it’s still a very valuable way of educating students on legal practice,” Ferguson admits. “But the numbers just don’t support it. It’s not sustainable in its present form so I think we need a supplementary way of doing it and [experiential learning] is one way.”
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Home » Healthy Living » The Positive Side » Winter 2012 » Daily Dose of D
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Daily Dose of D
Here in the “True North,” getting enough vitamin D—the sunshine vitamin—is especially important for people with HIV.
By R. Paul Kerston
Living in Canada, one may muse over (and maybe even complain about) the lack of sunlight, especially in winter. In Vancouver, where I live, the average number of daylight hours on December 22 is one half of what we get on June 21: 8.04 hours compared to 16.23. But who’s counting?
Besides making it harder to get out and get active, that lack of sunlight during winter can have health impacts, including lower levels of vitamin D—which the body produces in response to sunlight. You’ve likely heard news stories in the past few years about research into the sunshine vitamin’s role in health. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to many medical conditions, but what does all this research mean for people with HIV living in Canada? While there is much left to learn, researchers are finding that people with HIV need to make sure they are getting enough vitamin D.
Identi-D
Classified as a vitamin through the happenstance of history, vitamin D is actually a hormone, meaning that it acts as a chemical messenger in the body and is important for regulating many chemical activities in cells. We know for sure that it is involved in bone health. It also helps with the absorption of the bone-building minerals calcium and phosphorus from the intestines.
Clues for where else vitamin D may act in the body come from where receptors for the vitamin are located. Based on the location of those receptors, vitamin D may be involved in muscle, brain and liver function. Those receptors are also found on immune cells, such as CD4 cells and macrophages, leading researchers to speculate that vitamin D may play a role in immunity.
The body can produce vitamin D in a multi-step pathway that starts in the skin, where heat from sunrays kicks off the process. The liver and the kidneys work next, transforming intermediate forms, called vitamin D2 and vitamin D3, into the active form of the vitamin, calcitriol. Blood tests vary in what form of vitamin D they measure. The most common test measures total vitamin D2 and D3.
There is debate over ideal blood levels of vitamin D. Based on studies of bone health and blood levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone, the American Endocrine Society suggests that the results of vitamin D blood tests be interpreted in this way:
75 nmol/l or higher is sufficient
between 50 and 74 nmol/l is insufficient
49 nmol/l or less is deficient
According to a 2009 Statistics Canada study, about one-third of Canadians had sufficient levels of vitamin D. The same study indicated that one in 10 people were deficient. (Note that the study used an older, lower cut-off of less than 37.5 nmol/l to define deficiency.)
Not being exposed to enough sun or wearing sunscreen (which blocks the formation of vitamin D in the skin) can lead to inadequate levels of vitamin D. Other factors that can put people at risk for deficiency include obesity (having a BMI higher than 30), older age and health conditions such as liver and kidney damage or inflammation of the intestines (Crohn’s disease, for example).
Less D with HIV?
Scientists are beginning to think that HIV, perhaps through its associated ongoing inflammation, might also change how well the body can produce vitamin D. There is no clear evidence that vitamin D deficiency is more common in people living with HIV than in HIV-negative people. However, in a recent large cohort study of people with HIV in Europe, Argentina and Israel, only one in 10 (11 percent) had vitamin D levels above 75 nmol/l.
In the trial, most (82 percent) of the people were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is of note because some anti-HIV drugs may affect vitamin D levels. Efavirenz (Sustiva and in Atripla) and AZT (Retrovir/zidovudine, also in Combivir and Trizivir) have been linked to vitamin D deficiency.
Protease inhibitors (PIs), on the other hand, particularly darunavir (Prezista), have been associated with higher levels of vitamin D. Hal Huff, ND, head supervisor of the Naturopathic HIV/AIDS Clinic at the Sherbourne Health Centre in Toronto, is involved in the Canadian HIV Vascular Study, which is looking at the relationships between anti-HIV drugs, cardiovascular disease and metabolic problems. In the study, he says, “participants with the highest vitamin D status were more likely to be on PI-based ART rather than on a non-nuke such as efavirenz.”
The study did not find a connection between efavirenz and low vitamin D levels; in fact, Dr. Huff says that vitamin D levels in the efavirenz group were relatively high, even in comparison with the general Canadian population. This would make it difficult to see a link between choice of anti-HIV drug and vitamin D levels.
Certain other medications that people with HIV commonly take may also affect vitamin D levels, including:
the antibiotic rifampin (used to treat tuberculosis)
the antifungal drugs clotrimazole and ketoconazole
anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids
the anti-seizure drugs phenobarbital, carbamazepine and phenytoin
the anti-cancer drug Taxol and related compounds
the herb St. John’s wort and its extracts, hypericin and hyperforin
If you are taking any of these drugs or herbs, talk to your doctor about vitamin D.
D-mystifying
Over the past few years, there have been reports linking vitamin D deficiency to various health conditions. In HIV-negative people, low levels of vitamin D have been linked to some types of cancer—most notably colon cancer, but possibly also prostate and breast cancers. In HIV-positive people, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, have been linked to low levels of the vitamin.
Dr. Huff and the other researchers with the Canadian HIV Vascular Study did not find a link between low vitamin D status and thickness of the carotid artery in the neck—a sign of cardiovascular disease—though this might have been because the group had relatively high levels of the vitamin.
They did note a possible link with high blood pressure; however, this does not mean that low vitamin D levels cause high blood pressure. “In our study, as in others, individuals with higher vitamin D status are less likely to be overweight,” says Dr. Huff. “And, of course, being overweight increases the risk of elevated blood pressure.”
Dr. Huff’s comments highlight a weakness with much of the current research into vitamin D. The studies so far have shown a link between two factors, such as low vitamin D levels and cancer, but they cannot prove that low levels cause cancer. More rigorous studies are needed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship, and researchers are undertaking such studies to provide firm evidence.
Finally, Dr. Huff adds that the results of the study may not apply to everyone: “It is important to keep in mind that our study population was composed predominantly of white middle-aged HIV-positive men. For instance, they do not speak to the potential problem of vitamin D deficiency in HIV infection among women, Aboriginal [people], persons with dark skin or the elderly.”
There is one area where experts are confident that vitamin D plays a role: bone health. A lack of the vitamin can result in soft bones (osteomalacia) and brittle bones (osteoporosis). Also, several studies have shown that elderly people who take vitamin D plus calcium have stronger bones and fewer broken bones. Vitamin D is needed by the body to properly use calcium, so the two micronutrients should be taken together (they are often sold in a combined pill).
Enough of the good stuff
For people with HIV, who often have bone problems, the role of vitamin D in bone health is reason enough to be aware of their vitamin D status. The anti-HIV drug tenofovir (Truvada, also in Atripla and Complera) has been linked to thinner bones, so people taking that drug have an additional reason to pay attention to vitamin D. All people with HIV should consider talking with their doctors about vitamin D and the possibility of having their blood levels checked. People with certain other health conditions, including osteopenia or osteoporosis, can often have the cost of a vitamin D blood test covered by provincial and territorial healthcare programs.
If vitamin D is important, and it seems that many people don’t get enough, where can they get more? There are three sources of vitamin D: sunlight, food and supplements.
Sunlight – Many factors affect skin production of vitamin D, making it difficult to provide general guidelines. For example, skin colour affects the time needed to make adequate quantities of the vitamin. (Dark-skinned people require between three and five times as much sun exposure to make the same amount of vitamin D as light-skinned people.) Also, many people wear sunscreen to help lower the risk of skin cancer. Moreover, exposure to enough sun is unlikely for much of the Canadian winter. HIV and HIV treatment can also slow or reverse vitamin D production. For all of these reasons, people should look to other sources.
Food – Natural food sources of this vitamin are few: dairy foods (especially certain cheeses, and milk, which by law is fortified with vitamin D), fortified soy and rice milks, orange juice, margarine and certain fatty fish, including salmon, tuna and mackerel. A number of other foods, including cereals, are also fortified with vitamin D.
The recommended daily intake for HIV-negative people between the ages of 9 and 70 is 600 IU. To achieve these amounts naturally, Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide recommends that all Canadians over the age of two consume 500 mL (two cups) of fortified milk or soy beverages every day. The American Endocrine Society suggests that people with certain medical conditions, including HIV, should have two to three times that amount (see How much D for people with HIV?). That would mean four to six cups of fortified beverage a day!
Supplements – The most reliable way to get your vitamin D is through a supplement, and vitamin D3 is the form of vitamin to look for on supplement labels. Vitamin D3 is available as a pill and also in a liquid formulation. At the Sherbourne Health Centre’s HIV clinic, the usual recommended intake is 2,000 IU per day. “We err on the side of providing more than what might be necessary,” Dr. Huff says. “Certainly, supplementation is most important October through April, particularly among persons with dark skin, a higher BMI, and in those who avoid summer sun exposure.”
Even with supplements, it might not be easy to get vitamin D blood levels as high as they need to be. It may require high doses, such as 4,000 IU per day, taken for months to raise levels. Researchers are studying the effect of very high doses, such as 50,000 IU twice a week, over short periods. Early results are promising, with blood levels of the vitamin rising in the majority of people in some studies. More importantly, the doses seem safe and do not affect viral load or CD4 counts. Other trials are planned or underway with the goal of finding a safe and effective dose for HIV-positive people.
While taking a vitamin D supplement should be safe for most people, individuals with certain conditions that cause the immune system to become overly active and produce excess active vitamin D should only supplement under a doctor’s supervision. These conditions include tuberculosis, chronic fungal infections and lymphoma.
It remains to be seen whether vitamin D will live up to all the hype, but its role in bone health is reason enough for us all to pay attention to our intake. Evidence suggests that taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement is probably not enough to ensure that people with HIV are getting enough vitamin D. A specific supplement of vitamin D3 is likely a good thing, and it comes with the added bonus of providing an excuse for not heading out into the cold Canadian winter.
For more information about vitamin D, check out TreatmentUpdate 185 and A Practical Guide to Nutrition, both available online at www.catie.ca or by calling 1.800.263.1638.
R. Paul Kerston’s work at the Positive Living Society of BC includes treatment outreach. When he’s not spreading the word on treatment, he can be found trotting the globe (40 countries and counting) and indulging in his longtime passion for theatre performance.
How much D for people with HIV?
HIV-positive adults (19 to 70 years): at least 1,200 to 1,800 IU/day for healthy bones, maybe more to achieve other possible health benefits
HIV-positive older adults: (70+ years): at least 1,600 to 2,400 IU/day
Adults should not take more than 4,000 IU/day without letting their doctor know
The American Endocrine Society, 2011
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Russian Arctic town overrun by polar bears, climate change blamed
People in Russia's eastern Arctic are scrambling to come up with a plan to take back their community after it was overrun by dozens of polar bears over the weekend.
Brazenness of the animals has taken many people by surprise. What to do?
Chris Brown · CBC News · Posted: Feb 11, 2019 12:23 PM ET | Last Updated: February 11
A polar bear ranges past a line of strollers in an apartment building in Belushya Guba, a Russian military community of 2,500 people on the far northern archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. (Andrey Vladimirovich Smetankin/YouTube)
People in Russia's eastern Arctic are scrambling to come up with a plan to take back their community after it was overrun by dozens of polar bears during the weekend.
There are so many bears — local officials say they counted as many as 52 — that Russian TV says local people are calling it an "occupation."
On Saturday, dozens of large adult animals, as well as many cubs, moved into the town of Belushya Guba, or Sturgeon Bay, a military community of 2,500 people on the far northern archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.
While polar bear sightings are common in Russia's High Arctic, the brazenness of the animals has taken many people by surprise.
Video taken near the town's garbage dump showed as many as 20 or 30 animals grunting and gorging themselves on discarded food.
"They're not afraid of anything," said a voice on the video.
Security cameras showed silent images of adult bears entering buildings, and peering into the windows of people's homes.
In another video, a surprised man is seen fleeing his house as a bear sniffs around his outside deck.
A woman, possibly his wife, is heard screaming, "Anton, get out!"
Gigansha Mosin, a local government official, told Russian state television that the community has declared a state of emergency with people told to stay inside.
"We put up extra barriers near the daycare upon the request of parents. We've organized buses for the kids. They are patrolling the whole village," said Moswin.
"We are trying to chase them out using tractors."
Warming climate
In a statement, the Russian branch of the World Wildlife Fund blamed the influx of bears on a warming climate causing a loss of sea ice, which has forced the bears to look elsewhere for food.
"Such a massive accumulation of bears is a unique case for Novaya Zemlya," said the statement. "But it only confirms the trend: people and predators in the Arctic are increasingly meeting each other."
Town of Churchill says leave our polar bears alone
How to deal with a problem polar bear
'Something has definitely changed:' 3 bear species found in same northern Manitoba spot
In an interview with CBC News, Mikhail Stishov, the project manager for Arctic biodiversity with the WWF, said the Novaya Zemlya situation has been made worse by a lack of awareness in the community.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, took an interest in polar bears back in 2010, concerned about the ones in Russia facing climate change. The bears have begun to move south. (Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images)
"They had open garbage places, and it looks like recently they put something out that was very attractive for polar bears," said Stishov.
He said access to Belushya Guba, which is about 1,800 kilometres north of Moscow, is restricted by Russia's military, which makes it difficult for groups like the WWF to help people bear-proof their community and conduct education campaigns.
It's not so difficult to deal with one or two polar bears, but how to deal with 50? - Mikhail Stishov, World Wildlife Fund
This is hardly the first time bears have moved into the town. The first sightings this winter came as early as October, and the World Wildlife Fund's statement noted it has been worried about interactions between bears and people in the region for several years.
The WWF says in 2016 it drew up a plan to try to decrease problematic interactions, which included basic rules such as not having any open garbage and not feeding animals, but the organization notes the rules were never implemented by Russia's military.
Dump cleanup
The World Wildlife Fund estimates the planet's total polar bear population to be between 22,000 and 31,000, with about two-thirds of them in Canada.
In Russia, polar bears are listed as an endangered species. Stishov says global warming has arguably affected animals in Russia's eastern Arctic, more severely near Novaya Zemlya than elsewhere.
"There is no ice in the sea near this place," he told CBC News.
Polar bear captured near Makkovik dump, 2nd still roaming the area
Grandmother of man killed by polar bear calls for less gov't intervention in polar bear management
Scientists find hundreds of new toxins in polar bear blood
Authorities have indicated they intend to try to clean up or get rid of whatever the bears were attracted to in the garbage dump.
But now that they are in town, authorities are worried the bears may not be in a hurry to leave.
Russian state TV has suggested authorities may consider a mass cull of the polar bears, but wildlife groups are dismissing that.
Immobilizing and transporting
Nonetheless, forcibly relocating so many animals will be difficult.
"Usually you think about immobilizing and transporting polar bears. But it doesn't work [to move them just] 20 or 30 kilometres. They go back," said Stishov.
Most successful relocations typically involving moving bears several hundred kilometres, but in this case that may not be practical.
"It's not so difficult to deal with one or two polar bears, but how to deal with 50? I'm not sure."
The Russian government has dispatched a team of polar bear experts, including members of the World Wildlife Fund and the Russian Arctic National Park, who will arrive in the community tomorrow to get some answers, and offer suggestions on the next moves.
Arctic breaks records with 5-year heat streak
Alaska man kills polar bear that strayed from its usual habitat
An earlier version of this story said incorrectly that one-third of the world's polar bears are located in Canada and Greenland. In fact, the World Wildlife Fund estimates that about two-thirds of the 22,000–31,000 total population is located in Canada.
Feb 11, 2019 4:16 PM ET
Moscow Correspondent
Chris Brown is a foreign correspondent based in the CBC’s Moscow bureau. Previously a National Reporter in Vancouver, Chris has a passion for great stories and has travelled all over Canada and the world to find them.
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Marstons Mills
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Paul Joseph Whelan “Rocky”
1950 ∼ 2018
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Paul Joseph Whelan (“Rocky”), 67, of Mashpee, MA, passed away on Saturday, May 26, 2018, at Hope Hospice, McCarthy Care Center after a year battling cancer.
Paul was born in Boston, MA on December 26, 1950, and grew up in Medford, MA and Dennis, MA during the summer. Paul graduated from St. Sebastian's Country Day School in 1968 and continued on to receive a B.A. from Boston College in 1973.
Paul was known by many Cape Codders as a well-loved bartender, and a great listener who loved bringing people together at various restaurants on Cape Cod. Paul enjoyed cruising the Caribbean, golfing, gardening, playing duplicate bridge, a mean game of cribbage and cheering for his beloved Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics.
Paul is survived by his wife, Linda (Cody) whom he married in 2001. He will be greatly missed by his daughter, Devon and her boyfriend Benjamin Butilier and by Linda's sons Christopher Carr and Matt Luszcz and his girlfriend Erin Parent.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents Dr. Edmund L. Whelan and Martha A. (Ingalls) and his brother Michael J.
Paul leaves his siblings Edmund L., Jr. (Serena), Richard J, Marnie Whelan DeVos (Christian), Mary L., Kathleen J., Andrew J. and Peter L. (Mary). He also leaves several cousins, numerous nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and friends.
The funeral Mass will be held at St. Jude's Chapel (located behind Christ the King Church, 5 Job’s Fishing Road in Mashpee, MA) at 9:30 AM on Saturday, June 2. The burial will be private. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Chapman, Cole & Gleason in Mashpee, MA. Family and friends should meet at the chapel.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be offered to Hope Hospice, McCarthy Care Center, 73 Service Road, E. Sandwich 02537-1401. The family of Paul wishes to thank the many doctors, nurses and staff of Massachusetts Eye, Ear and Throat hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Hope Hospice for the gentle care of Paul.
Saturday, June 2, 2018 | 9:30 AM
St. Jude Chapel at Christ the King Parish
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be offered to Hope Hospice, McCarthy Care Center, 73 Service Road, E. Sandwich 02537-1401.
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Did you know, this guestbook entry will be printed and given to the family as a cherished keepsake. Your words will be held closely by the family and their gratitude for the time spent writing will be boundless.
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https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/article/The-Battleship-Texas-played-a-big-booming-part-12971793.php
The Battleship Texas played a big, booming part at D-Day
Published 7:41 am CDT, Wednesday, June 6, 2018
The Battleship Texas played a big role in the events at D-Day and in the operations that came after, saving countless lives and pummeling the Nazis with round after round of artillery fire. This week marks 74 years since the events D-Day, June 6, 1944, which began just as day broke off the beaches of Normandy, France.
See more photos of the ship in her fighting prime...
The Battleship Texas played a big role in the events at D-Day and in the operations that came after, saving countless lives and pummeling the Nazis with round after round of artillery fire. This week marks 74
This week marks 74 years since the events of D-Day, June 6, 1944, off the beaches of Normandy, France. Battleship Texas played a big role in the events at D-Day and in the operations that came after. As one of the most heavily armored ships of its time, the battleship was able to act as a rescue and hospital ship, even evacuating casualties from the beach at D-Day.
EPIC LIFE: Tracking the life of the historic Battleship Texas from D-Day to La Porte
The day before D-Day a 17-by-9 foot battle flag was raised on the ship as 156,000 Allied soldiers prepared to cross the English Channel and face the Germans.
According to Andy Smith, ship manager of the Battleship Texas, the battleship spent most of June 1944 providing gun support for soldiers at Omaha Beach and nearby Pointe du Hoc. It was an indispensable part of the Allied invasion.
The amount of firepower coming from the battleship was immense and played a major role in the fortunes of soldiers on the beach. Omaha Beach was the bloodiest of all five in that operation, according to Smith.
"At one point over the period of 34 minutes she fired over 250 rounds of 14-inch shells from her large guns," Smith said. "There are still basketball-sized craters that she put into the side of the mountains there."
"Even the operations it participated in at Okinawa and Iwo Jima didn't touch that in terms of sustained firepower," Smith adds, referring to major battles in the Pacific.
None of her 1,600-strong crew died during D-Day fighting but a sailor later lost his life at the Battle of Cherbourg. Large-caliber coastal defense guns killed helmsman Chris Christiansen and wounded 11 others.
At one point Texas' captain flooded a part of the ship to extend the range of one of its long guns on June 15, 1944 while firing upon German strongpoints near Isigny and Carentan.
Photo: Houston Post files
The Battleship Texas is maneuvered into its berth at the San Jacinto Battleground in 1948.
The Battleship Texas is maneuvered into its berth at the San...
FANCY DIGS: Spending a night aboard the Battleship Texas, the last of her kind
After D-Day, the battleship traveled to the south of France, the Mediterranean and ultimately made it into the Pacific theater.
Smith sees the ship not just as a piece of military history and American might, but as a witness to history. Sailors observed the famous flag-raising at Iwo Jima from the ship's decks later in 1945, and it ferried a young Walter Cronkite over to the North African theater to fight.
The Battleship Texas was the most complex machine of its time when it was commissioned as a naval warship in 1914. Only nine countries in the history of the world have built battleships, and it was one of the most powerful.
It would serve in both world wars and is the last remaining big-gun battleship of its dreadnought class, sidestepping the scrapyard since it was given to the state of Texas in 1948, entering its new life at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site as a museum ship.
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https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/deerpark/news/article/Social-worker-vies-against-incumbent-in-Deer-Park-12726762.php
Social worker vies against incumbent in Deer Park ISD trustee race
By Jennifer Bolton, jennifer.bolton@chron.com
Updated 12:13 pm CST, Monday, March 5, 2018
Jason Cable is seeking re-election as Deer Park ISD's Position 3 trustee.
A social worker is vying against an incumbent for a Deer Park ISD trustee seat in the May 5 election and two other incumbents are running unopposed.
Monique Rodriguez is challenging incumbent Jason Cable for Position 3.
Rhonda Leigh Lowe, who holds Position 1 and serves as secretary for the board, is running unopposed, as is Position 2 trustee Albert Lee Giddens.
If elected, Rodriguez, who is a licensed master social worker who serves at a veteran transition center in Houston, said she would advocate for school finance reform, increase mental health support and challenge the misuse and overemphasis of standardized testing.
She sees school finance as a major issue.
"I plan to meet and discuss with legislatures and policy advocates as well as testify for or against bills in Austin in order to push for school finance reform to support increases in the state's fair share of the cost of education to keep up with inflation, the changing needs of students and the population growth," said Rodriguez, an Army veteran and mother of boys ages 6 and 8.
Even with last fall's voter approval of a landmark $156 million bond for campus and infrastructure needs - which Rodriguez supported and said was beneficial to the district - she believes that "funding is not keeping up with the demands requirements and growth of the student population.
"For Deer Park ISD, of the $11,761 in revenues per student, 82 percent is coming from the local level, 13 percent from the state of Texas and 4 percent from the federal level," she said. "The local area is paying such a huge share."
Rodriguez said she is motivated to bring about changes she thinks need to occur in the district.
She has lived in Deer Park for five years with her husband, who also is an Army veteran.
"I am running for Deer Park ISD school board trustee, Position 3, because I want to diversify and bring a fresh perspective to our current school board. I feel that there are voices and perspectives not heard or understood," she said.
"I want a school board that is reflective of the community and the school district which it serves," Rodriguez said.
"I work with veterans daily to help them to gain access to existing quality resources in the community.
"Previously, I have served trauma patients at UT Health's STARS Clinic, and women veterans at Grace After Fire. I have also spent nine years working in various schools in the area."
She said she worked five years with Houston ISD managing school finances and budgeting at a middle school and served one year as a site coordinator managing after-school programming through grant funding.
"Finally, I served three years with Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star managing school-based mentoring programs with various schools in Houston, Galena Park and Goose Creek school districts," she said.
"I am very familiar with the challenges schools face serving in multiple positions, in different schools and districts across the area."
Cable, who is vice president of sales for enterprise application software company SAP and has lived in Deer Park for 30 years, wants to ensure that resources and plans are in place for student achievement.
"While there are state standards in place, the reality is each local district has its own influencing circumstances," he said.
"In one hand, we want to adhere to legislative policies and in the other we want the flexibility to meet each student's unique needs," Cable said.
"This isn't an easy task in a district the size of Deer Park. By teaming effectively with our district's administration, I as a trustee have the opportunity and responsibility to counsel and coach on local policy concepts that help the district balance these priorities."
He graduated from Deer Park High School in 1991. He and his wife Rena have five daughters.
"Growing up in Deer Park I benefited from the quality of education I received here, and to a large extent I believe it is important to give back to those who I have gained so much from," Cable said.
"I have the benefit of traveling all over our country and could live almost anywhere I wanted, but I choose to live here because of the quality of education my children receive, the genuine care they receive from their respective teachers and administrators and because of the sense of community in Deer Park.
"My interest is in protecting this for my family, our district families, and for future Deer Park families."
Cable seeks to sponsor and push for student course options and build on partnerships between local community organizations, the city of Deer Park and the district to encourage educational innovation through responsible use of technology.
"Having been in the information technology industry for the past 20 years, I can see how quickly technology changes impact our society," he said.
"We should be pushing the envelope in our schools so our students leave our district equipped and prepared for the future workforce."
Cable said that as far as school funding goes, Deer Park is doing well as a result of good management decisions, but strategic planning is necessary to ensure continued success.
"For the most part," he said, "Deer Park ISD is fiscally sound due to the wise spending policies of our former and current administrators. We enjoy a relatively healthy tax base due to local industry, but this base isn't always guaranteed, and with aging buildings coupled with a growing percentage of economically disadvantages families attending Deer Park Schools, we must remain vigilant.
"It will be important to work through a long-term strategic plan for maintaining our campuses and adjusting our instructional needs while remaining conservative in our spending plans."
Lowe is completing her 19th year as a Deer Park ISD trustee.
She retired from her family's small business of 20 years.
"My husband Scot is a land surveyor and up until 2013, we had our own business here in Deer Park," she said.
Lowe has two children, Cameron and Benjamin, who graduated from Deer Park High School in 2009.
"My one and only platform has been providing the students of our community with an exceptional education," she said.
"I feel like we do that very well, and I am proud to be a small part of that. We have an exceptional group serving on our board, and it has been a pleasure to work with a group of people who are focused on students.
"I love Deer Park and have enjoyed serving as a trustee," Lowe said. "I consider it an honor to be a small part of Team Deer Park."
Giddens has been on the Deer Park board of trustees for more than 20 years. He is a trial attorney and has lived in Deer Park for more than 30 years.
"My wife, Kathy and I have seven children, and we put five of them through the Deer park school system," he said.
He is a 15-year veteran of the Texas Army National Guard and has a bachelor's degree and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
"I have a law firm of over 40 years. I have been president of Texas Intercity Football Inc. youth football and youth drill and cheer for more than 20 years," he said.
Giddens said that he serves on the board to serve the "best interest of the students, which includes their safety and education."
Positions 1, 2 and 3 are each for three year terms.
For more information on the election, go to www.dpisd.org/
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Rebecca Campbell Adds ABC Daytime Oversight
ABC Television Network has granted Rebecca Campbell oversight of the ABC Daytime portfolio, including shows such as The Chew, General Hospital and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Her new duties are in addition to her current role as president of ABC Owned Television Stations Group, and is in response to the ABC Entertainment executive announcement last week. Follow ABC Television Network on Twitter and Facebook to see the whole picture.
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The EU, the US and the Middle East Peace Process: Two-state solution – or dissolution?
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Brexiting yourself in the foot: Why Britain's eurosceptic regions have most to lose from EU withdrawal
John Springford, Philip McCann, Bart Los and Mark Thissen
The Leave camp has signalled that it is going to talk about immigration for the remainder of the referendum campaign. This is not surprising: Brexiters have struggled to counter the pro-Remain economic analysis from heavyweight institutions – the OECD, the Treasury, the Bank of England and the IMF, to name a few. A relentless focus on immigration keeps the public eye on the common (but erroneous) assumption that immigration depresses wages and piles pressure on public services. It also injects a pinch of identity and class politics into the campaign. Leave have portrayed Bremainers as rich Londoners who are out of touch – hence pro-Brexit employment minister Priti Patel’s comment that “It’s shameful that those leading the pro-EU campaign fail to care for those who do not have their advantages. Their narrow self-interest fails to pay due regard to the interests of the wider public.” In case you need reminding, David Cameron and George Osborne are both from wealthy London or Home Counties-based families and both went to expensive private schools in the London area (as did Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.)
Leave’s anti-elite message resonates most strongly in regions outside of London, whose economies have been struggling since the 2008 crash. But the irony is that it is these regions, not London and its rich commuter belt, that have most to lose from leaving the EU.
Ironically, Leave’s anti-elite message resonates in UK regions that have most to lose from #Brexit
Chart 1 shows a positive correlation between a region’s level of economic integration with the EU and that region’s euroscepticism. The vertical axis, based on new data from the University of Groningen, shows the proportion of a region’s economic output which is sold to the rest of the EU – either in the form of exports, or indirectly, with domestic companies supplying goods and services to exporters. The horizontal axis is taken from the British Election Survey, which asks people how they would vote in the EU referendum and breaks down to a constituency level. The chart shows that London and Scotland, the most pro-EU areas of the UK, are less economically integrated with the EU than the UK average. Meanwhile, outside the prosperous South East, rural counties such as North Yorkshire and Dorset, and more urban ones, like West Yorkshire and Lancashire, are more integrated with the EU, and also tend to be more eurosceptic.
Chart 1. UK regions more economically integrated with the EU are more likely to be eurosceptic.
Sources: World Input-Output Database, University of Groningen, http://www.wiod.org/, 2010 data; Nick Vivyan and Chris Hanretty, ‘Estimating Constituency Opinion’, http://constituencyopinion.org.uk/data/, 2014 data.
The fact that London sells less to the EU will be rather surprising – especially to those who think the EU only benefits the ‘metropolitan elite’. There are three reasons why. First, London’s trade is more global. Typically, London sells around 10 percentage points less of its exports to the EU than other regions. This is because the services sector is less dependent on EU demand, and London and the South East are heavily oriented towards services. By contrast, the manufacturing, agriculture, mining and extraction, and utilities sectors are more skewed towards EU markets, and regions outside of the London commuter belt tend to be more specialised in these sectors.
Second, London’s economy is very large and diverse – a large factory in another region will make up a bigger proportion of its GDP. Therefore, every pound of exports emerging from London accounts for a smaller share of the capital’s economy than is the case elsewhere.
Third, London’s diverse economy allows the city to adjust and respond to shocks much more rapidly than other UK regions, as we have witnessed in the years since the 2008 economic crisis: London’s economy is growing while other regions continue to struggle. London is therefore both less dependent on the EU, and also more resilient to a post-Brexit shock than all other UK regions.
London is less dependent on the EU & more resilient to a post #Brexit shock than other UK regions
None of the usual arguments for why these regions are more eurosceptic closely match the data. Poorer regions tend to be more eurosceptic, but the relationship is weak – and if we take London out of the data, it almost disappears. The average age of a region’s population does not seem to make much difference. Education levels are a slightly better indicator – regions with more people who have some tertiary education tend to be less eurosceptic, but the correlation is not very strong. The best predictor by far is attitudes towards immigration. The British Election Study asked respondents ‘Do you think that immigration undermines or enriches Britain’s cultural life?’ and asked to respond on a 7 point scale – the lower on the scale, the more a respondent thought immigration undermines Britain’s cultural life. Citizens of regions where immigration is perceived as damaging are much more likely to vote for Brexit (see Chart 2).
Chart 2. Attitudes towards immigration and Brexit voting intention
Source: Nick Vivyan and Chris Hanretty, ‘Estimating Constituency Opinion’, http://constituencyopinion.org.uk/data/, 2014 data.
The irony is that these areas tend to have fewer immigrants than more pro-EU regions – and they have more to lose economically from Brexit, since their economies are more closely integrated with the EU. Therefore, Priti Patel is quite wrong to imply that the leaders of the Remain campaign are ignoring the economic interests of people living in the English shires. Quite the opposite. Rather, they are trying to encourage people to focus on their economic interests, not immigration. Immigration affects the day-to-day lives of people in many of these regions much less than people who live in England’s cities, while they have closer economic ties to the EU.
Eurosceptic UK regions tend to have fewer immigrants than more pro-EU regions do #Brexit
At a national level, the referendum debate is boiling down to a trade-off: lower immigration by leaving, or secure the economy by remaining. But for eurosceptic regions that trade-off does not exist: by voting to leave the EU, the denizens of these regions would shrink immigration to London and other cities – while hurting their own region’s economy.
[1] The provisional economic data on which the chart is based are from the first estimates of interregional trade extensions to the World Input-Output Database. The method of data construction can be found in http://www.rug.nl/staff/b.los/technical_appendix_ukregionaldependencies_eu.pdf; and Mark Thissen and others, ‘Construction of a Time Series of Fine-Grained detailed Nuts2 Regional Input-Output Tables for the EU embedded in a Global System of Country Tables’, mimeo, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, forthcoming, 2016.
John Springford, Centre for European Reform; Philip McCann, University of Groningen; Bart Los, University of Groningen; Mark Thissen, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
Permalink Submitted by Gill Bentley on 16 June 2016, 5:28 pm.
Many people do not understand economic integration - how economic relationships exist at an EU wide scale and, in turn, that a political institution is needed at EU scale to regulate the process of development of the European economy. Another aspect of the argument in relation to immigration and the UK contribution to the EU budget, the latter which the Brexit campaign is highlighting. Migrants come to the UK for jobs; a proportion of the UK contribution is allocated to the Structural Funds. These are of course used to develop the economies of the poorer EU members; to create jobs, which could reduce immigation. So it is a case of lower immigration by staying. But I've not heard anyone say this. The point being made by eurosceptics is that by leaving we will keep our money and we can spend it how we went. However, they have said that structural fund budgets will be honoured up to 2020.
Permalink Submitted by Andrew Carey on 19 June 2016, 12:10 pm.
The Structural Funds budget typically goes to pre-existing owners of capital to upgrade a factory with new machinery, or replace one. Output per worker goes up, so the objective of higher GDP per person appears to be achieved. The number of workers needed to achieve the same output goes down though, and the displaced labour force goes looking for jobs ironically in the countries that provide the highest net subsidies.
Permalink Submitted by T Rogerson on 12 September 2016, 10:42 am.
With London perhaps the most resilient region of the UK to a post-Brexit shock, its reliance on EU workers (13% of London workforce) in lower income brackets in sectors as well as professionals remains to be tested. Unless satisfactory visa arrangements are negotiated with the EU, a major skill deficit in the capital would be difficult to overcome with domestic labour force. Especially considering the expensive housing market and cultural inhibitions towards working in London (Notably in the North and North East).
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Luka Jovic has expressed confidence in his ability to make the cut at Real Madrid, saying that he was born with the ability to make it at the highest level.
The Serbian joins Real after a remarkable two-season spell with Eintracht Frankfurt, in which he scored 36 goals in 75 appearances, but as recently as two years ago, he was an outcast with Benfica after a failed move from Red Star Belgrade.
The 21-year-old, however, says he doubted his ability to rebuild his career and take his game to new heights. He feels that it was inevitable given his natural ability to find the back of the net, and traces it back to his childhood obsession with Brazil legend Ronaldo.
“Sometimes I think I was just born with it,” he said in his ?Players Tribune column. “Everyone in this life has certain talents, and I think mine is scoring goals.
“I don’t know how I ended up playing as a striker, but as far back as I can remember I’ve always been obsessed with scoring.
“When I was a child, I used to have these two VHS tapes of all the goals from every single World Cup up to 2006, I think. I remember being mesmerised by Roger Milla from Cameroon at the ’90 World Cup, and of course Ronaldo – the original Ronaldo.
“I was obsessed with how he did that step-over dribble against goalkeepers. I remember it being so fast, like a magician’s trick, and I would practice how to do it at home.
“Ronaldo would play football with such ease, almost as if he was at 30%, and I thought it was incredible. His style and confidence left a mark on me.”
He went on: “Things have happened very fast for me. A few years ago, I was just dreaming of playing for Red Star [Belgrade].
“To play in a ?Europa League semifinal, to play in a World Cup, and now to move to ?Real Madrid, it is incredible. But I think the most important thing for a striker is confidence. I’ve never doubted my worth.
“I just feel like I have a quality that I was born with, and I will never doubt it.”
Posted on 15/07/2019 Author adminCategories NewsLeave a comment on Luka Jovic Says He Was ‘Born With’ Ability to Make it at Real Madrid & Cites Ronaldo as His Hero
?Real Madrid have changed their stance on midfielder Dani Ceballos and are now eager to have him stay in the Spanish capital, despite interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Los Blancos were unconcerned by the prospect of losing the 22-year-old as they look to recoup some of their enormous outgoings from this summer, the club spending north of £300m thus far.
However, they were impressed by his excellent performances for the Spain Under-21 side at the European Championships in June, with Ceballos helping his nation win the competition.
Real now view the youngster as a star of the future and believe another season at the Bernabeu could see him develop into a guaranteed starter, according to Marca.
Unai Emery’s team have reportedly made a ?loan offer for Ceballos, which would also suit ?Madrid. Though they must earn within £100m of what they spend to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, the latter are also aware that the player possesses huge potential.
As a result, the giants of ?La Liga are keen to have a means of bringing him back to the club, whether that be via a buy-back clause or simply by lending him to the ?Gunners on a temporary basis.
?Liverpool are yet to make a bid for Ceballos, whilst ?Tottenham are likewise weighing up a move, though the Lillywhites appear to be prioritising a deal for Giovani Lo Celso of Real Betis.
Madrid may well be hoping that the Spanish international remains, but his relationship with returning coach Zinedine Zidane may dash the chances of that.
There is very little trust between the Frenchman and Ceballos, who first worked together during the 2017/18 campaign in which Real won their third successive ?Champions League.
A final decision will be made when the Betis academy graduate comes back for pre-season, with many of his teammates already back on the training following a rare summer off.
Posted on 15/07/2019 Author adminCategories NewsLeave a comment on Real Madrid Keen to Keep Dani Ceballos at Bernabeu Despite Interest From Liverpool, Arsenal & Spurs
?Iker Casillas has confirmed that he will take up a role as a director at Porto, as he continues his recovery from a heart attack.
After being hospitalised in May, Casillas recently returned to pre-season training with Porto, although he was still expected to take plenty of rest until he has fully recovered from the serious health scare.
Speaking to ?Porto Canal, Casillas revealed that he intends to work closely with the club during his recovery.
He said: “I’m going to do something different than I usually did, which was to be on the pitch. I’ll try to make the connection between the squad and the club officials.
“The manager talked to me last season when my situation happened and he told me that he wanted me to stay with them, close to the players, near the younger players, because there would be a lot of changes. I will try to do my best to help my teammates.
“We will prepare to do as well as possible at the beginning of the season. We already have several weeks of work but there are still a couple of weeks left until the first official matches.
“May we all have a great season together so that we can win the championship, the cups and do as well as possible in Europe.”
There was no mention of retirement for the former ?Real Madrid star, who clearly intends to come back and fight for his place in the first team once he feels physically able to do so.
In Casillas’ absence, Vana Alves will likely continue in goal, whilst there could be chances for Joao Costa or 19-year-old Diogo Costa, who has enjoyed a number of impressive seasons as part of Porto’s academy sides.
Posted on 15/07/2019 Author adminCategories NewsLeave a comment on Iker Casillas to Join Porto Backroom Staff as He Continues Recovery From Heart Attack
?Eden Hazard has requested to wear number 23 on his Real Madrid shirt, as a sign of his love for NBA icons Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
His preferred number 10 is currently being worn by Luka Modric, whilst number seven is also taken up by Mariano Diaz, so after being presented to fans without a number on his shirt, Hazard was forced to come up with another set of digits to wear.
Fortunately, according to ?Marca, this was not a hard decision for ?Hazard to make, as he specifically requested to wear the number 23 on his new shirt.
He chose that number due to his love for basketball. 23 has an iconic status in the NBA, largely thanks to Michael Jordan’s rise to prominence with the Chicago Bulls during the 1980s and 1990s.
More recently, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has also worn number 23, including during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in his career.
Back in the football world, ?Real’s number 23 is synonymous with David Beckham, who enjoyed a number of successful years with 23 on his back between 2003 and 2007. Since then, it has been worn by ?Isco and Sergio Reguilon, but Hazard is ready to become the next player to sport the number.
He was heavily rumoured to take the number seven shirt but, with Mariano’s determination to stay and fight for his place at the Santiago Bernabeu, Hazard has opted to choose another number.
With 23 on his back, Hazard will be eager to replicate the success of both Jordan and James during his time with Los Blancos, who will call on Hazard to help them bounce back from a disappointing year last season.
Posted on 14/07/2019 Author adminCategories NewsLeave a comment on Eden Hazard Chooses Number 23 Real Madrid Shirt as Tribute to Basketball Legends
?Manchester United are insistent that their valuation of Paul Pogba will be fixed this summer in a bid to ward off any potential interest from Real Madrid.
After a somewhat mixed 2018/19 campaign at Old Trafford, Pogba’s future has been thrown into question this summer, as a number of top European sides are said to be considering an approach for the 26-year-old.
It has been widely reported that ?Manchester United’s original valuation of ?Pogba sits at around £150m and, according to ?The Mirror, the Red Devils will not be budging on that stance as they look to dissuade the likes ?Real Madrid who remain front runners to land the Frenchman’s signature.
What’s more, the report from The Mirror also claims that United will not be accepting any offers for Pogba once the English transfer window shuts on August 8.
La Liga clubs have until September 2 before their window shuts, but Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer has made it clear that United cannot consider selling Pogba if they do not have the opportunity to find an adequate replacement in the transfer market.
While United’s original valuation may have initially sat at £150m, there is a chance that Real Madrid may have to cough up even more if they are to convince the Red Devils to part ways with Pogba.
?The Daily Mail have claimed that United have added £30m to their valuation, which means they will only be considering offers in the region of £180m. This decision is said to have come about as a result of the actions of Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola, who has been fuelling transfer rumours in an attempt to secure his client a big-money move.
Posted on 14/07/2019 Author adminCategories NewsLeave a comment on Manchester United Set Paul Pogba Transfer Deadline in Bid to Ward Off Interest From Real Madrid
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Home » Things To Do » Midterm elections: What you’ll be voting on and why you need to hit the polls
Home Features Midterm elections: What you’ll be voting on and why you need to...
Midterm elections: What you’ll be voting on and why you need to hit the polls
2012 VOTE JE VDA 11/06/12 FRESNO - Assemblymember Henry T. Perea voted at The Big Red Church on Election Day. His daughter Ava accompanied him.
You know that midterm elections are taking place on Nov. 6 (early voting continues through Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — see our guide here), but do you know who’s actually on the ballot and the issues you’ll be voting on?
Sallie and Alicia sat down with Charlotte Observer reporter Ely Portillo to talk about these topics and much more on the CharlotteFive Podcast. Tune in…
Alicia: “Why should people get out to the polls to vote for midterm elections?”
Ely: “This is what’s called a Blue Moon election by political observers in North Carolina, and that means there’s no national, statewide or any of those races on the ballot…The highest race on the ballot for most people will be their congressional representative, that’s the only federal office. So voter turnout can be very low in those years because there’s not really a marquee name for people to say, ‘Oh I’m going to vote for or against that person.’ So you kind of have to look at a few other topics. One of those is control of the U.S. House of Representatives. If you live in southeast Charlotte or up in the Iredell-Mooresville area, you are likely in the 9th or the 13th Congressional District, which are both highly competitive seats where Democrats could pick up a Republican-held district. This could actually determine who controls the House of Representatives.”
RELATED: The C5 guide to midterm elections: your voter registration status, dates to know, where to vote and more
How do I register to vote in North Carolina?
You can register to vote online here. Then print your application and mail it to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections at 741 Kenilworth Ave. Ste. 202.
It only takes about two minutes to register. And bonus: you’re not going to need any additional documents, since the state will confirm your citizenship and eligibility using the license number you provide along with the last four digits of your SSN.
Just know that you will NOT be eligible to vote in North Carolina unless you’ve lived in the state for at least 30 days prior to registering to vote. Find out more about your voter eligibility here.
Here’s a brief list of what will be on the ballot:
North Carolina General Assembly: All 120 seats in the NC House of Representatives and all 50 seats in the NC Senate are up for election this November, and almost every single one is being contested.
U.S. House of Representatives: All North Carolinians live in one of the 13 districts that are all up for election this year.
North Carolina Supreme Court: Democratic challenger Anita Earls faces two Republicans, the incumbent Justice Barbara Jackson as well as challenger Anglin.
Constitutional amendments: All six amendments that legislators wanted will be on the ballot. (More from the Charlotte Observer here.)
North Carolina Court of Appeals: There are 15 judges on this court, and three seats are up for election this year.
Various Local Races: For Charlotte, this includes elections for Sheriff, Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor, Clerk of Superior Court and more. Full list here.
Where do I go to vote?
You can use this link to find out your polling place based on your address.
Note that this will be based on the address at which you are registered to vote.
What if I can’t make it to an official polling station on Nov. 6?
Option 1: You can vote early.
Busy on election day? Through Saturday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., you can make your way to any of these 19 early voting locations in Mecklenburg County to cast your vote.
Option 2: You can mail in an absentee ballot.
If you’re not going to be in Mecklenburg County at ALL during the early voting period or on election day, but you’re still registered to vote here, you can submit an absentee ballot request. The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m.
You (the voter) or one of your near-relatives or legal guardians can simply use the State Absentee Ballot Request form to request an absentee ballot. Once you’ve completed the request form, either email it to mecklenburg.boe@ncsbe.gov or deliver it in person to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections at 741 Kenilworth Ave. Ste. 202.
Once your valid request form is received, the county board of elections office will mail the voter absentee balloting materials and instructions to the address you provided. The voted ballot (contained inside of the container-return envelope) must be returned to the county board of elections no later than 5 p.m. on election day.
More details on absentee voting here.
The CharlotteFive Podcast — powered by OrthoCarolina — is a weekly city guide podcast that aims to deliver interesting and useful news about Charlotte. It’s hosted by Sallie Funderburk and Alicia Thomas and is a production of The Charlotte Observer and Brian Baltosiewich.
You can follow us on Twitter @CharlotteFive, on Instagram @cltfive, and on Facebook. If you have any feedback, shoot us an email to charlottefive@charlottefive.com.
Photo: Charlotte Observer
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Chicago venture investment action is a mixed bag
Glassdoor eyes 500 new jobs with Fulton Market expansion
BMO Harris trumped Fifth Third's offer for MB Financial—and lost
Steve Daniels
MB Financial turned down a higher offer from the parent of Chicago's BMO Harris Bank before agreeing to be acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp.
Toronto-based BMO Financial Group took a hard run at Chicago-based MB Financial after Fifth Third put the $20 billion-asset bank in play with overtures that began in 2016 and took on urgency earlier this year, according to sources and a recent Securities & Exchange Commission filing by Fifth Third.
That filing, which recounted how the deal unveiled May 21 came together, referred to the runner-up in the MB Financial sweepstakes as "Party A." But sources said it was BMO, which owns the second-largest bank by deposits in the Chicago market.
BMO offered $56 per share to MB Financial versus $53.35 from Fifth Third on May 16, according to the SEC filing, but the MB Financial board opted that day for Cincinnati-based Fifth Third. Both offers were mainly in stock with roughly 10 percent of the value in cash.
MB Financial chose Fifth Third "based on the strength and potential upside of its common stock . . . as well as Fifth Third's complementary business model and operating fit with MB Financial and greater opportunity for significant cost savings and synergies," the filing stated.
A BMO Harris spokesman declined to comment.
Until now, BMO wasn't viewed as an aggressive player as bank consolidation in Chicago gathered momentum in the past few years. It didn't show much interest in any number of local banks that came on the market in that time frame, according to banking industry sources.
That included targets in monied locales like Evanston where $1.1 billion-asset First Bank & Trust, with 25 percent of the deposits there, agreed last year to sell to the parent of Chicago-based Byline Bank. BMO Harris has just a 3 percent deposit market share in Evanston, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
So BMO's decision to open its wallet for MB Financial appeared to represent a shift in strategy. On paper, it's hard to understand BMO's thinking, especially given the nosebleed price paid for MB Financial, which sold for a 24 percent premium to its stock price at the time.
After all, BMO Harris hardly is in need of local branches; it has 218 in the Chicago metropolitan statistical area (which includes northwest Indiana). That trails only JPMorgan Chase.
It says it has the second-largest market share for commercial loans in the Chicago market, again trailing only Chase.
Perhaps, though, the reason for the aggressive turn at BMO had more to do with keeping a rival with roughly the same size and financial strength from gaining a meaningful position in BMO's largest U.S. market. Indeed, by some measures Fifth Third will bypass BMO in Chicago.
In investor materials, Fifth Third said it would surpass BMO Harris as the second-largest business lender in the market once MB Financial is acquired. That same presentation positioned Fifth Third as elbowing BMO Harris out as the second-largest bank in the Chicago market in terms of "retail" deposits. (That excludes main branches that house institutional and large corporate deposits. When you include those deposits, BMO Harris remains No. 2 and Fifth Third jumps to No. 4.)
For Fifth Third, which has struggled to gain traction in Chicago since entering the market nearly two decades ago, MB Financial presented an extremely rare chance to really get into the banking mix in the nation's third-largest city.
Fifth Third's MB Financial buy vaults it into the top ranks
On second thought: MB Financial dumps mortgage biz months after expanding it
Is big better in banking? Survey says no.
BMO executives were asked about the MB Financial deal on a May 30 quarterly conference call with analysts and were cagey in their responses.
"We congratulate the parties that were involved in that transaction, but we can't comment any further," BMO Financial CEO Darryl White said.
Dave Casper, CEO of BMO Harris Bank in Chicago, said, "Chicago is our home market. It's our U.S. headquarters. It's a big market for us—we're No. 2 in deposits and we are No. 2 in our commercial business. Just as a perspective, about 10 years ago we were No. 4 in commercial. So we've gone from No. 4 to No. 3 to No. 2, and every time we've won one of those clients, none . . . has been as a result of a merger. . . .(That's) a good indication of how we feel about competing going forward." Added White about BMO's future acquisition strategy, "We're not on the hunt in general. . . .We're in the business of looking at good businesses that serve customer segments. Most of the businesses you look at have a balance of loans and deposits that makes sense, and when you put it in the context of our entire bank (they) don't really turn the dial."
Clearly, White decided MB Financial would have turned the dial for a company that has $212 billion in U.S. assets.
And for MB Financial? Why did Chairman and CEO Mitch Feiger and the rest of the board reject a higher offer?
Feiger didn't respond to a request for comment.
But investors so far are sour on the high price Fifth Third agreed to pay and concerned that Chicago-based rivals will poach MB Financial's customers who don't want to be part of a much larger bank ($162 billion in combined assets). Fifth Third's stock has fallen 12 percent since the deal went public. With most of the price being paid in Fifth Third stock, in a month's time the value of the deal to MB Financial shareholders has declined from $54.20 per share, or $4.7 billion, to $48.46 per share, or $4 billion, as of June 26.
The 24 percent premium to MB Financial's May 18 stock price has been trimmed to 11 percent.
In that same period of time, BMO's stock has dropped just 2.3 percent.
One more out-of-town player with a decent-sized Chicago presence also took a serious interest in MB Financial, according to the SEC filing, but ended up taking a pass. That was Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, sources said. (A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment.)
And what put U.S. Bancorp off despite the fact that it suffers from the same also-ran status in Chicago that Fifth Third does? "The expectation, based in part on discussions with (MB Financial's investment banker) Sandler O'Neill, that transaction pricing would need to be well above precedent medians," according to the SEC filing.
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50% of parents of young children are more exposed to anti-vaxx messages on social media, report finds
Isobel Asher Hamilton
Getty Images/Jeff J MitchellHalf of new parents surveyed had seen negative messages about vaccination on social media.
A survey by the UK’s Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) showed that half of parents with children under five had seen anti-vaccination messages online.
The anti-vaxx movement has found a foothold on social media, and a spokesman for the RSPH said people cannot afford to be complacent about its effect.
A Guardian report pointed to the fact that some anti-vaxxers are targeting parents with paid-for ads.
However, paid-for ads aren’t the only way anti-vaccination messages are disseminated.
A new report from the UK’s Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) shows the extent to which new parents are exposed to misinformation about vaccinating their child on social media.
The new report cited a survey of 2,000 UK adults, conducted in summer 2018. 41% of parents with children under the age of 18 had seen “negative messages” about vaccinations on social media, and 50% parents with young children (under the age of five) had seen them. Comparatively, only 27% of people with no children had seen anti-vaccine messages online.
The report itself was sponsored by pharmaceutical company MSD. The RSPH states in the report that MSD, “did not have editorial input and is not responsible or the content or opinions expressed as part of this activity.”
The anti-vaxx movement argues against children being vaccinated, believing vaccines to be harmful or fatal. It gained momentum in 1998 when the now-disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield falsely claimed in a discredited research paper that there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Arizona cancelled a vaccine education program after complaints from anti-vaxx parents
While the report didn’t draw any definitive conclusion about whether parents were being targeted by anti-vaxx groups on social media, a spokesman for the RSPH told Business Insider that we “cannot afford to be complacent about the effects of social media.” He added that while overall vaccine uptake in Europe has improved in recent years, various childhood vaccines have experienced dips. This year, for example, saw outbreaks of measles in Europe and the US.
The Guardian’s Sarah Bosely pointed to a case where UK advertising watchdog the ASA ordered a Facebook advert from anti-vaxxer Larry Cook be removed for misleading parents. In the ASA’s ruling, Cook said that he had targeted users with an interest in parenting because he “intended to cause parents some concern before choosing to vaccinate their children.” The ASA told The Guardian that Cook had not complied with the ruling.
Business Insider could not find the ad on Facebook’s Ad Transparency tool, but there were many more similar ads paid for by Cook.
Part of the problem is that not all anti-vaxx messages are paid-for adverts, and therefore aren’t subject to the same standards of accuracy. A Facebook spokesman told Business Insider that while Facebook is eager to curb the spread of misinformation, a blanket approach to anti-vaccine messages on social media could result in clamping down on freedom of speech.
“We don’t want misleading content on Facebook and have made significant investments in recent years to stop misinformation from spreading and to promote high-quality journalism and news literacy. That said, we always try to strike a balance between allowing free speech and keeping people safe – which is why we don’t prevent people from saying something that is factually incorrect, particularly if they aren’t doing so intentionally. However we do take steps to ensure this kind of content is demoted in people’s News Feeds to give it less chance of being seen and spread and – ultimately – to discourage those posting it,” he said.
anti-vaxxers facebook international misinformation rsph sai-us social media
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Facebook's new cryptocurrency brings it one step closer to becoming an independent 'virtual nation'
Jennifer Grygiel,
Christophe Morin/IP3/Getty Images
Facebook recently announced a plan to launch a new cryptocurrency named the Libra.
According to Jennifer Grygiel, a professor of communications at Syracuse University, Libra is Facebook's attempt at gaining even more political power on a global scale.
Giving Facebook influence over the world's financial system could have serious repercussions, argues Grygiel.
Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.
Facebook has announced a plan to launch a new cryptocurrency named the Libra, adding another layer to its efforts to dominate global communications and business. Backed by huge finance and technology companies including Visa, Spotify, eBay, PayPal, and Uber — plus a ready-made user base of 2 billion people around the world — Facebook is positioned to pressure countries and central banks to cooperate with its reinvention of the global financial system.
Read more: Here's what Facebook's new cryptocurrency Libra will look like and how it will work
In my view as a social media researcher and educator, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is clearly seeking to give his company even more political power on a global scale, despite the potential dangers to society at large. In a sense, he is declaring that he wants Facebook to become a virtual nation, populated by users, powered by a self-contained economy, and headed by a CEO — Zuckerberg himself — who is not even accountable to his shareholders.
Facebook hasn't behaved responsibly in the past, and is still wrestling with significant public concerns — and investigations — about its privacy practices, information accuracy, and targeted advertising. Therefore, it's important to see through the hype. People must consider who is reshaping the world, and whether they are doing it in the best interests of humankind — or whether they are just seeking to benefit the new class of elite technology executives.
Humanity needs ethical leadership, and time to think through the potential repercussions of rapid technological change. That's why, in my view, Facebook's cryptocurrency should be blocked by financial regulators until its design has been proved to be safe for all of global society.
Understanding the Libra
Technology companies are interested in a global currency that is native to the internet. That could allow companies like Facebook and Twitter to bring in more users to their platforms, and collect money from businesses who want to join the new system. They also want to siphon off business from the existing financial services industry. That sector is worth trillions of dollars, is enormously profitable, and yet has struggled to implement its own digital currency.
The technical details of Facebook's plans are still emerging, but it seems that the company is not seeking to compete with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Rather, Facebook is looking to replace the existing global financial system with an all-new setup, with Libra at its center.
The company may be counting on increased public interest in cryptocurrencies and financial technologies, and its market strength, to overcome objections. However, I don't believe Facebook should be allowed to wreck the global financial system like it has, as many see it, wrecked global communications.
Speeding global exchange
There is definitely a need for smoother, faster, and cheaper ways to send money around the world, and to provide access to financial services to the many people who do not have formal bank accounts. There is real potential to Libra, but there are likely to be ways to improve even more, developing a payment system that better serves the world as a whole.
Read more: US lawmakers are demanding scrutiny — and even a freeze — of Facebook's cryptocurrency project
At least at the moment, the Libra is being designed as a form of electronic money linked to many national currencies. That has raised fears that Libra might someday be recognized as a sovereign currency, with Facebook acting as a " shadow bank" that could compete with the central banks of countries around the world.
It doesn't help that Facebook is already positioning itself to evade regulatory scrutiny by creating a corporate subsidiary that will join an ostensibly independent governing body for the Libra.
To protect consumers, regulators should look carefully at whether the new system supporting the Libra is sound. It may be that an entirely new set of financial rules and regulations is needed to shield the existing financial system from harm if the Libra becomes more popular than national currencies.
At the very least, governments need to proceed slowly and carefully when new products may introduce systemic risks into our environment. Even the CEO of Google has acknowledged that. In my opinion, Libra's planned launch in 2020 does not allow enough time to fully vet this technology and its risks.
Protecting the global financial system
Financial regulations have developed over time to encourage trust between unknown parties, and to protect regular customers from fraudsters and corporate greed. There are also rules that help governments prevent and detect transactions that support crime and terrorism.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
This is not to say that all payments and purchases should be tied to a known entity online or in real life. Cash and anonymity is also a civil right and is key to privacy and personal freedoms.
As new digital financial services, methods of electronic payment and currencies develop and become popular, they should not be allowed to undermine longstanding financial safety systems, even in the name of smoother, cheaper transactions.
My concern is not just about large-volume transactions. Facebook has shown how even small amounts of money can buy microtargeted ads with the power to influence public opinion and election outcomes in the US and around the world.
Product design and risk assessment
Facebook has a long history of questionable business models and privacy practices. The public, and their representatives in government — including elected officials, financial regulators and central bank authorities— should carefully scrutinize all aspects of Facebook's cryptocurrency plans.
This concern is especially urgent because Facebook also has a long history of launching products and services, like political ads and live-streaming video, without fully considering their potential to damage democracy and the global society at large.
The company has demonstrated its inability to serve society beneficially — and it may not even be interested in trying. All the signals suggest that customers and regulators alike should carefully examine whether Facebook's Libra is truly innovative or just a way to avoid restrictions on a potentially hazardous financial product.
Defending democracy
Facebook's entrance into the financial industry is a threat to democracies and their citizens around the world, on the same scale as disinformation and information warfare, which also depend on social media for their effectiveness.
It may be hard for world leaders to understand that this is an emergency, as they cannot see the virtual powers aligning against them. But they must huddle quickly to ensure they have— and keep — the power to protect their people from technology companies' greed.
It will be key to understand if Facebook's future cryptocurrency will ultimately function more like anonymous cash, or more like a traceable credit card transaction. Facebook has the blockchain and encryption technology to create an anonymous digital cash-like system, or a private digital currency, which has not been created yet. Anonymity would heighten the risks of abuse such as money laundering, so it's worth watching out for a cash-like Facebook cryptocurrency that mirrors the central banks' cash system.
In addition, I cannot help but reflect on the name that Facebook chose for this, the Libra, which is a reference to the Roman measurement for a pound, once used to mint coins. In many ways the company that Mark Zuckerberg is building is beginning to look more like a Roman Empire, now with its own central bank and currency, than a corporation.
The only problem is that this new nation-like platform is a controlled company and is run more like a dictatorship than a sovereign country with democratically elected leaders. Even now, the company may have as much power as some countries — and more than others.
In the wake of the not too distant global financial crisis, and the "fake news" and disinformation culture that is developing, people must slow down and fully evaluate disruptive technology of this magnitude. Society cannot withstand a launch of a cryptocurrency in Facebook's infamous " move fast and break things" style.
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).
More: Contributor The Conversation Opinion Facebook
A top Gilead exec told us the story behind the biotech's unusual $5.1 billion deal that's the exact opposite of a Big Pharma trend
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The surprising differences between giving birth in your 20s versus your 30s
Andrea Schmitz and Benji Jones
In 2016, for the first time ever, more American women had babies in their early 30s than in their 20s.
Giving birth at any age comes with changes — to your body and bank account. But there are some key differences between giving birth in each decade.
Women in their 20s have a much higher chance of getting pregnant, for example, and a lower risk of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure.
But studies suggest that women who wait until their 30s to give birth may be healthier later in life, live longer, and earn more income. They'll also be more likely to have twins.
Following is a transcript of the video.
American moms are starting a new trend. Thirties are now the new 20s. In 2016, for the first time ever, more American women had babies in their early 30s than in their 20s. And women are now 25% older when they give birth compared to 50 years ago. But isn't having kids at an older age harder on your body? And couldn't that mean more risk to the baby? Come to think of it, what is the difference between giving birth in your 20s versus your 30s?
Giving birth at any age is a big change. For one, you'll have a child to support. They cost the average household around $230,000 to raise, but there are some major differences based on when you give birth. Take fertility: Between the ages of 20 and 24, women have an 86% chance of conceiving after trying for a year. But that chance falls to around 50% in your late 30s.
And then there's your health. 20-somethings have a lower chance of miscarrying and of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. But when it comes to your health later in life, waiting until your 30s to give birth is better. Research shows that moms who first gave birth in their early 30s report higher energy, better fitness, and fewer aches and pains compared to moms who first gave birth in their early 20s.
And that might help explain another scientific finding. Women who have kids in their 30s might also live longer. According to a paper published in 2015, women who had their last child after age 33 were twice as likely to live past 95 compared to women who had their last child before their 30 th birthday.
And perhaps they'll also have more money to spend in those extra years. A Danish study found that college-educated mothers who were 31 to 34 when they gave birth earned around $5,000 more income over their lifetime compared to the average woman with a college degree, whereas college-educated women who had their first kid before 25 earned around $80,000 less.
Of course, that's just moms. What about the kids? If their moms gave birth in their 30s instead of their 20s, those kids might be safer, smarter, or even taller. On top of that, there might be more of them. That's right, because if you wait until your 30s, you're more likely to have twins. Older women have higher levels of a hormone called FSH, which stimulates the ovaries. Normally, women release just enough FSH to ovulate or release one egg, but near menopause, they produce a ton of it, which can cause two eggs to ovulate and ultimately result in twins.
Now, whether having twins is a benefit, that's up to you. But one thing's for sure, whether you have kids at 21 or 35, you will never be the same again.
A turtle's shell protects some of the strangest features in the animal kingdom. Here's what's inside.
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Here's What It's Really Like To Have An Abortion
For the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we reflect on the various experiences of people who have been there.
Posted on January 21, 2017, 16:53 GMT
Casey Gueren
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Forty-four years ago, the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade affirmed a woman's legal right to have an abortion.
Drew Angerer / Getty Images
In a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court struck down an older Texas law that prohibited abortions except in cases where the woman's life was at stake. They decided that a woman's right to an abortion fell under the right to privacy. Ultimately, Roe v. Wade protects a woman's right to an abortion throughout her pregnancy, though it also allows states to regulate abortion during the second and third trimesters.
President Trump has said he plans to appoint anti–abortion rights Supreme Court justices who could overturn Roe v. Wade. Here's more information about how that could hypothetically play out, and what it would mean for you.
As abortion access continues to be threatened, debated, and hotly discussed, there's one perspective we don't often hear enough of: people who have actually had an abortion.
BuzzFeed Health asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their abortion stories. The form was shared widely and translated into several languages.
From the English form alone, we received over 1,200 responses. While we would have loved to include them all, we selected 44 stories from American women that we felt represented the broad range of experiences that we received.
1. "I did choose life...I chose my life."
Jenny Chang / Via buzzfeed.com
"I got pregnant while I was a senior in high school by my abusive boyfriend. As soon as I found out, I went to the abortion clinic but could not afford it. My pregnancy advanced and my boyfriend continued to threaten to push me down the stairs or punch me in the stomach.
"When my parents found out, my dad took me to DC where abortions are legal until 20 weeks. I was put in a large room with about 20 women and one by one we were taken back for the abortion and then brought back in. Each woman came back holding their stomach and crying. The process was quick and heartless.
"I suffered for two years with depression that went untreated. It has been the most painful and traumatic experience of my life. But I want anyone that reads this to know I do not regret my choice. I did choose life...I chose my life. Having that baby would have kept me in an abusive relationship that I don't know if I could have survived."
—Nicole, 33
2. "The moment I said I wanted an abortion, they offered me a free ultrasound, showed me pictures and models of what the fetus looked like, and gave me mountains of pamphlets."
"The first clinic I went to ended up being a Christian counseling center disguised as a pregnancy resource center. The moment I said I wanted an abortion, they offered me a free ultrasound, showed me pictures and models of what the fetus looked like, and gave me mountains of pamphlets. They followed up on a daily basis with phone calls and messages.
"When I found the real abortion clinic, they were patient, professional, caring, and honestly some of the nicest people I've ever met. The doctor who performed the procedure was funny and helpful. He thanked my boyfriend for being there as most men don't come in for the appointment. I had cookies and juice in a weird recovery room with a bunch of other women and girls before the nurse came and let me leave. It was a surreal experience that has definitely stuck with me, but not in a negative way.
"I experienced depression for a few months afterward — it flared up whenever I saw pregnant women, but I kept it to myself because my boyfriend didn't want to talk about it. I often wonder what would have happened if we decided to keep it, but I don't regret the decision I made. That relationship ended up being toxic, emotionally abusive, and very manipulative, so thinking about what it would have been like to raise a child in that environment is enough to know I made the right decision."
—Anonymous, 28
3. "We spent $25,000 roughly on fertility treatments. Then this happened."
Koya79 / Getty Images
"My husband and I dealt with infertility for a few years and conceived via IVF. Our child is the light of our lives, but it was hard, and I decided I never wanted to do IVF again. I also didn't think we needed to use birth control since the doctors called it 'next to impossible' that we would conceive naturally.
"And then, when our child was only 1, we discovered that nothing is impossible. We were shocked. We spent about an hour talking and crying about it and decided to go forward with terminating. I live in a state where it is relatively easy. I called Planned Parenthood and made an appointment for a week out for a 'medical abortion,' which is the pill form. I took the pill in the office by myself. And a day and a half later, took the other pill. I took one day off from work.
"I don't regret it, but I feel a great deal of shame. We are 35 years old, both have a master's degree, and make $150,000 a year. We spent $25,000 roughly on fertility treatments. Then this happened. We could never tell our friends and families who are still 'hoping for a miracle,' but I'm very happy with one child. I went back to PP for an IUD. But I honestly wish I could erase this from my medical past because I'm afraid of judgment from future medical providers."
4. "I was scared and overwhelmed with how I was going to support the two kids I had."
"Twenty years ago I had a surgical abortion in Colorado. My husband had just left me and our two kids, and I found out I was pregnant with a third. I was scared and overwhelmed with how I was going to support the two kids I had.
"It was a relief when I got an appointment. They gave me a Valium before so I would relax. The machine was loud so I kept talking to drown out the sound. Luckily the nurse knew what I was doing and kept it from being one-sided. After it was done, I still felt relief. Unfortunately, the clinic was shut down a few years later. The nearest clinic is now over four hours away."
5. "I had just started my dream job, and I was sure about what I was going to do as soon as I read the positive strip."
Cillay / Getty Images
"I was 29 and he was a one-night stand. I had just started my dream job, and I was sure about what I was going to do as soon as I read the positive strip. I had a surgical abortion at six weeks. I had support and was financially stable. The experience was unfortunate, but I have never once regretted my choice."
6. "I found out I was pregnant three days after my brother's funeral."
"I called my mom. I guess she just assumed I was happy about it, and she had me tell my stepdad and my other brother, who were both so excited. My brother even told me it was the first time he had really smiled since our brother died. Everyone saw so much meaning in it. A life was gone and now there's this new one. So I tried to force myself to be happy with it. But in the following days I just couldn't do it; rather, I couldn't do anything. It hit me so hard and so suddenly. I would just crumble on the floor and cry. The whole thing was just too much.
"Everyone was supportive of me, but my boyfriend of five years was the first person to tell me something that made sense: He told me I was allowed to be selfish. If I wanted that baby, I was allowed to be selfish and have that baby. If I didn't want that baby, I was allowed to be selfish and not have that baby. There is no wrong decision, I just had to be selfish. What finally made my decision though was looking at my cat and realizing I felt more like a mother looking at her than I did thinking about what was growing inside me. So a week after finding out I was pregnant, I opted to have a medical abortion.
"The abortion itself was (mostly) a wonderful experience. Everyone working at the clinic was so helpful and supportive. And I got to complete the abortion at home. So the next day I crawled into bed with my boyfriend, put on my super cool adult diapers, inserted the pills, and put on some Game of Thrones. And let me fucking tell you, it was excruciating, like... I honestly believed I could go into shock kind of pain. These cramps radiated throughout my whole body to the point where I could barely breathe. I actually cut my palms on my nails from clenching my fists so hard. But once it was done, it was done."
—Maggie, 26
7. "I know that people may judge me for being seemingly prepared to have a baby at the time, but we weren't and we knew it."
"I was 26 and just moved to a new city with my partner, having recently graduated and started new jobs. My partner and I knew we wanted kids, but we were simply not ready at that time. I went to Planned Parenthood, and was reassured that having an abortion would not impact my chances of having children in the future.
"Ten years later, I'm married to that same partner with two little ones. I know that people may judge me for being seemingly prepared to have a baby at the time, but we weren't and we knew it. It wasn't a decision we took lightly, and one that I don't regret."
8. "I have always been very against abortion and wanted the child. However, I knew the odds were very good that I would die in childbirth, leaving the children I already had without a mother."
"I am happily married and have two children already. When my second child was born, I had a brain hemorrhage that almost killed me. I was advised not to have any more children. Seven years later, I got pregnant again. I have always been very against abortion and wanted the child. However, I knew the odds were very good that I would die in childbirth, leaving the children I already had without a mother. I decided to terminate the pregnancy.
"My best friend accompanied me to a clinic, and escorted me past protesters. Because I was only five weeks pregnant, I qualified for the pill method. However, because I live in Texas, I was required to have an ultrasound to be sure I understood the thing inside me was a baby. As if I didn't know. I had the ultrasound. The nurse was very sensitive and didn't force me to look at the ultrasound. I was given information and sent home to wait the required 24 hours.
"I went back the next day, past more protesters. I was called back with a group of about 10 other women. A nurse read us the required statement and we took a pill to stop the pregnancy from developing. We were all sent home with two more pills to take the next day. I shook the entire day, violently. I bled horrifically. I mourned and cried. Two weeks later, I went back to confirm the pregnancy had indeed been terminated.
"The next day, Texas passed stricter abortion laws and the clinic shut down."
—Katie, 35
9. "My boyfriend at the time felt like he was losing me so he started poking holes in condoms."
Sasimoto / Getty Images
"I was 22. My boyfriend at the time felt like he was losing me so he started poking holes in condoms. I found out I was pregnant after leaving him. Shortly after, he was arrested for sleeping with a student. He was a special education teacher.
"Thankfully my regular doctor was able to prescribe me the abortion pill. It was just like a heavy period. I have zero regrets; I do however keep it a secret because of my strict Catholic family. I wish I was strong enough to be more vocal about my experience. The hardest part for me is when a friend or acquaintance is in the same situation and considering one, the vast majority of women I know will say that she shouldn't do it because she'll regret it forever."
—Jen, 33
10. "Our two sons were in state custody, and we were fighting to get them back when I found out I was pregnant."
"My husband and I were going through a hard time. Our two sons were in state custody, and we were fighting to get them back when I found out I was pregnant. We talked about it and decided it would be best to get an abortion rather then have it and then it go into state custody. My two sons were abused while in custody. I chose medical abortion."
11. "Despite my taking Plan B, I was in fact, pregnant."
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
"I was 19 years old and in love with a boy who never really loved or respected me. One night, after having a few too many drinks at the college bar, he took me home and without my permission, failed to pull out. After taking the Plan B pill four hours later, I still felt extremely uneasy. A week later, I took a home pregnancy test only to find out that despite my taking Plan B, I was in fact, pregnant.
"Completely devastated, the boy I was dating told me that he wasn't going to take care of the baby and that no one would want to be with a 20-year-old single mom. At the time, I had two family members suffering from cancer and couldn't fathom completely wrecking their world. I was a promising college student who had the world at her fingertips. I wanted to keep the baby, but I didn't know how I would be able to provide the necessary resources for it.
"Two weeks later, I went to the clinic and took the pill that would abort the baby. Scared and alone, I lay on my bed sobbing and trying to find the words in prayer that would help God forgive me. After years of learning to forgive myself, I know that my decision was the best thing for me. I have forgiven myself and more importantly, learned to love myself."
12. "Some people might think that that makes me a monster, but it was just the way we handled it. Not emotionless, just rational."
"I was 25 years old and had just started dating my now-husband. We got pregnant accidentally after five months of knowing each other. We knew we wanted kids one day but it just wasn't the right time — we were just getting to know ourselves and each other, we both lived far away from our families. And deep down I knew I wasn't ready to be the kind of mother I want to be.
"So at around four or five weeks pregnant we booked an appointment at a clinic and had the procedure. I paid the extra to get 'knocked out' and didn't feel much pain at all. It was $500 in the DC area. Then we went home and snuggled on the couch and watched movies as I recovered.
"What amazed/surprised me about the experience was how I was very calm and very sure that we were making the right decision. Some people might think that that makes me a monster, but it was just the way we handled it. Not emotionless, just rational.
"Plus, we are now married and expecting our first child! There's nothing wrong with doing things in your own time — parenting is a huge responsibility and if you're not prepared for it I imagine it's incredibly difficult. No shame in doing what's right for you and your partner. After all, it's nobody else's business."
—Jane, 31
13. "Roe v. Wade had gone into effect four months before."
"Roe v. Wade had gone into effect four months before, and I was able to terminate my pregnancy by vacuum procedure in a nearby, calming, non-abusive, and medically safe environment. The procedure itself unpleasant, but I was cared for through it all with fondness and compassion.
"It was a close call — the legal limit for abortion was eight weeks and I only had one week to get an appointment. It was a painful but easy decision and although I would grieve every year at that time, there has never been the slightest doubt that it was the right decision both for the baby and for me."
—Linda, 69
14. "My wanted pregnancy had a severe fetal abnormality that would have resulted in a miscarriage, stillbirth, or a baby who would live only hours after birth."
"At 12 weeks, we decided to terminate instead of waiting, thinking it wouldn't be difficult because even conservative states have fetal abnormality exceptions.
"The only clinic in the state had long wait times and protesters. We decided to drive six hours to the next state. This clinic was located in a 12-story medical building, so there were no protesters. The doctors and nurses there were wonderful and understanding, and the procedure itself took five minutes. It cost $800 for the termination, $100 for extra sedatives, and another $500 for a private room (so we didn't have to be with strangers in the waiting room); our government employee insurance covered none of this.
"Afterward, I joined an online support group and discovered that my experience was nowhere near the most appalling when it came to terminating a wanted pregnancy; one woman was forced to terminate at a Catholic hospital, where the nurses openly judged her and refused to give her sufficient painkillers; another woman's clinic ran out of anesthesia the week she went in. I was comparatively lucky to discover my fetal abnormality so early and to have had a relatively easy procedure, but I'm still furious I had to travel out of state and that my usual doctor, whom I admire and trust, couldn't perform the procedure due to our ridiculous anti-science, anti-women state laws."
15. "I didn't want to know what it felt like to be pregnant yet, I wanted that to be a joyous moment, not one where I felt like I was an animal trapped in a corner needing to chew my own arm off to escape."
"I was careful, I used protection and the morning-after pill. Both had failed me. I no longer felt in control of my own body. It had betrayed me. The first words out of my mouth were that I wanted an abortion. The nurse tried to calm me down and asked if I wanted to hear my options and I said no, I knew what my only real option was. I was a barista living on my own; I barely had enough money to take care of myself and my cat, let alone a child. I wasn't going to let a broken condom be the reason my entire life would change.
"I was honestly heartbroken. I had always wanted to get pregnant and be a mom. Now it felt like something that was forced onto me that I didn't want. I didn't want to know what it felt like to be pregnant yet, I wanted that to be a joyous moment, not one where I felt like I was an animal trapped in a corner needing to chew my own arm off to escape. If anyone ever asks me what the hardest part of the abortion was I say, 'Being pregnant for those three days.' Yes, I had been pregnant for about four weeks at this point. But those three days between finding out and getting the abortion were the absolute worst.
"I live in Washington state, where abortion services are very accessible. I made an appointment with Planned Parenthood and went in that next week. Because I was so early I was able to do the medical abortion on my own at home. The amazing nurse was so helpful and could see how scared I was. She did the ultrasound (required to see how far along I was), and she kept the volume on mute and I didn't have to see the ultrasound at all. She gave me the information about what I was going to do (with no judgment whatsoever), and helped me book an appointment to get an IUD two weeks later. I took the first pill in the clinic, with instructions to rest and take the second pill the next day when I was comfortable.
"After it was over, all I felt was relief. I was so goddamn relieved to not be pregnant anymore. It was over — I felt like I owned my own body again. It was a sad thing that had to happen, but it was the right thing. I don't know what my life would be like today if I didn't have the option to make that choice. I still have moments of sadness, but not because I regret having the abortion. I have never regretted it."
16. "What she didn't understand, given the predicament I was currently in, was that I actually identified as gay and that's why I had left my marriage."
"I was in my early twenties, and I had a 2-year-old at the time. I was newly divorced and had a night of vodka and poor judgment with a friend only to realize several weeks later I was pregnant.
"I never had a doubt it was the right thing for me. I walked in, had the procedure, and never looked back. Insurance paid for it. I was fortunate. The worst part of the whole ordeal was being scolded by the counselor at the clinic for not opting for an IUD after the procedure. What she didn't understand, given the predicament I was currently in, was that I actually identified as gay and that's why I had left my marriage.
"The procedure itself was uncomfortable but not incredibly painful. I ended up knowing one of the nurses that assisted and she asked if I wanted to see the sac; I said yes. It was interesting. I was 10–12 weeks and it looked like a jellyfish about the size of a quarter. Just a clump of cells. That's all it was and nothing more.
"I've never second-guessed my decision or wished for any other outcome. I was lucky to have access to the procedure and really lucky to have insurance cover it. I only tell my story when I think it can help someone. Not everyone wishes for 'what could have been.' Not everyone feels a 'loss.'
"Today, I'm happily married to my wife and we have two beautiful kids."
—LJ, 33
17. "I am terrified of how many other women are doing such dangerous acts if they are not allowed access to proper medical attention for this matter."
Leszekczerwonka / Getty Images
"I was 18 and fresh out of high school. In a state of depression, I turned to my friends for advice on what to do. Their response: 'party it out.' My boyfriend (now ex) loved the idea. He had me take a week off of work and drink all day every day. I thought I was going to die.
"Aside from how badly I damaged my body, it worked. I got my 'period' Christmas day. Thinking it was a normal period, I was happy. Two days later, I had the most painful miscarriage. I was devastated, and the fact that I had destroyed my body tore me up.
"I thought it was all over, but on New Year's Day I had to be rushed to the hospital, because I had woken up in a pool of blood so large, it had soaked through the mattress, and I was rushed into surgery. I am alive today thanks to that. I am terrified of how many other woman are doing such dangerous acts if they are not allowed access to proper medical attention for this matter."
18. "I had given birth a year prior and my husband became very sick that same year."
"I had a surgical abortion at age 29 at Planned Parenthood. I had given birth a year prior and my husband became very sick that same year. He passed away three years later. Planned Parenthood gave no judgements. They showed the required ultrasound and film of the pregnancy, allowed me to talk to a counselor and cry, and supported me through the entire process.
"There was no physical or financial way to provide for another child. I have never felt more relieved than when it was over and have no regrets about my decision to this day. I do mourn the loss of what could have been every time I look at my now 15-year-old. Regret, no. Guilt, some. Primarily, certainty that I made the correct decision for my family and myself.
"What stands out the most from that day, though, is the memory of the women who were waiting for their procedures taking the time to talk to each other and listen. Supportive women who were all in the same position coming from various circumstances. Strangers who cried and listened together. There wasn't a woman there who wasn't extremely grateful for a place like Planned Parenthood or anyone who treated the process as if it were no big deal."
19. "It was either I get the abortion, or he beats me to the point where I'd have a miscarriage."
Djedzura / Getty Images
"I was so numb sitting in the waiting room. My face was expressionless and I had no thoughts. My mom was sitting next to me giving me a pep talk. She knew what I was going through. I had to get this abortion because my ex was beating the shit out of me almost every day. It was either I get the abortion, or he beats me to the point where I'd have a miscarriage. I didn't want to do it, but if I didn't, I would've been stuck with a man who hurts me physically, mentally, and emotionally.
"We got to the room and I immediately lay down. I just wanted it over with. The nurse connected this little glass bottle with some type of medicine to my IV. I recall screaming once but I can't remember the pain. My mom picked me up and was so supportive. I'm extremely thankful for her. It was very bittersweet. I still think about my unborn child. Was it a he or a she? I call it my angel."
20. "I went home and was swiftly kicked out, yet I wouldn't change a thing."
"I found out I was pregnant when I had just turned 16, so about five years ago. My parents were devout Muslims and could not fathom how I had become pregnant, as if their abstinence-centered approach to sex ed had done the job. Being very old-fashioned, they ordered me to keep the baby and threatened to kick me out if I did not comply.
"For me, however, the social stigma surrounding teen pregnancy was enough to convince me that this baby would come out one way or another. Not only that, the father was a boy I met at one of the few parties I had ever been to, and I was not in a relationship with him, much less would I be able to raise a child with him.
"So my best friend (a caring girl native to our South Carolina town) and I took a trip to Planned Parenthood after one of our final exams. It was quick and relatively painless, besides the cramps that ensued the day after. I went home and was swiftly kicked out, yet I wouldn't change a thing. I graduated 10th in my class and stayed with my best friend until we both left for college. This was my choice, and I want everyone to know that whatever you choose to do is OK. This is your body, your life, and maybe even the life of a future child."
—Supriti, 21
21. "Had I known about the morning-after pill I wouldn't have had the agony of waiting to test...then waiting to terminate."
"The condom broke with my long-term boyfriend. I knew the instant it broke I was going to get pregnant. I can still see the date of my last period in my calendar book, realizing I was ovulating. Had I known about the morning-after pill I wouldn't have had the agony of waiting to test...then waiting to terminate.
"We talked about marriage, both knowing it wasn't right. I did the due diligence, researching everything I could find on the subject. I went to a clinic and it was stark, sad, and crowded so I instead went to a doctor on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was 1995 and I was 23. Just starting a career.
"I remember looking at the heartbeat on the monitor to punish myself. They shot me with Valium and the very stern nurse softened and grabbed my hand. I bucked on the table with such force it was as if my spirit was ripping out of me. I cried. My boyfriend gave me flowers. I bled for weeks. My heart broke. I was terribly depressed for over a year.
"It's been over 20 years and I think deep down I still hate myself for the decision. Though I know it was the right choice. I would have been a terrible parent. I am now a pretty damn good one. Months after the abortion I read about the morning-after pill in a magazine waiting to get my hair cut. I burst into tears. Why hadn't I known about that option?! I felt angry and helpless — much like I do now, staring down the barrel of a dark time for women in this country."
22. "I really really wanted to keep this baby, it's probably the only thing I've ever prayed about, but my former partner wasn't supportive of that decision and I don't have the resources to be a single parent."
"It's been exactly two months since my termination. I chose to have a medical abortion at home, and I went to my local Planned Parenthood in Brooklyn. I did not have health insurance and ended up paying out of pocket (totaling around $700 for the procedure/prescriptions).
"I really, really wanted to keep this baby, it's probably the only thing I've ever prayed about, but my former partner wasn't supportive of that decision and I don't have the resources to be a single parent. In retrospect, I would have been raising a child who would have had an unstable father who didn't want to be a parent. I want to have children with a man who wants to be a parent, not someone who was forced to parent by circumstances.
"I feel when taking about abortion, women aren't allowed to speak about the sadness. It's more about the bravado of making the right decision and the focus of my body/my choice. But having an abortion was so heartbreaking for me. I was disappointed in myself for being in this position, frustrated that I didn't have a supportive partner and had to go through this on my own, and shameful that I couldn't talk to my family about this."
23. "This experience made me more pro-life than I could have ever imagined."
Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images
"My boyfriend was cheating on me and I found out I was pregnant, just a month shy of my college graduation. I had never considered myself pro-choice, but I knew there was no way in hell that I wanted to be connected to this jerk for the rest of my life. I made myself an appointment on May 4, 2004, at Planned Parenthood for the termination.
"The jerk was kind enough to drive me to my appointment and pay for it, but I had to count on my friends to pick me up after the procedure was over. That seemed to be what the medical staff cared about more than anything — how I was getting home. It wasn't my fragile, emotional state, general health, or any patient-related issues. They were also sweet enough to comment on my star sticker tan line and that my panties of choice that day were glittery.
"Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come after the fact. The waves of emotion, severe depression for years due to what I had done, the agonizing physical pain and quantities of blood and tissue that I would lose. There was no after-care or phone calls. No follow-up to see how I was doing. It was like being in a mill where they simply swept our little secrets under the rug and pretended like the problems never existed in the first place. I was loaded into my friend's car by a nurse who woke me by saying, 'You look just like an angel when you sleep,' and was handed a brown paper bag with antibiotics, instructions, and a year's supply of birth control.
"Twelve years later, I think about that unborn child nearly every day and wonder what he would be like. This experience made me more pro-life than I could have ever imagined."
24. "At the time we could not afford the care I needed to safely bring the baby to term, so we decided on terminating the pregnancy until we were more financially stable."
"I was 20 and dating my now-husband when I got pregnant. I have severe health problems and the pregnancy was high-risk. At the time we could not afford the care I needed to safely bring the baby to term, so we decided on terminating the pregnancy until we were more financially stable.
"It was the hardest decision we ever made because we really want children and were already incredibly attached to our baby. It took us a very long time to finally decide to terminate. I was 15 weeks when we finally made the call, but honestly it was for the best.
"If we had tried to continue with the pregnancy it was very likely that either myself or the baby would have died and the chance of us reproducing in the future could have been severely compromised. Ending a pregnancy is always hard but we had to make the best and safest decision for our family and our future."
25. "If there was any way I could have kept my child I would have. Those picketers are the real monsters in all of this."
Scott Olson / Getty Images
"I was 20 years old and in an extremely emotionally abusive relationship. He was ecstatic about the pregnancy for about a month. He then he got it in his head that I must be a prostitute, and tried to drive us into the lake.
"I used all the spare money I had and an emergency abortion charity to get the procedure. I wish I would have been in a healthy place so I could have had my baby, but it just wasn't an option. I didn't even have a safe place or support system to run to so I could have carried my baby to term.
"To make it worse, one of the anti-abortion picketers harassed me on my way in and out of the office. If there was any way I could have kept my child I would have. Those picketers are the real monsters in all of this."
—Kay, 28
26. "I realized I ruined my one chance at motherhood."
"I was 29 when I started dating this guy. We were pretty careful about using condoms when we had sex, except a couple of times. The first time we were lucky. The second time we were not. I found out I was pregnant four months into our relationship. I wanted to keep it, even though I was scared. But he convinced me that the timing wasn't right; we were still getting to know each other. I reluctantly agreed and we found a clinic near my home. I was six weeks, four days along when I had my first appointment. A week and a day later, I went back to the clinic to have the abortion.
"They put me in a small room and told me to undress and put my clothes in a bag they provided and to put a hospital gown on. I remember hearing vacuuming sounds and thought it was weird they were vacuuming in the middle of the day. It was much later I realized it was the suctioning, not vacuuming. They brought me into the room and began administering the anesthesia. I opted for the general as I didn't want to remember the details. I didn't want to be there, but I had been convinced that we'd eventually have a family.
"I found a great online support site and worked on accepting what I did and healing. For years, I felt mostly healed. He still acted like we'd have a family. We hit a rough patch and he finally confessed that he felt guilty for lying to me, because he never wanted kids and still doesn't. Now I'm trapped because I'm too old to start over in a new relationship and have a child. I can't afford to have one alone. My marriage is strained (understatement) and I realized I ruined my one chance at motherhood. All my healing down the drain. Not a day goes by that I don't think about it. I regret it completely."
27. "I had to make the choice between school and having a child, and I chose to finish school."
Charlotte Gomez / Via buzzfeed.com
"I had a medical abortion during my winter break from graduate school. I was a third year PhD candidate. I had a one-night stand, but this person was not a part of my life.
"At the time, I was working 60–70 hours a week and barely making ends meet. I decided to have a medical abortion after having a panic attack which led to me spending one night in the hospital. During the abortion, I coped with Netflix, chocolate, and wine. I spent three days in the bathroom in the tub or on the toilet. I almost passed out from the pain. I refused to take the prescribed pain medication.
"After two years, I feel that this decision was the best. I had to make the choice between school and having a child, and I chose to finish school. I am still not open about my abortion. I do not know if I ever will be. It is not accepted with my friends or family. But yet I would have been shunned for keeping the child and quitting school. I was at a loss. I made the decision that I was not ready to be a mother, financially or emotionally."
28. "The experience did tell me that I wanted to have a child eventually. And who I have that child with is equally as important."
"At 31 years old, I found myself pregnant for the first time after dating someone on and off for about three years. The truth was, I was more than ready to be able to have a child. I was certainly of age, my career was in a good place, and I was financially independent. But at that point, having a baby was something I never really considered. And if I was honest with myself, having a baby with him was definitely not a possibility.
"Our relationship was rocky at best from the beginning. He wasn't a bad person, he just wasn't the ideal person to have a baby with (or be in a relationship with). He never wanted children. He was in severe debt. And he didn't have the same commitment to family that I did. When I told him, he said, 'Get rid of it.' I knew it was something he didn't want, but the way he said it was hurtful and harsh. I felt guilty and considered keeping it. I'm not sure why. Ultimately, at nine weeks, I went into Planned Parenthood and asked for the abortion pill. Of course, I paid for it myself and went alone because he couldn't afford it nor could he be bothered to accompany me.
"Interestingly, I never felt guilty once I committed to the decision. And I haven't felt regret since. It was the right decision for me during that time in my life. I would never wish that on any woman — the burden of having to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. But the experience did tell me that I wanted to have a child eventually. And who I have that child with is equally as important. Four years later, I'm pregnant with my husband who is an amazing person. And I wouldn't change anything."
—Dee, 35
29. "It was weird seeing the little dot on the screen."
7postman / Getty Images
"I got pregnant my senior year of high school after a stupid night with a guy a few years older than me. I took the morning-after pill, but it didn't work. A month and a half later I found out I was pregnant. After a week of crying, talking to my friends, and hesitantly telling my mom, I scheduled my appointment.
"I had a medical abortion. I remember the ultrasound and the nurse asking me if I wanted to look at the screen. It was weird seeing the little dot on the screen. I took the first pills, drove home, and waited until the next day for the next dose. I felt like I was dying. Imagine the worst period of your life and multiply it by 100. I lay on the cold floor of my bathroom for three hours because I couldn't get comfortable anywhere else.
"I still get emotional about it sometimes now, four years later. But I knew I didn't want to raise a baby with a guy I wasn't with. I never would have met my boyfriend now or be in my junior year of college if I hadn't done it. I think it would've been a girl, and I still regret not being able to meet my first child..."
—Jordan, 21
30. "I am still after all these years looking to find complete peace with my decision, but I have learned that it might never come, and I accept that."
“I was 17. There were girls there who were casually talking about how many they’ve had, they were so mellow about it, one was even eating Taco Bell in the clinic while she waited to be called in. Meanwhile I was dying inside. Dying of guilt, shame, embarrassment, and every other emotion that we have been told to feel by society.
"The father did not care. He would tell me to keep it one day, and the next he was telling our friends it wasn’t his. His cousin even offered to ‘play soccer’ with me — in other words, he wanted to kick me in the stomach to cause a miscarriage. He begged me to abort because he was ‘in love’ with another girl at school. When I finally did it he claimed he had only begged to keep it and made me the villain of the story.
"I barely graduated high school. I was depressed for years. I graduated with my BA in 2015 and moved to NYC. I work at a great law firm in Midtown and love my life. Every now and then I think about everything we went through. Last I heard he was a complete pothead who works at a casino and sells weed on the side. I know I did the right thing, but the guilt has stayed with me. Some days it’s bad, some days it’s horrible, some days I feel nothing. I keep waiting for God to strike me with lightning. I am still after all these years looking to find complete peace with my decision, but I have learned that it might never come, and I accept that. Today I am happy.”
—Jaimie, 25
31. "What course of events had brought these people to the same fate as I?"
Solstock / Getty Images
"I had my abortion just after my 19th birthday. I had been partying and going crazy, doing drugs, and sleeping around. I started noticing strange things happening to my body and I hadn't had my period for a while but I was in such denial that by the time I went to my OB-GYN I was already 20 weeks pregnant. I made the decision immediately.
"Because I had taken so long to go to a doctor, I had to travel out of state almost four hours to have the operation. It was a two-day process. The first day, you went into the appointment and they insert these seaweed sticks into your cervix. They absorb moisture and stretch the cervix large enough for the operation. This was one of the most painful things I have ever gone through. The next day you came back and had the operation.
"Looking around the waiting room I could see other women, from all walks of life, going through this same pain, almost in concert. I remember an Indian woman and her husband sitting across from me. I realized that if this middle-aged woman could be here, this issue and the need for these services was so much bigger than me. I felt better about my decision. I was a millennial drunk who got knocked up; these people were not only from another culture but a completely different generation. They were married. What course of events had brought these people to the same fate as I? Whatever It was I can say that we all felt a major relief upon leaving that office."
—Erika, 28
32. "The ultrasound revealed that the fetus was still in my uterus but no longer had a heartbeat."
"I was 19 years old when I found out I was eight weeks pregnant. At the time I was playing college soccer and was about to start nursing school. My boyfriend had just signed to play basketball at a university in another state. I told my mom and I told her that I wasn't in any financial or emotional position to have a baby. She understood and was the one to call the women's health clinic for details on abortion.
"I live in a rural town and the nearest clinic was two hours away. The next day my mom and I drove up to the clinic where the doctor did blood work, an ultrasound, and explained the abortion process to me. He explained that I was within the window of time that allowed me to take two different pills to induce the abortion, but once I took the medication, I was required to follow through with the abortion due to the medication causing severe birth defects if they were ineffective. Per Arizona law, I had to wait 24 hours after seeing a medical professional to make my decision. So my mom and I drove home and the next morning we drove back up to the clinic where I received the medication.
"Two weeks later I went up to the clinic for a follow-up ultrasound to see if the medication had worked. The ultrasound revealed that the fetus was still in my uterus but no longer had a heartbeat. The doctor explained that this happens to only 1% of women who get abortions and that I needed to have a D&C which included dilating my cervix and manually removing the fetus. The procedure was painful, but successful. My insurance would not cover the cost of the abortion. I ended up having to use $1,000 from my student loan to pay for it.
"Fast-forward four years to the present: I am now a registered nurse working a full-time job and I'm still with my boyfriend. I always wonder what my life would have been like if I never had the abortion, but I've never once regretted it. I am now in a position to be able to support myself financially and a baby when I choose to do so."
33. "I had a transvaginal ultrasound, after which the technician said, 'You probably don't want to see it but it's a really great image,' indicating it was really clear or something?"
Keith Brofsky / Getty Images
"I was in an emotionally abusive relationship in college. I got pregnant and my boyfriend told me it was my problem and he didn't even want to hear about it. I knew abortion was my best and only option.
"Finding a provider was a little challenging (this was before the modern internet); one clinic I called tried to talk me out of the procedure. I hung up on her and cried for an hour. When I did end up finding a clinic that could provide me with an abortion, I was subjected to a transvaginal ultrasound, after which the technician said, 'You probably don't want to see it but it's a really great image,' indicating it was really clear or something? WTF.
"I was given the medication and sent home. I remember buying a single rose on my way back; it seemed respectful somehow. The procedure cost something like $600 (it was not covered by insurance). I was thankfully able to pay for it with only a couple of months of strict grocery budgeting and keeping my heat off (in New England, in November).
"I had several excruciating days alone (I never told anyone it was happening). I am not even sure how long the whole thing took. Then I went back to classes and acted like nothing had happened. I never once regretted my decision, but the stigma around abortion makes me feel very guilty for that. That guilt has led me to remain silent about my story. To this day no one but the abusive boyfriend knows it happened. I have never even told my husband. Through all this, I know it was the right choice for me. I am grateful that I was able to have an abortion with relative ease, and I believe that is the right of anyone with a uterus."
34. "When I got up to get dressed I glanced over at the screen, and my heart broke — I remembered the joy of seeing that first pic of my son five years prior.
"I had been dating my boyfriend for six months when I found out I was pregnant. I have a 5-year-old son with my ex-husband and my boyfriend has a 4-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. I was mad at myself for not being more careful. I was scared. I was embarrassed.
"Because of instabilities both financially and in the relationship I knew that moving forward with the pregnancy was not an option. My hours at work were being cut back, bills were piling up. At that point, I was not confident that my boyfriend could provide the fiscal, emotional, or mental support necessary to get through the pregnancy and (more importantly) raising the child once it was born. I have always been pro-choice with the caveat that there was 'no way I could ever personally have an abortion.' But here I was, 35 years old, pregnant, and making an appointment for the following day.
"When I got the sonogram to see how far along I was (just shy of six weeks), I specified that I did not wish to see the image. However, when I got up to get dressed I glanced over at the screen, and my heart broke — I remembered the joy of seeing that first pic of my son five years prior. Tears rushed to my eyes involuntarily, yet the gut feeling that I was making the right decision remained.
"The toll the abortion took physically was pretty expected — although it was several weeks before my hormones evened back out; I went through similar highs and lows as with postpartum depression after the birth of my son. The thing I wasn't prepared for was the emotional setback. Because I was so sure of my decision, I didn't anticipate having regrets, and the guilt has been overwhelming. I've found myself calculating what the due date would've been, welling up with tears at baby commercials and baby clothes in stores. I mostly feel that I'm a failure for not being in a better place in my life (more successful, etc.) to raise another child. It's also been really hard on the relationship. My boyfriend has suffered significant depression over it and we have both begun therapy.
"Every woman's abortion experience is different. And every woman will live with the choice they make for the rest of their lives. It is never easy."
—Angela, 35
35. "Sometimes in the middle of the night I ask myself what I will do or say if my daughter comes to me one day with that dreaded dilemma."
Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
"I was a 17-year-old high school student when I found out I was pregnant. I was a good girl, athlete, good grades, and had a steady boyfriend. I come from a deeply Catholic family — premarital sex and abortion was not condoned nor permitted. My boyfriend and I panicked, and the decision was made to abort our pregnancy.
"Since I had made the decision to drive myself, they were unable to give me anything for the pain. I was wide awake and aware for the whole thing. I felt that I deserved the pain, fear, and dirtiness I was feeling and so I welcomed it. I didn't want this to be easy. Afterward I spent some time in the recovery room and then drove myself home. The next day I was back at school and successfully covering up the fact that the day before I had gone through with a decision that has stayed with me the rest of my life. I never forgave myself and I never allowed myself to forget.
"I am an adult now and a parent. Sometimes in the middle of the night I ask myself what I will do or say if my daughter comes to me one day with that dreaded dilemma. What advice would I give her? In what direction would I guide her? Honestly, I don't know. What I do know is that I believe every woman has the right to make this decision for herself. Whether moral, religious, or legal — it is her decision and only hers. I believe there are consequences for our decisions and I know that I will answer for mine, to God. But right or wrong it should be ours to make."
36. "Sometimes I still go back to that moment and question my decision, wondering how my life would've been different. Would I still have the two beautiful kids I have now? How would they interact with their sibling?"
"My boyfriend and I had only been dating about six months when I became pregnant. He first suggested abortion. We were 21 and 22 and still in college. I agreed, knowing we weren't ready financially, mentally, and emotionally to raise a child. I also selfishly didn't want to lose our new relationship.
"The procedure itself was quick. The worst part was watching them carry out the container of my now empty uterus. I was then put in a room with other girls with a heating pack to recover. I was sent on my way after showing them I wasn't bleeding. I spent about a total of three hours there. I went back to my friend's house with some moderate cramping but physically overall it was tolerable. Later that night I actually went out for drinks. I guess to numb the emotional pain.
"As the weeks passed after, the constant thoughts and regret became less. My boyfriend and I are still together, 10 years later, with two children. Sometimes I still go back to that moment and question my decision, wondering how my life would've been different. Would I still have the two beautiful kids I have now? How would they interact with their sibling? I try not to dwell on it long though because at that time it was the right choice for me. The story of my life, good and bad, abortion included, has made me stronger and brought me to the wonderful life I have now."
—K, 32
37. "The decision to abort was easy. I was a sad and scared college student with what I sensed was an alien in my body."
Sian Butcher / Via buzzfeed.com
"I was drugged and raped by a lot of men, apparently, at a college party. I didn't know it even happened until a friend of a friend told me. I didn't believe it until I realized I was pregnant and that couldn't have been possible at all.
"The decision to abort was easy. I was a sad and scared college student with what I sensed was an alien in my body. I took a cab to have the procedure done because I did not want to tell even one person. I had to have an escort home though so I couldn't have the procedure at that time. I called my sister at her nearby college and she made arrangements to come to me. I went back to the clinic and got in a white robe and on a gurney in a basement with a bunch of strangers. I was unfazed but I bet that looks like a horror movie. Those clinics should maybe look softer.
"The procedure was done quickly, and there was a cookie and 7up in the recovery room with the same strange women that I loved but never knew in white robes. I went to class the next day. I have a few hangups as a result of that party, none of them as a result of the abortion."
38. "Anyone who says that women use abortion as a form of birth control or do it for selfish reasons has obviously no clue of what the weight of the decision is."
"I had just turned 30 and I found myself pregnant after dating a man for only two months. I had just moved away from my entire support system to take a promotion. I took a home pregnancy test and it was positive; my stomach dropped and I cried myself to sleep. I am not the kind of person who makes rash decisions and I'm known for weighing all options before jumping. I knew that without my family's support, and the support of the baby's father and his family, I could not provide the life I wanted or had for my child.
"I let the baby's father know of my pregnancy and we agreed that an abortion was the best possible scenario. I visited my Planned Parenthood and held my head high as I went in for an information-gathering appointment. That's when I decided to have a medical abortion. I was driven to my appointment a week later, had an ultrasound, and I received my first dose of the medication; I cried the entire way home. That night after my second dose, I was overcome by my the pain and vomited over and over again. I begged my then-boyfriend to take me to the ER because the pain was so terrible. After several hours, the pain subsided and I finally fell asleep.
"I feel into a deep depression afterwards and had to be hospitalized for nine days; I had tried to commit suicide. Is my abortion something I regret? Absolutely. Was it the best choice at the time? Yes. Anyone who says that women use abortion as a form of birth control or do it for selfish reasons has obviously no clue of what the weight of the decision is. I did not make my decision lightly and it makes me sick to think that there are advocates for taking the choice away from women."
39. "In the eyes of the law, my rape didn't happen. If that kind of policy had been in place when I was 14, I would have a 2-year-old child right now, and probably would've been kicked out and had to drop out of school."
"I was raped when I was 14 and I was unlucky enough to get pregnant. I was not ready to be a mother, and certainly not the mother of a rapist's child. It wasn't a difficult choice for me, and at first I felt like there was something wrong with me, because on TV they always show this as being such a heart-wrenching choice, but I knew what I wanted. I don't think it's fair to expect women to attach so much emotion to what is essentially a bundle of cells, and if anyone ends up reading this, I want them to know it's okay if you don't feel guilt attached to the choice of having an abortion.
"I don't have a great relationship with my parents, and they're pretty old-school and religious, so at the time I didn't tell them about the rape or the abortion, since in California you don't need to tell your parents or get their permission to get an abortion. I went in with a close friend instead and I chose to use the abortion pill because it was cheaper and at the time I was only about six weeks pregnant. It ended up costing me around $780, because I live in a pretty expensive area, but it might be cheaper depending on where you live. I was able to pay this because I'm lucky enough to be from a fairly well-off family, and I had money saved up from birthdays and allowance (even with this, the abortion ended up draining all of my savings and I can't imagine how I would've paid if my family didn't have money).
"I think that Trump's ideas that abortion should only be allowed in cases of rape is terrible. Speaking as someone who was raped, I never reported it to the police, so in the eyes of the law, my rape didn't happen. If that kind of policy had been in place when I was 14, I would have a 2-year-old child right now, and probably would've been kicked out and had to drop out of school. Instead, I'm getting straight A's in my junior year of high school and taking the time to go to therapy and learning to cope with what happened to me."
40. "Having a third abortion was embarrassing and took a very hard toll on my body and my mind."
"I've had three abortions. I had my first abortion at 20. I was not on the pill and found out I was pregnant at 12 weeks. This abortion was medically required, as the pregnancy was not viable. Fortunately, I live near a Planned Parenthood and was able to receive the proper ultrasounds prior to my abortion appointment and they accept my insurance.
"I immediately began taking the pill, but became pregnant again six months later. The second abortion was my decision. During this abortion, I chose to have an IUD inserted. This IUD worked for about a year and a half but fell out without my knowledge, and I became pregnant a third time with someone who I only began dating weeks before I found out. This abortion was my choice as well, and my partner supported me through the entire process.
"Having a third abortion was embarrassing and took a very hard toll on my body and my mind. I'm not proud of my experiences with abortion but if I did not have access to proper women's health care, I would not be in the stable place that I am today."
—Emily, 23
41. "I talked to my doctor. She felt terrible. Her best friend had had the same thing happen to her, with the same result. She hugged me while we both cried. It was only a little weird, since I wasn't wearing pants."
"I am married, financially stable, and college educated. I got pregnant with the non-hormonal IUD. I almost didn't even take a test because I'd checked my strings, they were fine and how could I possibly be in the .04% that that happens to? But I was pregnant.
"We don't want kids. We had decided that before, but we still thought about it and discussed it. It just felt like an end to me. Like everything that I love about my life currently would end if I had kids.
"I talked to my doctor. She felt terrible. Her best friend had had the same thing happen to her, with the same result. She hugged me while we both cried. It was only a little weird, since I wasn't wearing pants.
"In my state, it's getting harder to obtain a safe and legal abortion. There are only two providers in a three-hour radius. They do not accept insurance. They have a list of prices and you can choose your level of pain management based on price. To me, that was horrifying. It really hit me that not only would lower-income rural women have to take time off work to drive into the city to visit the clinic, then stay overnight to have the procedure the next day or come back, but they could do it with just Advil to save money.
"The procedure itself only took about two minutes. It hurt quite a lot, but it didn't last long. Maybe I had it easy, but I didn't have a whole lot of cramping. The nurse escorted me to the recovery room and got me a couple cookies and a soda. I didn't feel anything but relief. I wish I wanted kids. I know there are so many people that struggle with infertility. Abortion was absolutely the right decision for me."
42. "I was supposed to go back for a checkup in two weeks to ensure all the tissue had been passed, but because the clinic was understaffed, they had to schedule my follow-up appointment for three weeks later."
"I was 25 and in a serious relationship but not ready for a child. I was lucky enough to catch the pregnancy early and make a quick decision, so I had my abortion at less than seven weeks. There was a single protester outside of the clinic. I had no second thoughts about my decision, but several of the other women in the clinic looked nervous. I opted for a medical abortion (the pill) since I was so early in the pregnancy.
"I was supposed to go back for a checkup in two weeks to ensure all the tissue had been passed, but because the clinic was understaffed, they had to schedule my follow-up appointment for three weeks later. Two weeks to the day after I had the abortion, I hemorrhaged. I went to the ER where I had to be given a blood transfusion. They called in a team and I had an emergency D&C at about 4 a.m. and woke up in the ICU just before 7 a.m.
"I would have died if I hadn't received such quick care, and I'm extremely grateful to the OB-GYN and the team of nurses. Despite the complications, I have never regretted terminating that pregnancy."
43. "As I was putting the pad on, I looked down and saw what I can only describe as the single most horrific sight."
"It has been a month since I had my abortion and it seems as if I will never stop bleeding. My boyfriend and I have been together for three and a half years, a year and a half of which were spent living apart. One month, I noticed I skipped my period and couldn't hold any food down to save my life. I took a test and to my surprise, it was positive! I say that because my periods have been irregular over periods of my life due to my battle with anorexia/bulimia.
"I don't have any children and we have talked about having children; we even have the names picked out. Still, when I told him, he wasn't as surprised or happy as I was. As my pregnancy went on, I became very depressed realizing that right now we aren't in a position to take care of a child and the constant throwing up had triggered my eating disorder once again. We discussed our options and he suggested abortion. My heart sank even though I understood his reasoning and knew we weren't ready for a child. We asked my mom for the money and she obliged. I went to the doctor and since I was a week shy of being 10 weeks, I had the option of a pill I took there and four pills I would take the following day.
"Within an hour, I experienced the worst cramps I have ever felt. When the crippling pain subsided enough, I got up to go to the bathroom and put a pad on. As I was putting the pad on, I looked down and saw what I can only describe as the single most horrific sight. I watched my fetus still in its sac fall out of me into the toilet. All I could do was scream and sob.
"All I have ever wanted was a child and the first time I got pregnant I wasn't in a stable place in my life to raise one. I've been very emotional since then and still bleeding. It has put a huge strain on my relationship and every day has been an emotional battle."
—Ally, 29
44. "Regardless of a wanted or unwanted pregnancy, abortion is between a doctor and a patient — not a patient and the government."
"My husband and I planned to give our daughter a little brother or sister when she was about 5 months old. We were ecstatic when we got our positive pregnancy test. Everything was going great until we went in for our routine 12-week ultrasound. Our little baby had never developed a brain (ventriculomegaly is the medical term). This very wanted child had a 10% chance of making it to birth. If we did make it to birth, our sweet baby would suffer and die shortly after birth. My husband and I made the most compassionate choice we could and decided to end the pregnancy. I was not going to let my child suffer.
"My health insurance would not cover abortion under any circumstances, so a few days later I was on my way to Hope Clinic in Illinois. We went out of state to avoid the 72-hour waiting period in Missouri. When we got to the clinic there were protesters outside and escorts had to walk us in. One man yelled to me and my husband as we were entering the building: 'As soon as you walk into that room and open your legs, your womb becomes a war zone.'
"I remember wanting to die as I put my feet into the stirrups. I remember the numbing shot into the cervix and I remember the physical feeling of having my baby taken out of me. After that, I don't remember much except this unbearable pain in my chest and a lot of blood. And as I left, the same protester that greeted me when I first got there yelled, 'Where's your baby?! What happened to your baby?!' Those words have never stopped echoing in my head.
"Regardless of a wanted or unwanted pregnancy, abortion is between a doctor and a patient — not a patient and the government."
—Paige, 23
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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AVANGRID Honors Its Business Partners
Supplier Awards Recognize Vital Role of Business Community
Rochester, N.Y. June 29, 2016 AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) celebrated the contributions and achievements of its business partners at its first annual Supplier Recognition Event on Wednesday.
Approximately 250 business community members, from across multiple states, turned out for the awards ceremony at the Strathallan Hotel on Wednesday, as AVANGRID presented awards to entrepreneurs and executives who supply a wide variety of products and services to AVANGRID and its companies across the United States. The event recognized suppliers that have shown commitment and have provided value to AVANGRID's strategic plan.
As we prepare to celebrate the 240th anniversary of our nation's independence this July 4, we recognize the important role that our business community plays in preserving America's legacy as a land of prosperity and opportunity, said James P. Torgerson, AVANGRID Chief Executive Officer. Each of these awards is a testament to the the hard work and dedication of our business partners, whose efforts have helped AVANGRID emerge as a leader in providing innovative, clean and reliable energy to customers and communities across the United States.
Burns and McDonnell was selected as Supplier of the Year, recognizing the company's performance, agility and commitment to cooperate.
Six other awards were also presented, reflecting key corporate values such as innovation, sustainability, storm excellence, diversity and others. The winners were:
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Sevenson Environmental
Storm Excellence Lucas Tree Company
Environmental Stewardship TRC
Health and Safety Black and Veatch
Supplier Innovation Wanzek Construction
Diverse Supplier of the Year Sheen & Shine
Prime Supplier of the Year General Cable
Business partners were nominated by various AVANGRID companies and winners were selected by a steering committee, as well as representatives of the AVANGRID purchasing team.
In addition to issuing the awards, the recognition event provided an opportunity for AVANGRID"s leadership team to inform main suppliers and media about the company and its 2016 business plan; to demonstrate its local commitment; and to reinforce its principles of sustainability, environmental responsibility, health and safety, and diversity.
About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a diversified energy and utility company with more than $30 billion in assets and operations in 25 states. The company operates regulated utilities and electricity generation through two primary lines of business. Avangrid Networks includes eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.1 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables operates 6.3 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, in states across the United States. AVANGRID employs 7,000 people. The company was formed by a merger between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings Corporation in 2015. IBERDROLA S.A. (Madrid: IBE), a worldwide leader in the energy industry, owns 81.5% of AVANGRID. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
Michael A. West, Jr.
Michael.West@uinet.com
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Memo to Microsoft: Free (as in beer) isn't enough
Students want to work on projects that they consider interesting, relevant, and--yes--cool. And that has very little to do with Microsoft making products available under an academic license.
Gordon Haff
Writing in Computerworld, Eric Lai notes that:
Despite the popularity of .Net within companies and other employers, Microsoft has seen its standing among students continue to be eroded by a combination of open-source programming tools and Adobe Systems Inc.'s Web design software. Now, after years of using half-measures to try to beat those technologies on college campuses, Microsoft is taking a bolder step by making four pillars of the .Net platform available free of charge to tens of millions of students in the U.S., Canada, China and eight European countries.
A few observations here.
If you're a follower of Sun and Solaris as I have been for many years, there's a familiar thread here. A major cause of Sun's financial problems--which the company is still working to put behind it--was that it lost a goodly chunk of the core developer constituency that gave it market relevance. And, in CEO Jonathan Schwartz' words: "To establish a high-integrity relationship with a broad and participative community is really the principal objective of bringing Solaris into the open-source world." Yes, there are still many developers for Windows and other Microsoft software platforms, but it often seems a dutiful and passionless crowd.
The analogy between Microsoft/Windows and Sun/Solaris is not a perfect one. Perhaps the most notable distinction is that Microsoft has a broad presence in both consumer and SMB markets that Sun did not (and does not). The inertia this provides insulates Microsoft to at least some degree from the shifting breezes of developer fashion. Nonetheless, when you add in that Microsoft also has to contend with the shift of computing into the network cloud (and the corresponding diminution of Microsoft's incumbent advantages that implies), a weakening connection to developers can't be viewed as anything but bad.
Finally, while giving away software may well be a reasonable step for Microsoft to take, it's hardly a sufficient strategy to counter the rise in Open Source (and programming to application programming interfaces in a Web 2.0 or Software as a Service context). Yes, students like free. Who doesn't? But they also want to work on projects that they consider interesting, relevant, and--yes--cool. And that has very little to do with Microsoft making products available under an academic license.
Discuss: Memo to Microsoft: Free (as in beer) isn't enough
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Clinic pursues new revenue by expanding lab operation
PHOTO PROVIDED
The Cleveland Clinic is putting the final touches on a $75 million building that officials hope will pump new blood into the health care juggernaut’s revenue stream. The three-story, 135,000-square-foot building at the intersection of East 105th Street and Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland will house the Clinic’s Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute — the arm of the Clinic that conducts various forms of medical testing for doctors throughout the health care system. The lab on the Clinic’s main campus currently conducts about 12 million tests a year; about 10% of those tests are for health care providers across the country, and they’re performed for a fee. Officials wouldn’t disclose how much revenue the lab generates, but with the construction of the new building, the Clinic hopes to quadruple that business line over the next five years, according to Dr. David Bosler, head of Cleveland Clinic Laboratories. The move to expand its laboratory operations aligns with the Clinic’s overall strategy — and that of other health care systems throughout Northeast Ohio — to diversify their revenue streams given the uncertainty surrounding government reimbursements and a dwindling patient base in the region. “The Clinic has a strong presence in Northeast Ohio. There’s no doubt about it, and that’s not going to change,” Dr. Bosler said. “When the Clinic looks for growth, there’s only so much market share in Northeast Ohio. It makes sense to look outward.” The Clinic, for one, has operations in Canada, Florida, Nevada and, by 2013, Abu Dhabi. However, an expansion of its laboratory and pathology offerings will allow the Clinic to reach a broader patient base — and thus generate more revenue — without investing in bricks and mortar across the country or the world. “It’s a large market, and even the biggest hospitals send out some testing,” said Dr. Kandice Kottke-Marchant, chair of the Clinic’s Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute. The Mayo Clinic — one of the Clinic’s top competitors — in Rochester, Minn., already runs one of the largest groups of medical laboratories in the country. According to a spokesman, Mayo’s laboratories perform 20 million tests a year and have more than 4,000 clients from all 50 states and more than 60 countries. While Clinic officials wouldn’t share revenue projections, the expanded operations are expected to net 350 to 400 new jobs in the labs by 2018. The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute currently employs about 1,400 people, 850 of whom are on the main campus. The hiring is expected to add about five new sales jobs this year in the Southeast and along the Atlantic Seaboard. The current sales team of nine primarily is based in the Midwest, with additional staff in Florida and Alabama, Dr. Bosler said. “It’s much easier for a specimen to travel across country than it is for a patient to travel across the country,” Dr. Bosler said.
Advancing the mission
The new building is expected to serve as the eastern gateway to the Clinic’s main campus. It is strewn with system’s trademark sterile white and gray color scheme preferred by its CEO, Dr. Delos “Toby” Cosgrove. It’s also the first building Dr. Cosgrove has helped develop from its inception to completion since he was named CEO in 2004. Armed with the latest technology, the new building is expected to allow the institute to add to its roster of 2,200 different types of tests and open new research opportunities, Dr. Kottke-Marchant said. It also doubles the square footage available for the institute, which hasn’t had new space in 30 years, as some of the institute’s staff will continue to occupy its current space on Carnegie Avenue on the southern portion of the Clinic campus. While patients, for the most part, likely won’t see the inside of the testing facility, its services will impact the majority of the patients navigating the health care system. About 70% of all decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment rely on medical testing. “I really do believe this project helps further the Cleveland Clinic mission,” Dr. Bosler said. “It drives innovation and creates educational opportunities.”
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Our CSR strategy : partnering a sustainable economy
Fighting against modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking
The UK Modern Slavery Act on the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking was introduced in 2016. The act requires companies to annually publish a statement on the measures taken to fight against modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking both by themselves and across their entire supply chain (i.e. their suppliers and subcontractors). The act applies to companies present or conducting business activities in the UK.
OUR RESPONSE
Given its business activities in the UK and in accordance with Section 54 of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, Crédit Agricole S.A. published a statement on the measures taken in the financial year ending 31 December 2015 to fight against all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking in its business activities and relations with suppliers.
The Group has committed to fighting against all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking in its supply chain and requires the same commitment from its suppliers.
The main commitments are part of, but not limited to, the fundamental principles expressed by the various external texts signed by the Group (including the Charter of Human Rights and the United Nations Global Compact) as well as by formal internal commitments (CSR strategy, Group Code of Conduct). The statement also detailed the Group's plan to implement measures for assessing and managing risks in this area.
The statement was approved by the Crédit Agricole S.A. Board of Directors.
Download the statement
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Tommie Andrews - A Titanic Story
Clarence Hiles
Hiltop Publications Ltd, 2013
Softback, 192pp.
Hiles sets the biography of the most famous shipbuilder in history in Comber, the home of the Andrews family, and traces the childhood of young Tommie Andrews from his birth at Ardara House, to Inst School, cricket at The Green and ultimately his meteoric rise to fame at Harland and Wolff Shipyard.
The story is of considerable historical interest as very little has previously been known about Thomas Andrews (Jun) other than a small book written by Shan Bullock several months after the Titanic sinking in 1912. The book finishes with the Titanic Story, but from a Tommie Andrews perspective and deals with the huge legacy his death has left in the town and country of his birth.
From all accounts Tommie Andrews was a lovely man, a pillar of society and the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Churches in Comber and Rosemary Street in Belfast. He was a modest cricketer, who played with and against all the best cricketers in Ulster during the embryonic years of NCU and North-West Cricket in 1880 and afterwards.
Tommie made his 1st XI debut as a raw 15 year-old and played his last game for the club in 1904 when his commitments to shipbuilding consumed his life. He was a Vice-President of the Northern Cricket Union and although he declined the Presidency on several occasions because of work, it was always expected he would don the role at some stage later in his life. He played in three Junior Cup winning teams and amongst his 1st XI achievements was a top score of 66 against Lisburn in the Senior Cup in 1901.
Tommie lived his life to high principles and in the face of adversity Hiles portrays the story of a heroic man doing all that he could to save women and children from the sinking ship. He died a hero and this biography will give him a unique place in the history of local cricket because, as Hiles claims, he was surely "the most famous person to play cricket in Ireland."
Review by CricketEurope, 5 November 2013
Clarence Hiles has produced another cricket masterpiece that ticks all the boxes if your cricket passion is combined with the Titanic story and local history.
It is certainly an ideal Christmas present and at 15 quid it is a pinch for a book of this type.
The story is of considerable historical interest as very little has previously been known about Thomas Andrews (Jun) other than a small book written by Shan Bullock several months after the Titanic sinking in 1912.
The book finishes with the Titanic story, but from a Tommie Andrews perspective and deals with the huge legacy his death has left in the town and country of his birth.
From all accounts Tommie Andrews was a lovely man, a pillar of society and the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Churches in Comber and Rosemary Street in Belfast.
He was a modest cricketer, who played with and against all the best cricketers in Ulster during the embryonic years of NCU and North-West Cricket in 1880 and afterwards.
Tommie made his 1st XI debut as a raw 15 year-old and played his last game for the club in 1904 when his commitments to shipbuilding consumed his life.
He was a Vice-President of the Northern Cricket Union and although he declined the Presidency on several occasions because of work, it was always expected he would don the role at some stage later in his life.
He played in three Junior Cup winning teams and amongst his 1st XI achievements was a top score of 66 against Lisburn in the Senior Cup in 1901. Tommie lived his life to high principles and in the face of adversity
Hiles portrays the story of a heroic man doing all that he could to save women and children from the sinking ship.
He died a hero and this biography will give him a unique place in the history of local cricket because, as Hiles claims, he was surely "the most famous person to play cricket in Ireland."
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Home / Health / Are young South Africans ignoring Aids message?
Are young South Africans ignoring Aids message?
It is a frostily cold morning in the outskirts of Johannesburg. Children aged between 6 and 17 are queuing up for their "morning meds", shivering their greetings to the nurse assigned to supervise them. It's now part of their daily routine before they skip off into the yard and get bussed off to school.
These youngsters are a walking, breathing, living testimony to South Africa's shameful past.
When a minority in the leadership allowed politics to overshadow science and refused to accept the potent reality of HIV/Aids. It delayed the rollout of preventative treatment and exposed tens of thousands of newborns to disease.
Most of the youngsters popping their pills were infected in the womb.
When the rest of the world was rolling out a drug called Nevirapine to reduce the chances of mothers transmitting the virus to their offspring, elements within the South African leadership famously advised patients to use lemon and garlic instead, to protect themselves.
Aids in South Africa:
340,000 new infections in 2014 (931 a day)
2,700 young people infected every week - 74% girls
More than half a million infected in the past year
140,000 recorded Aids deaths every year
Many Aids deaths go unreported, so it is estimated there are more than 400 aids deaths each day
Source: UNAids, 2014
But times have changed. Dramatically.
South Africa reviewed it position in the face of international criticism.
"At least now the children have treatment, and more importantly they have life," says a sanguine Gail Johnson, the founder of a refuge for HIV-positive children created in the memory of the little boy she fostered, called Nkosi Johnson.
Her 11-year-old son's impassioned plea during the last big Aids conference here 16 years ago, to stop stigmatising people with HIV, moved the world to tears.
It marked a line in the sand and South Africa now has the most extensive anti-retroviral treatment programme in the world.
Youngsters like Sanele - a slightly built 20 year old from Soweto who grew up in Nkosi's Haven orphanage and lost most of his family to Aids - are now far less likely to be infected at birth.
"I never asked to be infected with this disease... at times I rebelled, I said: 'Why me?'" he says.
But he is now reconciled to his fate, is well controlled on his medication and wants to be a role model to other young people like Nkosi who died shortly after his famous speech, deprived of Aids drugs.
Sanele is now completing his higher school certificate and dreams of becoming a computer engineer.
'Sugar daddy' syndrome
Rates of mother to child transmission have fallen by more than 50% since 2009 thanks to an aggressive programme of testing and treatment which has been rolled out across South Africa.
But the country faces a new threat - the staggering number of young people here under the age of 24 becoming newly infected with HIV.
In any one week, 2,700 young men and women aged 15-24 become infected with the Aids virus, according to figures released by UNAids.
Young South African women are particularly at risk and are getting infected in higher numbers due to a complex range of factors including economic and gender inequality, family breakdown and the practice of younger women having sex with older men.
This is the so-called "sugar daddy" syndrome or what the experts call "inter-generational sex".
It explains why in some places, young women are three times more likely to be infected with the Aids virus than young men.
A new word which captures this arrangement is a "blesser" - used to describe an older man who will offers gifts to a younger woman for sex.
South Africa's Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi recently embraced the term when he unveiled a new programme seeing to tackle the alarming number of adolescent infections.
As well as addressing problems with gender violence, he said the programme aims "to keep girls at school for as long as possible and create job opportunities for them so they reduce their dependence upon men".
'It is not spoken about'
HIV/Aids has exposed the complex social dynamics in South Africa and treatment alone is clearly not the answer for reaching the holy grail of an Aids-free generation.
One of the challenges that young people face is stigma.
sanele is one of the few courageous young South Africans to have declared his HIV status to his friend and his girlfriend.
"When I told her, she didn't believe me, she thought I was messing around but eventually she talked to my family and realised it was true and she got used to it. We are still together today".
But he admits that when you are out on the street "it is not spoken about".
Stigma and ignorance about HIV persists in South Africa despite concerted efforts at public information campaigns.
Sanele looks like any ordinary young man, enjoys his football and is clearly not dying.
Yet an estimated 400 people die in South Africa every single day of HIV-related illnesses, either because they don't seek help early on or default on their treatment. That message - that you can still die from the Aids virus - is somehow getting lost, he believes.
South Africa is not alone. More than two million adolescents around the world are living with the Aids virus, according to Unicef.
Most of them are in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
It still remains the biggest cause of death among young people in Africa and the number of lives lost in this group has tripled in the past 16 years.
Little wonder then that the issue is likely to dominate debate when Aids experts reconvene in Durban, to assess the progress since the last conference.
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Do You Know These RFID Technology In Libraries
RFID companies have been quick to respond to the challenge of keeping libraries open in these austere times. The Vatican Library in Rome is the latest, and one of the most high profile, of scores of libraries worldwide that are adopting RFID technology in libraries of books and other items. The main benefit is that books can be checked quickly using a handheld reader, reducing stocktaking time from weeks to half a day. Because most libraries have library management IT systems, the data for the tags can be generated from the library’s database. The library then uses handheld readers to perform stock takes, while fixed readers at issuing desks scan books entering or leaving the library.
A stack of books can be scanned in seconds, significantly reducing the time and staff needed to manage loans. According to The RFID knowledge base, a research service, US libraries lead the world in RFID use, with the UK and Japan equal second. The latest – and possibly the largest to go live – is the Hendon Campus Library at Middle sex University. This new library has selected a £200,000 system from Switzerland-based Library, which has been installed by its UK distributor D-Link in association with Dynix, the university’s library management system supplier.
D-Link has also installed similar systems at Nottingham Trent University’s library, Colchester public library, the Barbican library in London and Norwich Millennium library. Because the data on borrowing can be kept on the tag, it is technically possible to walk around the library to weed out items not regularly used: books that have not been taken out for more than a year, for example. Fortunately, the British Library is in a position to use RFID technology in libraries as a leapfrog technology because, unlike most public libraries, it does not barcode its books. While more affordable than ever, the cost of even a simple RFID system remains prohibitive for some libraries.
In an effort to streamline library function and reduce long-term costs, many libraries have begun to look to radio frequency identification as a replacement for the ubiquitous bar code system due to the increased functionality RFID systems provide in terms of circulation, security, inventory, and other areas of library workflow. RFID is not a new technology, with the first recorded mention found in a 1948 paper by Harry Stockman called Communications by Means of Reflected Power. The first proposed use in libraries can be traced back as far as 1998.
The very next year, the library at Rockefeller University became the first to use RFID, while that same year the Farmington Community Library in Michigan was the first public library to do so. While usage has exploded, 15 years later, the overall percentage of libraries incorporating RFID remains low. However, when using SIP2 to communicate with the ILS, the tags are still handled sequentially.
admin Industry News rfid, rfid library tags, rfid technology
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Home/South O’ the Highway/Sarah Jessica Parker Fights for Tipped Workers, They Fight Back
Sarah Jessica Parker Fights for Tipped Workers, They Fight Back
No good deed goes unpunished.
SOTH Team May 26, 2018
Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo credit: Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images Entertainment/Thinkstock
Bridgehampton’s Sarah Jessica Parker, like many celebrities, is a bit of a social justice warrior, supporting life-changing causes such as UNICEF, Joining Forces and the Human Rights Campaign. However, her latest push for change is receiving an enormous amount of pushback.
In March, she united with more than a dozen A-list actresses, including Hamptonites Debra Messing and Reese Witherspoon, to draft a letter urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers. Not struggling to pay rent themselves, the actresses’ action would ideally be seen as altruistic, something to be praised by tipped workers across New York.
That’s not what happened.
500 restaurant workers responded by signing an open letter, organized by Outback Steakhouse bartender Maggie Raczynski, to the Hollywood elites telling them to back off. “You’ve been misled that we earn less than minimum wage… Thank you for your concern. But we don’t need your help, and we’re not asking to be saved,” they wrote. A major fear that the workers addressed is if employers are forced to pay their restaurant staff more, they will cut down staff size to keep the budget balanced.
Things have only escalated in the last two months. In late May, Parker hosted a fundraiser for One Fair Wage, an organization fighting for an increased minimum wage across the country and the abolishment of lower tipper wages. The whole event had to be kept secret from the very people the fundraiser sought to help. The location of the event was only given out to people who purchased tickets or tables, which went for as much as $50,000, to avoid a run-in with protesters.
Many angry restaurant workers attempted to guess the fundraiser’s location, but both presumed Manhattan venues were proven incorrect. One would-be protest went as far as to purchase a $500 ticket to gain the whereabouts of the event, but after his social media was screened to find countless anti-One Fair Wage posts, his ticket was nullified and his money returned. The event was moved to an undisclosed private home and managed to avoid any trouble.
It will be interesting to see how long Parker continues to fight for a group that has made it clear that it doesn’t want anyone’s help. Hopefully, her next cause will be less controversial.
2018 Brings Another Year of East End Anniversaries
Dan’s Rosé Soirée Countdown: Canal Café Chef Paul Hodges
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In Memory of Paul Allen, Programmer
Paul G. Allen died on Monday at the age of 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Most of the obituaries of Allen emphasize that he was the cofounder of Microsoft and the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, but some gloss over the fact that he was also a developer. He dropped out of college to work as a programmer long before Bill Gates famously dropped out of Harvard, and in fact, it was Allen who convinced Gates to leave school and move to Albuquerque where the pair created Microsoft Basic. He also helped create MS-DOS, and it was his idea to create the two-button mouse.
Allen stepped away from Microsoft's daily operations in the 1980s but remained on the board. When the company’s success made him a billionaire, he did the sorts of things we would all like to think we would do if we became suddenly wealthy. He gave a lot of his money away. He bought his sports franchises, and he built a museum that houses, among other things, Jimi Hendrix’s guitars and Captain Kirk’s chair.
As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella eloquently stated, “Paul Allen’s contributions to our company, our industry and to our community are indispensable. As co-founder of Microsoft, in his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions, and in doing so, he changed the world. I have learned so much from him – his inquisitiveness, curiosity and push for high standards are something that will continue to inspire me and all of us at Microsoft. Our hearts are with Paul’s family and loved ones. Rest in peace.”
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Kingsbridge food & music festival
Scot Baston
Free party celebrating array of home-grown food and music talent on 30 May - 1 June
Now in its third year, the 2014 Kingsbridge Food & Music Festival is a celebration of the best food and live music our beautiful region can offer.
Running from Friday 30th May to Sunday 1st June and set on the stunning waterside quay and town bandstand, this year’s festival has something for every member of the family and entry is FREE!
Food lovers will be in their element , with Middle Eastern and Southern Indian food, as well as wood fired pizzas, char grilled Steaks, Sushi, proper Devon Pasties, Thai and Chilli sauces, real ale and wines, meringues, cream teas, puddings, ice cream and much more. The Heron Valley cocktail and cider bar will be running throughout the event.
On the music front, this year we have an eclectic mix ranging from folk, blues and classical, to up-and-coming dance DJ’s, Ska and funk bands. Acts include: Sam Fearon, Panda, Chippie Tucker, Hazaar, The Sheikhs, Dr Oz, and Three Men in a Wok. The festival will also feature the not-to-be-missed, irrepressible 8-piece funk band ‘Freshly Squeezed’; and next-big-thing, the energetic soul band, ‘Yes Sir Boss’, who have played alongside Joss Stone, and featured on BBC Radio 1’s Rob Da Banks show, as well as on Radio 2, and 6 Music.
The Big Jam will take place on Sunday 1st June – an attempt at making a world record for the biggest group musical Jamming session (open invitation for anyone to download the chords and music from the website and come along with their instrument to play!). Talented young musicians are also encouraged to come along on Saturday and Sunday mornings until 11am to busk and showcase their music.
For more information, programmes are available from the Kingsbridge Tourist Information Office and other outlets around Kingsbridge at £2, or visit our website www.kingsbridgefoodandmusic.org .
The festival is a not-for-profit organisation and this year will be supporting local charity Devon Air Ambulance Trust http://www.daat.org/.
Website www.kingsbridgefoodandmusic.org.
Facebook www.facebook.com/kingsbridgefoodandmusic.
Twitter @Kb_FoodandMusic
Official sponsor TOAD HALL COTTAGES, www.toadhallcottages.co.uk
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DCI Unwrapped: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the World Championships DVDs
by Chris Weber
Few Drum Corps International products are more coveted to the avid drum corps fan than the annual World Championships DVDs. Since the 1970s, Drum Corps International has produced television broadcasts of its World Championship events. Starting in the 1980s as VHS became popular, performances became available to the average drum corps connoisseur, and after updated technology became available, the very first DCI DVDs were offered in 2000. In 2006, the full line of DCI World Championships DVDs includes six discs spanning performances of all competing Division I corps in addition to the 12 Division II & III finalists. Several of these DVDs give viewers access to multiple video angles and audio tracks so they can call the shots they want to see and capture their favorite moments from the drum corps season.
The 2006 World Championships DVD sets
are made up of three different volumes.
More than 100 people have a hand in making the annual DVD products a reality, accounting for well over 10,000 man hours worth of work. Take into account the additional work that is put in to create three separate television broadcasts on ESPN2 (two-hour version and two one-hour segments) and a five-and-a-half hour live theater broadcast, taping and producing anything television related to the DCI World Championships is an impressive feat. From June through November each year, Drum Corps International and Tom Blair, Inc., the production company for all DCI television products, are hard at work on a drum corps season's broadcast products. The following is an inside look at the DVD-making process from start to finish, and some of the steps that are involved to finally put the finished product in consumer's DVD players. Planning and logistics June-August Outside of general setup logistics for the production crew prior to the DCI World Championships, like hiring staff, travel arrangements and developing feature video segments, extensive research is done on each of the corps' performances. This helps the production crew's directors familiarize themselves with the corps' programs and to map out the best camera shots and angles to capture during the show. "We watch corps as early in the season as possible and as many times as possible," says Tom Blair, producer and director of the World Championships productions. Blair brings more than 34 years of drum corps experience to the program. He was a member of the Glassmen and the Cavaliers in the late 1970s and has worked on Drum Corps International's television programs since the 1980s. "I try to see all of the corps at least three or four times before the World Championships. The first couple of times I like to just watch and get a sense of the show. I also try to connect up with as many drum corps staff members as I can for their insight. Then, I'll watch at least two performances where I'll record my own commentary on how I want to see the show directed," says Blair. As part of these preparations, each notable visual and musical moment is timed to the second and included in a written series of production notes. This becomes a reference point for all tapings of a corps' performance. "A drum corps performance is like a 10-ring circus. We research the programs by watching the corps and talking with staff members to determine the best shots to capture," says Blair. "We do have to use our judgment throughout, determining whether we should use a high camera shot here or a close-up there, but that's also why I love the DVDs. For those that want high camera all the time, or for those who just want to watch the color guard, there are multiple options to switch between."
Handwritten production notes are referenced while taping a
performance to stay on top of the action.
Set of production notes (PDF) from the Phantom Regiment's 2006 show, "Faust." Each moment, the time it occurs, the camera that will be used to capture that moment and any additional notes are included. If you already own the 2006 World Championship DVD, compare these notes to the final product. Each performance brings a slightly different set of circumstances, and quick on-the-spot decisions not always included on the production notes often have to be made. Taping the performances August More than 70 people make up the production crew for the World Championships; from producers and camera operators, to audio and graphics specialists. Many of the crew members arrive on the Sunday before the week of the World Championships.
This television truck serves as the command center during broadcasts.
While a corps is performing, some of the most exciting action related to the broadcast happens inside of the TV truck just outside the stadium, which serves as the command center for the broadcast. Inside, the director sits in front of more than 100 screens, and uses those views to select the appropriate cameras to capture the moments that were outlined during the research process. Each new stadium presents a new challenge and specialized setup for the equipment, and because of that, it takes months of prep time to get to this stage. The TV truck had to be delivered and set up, video cables had to be pulled through conduits in the stadium to the appropriate locations, and the 11 cameras used during taping had to be positioned.
Inside the TV truck, assistant director John Flower watches a stopwatch and his production notes to call out upcoming performance moments to director Jeff Clark, who sits in the middle.
Hear what it's like to be inside the television truck in this video clip of the Cavaliers' performance at the 2004 DCI World Championships. In this clip, Tom Blair calls the shots from the director's chair. Also heard is the assistant director who calls out the upcoming drill and musical moments for the director.
The assistant director sits to the director's left in the truck. He watches a stopwatch and the production notes carefully so that he can keep track of any upcoming drill, music or solo moments. The director then calls all of the camera shots. He "readies" the cameras and then "takes" or "dissolves" to the camera shot that he wants. The technical director on the director's right side in the TV truck pushes the buttons to make the camera switches happen. All of this is fast paced. "It's great to be in the truck during live performances especially when everything is working. When the drum corps is having a great performance, it soaks into everything. It comes all the way down the wires into the speakers and into the monitors, and you can have a great performance yourself while covering it. It's incredibly exciting," says Blair. He added: "So many of the people who work on the DCI broadcasts have done it for so long now that they get fired up to do the show every year. When you're a hand-held cameraman on the sidelines and the Madison Scouts are being the Madison Scouts, even if you have no drum corps background at all, it's hard not to get drawn up in the excitement!" Video and audio editing begins August-September Just one day after the completion of the World Championships, video editing begins. Tom Blair and members of his crew spend two extra days editing outside of the stadium in the television truck, before moving back to Blair's Chicago-based facilities.
In the studio, Tom Blair monitors Santa Clara Vanguard's surround sound mix for the 2004 World Championships DVDs.
Even before work can begin on the DVD products, though, the editing for the ESPN2 television broadcasts which air in mid September must be completed. Simultaneously, extensive audio work is done to prepare 5.1 surround sound for the DVDs. More than 40 tracks of audio are recorded during the World Championships and are used to create the final surround sound audio mix. Other audio segments like designer commentary tracks are recorded at this time and become added bonuses to the final DVD product.
Doug Thrower and Mitch Rogers of the Bluecoats record their commentary in the studio for a past year's World Championships DVD.
"Something interesting that people might not realize, is that the audio levels used on the DVDs are consistent to how they were during the live performances. If the champion corps sounds 25 percent softer than the corps that took 15th place, it's because the 15th place corps was louder," says Blair. "The audio mix is very consistent for all of the corps, and if one corps seems louder than another, that's how it was during the live performance. We keep the 'audio playing field' level." DVD menu graphics and product package artwork September The physical DVD packaging as well as the menus that show up on a television screen when the DVD is played, require the creation of various graphic elements. In addition to screens that show which corps is on any particular DVD, the discs also contain menus with score recaps, corps contact and sponsor information.
A menu screen from the 2006 World Championship DVD.
"There's a lot of detail work in this phase of the DVD creation, and a lot of room for error that goes along with it," says Blair. "Multiple people check to make sure every score is correct on the on-screen recaps and we even go as far as calling all of the phone numbers listed on the contact sections to make sure that they are right." For the product packaging, text and graphic elements have to be written, edited and proofed before sending to the printer. Great care is taken to make sure that all music licensing and copyright information for each corps' production is up-to-date and noted correctly on the package inserts.
A proof copy of one of the 2006 DVD's disc artwork.
PDFs of the DVD package and disc artwork are used to proof text and layout. Encode video and author DVD September-October Before the first working test discs of the DVD are created, the video needs to be "encoded." Encoding and compressing the video is what allows it to fit on something as small as a DVD. The original video is high-end broadcast quality and is much too large to fit onto a single disc. "A considerable amount of time is spent tweaking encoder settings so that the video quality can be as high as it can on the DVD format. In this activity, because there's so much movement, so much color and so much action going on at the same time, it is always a challenge to find the best settings to use. Whether the stadium has grass or artificial turf, the type of lighting it has and even how its back stands look, all factor into the encoding process," says Blair. Next, the DVD has to be "authored," meaning that all of the different video segments and audio tracks need to be put together in a functioning format. The DVD author takes the audio, video and graphics, and essentially creates what we know as the DVD. The top-six performances on DCI World Championship DVDs all contain four video angles (high camera, multi-camera, percussion, color guard) and several audio tracks. Time is spent making sure that each video track is in synch with each audio track, and this is what allows the DVD user to switch between any angle "on-the-fly" while watching.
These shots from the Blue Devils' 2006 World Championship performance, capture the four different angles that can be watched separately on the DVD. Clockwise from left: high camera, multi-camera, color guard, percussion.
"These DVDs are so much more complicated than your typical feature film. You don't have four angles running simultaneously on 'Batman Begins.' There are very few examples that push a DVD's capabilities like we do with this product," says Blair. Test discs created and checked October Test discs are the first proof of the complete working DVD product. Each disc is carefully watched in its entirety for any problems. The disc functionality is checked so that everything works, like making sure that when the "menu" button on the DVD remote is pressed, the user is taken to the menu page. It sounds simplistic, but each disc's programming is created from scratch and each function has to be defined and verified. Each program is watched at least four times on all different video angles and audio options to make sure that everything is correct. Master copies sent for molding, check discs created and approved November-December When everything is OK and ready to go after the test disc stage, the final version of the DVD product is "mastered" so that it can be used to create the template for all copies of the DVDs. Encryption is put on the discs as a copyright measure at this point as well. Unlike a recordable DVD that you may throw into your computer to burn a home movie, commercial grade DVDs—like the World Championship sets—are molded. During replication that mold is used to "stamp" or copy the DVDs making it playable for the consumer.
A display that shows what the creation of a DVD master copy
looks like from start to finish.
From the mold, a final set of "check discs" is created. This set is used to make sure that the replication matches what was sent to the manufacturer on the test discs and that no data was lost in the process. In a similar proofing process as the test discs, the content and functionality of the check discs are examined. As an extra verification, check discs are put into as many different brands of consumer DVD players as possible. The World Championships discs are checked in as many as 20 different players, from a computer DVD drive to an Xbox gaming system to make sure that they will work properly. The check discs also are sent out for independent optical testing of the disc. Through these tests, the discs are given a grade rating which helps determine whether or not it has been replicated correctly.
World Championships DVDs are subjected to independent optical testing to make sure that they work correctly and are of high standard.
That disc came back with a passing grade. Replicate, assemble, package and deliver final product November-December After all content is approved, and the replicator (company that will make all of the copies of the discs) has the final masters in hand, it takes approximately 14 days before the finished packaged DVD product can be shipped to consumers. These steps include the replication (copying) of more than 40,000 discs just for the Division I DVD products, disc screening (printing the graphics on the top of the disc), package assembly and shipping. Order shipping and handling Late November-December Just prior to the arrival of completed DVDs at the Drum Corps International headquarters in Addison, Ill., office staff members begin to assemble boxes and packing materials to fill the thousands of pre-orders that are taken starting in August. When the first shipment of DVDs arrive at Drum Corps International, customer orders are processed and inserted into the individual packages before being labeled and shipped across the country and the world. Drum Corps International DVD products are shipped to more than 10 countries, including Thailand, England and Japan.
DVDs are packaged and shipped from
Drum Corps International's warehouse facility.
"We processed and shipped more than 2,500 pre-ordered DVDs this year," said Ric Oberlin, Drum Corps International's merchandise manager. "That process took as long as two weeks just a couple of years ago and this year, thanks to a lot of hard-working help in the warehouse, took us just two days." The cycle starts again December and beyond Already, Tom Blair and some of his crew members have traveled to California to determine the best spots for their cameras and equipment at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, site of the 2007 DCI World Championships. Also at this time, the success of the 2006 broadcast products is evaluated and ideas are thrown around for future refinements. In the end, the World Championship DVDs become the definitive historical record for any given year in Drum Corps International. Drum corps members, fans, students, and more, can look to any of Drum Corps International's DVD products, which date back to 1974 with the "Legacy Collection," to experience first-hand what a show was like, or to spark a memory that may have been collected while watching a show live. "I remember competing against the 1978 Santa Clara Vanguard, but what I remember about their show is what I saw on TV then or on the DVDs now," says Blair. "We take great pride in putting each year's broadcast together, and it's incredibly important in an historical sense for us to get it right." And as technology changes, just as drum corps audio recordings went from vinyl, to cassette, to CD, to Internet downloads, Drum Corps International will surely continue to refine its video offerings. Is there high definition (HD) in DCI's future? "Of course," says Blair. "The higher cost of an HD production is a challenge, but I have always thought drum corps would be the poster children for HD. Whether in the theater, on ESPN HD, Blu-ray or HD-DVD discs, I can't wait until we can make the move."
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Do I have to quit my job if I want to date my boss? Ask HR
Think about whether entering into a romantic relationship is worth it before making a decision that could significantly affect your career and future.
Do I have to quit my job if I want to date my boss? Ask HR Think about whether entering into a romantic relationship is worth it before making a decision that could significantly affect your career and future. Check out this story on delmarvanow.com: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2019/01/07/workplace-relationships-do-have-quit-if-want-date-my-boss/2472215002/
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., Special to USA TODAY Published 6:00 a.m. ET Jan. 7, 2019 | Updated 7:27 a.m. ET Jan. 7, 2019
Workplace relationships are common but are they worth it? Human Resources expert Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. answers USA TODAY reader questions about whether it's OK to date your boss and what you should do to protect yourself. USA TODAY
Think about whether entering into a romantic relationship is worth it before making a decision that could significantly affect your career and future.(Photo: Ridofranz, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human-resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR professional society.
The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity.
Have a question? Do you have an HR or work-related question you’d like me to answer? Submit it here.
Question: I want to date my boss, but she told me I’d have to quit my job because she’s not quitting. Do I have to quit? If I do and it doesn’t work out, isn’t this discrimination? — Anonymous
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.: Think about whether entering into this romantic relationship is worth it before making a decision that could significantly affect your career and future. Clearly, your boss has thought about this.
There are alternatives to quitting, which I’ll cover later. But first, I’ll address your questions.
Workplace romances are incredibly common – and why wouldn’t they be? We spend one-third of our day at work. It’s a natural and easy way to meet people, and work offers a common interest.
But office dating also can cause distractions, conflicts, preferential treatment and other issues. In some cases, a failed relationship can lead to a sexual-harassment lawsuit.
These adverse effects are why employers want to be aware of workplace romances and, in some cases, manage them. Many employers have dating policies that set boundaries for romantic relationships in the workplace.
More: 9 New Year's resolutions you should consider setting for your career in 2019: Ask HR
More: Can your employer require you to come into work in inclement weather? Ask HR
More: Ask HR: How do today’s workplaces need to change to meet the future?
In most states, private companies have a right to impose policies that restrict employee dating. These policies commonly prohibit relationships between a supervisor and a direct report and between employees of a significant rank difference. This is partly to ensure that an employee isn’t pressured into a relationship or doesn’t stay in one to keep his or her job.
Peer-to-peer relationships, in which the couple have different supervisors, are usually less of a concern to employers.
So, in your situation, do you need to quit? It depends on your employer’s policy. Check with your HR department to see what rules apply in your situation.
In supervisor-subordinate relationships like the one you are considering, one person might have to leave the organization. But who leaves is a decision made between the people in the relationship.
However, there are alternatives to quitting. Some companies will help an employee transfer to another department or location or will assign an employee to a different supervisor.
But if you’re in a position in which one of you must leave but neither of you wants to, then you may have to quit your relationship – not your job.
As for your question about discrimination, having a romance policy that requires one partner to leave the company is not a discriminatory practice on your employer’s part. However, unfair and inconsistent application of a policy could be.
If you decide to resign on your own to pursue a relationship with your boss and it doesn’t work out, it’s unlikely to be perceived as a form of workplace discrimination. But if your boss fires you or pressures you to quit because she wants to have a relationship with you, that could be harassment.
Question: My boss is a transgender woman, but I knew her when she was a he. I’m not referring to him as “her.” Can I be fired for this? — Anonymous
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.: The short answer is yes, you can be fired.
Many state and local laws prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression. But even if you are in a location where no such law exists, employees are “at-will” in most states and, therefore, can generally be fired for any reason that is not specifically illegal (based on their race, gender or age, for example), including for disrespectful conduct.
As a matter of professionalism, I recommend you make every attempt to call your supervisor by the pronoun she prefers.
But if you just can’t get yourself to use a pronoun that conforms to your boss’ identity, consider a practical approach – use her first name when addressing or referring to her.
Respect is a two-way street. Just as you deserve and expect it, so does your boss. Show her respect, and you won’t be putting your job at risk.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2019/01/07/workplace-relationships-do-have-quit-if-want-date-my-boss/2472215002/
B&B Music & Sound sold to national chain
New hotel proposed for Rehoboth boardwalk
Flotation therapy spa opens in Rehoboth Beach
April 16, 2019, 10:53 a.m.
New shop in Rehoboth turns sails into totes
Rare & Rye in OC to close, reopen under new name
API Technologies sells division to Kitron
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LG says it will showcase a rollable 55-inch OLED TV at CES
Posted on Tuesday, September 15 2015 @ 15:12:09 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Flexible OLED screens like the one in the photo below aren't new but LG promises to take it a step further by revealing world's first "rollable" OLED TV at the CES expo in January 2016.
The TV will have a 55-inch screen and can reportedly be rolled up like a sheet of paper so you can carry it around in a large tube. If there' a sufficiently large market for such a TV, mass production could potentially start three to four years from now.
LG's battery unut, LG Chem, is working on curved or even wire batteries for the new TV so the device can be used on-the-go.
"LG's move to exhibit a prototype of a rollable TV has huge meaning in the global technology industry amid the industry's gradual shift toward flexible OLED technology. The launch of the 55-inch rollable TV represents LG's readiness to lead over rivals in the heated race for applications with large-sized flexible OLED panels, which are more profitable than devices using small OLED displays," said the official.
He added that unlike existing curved televisions, its rollable TV could create an easy-to-carry tube that could be carried as easily as a briefcase and be installed wherever customers want to watch programs.
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Gretzky tried to help wife?
PUBLISHED: February 10, 2006 at 6:33 am | UPDATED: August 17, 2016 at 7:07 am
TRENTON, N.J. — Wayne Gretzky was recorded on a wiretap talking to the alleged financier of a gambling ring, discussing how the hockey great’s wife could avoid being implicated, a person with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Gretzky, coach and part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, can be heard on wiretaps made within the past month talking about his wife with assistant coach Rick Tocchet, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Gretzky’s wife, actress Janet Jones, allegedly bet at least $100,000 on football games over the course of the investigation by state authorities, the person said.
There is no evidence that Gretzky placed any bets, according to the person.
“At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband’s behalf, period,” Jones said in a statement provided by the Coyotes on Thursday night. “Other than the occasional horse race, my husband does not bet on any sports.”
Authorities say from Dec. 29 through Feb.5 — the day of the Super Bowl — bettors placed a total of $1.7 millionfrom Sports 1
in wagers with the ring run by a New Jersey state trooper, Tocchet and a South Jersey man. All face charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy and are scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J., on Feb.21, the state Attorney General’s office said Thursday.
Jones has not been charged.
Elliot Mintz, a spokesman for Jones, said in a statement that she may be called as a witness before a grand jury in New Jersey.
Investigators are looking into whether anyone involved in the 5-year-old ring, which authorities say had a connection to organized crime in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, bet on NHL games. Gretzky is not the main focus of the probe, the person said.
The Star-Ledger of Newark, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, first reported of a wiretap involving Gretzky in Thursday’s newspapers. The newspaper also reported that Jones bet $500,000 during the investigation, including
$75,000 on the Super Bowl.
Earlier in the week, Gretzky denied any involvement in the ring.
“My love for her (Jones) is deeper than anything. The reality is, I’m not involved, I wasn’t involved and I’m not going to be involved. Am I concerned for both of them? Sure there’s concern from me. I’m more worried about them than me. I’m like you guys, I’m trying to figure it all out,” Gretzky said Tuesday.
After Thursday’s game against Dallas, Gretzky said: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m still going to coach the Phoenix Coyotes. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Tocchet was granted an indefinite leave from the NHL Wednesday.
Attorneys for all three men charged in what authorities have dubbed “Operation Slapshot” said they will fight the charges.
“This case will not be a guilty plea,” said Charles A. Peruto Jr., who is representing James Ulmer. Ulmer, along with Trooper James Harney, is accused of taking wagers and cuts of the bets.
AP writers Beth DeFalco in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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Devon’s Anna Tyson does the double as South West Steward of the Year
Devon’s Anna Tyson of Dainton Park Golf Club has won the title of Fuller’s London Pride Steward of the Year for England Golf’s South West region – for the second time in a row.
Anna received her 2013 trophy at the annual presentation lunch at The Counting House in London, when the national and regional winners were celebrated.
She commented: “I am so chuffed, really proud and just so pleased that we can please the members. I’ve got great support at the club, fantastic people to work with.”
The competition, to find and recognise England’s top golf club stewards, is run by Fuller’s and England Golf and is now in its seventh year. The 2013 edition attracted a record entry, with over 700 votes cast and more stewards nominated than ever before.
Anna may have already won the 2012 South West title, but she’s not one to rest on her laurels and her continuing efforts at Dainton Park, near Newton Abbot, have helped raise this year's profits considerably.
Recent initiatives include working with the club’s management to launch a free, points-based social membership which has already attracted almost 300 people. One of the benefits is access to the restaurant which has newly opened on Friday evenings and is regularly full.
Anna’s social events, such as acoustic nights, comedy nights and swing music nights are all sold out as soon as they’re advertised. They all feature acts provided by members, underlining the club’s community spirit and emphasis on team work.
Anna has been at Dainton Park since it started and she’s made the club a way of life. She met her husband there, her eldest daughter regularly works the Sunday lunchtime shift – and she even went to work on her day off and birthday! She’s passionate about everything to do with the service at the club, from staff working effectively to taking ice creams on to the course on captain’s day!
Anna, and the other three regional winners, were presented with their awards by England Golf chief executive David Joy and Mark Roberts, Fuller’s trade marketing manager.
The other three were: national and Northern winners, Simon and Karen Ward of Wilmslow, Cheshire; Midlands winner David Guest of Halesowen, Worcestershire; and South East winner, Steve Warren of Eaton, Norwich.
They were chosen after a rigorous judging process. The 2012 Steward of the Year, Yvonne James of Rugby Golf Club, joined the judges to whittle down the record entry to three finalists from each region. Each of these 12 were visited personally before the four regional winners were selected, having been judged on their commitment, innovation and standard of service and presentation, together with that extra special something which sets them apart.
Caption: Anna is pictured with England Golf chief executive, David Joy (left), and Mark Roberts, Fuller's trade marketing manager. Image © Gill Shaw
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Tim Elliss
Tim specialises in international commercial disputes. He has litigated in the US, Latin America, South-East Asia, Russia and many European and offshore jurisdictions (having spent two years at a leading Guernsey firm). He has particular experience of disputes in the oil & gas, financial services and telecommunications sectors.
Tim has been described as "a strong litigator who has a good understanding of the issues and is excellent at handling clients" (Legal 500, 2018) and is recommended by Legal 500 for Banking Litigation and International Arbitration. He is also ranked by Legal 500 as a 'Next Generation Lawyer' in Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration.
Tim graduated from Griffith University and trained at Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters) in Australia, where he qualified in November 2008. He worked in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team at Allens Linklaters until 2011, before spending two years at a leading offshore firm in the Channel Islands. Tim joined Enyo Law in April 2013 and qualified in England & Wales in January 2014.
International Commercial Disputes
Fraud, Asset Recovery and Trusts
Enyo Law acted for Unwired Planet LLC in significant claim
Enyo Law acted for Unwired Planet Inc and Unwired Planet LLC in substantial patent-related competition law proceedings.
timothy.elliss@enyolaw.com Download v-card
Law Society of England and Wales
Queensland, Australia (non-practising)
"A strong litigator who has a good understanding of the issues and is excellent at handling clients"
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Home Ericsson Blog Promoting the Carbon Law at th...
Promoting the Carbon Law at the “Davos of Sweden”
Pernilla Bergmark
Master Researcher focused on the sustainability impacts of ICT
#CarbonLaw
As a member of the sustainability research team at Ericsson for the past several years, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that certain characteristics of my home country, Sweden, make it a great place to explore the role of ICT in moving societies towards a more sustainable future. Sweden scores well in terms of digitalization, innovation and sustainability in international rankings. Moreover, it has a long tradition of openness with regards to public sector activities, and the small population makes it relatively easy to get access to almost anyone and to form collaborations between companies, academia and policymakers.
This accessibility is very much in evidence at Almedalen, an annual event that some refer to as the “Davos of Sweden”, where I participated for the first time this July. Open to the general public, Almedalen takes place on the island Gotland and includes representatives of the Swedish government, academia, institutions, local authorities, companies, non-governmental organizations, and different political parties. This year was the 50th anniversary of the event, and it consisted of more than 4,000 different seminars. It was exciting to have the opportunity to meet so many knowledgeable and influential people in such a short time – including government ministers – as they walked around in the streets of Visby, easily accessible and open for discussions.
Sustainability everywhere
I was delighted to see that the topic of sustainability was omnipresent at Almedalen, with very few people questioning the relevance of applying a sustainability lens, and broad recognition of the fact that sustainability is an important innovation trigger. It was interesting to see how green financing is moving forward, and that discussions about companies’ activities are moving beyond the well-established sustainability areas of own operations, portfolio and value chain, to include questions about investments and the extended responsibility companies have through their membership in different organizations.
Recognizing the role of ICT
Through our research Ericsson has identified that the use of basic ICT technology could reduce global climate gas emissions by as much as 15% if leveraged according to its potential – a figure which does not include the additional promise of technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain. This potential could be put into comparison with the footprint of the ICT sector which represents only 1.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, as shown by my colleague Jens Malmodin together with Dag Lundén from Telia Company, in a recent peer-reviewed paper, based on a unique set of extensive primary data.
At Almedalen it was clear that a growing number of people and organizations realize the sustainability potential of digitalization, along with the importance of defining frameworks in a way that allows us to leverage that potential. This confirms my observation that we are entering a less tech-naïve era and developing a more mature view on the complexities that must be tackled before ICT can fully deliver on its considerable decarbonization promise.
The Carbon Law
Ericsson co-organized two seminars during Almedalen on the subject of the Carbon Law, which was introduced in the journal Science last year by a team of international researchers led by Professor Johan Rockström, head of the Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC). Inspired by Moore’s Law, the purpose of the Carbon Law is to gain the necessary momentum in the decarbonization process to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement – that is, to strive for an average global temperature increase well below two degrees centigrade.
According to the Carbon Law, global climate gas emissions need to peak by 2020 at the latest and thereafter decline by 50 percent each decade. In addition, the world must aim at rapidly scaling up technology for CO2removal. The beauty of the Carbon Law concept is that it is graspable and applicable at all levels: country-wide, within industries and at a personal level. Still, although the basic concept is easy to understand, to decarbonize at this speed and scale is obviously a challenge and requires bold action in the short term – at the same time leaving the fossil-dependent society behind also comes with a large business opportunity for those who innovate and scale solutions for a low carbon society.
The decarbonization of frontrunner companies
The first seminar we co-organized at Almedalen focused on the emission reductions already undertaken by some Swedish companies and the pathways ahead, with the Swedish network the Haga initiative as the main organizer. It was impressive to see so many companies from sectors like food, transportation and retail telling their carbon reduction stories and sharing the challenges they see in their serious ambition to continue towards carbon neutrality.
I explained that Ericsson has already halved the emissions of our operations by 50 percent during the period 2011-17, and that we have now taken on the challenge of an additional 35 percent reduction by 2022 in line with our approved Science Based Target. In addition, we have worked hard to reduce the energy consumption of our products, as it makes up an important part of our indirect emissions, and lies within our direct sphere of influence. Currently, we are aiming for an additional 35 percent reduction by 2022 in the energy consumption of our products, also with a target approved by the Science Based Target Initiative.
The Exponential Roadmap Project
The second seminar focused more directly on introducing the Carbon Law and the Exponential Roadmap Project in which we have partnered with Future Earth, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC) and others to promote the Carbon Law. The aim is to support the Carbon Law by showing the trajectories to follow, the innovations and technology solutions that could help us to follow them, and the importance of policy frameworks needed to get us to decarbonize at sufficient speed. At the seminar it was great to see the engagement and interest among the participants – and we got some really good feedback that will help us forward toward the launch of the project in conjunction with the Global Climate Action Summit in September.
The Global Goals and the importance of 2022
At Almedalen I also took part in a panel discussion arranged by the 2022 initiative that focused on the 17 Global Goals, also known as the SDGs. 2022 is an important year for the goals, as it marks the halfway point to 2030 (when the goals should be reached). Obviously Goal 13 (climate action) goes hand in hand with our work on the Carbon Law, but we are also using the goals more broadly as a framework to understand the sustainability potential of different solutions – not least on the IoT side. Using 2022 as a mid-term checkpoint makes a lot of sense and is in line with our SBT targets.
Those of us working in the ICT sector are used to disruptions and exponential development, and I hope we can use our experience and innovation power to support the important work to get our planet back on track with regard to climate. As a company we are proud that we have already halved our emissions once and we are not stopping our efforts to further draw down emissions and scale up on climate innovations. To halve global emissions by 2030, there is no time to waste!
Pernilla Bergmark is a Master Researcher focused on the sustainability impacts of ICT.
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Veterans Coordinator Salary
in London, United Kingdom
£38,149 (GBP)
/ United Kingdom
/ London
The average pay for a Veterans Coordinator is £38,149 a year and £18 an hour in London, United Kingdom. The average salary range for a Veterans Coordinator is between £27,865 and £46,727. On average, a Master's Degree is the highest level of education for a Veterans Coordinator. This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in London, United Kingdom.
Provides special informational services to veterans, potential military enlistees, and physically handicapped students of college or university: advises students regarding eligibility for veterans benefits, ways of fulfilling military obligation, or availability of public assistance.
Interprets selective service and veterans' assistance laws to students.
Refers handicapped students for counseling regarding vocational choice.
Directs workers engaged in processing students' application and certification forms.
About London, United Kingdom
London Cost of Living Score:
Description: London is the capital of and largest city in England and the United Kingdom, with the largest municipal population in the European Union. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status...
Veterans Coordinator Job Listings for London, United Kingdom
Veterans Coordinator
Philadelphia, PA£58k Denver, CO£57k Austin, TX£54k
Security Supervisor£44k Security Coordinator£50k Guard Chief£55k
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Econometrica, Vol. 70, No. 3 (May, 2002)
The Econometric Society is an international association that promotes research in economics using quantitative approaches, both theoretical and empirical. The Soci- ety’s world-wide membership is organized in six regions, North America, Latin Amer- ica, the Far East, Australasia, South and South-East Asia, and Europe. In pursuit of its objectives, the Society publishes a journal, Econometrica, and a monograph series, and organizes meetings. Most regions hold annual meetings, and a World Congress meets every five years. The Society’s web site, http://www.econometricsociety.org/, contains detailed information about its history, structure and operations, as well as instructions on how to join.
Econometrica publishes high-quality papers in economic theory, econometric theory, and empirical economics. Many studies rank it at the top among economics journals for its impact; for example, see Pantelis Kalaitzidakis, Theofanis P. Mamuneas, and Thanasis Stengos, “European Economics: An Analysis Based on Publications in the Core Jour- nals,” European Economic Review, 43, 1999, 1150–1168. Econometrica is currently edited by Glenn Ellison with the help of four Co-Editors and several Associate Editors. This year, Eddie Dekel, Joel Horowitz, and Andrew Postlewaite continued as Co-Editors, and on July 1 Costas Meghir replaced Richard Blundell who completed his term and did not wish to serve another term. On behalf of the Society, I am happy to thank all these, and all the Associate Editors, for their contribution to the journal’s success. Blundell con- tinues to provide valuable service to the Society in other capacities; see below. Dorothy Hodges continues in her invaluable role as Managing Editor, and I am happy to take this opportunity to express the Society’s gratitude to her.
The downside of the continued success of the journal is that the backlog of accepted papers has increased from 9 to 14 months. In an attempt to bring the backlog down to an acceptable level, the number of pages published per year was expanded by 5% in 2000, and by 31% in 2001, and will be expanded by at least that much in 2002.
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Liberty & How Things Are Not Always As They Seem
By, Chris Rossini
We live in a time where the prospects for liberty do not look good. The advances of The State (over the last decade especially) have been extraordinary.
In the blink of an eye, our every move is now up for grabs to be monitored; and unfortunately prying eyes are not the limit. Prying hands grab and grope our most intimate spots at airports....Stop-and-Frisk campaigns in NYC...Military Lockdown in Boston....checkpoints while driving...
So much liberty lost, in such a short period of time. How can the ideas of liberty succeed in such an environment?
Well, there are some lessons of history that can provide some encouragement. For things are not always as they seem. We may actually be living in a time that has never been better for the ideas of liberty to break through and sweep the world.
Massive changes often happen when they are least expected.
Let's go back to the year 1763.
The British Empire had soundly defeated the French around the globe, and the French and Indian War came to an end. As the Annual Register recorded of Britain,“In no one year since she was a nation has she been favored with so many successes, both by sea and by land, and in every quarter of the globe.”
Horace Walpole, an English letter writer and chronicler of English life and politics wrote: “Victories come so tumbling over one another from distant parts of the globe that it looks like the handiwork of a lady romance writer…The park guns will never have time to cool. We ruin ourselves with gun-powder and sky-rockets.”
The British were the Kings of the World. Nothing like it had been seen since the days of the Roman Empire.
And yet, just 13 years later, the ideas of Liberty would shake the planet like never before in human history. The seemingly all-powerful British Empire would lose its most prized possession named America.
The saying "Pride cometh before the fall" fits the bill perfectly here. One can only imagine the response that King George III had when hearing of the "Declaration of Independence" from a bunch of his libertarian-minded subjects. We today can imagine Nancy Pelosi having the same type of response.
But ideas are more powerful than even the largest military empires. Enough minds were made up in America, and nothing would stop the birth of "the land of the free". To top it off, in a sign of poetic justice, the secession from Britain would occur with the help of the French; the very same French who were soundly defeated just 13 years before.
It's important to distinguish that not all minds were made up in America. There were plenty of loyalists to the British Crown, and more than a plenty number of people who didn't care what happened one way or another.
There's a major lesson hidden in that fact. Only enough people are necessary for an idea to take hold and become dominant. How many people qualifies as enough is unknown.
In this world, all good is naturally attacked. Everything that is good must, as a matter of nature, face obstacles, challenges, and resistance. Liberty is achieved when it is intensely desired; and you cannot desire something unless you have the opposite challenging and resisting you.
So it should come as no surprise that the ideas of 1776 would be mercilessly attacked. It began immediately, like weeds attacking a garden.
The ideas of liberty held by the American public were so strong though, that it would take until the beginning of the 1900's for public opinion to noticeably turn in the opposite direction. I stress that this is when public opinion noticeably turned. The attitudes of U.S. government officials turned long before that. They just had to achieve their goals piecemeal.
But from the early 1900's on, the speed of the belief in government control began to take off. Let's go back to the tipping point that occurred over 100 years ago.
It was not an easy time for the idea pushers of government control. Battling liberty was a difficult task. They probably felt very similar to the way we feel today. It was no doubt hard to for them to forsee how they could possibly succeed.
Ludwig Von Mises wrote:
The ideal of liberty seemed to be so firmly rooted that everybody thought that no reactionary movement could ever succeed in eradicating it. It is true, it would have been a hopeless venture to attack freedom openly and to advocate unfeignedly a return to subjection and bondage. But antiliberalism got hold of people's minds camouflaged as superliberalism, as the fulfillment and consummation of the very ideas of freedom and liberty. It came disguised as socialism, communism, and planning.
Mises also wrote (my emphasis):
Thus, about the middle of the nineteenth century, it seemed that the ideal of Socialism had been disposed of. It was at this moment that Marx appeared.
In other words, it sure seemed like liberty was unstoppable in America, just as it seemed like The British Empire was unstoppable prior to 1776.
But, once again, things are not always as they seem. Massive changes often happen when they are least expected.
America tipped in the early 1900's thanks to a small group of individuals who intensely desired complete government control. Once again, it only took enough people to get on board. The rest would be taken on a very nightmarish ride.
During the 1900's, the world would experience hundreds of millions dead at the hands of their own governments, two World Wars; and America would turn itself into a military empire that would be at almost constant war (with very short breaks) up to the present day.
So what are the major lessons to be learned? And how can we look positively at what seems to be insurmountable odds?
First, the world is run by ideas. The ideas that dominate take the day; which is another way of saying you shouldn't fret if your cousin or neighbor don't embrace the ideas of liberty. Having others who believe the polar opposite should be looked on as proof that the liberty to think your own thoughts still exists. It's actually a good thing.
Next, champions of ideas always seem to appear at the most opportune moments. In 1776, there was Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson. In the 1800-1900's there were Marx, Engels, and Keynes who convinced the world to go backwards for awhile.
And today we have the great Champion of Liberty named Ron Paul, whose influence is not confined to the U.S., but who has inspired millions all over the globe. Ron Paul has preached for 30+ years, and continues to this day, that our struggle is one of ideas, and not of armed conflict and violence. The prior 100 years have seen enough violence to last 1,000 lifetimes. Peace is long overdue.
Ron Paul's timing and impact are a very good sign.
We also find ourselves (despite government spying on all of us) with an Internet that connects everyone together. Ideas now move at the speed of light. How easy is it to send an email to family and friends about the ideas you've learned from Ron Paul and many others like him? How easy is it to start a blog, or post sound ideas on Facebook and Twitter?
Ron Paul may be the public figure associated with libertarian ideas, but the rest of us have incredible tools at our disposal that never existed before. The goal is to convince enough people, without knowing how many that may be. Life is mysterious like that.
If you can convince some, and I can convince some, and those people convince some, the day may not be too far off that public opinion may tip once again, and head back in the direction that began 237 years ago.
Follow @ChrisRossini
Labels: Chris Rossini
Cory Brickner July 15, 2013 at 1:48 PM
Excellent post Chris! In order for Liberty to win, you, Robert, Ron Paul, etc., must exist to educate the people. It is this foundation of learning, understanding, and the desire for liberty that creates change. Violence is the state's tool for which it has monopoly power. Liberty loses ultimately if the people resort to that as an agent of change. In the end, if we can reach 33% of the population, Liberty has a chance against the state.
FYI, for numbers on those involved in the break from England, from Mike Vanderboegh ( http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-three-percenter.html ):
"During the American Revolution, the active forces in the field against the King's tyranny never amounted to more than 3% of the colonists. They were in turn actively supported by perhaps 10% of the population. In addition to these revolutionaries were perhaps another 20% who favored their cause but did little or nothing to support it. Another one-third of the population sided with the King (by the end of the war there were actually more Americans fighting FOR the King than there were in the field against him) and the final third took no side, blew with the wind and took what came."
Philip Corradini July 17, 2013 at 10:21 AM
Why is it that so-called Libertarian Conservatives said nothing when Bush-Cheney enacted the Patriot Act or when the Presidential Detention Powers were signed into law as part of a bipartisan military appropriations bill. The National Security State was made legal by Acts Of Congress and Presidential Signatures. If you don't like living in a National Security State then start by repealing those two pieces of Legislation.
Mic July 17, 2013 at 11:37 AM
Make government compete for customers and you'd never have to repeal (or peal) anything ever again.
Dr. Brian Hoffman July 17, 2013 at 12:29 PM
I agree. I am a Libertarian and a free-thinking American. I did complain, loudly actually, but to no avail. Which is why "Republicans" are NOT to be trusted anymore than Democrats. It is the Conservatives with who we must embrace ourselves. The Conservative platform does not change with time, it is a constant. The Republican platform changes with the political winds, and therefore cannot be trusted. There are very many RHINOs in the ranks of the Republican Party, and they are forcing the rest to move in their direction...WE must change that momentum in OUR direction. Effect the change of the Republican Party (33%) and we can, and will, be dominant in freedom again for America!
Oakden July 22, 2013 at 9:24 PM
Why do liberal always want to hold libertarians responsible for statist Republicans? Don't you get it it? They are the opposite side of the coin from YOU, we are totally different from either of you.
You progressives always want to paint us with the same brush as statist Republicans - well, in fact, they are your mirror image and we are as different from them as we are from you.
james morency July 22, 2013 at 10:24 PM
I personally , had plenty to say. I hated both bills AND the whole homeland security/TSA crap. One is to soften you up to be manhandled and harassed and the other to be the presidents own little army when Marshal law is enforced.Obama said he was against them, they were evil. Cut to after the election. We need to beef this stuff up! Get it on crack and give it steroids!
Anand Venigalla July 26, 2013 at 8:23 AM
Thanks, Chris. You have ably defended the idea of liberty, and how things are not always as they seem. However, I don't exactly share the full-on optimism of Chris (or, for that matter, Murray Rothbard, who I think is a great guy). As a libertarian and a dispensationalist (not of the neocon kind), I share a pessimism of the world burgeoning toward a total Stasi, lead by the Antichrist, his false prophet, and the New World Order (NWO). I also believe that there will be a rapture of all true Christians before this tribulation; however, for the unsaved, it will be a terrible time, with surveillance, tribulation, and persecution of Christians and dissidents against the Antichrist.
But then again, we might be able to have a brief period of liberty at least in this country before the tragic seven-year period of tribulation (that is before the glorious appearing of Christ with His saints).
Kevin Beck August 24, 2013 at 1:29 PM
The tipping point might happen soon, or we could be doomed to another 100 years of disaster, where government takes hold of everything and leads us all down the road at 150 mph. Every once in a while, we have to find our moorings. In some extreme cases, we have to turn ourselves around.
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United States - Residential Building Permits
United States: Residential Building Permits
HPMTR.IUSA
Ths. #, SAAR
Monthly 0.7 %
May 2019 1,299
Apr 2019 1,290
Release New Residential Construction (C20) - Permits, Starts and Completions
United States: Real Estate
Building Completions May 2019 1,213 1,340 Ths., SAAR Monthly
House Price Value for Existing Homes May 2019 270.48 267.2 Ths. USD, SA Monthly
House Price Value for New Homes May 2019 311,519 338,752 USD, SA Monthly
Residential Building Permits May 2019 1,299 1,290 Ths. #, SAAR Monthly
Residential Housing Starts May 2019 1,269 1,281 Ths. #, SAAR Monthly
House Price Index 2019 Q1 435.67 431.95 Index 1980Q1=100, NSA Quarterly
Dwelling Stocks 2018 138,537 137,384 Ths. # Annual
The purpose of the New Residential Construction press release is to provide statistics on the construction of new privately-owned residential structures in the United States. Data included in the press release are (1) the number of new housing units authorized by building permits; (2) the number of housing units authorized to be built, but not yet started; (3) the number of housing units started; (4) the number of housing units under construction; and (5) the number of housing units completed.
The data relate to new housing units intended for occupancy and maintained by the occupants. They exclude hotels, motels, and group residential structures such as nursing homes and college dormitories. Also excluded are "HUD-code" manufactured (mobile) home units.
New Residential Construction
The category of statistics called "New Residential Construction" consists of data on the five phases of a residential construction project. This is housing units authorized to be built by a building or zoning permit; housing units authorized to be built, but not yet started; housing units started; housing units under construction; and housing units completed. New residential construction statistics exclude group quarters (such as dormitories and rooming houses), transient accommodations (such as transient hotels, motels, and tourist courts), "HUD-code" manufactured (mobile) homes, moved or relocated buildings, and housing units created in an existing residential or nonresidential structure. However, in a new building combining residential and nonresidential floor areas, every effort is made to include the residential units in these statistics, even though the primary function of the entire building is for nonresidential purposes. These statistics only include privately-owned buildings. Publicly owned housing units are excluded from the statistics. Units in structures built by private developers with partial public subsidies or which are for sale upon completion to local public housing authorities under the HUD "Turnkey" program are all classified as private housing.
Housing Unit
A housing unit, as defined for purposes of this report, is a house, an apartment, a group of rooms or a single room intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and which have a direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall. In accordance with this definition, each apartment unit in an apartment building is counted as one housing unit. Housing units, as distinguished from "HUD-code" manufactured (mobile) homes, include conventional "site-built" units, prefabricated, panelized, componentized, sectional, and modular units. Housing unit statistics in these tables exclude group quarters (such as dormitories and rooming houses), transient accommodations (such as transient hotels, motels, and tourist courts), "HUD-code" manufactured (mobile) homes, moved or relocated units, and housing units created in an existing residential or nonresidential structure.
"HUD-code" Manufactured (mobile) Homes
A manufactured home is defined as a movable dwelling, 8 feet or more wide and 40 feet or more long, designed to be towed on its own chassis, with transportation gear integral to the unit when it leaves the factory, and without need of a permanent foundation. These homes are built in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) building code. Since these units are typically not covered by the building permits issued in local municipalities, they are excluded from the New Residential Construction statistics.
Statistics on housing units authorized by building permits include housing units issued in local permit-issuing jurisdictions by a building or zoning permit. Not all areas of the country require a building or zoning permit. The statistics only represent those areas that do require a permit. Current surveys indicate that construction is undertaken for all but a very small percentage of housing units authorized by building permits. A major portion typically get under way during the month of permit issuance and most of the remainder begin within the three following months. Because of this lag, the housing unit authorization statistics do not represent the number of units actually put into construction for the period shown, and should therefore not be directly interpreted as "housing starts."
Housing Units Authorized, but Not Started
Estimates of housing units authorized by a building or zoning permit, but not yet started, are shown in the "authorized, not started" data series. These only represent the areas of the country that require a building or zoning permit.
The start of construction is when excavation begins for the footings or foundation of a building. All housing units in a multifamily building are defined as being started when excavation for the building has begun. Beginning with statistics for September 1992, estimates of housing starts include units in residential structures being totally rebuilt on an existing foundation. Housing starts are estimated for all areas of the United States, regardless of whether permits are required.
Housing Units Under Construction
Estimates of housing units started, but not yet completed, are shown in the "under construction" data series. Housing units under construction are estimated for all areas of the United States, regardless of whether permits are required.
One-unit structures are defined as completed when all finished flooring has been installed. If the building is occupied before all construction is finished, it is classified as completed at the time of occupancy. In buildings with two or more housing units, all the units in the building are counted as completed when 50 percent or more of the units are occupied or available for occupancy. Housing completions are estimated for all areas of the United States, regardless of whether permits are required.
A residential building is a building consisting primarily of housing units. In a new building combining residential and nonresidential floor areas, every effort is made to include the residential units in these statistics, even though the primary function of the entire building is for nonresidential purposes.
Type of Structure, including Attached and Detached Housing Units
The statistics, by type of structure, refer to the structural characteristics of the building. The one-unit structure category includes fully detached, semi-detached (semi-attached, side-by-side), row houses, and townhouses. In the case of attached units, each must be separated from the adjacent unit by a ground-to-roof wall in order to be classified as a one-unit structure. Also, these units must not share heating/air-conditioning systems or interstructural public utilities, such as water supply, power supply, or sewage disposal lines. Units built one on top of another and those built side-by-side which do not have a ground-to-roof wall and/or have common facilities (i.e., attic, basement, heating plant, plumbing, etc.) are classified by the number of units in the structure (i.e., two-unit structure, three-unit structure, etc.). In these statistics, apartment buildings are defined as buildings containing five units or more. Apartments in a conventional-type apartment building may share a common basement, heating plant, stairs, entrance halls, and water supply and sewage disposal facilities. Townhouse apartments, though attached, are not separated by a ground-to-roof wall and/or share some interstructural facilities, such as water supply, sewage disposal, etc.
Ownership is not the criterion for structural classifications in this report. A condominium apartment building is classified with apartment buildings in structures with five units or more, despite the fact that each unit is individually owned. Condominium townhouses may be in the one-unit category if each unit is separated from its neighbor by a ground-to-roof wall (no commonly shared interstructural facilities), or in the multiunit building categories if they are not separated from each other by a ground-to-roof wall (share interstructural facilities).
Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits
Statistics are based upon reports submitted by local building permit officials in response to a mail survey. Approximately 9,000 of the 20,000 permit issuing places in the United States are surveyed monthly and the remainder are surveyed annually. The data are obtained using Form C-404, "Report of New Privately-Owned Residential Building or Zoning Permits Issued." When a report is not received, missing data are either (1) obtained from the Survey of Use of Permits (SUP) which is used to collect information on housing starts, or (2) imputed. Data for SUP are available only for about 900 places for which Census Bureau field representatives list permits (see more information below.) Imputations are based on the assumption that the ratio of current month authorizations to those of a year ago should be the same for reporting and nonreporting places.
Housing Units Authorized, but Not Started; Housing Starts; Housing Units Under Construction; and Housing Completions
Estimates of Housing Units Authorized, but Not Started; Housing Starts; Housing Units Under Construction; and Housing Completions are all obtained from the Survey of Construction (SOC). SOC is comprised of two parts: (1) Survey of Use of Permits (SUP) which estimates the amount of new construction in areas that require a building permit and (2) Non-permit Survey (NP) which estimates the amount of new construction in areas that do not require a building permit. Less than 3 percent of all new construction takes place in non-permit areas. Data from both parts of SOC are collected by Census field representatives. For SUP they visit a sample of permit offices and select a sample of permits issued for new housing. These permits are then followed through to see when they are started, completed and sold if the one-family unit was built to be sold. Each project is also surveyed to collect information on characteristics of the structure. For NP, roads in sampled non-permit land areas are driven at least once every three months to see if there is any new construction. Once new residential construction is found, it is followed up the same as in SUP.
The Census field representatives use interviewing software on laptop computers to collect the data. Facsimiles of the computer-based questionnaires are provided to respondents to familiarize them with the survey. These facsimiles show the questions that are asked for housing units in single-family buildings Form SOC-QI/SF.1 and in multiunit buildings Form SOC-QI/MF.1. In addition, the Census field representatives include an introductory letter with the forms explaining the survey.
Each month the US Census Bureau publishes preliminary estimates of Building Permits, Housing Starts, Housing Completions. The US Census Bureau releases these estimates to provide government and private data users with early measures of new privately owned residential construction and new residential sales activity. A necessary part of the process of issuing these early data involves the issuance of subsequent revisions. The revisions are primarily the result of the replacement of imputed data with data which are reported in subsequent months.
Seasonal adjustment factors are estimated each month using the latest data. Annual revisions take place in April. During this revision, factors are updated for the last five years.
Most statistics in the New Residential Construction release are tabulated only for the United States and four Census Regions. The SOC does not have a large enough sample size to make state or local area estimates. The only series that is available at a smaller geographic area is the housing units authorized by building permits. Building permit data are collected from individual permit offices, most of which are municipalities; the remainder are counties, townships, or New England and Middle Atlantic-type towns. Since building permits are public records, local area data are available without any confidentiality problems. From local area data, estimates are tabulated for Counties, States, and Metropolitan Areas.
New Residential Construction (C20)
Latest: 1.269 mil for May. 2019
Previous: 1.235 mil for Apr. 2019
Data Revision: U.S. - BOC C20 res construction [2019]
Data Delay: U.S. - Census Bureau [2019] [UPDATED]
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Bilateral relations Switzerland–Cameroon
Travel advice for Cameroon
Swiss representation in Cameroon
Info on requirements for entry/visas for Cameroon
Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Cameroon are characterised by mutual friendship and cooperation. There has been a rekindling of interest in boosting bilateral relations, in particular in the area of migration.
Key apects of diplomatic relations
Issues linked to migration are an important focus of bilateral cooperation and an area in which the two governments coordinate effectively.
Both are members of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) and benefit from French as a shared language. This cooperation has had a concrete impact in the field of research and education through the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).
Economic cooperation
Switzerland and Cameroon have signed agreements on trade, the protection of investments and technical cooperation. However the level of trade between the two countries is lower than it could be.
Trade promotion, Switzerland Global Enterprise
Cooperation in the area of education and training
There are close ties between Swiss academic institutions and those of Cameroon in Yaoundé. Intensive cooperation has developed between the University of Yaoundé I National Advanced School of Engineering, and the EPFL, in particular through the launch of two massive online open courses (MOOCs) and through CURES, a joint centre for research on renewable energy production.
Scholars and artists from Morocco can apply for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships from the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships
Until 1996, Cameroon was among the priority countries for Swiss bilateral development cooperation - however Switzerland continues to provide support for specific NGO projects in the areas of water supply, agriculture, decentralisation and the promotion of women’s rights.
Decentralised cooperation - mainly in rural development - has been established in particular by two of the Swiss cantons. Jura and Geneva, which are mainly involved. Church representatives and various Swiss NGOs are also active locally in Cameroon, which demonstrates a sense of solidarity and an active and entrepreneurial attitude in Swiss civil society.
Swiss nationals in Cameroon
In 2017, there were 319 Swiss nationals registered with the Swiss embassy in Cameroon.
History of bilateral relations
Switzerland was present in Cameroon from the end of the 19th century through members of the Basel Mission, who were mainly involved in the education sector.
The political stability of this young nation following its independence in 1960 and the development of its commercial activities (in particular linked to cocoa) helped to increase Switzerland’s presence in Cameroon. The Swiss community, which in 1960 amounted to some 250 persons, had exceeded 500 by 1970.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the Federal Council approved two mixed credits which helped to boost trade. Swiss companies subsequently further developed their activities, notably in the areas of chemicals, food, construction and machines. The Confederation’s winding down of technical cooperation with Cameroon and a series of economic crises up until the end of the 20th century had a negative impact on trade, and the number of Swiss nationals residing in the country fell.
From 1989, the country's debts were restructured by the Club de Paris. A consulate opened in Douala in 1962 and was upgraded to an embassy in 1967. Two years later the official Swiss representation moved to the capital Yaoundé. A resident ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary was appointed in 1982. After remaining closed from 1996 to 2007, when it was replaced by a consulate general, the embassy in Yaoundé is now functioning under the direction of a resident ambassador, as is the Embassy of Cameroon in Switzerland located in Bern.
Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga, head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, and the vice president of the Federal Council, made an official visit to Cameroon from 26 to 29 September 2014, during which two agreements were signed on migration matters.
Entry in the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (de, fr, it)
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Editorpress International
Fake News, how false news spreads
By Antimo Della Valle
The issue of fake news, false news, is at the center of the national and international debate to the point that one wonders whether they are capable of altering important political events or presidential election.
What are the fake news
Fake News are fake news spread specifically on the web and through social media. They represent one of the most disturbing phenomena for information and destabilizing for the influence of opinions.
Italians are mainly informed on the Internet, according to a survey by the News-Italy Observatory entitled “Fake news” is a problem, 70% say they are informed on the internet and 34% of them are on Facebook and Twitter. According to this study, among those using the internet, 53% say they often meet partially or completely false news on the Internet.
According to the research data, more than half of those interviewed and who are informed by digital means claim to have met false news, about 53%.
This figure is in line with what emerged from a similar survey carried out in December 2016 in the United States by the Pew Research Center which highlights how widespread the phenomenon of “fake news” in the perception of who is informed on the internet.
Difference between Misinformation and Misinformation
Fake News are completely invented news that is spread quickly on the web, disseminating misleading content. Some of them are true, exaggerated in which reality is distorted, while others are completely invented. Claire Wardle, director of First Draft News, an international network on the verification of online sources, has proposed a clear distinction between these cases of misinformation and misinformation. Misinformation is precisely the creation of false news, a true fabrication of news. While Misinformation is the involuntary spread of false news.
Claire Wardle on First Draft, offers to focus on three essential points: to know the grammar of fake news, distinguishing between the different types of content created and shared, to know the motivations of those who create this content, to know the ways in which such contents are disseminated.
For Claire Wardle there are 7 ways of doing disinformation and just understanding how it is implemented can be useful to stop the phenomenon: manipulation of satire, misleading content, deceptive content, completely false content, deceptive connection, deceptive context, manipulated content.
At the base of false news production, there is the precise will to condition the will of others. The production of these news takes place using techniques that greatly influence the reader: strong titles, images, videos and infographics.
This phenomenon spreads to the speed with which the web allows the dissemination of news. But there is another factor. The transformation of the reader from a passive subject to an active subject. The reader who reads the newspaper or the traditional periodical paper is a subject that passively accepts the information and based on its own elaboration, critical sense, can spread it in the community in which it lives, in the working and social environments in which it is inserted, the process it’s very slow.
In the digital world the reader is no longer a passive subject, he becomes active because he has several tools that allow him to spread the news. With the use of Social Media a sharing allows to extend the range of diffusion within its circle. Then a comment or a simple expression of mind allows you to establish a relationship with the pages of those news websites.
Social Media and in particular Facebook, which has reached two billion active people per month in 2017, are based on relationships. Commenting and dissemination allows the algorithm to identify an interest on the part of the reader who will be more involved.
Factors affecting the dissemination of Fake News
There are two main factors that allow the dissemination of news fabricated to influence readers, information overload and the user’s limited attention span.
Precisely the particularity of digital information has led to constant partial attention. This occurs because the information to which the user is submitted is fragmented and partial, the reader fails to deepen well the huge flow of news, so the critical sense is blurred.
According to a study published in Nature Human Behavior by Diego Fregolente Mendes de Olivera of the Sghanghai Institute of Technology and other researchers, it is shown that the particularity of the structure of social networks and the limited capacity for attention are the two factors that make the dissemination of Fake News to the detriment of the quality of information.
The study shows that the particularity and structure of social media allow maximum diffusion in the network in the presence of a limited attention span.
How memory is affected
In an article published in Nature, Laura Spinney, analyzes in detail the relationship between information and the construction of individual and collective memories.
Psychologists are studying the processes by which collective memories are formed and how they can be influenced at a distance. They managed to demonstrate the enormous influence that is determined by the social networks on memory.
According to Daniel Schacter, a psychologist at Harvard University, shared memories in social groups like Facebook are able to understand memories between individuals and groups. False news can alter individual and collective memory.
“The development of Internet misinformation, as in recent and well-publicized false news sites, is able to alter individual and collective memories in disquieting ways”.
The ability to correctly assess the credibility of the information found on the web is a phenomenon that affects the whole society. The media produce a huge flow of information and it becomes very difficult to distinguish the true from the false and what is based on verifiable, false or even fabricated sources.
Compared to the past, where society was based more on paper and sources, digital is more difficult.
According to the study cited in Nature Human Behavior, there is a way to increase the critical sense and increase the capacity for attention, try to reduce the information load by limiting the production of news on social media.
Even the authoritative media can do Misinformation
Even the traditional and authoritative media can make Misinformation, that is to produce false news involuntarily. And this happens when the control of sources is not strictly applied, when the media, even if authoritative, do not scrupulously verify the sources. In this case, even if we do not want to produce a false news voluntarily, we end up swelling the flow of Fake News.
The diffusion of the network and of the Social Networks has substantially changed journalism and the way of producing information. The continuous and disruptive flow of information that also comes from non-professionals requires to shorten the time, to the detriment of the scrupulous verification of the sources. To increase traffic to your website, even authoritative publications publish uncertified information.
Even the Italian Court of Cassation with a ruling in November 2017, which judged a news taken by a journalist and then turned out to be false, stigmatizes the way to handle information from the network. For judges of the Court, relying on a source when it is constituted by journalistic publications is not enough, it risks creating a self-referential circuit. For a journalist there is always the obligation to check the sources but when the same comes from the web it is necessary to cross it well with others because the risk of making misinformation is very high.
On the net and above all on Social Media readers do not make much distinction between the various media, the authors of the articles and the differences between those who produce the news. This is why the verification of the sources remains the watershed necessary to distinguish the production of quality information from a flow of false or exaggerated and unverified news. The quality of information is essentially based on the strict verification of sources.
The BBC is trying to curb the publication of non-certified information by introducing a reality check, a section of the website where to certify the most controversial and most clicked news on the web.
How to identify a Fake News
There are no infallible methods for identifying a Fake News and understanding that misinformation is spreading on that subject. But caution is needed because, as previously stated, the reader in the digital age has undergone a transformation, he is no longer a passive subject but able to give lymph and vigor to the news having the opportunity to express an opinion or to share. There are some tricks that allow you to get an idea of the news that is proposed to us. Craig Silverman, a journalist from Buzzfeed, offers 6 simple ways to spot fake news.
The control of the url to verify that a site similar to a better known one has not been created, read the “who we are”, check the links to understand if they are real, do a search of the images to see if it has already been published and can refer to another event.
The last advice from Silverman is caution. Faced with news that provokes strong emotions, the journalist of Buzzfeed invites calm, to control emotions.
This is the central point that is taken into consideration by those who produce Fake News, writing strong titles accompanied by images that can produce an immediate emotional reaction. Faced with a strong emotion, the reader reacts by expressing his mood immediately using different tools available. On Facebook in front of a news that provokes emotions, you can immediately express your mood with a like, a comment and a sharing.
These are the actions of the user that trigger then a viral spread that allows the false news to spread rapidly on the net. A like on Facebook allows the social network’s best friend to establish a relationship between the user and the page where the news is posted and this mechanism will determine a “social relationship”. From that moment a relationship will be established between the fake news site page and the user, who will probably receive all the updates.
So a false news is produced to automatically trigger emotional reactions, which is why it is necessary to control the emotions but above all to avoid expressing their own assessment based essentially on the title of the news and on the photos. It is always necessary to read the article in its entirety and during the reading express its critical sense that can be formal, such as notice oddities with the url, images, links, etc., but also substantial trying to understand if verifiable sources are used.
In any case, interacting on social networks can be decisive for the dissemination of Fake News, that’s why sharing action must be used in moderation, sharing a news means offering it to their circle of friends who in turn share it with others, until it is widely disseminated. Being active players in a process of training the cycle of news, as happens for online news, determines a certain responsibility as each songola action can determine the spread of a flow of online news.
It is difficult to immediately identify a Fake News, but one way to cope with the phenomenon is: caution in the management of one’s emotion in front of a news item and fully read the article carefully before deciding to share it or express it an evaluation.
Health, the risk of incorrect and dangerous information
Fake News is not only capable of altering the political debate but also influencing behavior, especially in health care. According to a Censis and Assosalute study, 28.4% of Italians consult websites to search for health information, of which 17% consult generic websites, 6% institutional sites and 2.4% social networks. According to this research on 15 million people who have searched for information on the web to treat their health, about 8.8 million people have been victims of false or incorrect medical news.
False and incorrect news can really compromise the state of health, which is why we need correct communication and education to health choices.
Just to counteract the Fake News in the health field, the web portal was created by Italian doctors.
The portal has been called “Doctor, but it is true that …?”, And is online at www.dottoremaeveroche.it or even https://dottoremaeveroche.it.
The initiative is by Fnomceo, the national federation of surgeons and dentists’ orders, and starts from the observation that “hoaxes, when they affect health, are likely to become real criminal actions, sustained by economic interests or only by ignorance”.
Tools to stem the Fake News
Many try to stem the Fake News, preparing tools or methods to alert users. Until now these tools have not yet produced acceptable results as the case of Facebook which, after having experienced a series of initiatives with little success, introduces in Italy a project for “The protection of information security and the fight against false news” .
In Italy the Fact-Checking activity was launched in collaboration with Pagella Politica, signatory of the Poynter International Fact Checking Principles.
Politics Scoreboard will evaluate the accuracy of the stories on Facebook. If a story is considered false or partially false, Facebook will show, in order to give more context, in the section below, the analysis written by the fact-checker, and the story can appear further down in the News Feed. In addition, people will be notified if a story they shared was found to be false.
WhatsApp is also developing a system to fight hoaxes, especially a sort of S. Antonio chains that bounce in the chats.
WhatsApp could introduce a notification that arrives together with the received message that also requests the diffusion to multiple contacts, and that warns the user on the fact that “the content has already been forwarded so many times”
The Ministry of the Interior introduces an online service that will allow citizens to suggest presumed hoaxes. In the case of content detrimental to reputation, the Postal Police will provide the recipient with all the necessary information to request the removal of content that, however, “must be evaluated by individual social networks”
The EU adopts measures to combat online disinformation
The EU presents the results of the first reflections on the thorny issue of the Fake News, and the conclusions contained in the report of the specially created expert group invite to wide-ranging actions especially on the network, where the flow of information is more difficult to control.
In the report the group of experts specifies that the definition Fake News is not correct, because the term would be inadequate to describe its complexity, since it would be “false information, inaccurate or conceived misleading way, presented and disseminated for profit or with the intention to create a public prejudice “, capable of undermining democratic values and processes.
Among the various recommendations: the promotion of a code of ethics that online platforms and social media should commit to respecting; the promotion of media literacy as a contrasting element; the development of tools that allow users and reporters to fight disinformation; guarantee the transparency of online platforms, making clear how the algorithms that select news operate; highlight the most reliable news, in collaboration with some European media outlets); make a group to carry out the implementation, monitoring and regular review of the agreed actions.
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EWM REALTY INTERNATIONAL LISTS HISTORIC MARLIN HOTEL FOR $21.9 MILLION ON SOUTH BEACH
Home / EWM REALTY INTERNATIONAL LISTS HISTORIC MARLIN HOTEL FOR $21.9 MILLION ON SOUTH BEACH
Jun 20, 2016 EWM MarketingIn The NewsLifestyles of South Florida
Turnkey, luxury Art Deco property, originally home to recording hub South Beach Studios, has been fully renovated, more than doubled in size and is represented by Jason Zarco
MIAMI BEACH, FL – EWM Realty International, the exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate for Miami-Dade and Broward counties, announced today the $21.9 million listing of the Marlin Hotel, a historic Art Deco property in the heart of South Beach at 1200 Collins Ave. Luxury sales associate Jason Zarco with EWM’s Miami Beach office represents the seller.
“As a former operations director for The Ritz-Carlton, I can confidently say that the Marlin Hotel offers a luxury guest room product that rivals any high-end, full-service hotel accommodation,” said Zarco. “Not only does the property’s recent renovation put it at the top-tier of its class in the South Beach boutique hotel world, but the hotel, as a whole, is a lucrative draw for any investor…being ideally located within the epicenter of one of Miami Beach’s most outstanding and vibrant enclaves.”
With its distinct Art Deco exterior, the three-story Marlin Hotel was built in 1939 by renowned Miami Beach architect L. Murray Dixon, visionary behind the Raleigh Hotel and Hotel Victor, among others. The Marlin was most recently purchased in April 2015 (a transaction which involved Zarco on behalf of the buyer) and underwent a complete, multi-million-dollar renovation — one aimed at preserving the landmark building’s architectural hallmarks.
Upgrades were made to all existing guest rooms and suites, the lobby area, restaurant and public areas, and an additional 19 rooms and suites were added – maximizing usage of space that was previously underutilized. Now comprising a total of 33 guest rooms, the hotel is turnkey…outfitted with contemporary custom furnishings, décor and high-tech state-of-the-art amenities. Each room, ranging from roughly 240 to 500 square feet, has a distinct style, complemented with wood flooring and serene color palettes.
“The ownership has gone above and beyond to maximize the property’s unique qualities and its pivotal position at the high-end of the market’s spectrum,” added Zarco. “This gorgeous hotel now has the meticulous touch it always deserved – a nod to its noteworthy beginnings as one of L. Murray Dixon’s architectural masterpieces.”
Adding to its rich history, the Marlin Hotel has music roots, having been the first hotel of producer Chris Blackwell of Island Records. The property was also once home to South Beach Studios, where a litany of top musicians, including Bob Marley, Aerosmith, Jay-Z, U2 and Pharrell Williams, produced music. A renowned “home away from home” for a myriad of artists, Prince was also known to have visited.
“The Marlin Hotel is a jewel on South Beach and a rarity in the marketplace, offering a considerable opportunity for prospective buyers who want to capitalize on the chance to own and operate a renovated luxury Art Deco property…one ready to receive guests,” said Ron Shuffield, President, EWM Realty International. “Furthermore, Jason (Zarco) has a keen understanding of this special segment of the market and what it takes to showcase a property of this magnitude.” Click here for Video
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Saudi Aramco Advances Global Chemicals Strategy With S-Oil Expansion Project in Ulsan, South Korea
- The relationship between Saudi Aramco and S-Oil grows stronger with the inauguration of the new complex in South Korea.
SEOUL, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi Aramco is advancing its global chemicals growth strategy with today's inauguration of S-Oil's new Residue Upgrading Complex and Olefin Downstream Complex.
The new facilities feature the latest refinery technologies, which have raised S-Oil's petrochemical portion from 8% to 13% and includes high-value products such as propylne and gasoline.
The inauguration of the complex was celebrated in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and His Excellency Moon Jae-in President of the Republic of Korea. Also in attendence were His Excellency Khalid Abdulaziz Al Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, and Sung Yunmo, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea.
"Today's inauguration marks a historic moment for both S-Oil and Saudi Aramco. S-Oil serves as a role model for Saudi Aramco's international downstream strategy and plays an important role by providing the vital energy needed for economic growth in South Korea. These two new facilities will supply high-value products to major Korean industries, whose global brands are part of our everyday lives and rank among the world's very best in technology, innovation, creativity, and quality," said Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser.
The inauguration also included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies to collaborate on a US$6 billion Steam Cracker & Olefin Downstream Project which is expected to be completed by 2024. The new world class steam cracker will produce ethylene and other basic chemicals out of naphtha and refinery off-gas.
This new agreement supports Saudi Aramco's plan to increase its global petrochemicals footprint over the next decade. It will further include the deployment of Saudi Aramco's Thermal Crude-to-Chemicals Technology, shifting S-OIL's focus from "oil to chemicals" to better position the company in the future energy market.
Aramco Overseas Company is a major shareholder in S-Oil which is South Korea's third-largest refiner.
Saudi Aramco initially invested in S-Oil in 1991, and their relationship continues to grow stronger, with the refining capacity increasing from 90 thousand bpd in 1990 to roughly 700 thousand bpd in 2018.
About Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco is a global integrated energy and chemicals company. We are driven by the core belief that energy is opportunity. From producing approximately one in every eight barrels of the world's oil supply to developing new energy technologies, our global team is dedicated to creating impact in all that we do. We focus on making our resources more dependable, more sustainable and more useful. This helps promote stability and long-term growth around the world. www.saudiaramco.com
@Saudi_Aramco
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/929288/Aramco_and_S_Oil.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/929289/S_Oil_Ulsan_Refinery.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/929290/S_Oil_Ulsan_Refinery_2.jpg
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/810984/Saudi_Aramco_Logo.jpg
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Márcio Cabral de Moura By: Márcio Cabral de Moura
Aquário de Vancouver / Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium (officially the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre) is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation.
The Vancouver Aquarium was one of the first facilities to incorporate professional naturalists into the galleries to interpret animal behaviours. Prior to this, at the London Zoo Fish House, naturalists James S. Bowerbank, Dr. E Lankester, Mr D. Mitchell and Philip Henry Gosse (the creator of the word aquarium) had regularly held "open house" events, but the Vancouver Aquarium was the first to employ educational naturalists on a full-time basis. Aquarium research projects extend worldwide, and include marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation.
On August 9, 2010 Prime Minister Stephen Harper and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell used the aquarium's beluga tank as a backdrop as together they announced capital funding of up to $15 million for the Stanley Park attraction. The province would donate $10 million in funding over the next three years to help pay for a planned expansion of the 54-year-old facility, Premier Gordon Campbell said. Harper added that Ottawa would hand over up to $5 million to the aquarium for infrastructure upgrades.". The aquarium, however, remains a nonprofit organization. The property is owned by the City of Vancouver and rented to the Aquarium for $40,000 a year since 1991 (prior to which it was $1 per year).
In October 2009 the Vancouver Aquarium was designated as a Coastal America Learning Center by the US Environmental Protection Agency. As the first Learning Center in Canada, this designation is intended to strengthen the Canadian/U.S. partnership for protecting and restoring shared ocean resources.
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Billionaire-Owned MSC Cruises Christens First U.S. Focused Ship
Alexandra Garfinkle Contributor
I cover the world’s richest people.
It’s November 2017 and Rafaela Aponte double-checks that the carpets, curtains, and chairs are just right on the MSC Seaside, MSC Cruises’ newest ship. An owner of Swiss-based MSC Cruises, Aponte led the interior design efforts on the Seaside, as she does for all her family’s ships; in the weeks before any MSC ship’s maiden voyage, Aponte lingers near the port and sometimes stays on the nearly-ready ship to examine and perfect the design. The Miami-based Seaside is a milestone – designed with the U.S. market in mind, it was MSC Cruises’ first ship christened in the U.S. and a part of the European company’s $12 billion multiyear investment that will triple the company’s passenger capacity by 2026.
Aponte runs MSC Cruises and its parent company, MSC Group, with husband Gianluigi, a former ferry ship captain. In 1970, the husband-and-wife team launched cargo shipping venture Mediterranean Shipping, now MSC. Known as a shipping giant, Gianluigi bought a few cruise ships as a novelty in the late 1980s, running cruises between Eastern Africa and Europe. Today MSC Cruises is the world’s largest privately-held cruise line with $2 billion in 2016 revenues. The couple are worth a combined $8.9 billion and rank no. 180 among the Forbes Billionaires.
Now, MSC, whose ships visited 199 ports worldwide last year, is taking on the massive U.S. cruise market, going head-to-head with well-known publicly-traded companies like Carnival Corporation, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean Cruises, all of which trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Seaside, which is distinguishable for its 26,000-square-foot spa, the widest waterfront boardwalk ever built, and Miami Beach-inspired architecture, exemplifies MSC’s future – it was built, in a nod to its European roots, by Italy-based firm Fincantieri and signals MSC’s vamped-up efforts to make waves in the famously competitive Caribbean cruise market.
Currently the fourth-largest cruise company worldwide, it is expected to pass Norwegian Cruise Line in terms of capacity by 2026, according to Cruise Industry News.
MSC's chief communications officer Luca Biondolillo credits the company’s current success with attracting “consumers who are looking for a cruise line that’s offering an international product.” He also said that continuing to draw this clientele is integral to MSC’s future; MSC’s clientele is also slightly younger-than-average– the average MSC cruise-goer is 45, while Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) reports that the average cruise-goer is 46.
However, according to lodging and leisure analyst Patrick Scholes, there is another reason it’s faring so well. MSC offers a “newer product for less,” as competing ships are often older. For example, a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Seaside is $439, while a similar cruise on the Norwegian Jade is $399. The kicker? The Jade was built in 2006. For context, Frommer’s writes that the ideal lifespan for a cruise ship is 30 years.
Scholes, a managing director at SunTrust, has followed MSC’s growth path for the past few years and says he’s noticed the company’s profile slowly rising. To that end, in 2017, the MSC Cruises served nearly 2 million passengers worldwide and is the top cruise line in both Europe and South America.
“They’ve been pretty aggressive about building new ships and it makes them stand out,” Scholes said.
According to Scholes, the overall demand for cruise vacations has never been better. He credits a “strong economy with minimal unemployment,” as well as minor wage growth and low gas prices. A large percent of cruise-goers drive their cars to port, Scholes said, and gas prices have long been an indicator of cruise demand, along with a country’s economic health.
“The biggest wild card [for MSC] is that they’re making these 2019, 2020 forecasts, so they’d better hope the economy hangs in there,” Scholes said.
Alexandra Garfinkle
At Forbes, I work on the Billionaires List, with interests in real estate and the often-opaque shipping industry. I graduated from the University of Chicago in 2015 and ...
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AstraZeneca Spins Out Women's Health Treatment To $62M Startup, Millendo
Luke Timmerman Contributor
I give biotech insiders an edge at Timmerman Report.
Drug giant AstraZeneca has been regularly reshuffling R&D priorities for a couple years now. When that happens, little biotech companies look for promising assets they can pick up and run with.
Millendo Therapeutics just got $62 million, in large part, to do that very thing.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Millendo is announcing today it will put much of the new cash to work on developing a drug AstraZeneca developed for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
This disease isn’t a top-of-mind women’s health issue like breast cancer, but it affects millions of women in their childbearing years. Between 4% and 8% of the worldwide female population, or maybe as many as 15-20%, are affected, depending on which diagnostic criteria doctors choose to rely on.
However many there are, what these women have is an endocrine disorder that results in enlarged, overactive ovaries that contain pockets of fluid, known as follicles. That leads to a hormonal imbalance that ends up causing excessive buildup of male sex hormones (androgens) in the blood. All kinds of unpleasant symptoms come next--acne, excessive hair growth, obesity, baldness and infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods.
There is no FDA-approved product for the disease. Only within the last couple years have scientists shed new light on the underlying genetic factors that drive it, giving pharmaceutical companies new ideas for treatment. For years, physicians have gotten by treating various symptoms with birth control pills, generic metformin (a diabetes drug) or just advising women to shave.
“Men don’t always intuitively appreciate what PCOS is, but it does run in families,” said Julia Owens, CEO of Millendo. “Some (investors) have watched it in their families, and they say ‘Oh, you’re working on PCOS?' And they get it immediately.”
Awareness of the disease wasn’t a big hurdle for Millendo, at least in part because it is run by a female CEO, and it has a majority-female board of directors (three of five). Besides Owens, the other female directors are Carol Gallagher of New Enterprise Associates, and Tracy Saxton of Roche Venture Fund. The $62 million financing of Millendo was led by NEA, and included Roche Venture Fund, as well as Adams Street Partners, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Longwood Fund, Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Osage University Partners, 5AM Ventures and the Regents of the University of Michigan’s MINTS Program.
The company, formerly known as Atterocor, was founded in 2012 with a $16 million venture capital investment. Owens said she got tired with the old name being regularly misspelled and mispronounced. She decided to change it to Millendo partly because it was easy to spell and pronounce, but also to highlight the company's concentration on endocrine disorders like PCOS, adrenal cancer and Cushing syndrome.
As part of the license deal, Millendo has agreed to make an undisclosed upfront cash payment to AstraZeneca for the compound known as AZD4901. AstraZeneca will also get an equity stake in Millendo, and the big company will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties if Millendo's efforts are successful.
The idea for handing off the drug to Millendo can be traced back to some conversations between AstraZeneca executives and some venture capitalists. Frazier Healthcare, an early investor in Millendo, had a series of conversations with AstraZeneca about potentially forming a new company to develop the asset that was no longer in the parent company’s wheelhouse. Instead, they decided to license it to an existing company, Millendo, which only had one other drug candidate, but had performed well in early development with it, Owens said.
Much of the early heavy lifting with the drug candidate has been done. AstraZeneca ran a Phase 2a clinical trial with 65 women who got three different doses of the compound, or a placebo. The drug, taken orally once a day, hit its goals of reducing leutinizing hormones in the blood by 52%, and reducing testosterone in the blood by 29%, after seven days of treatment, according to data presented at the Endocrine Society meeting last year in San Diego. The testosterone reductions were sustained for the full 28 days of the study. No serious side effects were reported, researchers said.
Millendo plans to build off that result with a larger Phase 2b clinical trial, Owens said.
The drug is designed to work by inhibiting the Neurokinin B receptor. One other drug developer, Belgium-based Euroscreen, is actively working on a PCOS drug based on the new understanding of the underlying biology, while Switzerland-based EffRx Pharmaceuticals also has another option in the works, a reformulated version of metformin, a common diabetes drug.
Whenever you have a drug vying to be first-in-class against a new molecular mode of action, there’s considerable risk. The FDA hasn’t considered an application from a drugmaker before, so it’s unclear what types of evidence will be needed to win a market approval.
Public awareness, or confusion about what PCOS is, represents another potential challenge for drugmakers. There are wide differences in diagnostic criteria used by the National Institutes of Health, and what’s known as the Rotterdam criteria, Owens said. Only about 40% of the patients with PCOS are currently diagnosed. At least one patient advocacy group is trying to raise awareness of the condition so more women seek treatment, and some doctors are trying to rename the disorder based on the new understanding of the endocrine system problem, Owens said.
Luke Timmerman is a journalist, author, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Timmerman Report, a biotech newsletter. Luke is also the author of "Hood: Trailblazer of t...
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Marc A. Thiessen: Trump could be the most honest president in modern history
Donald Trump may be remembered as the most honest president in modern American history.
Don't get me wrong, Trump lies all the time. He said that he "enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history" (actually they are the eighth largest) and that "our economy is the strongest it's ever been in the history of our country" (which may one day be true, but not yet). In part, it's a New York thing — everything is the biggest and the best.
But when it comes to the real barometer of presidential truthfulness — keeping his promises — Trump is a paragon of honesty. For better or worse, since taking office Trump has done exactly what he promised he would do.
Trump kept his promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something his three immediate predecessors also promised yet failed to do. He promised to "crush and destroy ISIS," and two years later he is on the verge of eliminating the Islamic State's physical caliphate. He promised to impose a travel ban on countries that he saw as posing a terrorist threat, and after several false starts the final version of his ban was upheld by the Supreme Court. He promised to punish Syria if it used chemical weapons on its people, and, unlike his immediate predecessor, he followed through — not once but twice.
Trump pledged to nominate Supreme Court justices "in the mold of Justice [Antonin] Scalia," and now Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh sit on the high court. Trump also pledged to fill the federal appellate courts with young, conservative judges, and so far the Senate has confirmed 26 — more than any recent president at this point in his administration.
Trump vowed to pass historic tax reforms, and signed the first major overhaul of the tax code in three decades. He vowed an unprecedented regulatory rollback, with a strict policy to eliminate two existing regulations for every new regulation. Instead, in his first year he eliminated 22 existing regulations for every new rule, achieved $8.1 billion in lifetime regulatory savings and is on track to achieve an additional $9.8 billion this year.
During the campaign, he told African American voters, "What do you have to lose? ... I will straighten it out. I'll bring jobs back. We'll bring spirit back." On his watch, African American unemployment reached the lowest level ever recorded, and his tax reform included a little-noticed provision creating "Opportunity Zones" to try to revitalize struggling towns and inner-city communities.
Trump promised to cancel President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, withdraw from the Paris climate accord, approve the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration. He fulfilled all of those pledges.
On trade, he kept his promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. He also committed to renegotiating NAFTA and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement — and recently signed new deals with Mexico, Canada and South Korea. He committed to imposing tariffs on China to force it to open its markets and stop its theft of intellectual property — and is following through on that pledge. Whatever one thinks of Trump's trade policies, he is doing exactly what he said.
The president pledged historic increases in defense spending, and delivered. He pledged to bring back manufacturing jobs, and manufacturing jobs are growing at the fastest pace in more than two decades. He pledged to sign "Right to Try" legislation to give dying Americans access to experimental treatments, and did. He pledged to take on the opioid epidemic, and will soon sign a sweeping bipartisan opioids package into law.
Where Trump has failed to keep promises, such as building the wall or repealing Obamacare, it has not been for a lack of trying. Only in a few rare instances has he backtracked on a campaign pledge — such as when he admitted that he was wrong to promise a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and reversed course. I'm glad he did.
But whether one agrees or disagrees is not the point. When Trump says he will do something, you can take it to the bank. Yes, he takes liberties with the truth. But unlike his predecessor, he did not pass his signature legislative achievement on the basis of a lie ("If you like your health care plan, you can keep it") — which is clearly worse than falsely bragging that your tax cut is the biggest ever.
The fact is, in his first two years, Trump has compiled a remarkable record of presidential promise-keeping. He'd probably say it's the best in history — which may or may not end up being true. It's too soon to tell.
Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.
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Seeking Justice
by Jarrod Saunders
Nicholas Cage has a bulletproof career. The talented Oscar-winning actor has made some poor script choices in the past and has continued to sleepwalk his way through roles lately. Seeking Justice, however, deserves some faint praise. It’s not as bad as the title might suggest.
Many will find it hard to believe that Cage was once an immensely talented actor. Not convinced? Have a look at his resume. It’s filled with roles that have deservedly won him critical acclaim and star status. Somewhere along the way, a few big missteps with Drive Angry and Ghost Rider, he lost his groove. While Seeking Justice doesn’t regain him his standing, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
Get Over Here And Enter Our Awesome Mortal Kombat 11 Competition!
Cage plays Will Gerrard, a happily married, hard-working, law-abiding high-school English teacher whose life takes an unexpected turn when his beautiful musician wife Laura (January Jones) is brutally raped, robbed and beaten. While she lies recovering in the hospital, Will is approached in the waiting room by Simon (Guy Pearce), who offers him the “justice” the already failed justice system couldn’t. The only catch is that he needs to promise to repay the debt at a later stage. Will wrestles with the idea for a while before agreeing.
When the rapist is murdered and Simon returns to collect his debt, Will realizes that he is in way over his head. Unable to complete the tasks set before him, he decides to take on the very people who helped him avenge his wife.
It’s an intriguing premise no doubt, but a lot of it spoiled by confusing plot holes and predictable outcomes – the stuff B-grade movies are made of. But even if the script doesn’t quite hang together, New Zealand-born director Roger Donaldson knows his way around an action thriller. Seeking Justice is watchable, if not quite logical.
“The hungry rabbit jumps.” — a mysterious code phrase used in the movie that goes on being mysterious for the rest of the film.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OXDHZ3BiXA’]
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Ghost Story Train
Christmas City Express South Elgin
Christmas City Express Wilmette
While a trolley ride is a new occurrence for many of the museum's young riders, the Fox River Line itself is not new, dating back to 1896. At the turn of the century this interurban line was part of the Elgin, Aurora and Southern Traction Company and ran about 40 miles along the Fox River from Carpentersville to Yorkville. It also included and was connected to the streetcar systems of Elgin and Aurora. In 1906 the EA&S itself became part of the high speed interurban, the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago Railroad. This line ran west from its connection with the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company and had four branches with western terminals along the Fox River in the same towns that the Fox River Line served. Even though the two divisions were part of the same company from 1906 - 1919, they were always operated separately with different equipment, repair facilities and employees. In August of 1919, the AE&C went into receivership, both divisions emerging from bankruptcy in the early 1920's. They were separated and renamed. The third rail division to Chicago (former AE&C) was renamed the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) and the Fox River Division was renamed the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company (AE&FRE).
The AE&FRE on its own began again in 1924, acquired new one man cars, cut costs and modernized its track, signalling and operations. Business was good through most of the 1920's but as more people purchased automobiles and the roads in Kane County were paved, ridership began to drop. First to go were some, then all of the streetcar routes in Elgin and Aurora with the last one being retired in 1934. All of these were torn up and replaced by company owned bus routes with the interurban line between Aurora and Elgin (including our right-of-way) being the final one in March of 1935.
As you can see, not all of the track was torn up. A short 3.5 mile segment was retained from the interchange with the Illinois Central at Coleman north along present day Route 31 to the State Mental Hospital in Elgin. Two home made flatcar motors were retained to handle the freight only business which was chiefly coal and other supplies for the hospital and a few other customers along the route. Carload freight tonnage was high, the overhead low and the AE&FRE even dieselized in 1946.
Things were going well for the freight operator until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told the hospital in 1971 that they would have to stop using coal (from Southern Illinois) for its power plant because of pollution. This was the railroad's last and only customer and the loss of it would force the AE&FRE out of the freight business.
The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway went out of business in 1961, but a small group of loyal railfans struggled to keep the memory of the line alive. Starting first as the Railway Investment Club in August of 1959 and then incorporating as Railway Equipment Leasing and Investment Co. (RELIC) in September of 1961 they began what would become the Fox River Trolley Museum. RELIC first acquired several CA&E cars saving them from scrapping. Next was finding a suitable place to store and someday run them. RELIC worked out an agreement with Bob DeYoung, the owner of the line to store their cars of his mainline and later operate them on weekends when there were no freight operations. Our present day museum property was purchased from a family on the line and our substation was purchased from Commonwealth Edison and reassembled on our site.
A new electric railroad literally had to be brought in and assembled. All this by a group many of whom had never worked a day in their life for an actual railroad. Finally, all was in place and the RELIC TROLLEY MUSEUM opened July 4, 1966! The first rides were 50¢ and only went about as far as the present day car barn which was as far as the trolley wire had been strung! Over the next few months the wire was extended to the present day southern end of the line, other cars acquired and ridership increased.
© 2019 Fox River Trolley Association
info@foxtrolley.org
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Michigan State basketball: Don't expect rivalry revival with Notre Dame
Mike Brey enjoyed Notre Dame's first visit to Michigan State since 1974, but don't expect the Irish to schedule the Spartans willingly any time soon.
Michigan State basketball: Don't expect rivalry revival with Notre Dame Mike Brey enjoyed Notre Dame's first visit to Michigan State since 1974, but don't expect the Irish to schedule the Spartans willingly any time soon. Check out this story on Freep.com: http://on.freep.com/2nkNDDM
Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press Published 9:14 a.m. ET Dec. 1, 2017 | Updated 4:31 p.m. ET Dec. 1, 2017
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch, Detroit Free Press / LSJ MSU beat writer Graham Couch and Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel dissect the Spartans' 81-63 win Thursday night. Chris Solari/Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.(Photo: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports)
EAST LANSING — Mike Brey was immediately effusive in his praise for the energy and crowd inside Breslin Center on Thursday night.
Just as quickly after No. 3 Michigan State’s 81-63 win over No. 5 Notre Dame, however, the Fighting Irish coach made sure to emphasize that a revival of the rivalry is “not happening.”
“I just don't want to play too many Big Ten games,” Brey said. “The other thing that is going to be interesting in non-league scheduling is both us and the Big Ten are going to 20 league games. So what's your philosophy with your non-league? I think you have to be smart and not over-schedule in your non-league (games) because we're both going to play 20.”
More on MSU hoops:
It's scary how good Michigan State basketball can be
Jaren Jackson Jr. stifles ND's Bonzie Colson before foul issues
The two teams have played 96 times now, with Notre Dame holding a 60-36 all-time advantage. However, the schools did not play between the Elite Eight in the 1979 NCAA tournament and their 2014 mandated meeting in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Irish won that game in South Bend, Ind., 79-78 in overtime.
This was Notre Dame’s first game ever at Breslin and their first trip to East Lansing since February 1974 at Jenison Field House. Their every-year series ended in 1975.
Brey called Breslin “an unbelievable home basketball atmosphere.”
“I'd be fine meeting them every five years in the ACC/Big Ten (Challenge),” he said. “But they're a great program and they're a great measuring stick for where your program is.”
Momentous win
Even a Hall of Fame coach has some first left.
Tom Izzo beat top-10 opponents in consecutive games for the first time in his 23-year career at MSU. The Spartans downed North Carolina, then No. 9, in the final game of the Phil Knight Invitational on Sunday, 63-45.
MSU beat the Irish by the same 18-point margin, which marked the Spartans’ biggest victory over a top-5 team since defeating then-No. 4 Michigan, 75-52, on Feb. 12, 2013.
Pounding the boards
Along with the Spartans’ hot start on offense, jumping out to a 31-11 lead in the by the midpoint of the first half, they produced on the defensive end and in rebounding in that span.
MSU held Notre Dame to just 4 of 13 shooting in the opening 10 minutes, while the Spartans also owned a 13-1 rebounding edge in that start. They made 12 of their first 18 shots.
“I think as a team, if we keep going the way we’re going, we have a lot of great things in store for us,” said sophomore Joshua Langford, who scored 10 of his 17 points in those opening 10 minutes.
Photos: Michigan State 81, Notre Dame 63
Michigan State forward Xavier Tillman rebounds against Notre Dame forward Bonzie Colson in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State guard Joshua Langford scores against Notre Dame guard Temple Gibbs in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State guard Matt McQuaid rebounds against Notre Dame in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talks to guard Cassius Winston in the first half against Notre Dame on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Miles Bridges walks off the court after the 81-63 win against Notre Dame, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State forward Miles Bridges drives against Notre Dame forward Rex Pflueger in the second half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Joshua Langford, left, and Miles Bridges celebrate after a basket against Notre Dame in the second half Thursday, Nov, 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's guard Cassius Winston scores against Notre Dame's Elijah Burnes in the second half Thursday, Nov, 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans forward Miles Bridges drives against Notre Dame in the second half Thursday, Nov, 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Miles Bridges scores against Notre Dame's Martinas Geben in the second half Thursday, Nov, 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Cassius Winston passes against Notre Dame's Martinas Geben in the second half Thursday, Nov, 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State forward Nick Ward scores against Notre Dame forward Martinas Geben in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans forward Jaren Jackson Jr. blocks a shot by Notre Dame forward Bonzie Colson in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo congratulates forward Miles Bridges in the second half against Notre Dame at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State guard Cassius Winston gestures to teammates during the second half against Notre Dame at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reacts to a play during the second half against Notre Dame at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State's Miles Bridges celebrates during the game against Notre Dame at the Breslin Center on Nov. 30, 2017 in East Lansing. Rey Del Rio, Getty Images
Michigan State's Nick Ward drives against Notre Dame's Martinas Geben in the second half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Joshua Langford scores against Notre Dame's Temple Gibbs in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Nick Ward scores against Notre Dame's Martinas Geben in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Tum Tum Nairn steals the ball from Notre Dame's Bonzie Colson in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward scores against Notre Dame forward Martinas Geben in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State's Jaren Jackson Jr. drives against Notre Dame's Martinas Geben in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston scores against Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Michigan State Spartans forwards Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter rebound against Notre Dame forward Elijah Burns in the first half Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State's Miles Bridges warms up prior to a game against Notre Dame at Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans student section prior to a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans stand during the national anthem prior to a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports
Said Izzo, “It was a great 10 minutes. I was kind of hoping that the game ended then, to be honest with you.”
The Irish made seven of their final 16 attempts in the first half and shot 44.4 percent for the game after going 13-for-25 in the second half. However, the Spartans still doubled them up on the boards, finishing with a 42-21 edge that included 15 offensive rebounds that turned into a 20-6 edge in second-chance points.
Brey called MSU “the best rebounding team in the country.”
“You win big games, you win championships – we’ve said it since the day that I got to this place – because of your defense and your rebounding,” Izzo said. “At the end of the day, even though they shot 44 percent, I thought our defense and rebounding won us the game.”
Cutting turnovers
MSU finished with just 13 turnovers against the Irish after committing a season-worst 24 against No. 11 North Carolina in its PK80 championship win Sunday.
More: MSU's 'self-inflicted' turnovers bother Tom Izzo
The Spartans committed just five in the first half Thursday, three coming in a 5-minute stretch. Then came five more of their giveaways in the first 5 minutes of the second half, allowing Notre Dame to cut a 20-point halftime lead to 12.
“Other than that,” Izzo said, “we probably played 30 something minutes of very good basketball.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!
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A demonstration of quantum surrealism
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) has announced some intriguing new research results. A Feb. 19, 2016 news item on ScienceDaily gets the ball rolling,
New research demonstrates that particles at the quantum level can in fact be seen as behaving something like billiard balls rolling along a table, and not merely as the probabilistic smears that the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics suggests. But there’s a catch — the tracks the particles follow do not always behave as one would expect from “realistic” trajectories, but often in a fashion that has been termed “surrealistic.”
A Feb. 19, 2016 CIFAR news release by Kurt Kleiner, which originated the news item, offers the kind of explanation that allows an amateur such as myself to understand the principles (while I’m reading it), thank you Kurt Kleiner,
In a new version of an old experiment, CIFAR Senior Fellow Aephraim Steinberg (University of Toronto) and colleagues tracked the trajectories of photons as the particles traced a path through one of two slits and onto a screen. But the researchers went further, and observed the “nonlocal” influence of another photon that the first photon had been entangled with.
The results counter a long-standing criticism of an interpretation of quantum mechanics called the De Broglie-Bohm theory. Detractors of this interpretation had faulted it for failing to explain the behaviour of entangled photons realistically. For Steinberg, the results are important because they give us a way of visualizing quantum mechanics that’s just as valid as the standard interpretation, and perhaps more intuitive.
“I’m less interested in focusing on the philosophical question of what’s ‘really’ out there. I think the fruitful question is more down to earth. Rather than thinking about different metaphysical interpretations, I would phrase it in terms of having different pictures. Different pictures can be useful. They can help shape better intuitions.”
At stake is what is “really” happening at the quantum level. The uncertainty principle tells us that we can never know both a particle’s position and momentum with complete certainty. And when we do interact with a quantum system, for instance by measuring it, we disturb the system. So if we fire a photon at a screen and want to know where it will hit, we’ll never know for sure exactly where it will hit or what path it will take to get there.
The standard interpretation of quantum mechanics holds that this uncertainty means that there is no “real” trajectory between the light source and the screen. The best we can do is to calculate a “wave function” that shows the odds of the photon being in any one place at any time, but won’t tell us where it is until we make a measurement.
Yet another interpretation, called the De Broglie-Bohm theory, says that the photons do have real trajectories that are guided by a “pilot wave” that accompanies the particle. The wave is still probabilistic, but the particle takes a real trajectory from source to target. It doesn’t simply “collapse” into a particular location once it’s measured.
In 2011 Steinberg and his colleagues showed that they could follow trajectories for photons by subjecting many identical particles to measurements so weak that the particles were barely disturbed, and then averaging out the information. This method showed trajectories that looked similar to classical ones — say, those of balls flying through the air.
But critics had pointed out a problem with this viewpoint. Quantum mechanics also tells us that two particles can be entangled, so that a measurement of one particle affects the other. The critics complained that in some cases, a measurement of one particle would lead to an incorrect prediction of the trajectory of the entangled particle. They coined the term “surreal trajectories” to describe them.
In the most recent experiment, Steinberg and colleagues showed that the surrealism was a consequence of non-locality — the fact that the particles were able to influence one another instantaneously at a distance. In fact, the “incorrect” predictions of trajectories by the entangled photon were actually a consequence of where in their course the entangled particles were measured. Considering both particles together, the measurements made sense and were consistent with real trajectories.
Steinberg points out that both the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics and the De Broglie-Bohm interpretation are consistent with experimental evidence, and are mathematically equivalent. But it is helpful in some circumstances to visualize real trajectories, rather than wave function collapses, he says.
An image illustrating the work has been provided,
On the left, a still image from an animation of reconstructed trajectories for photons going through a double-slit. A second photon “measures” which slit each photon traversed, so no interference results on the screen. The image on the right shows the polarisation of this second, “probe.” Credit: Dylan Mahler Courtesy: CIFAR
Experimental nonlocal and surreal Bohmian trajectories by Dylan H. Mahler, Lee Rozema, Kent Fisher, Lydia Vermeyden, Kevin J. Resch, Howard M. Wiseman, and Aephraim Steinberg. Science Advances 19 Feb 2016: Vol. 2, no. 2, e1501466 DOI: 10.1126/science.1501466
This article appears to be open access.
This entry was posted in science and tagged Aephraim Steinberg, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR, De Broglie-Bohm theory, Dylan H. Mahler, Experimental nonlocal and surreal Bohmian trajectories, Howard M. Wiseman, Kent Fisher, Kevin J. Resch, Kurt Kleiner, Lee Rozema, Lydia Vermeyden, non-locality, quantum entanglement, quantum physics, surreal trajectories, Uncertainty Principle, University of Toronto on February 24, 2016 by Maryse de la Giroday.
← Shape-shifting nanoparticles for better chemotherapy from the University of Toronto (Canada) Sir Mark Welland, nanoscientist, elected as master of St. Catharine’s College in Cambridge (UK) →
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Alabama loses big lead, rallies past South Carolina 68-62
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kira Lewis Jr. had 17 points, including the go-ahead foul shots with 3:34 to play, as Alabama lost a double-digit lead before rallying late to beat South Carolina 68-62 Tuesday night.
The Crimson Tide (17-11, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) looked to have an easy one after opening a 28-15 lead. But the Gamecocks (14-14, 9-6) came all the way back and were up 54-49 after Tre Campbell’s 3-pointer with 7:15 to go.
That’s when Alabama found its touch in a 14-3 run over the next five minutes to take control.
South Carolina’s last lead came on Chris Silva’s foul shot with 3:53 to go. Lewis, though, followed that next time down with a pair of free throws to put the Crimson Tide ahead for good.
Donta Hall had 15 points and 10 rebounds as Alabama won its second straight after three consecutive defeats as it fights for the fourth seed in the jumbled SEC standings that would bring two days off before starting league tournament play.
Riley Norris had 11 points, all in the second half, as the Crimson Tide won its fourth straight over the Gamecocks.
Silva led South Carolina with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
South Carolina didn’t look like a team that had risen to fourth in the stacked SEC, missing 14 straight shots at one point. Alabama, though, has struggled to score at times this season and that kept things tighter than it should’ve been given the Gamecocks inability to make shots in the first half.
When South Carolina hit three straight shots, the Crimson Tide only were up 29-25 with 10 seconds left in the half. Lewis, though, took an inbounds pass and raced the length of the court for an easy jumper as time ran out.
Lewis nearly was the only player the first 20 minutes who managed to score. He had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Alabama: Lewis and Hall showed they can be a dangerous one-two punch for Alabama down the stretch.
Alabama hosts No. 13 LSU on Saturday.
South Carolina travels to Missouri on Saturday.
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You are here: Home / Careers in Genomics
Hear from those at the helm of genomic medicine about how they harness the power of genomics for patient benefit
Clinical bioinformaticians
Genetic counsellors
Clinical geneticists
Clinical bioinformatics
Find out what it’s like to work as a clinical bioinformatician in the NHS with our short film.
What is a clinical bioinformatician?
A clinical bioinformatician in genomics uses expertise in both computer software and biosciences to design and run software pipelines for the analysis of genomic data.
This is a vital role, as the data generated from the sequencing of a human genome is far too large to be meaningfully analysed by people without error and in a reasonable timeframe. Clinical bioinformaticians are the people tasked with filtering and organising genomic data in line with the clinical question, so that their colleagues are presented with a manageable amount of relevant information to deal with.
The analysis of data
Clinical bioinformaticians design and run software pipelines for the analysis of genomic data.
They work as part of a genomics multidisciplinary team alongside clinical scientists, medics, genetic technologists and other colleagues, such as specialist nurses. As part of this team, they use their specialist knowledge of computer programming and genomics to manipulate computer software to try to answer a particular clinical question.
The bioinformatician’s work takes place after the sequencing machine has finished its run. It is their job to analyse, filter and organise the data generated by the sequencer so that the clinical team ultimately has a workable amount of relevant data to deal with.
Bioinformaticians will often specialise in a particular area – for example, in rare disease or cancer. This is becoming more common as the data generated by sequencing becomes more and more extensive and complex, and the knowledge required to analyse it becomes more specialist.
Broader responsibilities
While bioinformaticians are primarily focused on answering the clinical question, they are also vital to protecting the confidentiality and wishes of the patient; it is their responsibility to ensure that any information that the patient has requested to be hidden is not reported to the rest of the team.
Clinical bioinformaticians may be involved in education and will often oversee trainee bioinformaticians within the department.
All bioinformaticians must adhere to strict protocols when performing their analysis; but more senior bioinformaticians may have a role in the development of policy in this area and in communicating any new developments to the rest of the team.
More senior bioinformaticians may be involved with external organisations. For example, by contributing to national best practice guidelines, and maintaining the laboratory’s accreditation in line with internationally recognised ISO standards.
Clinical bioinformaticians in the NHS work in a regional genomics laboratory, usually located within a hospital.
They are office based, with the majority of their work done at a computer. They regularly attend multidisciplinary team meetings in the department to discuss patient cases, and they may also visit technician colleagues in the laboratory to liaise with them about testing.
Some bioinformaticians may be involved with research, which could see them visiting external organisations, for example with the BBSRC or the European Bioinformatics Institute.
How they get there
Clinical bioinformaticians come from a variety of scientific backgrounds and have undergraduate and sometimes postgraduate degrees, most commonly in either a biological or computer science.
Many are now registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as clinical scientists. Registration follows after either successful completion of the three-year Scientist Training Programme, or being awarded a certificate of equivalence by the Academy of Healthcare Science (upon completion of a portfolio and a successful interview).
Learn about the role of genetic counsellors in patient care and the widescale integration of genomics.
What is a genetic counsellor?
Genetic counsellors are patient-facing healthcare professionals specially trained to support patients through genomic testing and diagnoses.
They use expert knowledge of both genomics and counselling to ensure that those referred to them are offered genomic testing where appropriate, and to guide patients through the testing process and any results returned to them and their family.
Genetic counsellors assess genomic risk, communicate genomic information, and support individuals and families through genomic testing and diagnoses.
They work as part of a multidisciplinary team alongside medics, scientists, bioinformaticians and others, such as nurse specialists, to care for patients and families undergoing genomic testing. It is their responsibility to represent patients in these meetings and to communicate decisions and results back to their patients, ensuring that the patient has fully understood and is able to consider any options available to them.
The genetic counsellor’s work often overlaps with that of the clinical geneticist. Genetic counsellors may offer counselling to individuals and families once a diagnosis has been made – for example, after a child has been diagnosed with a rare disease – or they may receive referrals from individuals questioning their risk of inherited conditions. In these instances, the genetic counsellor will often manage families without the involvement of a clinical geneticist, ordering testing and liaising with general practitioners and specialist teams to recommend appropriate follow-up care.
As they progress through their careers, genetic counsellors often have the opportunity to specialise in a particular area of genomics – for example, in cancer genomics or prenatal diagnosis.
With the rapid expansion of genomics into mainstream specialties, genetic counsellors are highly valued for their specialist knowledge not only of genomics but of how best to communicate with and support patients. They are also, therefore, often involved in the education of healthcare professionals across the NHS to promote patient-centred care and consideration of the complexities of genomic testing.
Genetic counsellors are mostly based within the clinical genetics department of a hospital; however, they often travel to different hospitals to provide equitable access to genetics clinics more locally.
Counsellors may also have educational responsibilities requiring them to travel to other sites – for example, to teach at a higher education institution. They are often involved in educating other healthcare professionals in communicating genomics, which is becoming increasingly important across all areas of healthcare.
They may take part in work with professional bodies or external organisations, such as the Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors (AGNC) or Genomics England.
Genetic counsellors are regulated by the Genetic Counsellor Registration Board (GCRB), which is responsible for the development of curricula and professional standards as well as maintaining patient and public safety.
Most genetic counsellors come from either a science (such as genetics, psychology) or a nursing background, and are required to complete a postgraduate Master’s degree in genetic counselling.
For example, the National School of Healthcare Science runs a three-year programme in genomic counselling. This enables individuals to practise in the UK and be eligible for registration with the UK Genetic Counsellor Registration Board (GCRB).
Hear from clinical geneticists about the role they play in diagnosis and management.
What is a clinical geneticist?
Clinical geneticists are medically trained doctors who specialise in genomic conditions – that is, conditions that are caused by, or they suspect are caused by, variations within an individual’s DNA.
They use a combination of medical knowledge and specialist understanding of molecular biology to diagnose and manage a range of patients at different stages of life and with various different clinical presentations.
Clinical geneticists work as part of a multidisciplinary team alongside clinical scientists, genetic technologists, bioinformaticians and other medics and clinicians in order to find answers for patients.
They see patients with a clinical presentation (known as a phenotype) that suggests a genetic/genomic condition. They receive referrals from GPs and other hospital specialists, such as paediatricians or cardiologists.
Geneticists see patients throughout life where genomics could be relevant. They may see a child with a rare disease, a woman whose unborn child may have a genetic diagnosis, or an adult with a newly diagnosed heart condition, for example.
Geneticists are responsible for the long-term medical care of a wide range of patients: both those diagnosed with genetic conditions – whom they manage throughout their lives, ensuring that they benefit from any advances in treatment as and when they emerge – and those with an undiagnosed rare disease, for whom they seek answers.
Some clinical geneticists will specialise in a particular area, for example in paediatrics or in cancer genomics.
In their medical practice, clinical geneticists are based in a specialist genetics department, usually within a large hospital, where they run patient clinics. They also run clinics at smaller local hospitals to ensure patients around the country have equitable access to genomic services.
Geneticists regularly attend multidisciplinary team meetings to discuss patient cases with other genomics and medical specialists. They may also be called to other departments in a hospital – for example, to a neonatal unit to make a diagnosis on a newborn baby. Though based in a specialist genetics department, they increasingly support colleagues from other medical specialties in the application of genomic medicine in their clinics.
Clinical geneticists may also have a role in education, for example at a university, particularly as they become more senior. They may also be involved with educating other healthcare professionals in genetics, which is becoming increasingly important across all areas of medicine. This work may require them to travel to other sites – for example, a higher education institution or national/international conferences.
They may take part in work with societies and organisations, such as the British Society of Genetic Medicine or Genomics England, where they have a role in the development of curricula and professional standards.
All clinical geneticists are qualified doctors, with an undergraduate degree in medicine. Like all doctors, they undertake foundation’ training (around two years), which involves rotations in medicine, surgery and general practice.
Following this, they do further training in medicine or paediatrics* (two to three years), before applying to a specialty training programme in genetics, which lasts for four years. Many genetics trainees choose to take some time out of their clinical training to do research – for example, to complete a PhD in a topic they have become particularly interested in.
* This will be changing with a new curriculum, with applications accepted from all patient-facing specialties.
Genomics vacancies
Clinical Scientist - Genetics (Band 7/6)
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
B7 £37570-£43772/B6 £30401-£37267
Closing date: 22nd July 2019
Clinical Scientist (State Registered in Genetics)
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Closing date: 26th July 2019
Band 5 Genomic Practitioner
£29,057 - £36,134 pa inc
Band 8b Genomic Programme Manager
Consultant in clinical genetics
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Joint Project Manager for the Genomic Medicine Centres
Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust
Consultant in clinical cancer genetics
Genetics Study Co-ordinator/ Research Nurse
Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
£30,401 to £37,267 pa
Closing date: 1st January 1970
Clinical Lead in Molecular Pathology - Genomics Hub
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
£77,913 - £105,042 per an
Closing date: 18th August 2019
Clinical Lead in Haematology Malignancy - Genomics Hub
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Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 94F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Parents fight during a baseball game for 7-year-olds in Lakewood, Colo., on June 15.
Lakewood Police on Twitter
Ed Hardin: In youth sports, it's time for parents to back off
By Ed Hardin ed.hardin@greensboro.com
Ed Hardin
We used to have this sign out at the Winston-Salem Nationals field off Phillip Bridge Road. People would look at it and laugh, but it was real. And it was no joke.
“Games can be played without fans.”
I drove out there this week to see if it was still there. I didn’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not packed away in the equipment room with all the leftover gloves and helmets and bats and broken dreams.
We used to make parents sign this form at old Central Y in Winston, a code of conduct that included the phrase “I will treat officials and coaches with respect.”
I found a copy of it online this week, and it brought back a lot of memories of moms and dads in my face after games and practices, screaming at me about their son or daughter’s future as a sports superstar, a ridiculous argument that always ended with me saying the same thing every time.
“Johnny is NEVER going to play in the NBA, and you need to get out of my face and go home and make him finish his homework.”
OK, so coaches can spark incidents, too. But I meant what I said. And it was no joke.
These adults took over the field and began assaulting each other on 6/15 during a youth baseball game. We're looking for any info, in particular to ID the man in the white shirt/teal shorts. Several people have already been cited in this fight and injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/ieenhwCrbU
— Lakewood Police (@LakewoodPDCO) June 18, 2019
I don’t know specifically what went on in that youth baseball game in Colorado on June 15, but I have a pretty good idea.
And I don’t know who started that brawl that was sparked by an umpire’s call in a game involving 7-year-olds, but I have a pretty good idea.
In my 35 years coaching Y-league and travel basketball, Little League baseball and fast-pitch softball, the common denominator in most everything that went wrong was the parents.
Nothing I’ve seen or read about it lately has changed that.
If anything, it’s worse now than it was 10 years ago.
And that’s not just my opinion but also that of administrators and coaches from all across the country. It’s a problem, and it’s getting worse.
“It’s not just baseball,” Carson Fox, the media director for PONY Baseball said. “It’s across the board. Basketball, football, soccer, hockey. I imagine even in the Scripps National Spelling Bee there were some issues behind the scenes.”
We used to try to get parents more involved. We needed more coaches, more officials, more volunteers, more mentors. Now we need them to back off.
The brawl in Colorado that was captured on video and went viral shows a group of parents, moms and dads, in a free-for-all fight that erupted during a game in the Bear Creek Junior Sports Association, which ended the season for the two teams involved.
Police said more than 20 people were in the brawl that started over a call from an umpire. He’s 13 years old.
Twelve people have been cited for disorderly conduct, and two Denver city workers have been placed on leave after their involvement in the fight, which left one person with serious injuries.
For several days, there was a manhunt organized to find one of the perpetrators.
Again, this was a game involving 7-year-olds.
“It’s getting worse,” said Vince Scanlon, the district administrator for Little League District 2 in North Carolina. “These are kids. They’re only 8, 9, 10 years old. Parents are already thinking about the major leagues, I don’t care how good your kid is. He’s not going to play in the major leagues. He’s probably not going to go to a major college.”
Scanlon points to a trend in the past two decades where parents are sending their kids to “showcase” events and year-round travel leagues where they play against better competition, thus losing the point of youth sports.
It’s supposed to be fun.
“There’s a lot of competitiveness out there, and it’s not the good side of competition,” Scanlon said. “It’s the dark side.”
There’s more to it than just travel ball, and it indeed encompasses more than just sports. We’re losing our moral balance in this country, and one of the places we could always go for clear rules and regulations was sports.
Fox said there’s a code of ethics in PONY baseball, just as there is for most youth leagues, some written for coaches and players and some written for parents. But there’s another code out there that parents don’t have to sign. It’s an understood reality.
Every man for himself.
Every mom for herself.
And every kid is in play.
All travel leagues aren’t bad. All AAU basketball coaches aren’t criminals. All youth-league football coaches aren’t flesh peddlers. And all PONY or Little League coaches aren’t saints.
There’s nothing new there.
What is new is the modern parent, the hovering helicopter parent being courted by for-profit organizations selling moms and dads on the promise that their kid will be noticed by college coaches and professional scouts.
That’s an intoxicating elixir.
We had a league rule at one of the facilities I coached at a few years back that prohibited parents from leaning on the fence next to the field. One of my jobs as a coach was to keep them away from the kids during the games.
I’ll never forget the sight of a row of dads standing a few inches behind the chalk line that kept them away from the fence. They all stood scowling, yelling at every call, red-faced and angry at the umpire, the opposing coach and the 11-year-old girls playing softball.
One of the dads had a Juggs gun measuring pitch speeds.
We’ve lost our minds. We’re losing our sports to politics and parents.
There was a time when youth sports was all about fun and participation, every kid promised an opportunity to be a part of a team, to be part of something bigger than themselves.
We’re losing that, too. And if we don’t wake up soon, we’re going to lose our kids.
That’s real. That’s no joke.
Contact Ed Hardin at 336-373-7069, and follow @Ed_Hardin on Twitter.
Follow Ed Hardin
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SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading business process services company, along with its Concentrix subsidiary and its fundraising initiative Share the Magic, today announced a $250,000 contribution toward construction of a world-class playground at Unity Park to be named the SYNNEX Share the Magic Playground.
Expected to be among the most popular areas of the park on the west side of Greenville, Share the Magic Playground will be a place where children of all ages from the surrounding neighborhoods and beyond can exercise, explore and interact with nature and each other while promoting physical, mental and social development.
“SYNNEX is dedicated to the well-being of every child in the Upstate,” said Bob Stegner, Senior Vice President, Marketing, North America, SYNNEX Corporation. “We are pleased to support Unity Park and name the playground after our largest fundraising initiative, Share the Magic, which gives a voice to children facing the challenges of life-threatening illnesses, neglect or developmental delays.”
Founded by Peter Larocque, President of North American Technology Solutions for SYNNEX Corporation, Share the Magic is an annual fundraising initiative to provide much-needed funding for Upstate South Carolina children and youth
Since its inception in 2011, the initiative has raised more than $8.5 million dollars to fund programs that give Upstate children and their families the tools and resources they need to build better lives. The beneficiaries are Make-A-Wish South Carolina, Clement’s Kindness, Pendleton Place and A Child’s Haven.
“With the opening of Unity Park coinciding with the 10-year anniversary of SYNNEX Share the Magic in 2021, this playground represents a way to acknowledge the meaningful impact these four organizations have had on our community,” Stegner said. “This playground is dedicated to the tremendous work of these groups as well as the hundreds of associates of SYNNEX and Concentrix who generously give their time and resources to help children.”
To be built at the center of the 60-acre park, the Share the Magic Playground will be designed with the input of childhood development experts and safety consultants. The unique playground experience is meant to evoke a child’s view of the archetypical Upstate landscape complete with forests, meadows, mountains and streams.
The City of Greenville pledged at least $20 million toward construction of the park and set a goal to raise another $20 million in private funding from corporations, individuals and private foundations. With plans to break ground in 2019, the park will stretch from the A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering on the southeastern corner to the Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle. The Reedy River flows through the site offering opportunities to restore wetlands and reveal more of the river’s natural beauty upstream from Falls Park. When completed, the park will be roughly twice the size of Falls Park and about half the size of Cleveland Park.
To learn more about SYNNEX Corporation, visit www.synnexcorp.com. For more information about SYNNEX Share the Magic, visit www.synnexcorp.com/sharethemagic.
About Unity Park
The 60-acre Unity Park is a transformational public-private project on the west side of Greenville estimated to cost $40 million. The park will knit together historic downtown neighborhoods in a way that reinforces the unity of the Greenville community while encouraging recreation, inclusiveness, exercise and sociability. The city owns virtually all of the land comprising the park and its construction will not displace anyone. The city has set aside 25 acres of land it owns on the edges of the park for affordable housing. Learn more about the park at UnityParkGreenville.com.
About SYNNEX
SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a Fortune 200 corporation and a leading business process services company, provides a comprehensive range of distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry, as well as outsourced services focused on customer engagement strategy to a broad range of enterprises. SYNNEX distributes a broad range of information technology systems and products and also provides systems design and integration solutions. Concentrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation, offers a portfolio of strategic solutions and end-to-end business services around customer engagement strategy, process optimization, technology innovation, front and back-office automation and business transformation to clients in ten identified industry verticals. Founded in 1980, SYNNEX Corporation operates in numerous countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at www.synnex.com.
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A Conversation About Self-Confidence
Do you struggle with feeling like you are never enough?
… you’re not alone. Many women feel this way. It’s frustrating and defeating to feel like you don’t measure up to expectations, our voice doesn’t matter, or everyone else’s needs come before yours. We understand, and the truth is, we’ve all been in that place.
That’s why we’ve worked with GGS Advisory Board Member Erin Brown to create a simple, yet powerful resource called Showing All The Way Up: A Guide To Confidence with Erin Brown — and we’re so excited to share with you!
Before we do, we want to let Erin tell you a bit of her story.
Get Erin's Showing All The Way Up: A Guide To Confidence with Erin Brown — for just $17
Erin’s Story
Erin and her daughter.
I came to do this work as a result of lots of practice being my own worst enemy. I was completely consumed with the notion that something was wrong with me. Specifically that something was horribly wrong with my body. I was angry I’d gotten such an awful form, and blamed every bad thing in my life on it.
I began obsessing about my weight and perceived “ugliness” when I was a little girl. My earliest memories are of quitting ballet because I was the fattest girl in the class, and mine were the only thighs to jiggle when we leapt. I started early with ill conceived diets and starving myself. I can look at every photo of myself as far back as preschool, and remember how I felt about my body that day. How I felt I looked in the outfit I was wearing. How sad I was to be me.
I sat on the sidelines in gym class, at the pool, in sports. Always. I wanted so badly to be the kind of person who was “seen,” but as I didn’t believe I measured up, I sought instead to be invisible.
In short, my insecurities ruled my life. But I didn’t see it that way. I believed I was having a “natural reaction to being me.” That anyone who looked like I did would feel exactly the same.
It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter that I came to see the real issue. I had spent my whole life beating myself up. I set limitations on myself and chose to sit out of my life. I hated myself. It also became clear to me that I had learned this from watching my own mother beat herself up in her mirror. She would have never said an unkind word to me about me. But she, like most women, was always on some kind of diet. She felt overwhelming guilt if she ate certain foods. She worried about how she measured up to the other moms.
It was from her I learned how to do the “slim down math,” of multiplying the number of weeks until an event by 2 to see how many pounds she could safely lose before attending. Her inner voice became mine. As my daughter’s same sex parent, I knew I was her primary role model. I would teach her what it meant to be a woman. And all I had to teach her was how to hate herself.
This was a legacy that I was determined would end with me. I had a lot of work to do.
For the last 8 years I have been chipping away at my old mantras, challenging my old limitations and actually living by my own values. I don’t actually agree that women are here to be looked at, criticized, and picked apart. I don’t agree that my job is to be pretty before I’m allowed to take up any space in the world. And now I actually live like I deserve to be here.
I still catch myself sometimes falling into old patterns. I’ll notice an inclination to “explain” the state of my body. I’ll find myself comparing myself to another woman disparagingly. But I have the tools and the practice to talk myself through it, acknowledge my own behavior and deal with my own stuff. I operate in a way that feels confident and powerful.
I want the same for you.
We understand.
It's normal to experience these challenges. At GGS we've worked with thousands of women from all over the world...
...Time and time again, we're reminded how difficult, but how rewarding it is to break free of the things that hold us back from showing up fully and living our best life.
We are passionate about helping women do this — that's why we're offering you this Handbook for just $17
Get Your Handbook Here
If you’re someone who:
Has a hard time looking at herself in a mirror and struggles to accept sincere compliments…
Skips social engagements, or sports and other physically active events because she’s self-conscious or believes she’s not thin/pretty/fit/whatever enough to participate…
Can’t seem to stop comparing herself to others…
Doesn’t speak up in group conversations, or at work because she doesn’t feel smart enough to be taken seriously…
Takes on too many responsibilities and tasks, only to feel resentful because she’s afraid to say no…
We know how frustrating, stifling, and exhausting this mindset can feel. You don’t feel at home in your skin, and you feel like you’re missing out on life around you. Yet, you can’t seem to break out of it. You wonder, “Is this really the way I’m supposed to live?”
You can choose peace, instead of this.
Women are taught to hate themselves, For many of us, from the time we are little girls.
We are asked to be small, to not ruffle feathers and to live by the “empowering” mantra of being a “work in progress” with no end in sight. We spin this as “growth,” but I’ve never met a woman with this mantra who felt she was anywhere near “complete.” Which is a hard place from which to do anything.
The goal is not simply that you “feel pretty” but rather that you know you are enough. So much so that you go into the world confidently marching toward what you aspire. We want you to show all the way up in you life and do what you love without constant apology for what you look like or who you are.
Body image is closely linked to self-confidence. According to recent studies, girls as young as 8 years old feel pressure to look beautiful, 47% of girls between the ages of 11 and 14 years old don’t participate in activities because of their body confidence issues, and 23% of young girls report being too self-conscious to raise their hand in class.
Approximately 91% of adult women are unhappy with their bodies. This dictates many of the decisions we make and how we show up in our life.
Why do we accept this is part of being a woman? Why do we assume that it just comes with the territory?
For many of us, it's all we've ever known. We learned to be this way from our mothers, our sisters, our friends. Don't forget the influence of the media, on top of that. We've rarely been shown that we could be more, not less. We've rarely seen what it looks like to stand up for yourself, to feel love and awe for your own body. Put it all together, and we've got a culture in which this is just the way it is.
We’re so done with that.
It’s why Girls Gone Strong exists. Our Advisory Board consists of strong, intelligent women who know you are better than this. Bigger than this. Louder than this.
We hope that from this information you are able to identify the areas that you want to build up in your life. As you do, we encourage you to be compassionate with yourself. This is an opportunity to be honest with yourself about where you are, and choose a new way forward. No change worth making is easy. But these kinds of changes… well, they change everything.
At Girls Gone Strong, we only offer solutions that will change your life for the better.
We want to help you look good, feel good, and love yourself for a lifetime.
Our desire for you is that:
… you will walk into the world like you deserve to take up space.
… you say what you mean and do what you love.
… you will be kinder to yourself and others.
… you spend more time pursuing life and less time pursuing evidence of your own lack.
Here’s A Quick Look At What We Cover In The Modern Woman’s Confidence Handbook
Feeling confident in the way you look.
Abandon all those limitations and expand your own definition of beauty to include you.
Feeling confident in your capabilities.
Your body does so much for you than just exercise — it's amazing.
Feeling confident in your relationships with other women.
Jealousy and overly-critical behavior are the enemies of our own confidence.
Feeling confident in your decisions.
Making choices with confidence requires letting go of some things.
Feeling confident in your communication.
Avoid resentment and stress in your relationships by communicating clearly.
Feeling confident that you can raise confident kiddos.
Kids model their parents’ behaviors. Anything you want for your kids, you have to model in yourself.
Make the investment to show up fully and authentically in your life.
Confidence is a beautiful thing to have, but just like most skills, it takes ongoing work and practice.
Girls Gone Strong has worked with thousands of women just like you.
We are women just like you. As such, we’ve also done this work ourselves, in our own lives—heck, some of us are still practicing these skills.
We believe we deserve to show all the way up in our lives, and so do you.
With Erin’s guidance, we’ve created this simple, easy-to-follow handbook to help you take the next steps toward raising your confidence.
This handbook is exceptionally valuable, but because we are so passionate about helping as many women as possible live their best life possible, we are offering this handbook for just $17.
We don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone in our community, and we feel that pricing this handbook at $17 makes it accessible to the thousands of women who really need it.
For just $17 you can
Master 4 proven strategies to feel love, compassion, and admiration when you look in the mirror.
Celebrate your body's abilities and enjoy living in your body.
Use jealousy as a powerful tool to identify what you truly desire in life.
Start making decisions with confidence and let go of others' expectations.
Learn how to set clear boundaries and ask for what you want.
Gain confidence to be the kind of role model you want to be for your children.
Showing All The Way Up: A Guide To Confidence with Erin Brown
Yes, I Want This Handbook
A no-nonsense resource to help you gain confidence and show up fully in your life.
What is Showing All The Way Up: A Guide To Confidence with Erin Brown?
Showing All The Way Up is an easy-to-read, no-nonsense resource packed with effective action steps that will help you build your confidence and live an authentic, happy, satisfying life.
Why is it so inexpensive, is there a catch?
No, there is no catch. Showing All The Way Up is modestly priced because Girls Gone Strong is a community that cares about helping women live happy and satisfying lives — and we don’t want price to be a barrier for anyone. At this price, just about anyone can afford it.
We also realize that many women feel like there’s nothing they can do in this area of their life, and are hesitant to purchase something on the Internet that promises to help them. This is an opportunity for those women to try one of our solutions at a very low price. With a 60-day, money-back guarantee, and our price of just $17, we’ve done our best to remove any doubts you may have about taking this step.
As always, every one of our products is backed by a money-back guarantee. If you aren’t happy with your investment, send us a quick email within 7 days of purchase, and we will refund your money.
How long will it take for Showing All The Way Up to arrive?
Showing All The Way Up is a digital product. Once your order is processed you will be granted access to the downloadable content. It generally takes less than 10-15 minutes to get to your inbox.
© 2019 Girls Gone Strong
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About CityBus
Title VI Civil Rights
CityBus operates all services and programs without regard to race, color, and national origin in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Notification of Protection under Title VI
As a recipient of financial assistance from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation (GLPTC), doing business as “CityBus,” is required to notify the public of the protections against discrimination afforded to them by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
CityBus assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. CityBus further assures every effort will be made to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether those programs and activities are federally funded or not.
The Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission and CityBus’ Development Manager are responsible for initiating and monitoring Title VI activities, preparing required reports and other responsibilities as required by Title VI.
For Additional Information/Complaints
For additional information about CityBus’ non-discrimination obligations under Title VI, or to file a Title VI Discrimination Complaint, please send your written request or complaint to:
CityBus Development Manager, CityBus, P.O. Box 588, Lafayette, IN 47902.
Executive Director, Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission, 20 N. 3rd St., Lafayette, IN 47901.
Process for Resolution of Title VI Complaints
Should a complaint arise concerning possible discrimination in regard to transit planning or service delivery, GLPTC and the Area Plan Commission of Tippecanoe County (APC) have established the following process:
The Complainant(s) must submit a written statement to the Executive Director of the Area Plan Commission explaining, as fully as possible, the facts. Within five (5) working days the Executive Director shall notify GLPTC in writing that a discrimination complaint has been filed, with a copy to the complainant. Alternatively, the complainant may complete the Title VI Complaint Form (available here in Word format) and file it directly with GLPTC.
GLPTC shall have twenty (20) days from receipt of the written notice to file a written response to the Executive Director of the APC with a response to the complainant if desired. In the case of a written complaint received directly by GLPTC from the complainant, GLPTC shall have twenty (20) days from receipt of the complaint to send the complaint along with a written response to the Executive Director of APC with a response to the complainant if desired.
After receiving the complaint and response, the Executive Director will review the facts and circumstances pertaining to the alleged discrimination. A decision will be submitted to both parties in writing by the Executive Director within twenty (20) working days after any response was or should have been filed. If the Executive Director feels the complainant(s) has not submitted sufficient information, he or she may request additional information through a set of interrogatories or recorded interviews before reaching a final decision. In a situation where the Executive Director decides to interview the parties involved, additional time to submit a decision will be allowed.
The decision by the Executive Director shall state the reasons for his or her decision.
If the complainant(s) or GLPTC disagree with the decision, either may appeal to the Executive Committee of the APC within thirty (30) days after the Executive Director’s decision was delivered. The Executive Committee, after receiving the appeal, shall set a hearing within thirty (30) working days after receipt of the appeal. The Executive Committee may request additional information or evidence if they feel that the information submitted is not sufficient to render a decision. The Executive Committee shall render their decision in writing with reasons therefore within twenty (20) working days of the end of the hearing.
After the decision, both parties will be informed of the decision and that they may appeal the decision to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) or the United States Department of Transportation within thirty (30) days after the Executive Committee of the Area Plan Commission has rendered its decision.
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Trenton’s Tomato Pies
Feb 6, 2012 · by Casey Barber
Welcome to New Jersey Pizza Week on Good. Food. Stories., where we’ll cover two of the many regional styles that sauce up the state. New Jersey’s got a few surprises up its sleeve when it comes to food, from being the second-largest blueberry producer in the country or the lauded inventor of salt water taffy (read more about the state’s quirky culinary charms in my latest iVillage piece on classic New Jersey foods.) But today we’re talking pizza, and we’re taking it to Trenton.
When traveling through Trenton, the two magic words you need to know are “tomato pie.” A golden, crunchy, olive oil-brushed crust is first topped with mozzarella cheese and then a vibrantly red sauce, so brilliantly colored because it’s made from canned crushed tomatoes that haven’t cooked down for hours. Seasoned lightly, the tomato sauce doesn’t taste raw but simple and fresh, its bright acidity shining through even after the pizza’s brief stint in the oven. Tomato pie is often finished with an extra drizzle of olive oil, along with any toppings of choice.
For pizza lovers raised on doughy Sicilian or floppy New York-style slices, it’s a whole new way of looking at a pie. But which tomato pie do you try first? Though Trenton used to be lousy with mom-and-pop pizza shops, only three remain as purveyors of the original tomato pie: Papa’s Tomato Pies calls itself the oldest family-owned pizza restaurant in the country (and has a host of evidence to stake its claim) because it’s been continuously operating since 1912.
DeLorenzo’s Pizza on Hamilton Avenue is the upstart by comparison, not having opened its doors until 1938. (The first DeLorenzo’s, opened by the older brothers of the Hamilton Avenue location’s founders in 1936, closed its original branch on Hudson Street in January 2012 and now only runs its more modern restaurant (i.e., this one has customer restrooms) outside Trenton in Robbinsville.)
Take your pick and plot your route to Trenton, but know before you go: hours for lunch and dinner at the two in-town locations are so idiosyncratic that I’ve included a comprehensive list at the end of the piece on who’s open when; no slices are served, so you’ll have to go with a whole pie; and the wait for a table at peak hours can be the stuff of legend. Don’t be ashamed to roll up for an early bird dinner at 4:00 pm; by 4:30, you’ll be joined by a half-dozen other diners and by 5:30, every seat in the room will be filled.
A perfect day in Trenton (yes, it can happen) would be an afternoon at the Trenton Thunder ballpark scarfing Chickie & Pete’s crab fries while watching bat dogs Chase and his son Derby adorably working the field, followed by an early dinner at DeLorenzo’s. I’ll take my tomato pie with black olives, extra garlic, and a shake of red chili flakes, but it’s not a shame to eat it plain.
Papa’s Tomato Pies
804 Chambers St., Trenton, NJ
Monday-Saturday: 4:00 pm-8:30 pm
Lunch on Fridays only, 11:30 am-1:30 pm
Sunday: 4:00-8:00 pm
DeLorenzo’s
1007 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, NJ
Tuesday-Thursday: Lunch served 11:00 am-1:30 pm; Dinner 4:00 pm-8:45 pm
Friday: 11:00 am-8:45 pm
Saturday: 3:00 pm-8:45 pm
Closed Sundays and Mondays
2350 US Highway 33, Robbinsville, NJ
Lunch: Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 am-2:00 pm
Dinner: Tuesday-Sunday, 4:00 pm-10:00 pm
Cities & Restaurants, New Jersey new jersey, pizza, tomato pie, tomato sauce, trenton
About Casey Barber
Casey Barber is a food writer, recipe developer, photographer, and illustrator whose work has appeared in TODAY Food, The Kitchn, ReadyMade, Gourmet Live, DRAFT, and other publications. Casey is the author of Pierogi Love: New Takes on an Old-World Comfort Food and Classic Snacks Made from Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats as well as the co-writer of Inspired Bites: Unexpected Ideas for Entertaining from Pinch Food Design. She is also the creator of the popular line of Hamilton-inspired pins and cards, available at The Casey BarberSHOP.
FTC Disclosure: Good. Food. Stories. is an Amazon.com affiliate and receives a minuscule commission on all purchases made through Amazon links in our posts. If you'd like to support the site further, please use this link or click the Amazon links in the sidebar to make your purchases.
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Northumbrian Water partner with hedgehog lab to transform utilities
Dale Jones
Newcastle technology consultancy hedgehog lab has been chosen by Northumbrian Water Group as their preferred innovation partner for the coming year. As part of the agreement, hedgehog lab will play a major role in the provision of digital initiatives at the 2018 NWG Innovation Festival. Entering its second year and taking place between the 9th and 13th July at Newcastle Racecourse, the event will help envision solutions to 12 societal and environmental issues.
Elsewhere, the consultancy will host four innovation challenges aimed at solving problems identified by Northumbrian Water, whilst also working closely with NWG’s tech team on a number of projects throughout the year.
The partnership arrives following a long-standing relationship between the two North East organisations, which has seen hedgehog lab align with the Utility of the Year award-winners across a number of projects since 2015.
A recent venture between the pair has led to the creation of NWG’s first voice-activated offering, an Alexa Skill designed for Amazon Echo devices. The product, which will be released publicly in the near future, demonstrates how the companies are working together to effectively visualise the future of the utilities industry.
Sarat Pediredla, CEO and Co-Founder at hedgehog lab, revealed:
“We’re both delighted and excited to have firmed up a longer-term agreement with NWG. The nature of the deal will enable us to not only extend a fruitful relationship and build on the good work so far, but also play a key role in helping Northumbrian Water stay ahead of the curve.
“One of the most important aspects in our success so far is cultural fit. We both value innovation highly, and care deeply about creating outstanding customer experiences. This has really helped to establish a partnership which has been mutually beneficial.
“Over the next 12 months we’ll be working with NWG to help them consolidate their position as the utility industry’s most innovative company, exploring how they can utilise rising technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. By doing so, it’s our hope that we can extend our relationship through 2019 and beyond, assisting them in achieving their goal of becoming the world’s most digital water company.”
Nigel Watson, Northumbrian Water Group Information Services Director, said:
“We are committed to being the best water company in the country and the most innovative. A huge part of that is about leading the way, trying new things and pushing boundaries in everything we do.
“Our partnership with hedgehog lab will allow us to do just that. They’re local, like us they have a real passion for the region and we are both committed to making brilliant things happen for local people. We’re really excited to have them on board with usand can’t wait to see what this new relationship brings for our customers.”
Learn more about our work with Northumbrian Water...
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helis.comhelis.com
Reacted to this
NEWS | AgustaWestland AW139 in Bristow
#oilandgas
Bristow Norwich AW139 with Perenco Through 2021
Bristow signed 3-year contract extension from Perenco UK Ltd to support 7-days-week UK Southern North Sea operations from Norwich with up to 5 existing AW139
Bristow, May 24, 2018 - ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – Bristow Group, Inc today announced a three-year contract extension from Perenco UK Ltd.
The extension covers seven-day-a-week coverage in the UK Southern North Sea through December 2021.
Under the three-year extension, Bristow will provide world-class performance coupled with a tailored aviation solution to meet its client’s specific needs in support of their operations offshore Norwich.
By leveraging its diverse fleet of aircraft, Bristow plans to support the operations seven days a week from its Norwich base utilizing up to five existing Leonardo AW139s and dedicated back-up support. This increases Bristow’s aircraft support from three to up to five operational AW139s compared to its current contract with Perenco.
“This extension is a direct result of Bristow’s continued commitment to safety and excellence in service for our clients. We recognize Perenco placed its trust in Bristow to continue to transport its most precious assets – its people – and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our promise,” said Jonathan Baliff, President & CEO, Bristow Group. “Bristow is bringing new and innovative ways of doing business to provide cost-effective solutions and best-in-class service while continuing our tradition of outstanding safety and performance for our clients worldwide.”
Bristow’s AW139 are medium weight twin-engine helicopters cleared to operate up to 14,991 lbs (6,800 kg). With a 12 seat configuration, Bristow’s AW139s have a spacious 120 ft3 (3.4 m3) baggage compartment ensuring maximum comfort and loading flexibility. With a nominal cruise speed of 150 knots (278 km/hr) and maximum still air range of 343 nautical miles (636 km), Bristow currently operates 30 AW139s in its global fleet.
About Bristow Group: Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:BRS) is the world’s leading industrial aviation service provider offering helicopter transportation, search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft support services to government and civil organizations worldwide. Bristow’s strategically located global fleet supports operations in the North Sea, Nigeria and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico; as well as in most of the other major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Trinidad. Bristow provides SAR services to the private sector worldwide and to the public sector for all of the U.K. on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
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AgustaWestland AW139 in Bristow
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The 10 Greatest Fictional Couples & What We Can Learn From Them
By Kimberly Horner • Relationships September 12, 2013 at 12:00am
From the hilarious to the heart wrenching, these couples have been through it all. Even though their relationships are fictitious, we can still learn from their mistakes and be inspired by their romance. Let’s take a look at the top 10 fictional couples from our favorite movies, books, and TV shows and assess some of the greatest love stories of our time.
Cinderella and Prince Charming from Cinderella
This classic rags-to-riches tale was probably the first love story you heard as a child. With a little help from her fairy godmother, Cinderella went to the ball and met her handsome prince. It was love at first sight for this royal couple and once the prince found the owner of the tiny glass slipper, they lived happily ever after.
Cinderella treated everyone (people as well as animals) with kindness. She faced each day with a positive attitude and a smile, bringing her some serious good karma in the form of a fairy godmother. At the ball, Cinderella was the only girl who didn’t throw herself at the prince, making her stand out from the crowd. It was her air of mystery and self-respect that ultimately helped her catch the prince’s eye. If there is a guy you’re interested in, don’t make yourself look desperate by throwing yourself at his feet, instead be confident in yourself and lure him in with your good manners and optimism. But Prince Charming can also teach us a thing or two about relationships. When he found out that his ladylove was a maid, he didn’t let this keep them apart. Instead, he accepted Cinderella for who she was. This fairytale teaches us that if you treat others kindly, good things will happen to you. (And anything can happen in a great pair of shoes!)
Ross and Rachel from Friends
The rocky romance between friends Ross Geller and Rachel Green captivated our hearts for 10 seasons on television. Both Ross and Rachel were unlucky in love in the past, as seen by Ross’s three failed marriages and Rachel’s runaway bride stint in the pilot episode. But several breakups and a baby later, Ross and Rachel confessed their love for one another and vowed to make it work.
As we know from the show’s title, this couple started off as friends. This gave their relationship a strong foundation from the beginning and helped them overcome numerous bumps along the way. Of course sexual chemistry is an important part of a healthy relationship, but Ross and Rachel taught us that friendship is at the core of any good love story.
Romeo and Juliet from Romeo and Juliet
Although reading Shakespeare in high school English class was a bit of a bummer, this tale of star-crossed lovers gave us a window into the dangers of young love. This couple became so obsessed with one another that they ended up dying over it. Yikes!
Love is a powerful emotion that can make us do some crazy things. When you’re in a relationship, it can be easy to get a bit carried away and want to spend every waking moment with your man, but it’s important to keep a level head and not abandon your friends and family. Just remember, guys may come and go, but friends are forever. If only Juliet had a Sassy Gay Friend to talk some sense into her! Seriously Juliet, “What, what, what are you doing?”
Jack and Rose from Titanic
After winning a third class ticket to the Titanic in a lucky game of poker, Jack Dawson found himself aboard the grandest ship in the world where he met first class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater. Jack saved Rose from imminent death several times throughout the film while also teaching her how to live. Although their relationship reached a tragic ending, what Rose learned from Jack in just a few days impacted her for the rest of her life and changed her for the better.
Not all relationships will last a lifetime, but what we learn from the relationship can have a lasting effect. If we treat each relationship as a learning experience, it can give even the most failed relationships new meaning. Whether we learn what type of guys to avoid or how to live life to the fullest, as long as we take a lesson away from each relationship we will continue to grow and the time we spent with the other person was not wasted.
Jim and Pam from The Office
Season after season we watched the friendship between Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly, the only sane members of Dunder Mifflin, evolve into something more. When the pair decided to get married, they didn’t let their outrageous co-workers ruin their day. The couple secretly tied the knot in a private ceremony on a Niagara Falls boat before getting married in a church before their friends, family, and the Dunder Mifflin staff. They made their day all about them and didn’t let other people get in their way.
Let’s face it; it might seem like everyone from your mom to your hairdresser has an opinion about who you should date, but at the end of the day your relationship is about you as a couple, not you and everybody else. Take a page out of Jim and Pam’s book and just focus on each other because as long as you’re both happy, nobody else really matters.
Baby and Johnny from Dirty Dancing
When Frances “Baby” Houseman goes on a family vacation to Kellerman’s, she soon finds herself attracted to the resort’s dance instructor Johnny Castle. Before long, Johnny was giving Baby private dance lessons so she could fill in as his dance partner and things started heating up between the two. When Johnny was wrongly accused of stealing, Baby tried to save his job by sharing his alibi and revealing that she was with him the entire night. Johnny was impressed by Baby’s willingness to sully her own name to clear his.
If Baby let her family’s attitude towards the club workers influence her, she never would have gotten to know Johnny. So instead of letting other people’s opinions cloud your judgment, listen to your heart and draw your own conclusions. When Baby selflessly defended Johnny, she showed him just how much she cared about him, thus making their relationship even stronger. This couple taught us the importance of standing up for the ones we love and that “nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Sandy and Danny from Grease
When innocent Sandy Olsson met bad boy Danny Zuko on the beach the summer before their senior year in 1959, she thought they were a match made in heaven. But by some trick of fate, when the two both ended up at Rydell High in the fall, Sandy learned of Danny’s tough greaser side. By the end of the musical, Sandy traded in her good-girl garb for some leather pants and a perm and shocked Danny with her wild side. In a surprising twist, Danny hung up his leather jacket and swapped it for a letterman jacket.
Relationships are all about balance and learning from one another. As seen by their dramatic costume change at the end of the film, Sandy and Danny learned from each other’s positive traits to become better versions of themselves. Danny’s fun loving and freewheeling attitude started to rub off on Sandy while Danny picked up some of Sandy’s wholesome personality. Although we do not recommend changing yourself to impress a guy, you should try something new by sharing your interests with one another. Join him the next time he goes skateboarding and bring him along to your next art class. You’ll gain a new appreciation for his hobbies and you never know if you’ll find a hidden talent!
Zack and Kelly from Saved by the Bell
Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski were the “it” couple of Bayside High and we must say, the class clown’s humorous pursuit of the “All American” cheerleader made for some captivating ‘90s television. When this couple split up before college, it seemed like this dynamic duo was done for good, but they ended up getting hitched in Vegas in the final episode of “The College Years.”
College relationships are much more serious than high school ones. Zack and Kelly’s time apart gave them the opportunity to date other people and find out exactly what they were looking for. You can even argue that breaking up actually brought them closer together in the long run. Don’t be afraid to spend some time apart before making a commitment so you can do some soul searching and figure out who you are and what you want.
Noah and Ally from The Notebook
In The Notebook an elderly man reads aloud from a notebook recounting the love story of Ally and Noah to a nursing home patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. In a tearjerker moment, Ally remembers that they are the couple from the story and becomes lucid for a few minutes. Just hearing their love story is enough to bring Ally back to him again.
Noah and Ally’s story reminds us that true love gets stronger with time. Money, looks, and other superficial things don’t matter in the end, because having each other is enough. We should all be so lucky as to find someone to grow old with who will love us until the end.
Carrie and Mr. Big from Sex and the City
We initially watched Sex and the City for Carrie’s fabulous wardrobe, but stayed tuned for her wonderful friends and steamy love life. Through Carrie and Mr. Big’s many ups and downs, we learned that not all love stories are like a fairytale. Even though we secretly knew all along that they’d end up together, there were a lot of arguments, tears, and heartbreak before they finally settled down in the end.
Carrie and Mr. Big taught us that relationships are messy and the ones we love are often better at getting under our skin than anyone else. Not all guys are worth the heartache, but once we find the person we’re meant to be with, it’s worth the fight.
Which fictional couple is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
Kimberly Horner (TCNJ)
Kimberly is a senior at The College of New Jersey studying journalism and communications. Currently, she is She's the First intern, co-founder/president of She's the First*{TCNJ}, co-News Editor for Her Campus TCNJ, and Webmaster for TCNJ's chapter of Ed2010. Before transferring to TCNJ, Kimberly graduated from Burlington County College where she was elected to BCC’s Board of Trustees and served as Alumni Trustee from 2011-2012. When she isn't curled up in a corner reading or hunched over her desk writing at 2 a.m., she can be found on the stage - acting, singing, directing or costume designing. Kimberly dreams of pursuing a career in magazine journalism, while performing in her “spare” time. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @KimberlyDHorner or visit kimberlydhorner.com to learn about her recent projects.
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The Most Powerful Statements from TIME's Person of the Year, The Silence Breakers
Featuring Rose McGowan, Taylor Swift, Terry Crews, #MeToo creator Tarana Burke, and more.
By Erica Gonzales
Billy & Hells / TIME
TIME Magazine puts the spotlight on "The Silence Breakers," the people who spoke out against sexual assault or harassment, for its 2017's Person of the Year. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which inspired women worldwide to speak out about their own experiences of sexual misconduct in exposé interviews and through the #MeToo hashtag online, the honor couldn't be more timely.
"[The] idea that influential, inspirational individuals shape the world could not be more apt this year," TIME Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal explains, calling the #MeToo movement "one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s," thanks to the help of social media.
Below are some of the silence-breakers and victims featured in the story.
Rose McGowan: "People forget that there’s a human behind this. Someone who is very hurt and wronged. But that’s okay. It fuels my fire. They really f*cked with the wrong person," she told TIME in an interview.
McGowan is one of the most vocal figures, especially on social media, against sexual assault and harassment. After returning from her suspension on Twitter in October, she publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her. A rep for Weinstein responded with the statement: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein."
Terry Crews: "I'm telling you, all the people who stand up, all the people who speak out, you are teaching people how to treat you. And you should not be shamed for that," he told TIME in a video interview. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star helped break the stereotype that victims of assault or harassment are always women. The actor stepped forward on Twitter as the Weinstein allegations gained traction and accused a talent agent Adam Venit of groping him at an industry party. He later filed a lawsuit against Venit. The agent denied TIME's request for comment.
Tarana Burke, activist and creator of #MeToo: "Sexual harassment does bring shame. And I think it's really powerful that this transfer is happening, that these women are able not just to share their shame, but to put the shame where it belongs: on the perpetrator," she told TIME. Burke is originally started the #MeToo hashtag more than 10 years ago as an effort to create a support system among sexual assault survivors.
Alyssa Milano: "I look at my daughter and think, please, let this be worth it. Please, let it be that my daughter never has to go through anything like this," the actress revealed. Milano gave new light to Burke's hashtag when she tweeted it in October and encouraged millions of women to share their experiences of assault and harassment. She noted to the AP in October that she, too, has her own story, but chose not to share it at the time to put the focus on other people.
Megyn Kelly: "I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me. Never." The NBC anchor revealed in October that she warned the co-presidents of FOX about Bill O'Reilly's treatment of women. In her 2016 memoir she also accused the network's CEO of sexually harassing her, People reports. Ailes "categorically denied" Kelly's allegations of harassment in a 2016 statement. He passed away in May this year. O'Reilly said no complaints were filed against him during his time at FOX.
The Silence Breakers are TIME's Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/mLgNTveY9z pic.twitter.com/GBo9z57RVG
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
Selma Blair: "I decided to go on the record when I saw his [director James Toback] denial," she told TIME. "He called the women liars. But their stories were so similar to mine, and they were such credible women. There was no agenda other than they wanted to share this story, be free of this story." Blair and fellow actress Rachael McAdams accused Toback of sexual harassment in an interview with Vanity Fair, which was published in late October. Toback has denied all harassment allegations.
Ashley Judd: "We need to formalize the whisper network. It's an ingenious way that we've tried to keep ourselves safe. All those voices can be amplified," she told the magazine. Judd was one of the women who shared their stories and accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment in The New York Times' exposé on the movie mogul. Weinstein's rep gave a statement in a similar New Yorker story that arrived days later, in which the producer "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex, and said "there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances." See Weinstein's full response here.
Taylor Swift: "My advice is that you not blame yourself and do not accept the blame others will try to place on you," she told TIME in an interview. "You should not be blamed for waiting 15 minutes or 15 days or 15 years to report sexual assault or harassment, or for the outcome of what happens to a person after he or she makes the choice to sexually harass or assault you."
Swift was sued by Denver DJ David Mueller for damages when he lost his job after she called him out for groping him during an artist meet-and-greet in 2013. The singer counter-sued for $1, and testified in August. The jury ruled in her favor. This marks her first interview since the trial. Mueller's lawyer did not respond to TIME's multiple requests for a comment.
Adama Iwu, lobbyist: "It's hard to call 147 liars. We can't all be crazy. We can't all be sluts." Iwu gathered 147 women to sign an open letter denouncing sexual harassment in California's legislature, which later led to investigations at the state capital.
Lindsay Meyer, entrepreneur: "For so long, I went around harboring this belief that because I was a nonwhite woman in my 20s that it was expected that I would be treated this way," she said to TIME. Meyer accused venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck of harassment. After six other women also spoke out, Caldbeck resigned from his firm. In June, he issued a statement apologizing to "those women who I've made feel uncomfortable in any way."
Juana Melara, a house keeper: "The way he was looking at me wasn't friendly. I rushed to finish the room as fast as I could and get out of there," she told the magazine. Melara says hotel guests have exposed themselves to her while she was working. Her hotel, which TIME did not name, declined to comment.
Plaza Hotel employees on the power of speaking up #TIMEPOY pic.twitter.com/39eVsxWM0E
Sara Gelser, Oregon state senator: "We can't pick and choose based on whose political beliefs we believe in. And that means we have to be willing to speak out when it's a member of our own party," she told TIME. Gelser is one of two senators who have publicly accused Oregon legislator Jeff Kruse of sexual harassment, according to Oregon Live. Kruse has denied touching Gelser inappropriately.
Wendy Walsh, former Fox News contributor: "I was afraid of the retaliation," she told TIME. "I know what men can do when they're angry." Walsh was one of the individuals who publicly accused Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment this spring, according to ABC. He was fired from FOX in April. O'Reilly has denied allegations of misconduct.
Susan Fowler, former Uber engineer: "I remember feeling powerless and like there was no one looking out for us because we had an admitted harasser in the White House," she told TIME. "I felt like I had to take action."
Fowler wrote a now-popular blog post in February about her experiences with sexual harassment as an engineer at Uber. The investigation that ensued resulted in the resignation of the tech company's CEO, Travis Kalanick, and the firing of 20 employees, the magazine reports. At the onset of the investigation in February, Kalanick, who was not directly referenced in Fowler's blog post, called the events she detailed "abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in."
Plaza Hotel employees: "If you keep fighting, eventually you'll see the sun on the other side," Dana Lewis told TIME.
Lewis is joined by Veronica Owusu, Gabrielle Eubank, Crystal Washington, Paige Rodriguez, Sergeline Bernadeau, and Kristina Antonova, who sued the New York City Plaza Hotel for "normalizing and trivializing sexual assault" with its employees. The Plaza's parent company, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts said it takes "appropriate remedial action where warranted" in cases of harassment or discrimination.
Other figures featured in the piece include an anonymous hospital worker, journalist Jane Merrick, producer Zelda Perkins, British Parliament member Terry Reintke, charity worker Bex Bailey, journalist Sandra Muller, former dishwasher Sandra Pezqueda, art curator Amanda Schmitt, University of Rochester professors Celeste Kidd and Jessica Cantlon, director Blaise Goodbe Lipman, food blog-editor Lindsey Reynolds, and strawberry picker Isabel Pascual (whose name was changed to protect her family's privacy).
See TIME's full Person of the Year feature here.
Erica Gonzales Erica Gonzales is the News and Entertainment Editor for BAZAAR.com covering celebrity, entertainment, fashion, and royal news.
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From left: Teresita Alvarez-Bjelland, Dan H. Fenn Jr., Tamara Elliott Rogers
Photographs from left by: Jim Harrison; Kris Snibbe/HPAC; Jim Harrsion
The 2019 Harvard Medalists
For extraordinary service to the University
Courtesy of Rebecca Tolkoff, @BeccasFitnessMind
Your guide to the best summertime activities
Click on arrow at right to view full image gallery
(1 of 6) W.E.C. Eustis’s library, with its bay window overlooking the locust allée
Photograph by Eric Roth/Courtesy of Historic New England
A Bridge to the Past
Historic New England’s Eustis Estate
Alexander Rehding
Photograph by Stu Rosner
The Peabody professor of music, in brief
Dance theater company ANIKAYA’s The Conference of the Birds explores movement, self-knowledge, and human interdependence.
Photograph by Gary Alpert
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Chronicler of Two Americas
The uncommon Daniel Aaron
by Christoph Irmscher
November-December 2015
Daniel Aaron
Photograph by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications
Aaron at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California, in 1958-59
Photograph courtesy of Daniel Aaron
Daniel Aaron in his Harvard office
Daniel Aaron Sampler
Selections from Commonplace Book, 1934-2012
I first met Daniel Aaron 23 years ago. He was almost 80 then, retired for several years from his professorship at Harvard: a lean, fit, cheerful man, with a sharp profile, his skin nearly matching the color of his still dark brown hair. “Dan,” as he would almost immediately ask you to call him, was on the faculty of the Stuttgart Seminar, a summer school devoted to international exchange. I knew I wanted to work with him. I had bought his Writers on the Left in London when I was student at University College, at my professor’s urgent recommendation. During all the years I had spent locked up in the dusty ivory tower of German academe, weaned on densely footnoted pseudo-profundities, I had never encountered anyone who wrote so clearly, so crisply, with such evident joy in the capacity of words to mean things: “American literature, for all its affirmative spirit, is the most searching and unabashed criticism of our national limitations that exists.” Here was the rationale—one I hadn’t been able to articulate so well to myself—for the field of study I had chosen more or less intuitively.
After the seminar, Dan stayed in touch, and as I write this sentence, I still feel a mixture of shock and elation that a man of such distinction would have made the effort to write to a newly minted German Ph.D. without real accomplishments or significant prospects. When I won a postdoctoral fellowship and told him I was planning to move to Canada for a year, he called and suggested I come to Harvard instead. “But I don’t know anyone there,” I said, mindful of the fact that he was officially retired. “You know me!” he said, in a voice that brooked no disagreement.
I had been studying American literature for years, but at Harvard, Dan helped me find my own place in that vast experiment of American culture that, as he never ceased to remind me, had been shaped as much by outsiders like me—people who never felt the “whoop of the PEEraries” in them, to quote Ezra Pound—as by American-bred boys like him. Dan also taught me to take responsibility for my writing. When I handed him an early version of a chapter I had just completed, adding that I wasn’t yet happy with it, he returned it right away: “I want to read it when you’re happy with it.”
Dan recently celebrated his 103rd birthday, and he did so in style: with the publication of a brand-new volume, Commonplace Book, 1934-2012 (Pressed Wafer). It is the summation of an extraordinary writing life that began when he started keeping a journal in his late teens. Born in Chicago to Russian-Jewish immigrants, he spent the first dozen years of his life in Los Angeles. After the deaths of both of his parents, he returned to the Midwest, attending high school in Chicago before enrolling, barely 17 years old, at the University of Michigan. Harvard was not his first choice for graduate school, but the University of London had imposed what he remembers as “time-consuming conditions.” And once Dan arrived in Cambridge, his gift for friendship quickly asserted itself, and he stayed. Widener Library, that hub of Harvard’s campus, helped: here Dan, set apart from other Harvard students by his name and origin, found his true intellectual home. In due course, he became the first “counselor” in the newly created program in American civilization at Harvard as well as the first recipient of a Ph.D. in that field, in 1943.
Yet, as Dan later realized, he had always lived at an angle to the American cultural landscape: from the west to the east, traveling the “course of the empire” in reverse, as he noted in his autobiography. His dissertation, on the development of Cincinnati, the “Queen City of the West,” between 1819 and 1838, characteristically challenged a central assumption of Frederick Jackson Turner’s famous “frontier thesis.” In his paean to the single-minded American pioneer, Turner had not distinguished the urban from the rural West and had failed to recognize the role that values such as mutual aid and cooperation had played in the formation of American society. Gripped by unshakable optimism, early Cincinnatians sailed through financial panics and natural disasters, their eyes firmly on the future, though they also forgot to plan, as Dan acidly added, “for the contingencies which always accompany social and economic progress.”
Some of the optimism in Dan’s dissertation carried over into the two groundbreaking books he completed during 30 years spent at Smith College, where he had gone in 1939. Men of Good Hope: A Story of American Progressives (1951) and Writers on the Left: Episodes in American Literary Communism (1961) addressed the efforts, “however blundering and ineffective,” of American writers from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Max Eastman to change the world. But the final volume in his great trilogy, The Unwritten War, completed after Dan had returned to Harvard as Thomas professor of English and American literature, presented the darker side of the country he loves: the dismal failure of a society enmeshed in racial hatreds to confront honestly, decently, and without sentimentality, the evil of slavery. In American literature, he wrote, the Civil War was “not so much unfelt as unfaced.” It did not free the slaves but trivialized them, reducing them to ciphers. Reading the book, his friend Ralph Ellison found plenty of material to support his theory of the black man’s enforced invisibility. The Unwritten War (where in the world did Dan always find such great titles?) was published in 1973, the year of Watergate. While Nixon, stumbling over the word “integrity,” assured the nation that he wasn’t a crook, Dan stared unflinchingly into what one of his favorite writers, the essayist John Jay Chapman, had once deemed the cold heart of America.
But it is also due to Dan’s scholarly work that the very notion of an American literature that, warts and all, needed to be studied, probed, and preserved came into being. The critic Edmund Wilson, with whom Dan had maintained a cautious friendship since the 1950s, had first floated the idea of a Great American Library, a series of classics of American literature to rival the editions of the French “Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.” The volumes, handsomely bound and edited according to the best scholarly principles but affordable enough to make it into the homes of ordinary readers, were not intended to enshrine what people already knew. As Dan recalls, Wilson was simply annoyed that so many writers he liked had gone out of print. Dan was perfectly suited to make Wilson’s dream an institutional reality. Never one to waste much time on critical orthodoxies but affable and diplomatic enough to garner wide-ranging support, he co-founded the Library of America in 1979. Dan’s all-encompassing reading interests, unimpeded by narrow definitions of what makes a text “literary,” manifest themselves to this day in the list of authors that the Library of America has published, from the familiar (Hawthorne, James, Melville) to the unexpected (John James Audubon, Pauline Kael, Reinhold Niebuhr, and anthologies of writings on food, environment, and baseball).
Never one to seek honors, the honors sought him. In 2007, Harvard made Dan an honorary doctor of letters, lauding him, appropriately, as a “man of good hope.” And in 2010, President Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal. And yet Dan has never been an uncritical advocate of a country to which he has always felt he doesn’t unreservedly belong. In his intellectual memoir, titled, with considerable irony, The Americanist (2007), Dan meditated on his lifelong struggle to reconcile the warm, welcoming America to which, as an unrebellious child, he had once pledged allegiance, with that other, stranger place that had inevitably reared its head in the literature he has studied: a country shaped by mutual distrust, racial bigotry, and labor strife. But then, he had always known that it was there. In his Scrap Book (2014), a collection of his favorite grotesque newspaper clippings, Dan recalls being sent as a small boy to deliver a package to a terrifying neighbor, a retired judge. Sitting on his porch, the judge, tall, angular, and angry, watched Dan approach and then looked him up and down. Dan was wearing a kind of jumpsuit that day. “Boy,” the judge growled. “Why do your pants go up to your neck?” A weird figure to the boy, the judge had reminded Dan how strange he was. Dan would never forget him.
Dan likes strong views, and he likes them in other people, too. Occasionally, readers have felt confused by his apparent readiness to feel his way into the minds of people with viewpoints very different from his own. A case in point is the Atlanta-born poet manqué Arthur Inman (1895-1963), author of perhaps the largest diary ever kept by an American. Sequestered for the better part of his life in a curtain-shrouded apartment in Back Bay’s Garrison Hall, Inman paid scores of men and young women (he much preferred the latter) to come and share their life stories with him. His voluminous diaries, five decades of constant writing, throbbed with intimate details taken from other people’s lives: in the desires and troubles, the small triumphs and big defeats of his “talkers,” Arthur recognized himself. Their stories replenished the storehouse of his anguished mind. Arthur Inman was a voyeur, a monster, the epitome of a stunted soul, seething with paranoia and prejudice. A less benign version of Whitman’s noiseless spider, he flung out his filaments to see where they might catch and then he would reel his victims in. He admired Hitler and Mussolini, hated Jews, Mexicans, “Mediterraneans,” and African-Americans, humiliated his wife, and fondled the girls who came to see him. When Senator McCarthy died, he was upset. Arthur repulsed Dan, but he fascinated him, too. Commissioned by the Inman estate, Dan spent the better part of a decade condensing Arthur’s 17 million words into two hefty volumes, The Inman Diary, published by Harvard University Press in 1985.
In many ways, Commonplace Book is his long-overdue anti-Inman Diary, the book he needed to write to purge Arthur Inman’s spectral presence from his mind. Like Inman, Dan has been a life-long note-taker. But if Inman collected people’s narratives mainly for what they told him about himself, Dan gathers them for what they tell him about life in general. Typically, a commonplace book consists of the opinions, definitions, and sayings of others; it is, precisely, not a diary, and its purpose is not self-aggrandizement. Temperamentally averse to navel-gazing but constantly pressured by friends and colleagues to reveal more about himself, Dan has appropriated the genre and added a clever new twist. Instead of arranging his entries, as is customary, by topic, they appear chronologically, sorted according to the year in which he first wrote them down, amounting to a kind of unconventional autobiography. And wherever in these pages Dan’s own thoughts and experiences show up, he, too, becomes one of his commonplaces—the most common of all, in fact: “DA.”
Not unexpectedly, death is a constant presence in Commonplace Book, but not as something to be feared, as it certainly was for the hypochondriac Inman. “I should like to renew my friendship with the dead,” announced Dan in 1950, “to think of them frequently and to speak to them.” His book is the transcript of such friendly dialogues. His most frequent interlocutors are, significantly, non-American: the German Enlightenment wit Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, a hunchback physicist with a gift for subversive irony; the austere French poet-philosopher Paul Valéry, compiler of a grand intellectual diary he called Cahiers; and the melancholy Austrian novelist Robert Musil, creator of Ulrich, the “man without qualities,” a fictional character Dan has long admired. His own brand of humor is evident everywhere: in the definitions of bizarre words from “Daniel’s Dictionary,” in his trenchant characterizations of contemporaries such as Lillian Hellman and Norman Mailer [’43], and in the self-deprecatory poems (or “pomes,” as likes to call them, in honor of James Joyce) about old age. And who knew that Dan Aaron is a master of nonsense verse? “Relax and have no fear/ Here is Meyerbeer.”
Many entries in Commonplace Book deal with the subject of religion. Dan has always insisted that he is not a spiritual person, by a long shot. In The Americanist, he speaks proudly of the one and only epiphany of his life, which took place when, as a young man sitting on a log in the woods of upper Wisconsin, he watched the sun going down. The experience lasted all of five seconds. And yet Dan also told me that in college he assembled his own set of pragmatic household gods, each with its own specific function (there even was a God of Dating). He even built a primitive altar for them, offering sacrifices when and if needed. In Commonplace Book, he no longer entirely rules out the possibility that the world might be governed by something other than our appetites. One of the most extended vignettes, a “Story Idea” from 1978, involves an emeritus professor and owner of an old, moribund bike that miraculously fixes itself overnight and, exuding music and perfume in its rejuvenated state, convinces the professor to mend his atheist ways. But not so fast: in another vignette, the poem “Prayer” written in 1995, Dan survives a near-collision with a truck on Mount Auburn Street and thanks God for having saved him without requiring that he actually believe in Him.
In the book’s final pages, Dan, warily alert, registers his surprise at the many advantages life has bestowed upon him: “I didn’t think I could live this long.” Remembering, in one of the most poignant entries (“New Year’s Day, 2000”), a train ride he took with his family from Chicago to Los Angeles, he thinks of his life as just such a journey, with occasional stops—opportunities to look around and take in the scenery. But before this metaphor takes him too far, Dan imagines the end of that journey, too, on a wet and foggy night, when it is time to get off, suitcase in hand, and step across the empty platform. And now, turning around, looking back at all of us who haven’t arrived yet, Dan is smiling.
Christoph Irmscher, Provost professor of English and George F. Getz Jr. professor in the Wells Scholars Program at Indiana University Bloomington, assisted Daniel Aaron in assembling the texts collected in the newly published Commonplace Book, 1934-2012: Quotations (Books, Articles, Reviews, Letters), Recollections (Persons, Places, Events), Words (Archaic, Obsolescent, Technical), including Story Plots, Fancies, Sententiae, Verse, and Nonsense.
Rafael Campo
Rafael Campo of HMS: a profile by Lydialyle Gibson
Portrait of Moorfield Storey by John Singer Sargent, 1917. Charcoal on paper
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of James Moorfield Storey
Moorfield Storey, first president of the NAACP
Eunice Kennedy Shriver races her brother Ted and others in Washington, D.C., to kick off a 1975 Special Olympics fundraising coast-to-coast marathon.
Photograph by Bettmann/Getty Images
Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Special Olympics
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How America Grew
A definitive economic history—and a debatable, despairing forecast
by Shane Greenstein
Illustration by Susan Hunt Yule
Robert J. Gordon ’62,
(Princeton University Press, $39.95).
Human existence changed irreversibly after the innovation of indoor plumbing and municipally supplied water and sewage treatment. The advent of electricity—and of pasteurization, automobiles, the telephone, penicillin, the polio vaccine, and many more inventions—also changed life as we know it. Analyzing such familiar, seemingly commonplace innovations, Robert J. Gordon ’62 addresses a question of pressing importance in the United States today, and indeed around much of the world: how does economic growth occur? He distills many of these innovations, and presents a lucid history of their economic impact on living standards in the United States during the last century and a half.
Although the topic might at first seem dull, this panoramic book makes good reading because Gordon, Harris professor of the social sciences at Northwestern University and one of the foremost analysts of economic growth, displays exemplary self-awareness about what standard economic measurement can and cannot do well. He uses the standard government statistics, but does not stop there, drawing widely from other sources and anecdotes (hence the information on plumbing, cars, and so on) to tell a rich story about changes in living standards.
The marriage of “innovation,” “history,” and “economics” might sound like an enormous agenda—too much for one book. But Gordon organizes copious details about history into very readable chunks, and his narrative moves forward at an engaging pace. Nonetheless, a tension arises when he turns to the present, in the last fifth of the volume. That section is almost a different book in tone and substance, containing unresolved policy debates and questions, and consequential conclusions that have generated professional disagreements with wider import for innovation policy: is the era of innovation-fueled growth over, and does the United States face a more challenged economic future?
Innovation and GDP. One proposition motivates Gordon’s inquiry: Innovations come along only once in the history of a country’s growth, so each unique innovation changes Gross Domestic Product (GDP, a measure of the total flow of economic activity in the domestic economy in a given year) only once. Gordon, a master of GDP measurement, sets himself a tall task: to trace the links between different innovations and measured growth in GDP.
He doggedly pursues this somewhat technical project through a “greatest hits” list of post-Civil War and twentieth-century innovations: electricity, telephony, rail shipping, sanitation, the automobile, mass-market medicine, housing, and television. The book wanders delightfully into unobvious territory, too, devoting many pages to the rise of frozen food, the use of time-saving devices in households, the importance of air conditioning for the South and West, and the spread of retail catalogs into rural America.
But not even a book as sweeping as this one can do everything, and that poses a problem, because in practice there cannot be a clear boundary between Gordon’s “greatest hits” and those innovations not on his radar. Some of the missing discussions are puzzling. Consider his treatment of communications technology: Gordon has a great discussion on the invention of the telephone and its spread, and later acknowledges the contribution of cell phones and smart phones. I would have liked more on the value of mobility. Does Gordon think the new mobility of communications is of minor importance for living standards? Mobile devices have certainly rendered the telephone booth obsolete—and a large fraction of the residential landline business has gone away. Nor does he delve deeply into innovation at the Bell System, beyond token stories about the invention of the transistor. Despite its lumbering size and regulatory obligations, the Bell System could be innovative. For example, it deployed electro-mechanical and then digital switches—major technical achievements that linked the country. Did Gordon not devote time to the topic because he did not think it mattered, or because he did not look into it?
The present—and prospects. As noted, Gordon turns his attention in the final 20 percent of his book to contemporary events: an important and seemingly volatile period. Following strong growth for almost three decades after World War II (when per capita growth averaged more than 2.5 percent per annum), the United States experienced slow growth in the 1970s and ’80s (far less than 2 percent between 1973 and 1995), until the Internet boom between 1995 and 2001 (when the per capita growth rate accelerated to over 2.5 percent again). Economic growth has since slowed once more (to notably less than 2 percent), reflecting the dot-com bust, the financial meltdown during the last decade, and the sluggish recovery since. That might seem like a small change, but growth rates compound and accumulate, and can make enormous differences if they persist.
Gordon foresees more slow growth ahead, a forecast that has generated attention and criticism from within the economic profession. The writer who so celebrated historical innovations transforms into someone else. Although he makes upbeat observations about airline deregulation, the personal computer, the CT (computed tomography) scanner, and e-commerce, his mood becomes mostly dismal. He does not foresee many major innovations on the horizon (he illustrates the argument with discussions about medicine and information technology)—and so he concludes the growth engine has declined.
This discussion is incomplete and unbalanced. Gordon poses a question that requires a thorough and definitive analysis of why the market for information technology contains or lacks the capacity to renew itself. A thorough analysis must grapple with the many pathways through which radical innovation emerges today. Yet Gordon pronounces his skepticism with breezy confidence.
In examining the Internet, for instance, he takes note of the value of mobile telephony and the PC, but remains skeptical of exaggerated claims for information technology (as are most of us). But perhaps he protests too much: Gordon seeks important innovations that simultaneously change consumption, alter the allocation of leisure time, and upend standard business processes across the entire economy—and finds the IT revolution lacking. Again, perhaps, the scope of his inquiry is too limited. One would have expected him to embrace the rise of the commercial Internet, which has wrought all of those changes for a sustained period, and continues to do so. Gordon lauds some of these effects, such as the ascent of Amazon, but then displays no serious appreciation for how much business processes have changed as a result, nor how those changes supported the expansion of world trade—and specifically, U.S. exports and imports. Indeed, he remains a skeptic, providing reasons why no major, innovative information technology is likely to arise tomorrow or contribute to vigorous economic growth.
His discussion about medical technology reflects the same tension. Many issues merit attention, and Gordon highlights those, but his discussion is incomplete without a survey of advances in many areas of medicine. Assessing the capacity of the system to yield radical improvements in living standards requires a nuanced, thorough analysis. Again, Gordon has posed a question and reached a conclusion that seems unresolvable given the scope of his treatment.
By his final chapter, the ebullient economic historian has disappeared, replaced by a downbeat macroeconomic forecaster who enumerates a number of challenging social and economic factors, such as inequality in consumption and underfunded entitlements (collectively, Gordon calls them “headwinds”), that make growth difficult. He argues that these headwinds will overwhelm the impact of any but major innovations, and forecasts that few of those will appear on the horizon. If that is the case, the social implications are enormous. But if this forecast is unsupported and fundamentally unresolvable on the basis of the evidence presented, then his conclusion seems unwarranted and hasty.
I respect Robert Gordon for what he has achieved. He has assembled an enormous amount of historical evidence, and framed a provocative argument about contemporary experience.
It certainly made me ponder some big questions. If prior generations picked the low-hanging fruit, do modern innovators face a thornier and costlier set of challenges? What changes would raise the likelihood of major innovations from the U.S. university system, corporate labs, the Department of Defense, and Silicon Valley?
If prior generations overcame their headwinds, why can’t ours? Today’s headwinds do not look any worse than yesterday’s: primitive scientific instrumentation, bank panics, world wars, and the Great Depression, not to mention the fires that razed Chicago and San Francisco, to name just a few. And what are we to make of the unique status of the United States on the global stage today? It is still the world mecca for innovators, and governments around the globe still admire the U.S. innovative engine. I wish Gordon would lighten up, and cut the present generation of innovators some slack.
Shane Greenstein, the MBA Class of 1957 professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, is the author of How the Internet Became Commercial: Privatization, Innovation, and the Birth of a New Network (Princeton, 2015).
B vitamin content of rice declines with rising CO2
The Market-Model University
Jack Szostak, a versatile scientist
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One of the original 13 colonies, Maryland lies at the center of the Eastern Seaboard, amid the great commercial and population complex that stretches from Maine to Virginia. Its small size belies the great diversity of its landscapes and ways of life that they foster, from the low-lying and water-oriented Eastern Shore and Chesapeake Bay area, through the metropolitan Baltimore, its largest city, to the forested Appalachian foothills and mountains of its western reaches. Annapolis, the state capital, is also home to the United States Naval Academy. Maryland is the leading producer of blue crabs and is renowned for its crab cakes.
Date of Statehood: April 28, 1788
Did you know? Although Maryland was a slave state below the Mason-Dixon Line, the state did not join the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Capital: Annapolis
Size: 12,406 square miles
Nickname(s): Old Line State; Free State; Cockade State; Oyster State; Monumental State
Motto: Fatti Maschii Parole Femine (“Strong Deeds, Gentle Words”)
Tree: White Oak
Flower: Black-Eyed Susan
Bird: Baltimore Oriole
In April 1649, colonists voted into law An Act Concerning Religion (later known as the Maryland Toleration Act), which granted freedom of worship for all Christians. Although permanently repealed in 1692, the act was one of the first statutes granting religious liberty of any kind and was an important step toward true freedom of religion in the United States.
In 1763, astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon were asked to resolve an 80-year land dispute between the Calvert family of Maryland and the Penn family of Pennsylvania by marking the correct boundary. The resulting Mason-Dixon Line took five years to complete and later became the demarcation between the free North and slave-holding South.
On September 14, 1814, while witnessing the British bombard Fort McHenry in an attempt to capture Baltimore during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In 1931, the United States adopted the song as its national anthem.
Branded “The town that fooled the British,” St. Michaels avoided destruction by British invasion on August 10, 1813, when residents—forewarned of an imminent attack—turned off all their lights and attached lanterns to the masts of ships and the tops of trees, causing cannons to overshoot the town. The only house to be struck became known as the “Cannonball House.”
The Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862, was the first attack on Union soil during the Civil War and the bloodiest one-day battle in U.S. history with more than 23,000 soldiers killed. Although it ended in a draw, President Abraham Lincoln used General Robert E. Lee’s retreat to Virginia as an opportunity to issue his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, warning seceded states to return to the Union before the end of the year or their slaves would be declared free.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/maryland
Alan Simpson on Wyoming People
History Uncut: Construction of the Empire State Building
Alaska Becomes 49th State
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.
Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The city is home to all three branches of the federal government, as well as the White House, the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building. ...read more
Colonized by Spain, the land that is now New Mexico became U.S. territory as part oft he Gadsen Purchase in 1853, though New Mexico did not become a U.S. state until 1912. During World War II, New Mexico was the site of the top-secret Manhattan Project, in which top U.S. ...read more
Kansas, situated on the American Great Plains, became the 34th state on January 29, 1861. Its path to statehood was long and bloody: After the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 opened the two territories to settlement and allowed the new settlers to determine whether the states would ...read more
When the state of Virginia voted to secede from the United States during the Civil War (1861-65), the people of the rugged and mountainous western region of the state opposed the decision and organized to form their own state, West Virginia,in support of the Union. Congress ...read more
The first of the original 13 states to ratify the federal Constitution, Delaware occupies a small niche in the Boston–Washington, D.C., urban corridor along the Middle Atlantic seaboard. It is the second smallest state in the country and one of the most densely populated. The ...read more
Maine, the largest of the six New England states, lies at the northeastern corner of the country. Maine became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Maine is ...read more
Indiana sits, as its motto claims, at “the crossroads of America.” It borders Lake Michigan and the state of Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, Kentucky to the south, and Illinois to the west, making it an integral part of the American Midwest. Except for Hawaii, Indiana ...read more
One of the original 13 colonies, North Carolina was the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress. Following the Revolutionary War, North Carolina developed an extensive slave plantation system and ...read more
The first Europeans to visit Illinois were the French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673, but the region was ceded to Britain after the French and Indian War. After the American Revolution, Illinois became a territory of the United States, and achieved ...read more
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New York Film Fest: Paul Thomas Anderson's Ensemble on the Chaotic Logic of 'Inherent Vice'
1:35 PM PDT 10/4/2014 by Ashley Lee
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
'Inherent Vice'
Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Benicio Del Toro, Sasha Pieterse, Joanna Newsom, Hong Chau, Jena Malone, Martin Short and Maya Rudolph spoke on the detective film before its NYFF premiere
Paul Thomas Anderson and his ensemble cast took the Walter Reader Theater stage on Saturday afternoon to talk about his latest film, Inherent Vice, ahead of its New York Film Festival premiere.
The psychedelic SoCal detective tale adapts the Thomas Pynchon book for the big screen in a way that one reporter felt was comparable to Howard Hawks' 1946 film The Big Sleep. Anderson agreed, noting that when he saw that film, "I realized I couldn’t follow any of it, and I didn't care because I wanted to see what happened next. … That was a good model to follow, to just throw all that stuff out the window."
See more Spoiler Alert! 'Gone Girl' and 11 Other Movies With Big Twists
Though the feature — which has a tone Anderson described as "beautifully written stuff mixed in with the best fart jokes and silly songs that you can imagine" — follows Joaquin Phoenix as drug-fueled detective Doc Sportello investigating the disappearance of a former beau, Inherent Vice is narrated via Joanna Newsom. "I loved the way she talked; she's a supporting character in the book — Doc's best gal pal who knew more about things and was always right about things," " Anderson told the Lincoln Center venue of reporters of using a voiceover. "I got paranoid you shouldn’t use a [voiceover] narrator, but a lot of my favorite films do. … I was afraid to until now. There was so much good stuff that character could say that seemed helpful, and wouldn't step on it or subtract from it, but add to it." The opening scene has Newsom reciting the lines in person: "I was 99 percent sure that would not be in the movie, and it was. There is a bit of a sense of floating on instinct or opportunity [while on set with Anderson]."
The cast, aside from a silent Phoenix, also expanded on shooting countless long takes with Anderson, resulting in an experience that was either heavily structured or loose, but always highly creative. Some enjoyed more improv opportunities than others: Sasha Pieterse said of a scene with Phoenix and Martin Short, "There was one take in particular where all three of us did something completely different. We didn't tell each other, we just put our characters into that place, we collaborated and it turned to something beautiful. … That's what made the film together: this chaos that we all brought that turned into something simple."
Short agreed: "It was really trying to create as many elements and colors and hues that could help Paul later on when he was putting it together, and that was very freeing." Owen Wilson added that he always felt safe, and Michael K. Williams, who is used to TV's regimented schedule, told his fellow actors, "It actually makes me feel good to hear you say that — I thought it was just me. I didn't know if Paul liked me!"
Watch more Paul Thomas Anderson, Fiona Apple Reunite for 'Hot Knife' Music Video
Jena Malone's dialogue-heavy moment was more structured: "We just started with the words because they're so important in this film, and I guess that was a new thing for me," she reflected. "I was never able to collaborate with a director to just sit down with the words and feel right. … [The film's] chaos can only come from a grounded, logical base, because you have to know where you're gonna be spinning from. … The logic becomes the chaos and the chaos becomes the logic." Hong Chau guessed of the director's approach, "I don’t think Paul went into it knowing exactly what he wanted because I think he liked to experiment and have the possibility of interesting things happening on the day of, and I think that's what he wanted to capture."
Benicio Del Toro also said of the experience, "[Anderson] would take a scene that takes place on a table and he'll move it into a car, and it was like dancing in a way, and I really enjoyed it. I think working with Joaquin, with my scene with Josh Brolin too, were a lot of fun — there was a lot of laughing and Paul was laughing at us." Katherine Waterston said, "Working with Paul was the best creative experiences I've ever had, I don’t know how he does what he does," and Maya Rudolph summarized, "What I love so much about Paul's work is it's anything and everything, and yet it's always his."
The press screening was held before the film's New York Film Festival premiere — a Saturday night screening of the feature shot on 35mm film. "Luckily, we're able to still keep that alive and going — I started doing at the beginning, so it's the only way I know how to do it," said Anderson, who was excited about the evening but anticipated "all the nerves that accompany that. Everything could break easily, but that adds to the thrill of it all, and it looks beautiful.
"Not to phase anything out; there's room for both things," he quickly added of other filmmakers digital preferences. "I'm just glad the projectors are still there. That should just be how it is, nothing should go away."
Email: Ashley.Lee@THR.com
Twitter: @cashleelee
Ashley Lee
Ashley.Lee@THR.com cashleelee
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(-) Barbados (46)
(-) Transportation (46)
Government spending waste costs Latin America and Caribbean 4.4% of GDP: IDB study
Inefficiencies and fraud in procurement, civil service and targeted transfers could be as large as $220 billion a year Report includes policy recommendations to improve spending in healthcare, education, infrastructure and public safety
Caribbean leaders launch plan to make region a “climate-smart zone,” with IDB support
Paris — The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) announced its support for the newly formed Caribbean Climate-Smart Coalition, a public-private initiative aimed at funding an $8 billion investment plan to transform the region into the world’s first “climate-smart” zone and benefit an estimated 3.2 million households in the region.
The Bahamas to improve airport infrastructure with IDB support
A $35 million loan will enhance the connectivity of four airports on the Family Islands The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $35 million loan designed to improve infrastructure at four airports on the Family Islands, as The Bahamas' less developed outer islands are known. The loan will contribute to the archipelago's regional and international integration through upgrades at the airports of Exuma, North Eleuthera, Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay.
Barbados to improve energy security and diversify the energy mix with a US$34 million IDB loan
Project to aid Barbados in transitioning to a cleaner energy future, meeting its current natural gas demands, and contributing to the creation of a regional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply chain This US$34 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan will enhance Barbados’ energy security and sustainability by diversifying its energy mix through promoting the use of cleaner fuels for power generation, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, and increasing energy efficient applications by Barbados’ Government and private sector.
IDB Hosts Capitol Hill Event on US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement
US Members of Congress Recognize IDB for its Leadership on Caribbean Development On June 15, 2016, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA) co-hosted an event on Capitol Hill on “Opportunities and Challenges for the United States and Caribbean Region." A highlight of this IDB-CCAA event was remarks by Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the lead co-sponsors of H.R. 4939, the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act (H.R.
Suriname improves governance and strengthens its energy sector with IDB loan
Project to support the development of an institutional and regulatory policy framework to enhance the nation’s energy sector and its government institutions Suriname will increase the efficiency, transparency, sustainability and accountability of its energy sector, supported by a $70 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It will be able to provide more reliable and sustainable energy to its citizens, and in the process, will both improve the supply of electricity and foster the reduction in its reliance on fossil fuels.
IDB, CDB, CARICOM and the US Department of Energy sign MOU to support renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Caribbean
Partnership will aid cleaner, cheaper, and more secure sources of energy for the Caribbean Region President Luis Alberto Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), President Warren Smith of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Secretary Ernest Moniz of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and Secretary General Irwin LaRocque of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that creates a framework for cooperation to promote programs and activities that foster the transformation of the energy sector in th
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(-) Paraguay (10)
(-) Opportunities for the Majority (10)
Paraguay will expand access to financing by Water and Sanitation Councils and families at the base of the pyramid
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - 03:00
IDB loan to Visión Banco will increase access to financing and enable homes to carry out improvements and connect to water and sewer systems The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $10 million loan from its Opportunities for the Majority Sector to Visión Banco SAECA of Paraguay, designed to improve and broaden access to potable water and sanitation services for families living in small cities and suburban areas, through investments in water and
Paraguay to expand financing to more than 5,000 micro and small businesses at the base of the pyramid
Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 03:00
IDB loan to INTERFISA will finance project to broaden access to credit with a gender-based approach, through the innovative NdeVale business model
New IDB study reveals success factors in business models for low-income family housing
Report outlines innovative schemes that invigorate the market, with private sector participation
IDB to help finance student loans in six Latin American countries
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 03:00
IDB loan to Higher Education Finance Fund will pave the way for increased student loans in Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will help expand the access to higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean by providing a $10 million loan to the Higher Education Finance Fund, L.P. (HEFF), a regional debt fund that seeks to offer student loans through local microfinance organizations.
IDB closes $3.6 million syndicated loan to provide access to finance for smallholder farmers
As many as 10,000 small farmers in nine countries to benefit from IDB loan to FOPEPRO The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has closed a $3.6 million loan to provide access to finance for smallholder producer groups and farmers associations in nine Latin American countries through a loan to the “Fund for Small Rural Producers in Latin America” or “Fondo para los Pequeños Productores Rurales en América Latina (FOPEPRO)."
Paraguay to reduce housing deficit with help from the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through its Opportunities for the Majority Initiative (OMJ), approved a partial credit guarantee of up to $2.5 million for Vision Banco S.A.E.C.A., a leading Paraguayan commercial bank specialized in microfinance, to help it expand loan offerings for micro-entrepreneurs that wish to make housing improvements.
Latin America needs microeconomic reforms to expand its middle class, Bill Clinton says
Latin America should carry out microeconomic reforms to clear the path for more poor people to join the middle class, instead of locking itself in a debate over fiscal discipline and social spending, former U.S. president Bill Clinton said today. In a public dialogue with the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, Clinton also commented on current issues such as immigration, alternative energy sources, climate change and the fight against AIDS.
IDB launches initiative to generate economic opportunities for majority in Latin America and the Caribbean
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 03:00
Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno today unveiled an initiative aimed at generating economic opportunities for low-income people in Latin America and the Caribbean, who make up a majority of the region’s population. In a briefing held at the IDB’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and transmitted to field offices across the region, Moreno explained that the Building Opportunities for the Majority initiative will seek innovative solutions to help low-income people develop their economic potential and accumulate assets.
IDB to present new development initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean
Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno will hold a press briefing on Tuesday, June 6 to present a new initiative to promote economic opportunities for the low-income majority of Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where poverty and inequality levels have hardly changed over the past five decades.
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Hunt for Vulcan: The planet near Mercury that Einstein proved didn\'t exist
November 14, 2015 07:00 GMT
Kepler 10b, which the Economist suggested should be called Vulcan shortly after its discovery Nasa
There was once a planet called Vulcan that was very hot and orbited the sun near Mercury – until Einstein proved it never existed. From 1859 to 1915, scientists believed that the elusive Vulcan and its gravitational pull caused Mercury to wobble in orbit.
The Hunt for Vulcan is a recently released book by MIT's Thomas Levenson. In it he charts the 50-year hunt by the world's top scientists for the planet that never was there, starting with Isaac Newton and his theories of gravity and ending with Albert Einstein and general relativity.
Vulcan's existence was first suggested by French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier. He hypothesised that the planet was located between Mercury and the Sun and that it would help explain Mercury's unusual orbit.
In 1846, Le Verrier had predicted the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics. His discovery, which was confirmed by astronomers very shortly after, was based on the idea that the gravitational pull was causing Uranus's wobbly orbit. Using the same principle, he thought another unknown planet might be having the same effect on Mercury.
"Belief in Vulcan lasts from 1859 to 1915," Levenson told MIT News. "But the story really starts in the 1680s, when Isaac Newton writes the Principia, the foundational text of the scientific revolution, and in it describes and works out the consequences of his laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Newton's successors tried to apply that law with more and more sophistication to problems you actually see in nature."
The Hunt for Vulcan Random House
After finding Neptune, Le Verrier followed the same reasoning to say another planet must be upsetting Mercury's orbit: "What followed was a cat-and-mouse game. Some people looked for Vulcan and couldn't find it, while there were repeated reports of discovery by professionals and amateurs alike."
In 1915, Einstein put an end to the fruitless search after showing Mercury's wobble is in keeping with the theory of general relativity, where gravity represents the contours of spacetime.
"Very unusually for Einstein, when he got the right answer in his calculations, sitting at his desk ... he was beside himself with joy, and couldn't work for a couple of days," Levenson said.
"Einstein was not a person who was given to wild extremes of emotion. When he got the correct orbit for Mercury, for him that was tantamount to confirmation of general relativity."
He said the search for Vulcan highlights a bigger issue in science and how things we hold as fact may not be all as they seem. There was absolutely every reason Vulcan should exist. It wasn't a crazy idea at all. These people weren't crazy. They were doing science the way you expect science to be done.
"They were working on a difficult idea, with difficult observations, at the limit of scientific knowledge of the time, and they got something wrong. But we are not immune to measurement error, and we're certainly not immune to the capacity for human self-deception. Historians 100 years from now will laugh at us just as we laugh at our friends from 100 years ago."
The Hunt for Vulcan by Thomas Levenson is published by Random House and was released on 3 November.
More about Mercury
Mercury Retrograde: What does the apparent rotation reversal of Mercury mean?
Earth \'swallowed Mercury-like planet\' to form layers and get magnetic field
Mercury has been \'painted black\' by comet dust over billions of years
Related topics : Star Trek
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24/3/14 – The Turtles – Happy Together – 1967
in Album Of The Day, Video Of The Day
Happy Together by The Turtles was the first full priced album I ever bought. I had already picked up Donovan’s Universal Soldier – I vaguely remember that I bought it in Marple, a town close to where I lived. It was on the budget Marble Arch label new for 13/6 (that’s thirteen shillings and six pence, about 65 pence in decimal currency, a lot of money to me at this point). I’m not sure where I bought The Turtles album or how much it cost but I must have heard their two hits on the radio drawing my attention to it. Happy Together reached No. 12 on the UK chart and She’d Rather Be With Me No.4. in 1967. (Happy Together was a bigger hit in the US reaching No.1, She’d Rather Be With Me went to No.3). I don’t recall buying the album in the year of its release, I might have picked it up later on although it was probably before the end of the sixties. It was produced by Joe Wissert who I later met in Australia, he also produced Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees and albums by Earth, Wind & Fire, Helen Reddy and The J. Geils Band and seemed to be very rich. The album cover was intriguing and I wondered who on earth all these people were in the background.
This was The Turtles third album and a return to the US chart reaching No.25. Early singles had hit the charts but their albums hadn’t done well, the first album only reaching No. 98 and the second not charting at all. Happy Together with its title track, changed all that and The Turtles became a household name with other hit singles to come, the biggest being Elenore and You Showed Me, both reaching the No.6 spot in 1968. Later after their label White Whale had financial issues, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman the singer frontman duo aka Flo & Eddie joined The Mothers Of Invention as Phlorescent Leech & Eddie and went on to make a series of albums together in the seventies. See the links for info on The Turtles three different bass players and drummers.
When I listen back to Happy Together I hear catchy sixties Sunshine Pop but not made by record company puppets. The fact that they went onto work with Zappa should be a clue as to the kind of characters they were. In fact, when you see their TV appearances it seems that they might easily get up to no good. Flo’s antics often playing instruments that weren’t on the song in order to point out that they were lip-synching might have been seen as slightly antagonistic along with their obvious irreverence in the face of their popularity.
The first track, Making My Mind Up, has that sunny disposition, but the second track is something a little odd. A song from the Gene Kelly directed film, A Guide For The Married Man, starring Walter Matthau and written by famed musical lyricist Leslie Bricusse (Doctor Doolittle, Goodbye Mr Chips) and film composer John Williams responsible for Star Wars and Close Encounters – in the sixties fantastic themes to TV series like Time Tunnel and Lost In Space and it was he who actually played and wrote the opening riff to the famous, familiar Peter Gunn Theme!
Volman and Kaylan’s, I Think I’ll Run Away, is next. It has a warm and soft sound, melodic with a classic sixties arrangement. Then, The Walking Song, a unique psychedelic cabaret that gives us a clue about Kaylan’s smart madness – presuming of course he wrote the lyric, the song is a co-write with guitarist Al Nichol.
Bacon Fried, Squinty eyed, moments of the dawn.
Misty street calling me, get dressed and walk around.
In the square, standing there girl so sad, what’s the matter?
oh, oh dear sir the world has got me down,
and folks preach happiness when there’s none to be found.
I type and answer phones to earn my meager pay,
to keep me alive so I can waste another day.
I sadly turned and walked away. For there was nothing I could say.
Walking on, noonday sun Dusty road to town,
Saddened by the girl that I had chanced to come upon,
Then I’d seen a limousine, a rich old guy, mean of eye,
He said,
“Oh bah hum bug you can’t understand,
the world is one big bank you must steal what you can,
because it’s fools like you who waste their precious time by
walking in the sun instead of trying to make a dime.”
The words he spoke turned my world grey,
could everybody feel this way?
As if in answer down the road a lovely girl picked flowers of gold
She smiled sweetly and gave one to me
Please kind sir don’t look so down,
For in this hard world love still abounds,
and hand in hand friends of beauty can lie
on clover beds neath a blanket of sky.
Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon wrote the next three tracks, Me About You, Happy Together and She’d Rather Be With Me. Happy Together was turned down various times by other acts before The Turtles made it a hit. You can hear the difference in depth between these three catchy tunes and their easy lyrics written by professional songwriters, compared to the deeper themes in Kaylan and Volman’s songs.
Making My Mind Up, the opening song on the album was written by Jack Dalton and Gary Montgomery, the next track Too Young To Be The One is written by Eric Eisner – these are forgotten songwriters of the time, little is to be found about them on the net and it’s unsure that the people with the same names are the same people that wrote songs in their youth as they have often moved on to different careers. Who were these people where are they now? It would be so interesting to see a list of all the songs they wrote when they were active and hear them as performed by the artists that recorded them.
Person Without A Care is another song from guitarist Al Nichol – Nichol was guitarist with the band for five years. The fate of original rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker remains a mystery. He was with the band for two years from 1965 – 1967 and quit the band. According to Wikipedia, after a promotional tour in England, allegedly being insulted publicly by John Lennon, as a Beatles fan, he never got over the experience and left the band and the music business forever – it’s such a heartbreaking story.
Like The Seasons was written by the inimitable Warren Zevon. Zevon made his first solo album in 1969 initially with personality producer, Svengali? Kim Fowley who couldn’t find a way to assert his charms upon him – Zevon didn’t make his second solo album for another seven years. Zevon’s madness is a story in itself, he died of cancer in 2003 at the age of 56.
The album finished with the totally mad Rugs Of Wood And Flowers and confirms their move to Zappaland. Some kind of operatic spoof it’s Sparks meets Gilbert & Sullivan at Nick Cave’s house, it sounds like it was recorded by lunatics – that know what’s really going on.
On the Spotify link there’s three extra tracks that weren’t on the original album – two Bonner/Gordon tracks, She’s My Girl a 1967 US No.14 hit and You Know What I Mean, the previoius 1967 single that reached No.12 and that had Rugs Of Wood And Flowers as a B-side. Kaylan’s Is It Any Wonder from 1970, a song from the wrong period that didn’t chart, finishes the album for no reason at all.
Perhaps this album’s peculiar see-sawing between light-hearted Pop and intellectual madness might explain my own peculiar tastes as it seeped into my young bones when I was a mere sponge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turtles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flo_%26_Eddie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Together_(The_Turtles_album)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Together_(song)
Tags: Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention, The Turtles
23/8/14 – The Move – …
4 Responses to “24/3/14 – The Turtles – Happy Together – 1967”
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Johnny Depp May Star In ‘Black Mass’ After All, But Everything Is Complicated
Johnny Depp May Star In 'Black Mass' After All, But Everything Is Complicated
Kevin Jagernauth
Last week, it was reported that Johnny Depp was bailing on the Whitey Bulger gangster flick “Black Mass,” after he refused to take a 50% paycut from his usual asking price of $20 million, to the hardly liveable amount of $10 million. But as these things usually go, that’s hardly the full story or even the end of the story, as the actor has a “a 95 percent chance” of returning to the project. Or not at all. You see, things are pretty complicated…
THR has dug into what’s actually going on, and you can read all the ins and outs over there, but essentially it’s this: Cross Creek Pictures says Depp signed for the movie and a $20 million payday, contingent on the movie to come in with a budget of $50 million. But when the figure turned out to be $63 million, they asked everyone involved — including director Barry Levinson and co-star Joel Edgerton — to take pay cuts to close the gap, essentially forcing Depp to renegotiate his contract.
The other story is that everyone is baffled by Depp’s departure, the project as we know it is dead, and there will be a messy situation to clean up since “Black Mass” has already pre-sold overseas at the Berlin and Cannes markets.
Bottom line? The window is closing on Depp returning, as the movie has to get in front of cameras soon — with him or someone else — as Levinson is already committed to shoot “The Cursed Piano” in early 2014. Depending on the source, a crew remains in Boston ready to go….or not…but perhaps this quote says it all: “This situation is absurd. You would never have a star of Depp’s magnitude and not have all of the deal’s preconditions buttoned down before taking it to market. Either his team screwed up and left him exposed or Cross Creek is simply reneging on its deal. Someone is suing someone at the end of this.”
This Article is related to: News and tagged Black Mass, Johnny Depp
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Home Science Reports Reports and News Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
Air pollution leads to cardiovascular diseases
Air pollution, and fine dust in particular, is responsible for more than four million deaths each year. Almost 60 per cent of deaths occur as a result of cardiovascular diseases. Scientists around Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Münzel, Director of Cardiology I, Department of Cardiology of the University Medical Center Mainz, reviewed the mechanisms responsible for vascular damage from air pollution together with scientists from the UK and the USA. The findings have been published in the latest issue of the world's most recognized cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal: https://bit.ly/2OICxkN.
The large percentage of deaths from cardiovascular disease has prompted an international group of experts from Germany, England and the USA to analyze the negative effects of air pollution on vascular function in a review article.
Finedust from industry, road and air traffic and agriculture pollutes the air and leads to cardiovascular diseases.
Peter Pulkovsky (University Medical Center Mainz)
Key research questions were which components of air pollution (particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide) are particularly damaging to the cardiovascular system and by what mechanisms the vessels are damaged.
"This report in the latest issue of the European Heart Journal is another important contribution from our Working Group on Environment and Cardiovascular Disease. In summary, it can be said that, in relation to the vascular damaging effect of air pollution, particulate matter plays a prominent role", comments Professor Münzel. "Especially the ultrafine dust makes us very worried.
»EMISSIONS »Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz »cardiovascular disease »cardiovascular diseases »dioxide »myocardial infarction »nitrogen dioxide »vascular »vascular function
These particles have the size of a virus. When the ultrafine matter is inhaled, it immediately enters the bloodstream through the lungs, is taken up by the vessels, and causes local inflammation. This ultimately causes more atherosclerosis (vascular calcification) and thus leads to more cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure but also cardiac arrhythmias.
Of particular interest is the fact that with regard to the much-discussed diesel exhaust emissions, particulate matter and not nitrogen dioxide (NO2), both of which are produced by burning diesel fuel, have a negative effect on vascular function", Münzel continues.
Other participants in the expert group include the world-renowned particulate matter researcher Sanjay Rajagopalan of the Cleveland Clinic, the vascular researcher and cardiologist John Deanfield of the Institute for Cardiovascular Science in London, Univ.- Prof. Dr. Andreas Daiber, Head of Molecular Cardiology of the Mainz University Medical Center and Prof. Dr. Jos Lelieveld from the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz.
Professor Lelieveld comments: "The fine dust particles are chemically formed mainly in the atmosphere from emissions from traffic, industry and agriculture. In order to achieve low, harmless concentrations, emissions from all these sources need to be reduced.”
"In the future, we will work intensively with the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry to investigate the causes of cardiovascular disease caused by air pollution, especially in combination with (flight) noise," adds Münzel.
Caption: Finedust from industry, road and air traffic and agriculture pollutes the air and leads to cardiovascular diseases.
Use of the photo free of charge with indication of the picture Source: Peter Pulkovsky (University Medical Center Mainz)
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Münzel
University Medical Center Mainz
phone 06131 17-5737
E-Mail: tmuenzel@uni-mainz.de
Oliver Kreft, Corporate Communications University Medical Center Mainz, Phone 06131 17-7424, Fax 06131 17-3496, E-Mail: pr@unimedizin-mainz.de
About the university medicine of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
The university medical center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is the only medical institution of the supra-maximum supply in Rhineland-Palatinate and an internationally recognized Science location. It comprises more than 60 clinics, institutes and departments working interdisciplinary. Highly specialized patient care, research and teaching form an inseparable unit in the university medical center Mainz. Around 3,400 students of medicine and dentistry are trained in Mainz. With approximately 7,800 employees, university medicine is also one of the largest employers in the region and an important driver of growth and innovation. More information on the Internet at www.unimedizin-mainz.de
Originalpublikation:
European Heart Journal: https://bit.ly/2OICxkN
Oliver Kreft M.A. | idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Further reports about: > EMISSIONS > Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz > cardiovascular disease > cardiovascular diseases > dioxide > myocardial infarction > nitrogen dioxide > vascular > vascular function
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Home Science Reports Reports and News Health and Medicine
Solution to hospital infections could be in the air
A breakthrough in the fight against infections acquired in hospital could be achieved thanks to pioneering new research.
The project is investigating the use of ionisers to eradicate airborne infections in hospitals – a technique that could deliver major health benefits and financial savings.
Starting in December, the 3-year initiative will be carried out by engineers at the University of Leeds with funding from the Swindon-based Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Infections originating in hospital are a serious and widespread problem, affecting around 10% of patients during their stay. There is increasing evidence that up to 20% of these infections are transmitted by an airborne route – at a cost of £100-200 million a year in England alone.
The project will build on a recent successful study at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds. This found that using ionisers to negatively charge air particles in an intensive care unit prevented all infections caused by the Acinetobacter pathogen. Immune to nearly all currently available antibiotics, Acinetobacter infections are a growing problem in hospitals and can be fatal in some groups of patients.
In the new project, the same team will set out to understand the science behind this success and provide a firm basis for future use of the technique. They will focus on the biological and physical processes associated with negative air ionisation and airborne transmission of infection, and establish guidelines for the effective use of ionisers in hospital buildings.
Much of the research will be carried out in the University’s state-of-the-art aerobiological test facility, which was part funded by EPSRC. The facility incorporates a 32m3 climatic chamber where temperature, humidity and ventilation rate can be varied and controlled. The chamber enables researchers to mimic various clinical environments and perform a wide range of experiments involving aerosols doped with micro-organisms.
The project team is being led by Dr Clive Beggs of the University of Leeds’ Aerobiological Research Group. Dr Beggs says: “Negative air ionisation could have a dramatic impact on a problem that has been attracting increasing publicity and causing growing concern”.
Jane Reck | alfa
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk
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The continual evolution of a 156-year-old hospitality business
Monte-Carlo, the glamorous quarter of the Principality of Monaco, is renowned for many things: Formula One Grand Prix, a harbour full of expensive yachts and glitzy casinos to name a few. Yet, few of us realise that this ‘petit coin’ of the Côte d’Azur is also home to an enviably successful hospitality business that has been in operation since 1863.
Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) may not be a name familiar to those outside Monaco, but the hotels, restaurants and other businesses it runs, such as Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Alain Ducasse’s three-Michelin starred restaurant Le Louis XV and Casino Monte-Carlo, certainly will be.
In fact, it was SBM’s world-famous casino that provided the foundation to what has become a 360-degree hospitality and leisure company, which today counts four hotels, more than 30 restaurants and bars, four spas, four casinos and over 50 banqueting and conference rooms among its portfolio.
“The casino attracted gamblers from around the world and so the owners (Francois and Marie Blanc) decided to build somewhere for them to stay as there was nothing here. That is how Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo came to be born,” explains Julia Burg, SBM’s senior press relations manager UK, USA, Brazil & Latam.
The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, which last year saw the completion of a £220m four-year revamp, was never going to be a simply a place for weary gamblers to rest their heads. Blanc commissioned some of France’s top designers to build the 83-suite and 126-bedroom property a stone’s throw from the casino and its elaborate, luxurious style has helped it become an iconic figure in the hotel world.
The two-bedroom Prince Rainier III Suite, complete with infinity pool
Today, the hotel attracts well-heeled guests from around the globe who want to stay in its opulent suites, such as it’s ‘rooftop villa’, aka the roomy two-bedroom Prince Rainier III Suite, complete with infinity pool; use it as a base from which to view the Grand Prix, or simply soak up the sun in luxurious surroundings.
Blanc’s vision of luxury Hôtel de Paris was a blueprint for the rest of the company, but by adding a hotel he also instilled an ethos within the business which contributes to a large part of its success today: To continually meet – and exceed – the needs of its customers.
Four years after Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo opened its doors to guests, Blanc opened restaurant Café Divan (now occupied by the famous Bar Americain) where customers would dine, but also debate and be entertained when they needed a break from the roulette table.
Since then, an impressive number of hospitality and events businesses have been added, each one designed to either cater for a new market, or help provide additional services for existing guests.
Over the next 150 years, SBM, which is 60% government-owned, added three more hotels providing an additional 650 rooms (Belle Epoque beauty Hôtel Hermitage, Monte-Carlo Beach and Monte-Carlo Bay) a sports club; a beach club with Olympic-sized swimming pool; three other casinos; a nightclub; 30 restaurants and bars and multiple event spaces.
conference facility One Monte-Carlo
Now, the company’s newest addition – conference facility One Monte-Carlo – has been created to ‘give a new dimension’ to SBM’s business tourism and events and provide state-of-the-art facilities for the organisers of the 300-plus events the company hosts each year.
Opening last month in the heart of the new One Monte-Carlo district alongside Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo and Hôtel Hermitage, the underground centre boasts nine rooms, including the illustrious Salle des Arts, a 300-capacity conference room built as an exact replica of the former Sporting d’Hiver, which previously stood on the same site.
Related Article: Decisions, decisions, decisions in the grab and go market
A modern facility which has stayed respectful of its past, One Monte-Carlo, will also enable SBM to better cater for a growing number of MICE customers who can use the facility to launch a new product, or hold a conference while also treating delegates to a sumptuous banquet prepared by their brigade of chefs or a visit to the Thermes Marins spa, with its heated seawater pool.
But while One Monte-Carlo provides more facilities for corporate customers and continues SBM’s evolution as a business, it also helps ‘unite’ the company’s entire proposition, both physically and metaphorically, says its head of press relations Sylvie Cristin, who regards its arrival as part of the company’s strategic vision to ‘make Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer the most exclusive destination in Europe’.
Centrally located, the new conference facility is within walking distance of both Hôtel de Paris and Hôtel Hermitage, as well as the casino, spa and many of SBM’s restaurants and bars, so delegates can quickly reach rooms to freshen up before evening drinks receptions, or relax in the spa after a long day.
Other outlets, including the modern four star hotel Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, sports club and legendary nightclub Jimmyz can be easily reached via a shuttle bus. Guests need only to flash their room key card to gain access to SBM’s facilities in Monte-Carlo so they “feel like they are in a resort,” says Burg.
The balance of comprehensive conferencing facilities with a plethora of luxury hospitality and leisure businesses therefore allows event organisers to provide delegates with somewhere for work and play. The fact the backdrop is the most prestigious spot on the French Riviera is the cherry on the cake.
“By choosing to hold their conference in Monaco, businesses show they are giving their employees something special, that they are really treating them,” says Cristin.
While SBM has certainly grown its business to meet the needs of its customers, the addition of new sites has also meant that its biggest asset – its staff, are also given room to grow and develop.
With multiple businesses under the same umbrella, SBM’s 4,000 employees have greater choice and chance of progression. At Monaco’s largest employer spa managers graduate to hotel general managers, while chefs can work in the centralised production facility at One Monte-Carlo where fresh bread and pastries for the hotels’ breakfast buffets are made, in banqueting, or under a Michelin-starred chef if they prefer.
With boundless opportunities, tax perks and the prestige which comes with working for a company with such a history, it’s unsurprising that many staff remain working with the group for many years. No-doubt also helped by the fact that employees are given access to training once a year.
SBM, of course benefits from being situated in Monte-Carlo where the sun shines 300 days a year, and the streets are spotless and safe, but the company’s continual evolution and that drive to continue to offer more for its customers and take care of its staff makes it a unique business and one worthy of achieving its vision to become ‘the most exclusive destination in Europe’.
H&C News would like to thank Société des Bains de Mer for the opportunity to experience their hospitality, we enjoyed visiting what we have no doubt will become… ‘the most exclusive destination in Europe’.
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Report details inequities for kids of gay parents
By DAVID CRARYAP National Writer
According to her dads, life is good for Carrigan Starling-Littlefield, a spunky 5-year-old being raised by two gay men in South Carolina, which doesn’t recognize their out-of-state marriage.
“We’ve found that being a family has created a lot of common ground with other families. We’ve not had many issues at all,” said Tommy Starling, a partner in a food brokerage.
Yet he and his husband, Jeff Littlefield, who became parents through a California-based surrogacy program, remain wary as they contemplate Carrigan growing older and confronting challenges beyond their supportive community in Pawley’s Island, S.C.
“We’re cautious about where we go, because we don’t want our daughter to see any negativity,” said Starling, 39. “We have some longer-term apprehensions that she’ll face issues as she gets older, and we’re trying to prepare her for that ... I feel she’s the type of person who will stand up for her family.”
Carrigan is among a growing multitude of American children — possibly more than 1.2 million of them — being raised by gay and lesbian parents, often without all the legal protections afforded to mom-and-dad households.
Increasingly, the welfare of these children will be a core part of gay-rights strategies, as evidenced by a comprehensive report being released Tuesday. Compiled by an alliance of advocacy and child-welfare groups, it summarizes how laws and social stigma create distinctive challenges for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families.
“There are myriad ways that our families are discounted by government at all levels, and children are hurt the most,” said Jennifer Chrisler of the Family Equality Council, one of the three groups authoring the report.
The other groups are the liberal Center for American Progress and the Movement Advancement Project, a gay-rights think tank. Among other participants in the project were the National Association of Social Workers and the Child Welfare League of America.
The U.S. census does not attempt to count the number of children being raised by gays and lesbians. Demographer Gary Gates of the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, who has been a consultant to the Census Bureau, estimates the number at 1.2 million, while the new report uses the figure of 2 million, including children with bisexual and transgender parents.
Whatever their numbers, the families are striking for their diversity — encompassing many low-income and minority households, and spread across about 96 percent of America’s counties, according to data compiled by Gates and others.
Among the barriers and inequities they face, as detailed in the report:
— Many government safety net programs use definitions of family tied to marital status which may exclude same-sex partners.
— Because of lack of legal recognition for their unions, gay and lesbian parents can face heavier tax burdens, higher costs for health insurance, and diminished financial protections in the event of death or disability.
— When same-sex parents separate, one parent may lose custody or visitation rights, even in cases where he or she had been a child’s primary caregiver.
Overshadowing all these problems is pervasive social stigma, according to the report.
“Many of the challenges LGBT families face stem from a society that assumes that everyone is heterosexual and comes from a family with two married heterosexual parents,” it says.
For opponents of same-sex marriage, the issue of children can prompt nuanced responses.
“Certainly children in any household arrangement need to be protected — need full support and love,” said Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Maryland. But she said such protections should be provided without redefining the traditional concept of marriage as between a man and woman.
Many of the obstacles and inequities outlined in the new report would be addressed if same-sex marriage — now legal in six states and Washington, D.C. — were legalized nationwide and recognized by the federal government. However, the report includes numerous recommendations for less sweeping changes that would benefit children with gay parents, such as:
— Broadening the definition of “family” to allow LGBT families to benefit fully from government safety-net programs, and revise the tax code to provide equitable treatment for these families. At present, even legally married same-sex couples who can file joint state tax returns must file separate federal returns.
— Enacting state-level parental recognition laws that would allow joint adoption by LGBT parents. Even with about 110,000 children in foster care who are eligible for adoption, some states and agencies refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
— Ensuring that LGBT families have access to health insurance on equal terms with heterosexual families, and eliminate inequitable taxation of these benefits.
— Ensuring that hospital visitation and medical decision-making policies are inclusive of LGBT families.
— Expanding education and training about LGBT families for social workers, health care providers and other professionals.
Jeff Krehely, director of the Center for American Progress’s LGBT research and communications project, said the report is part of an effort to counter arguments that same-sex marriage is a threat to children.
“People who oppose marriage equality have used and exploited children in a very scare-mongering way,” said Krehely, who hopes the report will increase public understanding and empathy.
The report, titled “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families,” is being presented Tuesday at event in Washington drawing some high-level government officials.
Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the federal Administration on Children, Youth and Families, is scheduled to be part of a panel discussion, and the opening speech will be given by Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, a staunch gay-rights supporter in a state where lawmakers will be considering a bill to legalize same-sex marriage next year.
“Same-sex marriage is a pro-family measure,” Gansler said in a telephone interview.
Lisa Polyak, chair of the statewide gay-rights group Equality Maryland, says there will be a concerted effort during the legislative debate to highlight the challenges facing children of gays and lesbians.
“If you care about children, you should care that the parents don’t have the legal tools to take the best care of them,” she said.
Polyak and her partner of 30 years, Gita Deane, were married earlier this year in Washington. They have two daughters, Devi, 12, and Maya, 15, who testified before lawmakers last year in support of same-sex marriage in Maryland.
“The root of my activism is denial of equal treatment of my children,” said Polyak, citing instances where her daughters had been hurt by other people’s comments.
“One child told my daughter she was not allowed to come over to our house because we weren’t really a family,” Polyak said. “For them, it’s a constant source of sadness and hurtfulness.”
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▶️Legal Weed In Canada Costs Almost Twice As Much As The Illegal Stuff
The Complete List Of 2019 Emmy Nominations
Bridge River Band Office Attack Will Likely Lead To Soul-Searching: B.C. Chief
"I just know he's a band member who didn't have a job, wasn't employed, and was living in the community and obviously needed some kind of help that we weren't giving him."
Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press CP
LILLOOET, B.C. _ A man who died following a rampage in a British Columbia First Nations community went from office to office beating employees with a weapon before he could be stopped, says the chief of the Bridge River Indian Band.
Susan James said her village of less than 400 people is reeling following the attack that left 11 people injured. The unnamed man who died was also a member of the band and is reported to have used a hammer.
"This person entered several offices," James said about Wednesday's attack. "There wasn't an awareness of what was taking place. He just entered three offices, kind of in a row, and inflicted injury in those offices before anybody noticed that something was happening."
RCMP said they were called just before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a man with a weapon at the office of the Bridge River Indian Band, also known as the Xwisten, about nine kilometres northwest of the Interior community of Lillooet.
Officers arrived to find the suspect restrained. He was arrested, but police said they were unable to transport him because he was unconscious and unresponsive. He could not be revived.
Bridge River Indian Band Chief Susan James pauses while speaking to media outside the band office. (Darryl Dyck/CP)
James said three of the victims with the most serious injuries are women who work for the band. They remain in hospital in Kamloops. She said the band's administrator and another man, who was visiting the office, were also injured and are still in hospital.
James didn't name the man who died, but said he was young.
"I can't say that he had a mental episode," she said. "I just know he's a band member who didn't have a job, wasn't employed, and was living in the community and obviously needed some kind of help that we weren't giving him."
James said poverty, unemployment and mental health troubles are long-standing issues among band members. She said the man wasn't considered dangerous.
"Who can expect that someone can be that violent. I personally can't."
She said she expects the community to do some deeply personal soul-searching to examine what kind of emotional and social support it can offer members.
"Our communities suffer from a lot of intergenerational trauma," James said.
She said issues such as providing help to band members and giving them proper access to such support must be resolved in the wake of the tragedy.
"This is real," James said. "This is not just something that we raise and say, 'Communities need more access to mental health (care) or need more help in addressing the poverty that exists on reserve.'"
Investigators are work inside the Bridge River band office on Wednesday evening. (Darryl Dyck/CP)
The man's death has prompted an investigation by B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office, which is called after serious police-involved incidents.
Coroner Barb McLintock said the BC Coroners Service was also sending a team to launch an investigation.
Michaela Swan of the Interior Health authority said five patients remained in hospital — two in critical condition, two in serious condition and one with non-life-threatening injuries.
"There certainly are some pretty serious injuries involved and we're monitoring the situation closely," Swan said.
Five other patients were released from hospital Wednesday, she said.
Photo gallery Bridge River Band Office Attack In Lillooet, B.C. See Gallery
Bridge River Band Office Attack In Lillooet, B.C.
MORE: bc hammer attack bridge river Bridge River band office bridge river first nations bridge river hammer bridge river indian band British Columbia cp Hammer Attack lillooet susan james video xwisten
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The Prodigy: Saoirse Ronan
By Jodie Foster
Photography Mikael Jansson
I remember very vividly how it felt to be a child on a film set, and that is actually really important to hold on to for as long as you continue to make films. You need to be childlike, don’t you? Saoirse Ronan
When she emerges almost without warning from a snowbound wood as the semi-feral warrior namesake of 2011’s Hanna, Saoirse Ronan completely overwhelmed the world and her antagonists (including an evil spy played by Cate Blanchett) with an easy balance of almost preternatural talent and rigorously drilled skills. Same for the actress who, a few years earlier, at the ripe old age of 12, was cast in her major film debut in director Joe Wright‘s sweeping 2007 adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel Atonement—and picked up an Oscar nomination for her troubles. In the nearly nine years since her first film, all Ronan has done is work with Peter Weir (The Way Back, 2010), with Peter Jackson, on the 2009 adaptation of Alice Sebold’s monumental best-seller The Lovely Bones, with Neil Jordan (Byzantium, 2012), and with Wes Anderson, playing the doomed baker-outlaw-romantic Agatha in 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
In 2015, the New York-born, Ireland-raised Ronan drew on her dual roots to play an Irish immigrant in New York in the 1950s, in the lauded romantic drama Brooklyn, and secured her second nomination from the Academy. This February, as she wound down campaign season and geared up for her part in the Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Ronan, now 21, talked to an actress and director who knows from the Oscars-two-time-winner Jodie Foster.
(Continued from Jodie Foster)
JODIE FOSTER: Do you live with your parents at home?
SAOIRSE RONAN: I moved away to London when I was 19, actually about six months before we made Brooklyn. So by the time we made the film, I was still incredibly homesick. I don’t know if you found it this way when you were young, but to move away is very different from just working away from home. It was something that I needed and I wanted to do. I wanted to leave Ireland and have anonymity while I was young so I could be stupid and relaxed, I suppose. So I lived on my own and got used to paying bills every month and washing dishes and not leaving them in the sink for five days. New York was always the end goal for me. It was always inevitable that I’d move here because I’d had such a strong connection with it from a very young age. I guess because I know I have roots here, and the energy is really palpable. As soon as you land, you feel like invigorated or something. I feel like it’s a good place to be when you’re young.
FOSTER: I’ve always felt much more lonely in Los Angeles than I’ve ever felt in New York. Maybe it’s because you have these connections where you’re always kind of bumping into people on the street and running into people or hearing someone order something in the café next to you. Whereas in Los Angeles, you can go for days and days and days and barely ever contact anyone.
RONAN: Growing up in this industry, have you seen L.A. change at all?
FOSTER: Oh yeah. I grew up here as a child, but it is a much richer city than it ever used to be. It had a different feeling to it. It was more about our Latin population, at least where I lived. I grew up in Hollywood. My mom was really into every different kind of food—Filipino food, Indian food, Thai food. It was really diverse. It doesn’t feel that way anymore. I have a place in New York and I have a place here, but growing up in Los Angeles, I always felt like I was different because people didn’t talk here. If they had a problem, they just kind of went to the beach or played sports or something. There was no sitting inside a café or a library on a rainy day discussing the world and relationships and all of those things that I grew to find on the East Coast.
RONAN: I’m sure you know Emma Thompson, who is so bloody brilliant—she said to me, “If your job is to play real people, then you need to be surrounded by real people in your everyday life.”
FOSTER: People lose touch with that as the years go on. I remember when I was young, like 17 or so, the first time I did anything without my mom. I’d never made movies without my mom, and she made a point to stay behind, and it was tough for me. We’d been a little team; we did our laundry on the weekends. And then, around 18 or 19, when I said, “No, I have to do this on my own,” I really hit a bad patch. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t know how to be on my own. I was a little scared to go to my room by myself. I can’t just come home from work and not eat anything. So how was I going to go have dinner all by myself? So I learned as the years went on. I learned how to cook and keep myself occupied so it felt like I was home. I brought my own sheets because it felt like home. I would find the person on the crew who was the most trouble, and I would hang out with them. Like, “Who’s in the bar? I want to go hang out with everybody in the bar!” [laughs] Then, over the years, I learned to get little apartments. I’d have my pots and pans, and I made my soups. And somehow that was a way for me to stay well-adjusted when I was on location, instead of going a little mad. But it took me a long time.
RONAN: Home-cooked food, that totally represents home, doesn’t it? I did the same thing when I moved to London. I learned how to make the dishes that my mom and dad would make at home—chicken and vegetables, or spaghetti Bolognese, basic enough stuff. But the fact that I was cooking, or just the smell of food in the place that you live in, it made me relax a bit more. Even just having the TV on in the background so you feel like you’re less alone.
FOSTER: Exactly.
RONAN: Is that so sad? [laughs]
FOSTER: When I was younger, I was really worried about whether I was going to be good or not. That’s why, if someone said that I could be 20 again, I would turn them down. I was so filled with anxiety about, like, “Is anyone going to like me?” And as the years went on, the anxiety started to leave. I was expending useless energy, worrying. And I became more and more well-adjusted. I guess it was just about getting used to it, being away from my mom.
RONAN: I’m really close to my mom as well, and she came away with me up until I was 19. I’m a baby, as everyone knows now, since I just said it in an interview. But she always comes over for the first week to help me settle in. It’s really important. But today I felt the way you did. When I was a kid, it felt—not in a big-headed way—but it felt like it was so easy. And the older I got, the more insecurities start to take hold of you. I felt exactly the same way as you; that I’m going to forget how to do this. I won’t be able to do it as easily as when I was younger.
FOSTER: Well, you have a lot of people paying attention, too. That’s the beauty. Wow, you’re nominated for an Oscar; that’s amazing! But with that comes all the scrutiny and the pressure from yourself, thinking, “Did I deserve this?”
RONAN: That’s the worst thing for me. I’m a huge worrier as well. The thing that I would worry about after being nominated again is, “How do I keep that up?” Not in relation to awards, but keeping up performances.
FOSTER: Well, the good news about getting older, as well, is that when you’re young, everybody keeps telling you that you can do anything and be anything, so there’s all this pressure: “Oh, I guess I could sing and have an album. I could be in the Olympics. I could do a romantic comedy. I could be the queen of the red carpet.” And then, as you get older, you realize, “I’m not very good at sports. I’m not going to be in the Olympics.” You start checking things off and understanding who you are and who you’re not. Somehow that’s very comforting. You realize you don’t have to compete in areas that are of no interest to you.
To move away is very different from just working away from home. It was something that I needed and I wanted to do. I wanted to leave Ireland and have anonymity while I was young so I could be stupid and relaxed, I suppose. Saoirse Ronan
RONAN: Did you feel competitive when you were younger?
FOSTER: I wasn’t competitive. My mom was, and I would have to tell her to get it away from me. Like an athlete’s manager, she would try to bring it in to the equation. And I was very careful about saying I didn’t want to hear it. I’m sure there are people in your age bracket constantly comparing your career to theirs. And if you’re like me or like anybody who’s slightly insecure, you’re thinking, “Wait a minute, should I have done that? Or should I have done this?” There are so many choices, and the choices feel like life or death choices. When I was probably your age, it was the time of the Brat Pack, all those John Hughes movies. They were great movies. But I didn’t want to do that stuff. I was in college, and all those kids were friends with each other. They were all in Los Angeles. I knew them. And they were great, and great fun. But it was like, “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you in The Breakfast Club? Why aren’t you in all the John Hughes movies?” It was kind of hard. Because I guess I was worried that I wasn’t at the right place at the right time, and yet every instinct I had told me that it wasn’t the place I should be. You learn as you get older to tune those voices out and to know yourself better, to know that if it feels right and instinctive to you, and then you’re in the right place. Is there anybody who has given you great advice?
RONAN: Well, everything that you’re saying has been pretty great, I have to say. My mom has always been so wonderful and she’s always said to me exactly what you said: to always trust your instincts. And whether it’s about a script or whether to live in this city or live in that city, if you’re questioning it, maybe it’s not quite right for you. Even the way I work is very instinctive. It’s always been based off of instinct. Anytime it feels like it’s not, then it feels wrong to me. And after I did Atonement, I was playing a character and trying to figure out how to make it work. I told my mom that I was still very sad from Atonement and not being a part of that experience anymore. I said to her, “I don’t really have that much to say.” And she said, “You know, you don’t have to tell a story through words, you can always tell a story with just your face and your eyes.” I think it was from that moment that my eyes became a huge part of how I would communicate on-screen. So the best life advice and the best professional advice have been from one woman. [laughs]
FOSTER: Me, too. It really was a sentimental education, you know? I made movies with somebody. And the guidance came from love; it came from love and genuine interest in, not just my success, but in my well-being, long-term.
RONAN: And doesn’t that give you such a great perspective as well?
FOSTER: Yeah, it really does. There were things that she was wrong about, that we disagreed about—and that was a difficult and wonderful time, when I realized that my mom was wrong about things. But I guess the overriding thing is that she always felt like there was an ethical component to all of the choices that we make. The choices we make in our career, in business, in the character are to be as good a person as you can. And that translates to how you treat people, how you treat the actors and the technicians you work with, how you collaborate with people, and how you encourage and inspire other people to be creative. Or how you are a gentleman in business life. When you shake someone’s hand and say, “I will do this,” or “Yes, I will be there at eight o’clock in the morning.” Then you show up. That whole, like, “You are the person you are at work”; that’s a reflection of who you are. I feel like that really came from my mom. And it’s been a real guiding light for me.
RONAN: Thank God for our mothers.
FOSTER: [laughs] Yeah. And with my kids, I hope that somehow I can be a part of their process in their life. My son now is 17, and he’s very busy telling me that I don’t know what I’m talking about and trying to become independent. He’s looking at colleges, and he’s driving cars, and he’s got a girlfriend. And I’m really enjoying it. I’m enjoying watching someone crave independence. But I’m always watching him sadly. Every once in a while, he’s got to fail. I told him a million times to put his car keys in the dish, and if he doesn’t do it, he’s going to lose the car keys. And if he has to be somewhere, he’s going to say, “Where are my keys?” So part of allowing him to be independent and find his own way is also watching him fail. Which is hard for me. Of course, all I want to do is chop the wood for him, and say, “Here, this is how you make a fire!” I’m sure you run into this question all the time, because people ask me this all the time. There is a body of child actors who ended up being not very well-adjusted, who find themselves in jail or not doing very well in their lives. And people say, “Well, what do you think of that?” I say, “There are many child actors that you’ll never hear of because they’re now real estate brokers or business managers.” But it is true, I guess, that the sidewalks are littered with young kids who weren’t able to find their way. And I really do feel like some of that is—and tell me your opinion—but some of that is who you are, who you’re born to be. And the other half is, I feel, mom.
RONAN: Totally. We put so much focus on child actors and younger celebrities. But there are so many people I know who, because of their relationship with their parents—especially a guy with his mother—it will either make or break you. Your mother especially. There is something about actually coming from her, having that chemical connection to this woman. It really does shape you. I’m sure you’ve heard of Frank McCourt, who wrote Angela’s Ashes.
FOSTER: Of course.
RONAN: Malachy was his younger brother. I heard a story that when Malachy was about 6 years old, Angela came in to the house and he said, “I love you, Mommy.” She looked at him and said, “What did you just say to me?” He said, “I love you, Mommy.” Angela’s friend came in, and Angela turned to her friend and said, “You’ll never guess what he just started saying to me. He just told me he loves me. Fucking idiot.” And from that point on, Malachy couldn’t tell anyone that he loved them. She probably didn’t even think about it. And that would have happened to a lot of kids around that time, to be told that he was silly or stupid, or to feel degraded for expressing himself so that he never did that again. That struck me. Some people don’t realize the huge responsibility you take on when you’re a parent. I say that just from being so close to my mom. She’s the one who has kept me sane. And she continues to do that. She’s always the one I go to when I feel lost or I feel as though I’m about to fall apart, or I’m excited about something, and I want to share it with someone. She’s just everything. And not only because she’s a wonderful person, but your parent is your first leader. Essentially, they’re your first director. They’re the first person you turn to, to know which is right and which is wrong.
FOSTER: That’s right. I always equate parenting to directing. You’re doing two things: You’re telling your child or the person that you’re working with that they can do anything—you’re saying, “Go, go, go.” You’re a cheerleader. But the other half of it is, “You need to be on the train at 8:29. The train leaves the station at 8:29, and I need you to get to Penn Station at 8:22.” The children need love and freedom, and they need to know that whatever they do is okay, that you’ll love them, and you won’t humiliate them or make them feel small or anything for something that they try. But they also need to know that there’s some major structure and that somebody is in charge who is going to look over them and make sure that they fall under the lines of telling the right story. That they’re not just flailing on their own.
RONAN: I know, because that’s what creative people do. Whether you’re an actor or a writer or a director or an artist or a singer, if you’re passionate about what you do, it can kind of be endless when you’re in the right environment. And it’s up to the director to manage that and help it to flourish. It’s great to hear you saying that. I’ve never directed—I’d love to—but I like having rules to follow, whether in my personal life or in work. I think that, within that, there’s so much freedom, because you know where you need to go, you know where you need to end up. And you can map it out in the middle. And it’s great when a director, like a parent, makes you feel safe and loved. Because at the end of the day, an actor is an insecure being and needs someone to go, “You’re doing great.”
For more from the Queens of Cool, click here.
Awkwafina Plans Her Own Funeral
Catherine Cohen and Alan Cumming Talk Boys, Balls, and World Domination
That Time Nicole Kidman Set Absinthe on Fire
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Markets International Markets
An Introduction To The PIIGS
By Michael Schmidt
PIIGS is an acronym, similar to others like BRICS and EAGLES, that defines a certain group of countries that have some commonality in location and economic environments. In this case, PIGS includes Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. While not originally included in the group, Ireland has found its way into the mix, which is why the term PIIGS is more commonly used now.
TUTORIALS: Macroeconomics
All of these countries are part of the eurozone and have been grouped together with the unflattering acronym of a barnyard animal known for its proclivity to mud, dirt and not-so- pleasant smells. The term itself is not an official title, nor does it separately delineate these countries from the European Union (EU). The term became a convenient way for currency traders and global investors to group these countries together. It has lived on as a club, of sorts, that no country would want to join and each participant would like to quit.
While primarily concerned with resolving their economic struggles, the members of the PIIGS resent the negative connotations and some have renounced the use of the term altogether. Though each member has become a staple of the media's attention, many professional organizations have made efforts to reduce or eliminate the term itself due to its negative connotations. Their efforts are commendable; however, there is no mistaking that these countries have a history of facing economic difficulties, high unemployment and political instability. While some of their individual GDP growth rates are surprisingly impressive, most of it was financed, leaving these countries with heavy debt burdens. Consider the following information about each component of the PIIGS.
Located on the tip of Spain in Southern Europe, this country ranks as the 14th largest economy in the European Union. Hosting over 10 million people, Portugal exports over 75% of its agriculture-based products, including grain, cattle, cork wheat and olive oil. While it's one of the smallest economies included in the original PIGS, Portugal's economic woes include the same issues of slow economic growth, high unemployment and a high debt to GDP rating that affect its Mediterranean cousins.
The boot-shaped county in the south of Europe has had the misfortune of being included in this group, and is sometimes interchangeable with Ireland, depending on who is using the term. Because of Italy's rich history, famous food and romantic nature, it is one of the most visited countries in the world. About two-thirds of the 60 million residents work in the service sector, which may explain part of its high unemployment. Tourism, a driving force in this country, has been negatively affected since the world economy stumbled in 2008. Italy's economy is considered above average in development, driven by an educated, efficient, hard working labor force. Italy boasts a very high standard of living, but it has financed these standards by being one of Europe's biggest offenders of taking on debt. The country has reached an above average GDP per capita, with a national debt in excess of 100% of GDP.
Also called the Emerald Isle, Ireland is a famous tourist destination due to its rich history, unique climate and terrain. Ireland has a population of around 4.5 million, and a small economy, which places it close to Portugal in its ranking in the European Union. Ireland was dubbed the Celtic Tiger, as it was once considered an economic anchor with Asian-like growth characteristics. Ireland participated in the economic boom throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but suffered from the same symptoms that affected many other countries, such as a housing bubble. Ireland fell as fast as it grew, and was the first eurozone country to fall rapidly into recession in 2008. In order to avoid collapse, Ireland required massive injections to its banks and significant government oversight and rebuilding efforts. While it emerged from the recession with the rest of the world, the scars are deep, leaving the country with heavy debt and very high unemployment. (For more, read The Story Behind The Irish Meltdown.)
The southernmost member of the EU hosts nearly 20 million tourists a year, which is almost twice the size of its actual population. Due to its rich history, romantic stories and famous beaches, it is no wonder this is a favorite destination for travelers. Greece joined the EU in 2001, and its government began building a mountain of debt that surpassed its GDP prior to the other EU countries. Greece also suffers from slow economic growth and high unemployment, but it differs in its economic structure compared to other European nations; Greece has a very large public sector workforce accounting for about half its GDP. This in itself has limited Greece, to a certain extent, in its economic recovery, as the public sector is notorious for moving and reacting slowly. Since the end of 2009 and up to 2011, Greece has been the most public, and most troubled, member of the PIIGS, seeing its fair share of corruption and political unrest.
Spain is the fifth largest economy in the EU, and, despite its place in the PIIGS, it's the 12th largest in the world as of 2010. Famous for its historical sites and diverse climates and locations, Spain also relies heavily on tourism to drive its economy. With over 45 million residents and a large land mass, Spain is an important part of the EU, but it has seen some of the worst economic damage. Part of the reason Spain was placed in this group was its dramatic economic downfall that started in the late 2000s. Spain boasted 15 years of above average GDP growth and began to stumble in 2007 as a result of a similar property bubble that occurred in Ireland, high unemployment and a large trade deficit. With such a successful run in growth and comparatively strong banking system, it was hard to imagine Spain falling so hard and staying down so long; however, prolonged growth without assessing fundamental issues such as debt management and employment, brought this country onto the brink of crisis.
Unemployment and Debt
Source: European Commission Q2 2011
While the origin of the term PIIGS grew from the currency trading and investment community, it caught on with the public. The members are quite vocal against the use of the term, finding it to have negative connotations that do not exactly inspire confidence.
As much as the members of PIIGS criticize the term, this acronym has just become too well used and convenient and will most likely stick with them for some time. While it seems the entire EU and the rest of the world is suffering from some of these same symptoms, these five countries seem to always be on the top of the list when it comes to high debt levels compared to GDP, stagnate economic growth, unstable and sometimes corrupt governments, high unemployment and a general lack of catalysts for change, besides government or EU intervention. Each of these countries has had some previous experience with growth and economic success, but since joining the highly touted EU, they have used their collective borrowing strength to promote growth using debt instead of organically expanding their economies.
While it is hard to imagine and impossible to turn back time, it's a wonder how the PIIGS might have fared had they gone it alone or left their currency floating and let the markets decide their fate. Unfortunately for these countries, the damage, whether caused collectively or independently, is deep and has left long lasting scars. The debt they collected to grow their economies has reached a point where it will most likely be excused, restructured or somehow revised in order for them to move forward. While the media tends to dramatize the issues of each of the PIIGS, their state of affairs could be much worse.
All of these countries have had both good times and bad, and will eventually right themselves, as are cycles that change. There is hope for the PIIGS and they may one day be on top of the economic world. (For more, read
Top 20 Economies in the World
Top 10 Countries That Save the Most
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Government Spending & Debt
How Debt Limits A Country's Options
The British Pound: What Every Forex Trader Needs To Know
The National Debt Explained
PIIGS is an acronym for five of the most economically weak eurozone nations during the European debt crisis: Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
The European Union (EU) is a group of countries that acts as one economic unit in the world economy. Its official currency is the euro.
Learn About the European Sovereign Debt Crisis
The European debt crisis refers to the struggle faced by Eurozone countries in paying off debts they had accumulated over decades. It began in 2008 and peaked between 2010 and 2012.
European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
The European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) combined the European Union member states into a comprehensive economic system.
Austerity Definition
Austerity is defined as a state of reduced spending and increased frugality.
Brexit Definition
Brexit refers to Britain's leaving the European Union, which is slated to happen in October this year.
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Tag: Baiyang Waterfall
Taroko Gorge National Park: The Jewel of Taiwan
Baiyang Waterfall, Hualien Tour, Shakadang Trail, Swallow Grotto, Taroko Gorge, Taroko Gorge Day Tour, Taroko Gorge from Hualien, Taroko Gorge National Park, Taroko Gorge Taiwan, Taroko Gorge Tour, Taroko National Park, Taroko Tour, Truku Tribe
It's easy to pass by the small island of Taiwan on a map of the world. When most westerners think of Taiwan, they rarely, if ever, think “tropical island” and all too often think of the “made in” tags on their computers and electronics. What many people don’t realize is that Taiwan is actually one of the most stunning islands on earth that nobody is talking about.
It’s easy to pass by the small island of Taiwan on a map of the world. When most westerners think of Taiwan, they rarely, if ever, think “tropical island” and all too often think of the “made in” tags on their computers and electronics. What many people don’t realize is that Taiwan is actually one of the most stunning islands on earth that nobody is talking about.
Ilha Formosa, the name written in the logs of a passing Portuguese merchant ship in 1544 simply means, “beautiful island”. An appropriate name for a green gem nestled in the Pacific Ocean, hugging the Tropic of Cancer and covered with verdant green tropical and subtropical forests, towering mountains, sandy beaches, sparkling blue rivers and more waterfalls than one could even imagine.
Yet amidst all this abounding natural beauty, one place stands out above all others. Taroko Gore National Park.
Ancient History of Taroko Gorge
With a geologic story that begins 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous Period, the towering stone canyons of Taroko Gorge are awe inspiring in their height and grandeur. Though often referred to as the largest marble canyon in the world and nicknamed “The Marble Gorge” because of the large quantities of the stone in it, the rock is actually a unique combination of marble, granite and quartz micas, giving it a wide range of colors and textures.
From the narrow canyon of Swallow Grotto, where the Liwu River has carved an almost gravity defying slot through the Earth, to the towering waterfalls of Baiyang, known to the Truku tribe as da-ou-la-ss, “waterfall of the cliffs”, the rich geologic diversity of Taroko Gorge make it one of the more surprising National Parks in Taiwan, that never ceases to amaze.
BOOK YOUR TAROKO GORGE TOUR TODAY
Flora and Fauna of Taroko National Park
Formosan Macaque
It has often been said that there are only two primates indigenous to Taiwan, humans… and the Formosan Macaque.
One needs only spend a day in the wilds of the Taroko National Park to get a glimpse of both of them! Drawn to the fruits of the abundant fig trees in Taroko and other fruit bearing plant species, the Formosan Macaque (also called the Formosan Rock Monkey), thrives in Taroko and are a unique species to Taiwan. But they are certainly not alone…
Sambar deer, countless lizard and spider species, 144 bird species, more than 250 kinds of butterfly, rivers teeming with fish, freshwater shrimp, crab, numerous species of frog and so much more fill the jungles and forests of the Gorge. Taking a walk through the forests of Taroko, it becomes pretty obvious at once that you are not alone!
More Amazing Places & Less Crowds.
That’s the Island Life Way!
The Truku Tribe (Taroko Tribe)
Taroko Gorge takes its name from the Truku tribe, one of the 16 tribes of Taiwan and a splinter group of the Atayals.
The Truku settled in the gorge between 1680 and 1740 having come from the Nantou area near Sun Moon Lake. Prompted to relocate, likely due to the scarcity of hunting grounds in the west, the Truku crossed the Central Mountain Range and settled in the mountainous areas of Hualien. Isolated from their Atayal brethren in the west for 250 years, they soon developed customs and dialects of their own. A fierce but unified tribe, they lived communally by sharing the land, livestock and harvest equally.
The remains of 79 old Taroko villages have been found within Taroko Gorge National Park, and learning about their history can be one of the most fascinating aspects of a Taroko Gorge Tour. The Zhuilu Old Trail offers a unique experience walking on a former Truku hunting path, carved 700 meters up into the cliff side!
CHECK OUT THE ZHUILU OLD TRAIL!
Taroko Gorge National Park Recent History
Shakadang Trail walking into the Mysterious Valley
Originally founded in 1937 as the Tsugitaka-Taroko NP by the ruling Governor General of Taiwan under the Empire of Japan, the park was abolished after Japans defeat at the conclusion of World War II in 1945. Reestablished in 1986, through huge infrastructure investments by the government, Taroko Gorge National Park has become one of the premier attractions in all of Taiwan.
Taroko Gorge Tours vs. Public Bus
Taking a Taroko Gorge tour is a must while in Taiwan. Though there is a public bus that travels through parts of the park, with such a wide range of sites and trails, one would have difficulty seeing much of the parks diversity while restrained to the hourly (at best) bus schedule. Also, there are large parts of the park busses can’t reach including the Changuang Temple, the Bell Tower Trail and the Yue Suspension Bridge. In addition, with such a rich history and a number of hidden gems nestled about, taking a small group tour can add many layers to experiencing all the park has to offer.
DISCOVER TAROKO GORGE WITH ISLAND LIFE
For additional information check this nice article about Taroko Gorge National Park.
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Jax Daily Record Monday, Mar. 12, 201806:30 AM EST
Opioid crisis: City suing drugmakers
New York-based law firm Scott+Scott retained as co-counsel in an effort to recover damages.
The City of Jacksonville has joined the national effort to hold drug manufacturers accountable, and financially liable, for the explosion of opioid abuse and overdoses.
In a 144-page complaint filed Feb. 27 in the 4th Judicial Circuit Court, the city names as defendants 16 drug manufacturers, four pharmaceutical distribution and sales companies, and as individuals, five former executives of the companies.
The city has engaged as outside specialized counsel the services of Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, a New York City-based law firm that is representing numerous other municipalities nationwide in similar actions, as co-counsel.
Scott+Scott will receive 15 percent of the net recovery if the case is settled before trial; 20 percent if the case proceeds through trial and appeal.
The costs and expenses of litigation will be deducted prior to the calculation of the fee. The city will not be responsible for payment of any attorneys’ fees, expenses or costs of litigation associated with Scott+Scott’s services unless a recovery is achieved during the course of litigation.
The city Office of General Counsel will supervise all litigation and direct Scott+Scott in the discharge of its respective duties.
The complaint alleges that opioid manufacturers engaged in a systematic plan to deceive doctors and patients about the addictive nature of their products and the products’ efficacy in the management of chronic pain.
It also alleges that the defendants employed physicians who published misleading articles in medical journals aimed at doctors who treat chronic pain; created false and unsupported literature that appeared to be independent and objective, but was not; and sponsored continuing medical education courses that persuaded doctors who prescribed opioids that the drugs were appropriate for pain relief and posed little or no serious threat of addiction.
Misuse and abuse of opioids is a national issue and data indicates it also is having a growing local impact.
According to the Medical Examiners Commission of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in 2016, 489 people died of overdose in Jacksonville after using prescription opioids, compared to 81 who died from overdose after using heroin.
There also is an escalating economic impact related to opioid overdose intervention.
According to data compiled by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, personnel responded to 2,114 overdose calls in 2015, to 3,411 in 2016 and 3,686 in 2017.
The number of patients who are taken to the hospital for treatment of overdose and the costs of transporting overdose patients also are escalating.
In 2015, JFRD transported 1,903 overdose patients at a cost of $1.9 million. In 2016, 3,156 patients were transported at a cost of $3.1 million; and last year, 3,505 overdose patients were transported at a cost of $3.6 million.
In addition, JFRD administered nearly $96,000 worth of naloxone — the antidote for opioid overdose — last year, representing more than 7 percent of the department’s medical supplies budget.
The complaint contends the city has incurred, and continues to incur, costs related to opioid addiction; escalated overdose rates; criminal justice and victimization costs; social costs; lost productivity costs; loss of quality of life; increase in blighted areas; costs incurred to protect abused; abandoned, neglected and at-risk children; as well as escalating costs from increased foster care.
The complaint also alleges that the city has been directly damaged through its payment for inappropriate chronic opioid therapy and ensuing payments for addiction-related treatment for its employees, retirees and their families by partially funding a medical insurance plan and the city workers’ compensation program.
Jacksonville attorney W.C. Gentry, who was a member of the Florida legal team that secured a settlement for the state when it sued tobacco companies, said the cases are similar in terms of the allegations and the complaint filed by the city.
“This is a huge public health crisis that parallels the tobacco litigation,” he said.
Gentry said the likely next step will be for each of the 25 defendants to file motions to dismiss. Hearings before a judge will have to be heard on each motion.
“I expect that each preliminary motion hearing will take days,” he said, based on the volume of evidence.
Gentry also said the defendants are likely to attempt to have the case removed to federal court, since the manufacturers are headquartered outside the state. That might not happen, he said, because two of the individual defendants are residents of Florida.
“If they can stay in circuit court, it would put Jacksonville in a strong position to move the case quickly,” he said.
Property Appraiser Jerry Holland offers Gate River Run contest
Project Moon, Cart seek city incentives; would add total of 90 jobs
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Fresh Air with Terry Gross
BBC's 'Dynasties' Captures The Complicated Social Lives Of 5 Different Species
By Dave Davies • Feb 14, 2019
Originally published on February 21, 2019 9:27 am
Copyright 2019 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. There's a lot of great dramatic television these days. And our subject today is a series where none of the stars are professional actors. In fact, none of them are human.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHIMPANZEE SCREECHING)
GROSS: "Dynasties" is a new five-part BBC series focusing on groups of animals from five different species, each with rich and complex social lives. There's an hour each on lions, chimpanzees, tigers, painted wolves and emperor penguins. Naturalists and camera crews followed each group for up to two years, long enough so that the episodes reveal the social relationships among the animals, their kinship and affection, as well as their rivalries and power struggles. Real plotlines develop and drama unfolds. The series is narrated by David Attenborough.
Our guest is the executive producer, Michael Gunton. He has advanced degrees in zoology and animal biology and is creative director of the factual and natural history unit of the BBC, where he spent most of his career. "Dynasties" premiered January 19. It's airing on BBC America, AMC, IFC and Sundance TV and will soon be available on demand. Gunton spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies.
DAVE DAVIES, BYLINE: Well, Michael Gunton, welcome to FRESH AIR. You know, there've been lots of terrific TV films and series about animals over the years, many you've participated in with David Attenborough. But this one was different. You're putting a ton of cameras and equipment and personnel, committing them to a family for two years. And it is remarkable. You had to pick the right families - in effect, cast the series for...
MICHAEL GUNTON: Yeah. I mean, I've used that expression. And it does sound strange in terms of documentary. But, actually, that is exactly what we had to do because the only way I felt this would work is if you could be sure - as it were, sure as you possibly can be. You can never be sure in nature - that one, the animals were box office animals, that they had real charisma and people would want to watch them; two, that we could get access to them and that they had scientific backing, scientists studying them so that we knew the stories we were telling were true; but most importantly that we needed to be pretty sure that something tumultuous was going to happen in their lives.
It was going to be a real change because, you know, we called this series dinasties (ph) - or dynasties, as you say it - because it is about power struggles within families and about animals trying to either hold onto their rulership or take over. So we wanted to make sure that there was going to be real dramatic action.
DAVIES: So these are - really involves plotlines, in effect, among individuals. I guess the penguins was a little different. But...
GUNTON: Yeah.
DAVIES: Among four of the five, you have these real struggles that develop among individuals in the species. And I thought we'd listen to one clip. This is from the episode called "Chimpanzee," where you follow a group of chimpanzees. And there's an alpha male named David. He's been named by the scientists who've been studying them. He's had that role for three years, which is around the time these things typically change. He's kind of a, you know, a very mature alpha...
GUNTON: Yep.
DAVIES: ...Male. And in this little section, we're going to hear David Attenborough narrates as the chimps are eating termites from a big mound. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DYNASTIES")
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: These chimps have learned to use grass stems as tools to fish out the insects.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHIMPANZEE CALLING)
ATTENBOROUGH: As leader, David gets his pick of the feeding spots. But he is wary, as he must feed alongside old enemies. He has two particularly ambitious rivals. David's toes begin to twitch - a nervous tic he can't conceal. This is Jumkin, who has long sought the top spot, and this Luther...
(SOUNDBITE OF CHIMPANZEES SCREAMING)
ATTENBOROUGH: ...A tempestuous younger male...
(SOUNDBITE OF CHIMPANZEE SCREAMING)
ATTENBOROUGH: ...With an aggressive streak.
ATTENBOROUGH: The troop is together for the first time in months. And jostling for good feeding spots can easily lead to clashes.
ATTENBOROUGH: It's vital that David keeps order and defuses the situation. All eyes are on him.
ATTENBOROUGH: His display shows he is in control.
DAVIES: Oh, it's a rumble.
GUNTON: (Laughter).
DAVIES: That is David Attenborough in the series "Dynasty" (ph). Our guest is the executive producer, Michael Gunton. This is a fascinating story. And when you invested in following these groups, did the crews know what the plotlines of the story would be?
GUNTON: Well, that's the key thing. When I was thinking about how this might work and sort of selling the idea to my bosses, who were actually going to have to pay for it, you know, one of the things I was saying to them is that these will end up feeling quite like drama but they cannot be plotted because these are true observational documentaries. We have the confidences that if we know enough about these animals and enough about the situation that we're pretty certain something is - dramatic is going to happen. And we will just follow that action as it happens. There were certainly times when things weren't happening or things were happening we weren't predicting. And we weren't being able to kind of work out what was going to happen.
But I think that's what has made them so exciting to watch as viewers because they feel they are witnessing something that they really do not know what's going to happen in the same way that we didn't. So for the crews, it's kind of keeping your wits about you all the time, about where's this heading, who's - you know, is that animal going to make its move now for - to challenge or is something else going to happen here? So in shooting it, it's quite an unusual situation because you're kind of having to cover almost everything.
But also, you have to really concentrate on the detail because sometimes, the clue and the things that the audience want to see may be quite a subtle movement, like a little look or little baring of its teeth. So these were long - these were two years, sometimes longer, filming these creatures. And to keep that kind of concentration and that intensity of following them and trying to film them was, you know, was, again, a unique thing we've not done before.
DAVIES: In this particular story, David is eventually attacked by some of his rivals, the alpha male - alpha of the chimpanzees and suffers some pretty nasty injuries, which are really graphically seen in the series. He makes a comeback by building alliances almost like a ward politician. You want to describe what happens here.
GUNTON: Two things happen when David is attacked. So the females coming into breeding season is what finally stimulated these - his rivals to come together and make their move. And what's strange is that one of the females is particularly attractive. So, apparently, whenever she gets into - comes into breeding conditions - breeding season - the males get more interested because she's the - they find her the most attractive. Anyway, she came into season, so that's why his rivals picked their moment to attack him. And they attacked him so severely. They, effectively, left him for dead. And we actually thought he was dead.
But rather like something out of the - kind of cross between "The Revenant" and, you know, something from, like, Clint Eastwood in one of those "Fistful Of Dollar" (ph) movies. He does recover slowly. And he goes off to feed himself up and to build his strength because he knows that if he doesn't get back to the troop soon, one of the usurpers will take over power. So he builds himself and builds himself. And - you know, these terrible injuries. He walks the 10 kilometers - seven or eight miles - to where they are and then makes this enormous gamble, which is that even though he's weak and unable to and would actually in a - if it came to a fight, would not be able to win.
He kind of stands up on his back legs and makes himself look as big as possible and just walks towards his - this major rival to intimidate him as much as he can. And the rival has this - you can see it in his face. This moment he thinks, this shouldn't be happening. I thought we'd killed you. He's coming back towards and he looks around, almost for - the rival looks around for support, doesn't get any. And then just at that moment, just bottles it and says, I can't do it, and runs away. And David, effectively, by not actually having to strike a blow, has regained his position in the - as the alpha.
DAVIES: Yeah. And then this thing happens where he's still an aging leader. He's not as strong as some of these young, tough ones. And he employs a strategy to get help.
GUNTON: Yeah. What normally happens is that males - these alpha males will try and get a kind of a group of other males to support him. Of course, the politics of this is all - there's duplicity going on all over the place. So, you know, he's trying to get friends and allies. But can he really trust them? But what he, in the end, does, which, I think, is - he always had this one particular friend who supported him. But just the two of them together weren't strong enough.
So what he now does is he tries to court the attentions and the favors of the elders of the troop, who are too old now to really challenge him. Once you get to above about 24-ish in chimp - in this particular society, you're too old. And they are past that. So it's worth their while being his friend because if they are his friend, they might get some benefits from being with him. So they might potentially be able to go off and have a little quick, sneaky mating with one of the females, or something like that.
So it's a kind of, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. And together, they create this alliance. So when the younger males later try and do a takeover again, they suddenly realize, no, we can't because he's got all these other guys with him, and they're together. They're far too strong.
DAVIES: Michael Gunton is executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." We'll continue our conversation after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're speaking with Michael Gunton. He's executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties," an intimate look at five animal species. Each episode focuses on the group dynamics of a single group or family in the species over an extended period of time. It premiered January 19 and is airing on BBC America, AMC, IFC and Sundance TV and will be available on demand.
Let's talk about how you shoot this stuff. I mean, a lot of the shots of these animals are really close. What did the crews have to do to get so close and stay so close - 'cause some of these animals really move.
GUNTON: (Laughter) Yes. One of the essential elements of the series is that you feel close to the animals. You want to - we want the audience to feel in their world and kind of experiencing the world and the challenges that those animals are facing. And so how you do that photographically is part of the way we get that to work. We're not actually as close as often as it might appear because there are certain things that operate when you're doing this. If you get - you always have to consider any impact you might have on the behavior. And if you get too close, there comes a point where you do start to influence their behavior. You distract them or they become aware of your presence.
So the skill, I think, of the crews out there - and they're all fantastic natural historians, biologists, in their own right - is just constantly gauging that proximity barrier, if you like. Now, some of this is done on telephoto lenses. But we tried wherever we can to not do that, but to try and get the camera off the tripod and in a more hand-held - the cameras in a more fluid way and using slightly wider-angle lenses, which does demand that you get closer.
So part of it, as I say, is understanding the reaction of the animals. And they are all habituated, to some degree, in the sense that they're observed by scientists or naturalists. And so they are used to human presence. And, you know, the chimpanzee film that we were talking about is - you know, that was an interesting one. When you turn up there after having been away for a while, David, the chimpanzee, the alpha male, will look at the crew and sort of think - maybe just give them a stare or do something, and sort of say, I remember you. Don't forget, I'm the boss. And then turn away and then forget them for the rest of time he's there.
And they - I don't know whether they think we're kind of walking trees, or something like that. But it's a quite interesting relationship that you have with them. You don't want to really have a relationship, but you certainly don't want them to be conscious of your presence.
DAVIES: One of the remarkable shots in the series is of tiger cubs in a den, which was really secluded. They're (laughter) really adorable and amazing. How do you set up a camera to capture that?
GUNTON: Well, filming those baby tiger cubs is a good example of how you have to be very, very careful about disturbance, and how you have to really plan how you get certain shots in a program like this, particularly when you're trying to follow individual life stories. Filming tiger cubs is not something that people have been able to do very often because often, you're just simply not allowed to or unable to actually get close to them.
So what we did was, we were able to use - once we'd located where the den was, we used remote cameras so that the cameraman was able to approach and put a camera on a long, super-extended tripod. And on that tripod was a camera with a number of remote servers on it which allowed him to pan, and tilt, and zoom and change the exposure. And then that was wirelessly connected to a control panel, which he was then able to retreat off to some distance away and then just leave it. Because if you would try to do it in a hide, or a blind, as you guys call it, that would be too disturbing.
So by being a long distance away and just letting the camera on its own, you know, he was able to spend four hours filming those cubs, which, I don't think it would be possible any other way. And that's why you get that extraordinary intimacy. And, you know, it's one of the most beautiful sequences in the whole series, those cubs - and also unique. I mean, people never get that close to them and able to film like that.
DAVIES: And some of these animals really range over large areas. How did you keep track of them?
GUNTON: Well, (laughter), every one of these films had its own logistical challenge in that sense because the chimpanzees there, they don't move very far, but when they do move, they go. And this is a really tough habitat. That forest is 40 degrees centigrade. That's 40 - yeah - 40 degrees centigrade. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's very (laughter) hot and humid and ghastly. And then we were filming the painted wolves, and they range over enormous areas. So that, you're in vehicles. You're using drones to follow them. At one point, we had about five different crews following those two packs.
With the emperor penguins, that's not a case of - they don't move anywhere, but you have to be out there in -40 degrees centigrade, which I think is actually the same as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and even colder with windchill. And that's the most brutal place on planet Earth. So every single one of these things has a particular kind of logistical challenge that you have to adapt your crews and your filmmaking approach, in fact, to accommodate.
DAVIES: You know, it was fascinating - at the end of each of the episodes is a few minutes in which we meet the crew, and they talk about what they do. And in the one on painted wolves, these wild dogs that were - there are two packs that you follow, one of the trackers said he could distinguish them by smell?
GUNTON: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, there is a situation where, (laughter), the vehicle drives over a dropping. One of the painted wolves had had a poo there, and they drove over it. And as they drove over it, it squished it. So it released some smell. And he said, stop, we're following a different pack here. That's the other pack.
And they...
DAVIES: (Laughter).
GUNTON: ...Had some radio tracking devices, and they flipped - they couldn't find the wolves. They flipped the frequency on the radio tracking, and then it went ping, ping, ping, ping. And it was the other pack. And he could tell because the diet of that particular pack, they had switched to hunting baboons. And the smell of baboon remains in there, in the dogs' feces, he could smell. It is kind of weirdly uncanny (laughter), what they can do, actually. It's sort of feels, whew, kind of magical.
DAVIES: Yeah. And in that case, there actually were some electronic tracking devices...
DAVIES: ...Attached to some individuals in the pack...
DAVIES: ...Right? Yeah.
GUNTON: Yeah. So that - we don't apply - attach these devices. The scientific researchers do this to some individuals so they can follow the packs for various parts of their scientific research. With the painted wolves, I don't think - it would - although we - the trackers were amazing. And actually, for long distance tracking, you sometimes can only do it by that kind of traditional tracking skills. But when you're closer, strangely, they're actually sometimes harder to find because they might be sleeping under a thicket or something like that. And that's when the radio tracking devices sometimes can help you zero in on them and find them.
DAVIES: What dangers did the crew face?
GUNTON: We get asked this a lot about the dangers from - and people - I assume they mean from the animals. And the - to us, there's almost no danger from the animals because if there was, we wouldn't be doing our job right - because I think if the animals are aware of you or if you're in a situation where you might be attacked or might put yourself in danger, you have stepped too close, or you have done something that is disturbing the natural course of events. So really, the dangers we face are really driving around, flying around, going in boats or occasionally bumping into people with guns.
DAVIES: Oh, really - people with guns?
GUNTON: Well, on this series, that didn't really happen. But that - you know, on my - in my career, the most scared I've ever been is bumping into roadblocks in some of the more hostile parts of the world and with seeing people who, perhaps, were scared and weren't quite sure what to do and maybe didn't - we didn't have much in common in language. And yeah - that's scary.
DAVIES: Right.
GUNTON: Well, I've never been scared by - well, actually, that's not true. I have been scared by a rhino once. But pretty much, in 35 years, I've never really been scared by an animal.
DAVIES: You know, there are times when the crew are, you know, photographing, you know, animals, which can - which are serious predators - I mean, tigers and lions - and are sometimes, you know, hungry, almost starving. Don't they ever get concerned that the animals look at them and - that's moving.
GUNTON: (Laughter) You obviously have to respect all animals - that they are potentially a risk, a danger to you. Funny enough, actually, predatory animals are often less of a risk than things like rhinos and elephants or buffalo. Hippos - I mean, those are the ones that do more damage to people than predators, generally, partly because you don't think they're going to do any damage. But we always have to be very, very careful of how close we approach. And we are always very conscious of - you know, we're all natural historians. We're all, you know, biologists. We understand. We spend a lot of time in the field. And I think we have good antenna about when things are beginning to turn out wrong.
And to be honest, if somebody got attacked by a predator - one of our film group - I'd be really cross with them because they will have done something wrong. They will have got themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time because if you put yourself in a situation like that, you're already - the animal's aware of you in a way that it shouldn't be aware of you. So I think we are pretty confident. We've - touch wood - we've never had an incident like that in all the 60 years that the natural history unit has been making films. And I think that's because we just kind of know what we're doing and make sure that that situation doesn't happen.
GROSS: We're listening to the interview FRESH AIR's Dave Davies recorded with Michael Gunton, executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." After a break, we'll talk about gender differences in the animals they followed for this series and how painted wolves care for their sick, injured and elderly. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF STEVE TURRE SONG, "IN THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's get back to the interview FRESH AIR's Dave Davies recorded with Michael Gunton, the executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." The series provides a close look at five species of animals: lions, chimpanzees, tigers, painted wolves and emperor penguins. The episodes reveal the complex social relationships of these animals, showing kinship and affection and sometimes deadly power struggles. Each group of animals was followed for years by camera crews and naturalists.
DAVIES: They must get attached to the animals they follow. I mean, they, you know, in some cases, follow these individuals for two years. And there are cases, I mean, where the team could choose to intervene. There was one amazing scene where - in the lion episode where - it's - a young male lion named Red, I think, wanders in to a bunch of hyenas.
DAVIES: Want to describe what happens there?
GUNTON: Young males in all - virtually all animals, ourselves included, often think they're a bit tougher and a bit braver and a bit cleverer than they really are. And one of the young males in this - in Charm's pride - as they do it, this - they're - just before they're beginning to probably leave and go off and live their own lives, he was wandering around and thinking he was a bit of a - you know, bit invincible and ended up caught in a kind of a corral of hyenas and very quickly discovered that he was completely outnumbered.
And the hyenas decided that they were going to take him out, and they just would not leave him. And they - what - of course, if he got one of them in his jaws, he could kill them instantly. But they were very clever. They'd run in. Some of them would run in, and he'd snap at them. And the others would then run in and bite him on his rear. And they were, basically, trying to wound him and weaken him so that they could eventually - well, we don't know if they would've killed him. But it looked like that was what they were trying to do. And he was - and this was going on and on and on. And he was trying to fight them off, and then they would fight. And you could see he was getting weak, tired. And it didn't look like it was going to end happily.
There was a lot of - you know, a huge cacophony of sound, you know, rumpus of all this going, the howling of the hyenas, him roaring, all the rest of it. His half-brother was also out and about and heard this in the distance and looked over and came running over. And when he saw it, he ran in. And as soon as the hyenas saw there was another male lion, they stop it because suddenly, there were two jaws to fight - to bite rather than just one. And the odds were then completely against them. And so that - his half-brother, basically, saved his life.
DAVIES: Right. But I think we as the audience, and, I'm sure, the crew that was filming it, were thinking, oh, my God. We're going to see this...
DAVIES: ...Animal that we've developed this affection for ripped to pieces. Wow.
GUNTON: But the thing about that, you know, if you - people say, you know, talking about intervention, what would you do? I mean, as an observer of a camera crew, one - well, you know, if you walked in there, you'd probably end up being eaten by one or other of them.
DAVIES: Drive a vehicle towards them. No.
GUNTON: Yeah. But then what would they then - would the lion turn on you? Would the hyenas turn on you? Also, you have to take a kind of a judgment call that you're interfering with what is, you know, the rhythms of life, if you like. He had made a mistake. And that was what was going to happen. And I think if you'd intervened in that way, I think you'd - I think it would be a very difficult thing to justify. It's heartbreaking.
But I think you take a view. It's this sort of rule that you judge every situation on its own merits. And there was another situation in the series when - there was a difference - where we took a different view. But in that particular case, I think, you just observe what you're seeing. And let nature take its course.
DAVIES: Well, I want to talk about one case where the film crew did intervene to help some animals. And we have a clip from this series. This is about the emperor penguins. And they're on this huge ice sheet, where hundreds - maybe thousands - have come to breed, right? And...
GUNTON: Thousands, yeah.
DAVIES: And they're - they've given birth to their chicks. And they're holding them in these warm little pouches in kind of - just off the ice at the base of their legs. But a storm has come up. And about 50 or so of these penguins were blown into a gully maybe 50 feet deep. And the sides of the gully are too steep and icy for them to climb out. So they're going to die there. And some of the chicks are starting to die. The film crew observes this. And then a storm comes up. And they have to leave because conditions are just too fierce. And then we pick up the story here - again, David Attenborough narrating.
ATTENBOROUGH: Two days later, the weather allows the team to return to the colony. Already, the gully has claimed more casualties. The team decide to act.
WILL LAWSON: We've given it a lot of thought. We've decided that we are definitely going to dig a shallow ramp that they will hopefully use.
ATTENBOROUGH: It's fairly rare for the film crew to intervene. But they realize that they may be able to save at least some of these birds simply by digging a few steps in the ice.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Oh, man. Will, look.
LAWSON: Oh, my goodness. We were literally just about to leave. But the first birds are definitely making their way out, which is brilliant. So hopefully, they'll just make their way back to the colony. And them and their chicks will have a much better chance of survival because there's no chance that they were going to survive down there at all.
(SOUNDBITE OF PENGUINS CHIRPING)
DAVIES: And that is from the series "Dynasties." Our guest is Michael Gunton, the executive producer of the BBC series - pretty dramatic moment. And there are a few other cases. There was a case of a tiger who wanders too close to a village. And, I guess, in cooperation with conservation authorities, they tranquilize it and bring it back. I guess these were tough calls.
GUNTON: Yes. I - in the case of the tiger, we had no involvement in that at all. We just observed that. That was all done by the authorities. And generally, when there is an intervention like that, as there was, actually, in the lion film where the - one of the lions gets poisoned, again, it's the authorities who make that decision to intervene or not. But with the emperor penguins, it was such an unusual situation because all those kind of things I was mentioning or mentioned before about, you know, changing the dynamic between a predator and prey or between two fighting animals or feeding an animal that's starving, all those kind of things we don't do because one, you - how would you? And secondly, you're probably going to make things worse.
But this was a kind of - almost like a laboratory environment. There were no other animals involved. These animals, these - the penguins were blown into a - were in a prison kind of not of their own making. It was a complete freak of nature. This chasm had opened up. And the only reason why they couldn't get out was because, although the side of the thing was slippery, it was because they have to carry their chicks on their feet, which restricts the movement of their feet. So they just simply couldn't get enough traction on the ice. And so they would - they had a choice - the adults - either abandon their chick when they did have the traction or stay there and, eventually, would perish.
What we actually saw before we had to leave the first time was one female did make it out. And she - what she did was she wouldn't give up. She had a little chick on her feet. And she used her beak as a kind of ice pick to give her this extra traction. And she sort of kind of chipped little bits into the ice and then would pull herself up. And she finally managed to get out. I think that gave us the thought that, actually, they can get out if they just had - could get a tiny little bit more traction.
So the rules of working out there - you're not allowed to touch the animals. You're not allowed to get closer than a certain distance to them, which is pretty distant. But if - they've decided if they could just cut some tiny, little nicks, if you like, little chinks into the one side of the ice, they might - the penguins might discover it. And if they could, that could give them a chance to escape.
And what was strange is almost immediately, they cut these little - I mean, steps is too grand, I think. They were little slices, little chinks. The penguins discovered it and out they went. And one after the other, one - they all got out. And I just think we all felt, how on Earth would you - you know, imagine the conversation if we said, we could've done that. And we just sat there and watched them all perish. So I think in that case - very unusual situation - we made the right decision.
DAVIES: Michael Gunton is executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." We'll take a break here and then talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF BENJI MERRISON AND WILL SLATER'S "EMPEROR PENGUINS EXTENDED")
The behavior here is just fascinating in all these groups. And gender roles are very clearly defined, and it's interesting how they vary among species. You know, in the episode on lions, we see a pride of lions in which a female has this enormous burden of both protecting and feeding her young over long distances and long periods of time. And the reason is that the male lions in the pride have just left. Is that typical? Is that natural behavior?
GUNTON: No, that was very unusual. In fact, that was - when we embarked on that film, we didn't expect that at all to be the story. We thought it would be - typically what happens is eventually, other males will come in and challenge the kind of incumbent males for that that position. And we thought there would be what they call a takeover or an attempted takeover, but just - for - I don't think anybody's really ever seen it, certainly they'd never filmed this before. These - the adult males just up and left. I mean, there's a lot of complex interactions with other prides in the area, which probably explains why they did it.
But what it meant is, as you said, is that suddenly the - this female, Charm, whose job it is normally to provide because the females do most of the hunting and most the providing of the food, she not only had to be the provider, but she had to take the role of the males whose job it is fundamentally to be a protector of the pride. She had to do both jobs. And that, of course, put enormous pressure on her.
And that really is the dynamic of the film is how she managed with that and how each of those challenges made each other - harder thing to do and so why she almost lost the pride. But in the end, because she's an incredible lioness, she managed to keep them together and rebuilt the pride and is now - and it became a powerful one again with resident males who then became the protectors.
DAVIES: Wow. So normally, the males hang out and protect while the females go out and hunt and get all the food.
GUNTON: Broadly, yeah.
DAVIES: The dudes have it - get all the breaks, don't they, in nature?
GUNTON: Well, they're doing - well, I think people would say that in lion society, actually. Male lions have a pretty easy time, except, of course, when they have to do the one thing they're there for, which is to protect, and then it can be pretty brutal.
DAVIES: You know, there are some cases where animals - I think in the lion episode, where one of the young ones is ill and can't travel. And at some point, I mean, the pride will come back to check, but in the end, they can't do much. And the animal has left. And it's interesting that the painted wolves, who travel in packs, seemed just fiercely committed to taking care of each other. Even, like, when one of them was - had a lame leg, they just wouldn't let go.
GUNTON: Absolutely. I mean, I suppose one of our hopes was that when you make a film about an animal like a painted wolf, you know, everybody knows and admires lions, but like a painter wolf, there's a kind of a bit of a misunderstood, a bit of a, you know, in some people's eyes a bit of a villain in nature films.
And it's wrong to kind of, I think, to paint animals as good or bad. You know, they're all trying to make their living. And they're all trying to do the best they can. And the truth of it is, actually, that painted wolves are extraordinary animals. And actually, it's often lions are the baddies - if there was one in those situations. And, you know, that story about that - the way they look after their pack, their co-pack members is remarkable.
They are - they're one of the few animals that will have this kind of social care, if you like, for their fellows. And part of that, I'm sure, is because the pack is more efficient and more effective when numbers are high. They're much better at hunting. So, you know, in biological or evolutionary terms, it's good to keep your numbers up.
But nevertheless, they do have this, you know, uncanny ability to tend to the old and the weak and the sick and the injured. And I think, for that, they should be, you know, we should be admiring them.
DAVIES: Right. And there was also one amazing sequence which we see one of them eaten by a crocodile, pack takes it hard.
GUNTON: You know if you talk to the director, Nick (ph), who spent so much time with those animals, he felt that there were things that were going on in those animals' minds that you absolutely could connect with as a human being in a way that people would describe as being anthropomorphic. And he would absolutely deny it to the bitter end. He said the complexity and the nuance and the emotion that those animals show was, you know, we did our best to show as much of that as we can in the film, but it's - you never can perhaps - you can never completely reflect the realities of that.
They - and that's one of the things, I think, that the series is trying to do is that these are individual animals. And they think, and they plan, and they complex lives. And they need to be respected and kind of considered in that way because that's probably a good way of making sure that we perhaps look after them.
And you start to see them as individuals who are struggling in the same way that we struggle. That gives an empathy with them that may be a powerful way of helping us care about them because if you care about them, you want to look after them, protect them.
DAVIES: A lot of these animals are threatened. And, you know, there are numbers that you cite in the series about how few tigers there are left, for example. And generally, all of these species, they face threats from loss of habitat, which just makes conditions all the tougher.
GUNTON: Yes. I mean, it's competition for habitat, loss of habitat. Yes, you're right. They can actually lose the habitat because it's destroyed, but often, it's because there is literally - humanity wants that land as well as the animals do. And in those situations, animals don't often come out on top. And it's quite a - it's a really important part of - it became a really important part of the series, actually. We didn't set out to tell people a conservation story.
But I guess looking back on it now with hindsight, if you spend this amount of time - is - the amount of time that we did with these creatures - these type of creatures - it was almost inevitable that part of that story would result in them bumping into humanity in a confrontational way and - as it so proved to be. And actually, I think it was - I think it's been a good element to the series to show people that as well as all the pressures these animals face between their rivals within their own families and competitors with other species, they also have this extra challenge, which is that they have - they're bumping into humanity and in conflict with humanity for space, for habitat.
DAVIES: You know, there are a lot of heartbreaking scenes here. I mean, this will bring tears to viewers' eyes, and I think that's partly because, you know, we have so little contact with the natural world. I mean, my daughter weeps if her - one of her cats gets a mouse. And we see a - you know, real competition for food and space and territory and mates. And you know, particularly in the lions series, I mean, you know that there are droughts, and there are predators and all these things.
GUNTON: Yes, although I think - I mean, animals are evolved to live out there. That's the place where they should be, I think. I don't think they'd complain if they could. It's just - I think one of the things that we - you know, you talk about, people will cry. And I - and people did. In the U.K., we've shown the series, and it - and people did find them - the emotional rollercoaster, as they described them as.
But I think what was fascinating was that the audiences were enormous in the U.K. It was the highest-rated species factual program in the U.K. last year. And the audiences came to it because of the - I think they accepted that we had not dodged the realities in showing these films. This was a true representation of what these animals have to face. And so when they saw these - you know, there are traumatic moments 'cause in nature there are - there is - these things happen. They could accept it because - see it in the context of the bigger story.
And ultimately, the - every film is uplifting. It has the kind of uplifting and - not that we engineer that. It's just - I think it reflects the fact that these animals have within them this sort of unquenchable fire to survive and - doesn't matter what Mother Nature and what rivals and competitors throw at them. They will never give up. I think the little extra twist is the impact of humanity just tipping the balance a little bit too far against them. I think that's - and I don't - we don't answer that question, but I think that is something that will be in people's minds.
DAVIES: Michael Gunton is the executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." We'll continue our conversation after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're speaking with Michael Gunton. He is the executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties," an intimate look at five animal species. Each episode focuses on the group dynamics of a single group or family in the species over an extended period of time. It premiered January 19th and is airing on BBC America, AMC, IFC and Sundance TV and will be available on demand.
You know, the crew spent, like, two years with a lot of these animals and really got to know them. It must've - there must've been a terrible separation to leave - I mean, missing your kids.
GUNTON: Absolutely. And each of the directors is absolutely adamant that their animal is the best.
GUNTON: That - so - 'cause they don't quite get to fisticuffs, but you know, there is this kind of pride. But you're right. And I think it's - it was tough for them to be dispassionate when they saw these things, particularly as the films got later and later - you know, further and further through the production, which is why I think when you - when they do end with a triumph of some description at the end, I think it's particularly poignant and particularly rewarding for them.
You know, in the emperor penguin film, Lindsay, who is the cameraman - he says, right. That's the very last thing he says - is that, you know, I've been here a year. I'm desperate to get home. I should say that his - while he was there, his wife had given birth to their first child, and he hadn't seen his child. The child was four months old when he got home. So he was absolutely desperate to get home and see his family and his new baby. But he said, but a part of me doesn't want to go because I - the place and the animals and the story and the - that world just gets to you in a way that is almost inescapable. So it does have - it does absolutely - you know, experiencing this kind of thing does never leave you.
DAVIES: And that's from a guy living in Antarctica.
GUNTON: Well, yeah. I mean, the story there is great because, you know, when we - when I - when we decided to do that film, you have to find a crew who are prepared to leave their home and live in Antarctica for nearly a year. And for about four - no, about eight months of that, they are on their own with seven other scientists. There - basically, there's a station there, an overwintering station, which has some scientists and some people watching the weather and some geophysics and stuff. That's it. That's all that - those are the only people there.
And for two or three months of that time, it's completely pitch black. There's no sun. The only light is from the moon. And it's brutally cold. And you had to find someone to do that. And amazingly, this young guy Lindsay said, I've always wanted to go and film emperor penguins. I'd love to do it. And so he said - he signed up to say I'll do it. And then he got married and then discovered about two months before he was about to leave that his wife was pregnant. And he still went.
DAVIES: Wow. You know, among the individuals of the species in this series, one of the more interesting is a 92-year-old homo sapien named David Attenborough.
GUNTON: (Laughter) Yes.
DAVIES: We see him out in the bush. He delivers this compelling narration. Just tell us about what he brought to this project.
GUNTON: There was only one person who I - could ever be the person to tell the stories in this series. And that was David because for - oh, so many reasons. One, because, I think, it is a - it was a new - it's a new approach. And I think the audience needed to be introduced to the, you know, what are - what we were trying to do with this story and how it was going to work.
And, of course, if he tells you this is a - if he stands there at the beginning and says, let me tell you a story, most people are going to say, OK, I'll listen to this story, because he is the world's great storyteller. But also, I think the way he delivers the stories allowed us to tread the line between the truth and the drama of the truth without stepping into melodrama or something that felt untrue. There's something about the conviction and the passion and the knowledge that he has, absolutely makes you absolutely follow those stories with, you know, an extraordinary intensity.
And for that - part of the reason that - well, one of the outcomes of that is that I thought we had - we needed him to come out on location with us and introduce the series from location and set out in a - what we call a piece to camera. In other words, addressing the audience directly about what we were trying to do with the series. And, you know, that's a challenge. He's 92 years old. I mean, he's an extraordinary fit and healthy man. But I, nevertheless, had that responsibility. And nobody wants to be the person who killed David Attenborough.
GUNTON: So we were pretty careful that he - that didn't happen. But we went to Zimbabwe for about 10 days to shoot. All - we found - we used that as a generic location to introduce the series and each of the episodes. And then we were able to get a - because that's also the location where we filmed the whole story of the painted wolves, we are actually able to get a specific closing to that - to the painted wolves film with him in the absolute signature David Attenborough thing, which is David Attenborough standing next to the animals, delivering his great lines and then turning to the animals. And we were able to do that with the painted wolves. And it was an amazing experience to do it because I've worked with him for 30-odd years and done many of those things. And I wasn't sure I - that would happen again. And to be able to do it one more time was amazing.
DAVIES: Well, Michael Gunton, it's a fascinating series. Thanks so much for spending some time with us.
GUNTON: It's been a pleasure. I hope you all enjoy it.
GROSS: Michael Gunton is the executive producer of the BBC series "Dynasties." It premiered January 19 and is being shown on BBC America, AMC, IFC and Sundance TV and will soon be available on demand. Gunton spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies, who is also WHYY's senior reporter. If you'd like to catch up on FRESH AIR interviews you missed, like our interview about how addictive drugs interact with the brain with Judith Grisel, a neuroscientist and recovering addict, check out our podcast. You'll find lots of FRESH AIR interviews.
(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE DOUGLAS AND NOMAD'S "SUMMIT MUSIC")
GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Mooj Zadie, Thea Chaloner and Seth Kelley. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE DOUGLAS AND NOMAD'S "SUMMIT MUSIC") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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Book Review – “Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon: A Tangled Novel”
by Alex Reif | Jan 17, 2018 2:15 PM Pacific Time
Tags: Disney Books, Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon, Tangled, Tangled: The Series
Kids who love Disney Channel’s Tangled: The Series will be eager to read the new book, Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon: A Tangled Novel. Like the series, this story takes place after the events of the film, Tangled, but before the short Tangled Ever After. It perfectly captures the fun and adventurous spirit of the show, but with a new and original story that you won’t find on TV.
The story starts during the events of Tangled: Before Ever After with Rapunzel meeting Cassandra, who soon becomes her lady in waiting. This prologue helps establish their relationship, as Cas is the daughter of the Captain of the Guard and is capable of becoming a guard herself, feeling held back by her gender and because the found princess took a liking to her. Flash forward six months and this new adventure begins.
When Rapunzel finds an old book in the castle library, she and Cas uncover a long lost poem that is half written in English and half in a long forgotten language. The poem tells of a lost lagoon with a mysterious secret and the girls soon discover that the lagoon is real and located near the rocks that caused Rapunzel’s hair to grow back. The pair strengthen their friendship and satisfy each other’s thirst for adventure as they unite to discover the secrets of the lagoon.
As if this wasn’t enough, the visiting kingdom of Samporia is in Corona for the Moonlight Festival and the book goes missing shortly after their arrival! Cassandra has a short list of possible suspects and when she accuses Rapunzel’s new friend and even Eugene, their relationship starts to be pulled apart. The story features a great message about what it means to be a true friend and when it is and isn’t okay to keep a secret from someone close to you.
Author Leila Howland tells the story by having each chapter alternate between Rapunzel’s and Cassanra’s points of view. She does a fantastic job of speaking in both character’s voices and seems to really understand each one inside and out. Fans of the series will delight in getting to know Cas better, as she really is an intriguing character and a perfect sparring partner for Rapunzel.
Other beloved characters from the film and series are in this book as well, including Eugene Fitzherbert, Pascal, and Maximus, but the focus really is on the friendship between Rapunzel and Cassandra. There’s an overall message of girl power and throughout and I think it will be inspirational to young readers. The book is perfect for readers in 5th-8th grade, although fans older than that are certainly given a lot to love about this story.
This was my second time reading the work of Leila Howland in the past few months and for any older Rapunzel fans, I recommend also checking out her other recent release from Disney’s Hyperion label, Hello, Sunshine. For young Disney fans looking for a good book to read this holiday season, look no further than Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon: A Tangled Novel. It’s full of adventure, friendship, and fun.
Alex Reif
Alex has been blogging about Disney films since 2009 after a lifetime of fandom. He joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and covers films across all of Disney’s brands, including Star Wars, Marvel, and Fox, in addition to books, music, toys, consumer products, and food. You can hear his voice as a member of the Laughing Place Podcast and his face can be seen on Laughing Place’s YouTube channel where he unboxes stuff.
DVD Review – Tangled: The Series – Queen…
TV Review: Disney Channel’s “Tangled:…
DVD Review – Tangled: Before Ever After
“Tangled” Pley Box Review
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David Banner Donates Studio to the Boys and Girls Club in Mississippi
David Banner, the producer and rapper from Mississippi who has long been vocal on a variety of sociopolitical issues, is making concrete strides toward bettering his home state. According to the Charlotte Observer, Banner has donated a recording studio to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Mississippi.
Located in Jackson, his hometown, the studio is in a converted office space that overlooks a bank of basketball courts where Banner often played as a child. It was announced as party of the city’s ninth annual Heal the Hood at Christmas initiative, where he also gave out gifts to more than 350 kids and their families.
Read More: David Banner Donates Studio to the Boys and Girls Club in Mississippi - XXL
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Brazil’s anti-graft crusader struggles in Bolsonaro gov’t
by: PETER PRENGAMAN and MAURICIO SAVARESE, Associated Press
Posted: May 30, 2019 / 12:39 AM PDT / Updated: May 30, 2019 / 01:39 AM PDT
A man wears the Portuguese message: “Be strong Moro,” referring to Brazil’s Justice Minister Sergio Moro,” during a pro-government rally on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Moro recently saw Congress reject President Jair Bolsonaro’s move to put him in charge of the country’s financial regulator and is having trouble passing a sweeping “anti-crime” bill in Congress. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Once a federal judge dreaded by Brazil’s politicians, Justice Minister Sergio Moro is suffering at the hands of some of the very people he used to investigate.
Since Moro joined the far-right administration of President Jair Bolsonaro in January, his authority has been repeatedly eroded by politicians, including his boss, regardless of the justice minister’s still high popularity on the streets.
Moro’s latest loss came Tuesday night when Brazil’s Congress trimmed his powers over a financial oversight body, the Council for Financial Activities Control. The body is an important tool that flags suspicious financial operations in Brazil’s banking system.
In a setback for Bolsonaro, who has struggled in Congress himself, the Senate approved a measure that reversed the president’s recent effort to move the council from the Economy Ministry to Moro’s department as part of an anti-graft drive.
Despite his veto power over Congress’ action, the president has said he won’t use it, because it could create problems for other reshuffles his administration is trying to undertake.
Moro won widespread popularity by leading the “Car Wash” investigation that resulted in dozens of top businessmen and politicians being jailed for corruption. He gave that role up at the end of last year to take the justice post.
His troubles began as soon as he met with Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro shortly after October’s elections. Although Moro’s fans hailed him as a hero for taking the justice job in hopes of enacting the same kind of anti-corruption crusading as a Cabinet minister, detractors argued it amounted to a payoff for sentencing former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a corruption and money laundering case.
Da Silva had led opinion polls on the presidential election until he was jailed, which ultimately made it impossible for him to run.
“Moro has always defended a national policy to fight corruption, since his days as a judge,” said Christianne Machiavelli, a former press officer and confidant of Moro’s at the federal court in the city of Curitiba, where he sat.
“When you take a role in the executive, everything changes because you need to negotiate with the legislative, which isn’t always aligned with the expectations of the government,” she told The Associated Press.
Some of the difficulties Moro faces were imposed by his boss, not by legislators, though.
In February, Moro tried to appoint a well-known sociologist to a minor deputy position in a government council, but he was blocked by Bolsonaro because of her anti-gun positions. News later emerged that several of Moro’s recommendations for appointments to courts had been ignored by the president.
Moro was also embarrassed by Bolsonaro’s recent comments that the judge had accepted the post of justice minister on the promise that he would later be named to the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court. Moro said he was honored but that no such agreement was made.
Moro has also repeatedly declined to respond to reporters’ questions about investigations of suspicious payments to Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, one of the president’s sons.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, have now scuttled the oversight body change, and they previously blocked Moro’s anti-crime bill, crafted to be his main job in government. Speaker Rodrigo Maia made it clear it is not a priority for the year.
Despite the setbacks, Moro remains popular.
On Sunday, when tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to defend Bolsonaro after recent protests against him, many demonstrators also displayed banners defending Moro.In the capital of Brasilia, a giant Superman doll was decorated with the face of the justice minister and people wore shirts reading “In Moro we trust.”
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, believes part of Moro’s problems comes from the fact he splits the stage with Bolsonaro.
Like many observers, Melo thinks the justice minister could be eyeing a presidential run in 2022, which stops him from leaving the job despite the current issues.
“It is clear that Sunday’s protests brought not only pro-gun and anti-establishment Bolsonaro supporters, but also radical admirers of the ‘Car Wash’ operation,” Melo said. “It is hard to say the protests would have as many without Moro as a minister.”
Brazil’s justice minister has kept mostly silent about the setbacks but admitted Tuesday after a lecture in Lisbon that all he could do if is to have “patience.”
“We will find another way to work,” he said.
Associated Press writer Peter Prengaman reported this story in Rio de Janeiro and AP writer Mauricio Savarese reported from Madrid.
Turbulence injures dozens on Air Canada flight to Australia
by AP/CNN / Jul 11, 2019
HONOLULU (AP) — Intense turbulence struck an Air Canada flight to Australia on Thursday and sent unbuckled passengers flying into the ceiling, leaving about 35 people with minor injuries and forcing the plane to land in Hawaii.
The flight from Vancouver to Sydney encountered “un-forecasted and sudden turbulence,” about two hours past Hawaii when the plane diverted to Honolulu, leaving approximately 35 people with minor injuries, Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said in a statement.
Europe sets heat records as much of continent sizzles an hour ago
by The Associated Press / Jun 26, 2019
BERLIN (AP) — Torrid weather gripped large parts of western and central Europe on Wednesday, setting new June temperature records in Germany and the Czech Republic and forcing drivers to slow down on some sections of the famously speedy German autobahns.
Authorities imposed speed limits on some autobahns due to concerns the high heat would cause expressway surfaces to buckle. Some French schools stayed closed as a precaution due to worrying hot weather.
UN expert: Millions face dire poverty from climate change
BERLIN (AP) — A United Nations expert on poverty says hundreds of millions of people around the world face hunger, displacement, disease and death because of climate change.
In a report released Tuesday, the U.N.'s independent expert on extreme poverty and human rights said current measures to cope with global warming fall far short of what's necessary. Philip Alston, an Australian jurist, predicted dire consequences even in a best-case scenario.
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Daily Journal Names King & Spalding Healthcare Partner Torrey McClary a Top Woman Lawyer in California
LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2019 — King & Spalding healthcare partner Torrey McClary has been named one of 2019’s Top Women Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal.
McClary, who is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, focuses her practice on acquisitions, joint ventures and restructurings in the healthcare sector. In profiling her for its Top Women Lawyers list, the Daily Journal noted her representation of the University of California San Diego Health in a joint venture for cancer services with Eisenhower Medical Center as well as her work for Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and Mercy Health System in structuring and negotiating a state-wide affiliation to address Ohio’s critical health needs.
McClary represents academic medical centers, nonprofit hospitals, health systems, biotech companies, technology companies and REITs in a broad range of complex corporate and transactional matters involving healthcare assets and operations. She has structured and negotiated some of the most prominent and complex health system transactions in the United States in recent years.
To view the full profile, click here.
About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with over 1,100 lawyers in 20 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.
Torrey J. McClary
Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers 2019: Torrey McClary
Healthcare Life Sciences and Healthcare Healthcare Transactions and Regulatory Los Angeles
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