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This colorful prefab school was created in only 13 months
When Crossboundaries was tapped to design the Jinlong School, an educational campus with classrooms and dorms in Shenzhen’s newly established Pingshan district, the Beijing-based architecture firm was challenged by a limited budget and a scheduled opening date in only 13 months. To adhere to the tight deadline, the architects enlisted a local Shenzhen-based factory to prefabricate the majority of the school’s construction. Prefabrication not only allowed the architects to meet the brief’s budget and timeline, but also kept on-site construction waste to a minimum as well.
Completed in January 2020, the Jinlong School comprises 36 classrooms, dormitories, sports facilities, a canteen, office space, a theater, a library and other amenities on a compact 16,000-square-meter site. Following a five-month design period, construction took place from November 2018 to August 2010; approximately 75% of the project used prefabricated components. Created to help ease Shenzhen’s public school shortage, the campus is expected to enroll 1,620 students by 2025.
To show that prefab architecture doesn’t have to be boring, the architects created a dynamic facade punctuated with different colors and windows of varying sizes with protruding metal frames. Yellow accent colors were used to define areas of socialization, such as common areas in the dorms, while the color blue indicates circulation spaces such as hallways and stairwells. The dormitories and classrooms were primarily built from prefabricated components and the public spaces, such as the running track at the heart of the campus, were mainly constructed with conventional techniques.
Related: MVRDV designs a sustainable “urban living room” for Shenzhen
The campus design also responds to Shenzhen’s subtropical climate with the public areas mostly open to the outdoors to promote access to natural ventilation and daylight. “We were extremely intrigued to take on this project, to create a human, people-oriented school within all those limitations, and at the same time to still be as creative as possible, in designing a space that provides a solution for a realistic problem that we all have to face in quickly expanding cities in the future,” Hao Dong, Founding Partner of Crossboundaries, said.
+ Crossboundaries
Images by Yang Chaoying
Jinlong School by Crossboundaries
When Crossboundaries was tapped to design the Jinlong School, an educational campus with classrooms and dorms in Shenzhen's newly established Pingshan district, the Beijing-based architecture firm was challenged by a limited budget and a scheduled opening date in only 13 months.
To adhere to the tight deadline, the architects enlisted a local Shenzhen-based factory to prefabricate the majority of the school's construction.
Prefabrication not only allowed the architects to meet the brief's budget and timeline, but also kept on-site construction waste to a minimum as well.
Following a five-month design period, construction took place from November 2018 to August 2010.
Approximately 75% of the project used prefabricated components.
Created to help ease Shenzhen's public school shortage, the campus is expected to enroll 1,620 students by 2025.
To show that prefab architecture doesn't have to be boring, the architects created a dynamic facade punctuated with different colors and windows of varying sizes with protruding metal frames.
Yellow accent colors were used to define areas of socialization, such as common areas in the dorms, while the color blue indicates circulation spaces such as hallways and stairwells.
The dormitories and classrooms were primarily built from prefabricated components and the public spaces, such as the running track at the heart of the campus, were mainly constructed with conventional techniques.
The campus design also responds to Shenzhen's subtropical climate with the public areas mostly open to the outdoors to promote access to natural ventilation and daylight.
"We were extremely intrigued to take on this project, to create a human, people-oriented school within all those limitations, and at the same time to still be as creative as possible, in designing a space that provides a solution for a realistic problem that we all have to face in quickly expanding cities in the future," Hao Dong, Founding Partner of Crossboundaries, said.
Completed in January 2020, the Jinlong School comprises 36 classrooms, dormitories, sports facilities, a canteen, office space, a theater, a library and other amenities on a compact 16,000-square-meter site.
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Home•Wes Chapman – How to Overcome Trauma & Live Superhuman – 002
Suffering unthinkable trauma as a youth, Wes was given a slim chance to live. Doctors said he wouldn’t function in society. After attempting suicide multiple times, Wes made a crucial shift…
He went on to build a life most only dream about, owning a mansion and nine cars, while consulting for the world’s top companies…
But he didn’t stop there. Learn about his latest efforts to help others “put the victim to bed and wake the hero up instead.”
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Moving pictures, #27
June 1, 2016 by iansales 6 Comments
If I’ve been posting overmuch on movies, it’s because the day job has not left me much time of late for reading and thinking about science fiction…
Film Socialisme, Jean-Luc Godard (2010, France). There are some things you like the idea of more than you like the actuality. And, for me, that’s sort of true of Godard’s films. I admire his approach to cinema, his willingness to experiment and push at the boundaries of the medium, I admire what he’s made and what he’s done with his career… but I don’t necessarily like every film he’s made. Film Socialisme is a case in point. It’s a film whose concept I find more appealing than its execution. And yet I’m not so daft not to realise that its intent is likely to result in a film that wouldn’t be especially enjoyable. If that makes sense. It’s sort of like Koyaanisqatsi, which on paper should be dull and uninteresting but is actually a fascinating piece of cinema; Film Socialisme, on the other hand, sounds intriguing on paper, but is actually somewhat dull to watch. Partly, I suspect, that’s from Godard’s choices at presenting his material. The film is split into three “movements”. The first is set aboard a cruise ship, and is presented much like a fly-on-the-wall documentary, with no plot and no discernible characters; and it occasionally it drops into low-resolution video. The second movement is a somewhat absurd family drama at a petrol station, in which a pair of children put their parents on trial. And the third movement is cinematography of several well-known cities around the world. Bits of it work really well. But it feels mostly like an early draft, like someone working out a theory they haven’t quite thought through. I suspect it needs another viewing.
Wuthering Heights*, William Wyler (1939, USA). I may be getting my early nineteenth-century classics confused, but wasn’t there a mad woman confined to an attic and a house on fire and lots of running across the moors in Wuthering Heights? I don’t know; I’ve never read the book. I watched Andrea Arnold’s adaptation of it back in 2013, but I don’t remember much from it. This version from 1939, however, seems to be the one most people know of – hence it’s appearance on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list, no doubt. Merle Oberon is Cathy, the girl from the big house who loves uplifted street urchin Heathcliff, played as an adult by Olivier. (And no, I’ve no idea what “wuthering” means.) There is a particular style of historical movie Hollywood did in the 1930s – I’m thinking of Queen Christina (see here) as well as this one – filmed in stark black-and-white, with only a token nod in the direction of authenticity or fidelity to the source material, and usually positioned as vehicles for their star or stars. Wuthering Heights sits firmly in that tradition. Like other films of its type, it relies heavily on its source material for its emotional content, but restructures and simplifies the plot and characters to meet the needs of the medium, often to the point where the original story is unrecognisable. The result is rarely satisfactory, except perhaps to those who don’t know the source. Not that I did – but I still found this film undeserving of its place on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list.
Le jour se lève*, Marcel Carné (1939, France). It seems I might have a bit of a blindspot when it comes to French cinema of the 1930s and 1940s, because so much of it appears on best of lists and 1001 Movies You Must See lists, and yet I’ve only really liked a small handful. Which, sadly, does not include Le jour se lève… despite its appearance on the latter list. In précis, Le jour se lève sounds like an interesting film: a man shoots another visiting his flat, then barricades himself inside, while the police gather outside the building to arrest him at the break of day. Meanwhile, the man’s story is told in flashbacks, leading up to the motive behind the shooting. It’s cleverly done, and so well-structured you never lose sight of either the framing narrative or the flashback chronology… But when all’s said and done, the story is somewhat banal – yes, he was involved with two women, and the prior lover of one of them is the victim. It’s a film that’s easy to admire for its technical skill, if not for its plot. The characters are not exactly sympathetic, and the jump-about chronology hardly gives the viewer ample reason to sympthasise with them anyway. It’s a film that feels cold, and about which it is easier to feel cold rather than get excited. A borderline case for the 1001 Movies you Must See list.
An Autumn Afternoon*, Yasujiro Ozu (1962, Japan). I am not technically a convert to Ozu… although I watched Tokyo Story a couple of years ago and was not especially taken with it… but then earlier this year I watched Floating Weeds and liked it a lot, and then went on to watch Late Autumn, which I liked even more… And now An Autumn Afternoon, which feels like a satirical retake of Late Autumn, and which I find myself liking a great deal. Which I guess actually does make me a convert to Ozu. Like Late Autumn, An Autumn Afternoon concerns men trying to marry off young women. Five men, friends since middle school, meet regularly. One would like to find a husband for his daughter, another thinks his secretary should get married. They invite an old school teacher to one of their meetings, and then learn that he now runs a noodle-shop in a working-class area. While visiting the noodle-shop, one of the men, Hirayama, the ostensible central character of the film, runs into a petty officer from the ship he commanded during the war. Meanwhile, Hirayama’s son-in-law borrows money to buy a refrigerator… and a set of golf clubs. An Autumn Afternoon is a very “inside” film, a very uchi film. Not only is the outside framed as if it is indoors, with walls to either side mimicking the many shots of corridors which appear in the movie, but the plot itself revolves around people of the outside group who have relationships with those in the inside group, ie, the central cast. It is also a beautifully-shot film, and the framing of much of it reminded me of Douglas Sirk’s work. As too did the slightly mocking and subversive tone it took to to the society it depicted. I liked Floating Weeds and Late Autumn a lot, but I loved An Autumn Afternoon. Highly recommended.
Harold and Maude*, Hal Ashby (1971, USA). This was apparently a critical and commercial failure on its release, although it has subsequently picked up a cult following. I cannot honestly see the appeal. Harold is the son of a wealthy socialite, but he is glum and mordant and stages fake suicides for his mother. She brushes them off as bad jokes. Maude is an old woman Harold meets at a funeral (he is in the habit of attending the funerals of strangers; as is Maude). She’s a bit of a character – she steal cars, she believes in living for the day, she’s pretty much a mad grandma. The two hang out together, Harold falls in love with Maude, they plan to get married. But on her eightieth birthday, shortly before the wedding, she commits suicide as she feels eighty years is long enough. The film pretty much hangs from Maude’s characterisation and she is not, to put it bluntly, an especially believable character. The ease with which she steals cars is, for a start, highly implausible. No one says it’s meant to be, but there are some things in a story you can appropriately slide over, and some things you can’t. Harold’s joke suicides, for example, its easy to accept them, no matter how horrible or improbable (and at least one is physically impossible as presented), but there’s a limit to what’s plausible – and some elements of Maude’s character don’t pass the test. Another US film whose presence on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list is somewhat baffling.
Made in U.S.A., Jean-Luc Godard (1966, France). This was shot back-to-back with 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, which is one of my favourite Godard films. Of course, that’s no reason for this film to be equally good. Which, sadly, is the case. I’ll admit I’ve never understood the obsession some European directors had with US noir films – Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his The American Soldier (and others), Godard and Made in U.S.A. (and others)… Perhaps it was envy of the glamour and romance of the Hollywood system… except – noir? Perhaps it was the stark morality of noir, something European culture had given up centuries before. Perhaps it was… I don’t know, the use of archetypes as characters, the use of stereotypes and cliché as cinematic shorthand… Not that either Fassbinder or Godard could ever have made a straight noir film à l’américaine, as is amply demonstrated by Made in U.S.A. It is allegedly set in Atlantic City, but no effort was made to use locations, or to dress sets, in order to give the impression of a US setting. Anna Karenina travels to the city to meet her boyfriend, learns he is dead, and decides to investigate his death. Karenina then bounces from one group of characters to another, being lectured at by, and lecturing to, these people. She finds a strange man in her hotel room, knocks him out… and he later turns up dead in the flat of a writer. Made in U.S.A. has certainly blown my Godard theory out of the water – well, mostly. I mean, I’ve also recently watched Goodbye to Language and Film Socialisme, and I thought they were interesting, if not entirely successful, experiments, and certainly worth rewatching. Made in U.S.A., despite being a colour film, reminds me more of Masculin féminin and Une femme mariée than it does 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her or Week End. Still, I bought the DVD, so I’ll be able to watch it again, and perhaps I’ll revise my opinion.
Categories: film review, films, moving pictures 2016 | Tags: hal ashby, jean-luc godard, marcel carné, william wyler, yasujiro ozu | Permalink.
6 thoughts on “Moving pictures, #27”
The madwoman in the attic is Jane Eyre, not Wuthering Heights.
Eyre schmere 🙂
Bîp
Wuthering Heights is a strange book that does not translate well to film: it deals with a dysfunctional relationships between two families/neighbours, and then skips twenty or so years in time to repeat the process for the next generation. TV series usually try and get all of the plot in there; films tend to focus on one generation or condense everything into one story.
Wuthering Heights is a completely demented novel by any stretch of the imagination. Adaptations usually approach the text by knocking off the various edges until it starts to resemble a conventional romance but in reality it’s about awful, obsessive, and hysterical people acting in a completely incomprehensible manner. Jane Eyre is fucking YA in comparison.
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Bad Santa 2 in theaters today
By Jana On Camera on November 23, 2016 • ( Leave a comment )
Bad Santa 2 hits theater today after 13 years since the outrageous Bad Santa in 2003. Actors Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, and Brett Kelly reprise their roles as “not nice guys” who use the holidays to their advantage.
This time around, Willie wants to kill himself but, as usual, he fails with Thurman Merman at his side. But he is fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. And we also see a glimpse into what went wrong in Willie’s life when they are introduced to his conniving mom, Sunny Soke, who teams up with them to get down this charity.
Bad Santa 2 was directed by Mark Waters. Actresses Christina Hendricks and award winner Kathy Bates are on the cast.
Here are some parts of the press conference we had last week here in Los Angeles with the director Mark Waters and the actors Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly and Christina Hendricks.
What took so long to make a sequel?
Jana and actor Billy Bob Thornton after the press conference. (Photo credit: Angela María Ortíz S.)
Billy Bob Thornton: There are a few things that go into it. First of all, the studio transitioned a couple of times, changed hands and came back, so we had to wait for all the red tape to be sorted out. We always talked about doing a sequel and the movie was made for a sequel whereas dramas aren’t generally tailored for sequels. One of the mistakes successful comedies make when they do sequels is that they immediately do a sequel of what you just saw. In order to make it different, they go really far with it. They make it broader, generally. With this one, it actually has a more independent feel than the first one did. Part of it is that the rooms in Montreal are pretty small and very cold. But the other thing, when we got the okay to do it, we wanted to take great care. We thought, maybe we’ll never beat the first one and you have die-hard fans and critics who are predisposed to not saying good things about sequels. We wanted to make sure we got close to the first one. We wanted to keep the spirit of the first movie. In essence, make the first movie and make it different too, which I never experienced that with Fargo. It’s like you’re doing a revered movie and now you’re doing a 10-part series of that, so you want to keep that intact and make a good thing out of it. That’s big trick to do. That’s a credit to the writers and Marc. They pulled it off and we took three or four years looking through scripts and several different incarnations before we decided on this one. It’s helped us because you do have that distance and now. Thurman is 21. You get to see a different guy as opposed to the kid again. To me, it’s funny that Willie is still alive and more suicidal. That just automatically makes it funny to me. The movie doesn’t apologize for anything. Yet, the new one is more emotional than the first one. It brings it closer to being an actual Christmas movie because you do see where Willie came from and you kind of understand more why the way he is. Also, you see he has the love for the kid but he can’t admit it but you know he does. And there’s the raunchy stuff. We pushed that a little further. There’s as much cursing as there was in the first one, but it’s more descriptive.
Kathy and Christina, tell us about when you were asked to join the cast of Bad Santa 2. Had you seen the original?
Jana and award winning actress Kathy Bates.
Kathy Bates: I had seen the first one. When they asked me to play Billy Bob’s mother I said, “Where do I sign?” because I’m such a fan. I’d love to play a biker chick. I’ve always wanted a motorcycle. I’ve always wanted tats. I’ve always wanted a mohawk. Roll all these crazy things into one and not to give a you-know-what, so I got to do this with this character.
Christina Hendricks: Same as Kathy. When I heard I could work with this group of people, I was thrilled and excited. I mean the first movie was legendary. I was nervous and excited and they all made me feel very welcomed. I have always wanted to do something you could just throw yourself into with complete abandon and 100 percent be raunchy and silly at the same that. That was it for me.
Mark, how was it stepping into the Bad Santa universe, taking the reins from Terry Zwigoff?
Mark Waters: I was pretty thrilled to slot right in with these three guys already, then bring in these ladies was a thrill. Initially when I met with Brett, I was freaked out that Billy was in the movie “What? You’re just a dude.” They don’t give this guy credit. And Brett Kelly pulled a De Niro and transformed into Thurman Merman for the sweet spectrum status from the movie. It was a real thrill.
Tony, when you jumped back on set, was it like old times for you?
Tony Cox: It was old times for me. I mean working with Billy again and going after him, the way we go after each other. It was just like family. And Brett Kelly, to work with him, it was just like old times.
Jana and actor Brett Kelly. (Photo Credit: Angela María Ortíz S.)
Brett, you were eight years old in the first movie. How did you run lines for that?
Brett Kelly: I had to audition like six or seven times for it. Every time I had to audition, I had to run lines with my dad. So once again, you take this cussing and abuse from your father, it was easy to take it from someone else. When Tony and Billy had our first meetings, within five minutes it was like you’ve never known that we’d been away from each other for 13 years.
Billy, do you think your character is more likable because of Thurman’s character?
Billy: I think people see that Willie was really abused as a kid and he kind of sees himself in Thurman because Thurman never had a chance either. Willie is the kind of guy who wishes he could be close to people but is afraid to because he’s afraid that will go down the … so I think that relationship. Also, the way that Marcus and Willie have a friendship. It’s like, the first movie, he tries to kill him and yet I go sit in a cafe and ask him, “What do you want?” “I got a job.” “Why would I do that? You tried to kill me.” And he says, “It’s for this amount of money and all this kind of thing.” I go, “All right.” They have this weird sort of criminal relationship and there is something sweet about it.
Kathy, you’ve had so many roles of likable characters but this one is just a mean character. Does Sunny have any redeemable qualities?
Kathy: My image for Sunny was that moment when Sigourney Weaver sees the mother in Alien. Suddenly, I realize where the other ones are coming from. No offense to Billy Bob. I see her as somebody that doesn’t trust anybody on the face of the Earth to begin with. I think of someone who has come a very rough background, not unlike the one she inflicts on her son. There’s a moment when her mother instincts are stirred. It’s when they’ve ripped off the mansion together and they’re splitting the booty in the van, and there’s a moment where she feels the warmth where she chewed up the caramel for him when he was a baby. But she’s selfish, a coward. I don’t think she’s an alcoholic. She’s the kind of woman who’ll want to drink you under the table. It was like you want to jump off the high board into the deep end and let it rip. Since it’s a comedy, I didn’t want to get too psychological about her. The main thing was being a fan of the first movie. I just wanted to hang out in the coffee shop and listen to these two guys [pointing to Tony and Billy Bob] talk to each other. I just wanted to stay there with them. I wanted to know going in, that I wasn’t upsetting the chemistry. It’s like seeing wonderful painting and saying, “Okay, this part’s for you and wanting to have the exact color and tone—all of that—so the painting is beautiful.”
Talk about the chemistry between you and Billy Bob. Does that chemistry of mother and son pop out immediately or did you have to create it?
Kathy: Well, we’re kind of from the same neck of the woods… from Tennessee.
Billy: Kathy’s from Memphis and I’m from across the river in Arkansas, so we have not only similar backgrounds, we’ve sort of parallel careers. We didn’t become movies stars because we were Calvin Klein models when we were 20 years old. We both became movie star-types by playing characters. So we have an understanding when you play a character, you can’t play it 70 percent of the way. If you’re playing Pat Boone, you’re playing Pat Boone. You can’t say, “Yeah, can I be more edgy?” You’ve got to play Pat Boone. If you’re going to play Charles Manson, you can’t say, “Well, I don’t want to look bad.” You’re going to look bad. We were taught that by people we revered. The reason we like those people is because they went all the way in. You can’t manufacture chemistry. We had worked together 20 years ago in Primary Colors, but we only had one scene together. It was really good to be around her every day on a regular basis.
Was Kathy Bates fun to be around on set?
Billy: Absolutely. It’s funny because she’s one of the sweetest women in the world and because she plays these kinds of characters and I’ve played these kind of characters, sometimes when people meet us, they say things like, “Oh you’re so nice.”
Kathy: I only have one regret: Because I love Christina (Hendricks), I wish we had some scenes together.
Christina Hendricks: I know. We were across the room from each other in one scene.
Billy: In my mind, they had scenes together.
Bad Santa 2 is now playing!
Categories: Comedy, Interviews
Tagged as: #ThisIsBS, Bad Santa 2, Billy Bob Thornton, Brett Kelly, Christina Hendricks, Kathy Bates, Mark Waters, Tony Cox
Hands of Stone now available on DVD & Blu-ray
DON’T BREATHE: Take Home The Best American Horror Film
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Autoantibodies to a novel cell cycle-regulated protein that accumulates in the nuclear matrix during S phase and is localized in the kinetochores and spindle midzone during mitosis
C.A. Casiano, G. Landberg, R.L. Ochs, E.M. Tan
C.A. Casiano
G. Landberg
R.L. Ochs
E.M. Tan
We have employed human autoantibodies to characterize a novel cell cycle-regulated nuclear protein, provisionally designated p330d (doublet polypeptide of 330 kDa). The expression and intracellular distribution of this protein was followed throughout the cell cycle using immunofluorescence microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy and flow cytometry. p330d was expressed only in proliferating cells and began accumulating in the nucleus during early S phase. The protein reached maximum expression levels during G2/M. In situ extractions with detergent, salt and nucleases failed to abolish the nuclear staining of interphase cells, suggesting a tight binding of p330d to the nuclear matrix during interphase. p330d was concentrated in the kinetochores during prophase but was relocated to the spindle midzone at the onset of anaphase. By late telophase, it was localized predominantly in the intercellular bridge regions flanking the midbody and disappeared gradually as the daughter cells separated. Immunoblotting analysis showed that the autoimmune sera recognized a doublet of 330 kDa, and affinity-purified antibodies from this doublet reproduced the fluorescence staining pattern of the whole serum. We propose that p330d is a novel member of the class of ‘chromosomal passenger’ proteins, which are associated transiently with centromeres during early mitosis and are then redistributed to other sites of the mitotic apparatus after the metaphase/anaphase transition. Possible in vivo functions for p330d and related proteins might include roles in centromere/kinetochore maturation and assembly, chromosome segregation, central spindle stabilization and cytokinesis.
You are going to email the following Autoantibodies to a novel cell cycle-regulated protein that accumulates in the nuclear matrix during S phase and is localized in the kinetochores and spindle midzone during mitosis
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GTA ONLINE – MISERY LOVES COMPANY
Those who read my Team Fortress 2 article might remember that I was less than complementary about the communities of other online games. One that was name-dropped was Grand Theft Auto V, or to give its specific name, GTA Online. I don’t know why they didn’t just put that as the title of the whole game, as the vast majority of players skipped past all that wordy plot-stuff and went straight to the servers, whereupon they could scream abuse at each other on their own instead of having it done for them by the protagonists in cutscenes.
I played a fair bit of GTA Online and came out less than enthused. Let’s not mince words, I usually came out angry enough to bite a hole in my desk. I kept going back, though. I kept trying to find that special something I had apparently missed, that secret ingredient that managed to get it those absurdly high reviews. Did the game spit out chocolates for everybody else? Were they being put into servers with courteous English lords? I don’t understand it. Or rather, I didn’t understand it, until something happened.
I desperately chug whiskey to avoid talking to the person who invited me over. You can’t say that this game isn’t realistic.
Last night I played the game with a couple of friends, and we had a whale of a time. A truly hilarious experience. It started with driving through the streets of Los Santos in an ATV with a turret on top, later moved onto driving a family sedan up a mountain, then we went swimming down river rapids and got smashed to pieces on the rocks, before finally discovering a military base and spending three hours trying to get past all the angry men in tanks, in order to steal a fighter jet each.
That last bit was especially good. The base had a high fence around it, you see, so the only way in was to drive off a cliff on one side and try to jump the fence, like a cross between the A-Team and the Dukes Of Hazzard. And then, of course, it came to giving tanks the old run-around and trying to find a Harrier that hadn’t been blitzed in the previous attempt. Great fun, even when frustration got the better of us and we started shooting each other with flare guns like we were auditioning for the Fantastic Four.
So why was I having such a miserable time before? It might just be down to playing with friends. After all, anything is better when experienced through the filter of camaraderie, but I’m not so sure. I’ve played games with friends before and yes, it’s nearly always fun, but still, some games work better with more than one people. They suit it better, you know what I mean? The Left 4 Dead series is a good example of this. It has a lot of mechanics that depend on having people help you out, such as shoving zombies off you when you’re tackled to the ground, or reviving other players when they’ve been killed.
Yeah, Massimo, it’s a cool car and all, but why do I have to sit in the back?
But this isn’t the same thing as Left 4 Dead, not quite. There wasn’t as much collaboration between us in GTA Online – yes, we were working together to get planes, but we kept turning on each other out of sheer excitement and for the occasional profit. At one point an NPC put a bounty on me when I nicked his car, so one of my colleagues promptly turned around and bashed my head in with the butt of his shotgun. I think we can safely say that this wasn’t one of those “All for one” deals.
But actually, I think the key lies somewhere else, in a manner with which we can all identify. I remember going to a playground with my mates as a child, at least between eye-destroying sessions with my true best friend, Game Boy. It was always great fun, chasing each other up the climbing frames, powering down the slide, seeing how far we could launch off the swings without breaking anything. Good times.
But being at the playground on your own sucks, even as a kid. It becomes repetitive, there’s less adrenaline to the whole thing, and without everybody yelling it’s harder to ignore Father Milton watching from the bushes a little way off.
It’s difficult to explain why this is the case, or at least to that extent. It can’t just be that friends are fun, because whenever we had nothing to do, we’d just lie about grumbling and kicking the wall. And it’s not the playground on its own, because otherwise I wouldn’t be leaving within five minutes and desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the man of God.
It’s like every family car ride I’ve ever been on. Except with slightly less shouting and gunfire.
To me it’s all down to a loose framework with which we can enjoy ourselves. GTA Online struggles when it tries to fill the gaps, it struggles when it tries to take control from us. It’s why the Heists are usually annoyingly linear. I’m not here to play a rail shooter, I want to do whatever I want.
And with the tools in place, the game can allow for quite a lot. That military base might have been designed with the idea of pilfering planes in mind, it might not have. But it would have been a lot more dull if we had to break in a single way, do it the same way each time. The satisfaction was us filling the spaces with our own ideas. The bickering over vehicles, the consideration of different entry points, feeling rather smug when you manage to get a jet before the others do.
When GTA Online puts me on a leash and gives me specific instructions, I feel bored. But when it leaves me in the open world with my imagination and a bunch of friends to torment, that makes me happy, because suddenly the possibilities are limitless. Of course, you can’t get that experience with strangers, which is why it suffers so much when you’re playing solo.
You could almost think of GTA as an unstable mass of chemicals, but it needs a trigger. Something very specific to set it off. And that something is a close friend or two, friends who you feel like indiscriminately killing for a few hours. Forget the heists, forget the rigidly defined missions. I didn’t come to a huge sandbox to pick up an instruction manual. No, I came here to cover my car with C4 and drive straight at my mates, pretending I’m a bob-bomb on steroids. And no elaborate tangle of disjointed missions and planned robberies can make me forget that real pleasure that comes from rolling a grenade to your friend’s feet, and watching the remains of him fall from the sky like chunky rain.
It’s just my way of saying “I love you.”
Explain that again, Phil? You used a flare gun in self-defence? Yeah, whatever. Seems legit.
Editorial, Gaming Culture, Grand Theft Auto
← FALLOUT 4 – LET’S GET SENSIBLE
THERE IS NO GREY AREA TO MORAL CHOICE SYSTEMS →
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The Tears of a Mother – The tragedy of pro-gay Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of LA
Joseph Sciambra2017-03-10T18:29:56+00:00July 11th, 2016|Blog, The Church|
The real-life experiences of a Catholic mother with a “gay” daughter:
When my oldest daughter was a teenager she had her first same sex relationship.
As a Catholic mother, finding out was very upsetting. Several years afterwards seeing an ad in the Assumption Blessed Virgin parish bulletin for a “Catholic ministry” “for parents of gay and lesbians” I had hope that I had found supportive safe place of likeminded Catholic parents.
The meeting was held in the parish meeting rooms of Holy Family parish in South Pasadena, led by a woman psychologist, Dr Elizabeth Taylor; there was no priest present. I was one of the only new parents that night. Quickly away I realized the way the other parents all agreed that the Catholic Church was “wrong” in their opinion. They openly outright condemned the Church as responsible for making their loved ones “feel bad,” “unwelcome” and called for their children’s relationships with their partners to be recognized as marriage- just like sacramental opposite sex marriages and for those in those relationships to be considered full Catholics able to receive all the sacraments. The message was loud and clear – If I really loved my daughter then I had to join with them in accepting and promoting homosexuality as “how” my child was made. And in advocating for lgbt issues and fighting against the discriminatory ideas the Catholic Church used to teach.
Missing from the meeting was any suggestion that our sons or daughters should not be having sexual relations outside of marriage. Or that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can never be encouraged/supported.
The facilitator passed out articles for me to take home; both were very contrary to Catholic teaching on homosexuality.
I was so upset I couldn’t even think of what to say. After the meeting I sat in my car and full of anxiety began to cry.
In Los Angeles, the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons (the official Archdiocesan outreach to the LGBT community) annually sponsors a special “Pride” Mass to coincide with the LA Pride festivities; they openly support such secular initiatives as the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, healthcare benefits for same-sex couples, and the presence of the Gay-Straight Alliance in Catholic schools; on the theological front, they have advocated for the removal of the term “intrinsically disordered” from the Church lexicon, the inclusion of “…positive language regarding LGBT Catholics, especially for same sex couples in long term relationships,” and celebrated an “indelible moment” at the 2016 LA Religious Education Congress when “…at the closing liturgy on Sunday…a gay couple and their son helped present gifts at the altar to Archbishop Jose Gomez;” they stated, this was a sign that: “Progress for LGBT Catholics is slow and happens in incremental pieces, and often includes setbacks.”
Another gay-affirmative ministry in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is headquartered at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Parish in Pasadena; the name of the “Gay & Lesbian Outreach” is “Always Our Children;” which is taken from the title of a controversial 1997 pastoral message from the USCCB. Besides a “Link” to the Archdiocesan “Gay” Ministry, the only other link listed on the group’s parish web-site page is to “Fortunate Families.”
Fortunate Families a pro-gay “Catholic” apostolate for the parents of homosexual children; according to their Mission Statement, Fortunate Families: “serves as a resource and networking ministry with Catholic parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children.” Their website and Newsletter is primarily a collection of “stories” written by parents, usually expressing their great dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality.
Fortunate Families is a strong advocate for the legalization of same-sex marriage:
“Fortunate Families celebrates with our LGBT children the opportunity to share in the same rights as their straight siblings. The Supreme Court decision brings legal stability to our children’s lives and security to our grandchildren. We applaud this decision and continue our work in the Catholic tradition seeking social justice for all our children, and we look forward to the next hurdle, the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” said Deb Word, President of Fortunate Families.
In the February 2016 issue of the Fortunate Families Newsletter “Voices for Justice,” the parents of a “gay” man wrote about attending their son’s wedding:
“Now I know that this was not just another wedding. Not just because everyone there truly wanted to be there fully embracing them. Not just because Douglas and Steve married. This wedding was different because I witnessed not just another wedding, but the sacrament of marriage.”
In the May 2015 issue of the same Newsletter the co-founders of Fortunate Families, Casey and Mary Ellen Lopata, published a “Letter” they wrote to Pope Francis, in which they detail their support for same-sex marriage and their experiences related to an ongoing 20 year friendship with a “married” “gay” male couple; the Lopatas are the godparents for the couple’s two adopted children. They describe the two men and their children as “a model Catholic family.” According to the “Letter,” the “married” “gay” couple is very active in their Catholic parish:
“They are very active in parish life: one or the other (or both) has served as president of the parish council, chair of the liturgy committee and on the diocesan liturgical commission, religious education teacher, lector, Eucharistic minister, cantor and choir member.”
The Lopatas continued, with this message to Pope Francis:
“These two gay men have accepted their God-given sexual orientations and are striving to follow God’s will in their lives. Though our two godchildren are not being raised by their biological parents, their gay parents through their complementary (though not in the reproductive sense) and loving relationship have created a family every bit as authentic and holy—and life-giving—as that of any heterosexual relationship we know of including our own.”
In the same “Letter,” the Lopatas erroneously claim that: “Catholic teaching says sexual orientation is a ‘given,’ and a ‘deep-seated dimension of one’s personality’ whether heterosexual or homosexual [Always Our Children, USCCB, 1997];” This is an outright lie; “Always Our Children” was a “pastoral message” from the Bishops of the United States and had no power to interpret, let alone define, the origins of homosexuality for the Universal Church. Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz once boldly stated: “It is my view that this document carries no weight or authority for Catholics, whom I would advise to ignore or oppose it.”
The same dissident movement at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Parish is also present at Holy Family Catholic Parish, also in Pasadena, which has its own “gay” Ministry: “The Holy Family LGBT Ministry.”
For example, in 2014, at Holy Family Catholic Parish, Catholic dissident Phyllis Zagano, the author of the book “Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future,” spoke on the topic “Women in Ministry in the Catholic Church” during which she argued for the ordination of women as deacons. On the issue of “gay” marriage, she wrote: “As far as civil rights is concerned, I’m on the gay side…” Zagano also repeatedly debated the “born gay” theory in her blog for the National Catholic Reporter and argued that: “…if down the road science undeniably proves homosexuality is a status rooted in genetics — or at least is gestational biology — the church will be faced with a game changer.”
In 2016, on their Facebook site for the LA Religious Education Congress, Holy Family Parish highlighted certain progressive speakers with Karla Stephens, Member of the Education/Formation Commission recommending an address to be given by Arthur Fitzmaurice, Resource Director of the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry. He formerly served as Chair for the Los Angeles Archdiocese Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons. The previous year, Fitzmaurice spoke at the Congress and had this to say about the Church’s stance on homosexuality:
“The paragraph on homosexuality, which describes it as ‘intrinsically disordered’ while also demanding respect for gays and lesbians, is placed in a section of the catechism paragraphs condemning ‘pornography, prostitution, and rape.’ To keep this abusive language in the Catechism and other Church writings is, in itself, gravely evil.”
In a 2013 video interview for The IN [Ignatian News] Network, made in cooperation with St. Monica’s Catholic Gay and Lesbian Outreach in Santa Monica, Arthur Fitzmaurice said: “I tried to be directed towards God…How do I be the person that God made me to be; and then it gets converted into a realization that God made me to be this gay person.”
One of the stated Purposes of The Holy Family Parish’s “LGBT Ministry:”
“Dr. Taylor, facilitator, attends parish counsel meetings at other parishes to encourage them to begin formulating their own gay and lesbian ministries.”
Eva Walker July 13, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Either you follow the dictates of the Catholic Church or find some place else to go, just saying.
How many pro-gay Catholic ministries are in LA? July 13, 2016 at 11:21 pm
[…] following comes from a blog post by Joseph […]
When young I followed the same path as this woman’s daughter but thanks to God’s mercy I am away from that lifestyle and fully immersed in the Catholic Church my only salvation. Words of advice for the mother: Don’t ever condone the lifestyle. As with all “gay” behavior it is a psychological issue most likely stemming from a relationship with either parent. For me it was my relationship with my mother that was poor so I was looking for a feminine love I never really experienced with my mother. I wasted many years of my life working this out in this lifestyle that is nothing but negative.
CATHOLIC HEADLINES 7.14.16 – The Stumbling Block July 15, 2016 at 2:11 am
[…] TEARS OF A MOTHER – THE TRAGEDY OF PRO-GAY CATHOLIC MINISTRIES IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF […]
Tom August 3, 2016 at 12:11 pm
This is the work of Satan as it has been from the fall. There is nothing Godly here.
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Home Car Culture Bonhams panel showcases women with wheels
Bonhams panel showcases women with wheels
Maria Costello in competition on her motorcycle | Bonhams photos
Four women who have made their mark in motorsports will be featured in a special event November 29 being staged by Bonhams at its Bond Street offices in London. Held amid the cars consigned for the annual Bond Street Sale, the free event is designed “to show the diverse range of options open to young women who wish to pursue a carer or hobby in the motoring sector,” Bonhams said.
“We have organized this event to showcase the huge variety of options open to women with an interest in motoring,” noted Poppy McKenzie Smith, Bonhams motoring press officer. “We want to encourage young women to pursue motoring and motorsport as a hobby or a career, and hope that the diverse experiences of Amy, Elspeth, Jamie and Maria will help demystify the roles that women can play in this vast and fascinating industry.”
Featured in the panel discussion and question-and-answer session will be:
Maria Costello
• Jamie Chadwick, first woman and youngest-ever winner of the British GT championship, who recently became the first woman to win the country’s F3 championship.
• Elspeth Beard, the first British woman to ride around the world on a motorcycle, an adventure she shares in her book, Lone Rider.
• Amy Shore, automotive photographer and youngest-ever UK ambassador for the Nikon camera brand.
• Maria Costello, who held the fastest lap record by a woman in the Isle of Man TT course, was the first woman to reach the podium in an Isle of Man motorcycle race, and who has been honored with the Order of the British Empire. She recently was elected the first woman president of the Time Trial Racers Association.
‘Fine Motoring Mascots’ offered by Bonhams in New York auction
Bidding has begun for more than 100 rare vintage mascots, designed to adorn the radiator caps of early and pre-war motorcars, being offered by...
Bond movie Cougar sets record at Bonhams auction
The 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible featured in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sold for a record $483,088 as Bonhams...
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Jay Scherer * , 1 , Judy Davidson * , 1 , Rylan Kafara * , 1 and Jordan Koch * , 2
1 University of Alberta
2 McGill University
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0113
* Scherer, Davidson, and Kafara are with the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Koch is with the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Scherer (jay.scherer@ualberta.ca) is corresponding author.
Therapeutic Policing
Punitive Policing
Cop Wisdom
Blomley, N. (2011). Rights of passage: Sidewalks and the regulation of public flow. New York, NY: Routledge.
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Coulthard, G. (2014). Red skin, white masks: Rejecting the colonial politics of recognition. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Coulthard, G. (2014). Red skin, white masks: Rejecting the colonial politics of recognition. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.10.5749/minnesota/9780816679645.001.0001)| false
Dean, K., & Granzow, A. (2007). Revanchism in the Canadian West: Gentrification and resettlement in a prairie city. Topia, 18, 89–106. doi:
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Ellwand, O. (2014, October 31). Delta Zero: Downtown Edmonton’s crime pocket. The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/delta-zero-downtown-edmontons-crime-pocket
Ellwand, O. (2014, October 31). Delta Zero: Downtown Edmonton’s crime pocket. The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/delta-zero-downtown-edmontons-crime-pocket)| false
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class: And how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. New York, NY: Basic Books.
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Foucault, M. (2007). Questions on geography (C. Gordon, Trans.). In J. Crampton & S. Elden (Eds), Space, knowledge and power: Foucault and geography (pp. 173–184). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.)| false
Goffman, A. (2014). On the run: Fugitive life in an American city. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
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Griwkowsky, F. [fisheyefoto]. (2020). Cops getting into it with homeless on NE side of the arena, the former chastising the latter with foul language, eg. “throwing your fucking shit around,” encouraging them to move on. Lots of cattle fences up front of The Hub cc. Pretty dehumanizing $cene. #overpricedistrict. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/fisheyefoto/status/1289290878763200512
Griwkowsky, F. [fisheyefoto]. (2020). Cops getting into it with homeless on NE side of the arena, the former chastising the latter with foul language, eg. “throwing your fucking shit around,” encouraging them to move on. Lots of cattle fences up front of The Hub cc. Pretty dehumanizing $cene. #overpricedistrict. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/fisheyefoto/status/1289290878763200512)| false
Harvey, D. (2003). The new imperialism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
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Hicks, G. (2016, October 14). Rogers Place helping Edmonton take back the night. The Edmonton Sun. Retrieved from https://edmontonsun.com/2016/10/14/rogers-place-helping-edmonton-take-back-the-night
Hicks, G. (2016, October 14). Rogers Place helping Edmonton take back the night. The Edmonton Sun. Retrieved from https://edmontonsun.com/2016/10/14/rogers-place-helping-edmonton-take-back-the-night)| false
Huncar, A. (2017, June 27). Indigenous women nearly 10 times more likely to be street checked by Edmonton police, new data shows. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/street-checks-edmonton-police-aboriginal-black-carding-1.4178843
Huncar, A. (2017, June 27). Indigenous women nearly 10 times more likely to be street checked by Edmonton police, new data shows. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/street-checks-edmonton-police-aboriginal-black-carding-1.4178843)| false
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Reece, R. (2020). Carceral redlining: White supremacy is a weapon of mass incarceration for Indigenous and Black peoples in Canada. Yellowhead Institute. Retrieved from https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2020/06/25/carceral-redlining-white-supremacy-is-a-weapon-of-mass-incarceration-for-indigenous-and-black-peoples-in-canada/)| false
Scherer, J., Mills, D., & Sloan McCulloch, L. (2019). Power play: Professional hockey and the politics of urban development. Edmonton, Canada: University of Alberta Press.
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Silk, M., & Andrews, D. (2012). The governance of the neoliberal sporting city. In D. Andrews & M. Silk (Eds.), Sport and neoliberalism: Politics, consumption, and culture (pp. 127–142). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Silk, M., & Andrews, D. (2012). The governance of the neoliberal sporting city. In D. Andrews & M. Silk (Eds.), Sport and neoliberalism: Politics, consumption, and culture (pp. 127–142). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.)| false
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Stuart, F. (2016). Down, out, & under arrest: Policing and everyday life in Skid Row. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
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Sylvestre, M.E., Blomley, N., & Bellot, C. (2020). Red zones: Criminal law and the territorial governance of marginalized people. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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Toews, O. (2018). Stolen city: Racial capitalism and the making of Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Canada: Arbeiter Ring Publishing.)| false
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Jay Scherer
Judy Davidson
Rylan Kafara
Jordan Koch
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Delory, Donna
Born in Calabasas, California (USA) on 10 September 1964, Donna Delory is an American singer. She made her professional singing debut at the age of eight singing a Recipe dog food commercial. She moved to Nashville with her father and brother at the age of 16 following the death of her mother from breast cancer in 1980. Her father found a professional home in Nashville's Music Row area as a producer for Capitol Records. Delory made friends with a few songwriters and became inspired by seeing how much effort they put into their work. She started spending a lot of her time on writing songs and recording demos before going back to California after finishing Hillsboro High School to study dancing, singing and acting.
She first came to the public's attention as Madonna's background vocalist. Her boyfriend Gardner Cole wrote the song 'Open your heart' and was asked to record a demo with a female voice - Donna's. Madonna's producer Patrick Leonard liked her voice and used her for subsequent projects. Via him Donna also got to tour with Madonna on all her world tours from 1987 until 2007.
In 1992 Donna released her debut self-titled album on MCA Records. The second album was not released until 2002. In 1994, she left MCA because her growing interest in world music was starting to show in her own music, much to the dismay of her label who wanted her to keep making pop music. She toured France as a backing vocalist and dancer for Mylène Farmer in 1996 and appears on the live CD/DVD Live à Bercy. She formed the band Bliss together with cellist Cameron Stone in 1997, whom she was introduced to at the recommendation of her drummer, and released the album 'Love Never Dies'. However, they decided to rename the album to 'Bliss' and bill it to De Lory's name because there already were too many other bands with 'Bliss' in their name and Donna already had name recognition from her first album and her work with Madonna.
Between 2002 and 2018, Delory released nine albums, the last of which was 'Here In Heaven', which contains a cover version of Never Be Mine.
Donna De Lory. Wikipedia, retrieved 10 June 2019.
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Marcia Neave
Chair of Justice Connect
Marcia brings incredible expertise as a lawyer and judge, as well as a thinker and academic. She has thought deeply about the impact of the law and about the systemic changes need to improve outcomes for the community. Through her work, she has made systematic changes that improve the lives of many.
Crucial to our own work, Marcia is a tireless advocate for women. Her work has impacted the lives of many Australian women, and continues to do so at Justice Connect.
Justice Connect’s Board
We’re governed by an independent volunteer board, who promote and protect the interests and objectives of Justice Connect.
The Justice Connect Board is made up of volunteers. Each board member contributes a wide range of commercial and philanthropic expertise, as well as a commitment to social justice.
Gordon Renouf, Deputy Chair
Nicky Friedman
Tristan Cutcliffe
A shared vision of fairer and better lives has brought together a team that is committed to a more just world.
The key to our impact is the passionate commitment of our people. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, driven by a desire to deliver real improvements in the lives of the people and communities we help.
Chris Povey
“We’re committed at Justice Connect to the idea that the law can help people live better lives, in healthier communities, rather than hinder them. It’s that vision of a stronger, fairer community that we’re working towards.”
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Director, Not-for-profit Law
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Emeritus Professor, LLM, PhD
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She has also had a vibrant academic career. She was Dean of the Faculty of Law and Challis Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney. She is also the author of many books and papers on human rights and international law.
Ruth McColl
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Read the stories of those who have received justice through free, pro bono legal help.
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Songs, Teen pop songs, R&B songs,
My World songs
My World singles
My World Tour songs
Click play to listen to "Favorite Girl"
June 22, 2009;
by Blake Eiseman / Randy Starita (assistant) at Icon Studios, Atlanta, GA
Teen pop / R&B
Island / Teen Island / RBMG / Schoolboy
Dernst Emile II / Delisha Thomas / Antea Birchett / Anesha Birchett
D'Mile
Jaycen-Joshua Fowler / Dave Pensado / Giancarlo Lino (assistant)
“Love Me” “One Time (My Heart Edition)”
“Favorite Girl” is a song by Justin Bieber. Bieber first debuted the acoustic version of his song in his official YouTube account after American country pop singer Taylor Swift used Bieber's single "One Time" as background music in one of her video tour diaries. The song was later released exclusively to iTunes as the second promotional single from his debut studio release, My World on November 4, 2009.
In August 2009, country pop singer Taylor Swift used Bieber's "One Time" as background music and music that she and her friends were dancing to in a tour video diary that she posted on her official YouTube account. In response to Swift using his song, Bieber posted an acoustic rendition of the then never-before heard "Favorite Girl" on his YouTube. When asked about his learning of Swift using his song, Bieber stated, "It was really funny because I heard about it from a fan. I watched it and it was hilarious!" Bieber and Swift then met in person at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and she later invited him to be a special guest on her Fearless Tour when she returned to the United Kingdom.
Your world is my world.
Taylor Swift doing crazy with friends on "One Time"
Most Bieber performances of the song are of the acoustic rendition. Bieber originally performed the song for the first time, acoustically, when he appeared for a second time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on November 3, 2009, the same day the song was released to iTunes. Regarding the performance, MTV News praised the song as a "funky, groovy, swaggerific jam". Bieber performed the song on the Fearless Tour, during Winter 2009 while performing at radio station-hosted Jingle Ball concerts, and during a live session with MTV, in which he was named MTV's Artist of the Week. During the live session with MTV, he performed the song while playing the keyboard. In a review of his acoustic performance of the song at Z100's 2009 Jingle Ball, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it his best performance of the night.
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah
I always knew you were the best
The coolest girl I know
So prettier than all the rest, the star of my show
So many times I wished you’d be the one for me
But never knew it’d get like this
Girl, what’d you do to me?
You’re who I’m thinking of
And girl, you ain’t my runner-up
And no matter what, you’re always number one
My prize possession, one and only
Adore you, girl, I want you
The one I can’t live without
That’s you (That’s you), that’s you (That’s you)
You’re my special little lady
The one that makes me crazy
Of all the girls I’ve ever known, it’s you, it’s you
My favorite, my favorite
My favorite, my favorite girl
My favorite girl
You’re used to going out your way to impress these Mr. Wrongs
But you can be yourself with me
I’ll take you as you are
I know they said believe in love
Is a dream that can’t be real
So girl, let’s write a fairytale and show ‘em how we feel
My favorite, girl (Baby, it’s you)
My favorite, girl
You take my breath away with everything you say
I just wanna be with you, my baby, my baby
Oh-oh, promise I’ll play no games
Treat you no other way than you deserve
‘Cause you’re the girl of my dreams
That’s you, that’s you
Adore you, girl, I want you (I want you, whoa)
You’re my special little lady (You’re my special little lady)
The one that makes me crazy (The one that makes me crazy)
(You’re my favorite girl)
(Favorite girl) My favorite, my favorite girl
(Favorite girl) My favorite girl
(Favorite girl)
Oh-oh oh whoa
Retrieved from "https://justinbieber.fandom.com/wiki/Favorite_Girl?oldid=150235"
Teen pop songs
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North Vancouver: A Neighborhood for the Elite
Framed by the majestic North Shore Mountains, North Vancouver offers premium access to nature along with the urban pleasures. Think about the thrill of mountain biking or hiking through nature parks laden with archaic rainforest. Enjoy skiing at the mountains showcased in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. An idyllic neighborhood to call home, North Vancouver is nestled between the Burrard Inlet, Coast Mountains, Indian Arm and the Capilano River. With its unparalleled natural beauty, a unique community, lively arts scene and popular outdoor destinations, this north shore district is indeed one of Canada’s treasures.
After the construction of the Lions Gate Bridge and the Second Narrows Bridge in the 1930s, North Vancouver boomed in its residential areas. Nowadays, just a few minutes from Downtown, the population is reaching up to 85,000. Although population doubles in nearby districts, North Vancouver still has the lowest population density in North Shore, with most residents in single family housing.
Housing in North Vancouver can be a bit pricey, making it home to most of the city’s affluent people. Most residential properties in the area are owned rather than rented and the population is generally made up of families, retirees and professionals. But the area’s affluence hasn’t materialized as high rises and big box stores.
The epitome of the community’s down-to-earth and charming ambience can be seen in Edgemont Village. The neighborhood is considered as the main activity hub for residents and is home to around a hundred locally owned stores and restaurants. During the warm days of summer, Edgemont Village comes alive with outdoor celebrations and public concerts such as the Wild Lights Lantern Festival in August.
The city’s shopping districts offer a wide range of food choices, trendy boutiques and service centers. Marine Drive and Capilano Mall have more than 100 shops and services for locals and guests to enjoy. Among the most notable shopping destinations include the Lynn Valley Center, Deep Cove and Edgemont Village.
North Vancouver offers a plethora of outdoor destinations and attractions, making it a paradise for many outdoor enthusiasts. Grouse Mountain and Seymour Mountain provide year-long events and activities such as snowboarding, snowshoeing, zip lining, skiing, hiking and many more. The top portion of the Grouse Mountain is frequently transformed to accommodate family activities like lumberjack shows during the summer and sleigh rides in winter. Among the most popular outdoor attractions include the Lynn Canyon and Capilano Suspension Bridges, Capilano Salmon Hatchery and the Cleveland Dam.
You need to cross the Second Narrows Bridge or Lions Gate Bridge to get to North Shore. But with an established bus system and easy access to Trans Canada Highway, it is now easier to go around other regions of the Greater Vancouver area. North Vancouver is also served by passenger ferries all year long.
North Vancouver educational institutions are under School District 44. The body serves around 38 schools, both in the District and North Vancouver. Most of its residential areas get to enjoy easy access to an elementary school or high school. North Vancouver is also home to the Capilano College and offers students a wide variety of career programs.
Your search returned 444 active listings available in North Vancouver
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That time Chanel went to Hollywood…
Garbo and Chanel, publicity meeting, March 1931
On January 19, 1931, the New York Times reported film producer Samuel Goldwyn’s announcement: “After more than three years of constant effort, I have at last persuaded Madame Gabrielle Chanel, fashion dictator, to go to Hollywood to co-operate with me on the vexing question of film fashions.”
Chanel’s resistance to work in Hollywood was quashed by the realities of the Depression that had dramatically reduced the number of orders being placed with her atelier. The lure of a million-dollar contract and a studio with over a hundred workers at her command was too appealing to turn down. The New York Times outlined the deal: “She will reorganize the dressmaking department of United Artist studios and anticipate fashions six months ahead, solving thereby the eternal problem of keeping gowns up to date…Thus, Madame Chanel may reveal the secret of all impending changes and the American women will be enabled to see the latest Paris fashions, perhaps, at times, before Paris itself knows them.”
Madge Evans in suit by Chanel, 1931
Chanel arrived in Hollywood in March 1931, in the middle of production of Eddie Cantor’s Palmy Days (1931). She created a few garments, mostly for the star Barbara Weeks, including four versions of the same dress with small differences so that the dress looked its best from different angles and positions.
Chanel then went to work on creating thirty outfits for Ina Claire, Joan Blondell, and Madge Evans who were playing gold diggers in The Greeks Had A Word For Them (released February 13, 1932). The film was set in the late 1920s, so Chanel created contemporary looks with a nostalgic flair – not something fashion was doing at the time.
Her next job was to create gowns for Gloria Swanson in Tonight or Never (1931) which was released two months before The Greeks Had A Word For Them. This was a frustrating experience for both women as Chanel had to contend with Swanson’s unplanned pregnancy during filming. Swanson’s shape had changed in the six weeks between fittings, requiring Swanson to wear a girdle that ended at her knees in order to fit Chanel’s gowns.
With her contract fulfilled, Chanel collected her million dollar cheque and left Hollywood in a huff, never saying anything nice about the experience for the rest of her life.
This entry was posted in Designers/Couturiers, film costuming and tagged Chanel by Jonathan. Bookmark the permalink.
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Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s Australian Home Threatened by Wildfires
During Golden Globe Awards red carpet interviews on Sunday (Jan. 5), Nicole Kidman said her and Keith Urban's Australian home is standing, but quickly deflected to larger issues — much larger issues.
A spokesperson for the actress reveals their residence is under threat as wildfires burn across the country, especially on the eastern coast near cities like Sydney, where Urban and Kidman are said to have two homes. The wildfires have been burning since September, but extreme heat and droughts have added fuel — to the point that more than 12 million acres have been affected. That's approximately half the size of Tennessee and six times larger that the California wildfires of 2018.
"It’s not about us, it’s about this country right now," Kidman told Access Hollywood on the carpet. "This beautiful, beautiful country. The animals, the people, everything."
Several media outlets like US Weekly and Fox News share information from unidentified sources that reveal Kidman was in tears at a Golden Globes event on Saturday, and that she apologized for being less than her best during interviews on Sunday. Both she and Urban struck a somber tone during the Access Hollywood interview, with the country singer and fellow Australia resident (he was born in New Zealand) remarking that the area will need help for a long, long time.
See Pictures of Keith Urban's Tennessee Farm House:
The couple had just spent the holidays in Australia and shared pictures of their getaway with followers on Instagram. They donated $500 thousand to the Rural Fire Services.
This isn't the first time Urban has been affected by fire. When he was 10 years old his family's home burned to the ground.
See Pictures of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban On the Red Carpet:
Source: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s Australian Home Threatened by Wildfires
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Kansas Adds Forward Transfer to Men's Basketball Roster
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas coach Bill Self has announced that forward Hunter Mickelson (6-foot-10, 245 pounds), has signed a grant-in-aid agreement to play men’s basketball at KU. A transfer from the University of Arkansas, Mickelson will sit out the 2013-14 season and will have two years eligibility at Kansas.
“Hunter is a young man who we recruited out of high school, offered a scholarship and he chose to stay close to home,” Self said. “He decided after two years at Arkansas that a change would do him good and we’re very excited about the change. He fits how we play. He’s long, very interchangeable and will be able to step away from the basket and stretch it. Defensively, he is a presence because he’s a shot blocker.”
Mickelson started 20 of 31 games played for Arkansas (19-12) in 2012-13, averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and led the Razorbacks with 39 blocked shots. The Jonesboro, Ark., native scored a career-high 16 points against Robert Morris (12/20/12) and grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds against Northwestern State (12/29/12).
Mickelson set the school freshman record with 72 blocks in leading the Razorbacks with 2.3 blocks per contest. Included was a seven-block game against LSU (1/14/12), tying the Arkansas SEC record for blocked shots in a game. Mickelson averaged 5.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2011-12 for Arkansas.
For his career, Mickelson started 25 of his 64 games played and averaged 5.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in his two seasons at Arkansas.
“I think the redshirt year will be great for him,” Self said. “It will give him the opportunity to get stronger, get confidence and get his game to the point where he can be a serious impact player for us the following year.”
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Home & Garden, SEP/OCT'19, Uncategorized
Accessible Elegance
The Woodward family opens their home to support the Shepherd Center –
Inside this luxurious estate at Reynolds Lake Oconee, it might be necessary to point out during the Showcase of Homes tour that it is completely handicapped accessible, and that’s exactly what the homeowners were aiming for when designing and building their new home.
Price and Tammy Woodward moved from part-time to full-time at Lake Oconee following Price’s unexpected stroke in 2015 at the age of 52. They needed to be closer to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta as Price began his journey to recovery. With his left side completely compromised, everyday life became a challenge in their existing home at Reynolds and so, they reached out to DreamBuilt and Black Sheep Interiors to create a new home that would work for their family given Price’s limitations.
They knew up front that they wanted the home to be completely accessible, even though Price no longer required a wheelchair, but the challenge was making it not appear that way.
“When I had my stroke, I came to Atlanta in a wheelchair,” says Price, who now walks with a 90-degree brace which he jokingly calls his peg leg. “We never forgot that or the possibility that I might once again need wheelchair access or one our family members might need it.”
Price says they wanted the adjustments to the house to be subtle. They didn’t want a big ramp in front of the house, so they created a zero-entry doorway in the garage that opens into the back hallway and the fully-accessible bathroom on the right. The sleek toilet paper holders double as grab bars. The master bathroom with its slip resistant tile has no shower doors and features a custom made drying and dressing station. The retractable doors opening onto the back porch have no threshold.
“We wanted to make sure that this felt like any other home at the lake,” says Paige Ruhl of DreamBuilt. “We addressed the accessibility issues without being too ‘institutional’ or too obvious.”
She says this concept is not as hard as it once was and creating an accessible home is actually convenient for everyone.
“It’s really all about making clear pathways in the home, so with open floor plans, the design gives way to that naturally.”
Tammy Woodward explains their main goal was to have as much living spaces on the main level as possible which included plenty of space to entertain. The home is more open than most and balanced on either end by the living room and kitchen. Shane Meder, of Black Sheep Interiors, pulled the spaces together through distinct design.
The stark black granite steals the show in the kitchen, giving it a stylized look that is accentuated by the high-gloss wood veneer cabinetry. “It would be overwhelming in a lot of interiors, but it was what we needed to pull it all together for a big finish,” says Meder.
But the center of the home is what sets it apart. A dramatic wine cellar made from glass and metal and lit with bright blue lights anchors the home’s open layout.
“Price has always enjoyed wine and has become quite a connoisseur, so we knew we wanted a wine cellar,” says Tammy. “Most people put theirs in the basement, but that wasn’t an option for us. It was a little frightening to put it in the middle of the house, but it all came together and is now the highlight of the house.”
“The wine cellar just kept growing and evolving into something really special,” says Ruhl. “We took the steel doors at the front entrance and worked them through the house in the handrail patterns and glass pocket doors in the study, so as the cellar grew, it was natural to use the steel there.”
In front of the cellar is a floating whiskey bar accented by stunning dome fixtures made of agate stone pieces pinned to brass rods.
“It was my vision that it would feel like the Savoy Hotel in London that has a great little whiskey bar with blue in the background, so once it found its place in the house, it became all about the details,” says Meder.
The balance of textures is found at almost every angle, from the tufted leather underpinning at the bar and Tigerwood waterfall mixed with a quartzite top to the dramatic glass, metal, and wood veneers.
“This space was really driven by Tammy and Price’s love of entertaining,” says Meder. “They’ve always entertained a lot and I wanted to help get them back to that.”
Considerations were also made in the furniture arrangements with entertaining in mind. Small seating areas and cocktail tables connect each space so that no one is disconnected from the conversations.
“All of the furniture was designed for Price being mobile on his right side,” says Tammy. “Even down to the smallest things like making coffee in the morning. You can’t carry a cup of coffee when you walk with a cane, so everything was placed in a way he can move his cup from the coffee maker to the island, push it to the end, move it to one of the little drink tables, and then go sit in a chair. These are little things that you take for granted but is important for his ability to get where he needs to be.”
The entire flow of the house was designed with Price’s movements in mind.
“We really had to lean into what the client experienced every day,” says Meder.
In the master bedroom, Price has to move directly to a chair to get his leg brace on once he gets out of bed, so Meder created a nearby seating area to make it feel comfortable, not clinical. To free up space on the bedside tables for anything Price might need during the night, Meder used hanging crystal chandeliers which add elegance to the dressier fabrics and shiny, metallic finishes throughout the master bedroom.
The Woodwards put their home’s accessibility to the test this summer when they hosted a cultivation event to raise awareness of the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Price spent three years at the center following his stroke and he and Tammy have been involved ever since. Price serves on the foundation board and Tammy chairs the Women Shaping Shepherd committee. Tammy says the founding family and CEO of the Shepherd Center have homes at Reynolds, so it made sense to host an event to bring awareness to the community of what the Shepherd Center has to offer.
“We had a few attendees in a wheelchair, so it was really our first opportunity to see if the house was going to function like we expected it to,” says Price. “Everyone was able to move around and it was a wonderful evening where we were able to share our experience and make people aware of what a wonderful facility we have just 70 miles away in Atlanta.”
The Woodwards attribute their successful recovery from the stroke to the Shepherd Center and the staff there. They keep in touch and actually bounced ideas off of them throughout the building process.
“Because I was there for three years watching him do therapy, it helped me think through the house and what he would need,” says Tammy.
Now, the staff has begun connecting the Woodwards to other families in similar situations for advice on how to adapt their homes to specific needs.
“By opening up our home and sharing our story, we’re using it to move forward and help other people move forward,” says Tammy. “I’m so excited to have the home on the tour this year to share with even more people.”
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If the purpose of the UN was to save mankind from the destruction that had overshadowed the history of the first half of the twentieth century, measuring its success depends on one’s perspective. On the one hand, it could be argued that since no World War III has erupted, the founders had created a successful organization. On the other hand, not a day has gone by since 1945 without a deathly military conflict somewhere on the globe. Many such conflicts have transpired and continued with the full knowledge of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In short, the UN may have played a role in saving mankind from the devastation of global war, but it has not come close to eliminating the scourge of war from our planet.
Nor is it clear whether the absence of global military confrontation has had much to do with the UN and its executive body, the Security Council. It can be argued that the existence and proliferation of nuclear weapons acted as a deterrent against a direct military confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The potential consequences of such a war—a rapid annihilation of one’s own country—removed the incentive to go to war far more effectively than any deliberations at the UN. But the United States and the USSR were more than happy to intervene in military conflicts around the globe that did not seem likely to escalate into a direct superpower confrontation. After the Cold War new antagonisms emerged, most evidently within the context of the United States’ call for regime change in Iraq in 2002–03.
This does not mean that the Security Council was or is irrelevant. It simply underlines the fact that at its very founding, this central organ of the UN could be effective only when the so-called P-5 were in agreement. In fact, the UNSC has on numerous occasions exercised an important role as a global troubleshooter. Taking into account the dependence of the UNSC on the unanimity of its five permanent members—and hence on the national interests of China, France, Great Britain, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), and the United States—it has actually been remarkably successful and active. Ideally, the Security Council’s role should not be purely reactive. It should also be able to address potential threats and prevent them from materializing. The relationship between UNSC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), sometimes referred to as the UN’s “nuclear watchdog,” is a good example of the potential that the UN has for making a positive impact on international security in the twenty-first century. There is probably no other issue besides the possibility of a nuclear holocaust to bring peoples and countries together. Yet the attempt to safeguard against the proliferation of such weapons has been a half-hearted success at best. Once again, national interests have clashed with global security concerns to produce a series of imperfect compromises and temporary solutions.
Political constraints: the veto conundrum
In theory, the Security Council has few limits to its power. Its remit is broad; its resolutions are binding on all members of the UN. In short, if the UNSC decided something—to impose sanctions against a country or to enforce a ceasefire in a conflict area—the order would have to be implemented. One could not, in other words, ignore the collective will of the P-5 that effectively determines the decisions of the UNSC. But finding such collective will has often been an elusive quest. The question of national sovereignty is at the top of the list, and it is something that those who are “more equal” than others—that is, the P-5—hold particularly dear. And since they have the right to veto decisions, they are likely to do so should a proposed resolution be against their national interest.
Veto power (“Great Power unanimity”)
Each UN Security Council member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters (for example, whether an issue is to be discussed by the UNSC at all) require the support of at least nine of the fifteen members. Decisions on substantive matters (for example, a decision calling for direct measures to settle an international dispute, or to employ sanctions) also require nine votes, but these must include the votes of all five permanent members. This is the rule of “Great Power unanimity,” often referred to as the “veto” power.
In theory the nonpermanent members of the UNSC also hold a collective veto power: if at least eight of them vote collectively against a resolution (whether procedural or substantive) they can block a resolution even if all the permanent members vote for it. This so-called sixth veto has existed only since 1965, when the number of nonpermanent members was increased from six to ten. Although all P-5 members have used their veto power repeatedly, the sixth veto has yet to be employed.
The P-5’s right of veto has complicated the UNSC’s work more than any other issue. Indeed, the fact that five nations—out of a total of 193—have a privileged position seems absurd. If the People’s Republic of China (and, more absurdly, between 1949 and 1971 the small island of Taiwan, known as the Republic of China), France, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States can agree on a course, then the UN can act. If they do not—or if only one of them decides that a certain resolution is objectionable—then the UNSC is effectively paralyzed.
Thus, the use of the veto can actually prevent the UN from enforcing measures to end a war. This was the case, for example, in December 1971, when the Soviet Union vetoed a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in a war between India and Pakistan. By doing so the Soviets were helping India to continue its military advances against Pakistan, a firm American ally in the Cold War. Truth be told, Pakistan had won few friends because of its repression of an independence movement in what was soon to become the independent nation of Bangladesh (but was until 1971 formally known as East Pakistan). Yet the Pakistani government was perfectly within its rights when it complained that the international community was failing to enforce a peaceful resolution and, in effect, left the outmaneuvered Pakistanis no alternative but to surrender (which they did on December 16, 1971). Witnessing his country’s hardships from New York, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the foreign minister of Pakistan, erupted in front of a UN Security Council meeting: “Let’s build a monument for the veto. Let’s build a monument for impotence and incapacity.”1
Chart 3.1 Use of the Veto.
During the Cold War the USSR was the most frequent user of the veto. After first using it in 1970, however, the United States has taken over this role. Yet, as the chart shows, the P-5 have almost ceased exercising this privilege since the end of the Cold War.
To be sure, the General Assembly has often issued resolutions despite a P-5 veto. But such resolutions simply do not carry the authority necessary to outweigh a stubborn permanent UNSC member. Nor does the fact that the nonpermanent members of the UNSC hold a theoretical “sixth veto” since the expansion of Security Council membership in the 1960s make the body either more effective or less driven by great power prerogatives.
The UNSC, for better or worse, was and remains an arena of power and realpolitik. And despite attempts to reform it, the body remains, after seven decades, more or less the way it was at the founding: empowered in theory but incapacitated in practice.
Operational constraints: the Military Staff Committee
In order to prevent wars and stop the ones that did erupt, the UN needed a military capacity. How else could the organization throw its weight around but by dispatching troops to a troubled region? How else could the UN force warring parties—unwilling to yield to diplomatic or economic pressure—to cease fighting but by displaying superior military prowess?
The UN Charter addressed these questions. It set up the Military Staff Committee (MSC) as a subsidiary body of the Security Council and charged it with the planning of UN military operations. The MSC was further mandated to assist the Security Council in arms regulation (including, implicitly, the regulation of nuclear arms). Moreover, the MSC was to provide the command staff for a set of air force contingents provided by the P-5. The contingents themselves were to be scattered on UN bases around the globe so that the Security Council could call upon them as needed.
The problem with this plan soon became evident. None of the P-5 saw an independent military force serving their interests. The mistrust and tensions of the early Cold War—including the creation of such military alliances as NATO and the Warsaw Pact—meant that none of the P-5 provided the required forces. Already in July 1948—following two years of negotiations—the MSC reported to the Security Council that it was unable to fulfill its mandate.
Consequently, although it was the only subsidiary body of the Security Council mentioned in the charter, the MSC became “dormant” (or irrelevant, in non-UN language). To be sure, there was a brief revival of interest in the MSC in 1990 when it played a role in coordinating naval operations during the Gulf War. In the end, however, the UN has shifted toward subcontracting the use of force to regional bodies such as NATO (for example in Kosovo) or the African Union (in Darfur) rather than creating a structured and effective military capacity of its own.
After seventy years the MSC still exists as an advisory body that plays a role in the planning and conduct of UN peacekeeping operations. It consists of army, naval, and air force representatives of the P-5. This group meets every two weeks at the UN headquarters in New York. Other UN members are included in meetings regarding peacekeeping operations in which their country’s forces are deployed. But the practical significance of the MSC remains, as it always has been, extremely limited.
Political constraints: Security Council and the Cold War
The record of the UNSC is checkered. To be sure, it deliberated on virtually all international conflicts during the Cold War, such as the Arab-Israeli wars, Korea, Suez, Congo, and Berlin. In all those cases, however, it was contingency—the specific interests of the P-5 (and especially the United States and the Soviet Union)—rather than the principles of the UN Charter that ultimately decided the outcome.
While the veto power of the P-5 extends to a number of areas—including the choice of the UN Secretary-General or the admission of new members to the UN—what truly counts is the way in which the P-5’s privileged position has affected the UN’s ability in matters related to war and peace. Of course, the line even here has often been blurred and the actual measures taken—and resolutions passed or not passed—depended ultimately how and if the interests of the P-5 were influenced by the conflict in question.
For example, the first Soviet use of the veto, in February 1946, was over a resolution regarding the withdrawal of French forces from Syria and Lebanon. The Soviet UN ambassador argued that the regimes slated to take over these countries were essentially French puppet governments. Later in the same year, the UNSC refused to discuss a Siamese complaint about French military activities on its border with Indochina and could not come to an agreement over an investigation regarding the communist-royalist civil war in Greece.
The major division within the Security Council’s P-5 was, though, straightforward and reflected the emergence of the Cold War. On most issues where the veto was used, the Soviet Union stood on one side, the other four members on the other. This, effectively, guaranteed a deadlock on most issues, including such hot concerns as the division of Berlin. In June 1948, the USSR—which occupied East Germany, including all areas surrounding Berlin, after the war—cut off all land connections and supply routes to West Berlin. The American, British, and French forces occupying that part of the German capital (as well as the Germans who lived there) were, essentially, hostages. To overcome the blockade, the United States commenced a massive airlift of food and other supplies. It lasted almost a year.
6. A 1953 cartoon illustrates the struggle between Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party in Communist China, and Chiang Kai-Shek, president of Nationalist China, for the “China seat” in the UN.
Dealing with the ‘Enemy at Home’ during the Two World Wars 45
Patterns of prosecution: unlawful victimization, its victims and their visibility at the ICTY
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Home Divorce Louisiana Albany
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(225) 647-6644 1404 S Burnside Ave
Gonzales, LA 70737
Louis J. Cosenza is a skilled litigator with experience in diverse areas including tort law, medical malpractice, lawyer disciplinary proceedings, and criminal defense and prosecution in state and federal courts and military Courts Martial. In his 40+ years as a lawyer, Mr. Cosenza has also represented clients in a wide variety of civil disputes, notably in the areas of contract and property law.
A native of New Orleans who has spent over 20 years practicing law in a large town, Louis also lived and practiced law for 10 years in rural west Louisiana. This life experience has given him a valuable...
Robert H. Harrison Jr.
Denham Springs, LA Divorce Attorney with 33 years of experience
(225) 664-1500 Suite F-2
32350 LA Hwy 16
Denham Springs, LA 70726
Robert H. Harrison, Jr. of the Harrison Law Firm is a lifelong resident of Livingston Parish. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Criminal Justice degree. He received his Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, where he was selected for the Louisiana Law Review, was a Flory Trial winner and was a member to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Following law school, Mr. Harrison was a law clerk for the Hon. J. Michael McDonald of the 19th Judicial District Court. Mr. Harrison is a former partner in the...
Amber L. Cain
New Orleans, LA Divorce Lawyer with 8 years of experience
(504) 302-0416 318 Harrison Avenue
Mr. James Zitzmann
Covington, LA Divorce Lawyer with 6 years of experience
(504) 434-0462 1106 West 19th Avenue
James is the managing member and managing attorney of Zitzmann Law, LLC and founded the firm in 2014.
He attended Louisiana State University for his undergraduate degree. While at Louisiana State, James was involved in Louisiana State University Student Government and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
He attended the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law where he was a member of the Loyola Law and Technology Annual. While attending, he received the Loyola Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship and the Academic Excellence...
Steven C Tureau
Gonzales, LA Divorce Lawyer with 12 years of experience
(225) 647-9999 12320 Hwy 44 Suite 3C
Divorce, Business, Family and Personal Injury
Born and raised in Ascension Parish, Steven Tureau has been around the law his entire life. Not only does his practice with his father, helping injured clients. In his career, Steven has been named as one of Louisiana’s Top 10 Personal Injury Attorneys by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys and by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys. The National Trial Lawyers recently named Steven Tureau as one of “Louisiana’s Top 40 Attorneys Under 40” in plaintiff civil cases. In 2015, Steven received the distinguished award of being named as a Louisiana Rising Star by SuperLawyers.
The injury...
Ernest Eugene Barrow III
Covington, LA Divorce Lawyer with 21 years of experience
(985) 871-7374 113 E 23rd Ave
I was born in December of 1967 and raised on the West Bank of New Orleans. After graduating from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans I attended both the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master's degree . I then attended Southern University Law School and obtained a Juris Doctorate in 1998.
I began my practice with my father, Ernest E. Barrow, II, in Gretna, Louisiana in 1998. I moved to Covington, Louisiana and opened at my current location in 2001 after...
Peggy Gonsoulin Vallejo
(985) 892-6855 428 W 21st Ave
Divorce, Domestic Violence, Family and Probate
Peggy Gonsoulin Vallejo graduated from Tulane Law School in May 1999 and was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar in October 1999.
Her practice consists of civil litigation with a strong focus on personal injury, divorce, child support, spousal support, and succession matters. She has clients in all of the surrounding parishes in the Greater New Orleans Metro Area including St. Tammany, Orleans, Jefferson, Washington, Tangipahoa, Livingston and East Baton Rouge.
Mr. Jeffrey S. Wittenbrink
Baton Rouge, LA Divorce Attorney with 33 years of experience
(225) 308-6850 331 St. Ferdinand Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Divorce, Family, Personal Injury and Probate
Jeffrey S. Wittenbrink is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He handles difficult and complex custody and community property cases associated with divorce; adoptions, paternity and grandparent custody cases. He also handles personal injury cases, wills and successions and general civil and criminal litigation. He is most recently associated with First Amendment litigation on behalf of Pastor Tony Spell, of Central, Louisiana, and has defended Firehouse BBQ in Watson, Louisiana in litigation against Governor Edwards' Covid-19 restrictions.
Collin Melancon
Baton Rouge, LA Divorce Attorney
(888) 601-0127 2133 Silverside Drive
Free ConsultationDivorce, Criminal Defense, Family and Personal Injury
After practicing for several years at one of the most respected and top rated defense firms in Louisiana, Collin and three other experienced lawyers formed Mansfield Melancon with the goal of providing his clients the personal attention that they deserve and expect from their attorney.
Collin has experience advocating for clients in both Louisiana federal and state courts. He has handled cases ranging from complex business disputes to individual disagreements. Collin is admitted to practice in all Louisiana state courts, in the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the United States...
Laurel A. Salley
Metairie, LA Divorce Lawyer with 22 years of experience
(504) 837-5499 3445 N. Causeway Blvd.
Metairie, LA 70002
Laurel Salley was born and raised in the New Orleans area. She attended St. Martin's Episcopal School, the University of Miami, Louisiana State University and Tulane Law School.
While at St. Martin's, Laurel was very involved in the Key Club, a community service organization for high school students. During her years at LSU, she was involved with many campus organizations, including Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. After graduation from LSU, Laurel joined the Lakeside Kiwanis Club, the same community service organization that sponsored her high school's Key Club. She is a member of the Lakeside Kiwanis Club to this day.
While attending Tulane...
Siobhan Sullivan Leger
Baton Rouge, LA Divorce Lawyer with 9 years of experience
(225) 522-4996 8680 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Suite F
Free ConsultationDivorce, Elder, Estate Planning and Family
Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University and Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
After practicing in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, probate, and real estate law for several years with a boutique law firm in the Baton Rouge area, Siobhan Leger opened the Leger Law Group, LLC. As the managing attorney for the Leger Law Group, LLC, Siobhan now practices in all areas of civil law, but continues to focus her practice on wills & trusts, estates, real estate, Medicaid and Veteran's Aid & Attendance planning, and family law.
Siobhan Leger is a graduate of both Louisiana State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, and the Paul M....
Brandon Venegas
Metairie, LA Divorce Attorney with 21 years of experience
(504) 841-0014 3333 West Napoleon Avenue
Free ConsultationDivorce, Business, Estate Planning and Insurance Claims
J. Mark Robinson
Zachary, LA Divorce Attorney with 29 years of experience
Zachary, LA 70791
Free ConsultationDivorce, Construction, Family and Personal Injury
25 years experience representing individuals, families, businesses and regulatory agencies on a local, state, multi-state and federal level. Come to your location for Construction/Corporate Law and others on a case by case basis. Serve GBR and surrounding towns for Family Law needs.
DeVonna Ponthieu
Denham Springs, LA Divorce Lawyer with 18 years of experience
(225) 236-8125 30984 LA Hwy 16
DeVonna Ponthieu attended Southeastern Louisiana University in 1993 and graduated cum laude in May 1998. She applied and was accepted to the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law School and graduated in 2001. After passing the bar exam, she opened her private office in Denham Springs and has been practicing law there ever since. She has had cases in all of the 21st Judicial District (Livingston, Tangipahoa and St.Helena), East Baton Rouge Parish, Ascension Parish, East Feliciana and other parishes.
DeVonna is a member in good standing with the Louisiana State Bar Association. She was a past president, vice-president and secretary/treasurer...
Sarah W Hickman
Mandeville, LA Divorce Lawyer with 6 years of experience
Ext. 103 1590 W. Causeway Approach
Free ConsultationDivorce, Estate Planning, Family and Medical Malpractice
My legal career began long before I went to law school. As a daughter of a prominent New Orleans litigator, I have been around the Law my whole life. I have worked for a law firm in one capacity or another since I was an intern in high school. After getting my bachelors at LSU, I went from a legal assistant and paralegal to an associate attorney in October, 2014. I began attending and assisting at trials in my teens, coming to understand the degree of preparation and attention to detail that marks me as a lawyer today.
Roy Maughan Jr
Baton Rouge, LA Divorce Lawyer with 38 years of experience
(225) 926-8533 634 Connells Park Ln
Free ConsultationDivorce, Appeals, Arbitration & Mediation and Family
Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge
Roy’s law practice includes entertainment law (primarily television, film and music), contracts, transactional work, advising and forming business entities, intellectual property litigation, personal injury litigation and other complex litigation matters. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University and his Juris Doctorate degree from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1986. Roy served five terms as a member of the Board of Governors of the Louisiana Association of Justice and served two terms on the Professionalism Committee for the Louisiana State Bar Association. He has also chaired and served on numerous Baton Rouge Bar...
Mr. Frank Pola Jr.
(504) 865-1006 #307, 2117 Veterans Memorial Boulevard
Free ConsultationDivorce, Appeals, Criminal Defense and Family
Practice in Puerto Rico and the state of Louisiana, admitted to the First and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the U.S.. Thirty five years in a general practice.
S. Stephen Spring II
(225) 932-9671 733 East Airport Avenue
Divorce, Civil Rights, Criminal Defense and Immigration
The Louisiana State Bar Association LBN: 12347 Member in Good Standing U.S. Eastern, Middle, Western Districts of Louisiana 4th, 5th, and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeal (U.S.) U.S. Court of Military Appeals (Washington, D.C.) Pro Hac Vice Appearances: California, Virginia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts
Philip N. Maples
Denham Springs, LA Divorce Attorney with 8 years of experience
(225) 402-8082 Denham Springs, LA 70726
Thank you for visiting my biography page on Justia. As an attorney and in life, I make it a point to get to know the people I come in contact with. I would like to let you get to know me a little better as you make the important decision on an attorney that fits your needs. I was raised in the small town of LaFayette, Georgia, and I am one of three children of Kenneth and Doris Maples. I attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and obtained a degree in criminal justice. It was at Jacksonville...
Marlin N. Gusman Jr.
Metairie, LA Divorce Attorney with 5 years of experience
Free ConsultationDivorce, Estate Planning, Family and Tax
Marlin Gusman, Jr. was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Marlin Gusman, Jr. earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Texas Christian University. Marlin earned his Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Chicago.
Marlin Gusman, Jr. completed In-Service Training in South Africa with DaimlerChrysler Financials Services. Marlin earned his Juris Doctorate and a Certificate in Taxation from Loyola University New Orleans.
Marlin Gusman, Jr. is married to Varsha with whom he has two children: Priscilla and Marlin III.
Beau Layfield
(225) 283-1374 4232 Bluebonnet Boulevard
Attorney Beau R. Layfield received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University. He then earned his Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law degrees from Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University. Before establishing his Baton Rouge law firm, The Layfield Law Firm, LLC, Attorney Layfield worked for a general practice law firm. While working there, he focused on assisting individuals who had been involved in vehicular accidents, and those who were undergoing family law matters. This experience allowed Attorney Layfield to gain extensive knowledge in areas involving civil litigation, business matters, municipal law, and construction...
Nelson Rivers
Free ConsultationDivorce, Bankruptcy, Family and Probate
Graduate of Tulane Law School in 1974 and the University of New Orleans in 1972.
Mr Eric Malveau
New Orleans, LA Divorce Lawyer with 18 years of experience
(504) 470-3604 3110 Canal St
Free ConsultationDivorce, Business, Domestic Violence and Family
Malveau Law Firm, L.L.C. provides legal representation for clients with Criminal, Family, Juvenile, Personal Injury, Traffic & Municipal matters in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
Roy H Maughan, Jr.
634 Connells Park Ln
Free ConsultationDivorce, Entertainment & Sports, Family and Personal Injury
Janeane Gorcyca
(225) 761-3822 2171 Quail Run Drive, Suite B
Janeane concentrates her law practice in the areas of family law and immigration law, for she is fiercely passionate about both. She counsels clients on various issues including Adoption, Child Custody, Child Support, Community Property Settlements Agreements, Divorces, Emancipations, Prenuptial Agreements, Spousal Support Agreements and Modifications and Tutorship issues.
Nicole Buggs Anthony
(225) 343-8282 1200 S. ACADIAN THWY
Divorce, Collections, Estate Planning and Family
Donald Cazayoux Jr
(225) 650-7400 257 Maximillian St
Don Cazayoux is a former U.S. Attorney, congressman and state representative. He received a B.A. in Psychology in 1985, went on to obtain his law degree from Georgetown University in 1991, and the obtained a M.A. in Psychology in 1993. Don focuses on consumer cases involving severe injuries such as spinal injuries, broken bones, and scarring, while also practicing white-collar criminal defense. Don has substantial trial experience in both state and federal injury claims.
Christine Falgoust Remy
(504) 838-1551 3500 North Hullen Street
Divorce, Family, Maritime and Personal Injury
In my 23 years of practice I have not only mastered the law, but I have also learned how different courts in southeastern Louisiana operate. My approach to any case is to prepare like we are going to trial but hope we can reach a settlement before trial is necessary. If a settlement cannot be reached, we’ll be ready. I have presented cases and won at all levels of court in the state, including the Louisiana Supreme Court, The Court of Appeal, Juvenile Court and the State Courts.
Nancy Bousfield
Slidell, LA Divorce Attorney with 31 years of experience
(985) 640-3479 2116 Gause Blvd. West
Slidell, LA 70460
Divorce, Bankruptcy, Family and Juvenile
Defending your constitutional rights and your property for over 20 years. Experienced in criminal law-both felonies and misdemeanors, DWI law, and traffic offenses. Experienced in protecting your assets in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy law. Attorney operates as a debt relief agency and counsels debtors regarding bankruptcy.
Charles Branton
Covington, LA Divorce Lawyer
(504) 807-1410 522 N New Hampshire Street
Divorce, DUI & DWI, Family and Personal Injury
Marie Rudd Hidalgo
(866) 951-8210 516 W 21st Avenue
Divorce, DUI & DWI, Estate Planning and Family
Mandeville, LA Divorce Attorney with 32 years of experience
(985) 624-9697 111 N. Causeway Blvd.
Divorce, Business, Entertainment & Sports and Family
Jacob H. Thomas
Baton Rouge, LA Divorce Attorney with 5 years of experience
Jacob H. Thomas is originally from the Piney Hills of North Louisiana, known for producing great litigators such as Huey P. Long as well as several other notable statesmen on the both the federal and state levels. Jake is a graduate of Jonesboro-Hodge High School and Northwestern State University where he was a member of the Theta Mu chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, the NSU Presidential Leadership Program, and the InterFraternity Council serving as Vice President. He is a graduate of Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Jake was privileged to serve the Second...
(985) 809-7050 512 E Boston St
Divorce, Domestic Violence, Elder and Family
Scott Minvielle
(504) 840-9854 2325 N. Hullen Street, Suite 102
Divorce, Business, Construction and Estate Planning
I have practiced law in the New Orleans metropolitan area since 1982.
Tammy Karas-Griggs
(985) 247-0345 810 N. Columbia Street
Tammy Karas-Griggs Attorney At Law serves Covington, Louisiana families providing representation for family law - specifically specializing in divorce law, child custody law, prenups, and more - personal injury law and criminal law to get you max compensation for your claims.Contact Tammy Karas-Griggs Attorney At Law for a free consultation today or call (985) 247-0345..
Divorce Attorneys in Nearby Parishes
Saint Helena Parish
The Oyez Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Albany Divorce Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.
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Bailey Garner is a second-year student at the University of Florida studying along the Pre-PA track. She decided to change her major from communications to psychology because of her desire to become a physician assistant. Garner has a huge passion for fitness and nutrition, and she enjoys maintaining a healthy lifestyle and inspiring others to do so. She hopes to one day attend the UF Physician Assistant program.
By Bailey Garner
Though technology gives people the opportunity to improve their overall health, the rapid advance of this technology could jeopardize that possibility.
With tech gadgets and software constantly evolving, people are continuing to be consumed by the convenience of having everything at the palm of their hand. This convenience could eventually lead to detrimental effects towards people’s health.
In 1990, 11.4 percent of Floridians were obese, according to the State of Obesity website. In just 24 years, that statistic has more than doubled, and though the advancement of technology is not the only factor, it is one of the biggest.
“There are so many different factors that lead to obesity,” said Dr. Karla Pagan Shelnutt, associate professor and extension nutrition specialist at the University of Florida. “The family and home environment is a big one, and if they’re spending a lot of time in front of the screen, they’re not being as active as they should be.”
This is why the general recommendation for children is less than two hours of screen time per day, Shelnutt said.
“There is definitely an association between screen time and food choices and not being active,” said Shelnutt. “It’s like a double whammy when you’re sitting inside and watching TV all day. Not only are these kids not moving, but they’re being exposed to advertisements for unhealthy foods.”
“If they’re on their computer playing a game, there are always advertisements there for unhealthy items.”
When it comes to health, people need to keep in mind that there are multiple aspects including physical, mental, emotional and social, Shelnutt said. With technology continuously becoming a barrier between person-to-person interactions, emotional and social health fall short, she added.
As technology rises, physical health has been put at risk as well. Although many phone applications have been created to promote a healthier lifestyle, people are constantly distracted by the entertainment technology provides.
“I see people at the gym with their phones every day, every hour and every minute,” said Nikko Tan, fitness associate at UF RecSports. “Some people like to use it for music, and other people use their phone for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in between sets or even when they’re walking from the treadmill to the water fountain.”
Jackie Carranza, first-year UF Pharmacy student, ditches technology during her workout at Southwest Recreation Center on a Saturday morning. Carranza says she tries to stay away from her phone while at the gym so she can have effective workouts. Photo by Bailey Garner.
Students even go to the extent of taking pictures of themselves while working out, Tan said.
“You have a rest period, you don’t really know what you’re doing, you don’t want to seem awkward and just stand there so the easiest thing for people to do is go on their phone,” said Hakeem White, CEO and founder of fitness and nutrition company, Hakeem Getz You Gainz.
Being thoroughly dedicated to his health and well being, White is able to see the negatives and positives of technology.
“It’s a 50-50 honestly,” said White, who is also a nutrition major at UF and a UF RecSports personal trainer. “You have apps nowadays and programs that can help you track what you eat and can help you with your workout or show you proper form.”
However, there is also an overabundance of social media that can distract people who are working towards their fitness goals, White said.
One glance at a college campus can give anyone an idea of what the future of technology may be like. With fancy gadgets emerging such as the hover board, even walking may eventually become a thing of the past.
“Society as a whole is losing traction on their health and their fitness, and that’s definitely in decline,” said White. “At the rate we’re going, technology is just making life a lot easier.”
However, technology continues to give people the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle. Shelnutt uses her Fitbit to track her steps as she participates in the Walk Challenge at UF, Shelnutt said. Tan has recorded over 600 miles on his Nike+ Running app, Tan said. White continues to track his food intake and how effective his workouts are through his use of technology, White said.
“I think if we don’t get a grasp on how we use technology, it can get out of hand,” White said. “But if you use the aspects of technology that are around properly to aid in your fitness, it can be very beneficial.”
Tags: bailey garner, technology and fitness, UF
Categories communication, Nutrition, Technology
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One Response to “Future of technology may pose problems for health”
Tony March 24, 2016 at 6:58 am #
Some interesting information here, but it seems the ‘problems for health’ stem more from bad choices people are making than technology. Choosing to sit in front of a TV or a computer for hours on end is a bad choice. The technology is innocent. On the other hand, the final two paragraphs sum it up very well – “technology continues to give people the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle.” I love my Apple Watch for just those reasons.
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Chief Joseph, 1840-1904: A Hero of Freedom for Native Americans, Part 2
Download this story as a PDF
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: People in America, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Every week at this time, we tell the story of a man or a woman who played an important part in the history of the United States. Today, Larry West and Warren Scheer complete the story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians.
WARREN SCHEER: In eighteen seventy-seven, the American government decided to move the Nez Perce Indians from their land in the northwestern part of the country. The government had set up a reservation for them in Idaho. Chief Joseph did not want to leave the land. It was holy ground. It contained the bones of his father and mother.
But, like his father in earlier times, Chief Joseph knew it would be hopeless to stay and defend the land. There were too few Indians to win a war against the white men.
And so in June of eighteen seventy-seven, the Nez Perce left their home in the Wallowa Valley. They left quickly. They were able to take only a small part of what they owned, and just a few cattle and Appaloosa horses.
LARRY WEST: When the Indians reached the Snake River, the water was very deep and ran very fast with melted snow from the mountains. Chief Joseph and his people made boats from sticks and dried animal skins to cross the river. While the Indians were busy, a group of white men came and stole some of the cattle waiting at the edge of the river.
The other chiefs demanded that Joseph call a meeting. Two of the chiefs, White Bird and Toohoolhoolzote, spoke for War.
But Joseph said, "It is better to live at peace than to begin a war and lie dead."
WARREN SCHEER: Some of the young men in White Bird's group were very angry. That night, they rode into the countryside and killed eleven white persons.
During all his years as chief, Joseph had tried to keep the peace. Now he saw there was no hope. Although he and his young men had taken no part in the killings, he knew that the white men would blame all of the Indians. Chief Joseph said, "I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of the white men."
Many Nez Perce fled. Chief Joseph remained, because his wife was about to have a baby. After she gave birth, he and his brother and their families joined the others in White Bird Canyon to the south.
LARRY WEST: Joseph wanted to lead the people to safety in the flat lands of Montana. But the United States army quickly sent horse soldiers to follow them.
The troops rode all night. They were extremely tired when they reached White Bird Canyon. An Indian -- carrying a white flag -- walked forward to meet them. A soldier shot him.
With that shot, war between the Nez Perce and the United States began.
WARREN SCHEER: The young Nez Perce men were skilled with their guns. They knew the land. And they were calm in battle. The army officers did not know the land. And they were not wise. When the soldiers attacked, they fired on Indian women and children.
The two sides fought hard. The soldiers could not defeat the Indians.
Joseph, White Bird and Toohoolhoolzote led their people across the mountains to join another Nez Perce group led by Chief Looking Glass. Together, the Nez Perce forces then numbered more than two-hundred-fifty warriors.
The chiefs met. They knew they could not return home. They decided to lead their people to Canada. And so they headed north, always keeping their horses in front of them. The chiefs believed the soldiers would not follow them again.
LARRY WEST: The chiefs did not know, however, that army officials in Washington were discussing the situation. The officials did not understand why the United States army could not capture several hundred Indians.
So they decided to send General William Tecumseh Sherman -- a hero of the Civil War -- to find out.
The Indians continued to move toward Canada, battling groups of soldiers along the way.
When the Indians reached the great Yellowstone Park, General Sherman himself was waiting for them. His troops closed every road out of the park. But Joseph, with his people and their horses, escaped through the trees.
WARREN SCHEER: General Sherman sent word by telegraph to other army commanders along the Indians' way north. At one place in the mountains, the Indians found a group of soldiers building a wall across the only road.
Joseph, White Bird and Looking Glass rode down to the wall and spoke to the officers. The chiefs told them: "We are going by you without fighting if you will let us. But we are going by you anyhow."
The soldiers would not let the Indians pass. Fighting broke out. And, again, the Indian warriors defeated the white soldiers.
Joseph was not a military man. In fact, before the war against the American army, Joseph had never been in battle. But he understood human nature. He understood his enemy. And he was able to unite his warriors and his people.
LARRY WEST: Many weeks after the Nez Perce had left their home lands, they reached the Bear Paw Mountains. They were only eighty kilometers from Canada. The Nez Perce were close to their goal. But safety was not yet in sight.
Six-hundred army troops, under the command of General Nelson Miles, were waiting at Bear Paw.
The soldiers attacked two times on the first day. They were beaten back two times. Joseph's brother was killed in the fighting, as well as Toohoolhoolzote and some of the other chiefs.
After the long march and so many battles, only eighty-seven warriors remained. Many of the women and children were wounded or sick. Most of the horses were dead.
The weather turned cold in the mountains. The wind blew, and it began to snow.
General Miles sent a message to Chief Joseph. He said: "If you will come out and give up your arms, I will not harm you, and will send you to the reservation."
WARREN SCHEER: Chief Joseph would not give up. The battle continued. On the fourth day, Chief Looking Glass was hit by a bullet and died. On the fifth day, Chief Joseph rode out -- alone -- to the snowy battlefield. He surrendered. He said:
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. It is cold, and we have no blankets. Some of my people have run away to the hills. No one knows where they are. I want to have time to look for my children. Hear me, my chiefs! My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands. . . I will fight no more forever. "
LARRY WEST: Two days after Chief Joseph surrendered, the government ordered him and his people far away.
First, they went to an army base in Kansas. Then they went to a dry and empty piece of land in Oklahoma. Within a year, almost half the people died. Joseph buried all of his children.
Years later, Chief Joseph and his people were permitted to return to the northwest. But they were not permitted to return home.
Joseph spoke to American officials. Nothing changed. He could never go back to the holy ground that held the bones of his father and mother. He lived in the northwest -- in exile -- until September, nineteen-oh-four, when he died.
WARREN SCHEER: Chief Joseph's words expressed the ideas of justice and civil rights. . . Even though he lived in a time when he could not have those rights himself. He said:
"Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. The earth is the mother of all people. And all people should have equal rights upon it. Then the great spirit chief who rules above will smile upon this land, and send rain to wash out the bloody spots made by brothers' hands upon the face of the earth."
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: You have been listening to the VOA Special English program, People in America, and its story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians. You narrators were Larry West and Warren Scheer. Our program was written by Barbara Dash. This is Shirley Griffith.
Chief Joseph, 1840-1904: A Great Nez Perce Indian Chief
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The Armenian Orphan Rug
The Armenian Orphan Rug and the White House Scandal
If you haven’t heard of the Armenian Orphan Rug of Ghazir, Lebanon, you aren’t alone. Not many people know about this masterpiece and even fewer have had the opportunity to see it because White House officials have continually elected not to display the carpet Although some politicians see it as a pariah that’s best left in storage, others see the Ghazir Orphan Carpet as an elegant expression of thanks and an artful way of overcoming loss. The story of this hidden treasure has inspired a book and is encouraging representatives and cultural groups to lobby for its display.
The Story of the Armenian Orphan Rug
The story of the so called Armenian Orphan Rug of Ghazir begins in the early 1900’s. As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, political instability created the first genocide of the century. Feuds between the Turks and Armenians led to the deaths of more than 1 million citizens through direct and indirect causes, including starvation. A surging orphan population was just one of the effects of this unspeakable event.
The Armenian Orphan Rug.
With assistance from the USA , Near East Relief relocated 100,000 Armenian orphans. One group of about 400 orphaned girls in the Syrian city of Ghazir, now in Lebanon, created a beautiful 12 foot by 18 foot carpet that was gifted to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925. The jewel tone rug features fantastical animals and lush flowers arranged in a complex central medallion and corner design. The design is thought to depict scenes from the Garden of Eden. It took 10 months to weave the carpet, which has some 4.4 million rug knots. The Armenian carpet was one of several created in Ghazir, including a number that were commissioned following the well received gift.
President Coolidge graciously accepted the offering. In a letter of appreciation he said, “The rug has a place of honor in the White House where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.” At the time, the gift received nationwide media coverage. The carpet was displayed in the White House through the end of Coolidge’s tenure, and after that, it remained in his Massachusetts home until his death. His wife kept the rug for years beyond that, until her death, when the Coolidge family returned it to the White House. It was kept in storage there and not displayed. It was only briefly removed from storage in 1995 to show to one of its original weavers and her family, and then returned to storage.
Calvin Coolidge inspecting the Armenian Orphan Rug.
In 2013, requests began to come in asking to show the carpet. The Smithsonian’s Asian cultural history program reached out to White House officials and asked to show the rug at their event sponsored by the Armenian rugs society. While letter signed by a bipartisan group of 33 U.S. Congressmen supported the removal of the rug from storage, the Smithsonian actually later cancelled the event, saying the White House had declined to loan the rug. The White House refused to give an official reason for the refusal, but many people had their own suspicions and speculations. Many speculated that it was to prevent offending Turkey and maintain a good relationship. The Armenian National Committee of America believed it had to do with then-president Barack Obama’s position on the Armenian Genocide (refusal to officially recognize it, among other things).
The Armenian Orphan Rug being viewed inside the White House in 1984 by activists looking to preserve its identity.
With all the speculation circulating and creating bad press, the White House decided to respond to the allegations in November 2013. Laura Lucas Magnuson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said, “Displaying the rug for only half a day in connection with a private book launch event, as proposed, would have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government property.” She noted that it did not mean that the rug would not be displayed publicly in the future.
Finally, in November 2014, the rug was displayed at the White House Visitor Center. It was a part of the exhibition “Thank you to the United States: Three Gifts to Presidents in Gratitude for American Generosity Abroad”. It included the Armenian Orphan Rug, a French vase given to Herbert Hoover after World War I, and Japanese cherry blossoms encased in acrylic given to Barack Obama.
The Armenian Orphan Rug on display at the White House in 2014.
This carpet blog about the Armenian Orphan Rug of Ghazir was published by Nazmiyal Antique Rugs.
Published at Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:28:55 +0000
Custom Making Rugs – Be The Rug Designer
I tried to buy a lovely Tiffany lamp, but…
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THE LÉGARÉ GROUP
Green Chemistry Research at McGill University, Montreal
Discover what makes us unique
We use our modern, hands-on research approach in our quest to pioneer surprising new chemistry.
We are especially passionate about sustainable catalysis, green synthesis and the main group elements,
in addition to our many other interests!
Creatively Designed
Our passion is to create new paradigms in chemistry.
We seek out visionary ideas and out-of-the-box thinking to fuel our research endeavors.
Computationally Validated
We use computational tools to predict the outcome of our ideas and to accelerate our understanding.
We can confidently identify targets and predict what will work.
Chemically Implemented
Guided by computations, our state-of-the-art experimental work operates at maximized efficiency.
In the lab, we take our validated idea to the next level.
Discover our Exciting Projects!
Visit our Research Page to get a glimpse of the problems we are currently tackling.
Meet the PI
Prof. Marc-André Légaré was born in Morges, Switzerland, and grew up in Quebec City, Canada. He received his Ph.D. degree from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, in 2015, advised by Prof. Frédéric-Georges Fontaine. He subsequently took up a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Prof. Holger Braunschweig at the Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg, in Germany.
Marc-André is the author of over 30 publications and two patents, including three papers as first author in the prestigious journal Science. His accomplishments include the development of metal-free C-H activation protocols and pioneering the field of main group dinitrogen chemistry.
He has received a number of awards, including the Star Student-Researcher Award from the Fond de Recherche Québécois and the CAS Future Leader Award. He has been Assistant Professor of Green Chemistry at McGill University since 2020.
These incredible people will make chemistry come alive.
Interested to join? Contact us!
Gabriella Morin
Gabriella obtained her Bachelor's in Physics and Chemistry from McGill University. She is interested in the interface of both fields, for instance, using quantum mechanics to elucidate fundamental aspects of chemical reactivity. When not in the lab, she is either training for her next marathon, or training at her favourite rock-climbing gym.
What's new in the Legare Group
Marc-André Légaré:
ma.legare@mcgill.ca
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MERNA DEONE OSLANSKI BURR, of Lethbridge, passed away peacefully at the Chinook Regional Hospital in the loving arms of her family, on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at the age of 68 years after a valiant battle with lung cancer and pneumonia.
Merna was born on February 4, 1949 in Raymond, AB, to Gabriel and Ruby Oslanski. She is lovingly remembered and cherished by her husband Ron, daughter Kristie, son Jamie (Carol) and grandchildren Janessa, Jeremy and Thea as well as her sister and brothers and Ron’s sister and brothers.
Merna was predeceased by her parents, stepfather Bill Dumanski, sister Teresa Ternes and by Ron’s parents.
A Prayer Service will be held at CORNERSTONE FUNERAL HOME, 2800 Mayor Magrath Drive South, Lethbridge, AB, on Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 7:00 P.M.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at ST. PETER’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 301 Main Street N.W., Milk River, AB, on Monday, October 23, 2017 at 2:00 P.M. with Father Benedicto Tugano IV celebrating.
Cremation to follow with an Interment to follow at a later date.
Loretta Goertzen
With tears in our eyes, Loretta Goertzen passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at the age of 79 years. She will always be remembered for her loving caring heart, sense of humour and quick wittedness. She is survived by her children, Cheryl, Michelle (Bruce), Janis (Rob) and Darren, as well as numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren; two sisters and three brothers. We would like to thank all of those who attended Loretta’s Living Celebration of Life earlier this year. Cremation entrusted to Martin Brothers Funerals Chapels.
GARY HAMILTON passed away at his home in Lethbridge on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, at the age of 70 years.
Gary was predeceased by his father, Alvin Rex Hamilton and by his mother, Corinne Hamilton.
Gary was a beloved husband, father, and friend to many. He is survived by his wife, Anita Hamilton, two daughters, Dawn Ramsay of Lethbridge and by his estranged daughter Dawn LaPoint of Lethbridge; three grandchildren; two brothers, Rodney (Laurel) and their four children of Lethbridge and Kennith and his two children of Lethbridge; one sister, Virene (Dave) French and their three children of Stirling, AB. He will also be missed by his friends, George Boush, John Hawkes, Al Dag, and so much more from a long time past.
Gary and Anita were married on January 20th, 1988. He loved his fishing and camping. He always had a book in his hands as he loved to read. He was like an old farmer; a gift of gab when you met up with him. When he retired you could always find him in his shop tinkering around with his carpentry, listening to hard rock music and having a beverage. He always said, “Life is good, isn’t it”.
Gary was a production Foreman at Triple M Housing for more than 20 years. He was a compassionate, thoughtful and honorable man who loved his animal companions. He was well loved for his humor, respect and generous spirit. He truly was a character-and-a-half.
Gary will be honored at a private service.
I love you honey. Anita.
ROGER DEAN HOLT (RD) formerly of Raymond, passed away Thursday October 12, 2017 in Bucerias, Mexico. He was born September 23, 1966. RD is the son of Roger Holt (deceased) and Barbara Salmon. RD is survived by his son Asa Holt, Daughter Avery, and his siblings; Jason, Hilary, Candice and Julie.
RD was raised in Raymond, he was an avid fly fisherman and snowboarder in his younger days and a gritty Raymond Comet football player. RD was an entrepreneur and business man. He had a great sense of humor and will be missed by friends and family.
http://www.salmonandsons.ca
Lillian “Avis” Hunt
Mrs. Avis Hunt of Lethbridge, beloved wife of the late Mr. Cyril “Cy” Hunt, passed away at the Chinook Regional Hospital on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at the age of 89 years. She will be greatly missed by her daughters Fay (John) VandenBerg and Ruth “Jess” Hunt (VandenBerg); 5 grandchildren, Natalie VandenBerg, Tracy (Jarrett) Bozzi, Angela VandenBerg (Michel Yannakopoulos), Jerry (Wendy) Vandenberg and Kelly (Paul) VanderHooft. Also missing her are 8 great grandchildren, Brayden and Hannah VanderHooft, Max, Sam and Joe Vandenberg and James, Matthew and William Bozzi. She is also survived by Aurel Buta, Stan and Joan Hunt and Doris Hunt and many beloved nieces and nephews. Avis was predeceased by her parents Henry “Harry” and Rosa Millidge, her granddaughter Shelly Rae VandenBerg; 6 older sisters and their spouses, Norma (Bill) Skidmore, Jean (Leif) Ruden and (Heinz Laurien), Ethel and Dick Styner, Alice and Bill McClure, Mary and George Reti and Betty Buta.
Avis was a forty-one-year active member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion. She was also a lifelong member of the ACW. Family and Friends are invited to pay their respects between 5:00 and 6:00pm on Sunday, October 22, 2017 at the MARTIN BROTHERS RIVERVIEW CHAPEL, 610 – 4 Street S., Lethbridge, Alberta. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00am on Monday, October 23, 2017 at the ST. AUGUSTINE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, 411 – 11 Street S., Lethbridge, Alberta, with Canon James Robinson officiating. A Private Family Graveside Service will be held in the Mountain View Cemetery.
RONALD “RON” STEPHEN NAGY, of Lethbridge, passed away peacefully with his good friend Karen at his side at the Fairmont Extendicare on Thursday, October 19th, 2017 at the age of 88 years.
Ron was survived by his brother Thomas Nagy as well as numerous other extended family members.
He was predeceased by his parents Marion and Stephen Nagy.
At Ron’s request no formal Funeral Service will be held. Cremation entrusted to Cornerstone Funeral Home.
Rose Roest
Mrs. Rose Roest of Lethbridge, beloved wife of the late Mr. Paul Roest, passed away at the Chinook Regional Hospital on Friday, October 20, 2017 at the age of 95 years. Funeral arrangements to be announced when completed.
SHIPLEY, Kevin Allen
April 21, 1998 – Calgary, AB
October 18, 2017 – Cardston, AB
Kevin went to walk with his friend and Saviour on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at the age of 19 years. Kevin left cherishing his memory; Brent & Rachelle Shipley, his sister Amanda and brothers Matthew, Jordan and Spencer, his grandparents Dwain an Jolane Shipley and Opal Greep. He was predeceased by his grandfather Robert Greep.
He was so excited to serve as a full-time missionary, but people were more important to him than his own accomplishments. He loved without limits, devoid of hatred.
A Funeral service will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cardston Alberta Stake Center on Monday, October 23rd, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. with interment to follow at the Cardston Cemetery.
Friends may meet the family on Sunday, October 22nd at Kevin’s Residence (252 – 8th Street West, Cardston from 7 to 8:00 p.m. or at the church on Monday from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the service.
TAKAHASHI 1940 – 2017
With heavy hearts we announce the passing of JAMES TAKAHASHI at St Michael’s Health Palliative care unit on October 19,2017, when he left this earth to soar with the Eagles in the sky Jim was the best friend, soul-mate and husband of Pat for over 56 years. He is survived by brothers David (Betty) Hiroji and sisters Yeyiko Matsuba and Reyiko Dunlap, along with many much loved nieces and nephews. Jim will be dearly missed by Pat’s family, Gary and Judy, Dave and Chick and nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Hirokichi and Sui Takahashi, brother-in-laws, Roy Matsuba and Ralph Dunlop, as well as his in-laws, Ken Robertson, Julius and Nita Hanzel and Robin Hanzel. Jim started working part time in the service department at Beny Chev Olds while farming near Coaldale with his father. He began working full time in 1972 with Benys and then with Murray Chev Olds until his retirement. Jim received his 25 year diamond ring from Murray Chev GM prior to his retirement. Jim loved his career and enjoyed his experiences with various co-workers and customers over the many years. He loved meeting with friends after retirement to shoot the breeze and to lift a few “glasses”, along with a little slot machine action. Jim and Pat spent many years camping and fishing at Duck Lake in Montana and later at Duck Lake Lodge Campground. Jim and Pat made many trips to Hawaii with family. Jim loved Hawaii and always said it was his second home where he could lay in the sun with no snow. A private family service will be held on October 23, 2017 with interment at Mountain View Cemetery. A CELEBRATION OF LIFE will be held October 23, 2017 from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Rocky Mountain Turf Club, 5th floor, Colonel MacLeod Room. Friends and acquaintances are invited for refreshments and swapping tales of good times with Jim. For those who wish, donations in Jim’s name may be made to the Jack Ady Cancer Centre, 960 19 Street S Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 1W5 or to St. Michael’s Palliative Care Centre, 1400 9 Ave S, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4V5
Claude Leeks
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Claude “Bunky” Leeks, beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at the age of 93 years.
Claude is survived by his daughters Sandra (Robert) Bielesch of Calgary and Wendy VanderWal of Taber and her children David (Sandie) VanderWal and Kristie (Scott) Bull, great granddaughter Alexa Bull. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law Leona Leeks, Kay Faulkner and Marge Sorenson as well as many nieces, nephews, “adopted” families and many many friends.
He was predeceased by his beloved wife Annie; son-in-law Mike VanderWal; brothers Fred (Phyllis), Bill and Ted; sisters Effie (Les) Punter and Betty (Harold) Rhodes.
Dad had many jobs over the years, all of them in the agriculture field, but what he loved was farming. He served on many boards and committees. Dad was a caring and generous man. He always had and gave whatever was needed, whether it was words, a helping hand or time. Dad loved his wife Annie, his children, grandchildren and great granddaughter, but he also loved a good slot machine, a good card game and a good joke or story.
As per Dad’s wishes, please remember him privately when you hear the laying down of a playing card, the chime of a slot machine or the phrase “Did you hear the one about……”. Condolences may be forwarded by visiting our website at http://www.southlandfuneral.com.
We love you and miss you Dad.
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The Judicial Education Institute
The Judicial Education Institute is a joint venture between the IALGBTJ, the LGBT Bar and the Williams Institute of UCLA Law. The Institute provides a forum for judges and judicial officers to discuss legal issues that impact LGBT people and LGBT judges. The Institute also provides the opportunity to network with LGBT judges from across the United States and the world who can then serve as an educational resource to other LGBT judges and allies in considering LGBT issues in the judicial system.
Institute sessions are closed and limited to judges and judicial officers in order to promote a meaningful dialogue among judges on legal issues related to the LGBT community including judicial ethics and judicial decision-making as well as substantive legal issues such as family law and civil matters. The IALGBTJ will assist any participants who desire to apply for judicial education credit from their jurisdiction.
There is no cost to attend the Judicial Education Institute to any current members of the IALGBTJ.
2019 Judicial Education Institute
August 9, 2018 – 8:30 am to 12:00 pm
Program to be announced.
For additional information about the Judicial Education Institute, please contact the IALGBT’s education chair Judge Linda Colfax at lcolfax@sftc.org.
About the Williams Institute:
The Williams Institute is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. A think tank at UCLA Law, the Williams Institute produces high-quality research with real-world relevance and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public. Experts at the Williams Institute conduct legal research, judicial education trainings and public policy analysis. For additional information about the Williams Institute’s judicial education program, please visit: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/judicial-training-program/
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My ultimate dream was to build them a house
Leveraging fintech solutions to help make dreams come true in emerging markets
“I was the breadwinner in my family. At a young age, my ultimate dream was to build them a house and fortunately, I was able to do that.”
This is the story of migrant worker Jemelline Lawan from Manila, Philippines. Just like Jemelline, millions of people worldwide make the hard decision to leave their home country and loved ones behind hoping to build a better life for themselves and their families. Jemelline has been living and working in Nagano, Japan for over 30 years now - her income helps support her family in the Philippines.
Remittances to the Philippines make up roughly 10% of the nation’s GDP. According to a survey conducted by BeamAndGo, an e-voucher payment service, over two-thirds of their customers send funds specifically to build or renovate their houses back home. As the leading supplier of building materials, LafargeHolcim identified an opportunity to partner with fintech startups such as BeamAndGo and MyCash Online. These apps allow migrant workers to purchase cement vouchers from LafargeHolcim so that their family back home can build strong, resilient homes.
Jemelline adds: “As long as they are all healthy, especially my parents, and they are living comfortably, that’s enough for me. That makes me sleep at night.”
Adonis Quillope of Surigao del Norte, Philippines, who has now been working 12 years in Saudi Arabia, says:
“I told myself that I need to get them out of poverty. I don’t want us to just survive, but I want us to live comfortably. I went to Saudi with nothing but my skill, determination, and eagerness to reach my dreams. And that is to help my siblings finish college, provide my parents a better life, a home for them to live comfortably and some investment.”
Financial instability, social stigma and lack of transparency of money remitted are common issues facing migrant workers. Starting his career as a Bangladeshi migrant worker in Malaysia, Mehedi Hasan, co-founder and CEO of MyCash Online, has first-hand experience of these difficulties. For example, banks often reject low-income earners in opening accounts. On the other hand, many migrant workers do not trust the financial institutions based on previous bad experiences such as high bank fees and poor customer service due to their social status associated with being a migrant. What is worse, migrant workers have no ways of knowing what the money they send home is being used for.
“Cash sent back home for groceries, medicine, education or building a house, is often spent on alcohol, tobacco and gambling”, says Jonathan E. Chua, CEO of BeamAndGo. “Whoever has the cash has the power.”
Jonathan and Mehedi are not letting people’s years of hard work go to waste. BeamAndGo and MyCash Online empower the un- and underbanked population by responding to these challenges. Migrant workers who do not own a bank account or credit card can top up their remittance accounts by paying in cash at dedicated kiosks that these startups partner with. They receive a code, with which they can purchase goods and services directly on the app and hence budget their families spendings. This puts the power back in the hands of the migrant workers.
Adonis says: “Honestly, as a migrant worker, you cannot control how your family is spending your remittance.”
Jemelline adds: “Before I started using BeamAndGo, I used to remit my money in one go and most of the time, I was not sure how it was being spent. BeamAndGo is what every migrant worker needs.”
LafargeHolcim is proud to partner with innovative startups that empower Jemelline, Adonis and many others from the un- and underbanked population. Acknowledging the impact of Covid-19 on global poverty, LafargeHolcim is committed to democratizing technology by tapping into fintech solutions in emerging markets.
Going forward, we are expanding our partnerships with fintech startups to empower our retailers too. In Latin America, Middle East Africa and India we are partnering with startups that provide e-wallets and micro credit to increase the liquidity of our small and medium- and family-owned retailers to ensure their survival during the crisis and post crisis.
How MAQER supports countries
As many migrant workers share the same dream of building a better future for their loved ones, LafargeHolcim generally supports countries in identifying the right partner for their local setup as remittances and community needs differ from country to country and region to region. For countries this is a good opportunity to partner with the local retail business, and to help to channel the money to retail customers, especially across Disensa networks. MAQER provides support in structuring the initiative and developing a proof of concept together with the remittance platform and the local business team. Beamandgo or MyCashOnline are trusted platforms already used by thousands of migrant workers sending money back home which cannot be easily replicated. Additional countries currently working with MAQER on similar concepts are Mexico and El Salvador.
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Doing it Differently | July 2006
Raising the Ruling Class
When I was in junior high, in the mid-seventies, we referred to the cliquey, popular kids as “The Crowd.” Outgoing and confident, they dictated fashion and were snide toward anyone outside their realm. The girls in The Crowd could often be seen huddled together, laughing because a less sought-after classmate failed to replicate their elaborate Farrah Fawcett hair styles.
Maybe they’re not quite human, I thought. They don’t seem to have feelings. Maybe they were placed here merely to test and torment the real people.
By real people, I meant those of us who weren’t as concerned with outward appearances and popularity. Who were admittedly flawed and could tolerate the imperfections of others. Having a disability helped me develop empathy in those preteen years. Though my awkwardness left me feeling insecure at times, I valued otherness. The members of The Crowd didn’t. Because of this, I never strove for their approval. Those kids seemed vacuous to me. I understood even then that their world was a narrower place than mine.
The Crowd, and their successors created a scale, based on their own strengths and predilections, and used it to find everyone else lacking. To be acceptable among them, you had to be like them. Able-bodied and athletic. Attractive and fashionable. Judgmental to the point of cruel.
Long after junior high and high school, I came upon this quote in Past Due: A Story of Disability, Pregnancy and Birth by Anne Finger:
People who aren’t disabled … sometimes seem to be missing
a dimension, glib and easy; skimmers over the surface of life,
not quite as real.
Yes! I wrote in the margin of the page.
The skimmers. The haves. Of course I thought of The Crowd, and those like them, who were glib, dismissive and, to my mind, less real. That is, until I found myself the mother of one of their kind.
My son has hair the color of honey and clear blue eyes. He is undeniably handsome. He is also quick, strong, smart, and has a natural air of confidence. In school, he’s always been a leader. At three, he developed a love for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I hesitated to let him attend pre-school with a red sticker on his nose but he insisted. Dropping him off, I worried that he’d be made fun of. But when I returned later that afternoon, I watched as each of his classmates exited the schoolhouse wearing a colored sticker on his nose.
I describe my son and tell that story with a sense of maternal pride. This is what we hope for when we bring children into the world. We wish for them to be healthy and strong, successful and self-assured. We’re glad to discover that they’re well liked. I’m no exception. I love that when Ethan arrives at school in the morning, friends rally for his attention. That, on the playground, he can often be found holding court. I understand why people are so drawn to him. My son has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s quite charming. What concerns me is that already, at the age of nine, he has parlayed his good fortune into a sense of class, who is up and who is down. And it is not unusual for his jokes and observations to be unkind.
“Billy is really bad at math. I asked him what four times four is and he said eight. Then we all started asking him math problems and he looked like he was going to cry.”
“Zack has the same ugly pair of pants in, like, four colors. He wears them every day. His parents should just buy him a pair of normal jeans.”
It’s typical behavior and, like a typical mom, I respond by reminding Ethan that Billy is very good at other things; that Zack’s choice of clothing is his own concern; that when it comes to how to treat his classmates, he needs to remember the golden rule.
Sometimes, though, his comments are harder for me to be objective about.
“Steven walks on his toes all the time,” he told me recently. “It looks really weird.”
“What are you, blind?” he quipped another time to my boyfriend, Dan, knowing full well that he is.
On days when I have little slack, I’m likely to snap at him, “How could you say that?” I expect more from him. After all, he’s been around people with disabilities his whole life. But sometimes, I’m able to step back and see that he makes remarks like these when he’s working on something.
Just as I did, Ethan is growing up in a world that puts high value on sameness. Arguably it was harder for me, having a disability. The truth is, in a certain way, I had it easier. Born blind, Dan didn’t have to worry about being sent to Vietnam. Born with cerebral palsy, I was exempt from appearing like everyone else.
Conforming is hard work. I see the toll it takes on my son. Already, he has learned to tuck away his emotions and appear cool and unflappable. Those unexpressed feelings pile up inside him until finally, when he’s safely at home, they spill. Some of what he’s trying to figure out has to do with the fact that two of the people he cares about most are outside the norm. We’re also two of the people with whom he feels most secure, which is why he’s free to test the phrases of intolerance he’s exposed to out in the world.
Ethan puts a lot of effort into choosing clothes, using language, and even selecting hobbies that his friends deem acceptable. On the rare occasion he is targeted for teasing, he takes it very hard. I remind him that people usually only put others down when they’re feeling badly about themselves.
When did I learn that? Clearly, I didn’t know it in seventh grade when I thought of The Crowd as “not quite human.” Maybe it’s something I discovered as a parent, when I could look at my smart, able, handsome son and see that the only reason anyone could have for teasing him was they were feeling inadequate just then.
I may have had empathy back in junior high, but it was reserved for the underdogs. What I didn’t realize about the popular kids was that they were working really hard for their own reasons. Yes, they behaved oppressively, but I see now that they felt a lot of pressure themselves.
My hope is that Ethan will ultimately reject the tyranny of conformity. Maybe he’ll even use his charisma and position of privilege to stand up for difference; to lead rather than follow. He did so quite naturally at the age of three when he marched into school with a sicker on his nose. There are days he does it still.
“That’s your mother’s boyfriend?” I heard a classmate say to Ethan one afternoon. “But he’s blind!”
Ethan responded with a shrug. “So? He’s really cool.”
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collingsworth family net worth
View All Photos. Connect with The Collingsworth Family! He has amassed such fortune from his career as a footballer and now a sports broadcaster. As a matter of fact, the father-son duo will be working together after young Collinsworth signed with NBC in March 2020.. Top Answer. Tom Ford. Cincinnati, OH @ Live Stream. Edward Norton. Live Photos of The Collingsworth Family. Parents Net worth . Our first five concerts of 2020 are in the books! The Collingsworth Family. With a 3.9+ GPA, he got a degree in Accounting from the University of Florida. History. The cruise has just recently gone on sale and will be the trip of a lifetime. What is the net worth of the Collingsworth Family gospel singers? Fan Reviews . You can learn more about that HERE. In 1988, Holly earned her law degree. Business People Chuck Dez-April 18, 2016. Net Worth and Salary of Jac Collinsworth. 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A 2002 Cincinnati Enquirer profile notes that they both attended the University of Cincinnati. Three of the Collingsworth siblings – 27-year-old Brooklyn Blair, 26-year-old Courtney Metz and 23-year-old Phillip – are married, leaving William Blair, Michael Metz and Sharlenae Collingsworth joining their spouses on the bus. Some of you may know me from singing Gospel Music with my family, The Collingsworth Family. Rebecca Collingsworth Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Structural Info; Net Worth: $15 Million: Source. Phillip Collingsworth, Jr: We started touring in the year 2000 by doing small concerts, the occasional camp meeting special music, and Christmas concerts in December. Answer. Rebecca Collingsworth net worth is. As of 2019, he has an estimated net worth of $14 million including all of his properties and incomes. The county was created in 1876 from the Bexar and Young land district of Texas. 0 0 1. 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Back Richard Wright: Later Works Print
Richard Wright: Later Works
Black Boy (American Hunger) | The Outsider
Edited by Arnold Rampersad
“Edited by Arnold Rampersad, a professor of English at Princeton, this superb edition of Wright’s major works and some minor ones restores the second part of Black Boy and cuts in Native Son demanded by the book club in 1939. It also includes a chronology so complete that it reads like a biography in miniature as well as unusually explicit notes on the differences between Wright and the publishing world 50 years ago.”— Alfred Kazin, The New York Times
Save $15 when you buy both volumes of the Richard Wright edition in a deluxe boxed set.
Native Son and Black Boy are classics of twentieth-century American literature—and yet the novel and memoir known to millions of readers are in fact revised and abbreviated versions of the books Richard Wright wrote. The two-volume Library of America edition presents for the first time Wright’s major works in the form in which he intended them to be read. The authoritative new texts, based on Wright’s original typescripts and proofs, reveal the full range and power of this achievement as an experimental stylist and as a fiery prophet of the tragic consequences of racism in American society.
Wright’s wrenching memoir Black Boy, an eloquent account of his struggle to escape a life of poverty, ignorance and fear in his native South, was an immediate bestseller when it appeared in 1945. But Wright’s complete autobiography, published for the first time in this volume as Black Boy (American Hunger), is a far more complex and probing work. Its original second section, in which Wright chronicled his encounter with racism in the North, his apprenticeship as a writer, and his disillusionment with the Communist Party, was cut at the insistence of book club editors and was only published posthumously as a separate work. Now that the two parts of Wright’s autobiography are finally printed together, Black Boy (American Hunger) appears as a new and different work—a unique contribution to the literature of self-discovery and a searing vision of racism in Northern slums as well as Southern shanties.
Richard Wright’s novel The Outsider (1953) appears here in a text that restores the many stylistic changes and long cuts made by his editors without his knowledge. This text, based on Wright’s final, corrected typescript, casts new light on his development of the style he called “poetic realism.” The “outsider” of Wright’s story is Cross Damon, a black man who works in the Chicago post office. When Damon is mistakenly believed to have died in a subway accident, he seizes the opportunity to invent a new life for himself. In this, his most philosophical novel, Wright reconsiders the existentialist themes of man’s freedom and responsibility as he traces Damon’s doomed attempts to lead a free life.
Richard Wright was “forged in injustice as a sword is forged,” wrote Ernest Hemingway. With passionate honesty and courage, he confronted the terrible effects of prejudice and intolerance and created works that explore the deepest conflicts of the human heart.
This volume includes notes on significant changes in Wright’s texts and a detailed chronology of his life.
Arnold Rampersad, volume editor, is Sara Hart Kimball Professor in the Humanities and a member of the Department of English at Stanford University. He has written biographies of Langston Hughes (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), Jackie Robinson, and, most recently, Ralph Ellison.
James Baldwin: Early Novels & Stories LOA N°97
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The Vermont Patent & Trademark Resource Center (VPTRC), designated by the Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) in November 1996, is free and open to the public. The VPTRC is located in the Howe Library Government Information Collection. Contact us at govdocs@uvm.edu or 802-656-2542.
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Natasha Zena natashazena_
Natasha Zena
Around age eight Natasha Zena was told it was a woman’s job to take care of the home and since then she has built a career out of telling women they can do whatever the hell they want to do. She is the co-founder of Lioness, the go-to news source for everything female entrepreneur. Natasha was recognized as an emerging leader in digital media by The Poynter Institute and the National Association of Black Journalists. She has mentored women entrepreneurs and moderated panels at a number of national accelerators, Startup Weekends and conferences such as The Lean Startup Conference, the Massachusetts Conference for Women, Women Empower Expo and Smart Cities Connect. Natasha is also the author of the popular whitepaper, "How To Close The Gender Gap In Startup Land By 2021." In her spare time, she writes short fiction and hangs out with her son, Shaun.
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Saturday February 1, 2020 08:00 pm EST 02/01/2020 8:00 pm
Corey Harris is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and band leader who has carved out his own niche in blues. A powerful singer and accomplished guitarist, he has appeared at venues throughout the North America, Europe, Brazil, The Caribbean, West Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
He began his career as a New Orleans street singer, traveling throughout the southern U.S. In his early twenties he lived in Cameroon, West Africa for a year, which had a profound effect on his later work. He has recorded many old songs of the blues tradition while also creating an original vision of the blues by adding influences from reggae, soul, rock and West African music.
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Search results for "Annie Penn"
In 1942, an intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested…
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A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight…
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction
John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who’s inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It’s a…
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The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency’s man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to…
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When the curator of the Louvre is found murdered in the famed museum’s hallowed halls, Harvard professor, Robert Langdon and cryptographer, Sophie Neve must untangle a deadly web of deceit…
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Ex-policeman Rollo Lee is sent to run Marwood Zoo, the newly acquired business of a New Zealand tycoon. In order to meet high profit targets and keep the zoo open,…
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DU welcomes Holocaust hero’s daughter
Irene Gut Opdyke was only a teenager when she made the decision to save 12 lives despite the risk to herself. During World War II, the Polish nurse hid 12 Jewish friends in the basement of a Nazi major’s house. She was a simple housekeeper there, but her courage and compassion changed the fates of those she sheltered.
On Jan. 27, the DU student group Never Again!, which promotes awareness of the Holocaust and the atrocity of genocide, will host a lecture by Opdyke’s only daughter, Jeannie Opdyke Smith. Since her mother passed away in 2003, Smith has continued to tell the story and share its lessons.
“The truth is that every day — no matter who we are — we have a choice that could make a lasting result in someone’s life,” Smith says. “Maybe it’s stopping a joke that is putting someone else down or standing with someone who is being mistreated. Perhaps it’s stepping out and being heard when something is wrong or hurtful.”
Smith’s lecture, “One Person Can Make a Difference,” which is scheduled in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
“It wasn’t just that Opdyke took one action,” says Never Again! President Wendy Low, a junior biology major with a minor in Judaic studies. “She took action after action to save their lives, knowing the danger she was in.”
Other sponsors of the event include the Center for Judaic Studies, the Undergraduate Student Government’s diversity committee and the Social Justice Living and Learning Community. Low says she hopes the presentation encourages attendees to serve the public good.
“We want people from all different groups to come and stand in solidarity and say, ‘Now what?’ How can these different groups take action toward social justice?” Low says.
When Opdyke traveled across the United States and Canada telling her own story to large groups, she would ask to speak in the local schools as well. Smith says her mother loved speaking to students most of all.
“Mom believed that it was the young people who most needed to learn and understand that one person truly can make a difference,” Smith says. “She would stand in front of a classroom or auditorium and tell the kids, ‘You are the future; it’s up to you to make different choices, stand up to hate and to bullies in all forms.’”
Jeannie Opdyke Smith’s “One Person Can Make a Difference” presentation runs from 7–8:30 p.m. Jan. 27 in Davis Auditorium in Sturm Hall, 2000 E. Asbury Ave. The lecture is free and open to the public; no registration required. Light refreshments will be served.
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Malcolm Henry / Wed, 15th Jan 2014
This article by Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp at Business For Scotland annoys me on so many levels.
Firstly, he buries the only substantial fact in a short paragraph in the middle of the piece. According to GERS (Government Expenditure & Revenue in Scotland) in 2012 Scotland contributed 9.9% of UK tax revenue but received only 9.3% of UK spending. This means that the portrayal of Scotland by some newspapers (you know who you are) as a scrounging appendage to a benevolent UK is a heinous calumny. In 2012 Scots were net annual contributors to the UK Treasury to the tune of £824 per head.
Most of the article is taken up with a cack-handed attempt to prove that the south of England is sucking wealth away from Scotland, using coloured maps of the UK to show differences in wealth, GDP and life expectancy.
The first map purports to show a concentration of wealth in the far south of England. What it actually shows is the percentage of households with assets of a monetary value that’s greater than £967,000 is higher in the south of England than in the rest of the UK. The second map shows regional GDP per capita in 2010, clearly indicating that large chunks of Scotland contribute just as much to GDP per person as some of the south of England.
Comparing the first map with the second one, Gordon concludes that much of the wealth produced in Scotland ends up in the south England. Based on the data that he’s presenting us with this analysis doesn’t stack up.
The first map could mean that loads of people in the south of England are rich, or it could mean that there are lots of elderly widows living in poverty on state pensions in houses that they’ve owned for decades which, thanks to the property bubble, have a nominal value of a million pounds. We have no way of telling to which extent either of these interpretations, or any other, is true.
The second map doesn’t tell us anything at all about wealth. GDP (gross domestic product) is an estimate of the value of monetary transactions over a period of time. If I buy a lottery ticket and an avocado pear in the supermarket in Portree the value of these purchases is added to Scotland’s GDP despite the fact that no-one involved in the transaction has produced a single atom of wealth in Scotland. The avocado was grown in Portugal and the lottery ticket is nothing more than a transfer of money from one mug to another.
There is doubtless some wealth produced in Scotland that gets accounted for in the GDP figures, but there’s no way of telling its monetary value, or indeed its real value. In short, the two maps tell us nothing about where wealth is produced and where it is accumulated.
Gordon’s interpretation of the third map, which shows average life expectancy by region, is another egregious abuse of data. He asks us to believe that people in Scotland die younger than people in the south of England because they are less wealthy. Looking at the map and applying random knowledge of the UK we could just as easily say that life expectancy is related to weather, or genetics, or culture.
I understand that enthusiasts for Scottish independence want to make arguments to support their case but articles like this do nothing to help. Using feeble analysis of economic data to demonise the south of England and lionise Scotland is puerile and counterproductive, giving opponents of independence an easy bone on which to chew while diverting attention away from what’s really wrong with our economy and how it might be fixed in an independent Scotland.
Whether we take Scotland or the UK as our political arena the distribution of wealth and opportunity is a lot more complex than the lazy averages of Gordon’s maps. There is plenty of poverty in the Greater London area and plenty of wealth in post-industrial Lanarkshire. The problem has nothing to do with the location of political power.
So much of the rhetoric of the pro-independence movement is about fairness and equality and distribution of wealth but I have yet to hear a single cogent argument from any mainstream independence enthusiast that tells me how poverty will be eliminated post-independence or what will be done to ensure that the Scottish economy is able to flourish.
The established ways of doing economics and politics in the UK are barely functioning, limping along, crying out for reform. Scottish independence presents us with a golden opportunity to make comprehensive changes to our chronically dysfunctional financial and political systems but all we’re getting from our political and economic leaders is the promise of more of the same. They want us to believe that doing it from Edinburgh will somehow be much better than doing it from London.
The demographics of poverty don’t recognise the borders that we draw around our councils and parliaments. In this land of plenty (Scotland or the UK, take your pick) poverty, and the fear of it, is a direct result of the way that we allow our financial systems to operate. Gaining control of the conventional fiscal levers in Edinburgh will do nothing to stop the inexorable growth of debt that holds most of us in its thrall and is the root of all our economic woes.
To Gordon and the team at Business For Scotland, if you’re serious about developing a thriving economy in which people no longer have to live with the fear of poverty then you need to stop wasting time on petty, false arguments with the neighbours and start focusing on what’s actually wrong with our financial systems and what could be done to make them work for the benefit of all of us.
Independence, of itself, is not a solution, it’s merely an opportunity to develop solutions. Please stop wasting that opportunity.
Wed, 15th Jan 2014 in Economics. Tags: economy, poverty, prosperity, Scottish Independence, WPrightnow
Money, Morality, And The Value Of A Clean Pan →
11 thoughts on “Scottish Independence: False Arguments About Wealth And Poverty Don’t Help Anyone”
Wed, 15th Jan 2014 at 7:57 pm
Er – just to point out that the 9.9% and 9.3% refer to different numbers. According to GERS 9.9% of UK tax revenue contributed by Scotland amounts to £56,871 Million – whereas the 9.3% of UK expenditure spent in Scotland is £64,457 Million. So what the SNP are doing is trying to make out that Scotland contributes more to the UK in tax revenues than it gets back in government expenditure when in reality the opposite is the case.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0041/00415875.pdf see page 5
So where do you get the £824 per head net contributor figure?
As I understand it the difference between revenue and expenditure is accounted for by Scotland’s share of UK government borrowing c.£7,600 million – a deficit of 113%. If you do the same sum for the UK as a whole I’m told that the deficit is 121%. So Scotland’s tax contribution is proportionately higher than the UK as a whole. I think that’s where the £824/head comes from.
In this video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W8cKHcZn60 – Ivan McKee seems to be working from the same figures as Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp. He summarises the deficit stuff in the first five minutes, after which he slides into the same conjectural nonsense as GMK.
EDIT: Even better, scroll down to page 6 of the GERS document to Table E4 Net Fiscal Balance: Scotland -5.0%; UK -7.9%. Not sure how they get from here to £824/head because we don’t have figures for UK minus Scotland (and I can’t be bothered working them out), but Scotland is clearly a net contributor.
Ivan McKee says:
Sun, 19th Jan 2014 at 9:34 am
Malcolm, If you had watched the whole video you would know the answer to that question.
Had Scotland received 9.9% of UK spending to match its 9.9% of UK tax take it contributes then total Scottish revenue would be £4.4bn higher. Which is £824 per person.
Frankly if you cant be bothered to work out the numbers, but have the time to spew forth about them on your blog from a position of self-confessed ignorance, then its hard to give you much credit for rigorous analysis.
“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind” William Thomson (Lord Kelvin).
I don’t disagree that discussion around which of the many opportunities that Independence opens up we should build on is to be welcomed. The work from the Common Weal for example is part of that dialogue. But that absolutely doesn’t remove the need to kill stone dead the myths around Scotland the subsidy junky, which all the polling evidence shows is the main reason why Yes isn’t yet in the lead.
Helen Taylor – go watch the video then you will understand where the numbers come from.
The whole point is that while Scotland runs a deficit it runs a much smaller deficit than the UK as a whole (and lower than the OECD average).
I can understand Johann Lamont not understanding that, (as her salary depends on her not understand it), but I’m sure you can do better than that 🙂
glenfenderHelen Taylor says:
Sun, 19th Jan 2014 at 8:27 pm
Why should Scottish taxes not be used to help alleviate poverty in Middlesbrough? Why is it better to use this money to fund prescriptions for rich people in Scotland? Why do values stop at a border? Scotland’s deficit position is reliant on the oil – which does not last forever. A vote for independence is forever – removing forever the security and mutual benefits which we enjoy being part of a bigger country. I believe pooling and sharing resources across the UK is good for Scotland – for one thing we would not have so much renewable energy activity in Scotland were it not for the subsidies paid by electricity customers in the rest of the UK – so this is a real benefit to Scotland. This is not saying that Scotland is a subsidy junkie – it is just saying that there are many many benefits from being part of the UK, and a huge number of unknowns and risks in cutting ourselves adrift. If every area of the UK which thought it was ‘better off’ than the rest of the UK decided to go it alone – where would that leave the poorer areas?
In your first post you said “… trying to make out that Scotland contributes more to the UK in tax revenues than it gets back in government expenditure when in reality the opposite is the case.”.
You now accept that Scotland does contribute more than it gets back but you want to debate how we best use that money – that is good progress.
Value shouldn’t stop at borders, I agree – but you seen to suggest that they should stop at Dover – why not use the money to alleviate poverty in Gdansk or Mumbai ?
If you believe there are benefits in being part of a bigger country are you in favour of a United States of Europe ? Or maybe we should apply to become the 51st state of the USA ? Your argument only make sense if you accept the British Nationalist position that there is something sacrosanct about the nation state that is the current UK (the geographical entity that is the island of Great Britain and a bit of Ireland).
Even without Oil Scotland’s GDP per head is 99% of the UK average – we are not dependent on oil.
The UK however is dependent on the City of London financial services sector – a much more volatile, transient and potentially short-lives sector than the North Sea.
All of these points are in the video – did you not watch it ?
Scotland is well able to fund investment in renewables from its own resources, and this is a source of energy and wealth that will go on for ever.
If you really feel bad about poverty in rUK then after Indy you can make the case that we send cash south as part of our Overseas aid budget – which will be 0.7% of GDP, the international target that the UK has failed to achieve – so much for values not stopping at borders.
The reality is that wealth in the UK flows to the South East, and in particular London and the City of London. That is not just economics, its politics, with all of the UK parties having shown that they are perfectly happy with that state of affairs. The best thing we can do for the North East of England (an area I lived in for many years) is to demonstrate that there is an alternative way to do things that differs from the current austerity program that all the UK parties advocate.
The main risks are all associated with a No vote. As you will know if you have watched the video Scotland receives £1200 more per head in public spending than the UK average (but still less than London receives), but this is more than paid for by the £1700 extra that we generate in taxes. In the event of a No vote there will be substantial cuts to Scotland’s block grant, of that there is no doubt -why would voters in the SE of England allow the current situation to continue as austerity starts to bite in earnest after 2015.
Do you remember the last time we failed to take our future into our own hands ? The aftermath of the 1979 referendum in Scotland was not pretty. If there is a No vote this year then we can expect the same, and more.
Sun, 19th Jan 2014 at 10:41 pm
Ivan, the spewing that I did regards the revenue/expenditure numbers was in support of Gordon’s (and your) figures. I merely hadn’t followed the detail of the calculations that result in the £824/head figure. Knowing that the rest of the figures were correct in Gordon’s article I took the £824/head on trust.
My complaint about Gordon’s article (and your video, and much of the rhetoric from the Yes camp) is that it offers no solutions to the real problems of our dysfunctional financial system, preferring to fill our heads with ideas of Scotland being disadvantaged by Britain, in this case supported by some very dodgy interpretation of data.
All the conditions that are required for bank failures, boom and bust, material poverty, mass unemployment, and investment starvation of productive businesses are with us now and will still be there in an independent Scotland unless we work out ways of reforming how our financial and fiscal systems operate. My challenge to Business for Scotland is to debate these things and propose plausible solutions rather than demonise Britain as the source of our problems.
And before you start berating me as a unionist you should know that I’ve laid down the same challenge to the No camp.
I’m one of the many in the middle who are as unconvinced by the arguments for independence as we are disillusioned by the status quo. I would have thought that both sides would be keen to listen to what really matters to us and look for ways to address our concerns.
Mon, 20th Jan 2014 at 12:08 am
First apologies if I was over keen to jump on you about the sums.
I can see where you are coming from now.
Its not really a debate about the affordability of Indy you are looking for, you’ve got a different agenda, which is fine.
I just watched the Krajack video.
On some things I think we can agree, the need for better control of the Banks (and bankers) and the usefulness of an expansionary policy (borrow to invest) where It makes sense.
Where I just don’t buy the Krajack message though is that in the long run I think you do need to keep the national debt under control. If all you do is keep on printing more money surely all that happens is that the exchange rate punishes you. Now some devaluation can be useful, but there is a limit – otherwise you end up like Zimbabwe surely ?
All countries (even the US) are heavily integrated into the global economy. If you want to buy stuff internationally at prices you can afford then you need to make sure the value of your currency is able to support that. If the markets decided that the USD for example was only worth a fraction of what it is worth today (in relation to the RMB) then China is going to stop sending them all those cheap goodies pretty fast. They’ll sell them where they can get a better price for them – domestically or elsewhere.
Isn’t that the end-game if you run unsustainably large deficits for too long, eventually your standard of living takes a tumble cos while you can still keep on printing your own currency if no-one thinks its worth anything then that doesn’t really help you.
50 years ago the GBP was worth 11 DM (5.5 Euros), today of course its at around Eur 1.20.
That’s a measure of a lot of things, but the consequence (once you factor in inflation) is that Germans are much richer than Brits these days – ie relatively speaking they can afford to buy a lot more than they could 50 years ago.
So while the illusion of printing money can keep everything looking OK in the domestic economy for a while eventually the wheels fall off and you cant buy what you want/need in the global markets – be it manufactured goods, commodities or energy.Then things can get more than a bit messy.
The west (primarily the US) because it has been in the position of being able to set the global rules on the how the world economy runs for so long, and, in the case of the US, has the main global reserve currency, has been able to get away with a lot of things that other countries would have been punished for (Argentina, Russia a couple of examples) but there is no god given right why that state of affairs would continue (American exceptionalism is a myth).
Mon, 20th Jan 2014 at 9:16 pm
Ivan, I’m not familiar with the Krajack video. Can you provide a link?
Mon, 20th Jan 2014 at 10:29 pm
I found it on one of your blog posts….
https://malcolmhenry.com/2013/12/03/502/
Thanks for the reminder about the Krajack video (I should have guessed that you were referring to something that you found on my blog).
The main point that I take away from the Krajack video is that government debt represents a significant chunk of aggregate private savings.
This means that government spending is responsible for recycling a significant chunk of money through the economy, which is a good thing in our current system where we are constantly struggling against the curse of stagnant money.
The problem with government borrowing isn’t the size of the debt (which can be maintained at whatever level you like as long as people are willing to lend and government is willing to spend) but the amount of interest that has to be paid – most of which fails to find its way back into the productive economy.
Our economy is hampered by our obsession with capturing and hoarding money rather than putting it to productive use. For a productive economy to thrive money must be available and mobile, constantly cycling between producers and consumers.
If we could only recognise the genius of money as a tool for commerce and the folly of using it as a proxy for wealth then we’d be more than half way to solving the problems of poverty, economic stagnation, inflation, lack of investment, and much more.
I’d like to see a mainstream debate on what can be done to reform our systems of taxation and finance so that they encourage us to use money to facilitate productive activity rather than using it to make us feel rich.
There are lots of good ideas out there that can inform the debate – Positive Money, MMT, my own book, for example – and help to develop plausible alternatives to the financial/fiscal burach that has us drowning in an ever-rising tide of debt.
I see this as a much more pressing and important issue than independence, but I’m interested in the opportunity for reform that independence might represent, which is why I’m challenging the likes of yourselves to join the debate.
The Politicoid says:
Wed, 22nd Jan 2014 at 10:38 am
This is amazing. We all know facts are distorted, but it’s great to see it laid out like this. Have a look at my take if you like on Politicoid
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Surprises galore in this beautifully crafted novel of crime and punishment
In every one of Karin Slaughter’s previous novels of murder and mayhem in the Deep South, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) officer Will Trent and his boss, Amanda Wagner, GBI’s deputy commander, were characters shrouded in mystery, their actions frequently difficult to understand. In Criminal, Slaughter rips off the shrouds. This is an unusually suspenseful, affecting, and, in the end, deeply satisfying story.
Criminal (Will Trent #7) by Karin Slaughter
The action in Criminal shifts repeatedly from the present day to 1975 and back again, and the connections between the events in those two years become clear only well into the book. Amanda is a central figure in both strands of the story – beginning her career in the Atlanta Police Department in 1975 and nearing retirement amid the latter-day events. Will Trent takes center stage on the contemporary scene, his new romance with Dr. Sara Linton blossoming and then sorely tested as the action unfolds.
The novel opens in 1975 with the disappearance of Lucy Bennett, a rich girl gone bad, hooked on heroin and working the streets under the thumb of a pimp who goes by the name of Juice. Only in the final pages of the novel do we come to understand fully what happened to Lucy, and why.
Slaughter writes from an omniscient perspective, shifting the viewpoint from time to time as one character or another moves on-stage. Her prose is spare and pulls no punches. Although her characters harbor secrets that will only later be revealed, there is nothing manipulative about the author’s failure to disclose what they know any more quickly than they themselves would be likely to do so.
Slaughter’s research into the Atlanta Police Department of the mid-1970s was extensive, and what she reveals about its egregiously bad behavior in that era is deeply troubling. Amanda Wagner’s experience as a rookie officer, and that of her female friends, is shocking – though perhaps no more so than what female officers experienced at the time in other law enforcement departments where their presence was a novelty. Slaughter’s sensitive treatment of race relations during that era is no less revealing.
To date, Karin Slaughter has written a total of 12 novels featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton. I previously reviewed Broken and Blindsighted, both of which are set in the small Georgia town where Dr. Linton previously ran a children’s health clinic and served part-time as medical examiner. I’m sure I’ll be reading more of Slaughter’s novels.
At Karin Slaughter’s series of Grant County thrillers, I’ve reviewed all six novels in the author companion series.
The 10 best mysteries and thrillers I’ve read in 2012 | Mal Warwick's Blog on Books - 8 years ago
[…] 10. Criminal, by Karin Slaughter […]
My 21 favorite mystery and thriller writers | Mal Warwick's Blog on Books - 7 years ago
[…] Criminal, by Karin Slaughter […]
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Basic Precepts of Islamic Economics and its Dynamics
Islam postulates its economic philosophy and theory with cosmological orientation. It is a cosmic fact that the universe and all the living and non-living beings in it obey inviolable laws of its Creator. So, Islam demands human being to be in communion with the mainstream of the nature and the universe by surrendering voluntarily his will to the will and law of God in the realms of the life where he enjoys freedom. This is how Islam is defined in a nutshell. Both the term Khalifa (Vicegerent) coined by the Holy Quran in order to define and describe human being’s status and position in this world and the word Khilafat (Vicegerency) used to introduce Islamic socio-political and economic system symbolize the necessity of unconditional obedience only to Allah and compliance with His laws and precepts.
By P.P. Abdul Razak
Islam postulates its economic philosophy and theory with cosmological orientation. It is a cosmic fact that the universe and all the living and non-living beings in it obey inviolable laws of its Creator. So, Islam demands human being to be in communion with the mainstream of the nature and the universe by surrendering voluntarily his will to the will and law of God in the realms of the life where he enjoys freedom. This is how Islam is defined in a nutshell. Both the term Khalifa (Vicegerent) coined by the Holy Quran in order to define and describe human being’s status and position in this world and the word Khilafat (Vicegerency) used to introduce Islamic socio-political and economic system symbolize the necessity of unconditional obedience only to Allah and compliance with His laws and precepts. This terminology of Vicegerent (Khalifa) implies the obedience of human being to Allah as a person, a society and a state in terms of his status as vicegerent of Allah and it corresponds to the very definition of Islam and is complementary to it. It is the same terminology of vicegerency that Holy Quran has used in order to define the relationship between human being and God in the realm of property and its acquisition.
From Islamic viewpoint, human being does not have ownership in his property whether it be by the individual or by the society or by the state. This perspective corresponds with the nature of the human life on this planet. Human being does not bring anything with him while he is born and does not take with him anything while he is died. Human being does not have ownership either even on his life or body or soul. How such a being having no ownership in his own being and life can own something which does not even belong to him. So, from Islamic point of view, no individual or society or state does have right of absolute ownership on the property. Islam redefines the relationship between human being and the property from a different level. Let us ponder over the two verses from the Glorious Quran quoted below:
“Believe in Allah and His Messenger (Mohammad) and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees (within your capacity as vicegerent of God on this Planet). (Holy Quran: 57:7)
This verse implies and includes the following:
The real and absolute owner of the property and wealth is Allah who is the Creator and the Owner of the universe and human being itself.
Human being does not have a status and/or position different from vicegerency in the realm of his economy also.
Human being represents Allah in his economic activities also.
So, human being is responsible to obey and comply with Allah’s laws, rules and precepts in the realms of his economic activities as well. The deliberate violation in this regard will be contradictory to the concept of Tawheed (Monotheism) as defined and described by the Glorious Quran as it implies surrender of will by human being to the will of God.
Look into the second verse from the Glorious Quran:
“And you should not give unto the foolish your property which Allah has made a means of support for you.” (Holy Quran 4:5)
As far as property is concerned, the human society has got a collective responsibility. The three times repeated plural form of the second person in this verse stands for the society and one who reins its affairs.
Property is the basis of survival of human life on this planet. In this respect the entity (an individual, or a group of individuals or a society) who becomes the trustee of a certain property has got private representational right on it and the power thereof to deal with it accordingly. This will be executed by the respective entity under the strict and the collective supervision of Islamic state or social system.
In the event of the privileges of the private representational right violates the basic norms and precepts and upsets the larger social causes, it will necessitate the intervention of Islamic state in order to correct and put it in the right and the straightway so as to serve the larger social goals basically intended by the socio-political and economic system of Islam.
When we corroborate both the verses quoted above and correlate it, the fundamental economic law that can be deducted from it is this: The privileges an entity (an individual, or a group of individuals or a society) does have on the property it deals with it is that of a trustee under the strict and collective supervision of the society and the state.
Economic Law of Islam
Human Being and Nature
From Islamic perspective, everything is rich and abundant in this world. This is so obvious and plain for any beholder. Even though human being is the epicenter among the millions of genres of species on this planet, he is neither the biggest of all species, nor with the largest numbers, nor with the longest span of life, nor the first ring in the long chain of living species. The number of a particular kind of colorful birds of passage that flee from the southern part of America to Mexico at the advent of the month of December is 140 million. This is not the only kind of bird of passage from America. This is the number of birds that passes at the advent of December to Mexico from that forest only. There are birds that stay in America itself. There are other birds in northern, eastern and western parts of America also. In summary we can be sure that the number of birds in America is much more than that of its human population. Think about the fishes in the deep waters. The number of single kind of a fish itself will be much more than the number of human population on this planet. Ponder over the different kinds and huge sizes of the water creatures. Do we observe any kind of dearth or deficit in their food that threatens even their existence and survival? Look into the two Quranic verses which point towards this fact:
“And so many a moving (living) creature there is, that carries not its provision! Allah provides for it and for you.” (Holy Quran 29: 60)
The quintessence of this verse is that since Allah is the provider for both human being and all other species on this planet, how the nature can be scarce and impoverished for human being only while it is affluent, opulent and abundant for all other species?!
Another Quranic verse mentions that the provision of food to all the species including human being for its existence and survival as Allah’s responsibility:
“And no moving or living creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposit (in the uterus, grave etc). (Holy Quran 11:6)
The Prophet (PBUH) said looking at the birds nuzzling at the dusk: “Behold! They went at dawn with empty tummies. They came back to their nests at dusk with the overflowing bellies.”
As far as an observer is concerned, it may be a paradox to see the nature so abundant for all those species, either only herbivorous or only carnivorous and with very limited means while it is depicted so scarce, impoverished and insufficient for human beings, the only omnivorous creature on this planet, who consumes all those species and flora and fauna as his resources. In fact, human being simply finds fault with the nature and its Creator for his own mismanagement and malpractices. Human being occupies only 23% of earth space with other creatures which he consumes along with the 77% of the vast resources from the water as well.
Now consider the phenomena of air and sunlight which are indispensable for the very existence and continuity of human life on this planet and at the same time are beyond the realm of human management. Do we experience any kind of dearth or scarcity in it? Have we ever encountered such a scarcity in human history? If not, it is the same God who has provided us air and sunlight that has set this earth as our living planet and provided us other resources also. So, there doesn’t arise the problem of the earth and its resources not meeting with the needs and requirements of the humanity provided the human being complies with the laws, rules and precepts of Allah, the provider of the air and the sunlight, in all the fields and realms of life where he enjoys the freedom. Human being should admit the fact that source of his guidance is the same that of wonderful instincts of other species. Holy Quran uses the word Hidaya (Guidance) both for wonderful instincts of animals and for the divine guidance given to humankind for leading their life in the realms where they enjoy freedom. (Holy Quran 20: 50; 87: 3). It means that the divine guidance given to human being through the Prophet is as unique, impeccable, flawless and wonderful as the instincts that human being observes in the animals with so much of amazement and astonishment. Even though it may be different in its nature, the means of instinct in the animals is a kind of inspiration (Wahy in Arabic – Holy Quran: 16:68). Holy Quran uses the word inspiration (Wahy) for the process pressed into service for giving divine guidance for humankind through the prophets. The philosophy of this parallels is very clear and simple. The authority to give guidance in the realms of life where human being enjoys freedom including his economic life is for the same authority who has given the wonderful instinct to all animals. So, the Islamic system which springs from the divine guidance is as wonderful, unique, impeccable and flawless as animal instincts. It provides the abundance that of the air and transparency that of the sunlight. It is so beautiful, integrated and indivisible as the universe is. Because, it is the human facet of the system of the universe and it is the human system with the visage of the nature.
Islamic Economy & Acquisition of Wealth
The duty of giving Zakat and taking it with force arises when a person acquires wealth in a certain extent. So, the Islamic economy which focuses on the decentralization of the wealth through various means and balanced distribution of it among the society teaches, even before the ways of distribution and exchange of the wealth, the just and lawful ways of its acquisition. Zakat is not the name of process of purification of the wealth that has been acquired unlawfully and unjustly. “Tomorrow in the Hereafter life, no human being’s feet will move ahead in the Divine Court of Allah until he has responded to the five affairs,” Prophet taught the believers. Out of these, there is only one question about four affairs. “Span of life, what did you with it? Health, What did you do with it? …” But when it comes to the wealth there are two questions that we have to encounter: The first question is: “Where from and how did you acquire it?” And then comes the second question with regard to the wealth: “How did you spend it?” Islam curtails and controls “freedom to” acquire and earn through its moral prescriptions in order to safeguard its citizenry’s “freedom from” exploitation, cheating, deception and looting. It understands that the concept of freedom devoid of right to justice relegates it into a tool for exploitation.
In another prophetic saying Prophet describes a person whom the common people consider as “pious” while they see him praying lonely in the desert. He does wear all the features of piety as a mask. Prophet said: “His water that he drinks has been acquired unlawfully, the food that he eats has also been earned unlawfully and the clothe that he puts on also has been collected unlawfully. Then how his prayers will be accepted?!” This means that God won’t accept even the prayers from a person provided his socio-economic life is not set in line with the orders, instructions and commandments of God.
Zakat is neither a license to acquire the wealth unlawfully nor a mean to purify the wealth unjustly acquired. Zakat liberates the person from the evil mentality of worship of wealth, avariciousness, greed, jealousy, parsimoniousness, selfishness, narrowness of mind and miserliness and it inculcates in him mentality for sacrifice, generosity, awareness about others rights, social cooperation and philanthropy. Through Zakat, Wakf and other such means Islam wants human beings not to be self-centric. Islam promulgates that economics is not only a matter of science but of morality also. It is as cultural as civilizational. It has got relationship both with technology and spirituality. It needs to be looked upon not only through objective analysis but has to be directed with normative moral prescriptions also. That is why it has been given the name of Zakat which means purification in Arabic. Holy Quran says, “Take sadaqa (zakat) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it” (Holy Quran: 9:103). The pronoun “them” in this verse denotes that Zakat purifies the mind and life of the person who gives the Zakat and not the wealth of the Zakat giver. If at all Zakat purifies the wealth, it is only in the sense that Zakat prevents the wealth becoming impure and unclean because of its mixture with others right and dues not given out through Zakat.
Labor & Compensation
Whether it be industries and/or business and/or agriculture and/or any other service areas, the first and preliminary way of earning and acquisition is the labor. As far as a Muslim, who believes that he will be questioned in the hereafter life about the way of earning and acquisition adopted by him in his mundane life, is concerned it is inevitable to asses and evaluate the job and coolie, the first and preliminary source of earning and acquisition, from Islamic perspective. He has to know distinctively about the lawful jobs and the unlawful jobs, the legitimate ways of earning and acquisition of wealth and the illegitimate ways of it. The Question of “How did you acquire your wealth” that Allah would be asking in the Hereafter life would include and would be directly related to what jobs he was doing in his mundane life. So, whatever be features the modern systems may have got or the circumstances the Muslims are in, all kinds of the jobs are not lawful to a Muslim. The running of prostitute dens, gambling centers, liquor bars or jobs directly dealing with interest or any other business that makes lawful of what has been made unlawful by Allah won’t be lawful way of earning and acquisition by any reason and leave alone the simple reason of it has been nationalized by any Government. The argument that we will be going backward again if we are not indulging in these kind of business is baseless. There are so many lawful walks and fields. Front running in those fields itself is sufficient to make us forward both socially and economically. We were leaders of the world while we had held our principle so firmly and our policies were so viable and flexible. Once we started to leave our principles behind us and became rigid in our policies, all the world knows in what a deep precipice the so called Muslim world is right now. And to look into this from another angle, Muslims progress and prosperity is simultaneously related to both his spiritual and mundane life. The so called “progress” in his mundane life cannot be at the expense of his spiritual and thereby hereafter life. The real progress of Muslims, as a person and society, relies upon to what extent he and/or they live in compliance with the law ordained by Allah. The moral as well as material deterioration deepens in proportion to his violation of Allah’s commandments. The Holy Quran says, “Thou are the superiors if ye are the true believers” It was so while we were true believers. And it will be so when we become true believers in its fullest sense and spirit.
Islam has got the loftiest and the most sublime vision about labor. The Holy Quran and Prophetic tradition see the labor as the conspicuous feature of humanity. “Verily, we created human being to toil.” (Holy Quran: 90:4)
“O Human being, you are toiling towards your Lord and you have to meet your Lord toiling as well.” (Holy Quran: 84:6). The Holy Quran makes distinction between human being (being-for-itself) and the universe excluding human being (being-in-itself) on the basis of responsibility that human being bears on his shoulders. (Holy Quran: 33:72)
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) told, “The true believer passes away sweating his forehead (toiling and perspiring).” At another time prophet said, “You work for your hereafter life as if you are going to die tomorrow and you strive for your mundane life as if you are going to live on this earth forever. A believer in truth when he strives and pays efforts for his livelihood, he works taking into consideration of all the human being yet to come into this world. He considers himself only as a ring in the long chain of humankind. His sight is never limited within himself. He never can be self-centric and he never can withdraw into himself and not to consider the humanity. The Prophet (PBUH) again taught with regard to coolie of the laborer. “You give the reward of the laborer before his sweat dries up.” Furthermore, he again taught the employee is equal to the employer as far as food, clothing and housing are concerned. Again he mentioned, “Don’t force or compel your employee to do what is beyond his limit and capacity. If you ask him to do anything more, help him on it (by sharing the burden of the work and/or giving other monetary incentives).
Incentives for the farmers
We can understand the incentives that Islam gives for the hardworking people from the disparities of the Zakaat it imposes on the crops cultivated differently. When Islamic State takes Zakat from the agricultural products, it takes only 5% from the farmer who cultivates it putting his or others labor. Cultivation putting the labour is much more different and broader than cultivation having economic expenses. One who does toil himself may not necessarily incur the economic expense. When you say that one who does not have economic expenses in cultivation should give 10% Zakat from his crops, it affects one who has tilled and toiled himself to cultivate his land. But Islam gives this incentive for the one who tills the land and toils in it. One who harvests his crops without toiling and depending only upon the nature should pay 10% of his crops being Zakat however much less he may harvest.
There is no Zakat on the land as it is the farmland. In this regard Islam takes into consideration of relationship among land, tiller and labour. As per Islamic doctrines, a person who holds the land does have only conditional representative rights on it. The condition is to till and enliven the earth. The right of the person holding the earth depends upon the fulfillment of this condition. There will have strict and vigilant supervision of Islamic state in putting this representational rights in order. In this way, the Islamic State is obliged to give the products to the tillers who acquire representational rights on the land by toiling in it. The Prophet (PBUH) taught: The land is for one who enlivens it i.e. for the tiller.” This saying denotes that the representational right on the land springs from the labor he puts on the land. Another saying of the Prophet (PBUH) makes this notion more clear: “One who leaves a piece of land barren for three years, it will be confiscated from him and will be handed over to one who tills it and toil in it.” This means Islamic state has got the authority to take over the land property from the trustee if the same is not tilled and cultivated for the agricultural purpose for a certain period of time. The purpose of this rule is to persuade the land trustees to do the agricultural activities on the land under his trusteeship. As per the Islamic rule, no land can be left barren and uncultivated for a long time.
This law works in the following levels:
This is an incentive for one who tills the land and toils in it. He does not need to give Zakaat on land which is part and parcel of his capital. This is because nobody has got representational rights on the land in its absolute sense. It is provisional and conditional to tilling and toiling in it. This works as an incentive in the farmer to toil in it. Islam balances this disparity in proportion of levying zakat on other sources of income in other ways. In other sources of income, when Islam levies 2.5% each year, it repeats every year while in the case of crops it levies 5% or 10% zakat only one time and only at the time of harvest.
A warning to the persons who leaves the land barren. If he leaves it barren three years consecutively, the land will be confiscated and handed over to the farmer who tills and toils in it. This will motivate all the farmer who likes and loves the land -especially in the background of the incentive Islam gives to him- to pay perseverance.
The influence of the concept of conditional representational right will reflect most in the quantity of crops harvested. The uncultivated land will become so minimal to the extent of zero. In order to avoid additional 5% of levy in Zakaat, the farmers will be motivated to work hard.
There will be increase in the production of food crops. This will help to avoid the dearth in the food. This approach of Islam towards land will help to eliminate the blood sucking feudalism.
The Holy Quran uses the word “maal” (wealth) in order to denote the surplus income a person earns through a lawful job he does after meeting his basic necessities and basic necessities of persons he is liable to take care by law. The income other than from the agricultural products is calculated annually. This implies the following:
An accounting system is not only the necessity of business and industrial establishments. On the contrary, all the members in an Islamic society should record their income and expenditures and has to take a balance sheet at the end of the year to calculate Zakaat and entrust it at the responsible official of the Islamic state. The Holy Quran has mentioned the necessity of recording even the loans.
Each person should have a financial year. A year, generally speaking, is a period that covers a person’s problems and difficulties both short term and long term. A system and the way of life that pays so much stress and emphasize on humanitarianism has to be able to look into its citizenry from humanitarian point of view also and not from economic viewpoint only. So, the period of one year in calculation of Zakaat and levying it cannot be shortened except in some cases of incomes which Holy Quran and Prophet’s tradition has exempted. The reasons why Holy Quran and the Prophet’s tradition exempted Agricultural products from One year consideration is the following:
Agricultural products, most of them, are food stuff which human being needs to consume daily. If its Zakaat is not taken at the time of its harvest itself, it will create dearth and difficulties for the beneficiaries of it. Islam wants to avoid hoarding, black marketing and adulteration. Islam allows the farmers to give his Zakat as product itself. Islam wants to prevent and control the possibility of hike in the price of food stuffs due to dearth of it.
Unequal Opportunities and Comparison between Theory of Surplus Value & Islamic Law of Surplus Income
After putting the checks and balances through the strict laws and moral prescriptions related to earning and acquisition of the wealth which help to avoid the accumulation and concentration of the wealth within the certain sects of the society, Islam pays its attention to the balanced distribution of wealth among all. Islam sees that the main and root cause of the economic problems of the world lies in the unjust and lopsided distribution of wealth and its concentration within the rich and the elite class of the world. While describing the mode of distribution of the spoils and booties of the war, Holy Quran says its motto and goal with respect to wealth is creation of a social situation where the circulation of the wealth is not limited among the elite and the rich only.
How far Islam has gone in decentralizing the wealth is well epitomized in its law of inheritance. We see in it the most scientific equation and balancing between rights and responsibilities. Taking into account of responsibilities and obligations of the kith and kin towards the deceased and his/her off-springs, Islam distributes the wealth of the deceased person among many using the most scientific scaling and balancing system and thereby prevents the centralization of the wealth in a person and accelerates its decentralization.
The capital stone of the most important and fundamental approach of decentralization of wealth in Islam is its Law of Surplus Income. When we compare this law with the Marxian theory of Surplus Value, we might be able to understand from which angles Islam and Marxism look into the subject and how do they look into. I am comparing Quranic Law of Surplus Income which works as basis of Zakat with the Marxian theory of surplus value only because it is the only theory available and worth of comparison in this respect. Moreover, you will find how glittering and feasible is the Quranic Law of Surplus income from the background of Marxian theory.
When a raw material becomes a finished product, the finished product acquires more value than the raw materials. This added value is called surplus value. The reason and basis for this surplus value is the strain and efforts put and paid by the laborer. So, Marxian theory of Surplus Value claims that the added value of the finished goods is completely entitled to the laborer who puts his efforts into the raw material. For example, when the wooden logs take form of a table, the difference between the prices of wooden log and the table is the surplus value. The surplus value is the result of the pains of the laborer who worked hard to change it into a table. Hence, he is the only one who has got the right to surplus value.
Before I compare this theory with the Quranic Law of Surplus Income, I would like to bring into the notice of the readers some elements that Karl Marx missed to take note of it.
Marx related the value of the product only to the labor or to the proportion of the labor put into the raw material. In fact, in our real life, it is not necessary for a finished product to acquire added value only because of the labor put into it. Neither it is necessary for a finished product to acquire added value in proportion to the labor put into it. The value of the finished good may not decrease only because of less labor. Instead of relating the labor with the value of the finished good and freeing labor from the clutches of the price of the product which is subject to the market mechanism, Islam asks the respective parties to determine the reward of the labor by mutual consent between the owner of the capital and the laborer and relates the reward of the labor with that mutually agreed upon contract between both parties. Furthermore, Islam asks the owner of the capital to pay the reward of the labor even before drying up his sweat or even before the completion of the contractually agreed upon period irrespective of the price and value of the finished product, surplus or deficit value it may have, and irrespective of the fact if the finished product is sold or not since Islam clearly knows that the price of the product conspicuously depends upon the market’s supply demand mechanism too. It is natural for the price of the finished good, whatever be its quality, to go down if the supply of it in the market is more than its demand. But this should not affect the mutually agreed reward of the labor. Sometimes the finished good may not get even the value of the raw materials. In some cases, it may become a dead stock. Marxian theory does not make it clear how such situations of deficit value will affect the reward of the labor. From Islamic perspective, whatever be the situation, surplus or deficit, the reward of the labor is to be mutually determined independently and apart from the value of the finished good. If the mutual agreement between the labor and the capital owner is to relate the reward to the value of the finished good and to share the surplus value as per the agreed upon proportion, Islam does not oppose it and says that both the owner of the capital and the labor will share both profit and loss. If the finished good has surplus value, they will share the surplus as per their agreement and if the finished good has deficit value, the capital owner will bear the loss in terms money and the laborer will bear the loss in terms of labor also.
Marxian theory of Surplus value is applicable in the production and manufacturing sectors. It is not relevant and cannot be applied to the service sectors. For example, it does not cover the income of the doctor who treats his patients.
Marxian Surplus value theory does not cover other sects of the society other than proletariat and the owner of the capital. For example, the people who are facing difficulties in meeting the two ends of their life on the account of they do not get the job, despite their worthiness and qualification, because of the intense competition in job market and the limited opportunities, or the people who are suffering because they have been unable to acquire enough education and/or qualification to earn a job, do they have any right in the income of the laborers and capital owners who thrive making use of the same opportunities which are denied to others who suffer? The poor, the needy and the deprived are those who suffer because of lack of job opportunity for historical and/or sociological and/or natural reasons. Or they may have become unable to work because of physical disability or handicap. Or they have become poor because the limited opportunity has been denied to them. The rich got the opportunity to acquire wealth only at the cost and expense of the weaker sections of the society who were denied the same opportunity. Is there any dues and rights for the suffering class and the weaker sections of the society who were denied the opportunity because of the reasons mentioned above in the surplus wealth of the rich who thrive exploiting the same opportunities? Marxian theory is most silent on this part while the Islamic law of surplus income is most vocal here. Moreover, Islam, elaborating the right of Zakat, becomes a unique fusion of law and love, a kind of assimilation of force and mercy. Morally it is a kind of service and sacrifice on the part of the rich. But at the same time, legally and jurisprudentially, it is a kind of opportunity tax levied upon the rich in terms of the right of the deprived class in their surplus wealth.
Karl Marx who does not agree with the capitalist concept of private property ownership and who nor does agree with representational rights of the trustee on the wealth as Islam does, does not determine the role of the capital in the potential surplus value of the finished good. On the contrary, Islam gives the due rights to the trustee of the capital also looking into it from the perspective of representation.
Marx, as a human being, could not foresee the mechanization going to take place in the fields of production tools. So, the surplus value theory became unable to tackle and put up with the situation of conspicuous replacement of the human labor by the machines of the capital owners.
From Quranic perspective, the law of surplus income is the basis of Zakat. The law of surplus income by definition is the wealth a person acquires through a lawful job he does and/or through inheritance after meeting his basic necessities and basic necessities of persons he is liable to take care by law for a period of one year. Holy Quran unequivocally and clearly says repeatedly that the people who suffer from poverty because of the denial of the opportunity for various reasons and the people who have been given semi-opportunity but which does not suffice to make the both ends of their life meet have got right in the surplus income of others. This law correlates and corroborates with the social facts. Though opportunity is one of the blessings of Allah, it is created through the agency of the society and is limited. Even though everybody is equal in front of opportunity to seize it, they become unequal when it is availed or seized upon. Some thrive upon its seizure while others who are denied do suffer. So, the rich thrives at the cost of the deprived. Everybody cannot become doctors or engineers. It is not only a matter of limitation of opportunity, but impractical also. That’s why we do develop a filtering process to select. Nor all of us can become business men and that also is not feasible in our real life. So, Quran says those who are unable to meet the two ends of life and suffer due to deprival of the opportunity have got a certain right in the surplus income of those who are able to thrive due to their seizure of the same opportunity.
“In their surplus income there is due right for the needy (the people who have been given opportunity but which does not suffice to make the both ends of their life) and for those who have been denied (all kinds of opportunities for various reasons and thereby become poor and the deprived).” (Holy Quran: 51:19). In the eighth verse of Chapter 70, we see Holy Quran repeating the same, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: There is due right in the surplus income of the people other than that of Zakat. (Tirmadi)
The Arabic word “maal” in these verses have been interpreted as “surplus income” taking into consideration of the word “needy” (Arabic word “sael”) mentioned afterwards in the same verses.
The following things can be understood from these verses:
The needy (sael) who struggles to make both ends of his life meet has no surplus income (maal) with him and one who has got surplus income (maal) does not belong to the class of the needy who struggles to survive. So, “maal” in this context from Quranic perspective means surplus income after meeting the basic necessities of the life. This concept is supported and substantiated by the Prophet’s saying of “Zakat is taken from the rich and distributed among the deprived.” The measuring rod in terms of economic period to calculate this surplus income is and should be the same taught by the Prophet (PBUH).
The trustees of the surplus income were able to get hold of it because of the opportunities made available to them by the society. These opportunities were availed by them at the expense of those who have been denied the same opportunities for various reasons. So, the deprived classes have got due right in others’ surplus income.
Characteristics of Islamic Law of Surplus Income
The main characteristic features of the Islamic Law of Surplus Income are the following:
Islam is not ready to leave the weaker sections of the society for the market competition sitting passively and looking into their problems indifferently. It knows and understands that they have been denied the equal opportunities for various historical, social and natural reasons. It perceives why they have become unable to make both ends of their life meet. Quite different from the cruel and brutal capitalistic methods of making the weaker, the deprived and the backward classes of the society scapegoats of the intense competition by blatant misappropriation of the theory of survival of the fittest in the socio-economic realms which originally was expounded by Charles Darwin only in the areas of origin of species and their existence, Islam approaches the problem from humanitarian level. Islam recognizes the competition and understands it as the wheel of the civilization as well. At the same time, it does not want to ignore the weaker sections who have been pushed back in the intensive competition by and between the well to do competitors as well. So, it has determined certain rights for such weaker classes in the surplus income of the rich and forward classes of the society. Quran is the only book in the world which promulgates that “there is no restriction on the blind, the lame and the sick (and the like of any handicapped who cannot work as an ordinary person) if they eat from any house as it is their right.” (24:61)
Law of Surplus income, unlike Marxian Surplus value theory, is not solely dependent on the price of the finished product. On the contrary, it evaluates a person’s economic status using the measuring rods of both income and the time period. Through this, Islam says that it is the obligation of the trustees of the surplus income to provide the needy and the poor to meet their basic necessities of the life and Islam requires the state makes its own responsibility to ensure the protection of such rights. By fixing one year time period for calculation of the surplus income, Islam wants to take into consideration of short and long term economic problems of the trustees of the surplus income while assessing his/her economic status.
The Law of Surplus Income does not leave the right of the deprived to the market fluctuations or supply-demand mechanism. Islam wants to assert and establish the rights of the deprived independent of the market mechanism and over and beyond it.
The Law of Surplus Income is not related to rewards of the laborers and their rights only. It does not see the wealth as a problem only between the capitalist and the laborers. On the contrary, the Law of Surplus Income views the society from three levels. In order to categorize the three, I am taking liberty to coin some words with its definitions. The Needy (those who cannot make both ends of their life meet), The Meety (those whose income is just sufficient to meet their requirements of life) and the Addy (those who holds additional and surplus income after meeting their requirements of life). Islam through this categorization accommodates the poor and the destitute, the orphans and the impoverished, the deprived and disabled and those sects of the people who have been pushed back in to the doldrums of life because of social, historical and physical reasons and determines their right in the properties of the rich.
The right of the deprived in the surplus income of the rich will be distributed annually. It won’t be completed by giving it out once in a life.
The Law of Surplus Income does not discourage acquisition of wealth and becoming its trustees. On the contrary, it works as an additive and a catalyst in converting the saving into the investment. The rich who gives out the right of the deprived in their property every year cannot help thinking of channeling their saving into a kind of productive investment. This has to be looked upon from another angle also that Islam prohibits interest as well. The right of the deprived in the surplus income of the rich together with the prohibition of interest works as an effective catalyst in turning the saving into the investment and generating thereby the economic growth both in its micro and macro levels. Interest, apart from being a moral graveyard, is a dead end of an economic transaction whereas each and every economic transaction which Islam has made lawful ensures various streams of value chains and long cycles of diverse economic transactions. Apart from prohibiting the commoditization of money and renting it thereof which has no intrinsic and inherent utility entailing from its entity itself, Islam sees it abhorrent to extract anything additional on a lent and loaned (same thing given and taken back) thing since it does not create any other economic opportunity for anybody other than the lender while bartering and/or buying a thing (exchange of money or something with something else) creates long cycle of economic opportunities for the supplier of the raw materials, manufacturer, distributor, transporter, trader and buyer. Each of these clients has got its own cycles of economic transactions as well.
Both in principle and practice, Zakat is the right of the deprived in the surplus income of the rich. This is the one of the most important, strict and strong measures Islam adopts to ensure just and balanced distribution of the wealth among the people. It is the canal that has been dug in order to channel the flow of the wealth from the rich to the poor. But, we have to understand that in Islam, Zakat is not the only mean to realize this goal. As we have mentioned earlier, Zakat is the corner stone among its laws related to the definition of relationship between the individual and the property, its rules and regulations related to the distribution of land, its prohibition of interest and usury, its setting of checks and balances in an entity’s acquisition of wealth, its law of inheritance, its other laws related to economic transactions and the power it gives to the state to confiscate the surplus wealth of the rich in the event of the state sees it inevitable etc. Moreover, Islam has got social welfare and security schemes like Wakf and as mentioned earlier it gives unrestricted right to socio-economic security for the handicapped and the sick.
The Holy Quran once more makes it clear by elaborating the seven sects of the society who are entitled for Zakat. If we study those seven sects of the people deeply, we will understand that Zakat cannot be utilized in the developmental works of which both haves and have-nots are common beneficiaries of it. But it says zakat has to be utilized for the upliftment of the backward and the weaker sections of the society. For meeting the expenditure of governance and developmental works, government may levy other service taxes on its citizenry. Zakat is never tantamount to the service tax payable to the government and the one won’t stand instead of the other. For collection of Zakat, Islam uses both the means of piety and the force of the power. The Hereafter life awareness of the believers itself will work as a motivational factor in giving Zakat correctly and punctually. But, this cannot be expected from all. During the reign of Abu Bakr, when a sect of the people refused to give the Zakat, Abu Bakr encountered it using force. This makes it clear that, like all other socio-cultural and political laws, the power is indispensable for full and complete implementation of Islamic economic laws also. In addition to it, political and economic approaches of a comprehensive ideology of life cannot move into different poles. It is impossible to have an economic philosophy without a political philosophy. The economic philosophy of Islam is complementary to its political philosophy.
Dynamics of Zakat, A Sample Study
From the fixation of Nisab (the size of the income/wealth whereby Zakat becomes compulsory) and share of Zakat, Islam wants us to understand many things. An observer may feel that fixation of 2.5% as the right of the deprived in the surplus income of the rich so silly and trifle. This observation is superficial even when we consider it at micro level and at macro levels it is baseless as well. Please see below just a sample study made on the usage of gold to understand the magnitude of socio-economic changes and impact that zakat makes at macro level.
Islam fixed 2.5% of Zakat on gold. The gold is basis of currency. So, the same percentage is applied on currency also. Gold is a metal which is not productive or which does not grow itself. Whatever work we do on it, it won’t help us to increase its quantity. Rather, it decreases in qty though it might appreciate in value depending upon market mechanism. Gold, as it is, is not used in the day to day life requirements of human beings. In Islam, wearing of gold is prohibited for men. In an Islamic society, gold is used only as ornaments for the women. Islam allows 84 grams of gold for each woman without Zakat. But, once the limit (Nisab) of 84 grams is crossed, 2.5% of zakat is levied on the total quantity of gold. Let us analyze the impact of Zakat levied on the gold in a society. For sample study, I have taken the state of Kerala (the most southern state in India) where from this writer is hailing. Kerala is the most densely populated state in one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Kerala is the most consumer oriented state in India. It is mostly agricultural though its spices have lost its glitter due to globalization phenomenon. Kerala relies mostly for its hard currencies on the export of man power. From all these angles, this writer feels Kerala is the ideal state to test new ideas since the ideas effective and feasible to Kerala could be feasible to the whole world.
The population of Kerala is 30 million. The increase in the population during the last 20 years has been 5 million. This means, 25 million people of Kerala are over the age of 20. Even though proportion of women is more than of men in Kerala, at least 12.5 million of women in Kerala are 20 years or more old. Age of marriage set by the Government for women is 18 years. Let us consider that 10 million of Keralite women are married at their age of 20 or earlier since we spare 2.5 million because of late marriage rampant among some sects other than of Muslims. Of course among these married, there are women who have got one or two kilos of gold. There are women who do not have even a single gram of gold. Let us consider 100 grams as minimum per capita consumption of the gold among the married women in Kerala. When we multiply this 100 grams with ten million women we do get 1000 million grams of the gold. The current price of the gold is $52 per gram. The total value of the gold stagnating in the wrists, necks and ears of the Keralite women is tantamount to $52,000,000,000. Imagine the economic impact if Zakat is levied on this gold. The annual share of Zakat on the above mentioned gold, irrespective of whether it be saving or converted into an investment, is $1,300,000,000. If we consider $6,000 (equivalent to IRS 250,000) is sufficient for economic rehabilitation of the deprived class, we will be able to rehabilitate economically at least 216,666 families (1,083,330 members since each family constitutes an average of 5 members) every year from the Zakat of the gold only. Economic rehabilitation of each family should be in a way that they won’t and shouldn’t deserve Zakat in the following year. Now let us consider the impact of Zakat in other areas of economy if it is levied and taken correctly and punctually.
$52,000,000,000 is the minimum value of the ornaments used by Keralite women. It is a kind of stagnated saving. The giver of Zakat will be forced to convert this stagnated saving into a kind of productive investment. Otherwise, there will arise a situation whereby he will forfeit his saving in terms of gold by giving Zakat every year especially in the context of prohibition of interest as mentioned earlier. So, Zakat works as a catalyst in converting this stagnated saving into a productive capital. When we consider the capital of medium scale industries in Kerala between $3 million and $4 million and $30 million as the required capital for the large scale industries, we will understand that the capital for establishing 2 large scale industries in each of the 15 districts of Kerala (total cost is $900 million) and the capital for establishing 14,600 medium scale industries ($3.5 Million per industry) throughout Kerala is stagnating in the writs, necks and ears of Keralite women. This will give job opportunity for more than 1.5 million people (direct employment of 500 people in each large scale industry and 100 people in each medium scale industry). This helps to increase the productivity of the country and the exports thereof. This supplements the per capita purchasing capacity. The extent of cycles of economic transactions this will generate is unfathomable. When Allah levied zakat on gold, He might have intended all these healthy movements and transactions in both micro and macroeconomic fields also.
The sample study clearly makes it out the magnitude of the economic movements that levying Zakat only on the gold itself will make. Zakat is applicable for other kinds of savings also. We have not yet calculated the 5% or 10% of Zakat of agricultural products in Kerala, nor have we calculated the Zakat of industrial and business concerns in Kerala. Again we need to calculate Zakat on bank deposits in Kerala. Now ponder over this. Kerala is the most densely populated state in the world after Bangladesh. Almost 700 people reside in a kilo meter square in Kerala. It can be said undoubtedly and unequivocally that an economic system that is effective for Kerala will be more effective for other countries which has got more resources and less density of population. The 2.5% and 5% of existing wealth itself which has been fixed by God, the Law Giver, is enough for eradication poverty from the face of this planet. The question is who will bell the cat?
Let me consider another example to gauge the magnitude of impact Zakat makes in an economy. I am taking the example now from India which is a developing economy. The registered value of assets of the big ten capitalists like TATA, Birla, Ambani, Vipro is $100,000 million (This is based on the latest figures). If we collect only 2.5% of their assets, this will be equivalent to $2,500 million which can be used for economic rehabilitation of the deprived classes. This is 2.5% of only ten capitalists in India. Consider the volume of Zakat that can be collected every annum in India for economic rehabilitation of the poor and the deprived taking into consideration of 2.5% of total bank deposits in India, 2.5% of all assets belonging to tens of millions of capital owners in India, 5% and 10% of agricultural products in India, 2.5% of value of gold ornaments worn by at least 350 million of women in India. This will help you to understand that the poverty is the progeny of human made system and is the byproduct of the mismanagement of natural resources by the human beings. The divine system promises and provides the abundance that of the air and the transparency that of the sunlight and the integrity that of the nature. So, in nutshell, Islamic economics is not about dealing with the scarce resources and unlimited human needs. Rather it is more about judicious distribution of the abundant resources available in our nature and tapping of it for meeting the legitimate needs of the people.
http://www.islamonline.com/news/articles/119/Basic-Precepts-of-Islamic-Economics-and-its-Dynami.html
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Honoapiʻilani Accident Claims Life of Wailuku Man
November 1, 2016, 7:05 AM HST
* Updated November 1, 1:11 PM
PC: Ray Hagston
(12:54 p.m., Nov. 1, 2016)
A Wailuku man suffered fatal injuries in a morning crash on the Honoapiʻilani this morning.
The accident was reported at 6:33 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 on the Honoapiʻilani Highway (30) about two miles north of Māʻalaea Bay Place.
Police say the collision occurred as a black and red 1993 Honda Civic sedan, traveling north-bound on Honoapiʻilani Highway, crossed left of center and collided into a red 2006 Toyota Highlander multi-purpose vehicle that was traveling in the south-bound lane.
PC: Brittany Arisumi.
Police say the operator of the Honda was pronounced dead at the scene. The front-seat passenger and a rear-seat passenger of the Honda were both transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition. The operator of the Toyota sustained minor injuries and refused treatment.
Maui police have since identified the operator of the Honda as Samuel Gusman, 33, of Wailuku.
A preliminary police investigation revealed that all occupants of the Honda were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision. The operator of the Toyota was using his seatbelt at the time of the collision, according to department reports.
The involvement of speed, drugs and alcohol are still pending as the investigation is on-going.
This was Maui County’s 19th traffic fatality in 2016, compared to 19 the same time last year. On Saturday, two individuals died in a head-on collision on the Kūihelani Highway.
(9:36 a.m., Nov. 1, 2016)
The Honoapiʻilani Highway is now OPEN in both directions following a fatal motor vehicle accident reported earlier this morning. Please drive with caution and expect delays as traffic resumes its normal flow.
At 7 a.m., police closed the Honoapiʻilani Highway (30) in both directions following a fatal motor vehicle accident reported at around 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016.
The accident was reported in the “Pali” section of the road, on the Wailuku side of the tunnel.
The highway is closed between Māʻalaea and Ukumehame until further notice.
Emergency crews are responding to the scene.
*Check back for updates which will be posted as they become available.
Maui Motorcycle Accident Claims Life of Haʻikū Man September 14, 2018
Deadly Honoapi‘ilani Accident Claims Life of Lahaina Man May 20, 2019
Deadly Motorcycle Accident in Mā‘alaea Claims Life… May 25, 2020
Head-on Motorcycle Accident on Haleakalā Highway… December 25, 2020
Car Plunges 40-Feet Over Cliff, Claims Life of Lahaina Man April 1, 2020
Thursday Night Moped Crash on Pi‘ilani Highway… December 11, 2020
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Group of girls punch, kick and rip each other's hair in savage street brawl after night out
Observers were left shocked when a huge fight erupted in the early hours of the morning outside a popular takeaway in Derby
By Kunal Dey
A shocking footage has emerged which shows a group of young women violently fighting with one another in front of the Derby city center, Mirror reports.
The brawl, which took place in Cheapside in the early hours of Sunday morning, saw 10 girls kicking, punching, and pulling at one another's hair as horrified observers watched on. One of the girls in the scuffle filmed outside a takeaway was seen slamming another into a parked taxi cab.
A witness filmed the incident after enjoying a Saturday night out with his friends and couldn't believe his eyes.
According to the 19-year-old, he was waiting for a taxi with his friends at around 3 am when the girls started brawling in the middle of a busy road.
The teenager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "I don't know how it happened really. I was just stood there with my mates waiting for a taxi and then suddenly the girls started fighting in the road, pulling each others' hair and punching each other. Everyone was just watching and was shocked but no one really stopped it. It just kind of petered out and they walked off."
He posted his video of the brawl to his Twitter account, which has since gone viral. No officers responded to the incident as it was not reported and Derbyshire police said they were aware of the footage.
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Get your Calendar for Mindful March from Action for Happiness
February 2018 has come to end – but do not fear, for our friends at Action for Happiness have issued another Positive Psychology-infused calendar. It´s time for Mindful March. You can get your printable high-resolution version here.
Action for Happiness, Calendar, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology
With this Calendar, you´ll start 2018 just right | Action for Happiness
I´m a big fan of the non-profit Action for Happiness and have written on their work multiple times in the past. Today, I´d like to share with you another of their awesome tools, helping to bring Positive Psychology to the general public. Enjoy!
Action for Happiness, Gratitude, High-Quality Connections, Kindness, Mindfulness, Savoring, Writing
Inc: How to Gain Strength From Your Darkest Moments (Interview with Adam Grant) by Leigh Buchanan
Inc: Pay Attention to These Surprising 6 Red Flags to Burnout. You May Be Closer Than You Think by Laura Garnett
Psychology Today: Are We Evolved for Happiness? by Glenn Geher
Psychology Today: The Problem with Measuring Happiness by Todd Kashdan
Atlantic: Why Do Americans Smile So Much by Olga Khazan
The Age: Debate on future of work needs a Focus by Alex Lavelle
Atlantic: Play Power: How to Turn Around Our Creativity Crisis by Laura Sergeant Richardson
New York Magazine: Thinking of Your Job As a Calling Isn’t Always a Good Thing by Cari Romm
New York Magazine: To Get Better at Reading People’s Feelings, Pay Attention to Your Own Body by Cari Romm
Heleo: See More, Judge Less: A Mindful Approach to Success, no author
Adam Grant, Atlantic, Burnout, Calling, Creativity, Evolution, Heleo, Inc, Mindfulness, New York Magazine, Play, Psychology Today, Research, Resilience, Scott Barry Kaufman, The Age, Todd Kashdan
Thrive Global: The Father Of Mindfulness on What Mindfulness Has Become by Drake Baer
CNN: Want to be happy and successful? Try Compassion by Jen Christensen
ScienceAlert: There’s now a brain scan to tell if you’re depressed – and what treatment is needed by Cynthia Fu
Fast Company: The Power of Pride at Facebook by Lori Goler, Janelle Gale, Brynn Harrington & Adam Grant
Psychology Today: How I Learned About the Perils of Grit by Todd Kashdan
Atlantic: Can a Difficult Childhood Enhance Cognition? by Olga Khazan
New York Times: Rude Doctors, Rude Nurses, Rude Patients by Perri Klass
New York Magazine: The Original Natural Remedy for Burnout: Nature by Brad Stulberg
Time: The Lifelong Problem With Loneliness by Elizabeth Tillinghast
Huffington Post: How to Avoid Being a Fake Positive Leader by Chris White
Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, Atlantic, Biophilia, Compassion, Facebook, Grit, Huffington Post, Incivility, Loneliness, Mindfulness, New York Magazine, New York Times, Pride, Psychology Today, Science Alert, Self-Compassion, Thrive Global, Time
Staying Sane, Cavemen-Style
Mankind is a smart bunch. We´ve learned how to put a man on the moon, how to build skyscrapers as high as mountains, and we have access to all the knowledge in the world via small devices in our pockets made of plastic, metal, and some microchips. We can travel back and forth between the continents in a matter of hours. We´ve developed sophisticated treatments for all kinds of human ailments, helping us to become as old as some of the trees. That´s impressive and utterly admirable.
Yet, all these upsides of modern life seem to take a toll on our bodies and minds. In most Western societies, the level of obese people is growing steadily, as is the pervasiveness of psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety-related conditions. Is this the price society has to pay for the comforts of the modern life? And more importantly:
Could we reverse these effects by turning to a more “primitive” lifestyle?
Here´s the thing: I´m sure, on the whole, we´re a lot smarter than our Neanderthalian ancestors. But being smart does not automatically lead to making smarter decisions. Let´s look at their way of life for a moment. Born in 1978, I´m not a contemporary witness – yet I´m an avid reader and watch a lot of documentaries. Here´s how I imagine life must have been for them:
They lived in tribes of several larger families with close bonds between the members of their group.
They had to toil hard in order to survive, but when their work was done (having enough food to sustain the tribe), they relaxed, played, created art, and made love.
The men hunted in small groups, sometimes for several days in a row. When doing so, they walked or even ran a double-digit mileage per day.
While chasing prey, they didn’t talk much. Instead, they focused on their immediate surroundings, the animals´ smells, sounds, and their tracks.
When the hunt was successful, they returned home, shared their game with everybody, and also shared their hunting lore by the fireside.
The women also walked long distances several time per week while searching for fruits and nuts. Some of them stayed home to take care of the tribe´s offspring. When not searching for food, they created tools, pottery, and clothing.
Whenever possible, they all slept long, especially in winter. They also took several naps over the course of the day whenever the environment was save.
Now let’s take this narration and transfer into more modern terms. What we have here are people who…
spend a lot of time with their friends and the ones they love (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of bonding);
finish the equivalent of a half-marathon three or four times a week (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of intense physical exercise);
spend most of their time in natural green environments (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of biophilia)…
…and practice an intuitive form of mindfulness while doing so (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of staying in the present moment).
Additionally, they…
have a clear purpose in life and work hard to reach it (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of feeling one´s life has a deeper meaning)…
…yet, they are not workaholics. They know how to relax, taking lots of powernaps, and engage in recreational activities such as play and art (here´s some science on the psychological upsides of detaching from work and engaging in play or the arts).
Depression and anxiety as the body´s warning signs?
Compare this to what most Westerners are doing:
We eat too much food that we don´t have to struggle for.
We sit too much and walk too little.
We work insane hours, yet don´t sleep and play enough.
We spend too much time alone or among people we don´t really care about.
We get lost in cyberspace instead of staying with what´s at hand.
We focus too much on promoting ourselves instead of promoting the common good.
Put in simple terms, I think this is what our bodies are trying to tell us:
Hey man, you’re doing this wrong. You’re spending your time doing the wrong things, and I don’t feel safe and sound in these places you’re taking me. And where are the familiar faces that I love? But hey, I can’t explain this to you in a straight way, I don’t have words. That’s why I make you feel anxious and miserable. This is my wake-up call.
Let me close by saying that I don’t argue we should all return to an aboriginal lifestyle. I’m a city-boy all the way through. I like my work at the office, I love going out for dinner, and having a grocery store and a hospital in close proximity. But I also try to take care of myself and my body, I try to create meaning by helping people live more significant lives (e.g., via this blog…) – and ever since being married and having kids, I stay home a lot.
I guess, as ever so often, it comes down to finding the right balance.
Anxiety, Art, Biophilia, Depression, Love, Meaning, Mindfulness, Physical Exercise, Play, Purpose, Relationships, Relaxation, Sleep, Work
Treating Yourself with Kindness: On Self-Compassion
For several decades, developing self-esteem in children and adults has been the holy grail of fostering healthy attitudes towards the self. Yet, starting in the early 1990s, criticism arose, pointing towards the absence of positive consequences of having high self-esteem, and highlighting several negative consequences, such as dismissing negative feedback or taking less responsibility for harmful actions. In an influential review article from 2003 titled Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?, Roy Baumeister and colleagues conclude:
We have not found evidence that boosting self-esteem (by therapeutic interventions or school programs) causes benefits. Our findings do not support continued widespread efforts to boost self-esteem in the hope that it will by itself foster improved outcomes.
In the same year, Kristin Neff from the University of Texas at Austin introduced a different kind of healthy attitude towards the self – which may be especially helpful in times of suffering, or when facing adversity: Self-compassion, rooted in the ancient Buddhist traditions of mindfulness and compassion, and Western adaptations such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). In the words of Neff:
[…] When faced with experiences of suffering or personal failure, self-compassion entails three basic components: (a) self-kindness — extending kindness and understanding to oneself rather than harsh judgment and self-criticism, (b) common humanity — seeing one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as separating and isolating, and (c) mindfulness — holding one’s painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness rather than over-identifying with them.
[…] Self-compassion may entail many of the psychological benefits that have been associated with self-esteem, but with fewer of its pitfalls. Self-compassion represents a positive emotional stance towards oneself, in that one extends feelings of kindness and caring toward oneself. It helps to motivate productive behavior and protect against the debilitating effects of self-judgment such as depression and anxiety. Self-compassion, however, is not based on the performance evaluations of self and others, or on congruence with ideal standards. In fact, self-compassion takes the entire self-evaluation process out of the picture […].
In the meantime, self-compassion has shown to be a valuable tool for personal development and fighting symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Long-form and short-form scales for measuring self-compassion have been developed, an effective training program has been devised, and a recent meta-analysis finds that fostering self-compassion effectively helps to alleviate several psychopathologies (please see links to research papers below. You can find out more about self-compassion (e.g., free exercises and training opportunities) via Kristin Neff´s homepage.
Some of the core papers on self-compassion (linking to PDFs):
Leary, M. R., Tate, E. B., Adams, C. E., Batts Allen, A., & Hancock, J. (2007). Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: the implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(5), 887-904.
MacBeth, A., & Gumley, A. (2012). Exploring compassion: A meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(6), 545-552.
Neff, K. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85-101.
Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223-250.
Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. K. (2013). A pilot study and randomized controlled trial of the mindful self‐compassion program. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(1), 28-44.
Neff, K. D., Hsieh, Y. P., & Dejitterat, K. (2005). Self-compassion, achievement goals, and coping with academic failure. Self and Identity, 4(3), 263-287.
Neff, K. D., Kirkpatrick, K. L., & Rude, S. S. (2007). Self-compassion and adaptive psychological functioning. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 139-154.
Neff, K. D., Rude, S. S., & Kirkpatrick, K. L. (2007). An examination of self-compassion in relation to positive psychological functioning and personality traits. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(4), 908-916.
Raes, F., Pommier, E., Neff, K. D., & Van Gucht, D. (2011). Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the self‐compassion scale. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(3), 250-255.
Buddhism, Common Humanity, Compassion, Kindness, Kristin Neff, MBSR, Mindfulness, Research, Roy Baumeister, Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, Self-Kindness
The Scientific Benefits of Compassion [Infographic]
This fabulous infographic on the scientific benefits of compassion was originally created by Emma Seppälä, Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and author of The Happiness Track. For more of her awesome work, please visit her homepage.
CCARE, Compassion, Emma Seppälä, Happiness, Infographic, Mindfulness
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Primary Investigator: Christiani, David
Organization: Harvard School Of Public Health
Project Title: Molecular and Genetic Analysis of Lung Cancer Survival
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Survival outcomes for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, remain poor. Improving lung cancer survival requires a multi-pronged approach, including smoking cessation and better elucidation of gene-environment interactions in risk, identification of new promising drug targets, as well as identification of potential prognostic and predictive markers that optimize treatment for patients. Our molecular epidemiology group has investigated the role of candidate germline polymorphisms and survival in lung cancer since the 2002 initiation of this study, and we have made significant contributions to understanding genetic and other markers of NSCLC survival. In this competing renewal, we will employ high- density genome-wide genotyping and epidemiologic approaches to identify better prognostic and predictive genetic markers of NSCLC survival. The ultimate goal of identifying such markers is to find ways to select the best treatment course for each individual patient. While the candidate approach has the strength of being based in biologic hypotheses, there are limitations to such an approach. A new approach is to use genome wide scans that capitalize on advances in high-throughput technology and in completion of projects such as the HapMap project, to allow for assessment of the human genome. In this renewal, we will take advantage of the large collection of clinical, epidemiologic and over 3,000 biospecimens and clinical data from the parent project begun in 1992. For gene discovery, we will use the new Illumina 610 Quad platform for a genome-wide approach to genotyping of SNPs. Once we have identified high priority SNPs, we will seek to replicate these findings in our larger case-cohort, as well as in separate external validation sets from 4 collaborating centers. Although our primary endpoint will be overall survival (OS), we will also assess disease-free survival (DFS) and progression- free survival (PFS), where appropriate. In Phase 1, we will use the new Illumina 610 Quad (610,000 SNP's and 60,000 Copy Number Variants) among 1000 lung cancer cases in the parent study, to identify the most promising SNPs that show evidence of association with lung cancer survival. In Phase 2, the top 3,000 SNPs will be selected from this discovery phase for further validation/replication in the remainder of patients. Then, in Phase III, we will assess the top 100 SNP's (50 each for early and late stages) in 3 external case cohorts with a minimum of 5 year follow-up information: MD Anderson, U. of Toronto, Mayo Clinic. To extend our findings to another case-cohort of different ethnicity, and maximize the capture of relevant SNP's, we will perform Phase 2 (2 Golden Gate 1536 SNP arrays) and Phase 3 (top 100 SNP's; 50 for early and 50 for late stage) in a Chinese case cohort in Nanjing, China. Finally, we will conduct exploratory functional assays to assess variants effects on gene expression in the final set of replicated candidates. This will be the largest and most complete genetic analysis of NSCLC to date, and will move the field significantly towards to goal of more effective, personalized therapy for NSCLC patients.
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Congress Prepares to Block the Feds from Interfering with Medical Marijuana
Marijuana LegalizationBertram Joyner Dec 12, 2014
An amendment that would block the federal government from cracking down on legal medial marijuana dispensaries, which was passed by the House earlier this year, is now awaiting approval from the Senate. At the bottom of page 213 of the latest appropriations bill for the federal stance on medical marijuana, a provision mentions that "[n]one of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used... to prevent such States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana," listing off 32 states and the District of Columbia, where the new bill would be applied. Many advocates such as Michael Collins of the Drug Policy Alliance, are convinced that this final bill will finally prevent the Drug Enforcement Agency from continuing unwarranted raids on legal medical marijuana dispensaries and their patients. "This is the leadership of both parties recognizing that there is a constituency that supports states setting their own marijuana polices. It's an absolute game changer," said Michael Collins, to Vice News.
Tags: Marijuana legalization, Recreational marijuana, Washington d.c.
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Tommy is an eighth grader at Menta. When Tommy entered Menta he had missed more than 100 days at his previous school. Several plans were put in place to support his school anxiety, but none seemed to be successful. The summer prior to his eighth grade year, the principal invited Tommy to tour the school with his mother and meet his new teacher. Through student mapping, the teacher learned a lot about Tommy’s motivators and what she could do to decrease his level of anxiety in the classroom. They also created a “secret signal” that he could use when he was feeling uncomfortable or anxious in the classroom. There were several summer visits to help Tommy prepare for his first day of eighth grade. When Tommy came in on the first day of school he sat in the back of the class. He wanted to see if his teacher would respond to the signal they developed, and she did just as she had promised. Throughout the course of the year, Tommy worked with the clinical staff to identify his needs and develop appropriate coping strategies. Tommy’s attendance rate quickly skyrocketed to 89%. It was 25% the previous year. He still has some rough days especially when his teacher is absent, but he uses his coping skills to discuss his feelings and concerns. We are proud of his success!
Ralph is a second grader that has had a significant history of significant physical aggression.
Ralph’s mother reported that while at his previous school, he was rarely in the classroom with his peers due to these behaviors. Even with this intensive support, interactions with Ralph were primarily to control his behaviors. His mother reported that she feared he hadn’t acquired many skills in his short academic career.
Since starting at Menta, Ralph has made significant progress academically and behaviorally. He has been able to participate in the classroom with his peers approximately 93% of the time. He completes assignments and can appropriately utilize coping skills when he becomes frustrated. He no longer displays physical aggression. Ralph has built an excellent rapport with all the staff at Menta. He and his mother are proud of all that he has accomplished in a short amount of time. We are excited to see the continued progress Ralph will make as he starts 3rd grade!
At her previous placement, Marsha struggled with behavioral issues, attendance, and lack of completion of credits. Marsha entered Menta with less than 7 credits. She was a single mother who was trying to establish support for herself and her child. Her goal was to graduate and find employment. Our team suggested enrolling in our credit recovery program. Enrolling in this program helped Marsha excel. The program assisted her with both life skills development and also soft skills for employment.
Over the course of a year and a half, she completed the remaining credits required for graduation and her attendance rate was ninety percent. Marsha recently graduated and gainfully employed.
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Player Spotlight: Oliver Snaider
Amanda Barrentine|February 6, 2014
Junior Oliver Snaider is not only a tennis player here at Mercer University, but also an international student. He is the only child of his parents to be born in Paraguay, while the rest of his family was born in Germany. He has been playing tennis for 12 years. “Mainly in South America, people always pick soccer,” said Snaider. “I was thrilled about tennis and that it’s a very individualistic sport.”
Snaider has been living on his own since he was 16, which he says has made him more independent.
Snaider is an international business major who plans to get a Master’s degree in the near future. When asked what he planned to do after college, he replied that though he’s keeping his options open, the main plan is for him to take after his father’s company. Snaider’s father owns an import and export company, as well as a tent rental company and a workshop that he outsources. “I want to stay here for a bit, look for a nice job, maybe in Europe, because my family’s from Europe,” said Snaider.
When asked what he thought was the hardest part of being a student athlete, Snaider responded, “Managing times, and the sport with the classrooms. Mainly when you’re in season, you train a lot, because you have early workouts that make you tired before the next class and then when you have projects. It’s just the price you pay to keep doing the sport you like.”
In addition to being an international student, Snaider is also a transfer. Before he came to Mercer last semester, Snaider attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in South Georgia. He said that he came to the United States to study because his parents wanted him to. “My older sister came, and there was a year I didn’t play tennis much. I got exhausted of it, pretty much every athlete does,” Snaider said. “And I don’t really like being in the same place for long. So I said, okay, my parents want me to come, I’ll try to go. I really like America.”
When asked who his favorite faculty member at Mercer was, Snaider said that it was Ray Tatum, assistant vice president and director of admissions. “It was hard to get here because of NCAA rules and I didn’t know much,” said Snaider. “He does a really good job by following up with us international students and making sure we don’t need anything. He helped me a lot.”
Snaider said that one advantage that he thinks he has in life is the ability to adapt to cultures very easily. He’s lived in Italy, Argentina. He has family in Germany, where his brothers are currently living. “The culture shock doesn’t really affect me,” said Snaider.
When asked if he had a special routine to pump himself up before a match, Snaider replied that he typically listens to music. “If I’m nervous, I like to listen to slow music, if I need to chill out and relax, I listen to more hard music.”
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‘Majority of women’ use sex as a reward
Metro ReporterWednesday 22 May 2013 2:29 pm
Mmmm, the sweet smell of reward… (Picture: Getty)
Around 65 per cent of women use the promise of sex as a reward, a new study has found.
Research into the sex lives and preferences of co-habiting couples in the UK discovered that women are more likely than men to use sex as a reward for ‘good behaviour’.
The study, conducted by www.ukmedix.com, spoke to 1,994 men and women aged 18 and over, all of whom were in co-habiting relationships.
Asked ‘Have you ever used sex as a reward for your partner, either past or present?’, two thirds of women answered ‘yes’, while just 11 per cent of men said they had done the same.
The most common behaviours rewarded with sex were helping around the home (38 per cent of women had rewarded their partner with sex for this), giving the woman a gift or treat (34 per cent) and looking after family members, including children (28 per cent).
Cooking a meal (21 per cent), playing taxi (19 per cent) and letting the woman take a break from sex for a while were also frequently rewarded with intimacy.
Meanwhile, men were most likely to reward their partners with sex for letting them watch sport on TV or in real life, with 35 per cent of men admitting to this. And 17 per cent of men rewarded their other halves for allowing them a night out with friends.
In total, 78 per cent of people questioned as part of the study thought there was nothing wrong with rewarding a partner with sex.
Thomas O’Connell of ukmedix.com commented on the findings: ‘Intimacy and the part it plays in relationships can be incredibly interesting, and with this study we particularly wanted to look at how men and women may use intimacy to encourage certain behaviours from their partner.
‘To see that so many women, much more so than men, use it as a reward was an eye-opener; but it’s apparent that intimacy is somewhat of a weapon when it comes to getting your partner to do what you’d like them to. One thing’s for sure, both men and women are guilty of it, and no one seems to mind!’
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Home › Lifestyle › Sex
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Who was St Andrew? Everything about Scotland’s patron saint
Amy Willis and Carrie MarshallThursday 30 Nov 2017 12:01 am
Scotland! (Picture: Getty)
Happy St Andrew’s Day!
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Millions of Scots will be paying tribute to their patron saint today with feasts, music, dance, a day off work (whoop) and flying of the Scottish flag.
But who was St Andrew and why did he become the patron saint of Scotland?
Here is everything you need to know.
St Andrew has been the patron saint of Scotland for well over one thousands years with people celebrating him since 1000AD.
He was only made patron saint in 1320 when Scotland declared independence with the Declaration of Arbroath.
Since then St Andrew has been honoured in many ways in Scotland including on the Scottish flag with the St Andrew Cross and the town of St Andrews, thought to be where he was buried, being named after him
The reason St Andrew became important for Scotland was because he sums up a lot of characteristics found in Scots.
St Andrew, who was a fisherman, had a humble upbringing and was known though his entire life for being generous and strong. His philosophy was to share everything he had with those less fortunate.
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St Andrew always took every opportunity he had to help others – and that’s why he was chosen as their patron saint. St Andrew is also the patron saint of Greece, Romania, Russia and Barbados.
He became one of Jesus’s disciples and one of the Twelve Apostles. He was also the brother of St Peter, who founded the Catholic church, so the Scots were able to petition the Pope in 1320 for protection against English kings’ attempts to take over Scotland.
St Andrew died on an X-shaped cross in Greece, now known as the Saltire or the St Andrew’s Cross. It is believed that after his death his remains were moved to Constantinople hundreds of years later.
Duncan Thomson, Brian McCutcheon, John Patterson and Arthur Murdoch, from King of Scots Robert the Bruce Society, hold the Scottish flags (Picture:Getty Images)
Like many early Christians, St Andrew was crucified by the Romans because they didn’t like Christians very much. St Andrew was the first bishop in Greece, and the Romans weren’t too happy about that.
His remains were moved again in the 13th Century to Amalfi in Italy. Most of St Andrew is still there today but bits of him have been moved over the years to Scotland.
These include his tooth, kneecap, arm and finger bones, which have been in Scotland now since the 16th Century. While his shoulder blade was gifted by the Archbishop of Amalfi in 1879 and Pope Paul VI gave Scotland more bits in 1969.
Legend has it that St Andrew’s first bits ended up in Scotland thanks to St Rule or St Regulus, a Greek monk who had a vision in which he was told to take the bits to the ends of the earth for safekeeping.
His journey took him to the shores of Fife, which is easy to mistake for the ends of the earth. The town where St Rule landed is now St Andrews.
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Develop the Advanced Manufacturing Institute to increase SA’s competitiveness
The decline in the steel industry in the Midwest US because of destructive innovation led to the deindustrialisation of the region, and the area being derogatorily called the “rust belt.”
In 1993, when I was an undergraduate student in Cleveland, Ohio, I attended a UB40 concert with my friend and study partner, Yoichiro Endo from Tokyo, Japan. Endo now has a doctorate in robotics and is based in the United States. This UB40 concert was held inside a big warehouse that had been turned into a nightclub.
Amid the flow of red wine and music, I wondered why this nightclub was located in such a warehouse.
UB40 is the name of a British reggae group, derived from the name of a form that is issued to people who claim unemployment benefits in Britain.
As the drums of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) beat on, we will increasingly see more UB40s or similar forms accessed by people who have been displaced from the workforce by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). But Why was UB40 playing in a warehouse?
I would later find out the reason in 2006 when I met Professor Clayton Christensen (who was known for his theory of disruptive innovation) while I was on a fellowship at Harvard University.
He explained to me why UB40 was playing in a warehouse in 1993. In the 1970s and 1980s in the United States Midwest, the steel industry was strong and could be categorised into three segments: A, B and C. A was a high-end grade, B a middle grade and C low-grade steel. Then came the competition from Asian companies that targeted low-grade steel, which was poorly serviced because the customers were less demanding.
The management consultants advised companies in the Midwest to let C go so that they could focus on A and B, which were more profitable than C. The Asian companies consolidated their position in producing grade-C steel, and then they went for the B-grade steel market. Again the consultants advised the Midwest companies to focus on A, which was more profitable than B.
The Asian companies then focused on A and the Midwest companies had nowhere to run to but to close their businesses. It was a bloodbath, and many warehouses like the one where I attended the UB40 concert were abandoned to be turned into nightclubs.
The way the steel industry in the Midwest was decimated is called “destructive innovation”.
The loss of a competitive edge is crucial to the decline in manufacturing because of destructive innovation. US companies in the Midwest declined because of increased competition from Asia.
This was possible because of the cost of labour, which was high in the US compared with Asia. A similar trend happened in South Africa, where industries such as steel manufacturing and textiles declined, leading to deindustrialisation.
From 2008 to 2017, South African steel production dropped from eight million tonnes a year to six million tonnes a year. South Africa imported cheap steel because of the relatively high competitiveness of the international steel market compared with the domestic one.
Similarly, textiles manufacturing declined by 15% from 2014 to 2019. The number of people employed in the textile industry declined from 108 000 people in 2010 to 87 000 people in 2019.
The contribution of the manufacturing industry to gross domestic product declined from 21% in 1994 to 14% in 2019. The manufacturing industry is clearly on the decline. Gauteng Premier David Makhura has been talking about the reindustrialisation of the economy of the province.
China industrialised using the cheap cost of labour as a competitive advantage. The country reached its Lewis turning point in 2009 and ever since then its cost of labour has been steadily increasing.
The Lewis turning point is a period when a country’s cost of labour begins to decline as a competitive advantage.
The big question that requires our attention is: What is South Africa’s competitive advantage as far as reindustrialisation is concerned?
To answer this question, we need to identify the factors of competitiveness. In my opinion, there are three factors of competitiveness: labour, technology, and incentives.
The cost and quality of labour in terms of skills composition can serve as a competitive advantage. The cheap cost of labour as an instrument of competitiveness is how China, and now India, rose to the economic stratospheres.
Technology can be used as a competitive advantage. Technology was used by the US, Germany and South Korea to remain high in the economic league table. Incentives can be used as a competitive advantage, and this is how Japan, through its protectionist policy, grew to be the third-largest economy in the world.
Where should South Africa pitch its competitiveness? In 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that through the Presidential Commission on the 4IR, technologies would be used to augment South Africa’s competitiveness. The commission has made eight recommendations that will put South Africa’s fortunes on the upward trajectory.
In the past two weeks on this platform, I have addressed two of these recommendations.
The first is to build human capacity in the area of the 4IR; the second is to establish the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute.
This week I address the third recommendation, which is to create the Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI), which will focus on improving South Africa’s competitiveness and will take advantage of the emerging technologies of the 4IR.
The AMI will explore how to deepen automation so that South African companies remain competitive. It will explore how to automate industries such mining, so that it becomes more productive and safe through 4IR technologies.
This automation should include areas such as volume measurement. For example, one can use drones and image-processing technologies to measure the size of coal stockpiles. This volume-measuring technique can be extended to industries such as food, for example Tiger Brands; drinks such as Coca-Cola; and pharmaceutical products.
At the University of Johannesburg, MinPet is a new technology that is being commercialised towards real-time 3D-imaging of locked diamonds. As the system is fed with more data, the results improve.
Another example is to use self-driving cars in underground mines, especially in areas that are dangerous for human beings. AI and sensor technologies can be used to monitor all aspects of operations in the mining as well as manufacturing industries.
In a decentralised fashion, the AMI should develop principles that are applicable in all types of industries, such as the vehicle manufacturing industry, fast-moving consumer goods and the aerospace industry.
The institute should also explore how the limited spectrum that the telecommunication industry requires should be allocated to companies so that they can use technologies such as the internet of things to improve their productivity.
How should the institute be structured? It could take on the model of a centre of competence and should:
* Have a board with the necessary technical expertise in a broad spectrum of industries;
* Be linked to agencies that have deep technical skills in the areas of manufacturing, such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research;
* Have connections to institutions of higher learning with expertise in manufacturing, such as the universities of Pretoria, KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg;
* Have ties to international centres of excellence in manufacturing such as Germany, China, Japan and South Korea; and
* Co-ordinate ongoing conversations between the government, academia and industry.
This the third in a series of eight articles unpacking the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on the 4IR. Tshilidzi Marwala deputises for President Cyril Ramaphosa on the commission and is a professor of AI and the vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg
ProfessorTshilidzi Marwala is the vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg and deputy chairperson of the PC4IR.
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Jun 5, 2019 Oct 21, 2019 "Mister Mystery"Leave a Comment on KAFKA AND THE KAFKAESQUE PRAGUE
KAFKA AND THE KAFKAESQUE PRAGUE
Have you ever wondered why Kafka’s novels are riddled with strange, inexplicable phenomena? If so, I will give you the answer: Kafka’s novels are inextricably linked to the city of Prague and, at least in Kafka’s times, Prague was a mysterious city.
Of course, Prague citizens did not usually wake up in the morning turned into a cockroach. That was an exaggeration, a poetic license of the great writer who one day, as a child, was playing with a magnifying glass and, when observing through it his father’s bed, saw a cockroach. That vision traumatized him and largely marked the relationship with his father, whom since then he could not look at without imagining him as a “monstrous vermin”.
But apart from the inventiveness of the Prague writers, very numerous at that time (so much so that it is estimated that two out of every three Prague citizens were either writers or illiterate, or both at the same time), in Prague strange things happened: abnormal, bizarre, absurd, ridiculous phenomena.
A man sneaked into a party and ate all the canapés without anyone being able to avoid it. A woman preferred to enter her house through the window instead of through the door, and it was not a street-level window, so she was forced to climb a plumbing. People queued daily outside Leppin’s department store despite knowing that it had been closed for two years and there was no expectation of a new opening…
And not only people did strange things: things themselves behaved in a strange way. During a gala dinner, a chair was tilted enough for its occupant to fall to the ground at the climax of his speech. A pipe persisted in continually deviating from the face of its owner, who never managed to take it to his mouth and who nevertheless didn’t stop trying. Kafka himself suffered similar phenomena at first hand. His bedside table appeared every morning in a different location as if it had a life of its own. In fact, Kafka tells in his diary that he met it often while he was out on a binge. However, the bedside table was not part of their small circle of friends (so small that it was practically non-existent).
How could this singularity of Prague not affect the hypersensitive mind of the young Kafka?
Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 on Maislova Street, right in the center of Prague (at that time the center was located on the outskirts). His family was a prosperous family of merchants. Too prosperous for the social sensitivity of the young Franz who, feeling guilty, sabotaged the family business from time to time by setting fire to it.
Fire always exerted a magical attraction on Kafka, who built a fire at the slightest sensation of cold wherever he was. In fact, he always carried with him a box of matches and a bundle of firewood. This custom of lighting bonfires straight away displeased the mother of the young woman whom Kafka courted for a while. In his fiancée’s house there was no fireplace but central heating. However, he was too shy to ask to turn it on; so, when her mother left them alone, he hurried to light a huge fire in the middle of the living room.
Another of his fixations while the two lovers flirted, was to always sit upside-down on the couch, with his feet on the back. All this riled up the girl’s mother who, however, did not stop considering Kafka a good match until she learned that his occupation at the prestigious General Insurance company where he worked was to lick the stamps on the letters. Even so, it was he who broke the engagement with the girl without another explanation that he had an itch on his back.
Kafka used to walk a lot through Prague, with his black bowler hat and overcoat, and his pants with only one pant leg (this eccentricity was a mere excuse to get cold in the leg and justify the ignition of a bonfire). Being a shy man who did not want to attract attention, he was very uncomfortable about his inability to walk in a straight line, always turning to the left until he hit a wall. Inevitably, this attracted the attention of pedestrians, who sometimes took him for drunk when the truth was that he didn’t drink alcohol or any other drink including water. (This withdrawal caused him severe attacks of dehydration that forced him to throw himself frequently and without warning into the Vltava river).
During his walks, he used to pay attention to those Prague phenomena that did not fit in with the rationality of things (a criterion of behavior that the other European capitals followed strictly). For example, in his diary, he often refers to Karlova Street, which often moved out of the neighborhood with the consequent inconveniences for its inhabitants and the postal service. Kafka himself suffered this inconvenience at first hand when, one night, at the end of that main street he ended up in a marginal neighborhood where the tramways didn’t yet arrive and where he was the victim of an assault by a very thick woman who smeared him with black paint and then made him dance with her the Black Swan Pas de deux from the third act of “Swan Lake”. The influence of this disconcerting episode can be recognized in some of his works, for example in “The trial”, when the bank in which Josef K. works suddenly becomes a Chinese laundry.
Another similar phenomenon affects the protagonist of “Josephine the Singer or The Mouse Folk” when she rushes open the door of her house to go buy an anteater and she is stamped against the back of a wardrobe with a smell of naphthalene. (Another of the curiosities of the inter-war Prague was the disproportionate abundance of ants, which forced its inhabitants to adopt anteaters as pets instead of dogs or cats.)
Prague had a magical past to which many attributed any extraordinary phenomenon that took place in it. The magical past of Prague dated back at least to the end of the 16th century, when Emperor Rudolf II of Austria moved the capital of the Holy Roman Empire from Vienna to Prague. (One hundred thousand men were needed to push the capital from Vienna to Prague, three hundred kilometers away.) Rudolf II was known in clandestine circles as Rudolf II (in the pejorative sense), but the Emperor’s faithful comrades called him “The Crackpot” and “The Mad Alchemist”. That’s why you should not be surprised when you learn that he brought with him to Prague a large group of magicians, necromancers, occultists, alchemists and tightrope walkers. But his favorite ones were the alchemists, because on them he based his aspiration to become the richest sovereign in the world, the most overweight and also the most long-lived.
To serve as residence for these weird and long-haired men, Rudolf II set up some little houses in an alley inside the enclosure of Prague Castle. There he kept the alchemists occupied in the three searches that shook off his slumber: the conversion of lead into gold; the elaboration of all kinds of cakes, biscuits and snacks for all occasions, with a high level of fats and sugars; and the production of the elixir of eternal youth.
At the beginning, he treated them with the greatest deference and confidence. But one day one of these alchemists assured him that the transmutation of lead into gold was already closer since he had just discovered by chance the reverse process and now it would be enough to keep his eyes wide open while carrying out this alchemical process, in order to make the appropriate logical deductions.
This explanation seemed reasonable to Rudolf, who provided the alchemist with all the necessary means, including all the gold he kept locked in chests so that the alchemist could carefully observe its conversion into lead to deduce from it the inverse conversion. Nevertheless, when Rudolf came to see his progress, the alchemist had disappeared days ago taking with him all the Emperor’s gold. This was a blow to Rudolf’s confidence in his alchemists, but indirectly that incident saved his life. Because, when a few days later another of his protegés claimed to have found the elixir of eternal youth and offered him a bottle with a yellow concoction, the Emperor, remembering the recent scam, distrusted and made one of his beloved comrades ingest the drink before he did. The beloved comrade drank it in one gulp and immediately fell as if struck by lightning, his corpse volatilizing afterward as if it had never existed.
This was the death-knell for the confidence that Rudolf had placed in his alchemists. Thereafter, they were forbidden to leave the Alchemists’ Alley and received a highly degrading treatment (they were not allowed to choose the dessert of their favorite meals). Meanwhile, the Emperor began to appear taciturn and to shut himself in his room stuffing himself with medovniks.
However, the cohort of magicians who for years he had attracted to his court left their indelible imprint on the city of the Vltava river. That’s why, according to Prague chronicler Edvard Holan, Prague is a magical city where anything can happen. Which is literally true if we take as representative the case of my great-aunt Esther who, at the end of her Prague tour, went astray and was helped by “a short, goggle-eyed extraterrestrial named Gfrkj” who brought her back to her home and encouraged her to continue her studies. (But not before implanting a chip in her brain that allows her to predict the future with five seconds in advance.)
And my great-aunt’s is not the only case related to sightings of UFOs or to contacts of some type with alien beings in the Czech capital. Some years prior, the press around the world echoed the discovery of a crashed flying saucer in the Prague’s Old Town Square. It was not until the citizens called a demonstration to protest the treacherous substitution of the emblematic sculptural ensemble called “Jan Hus Memorial” for what they interpreted as an abstract sculpture, that the authorities noticed the tragic event and hurried to warn the military, who cordoned off the area and seized the crashed UFO.
Events such as this abound especially in the Old Town, where (for example) a lot of sightings of a clay giant wandering through streets and alleys have been reported. Some identify it with a being from another planet. Others, with one Jan Heslova who one day of torrential rain fell rolling down the muddy slope of a hill. Finally, there are those who see, in this enigmatic giant, the Golem manufactured in the time of the Emperor Rudolf by Rabbi Löw to protect the Jews from the ghetto. Kafka himself came across him on numerous occasions during his nocturnal walks.
In his diary he refers to one of these encounters.
He explains that one night of a new moon, when he turned a corner, he collided with what at first he thought was his cousin Arele. But as soon as he stepped back he realized that it was the mud giant known as the Prague Golem. Remembering that it had been created for the express purpose of protecting the Jews of Prague, he asked him to protect him from the harassment to which his fellow workers constantly subjected him. (They used to hit him with fly swatters.) The giant of clay lacked the gift of speech but his gestures were very expressive, so when Kafka received from him a tremendous blow that took him through the air to St. Vitus Cathedral, he realized that his request had been rejected.
Kafka had a difficult relationship with his father, a tough and unloving man who underestimated his son’s intelligence. In fact, when he discovered the notebooks where the young Franz wrote his stories, he was greatly surprised because, until then, he had believed that he was illiterate. However, he had provided him with a careful education, but he had no confidence that Franz would benefit from it. He had interned him in an elitist school simply to get him out of his sight because he could not stand his son’s hypersensitive and delicate nature. (The father had the sensibility of a hippopotamus, animal with which he felt deeply identified and with which until the end of his days he dreamed of adopting as a pet.)
In his diaries, Franz tells many anecdotes that show the tenseness of his relationship with his father. On one occasion, for example, he was learning to sew near to the open window when his father came running behind him brandishing an ax. At the last moment, Franz noticed and quickly moved away from the window, whereupon the impulse of the frustrated ax blow threw the father through the window, stamping him against the pavement of the street. (Following that episode, the father lost all teeth as well as the ability to pronounce any word started by J.)
Despite all of this, Kafka never stopped trying to win the affection of his father. For a while, he acted before him as the tough guy Franz knew his father would have liked his son to be. He started chewing tobacco and spitting it around the house following the paternal example. He also bought a hunting rifle and began practicing his marksmanship inside the family home, just as his father used to do. For the first time Mr. Kafka was proud of his son till the day Franz was testing his marksmanship and he shot the chandelier that hung from the ceiling just above the table where his father was absorbing worms through his nose.The unfortunate accident completely cooled the relationship of Kafka with his father, who, because of the collapse, lost the ability to walk on two feet and had to learn to walk on all fours.
But let us leave these familiar anecdotes aside and go back to the unfathomable mysteries of Prague.
The writer and occultist Matyas Capek devoted much of his life to the investigation of these mysteries.Capek belonged to the same generation of Kafka, with whom he had shared desk during their school years although they never spoke to each other. Already in his early youth, Capek used to walk the streets of the city in search of mysterious events, such as his own inclination to do somersaults for no apparent reason. Or such as the scams starring the Prague mice, famous for their sharp intelligence (they deceived humans by selling them second-hand wagons at the price of new ones in reaction to the traps put down to catch them).
Capek was the first to note that St. Vitus Cathedral was moving from its original place at a rate of three meters per year. (Nobody knows yet where it is going.) He also discovered that the subsoil of Prague was full of secret tunnels that ran from the Castle to various strategic points in the city, such as the jewelry shops and the vaults of most banks, whose owners discovered in this way the reason for the impossibility of balancing the books.
Capek also refers to the case (convincingly narrated by the inmates of the lunatic asylum located on the outskirts of Prague) of the so-called “Troublemaker Ice-Cream Cart”. As its name suggests, it was an ice cream cart fond of creating problems of a geostrategic nature, having become the main object of concern of Franz Joseph I and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That apparently insignificant cart had the unusual ability to throw gigantic balls of ice cream at incredible distances and with millimeter precision. Its main target were the members of the house of Habsburg residents in Vienna, who had to endure that, at the most unexpected moment, an ice cream ball the size of a horse-drawn carriage would fall on them.
The inmates of the lunatic asylum used to narrate the anecdote starring the archduke Franz Ferdinand and his betrothed, when the two of them strolled down a Viennese avenue in a luxurious open carriage and passed by an ice-cream stand. The lady had the whim to enjoy a strawberry ice cream and the archduke rushed to please her by requesting “der größte Eisball der Welt!” (the biggest ice cream ball in the world!). And as if all this had been planned by a sinister hand, just at that moment one of the gigantic ice cream projectiles thrown by the “Troublemaker Ice-Cream Cart” fell on the carriage, crushing the archduke and his betrothed.
Another of Capek’s surprising discoveries had a personal name: Emmanuel Cerny, aka “the laughing one”, aka “the weeping one”. This singular individual spent the day walking the streets of Prague but always showing off a different emotion. Sometimes he was crying like a bathtub overflowing. Other times, he almost could not keep his balance because of the jolts caused by laughter. His fellow citizens believed that his emotions were genuine and that the poor man must be subject, as never before had anyone been so, to the vagaries of chance: one minute life brought him a misfortune, the next a supreme bliss. “Poor thing”, they said to themselves, “life doesn’t give him a break.” Well, Capek discovered that, behind such demonstrations of sadness and joy, there was nothing at all to justify them. It turned out that Emmanuel Cerny’s life was most anodyne, nothing ever happened to him, neither good nor bad. His vehement displays of pain or joy were nothing but reflex actions arisen from a disturbed mind.
Another of the curious characters of Prague in Kafka’s time lacked a well-known name but people called him “the crab”. His singularity was to always walk backwards without ever turning his head and, however, never crashing or stumbling. Those who wanted to laugh at his expense by standing in his way, were disappointed because he always avoided them, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. When asked the cause of his strange behavior, he would go into a rage and say that it was the others who behaved like fools when they walked forward. “Man was made to walk backward!”, he used to say. “You dumb are subverting the natural order of things by walking forward. God will punish you!”.
To be sure, in the course of his long walks through Prague, Kafka had cross paths with these endearing characters. Given his bachelorhood, the one that certainly would not have escaped his attention was Olga Novotny, a beautiful woman known as “the Pied Piper of Hamelin” because all the marriageable men of Prague went after her, bewitched by her strange beauty. They went after her literally, following her in a single line, without her paying any attention to them. At the end of her long walks, the queue of her followers sometimes amounted to more than a hundred! Capek himself, who was not married at the time, was not immune to the spell of this mysterious woman, and every time he crossed paths with her, he could not help but stand in the line.
Kafka, on the other hand, never succumbed to the charms of this woman according to his friend and biographer Max Brod. He succumbed, however, to the charm of another woman: Milena, with whom he maintained a passionate correspondence even after his death. Milena had written him a letter asking for permission to translate one of his works from German to Czech, promising that she would then translate it back immediately to German before anyone noticed. It was the beginning of a passionate romance that lasted several years and that had its climax the day they both saw each other (from afar) for the first and last time, through binoculars.
But the love affairs of Kafka do not interest us because they are not essentially different from those of the next fellow. We are interested above all in his interior life, which, judging by the protagonists of his novels, must have been that of a man deeply tormented. And not precisely because of the incrustation of a pebble in the shoe (as some narrow-minded literary critics have suggested). The extreme situations in which he placed his characters denote a vital anguish characteristic of the man painted by Edvard Munch in “The Scream”. Other critics have pointed to his Jewish heritage of centuries of marginalization and persecution to explain that deep anguish that, despite the apparent placidity of his life, Kafka carried around in the depths of his soul. Or perhaps it was the city of Prague itself, so punished by historical events, that transmitted its anguish to that hypersensitive child, who could not bear to see the fall of the leaves in autumn without climbing to the trees to glue them again.
Prague’s Old Town Square
Categories FRANZ KAFKATags Prague
Previous THE CRAZY TRIAL OF FRANZ KAFKA
Next Episode 1: “THE DEFENESTRATION”
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MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Month' for July 2014
By Mike Bohn August 3, 2014 2:00 pm
By Mike Bohn | August 3, 2014 2:00 pm
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best fights from July 1-31. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for July 2014.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Fight of the Month.”
Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 175
There were expectations for a competitive fight between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, but few predicted such a highly dramatic middleweight championship affair on July 4th weekend. Weidman controlled the first three rounds of the fight, Machida stormed back to take the fourth and the American closed out of the show and the fight in the fifth, giving him the unanimous decision victory and his second 185-pound title defense.
Dustin Ortiz vs. Justin Scoggins at TUF 19 Finale
Two of the top young talents in the UFC flyweight division butted heads when Dustin Ortiz took on Justin Scoggins. There wasn’t a ton of flash to the three-round contest, which Ortiz ultimately won by split decision, but the grappling exchanges and back-and-forth nature of the three-round bout made it impossible to look away.
Cathal Pendred vs. Mike King at UFC Fight Night 46
The lone nominee that failed to go the distance saw Cathal Pendred rally from a devastating first round against Mike King to score one of the most memorable come-from-behind victories in UFC history. Pendred, who was fighting in front of his hometown faithful in Dublin, took an absolute beating in the opening frame to the point where the fight could have been stopped with little controversy. However, he battled through the adversity to reach the second, took advantage of a fatigued opponent and scored a submission win.
Jorge Masvidal vs. Daron Cruickshank at UFC on FOX 12
Jorge Masvidal survived an early knockdown to grind out a come-from-behind victory over Daron Cruickshank, notching a unanimous decision victory thanks to a grappling-heavy effort down the stretch. Masvidal compared the early knockdown to “jumping in a cold shower,” and fortunately that shower woke him up just in time to storm back for the win.
Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown at UFC on FOX 12
It was nearly impossible for Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown to live up to the expectations placed on them prior to the UFC on FOX 12 headliner, but short of a finish, they did a pretty good job. Lawler won the contest by unanimous decision after five rounds, but it didn’t come easy as Brown had moments where it looked as if an upset was in the making. While Lawler earned a welterweight title shot with the victory, Brown also gained respect by giving the division’s top contender a run for his money.
Chis Weidman had never fought five rounds before UFC 175. He had also never faced much in the way of adversity inside the octagon. Prior to facing Lyoto Machida, Weidman had only one round scored against him in seven fights under the UFC banner.
For the first three rounds of his middleweight championship bout with Machida, it appeared Weidman’s run of dominance would continue. That was only until the fourth round hit and Weidman was put in danger for the first time in his career. He overcame that danger and pushed into the fifth round, collected his wits and closed out the fight for a unanimous decision victory.
“It was a great fight for the fans and Chris got five solid rounds of work in – it was a great experience for him,” Weidman’s head coach, Ray Longo, told MMAjunkie. “He lost the fourth round, and I think that’s the only round he’s ever lost. If that was a three-round fight, he shut down Machida completely, which is phenomenal. Machida came back in the fourth and had a great run, then Chris came back in the fifth.”
While Longo would prefer if his student won every fight in the first round, he knows that’s an impossible feat. He would rather not experience such dramatic fights, but he knows the experience gained against “The Dragon” will ultimately benefit Weidman in the long run.
“He overcame adversity, so as a coach he demonstrated some qualities and attributes of a champion that you have to be happy with,” Longo said. “I think Chris was always looking for the finish in that fight, too, so I thought it was a great fight for him and we’re going to take away a lot of positive things.”
Not only was Longo impressed with Weidman’s accomplishments in the 25-minute contest, he also says Machida surpassed his expectations and, even in defeat, raised his stock.
“It was a tougher fight (than expected),” Longo said. “Machida showed me a lot, he really did. I think Machida’s going to grow from that fight, also. You’re remembered for your wars, and that was a great fight even in losing for him.”
Weidman recorded one of the best knockouts of 2013 when he stopped Anderson Silva to take the UFC middleweight championship. One year later, he was one-half of one of 2014’s best battles.
Longo still sees much room for improvement going forward, but when Weidman receives recognition for his efforts in the form of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month,” he can’t help but feel satisfied.
“I love seeing the kid get all the accolades he deserves,” Longo said. “It’s been a great time. I’m just having fun being a part of it and it’s great watching him grow as a person and as a fighter and as a champion. It’s great stuff.”
Cathal Pendred, Chris Weidman, Daron Cruickshank, Dustin Ortiz, Jorge Masvidal, Justin Scoggins, Lyoto Machida, Matt Brown, Mike King, Robbie Lawler, The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale, UFC 175, UFC Fight Night 46, UFC on FOX 12, UFC
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Blaming Trump
It'd be a shame to let this pass as received wisdom:
Chinese state media are blaming the US relisting of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism for its latest missile test.
An editorial in the Global Times said US policy on North Korea had "been nothing but an abysmal failure" in wrongly assuming that it could force Pyongyang to abandon its weapons programme by applying more pressure on the country.
The newspaper warned that China would "not support a new round of Trump administration pressure tactics" but also reminded North Korea that the international community would never accept it as a nuclear-armed state.
"Washington has placed China in a precarious situation by asking for more than what was originally expected by the UN Security Council regarding the previous round of North Korea sanctions. China has always carried out UN security measures," the editorial said.
The English-language China Daily said: "A golden opportunity to build concerted momentum to encourage Pyongyang to engage in talks has been so casually wasted by the Trump administration's recent action of renaming Pyongyang a sponsor of state terrorism, which may have prompted Pyongyang's latest missile launch."
It's self-serving nonsense from the Chinese, who continue to be the main factor in the continuing survival of the Kim regime. Pyongyang has no interest in engaging in talks. The reason this kind of analysis has any leverage - and it does - is down to Trump, pure and simple. He's a blowhard who can't help sounding off on Twitter and elsewhere, so it fits the narrative to blame him for Pyongyang's increasing aggression. But, as it happens, his North Korean policy is one area where, to date, he's been a great deal stronger than his predecessors.
No, I don't believe that Trump personally has a firm grasp of the situation, or is driving US policy here. Read this excellent NYT piece by Brian Hook, director of policy planning and senior policy adviser at the State Department, and it becomes clear that, on North Korea at least, Trump has some key advisers who know what they're doing and have managed, so far, to guide the President in something like the right direction.
Pre-war America
Photos by Arthur Rothstein, for the Farm Security Administration:
April 1939. "Rail yard. Newark, New Jersey."
January 1939. "Highway in Franklin County, Illinois."
July 1938. "Main street (Franklin Avenue) in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania."
April 1939. "Highway. New Jersey, near Newark."
October 1938. "Farm wife. Burlington County, New Jersey."
March 1940. "Cooperative gas station at Shafter migrant camp. Shafter, California."
August 1937. "Blacksmith's shop turned into a garage. Cambridge, Vermont."
December 1937. "Deer hunter. Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania."
September 1937. "Town clerk's office. Hyde Park, Vermont."
April 1939. "Slums. Newark, New Jersey."
[Photos: Shorpy/Arthur Rothstein]
Zimbabwe and North Korea
Further to Sunday's post on Emmersom Mnangagwa, and developments in Zimbabwe, it turns out that Joshua Stanton - of One Free Korea - once visited the region, and knows the history. His post, The crocodiles of Pyongyang: A remembrance of Zimbabwe & thoughts on the fall of tyrants, is very much worth a read.
Before she was famous, Samantha Power wrote at length about how Mugabe, for all his early promises of inclusion, moderation, and continuity, quickly consolidated power and gradually wrecked the economy. Not long after his inauguration in 1980, “Good Old Bob” (as the vanquished whites optimistically called him) visited Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang and met his totalitarian exemplar. He returned “a different man,” awed by Kim’s “absolute power and the apparent adoration of the North Korean people.” No one has chronicled the dark history of this “engagement” better than Benjamin Young did for NK News. Mugabe never achieved the same degree of totalitarian control as Kim Il-sung, but he certainly gave it a go: on the very eve of his overthrow, the editorials in his government newspapers could have been ghostwritten by KCNA....
Are there lessons for North Korea to be learned from the fall of Mugabe? Possibly yes - but read the whole piece.
Misreading Syria
Donald Trump has confirmed to the Turkish President that the US will stop selling arms to the Kurds in Syria. Once ISIS had been defeated - mostly by the Kurds - Trump was easily persuaded by Erdogan that US support should be cut off, thus removing "a major source of tension between the United States and Turkey". Which is nice - except for the Kurds. Michael Totten:
Donald Trump is doubling down on the Obama administration’s grave misreading of Syria by assuming that ISIS was the only threat to Western interests in Syria. That wasn’t true then, and it isn’t true now.
Rolling back ISIS in Syria and Iraq was relatively “easy” as far as armed conflicts in the Middle East go. ISIS was never going to be a terribly difficult problem to crack as long as it wasn’t allowed to fester indefinitely. The “caliphate” was land-locked. It had no allies, no real economy, no robust supply lines and precious little internal support from the terrorized citizens cowering under its rule.
The much larger and longer-term problem with Syria from the Western point of view is that Bashar al-Assad’s regime is an ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has been since 1979. It is also, by far, the biggest state sponsor of international terrorism in the Arab world and, after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Arab world’s most belligerent state. It has exported Sunni, Shia and secular terrorists to every single one of its neighbors, to Lebanon, to Iraq, to Israel, to Jordan and to Turkey. It dispatched Al Qaeda fighters against Americans in Iraq. It invaded and occupied Lebanon for well over a decade and, by incubating and nurturing Hezbollah, the PLO and Hamas, is directly responsible for more wars against Israel than I can count on one hand.
The Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah axis is poised to emerge victorious in the Syria war, stronger than ever, thanks to military assistance from Russia. Assad is surviving the biggest threat to his family’s rule since it seized power four decades ago. Short of political revolutions in Tehran and Moscow, he’s likely to die an old man in office. And he’ll have no incentive whatsoever to change his ways. He’ll continue exporting terrorism all over the region, and the next war between Israel and a now far-stronger Hezbollah will likely make the last one look like a peace process. The Kurds in Syria—our only true friends in that country—are likely to lose everything they have gained without American backing.
This is what happens when Americans grow weary of foreign policy and fool themselves, for fill-in-the-blank reasons, that Vladimir Putin is our friend.
Donald Trump owns this, and he owns it alone, mostly because he’s the president but also because his own team had planned for something entirely different in Syria. Just one day before he kicked the Kurds to the curb, administration officials told reporters that the US planned to use the Kurds, which now control large swaths of Northern Syria, to push Assad and the Iranian regime into a settlement. “We're not just going to walk away right now before the Geneva process has cracked,” Secretary of State James Mattis also said a week earlier.
Those statements meant nothing. The strategy his team put into place didn’t amount to anything either. We’ll need to put an asterisk next to anything and everything they say in the future because it can and quite possibly will be undercut and reversed at any time on Donald Trump’s whim.
Trump himself made that perfectly clear on Fox News in early November. “Let me tell you,” he said, “the one that matters is me. I'm the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. You've seen that, you've seen it strongly.”
Indeed, we have.
An act of absolute submission
From the Times (£):
An Iranian wrestler is being lionised by his country for deliberately losing a match at a junior world championships so that he would not have to fight an Israeli opponent in the next round.
Alireza Karimi was ahead in his quarter-final bout in the under-23 world championships against a Russian, Alikhan Zhabrailov. Then news came in that in another quarter-final of the 86kg category Uri Kalashnikov, an Israeli, had won. In a video of the event posted online, a voice can clearly be heard off camera saying “Alireza, you have to lose!”....
Iran not only refuses to recognise Israel but will not allow any interaction with Israelis. Last month a teenage Iranian chess player, Borna Derakhshani, was accepted to play for England after being banned by Iran for playing an Israeli in a tournament.
Karimi, 23, while criticising Israel, questioned whether his coach’s decision amounted to oppression of his own ambitions and hard work. However, he was honoured for deliberately losing at the tournament in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz at the weekend.
“Your noble and heroic action in the world competition in Poland, abandoning the medal and the podium in support of the highest human values, is a source of pride and praise,” the sports ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The national wrestling federation said that Karimi was committed to putting his country first. “It is the second time that you have risen up against the oppression of the Palestinian people by abandoning your rights in an act of absolute submission,” it said.
An act of absolute submission. For an Islamic theocracy there can be no higher praise.
In Xinjiang
A laborer on a residential buildingunder construction in Aksu, Xinjiang, China:
[Photo: Reuters]
From A Photo Trip Along the Ancient Silk Road.
This has been going on for a while now. Desperate to increase fish yields, the North Korean authorities put pressure on fishermen to take more risks, with a total disregard for safety. The inevitable deaths - very likely well into the hundreds - are then treated as "acts of loyalty" by the state propaganda machine.
Here's the latest grisly news:
Japanese authorities are trying to identify eight people whose partially skeletonised remains were found on a wooden boat that washed up on a beach.
The discovery took place in the northern Akita prefecture....
Crew-less boats or vessels with bodies on board, known as "ghost ships" and thought to be North Korean fishing boats, regularly wash up in Japan.
They have usually been found on the western coast, which faces North Korea.
In the latest incident, Japanese broadcaster NHK said the boat, measuring about 7m (23ft) long, was found on a beach near Oga city on Sunday. The vessel was missing a rotor blade and navigational devices.
On Monday officials found the remains of eight people, some reduced to bones, while inspecting the boat.
Kyodo news agency reported that the coast guard suspected the boat and its occupants had come from North Korea.
The discovery is the latest in a string of similar incidents. On Friday, a wooden boat carrying eight men - alive and in reasonably good health - washed up at Yurihonjo city.
The men said they were North Koreans fishing for squid, who had ended up drifting into Japanese waters when their boat experienced difficulties.
Reuters news agency reported that two bodies were also found over the weekend at Sado island, with a pack of North Korean cigarettes and other belongings with Korean lettering....
The BBC's Celia Hatton says the appearance of "ghost ships" is thought to be a consequence of North Korea's attempts to satisfy hunger by demanding huge quotas of seafood.
That forces fishermen to board aging ill-equipped vessels and to venture far out to sea, with no equipment to issue a distress call if their boats run into trouble, says our correspondent.
Sharecropper family
Dorothea Lange - July 1937. "Sharecropper near Hartwell, Georgia."
"....formerly workers in the Gastonia textile mills. When the mills closed down seven years ago, they came to this farm near Hartwell, Georgia."
[Photos: Shorpy/Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration]
In the Seventies and early Eighties, New York reached some kind of nadir. Bankrupt and crime-ridden, the subway dirty and covered with graffiti, it was a city whose streets were left to hustlers and bums. Photographer Edward Grazda was there to record it:
Bowery, 1971
Chrystie Street, 1975
Houston Street, 1973
Midtown, 1970
Broadway & 55th Street, 1970
Bowery & Bleecker Street, 1981
D Train, 1980
Bleecker & Elizabeth Streets, 1980
Delancey Street, 1976
6th Street & Bowery, 1973
[Photos © Edward Grazda]
And he has a new book out...Mean Streets NYC 1970-1985.
Welcoming anti-Semites
James Kirchick, on the cult of BDS, and the continuing encouragement of antisemitic zealots who are hijacking American academia:
At first glance, the news that former CIA agent Valerie Plame has been invited to speak at Smith College on the topic of “Social Media and U.S. Foreign Policy” is laughable. Plame’s once-active Twitter account has been silent since September 24, the day she offered a mealy-mouthed apology for retweeting an article with the headline “America’s Jews are Driving America’s Wars” to her 50,000 followers. Plame initially defended as “provocative, but thoughtful” a piece which called for publicly identifying “those American Jews who lack any shred of integrity” like “a warning label on a bottle of rat poison.” Next at the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute? Harvey Weinstein on gender equality, Richard Spencer on American race relations, and Donald Trump on Social Media and U.S. Foreign Policy.
The invitation to the disgraced ex-CIA agent, however, speaks to something more serious, which is the way in which the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is finding an institutional home in American academia. Only in an environment where it has become banal to exclude the world’s sole Jewish state would no one bat an eye at welcoming a blatant anti-Semite like Valerie Plame to address a roomful of young impressionable minds. A perverse consequence of the laudable progressive desire to be inclusive – which, taken to an extreme, has resulted in “safe spaces” for every conceivable minority group – is the exclusion of Jews at the behest of rejectionist Muslim voices who reject wholesale the existence of a Jewish state.
For a particularly egregious example of where things could be headed, consider Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey. There, a trifecta of anti-Semitism scandals has engulfed the campus. First, there is Michael Chikindas, the professor of food science who has turned his Facebook page into a digital Der Stürmer and claims that Judaism is “the most racist religion in the world.” He’s joined by Jasbir Puar, a women’s studies professor who in the past claimed that Israel harvests Palestinian organs and whose latest peer-reviewed book, The Right to Maim, argues that the Israeli Defense Force’s “purportedly humanitarian practice of sparing death” is actually part of an ingenious strategy “to control” Palestinians. (Such outward benignity is not unlike the Jewish State’s LGBT-friendly policies, the ulterior motive of which, Puar argues, is the “homonationalist” “pinkwashining” of occupation. Those Jews can’t do anything right). Finally, Rutgers has brought into its taxpayer-funded employ a career Syrian diplomat named Mazen Adi, who, in his position as legal adviser at his country’s mission to the United Nations, echoed Puar’s claim that “international gangs led by some Israeli officials are now trafficking children’s organs....
And so, in a world in which all of the above inanity is becoming normalized, why wouldn’t a top-tier liberal arts college host a lecture on the use of social media by someone whose own use of social media is distinguished solely by its anti-Semitic incitement? It makes perfect sense.
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Kerri Smith offers (PDF here) an update on the perennial debate between neuroscientists and philosophers over free will, it covers findings I've mentioned in previous posts...Haynes and coworkers finding that brain activity in motor cortex areas can be observed one to seven seconds before a subject is aware of willing an action to occur, and Fried et al. making even more compelling observations.
Haynes's 2008 study modernized Libet's earlier experiment: where Libet's EEG technique could look at only a limited area of brain activity, Haynes's fMRI set-up could survey the whole brain; and where Libet's participants decided simply on when to move, Haynes's test forced them to decide between two alternatives. But critics still picked holes, pointing out that Haynes and his team could predict a left or right button press with only 60% accuracy at best. Although better than chance, this isn't enough to claim that you can see the brain making its mind up before conscious awareness, argues Adina Roskies, a neuroscientist and philosopher who works on free will at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Besides, "all it suggests is that there are some physical factors that influence decision-making", which shouldn't be surprising. Philosophers who know about the science, she adds, don't think this sort of study is good evidence for the absence of free will, because the experiments are caricatures of decision-making. Even the seemingly simple decision of whether to have tea or coffee is more complex than deciding whether to push a button with one hand or the other.
Haynes stands by his interpretation, and has replicated and refined his results in two studies. One uses more accurate scanning techniques3 to confirm the roles of the brain regions implicated in his previous work. In the other, which is yet to be published, Haynes and his team asked subjects to add or subtract two numbers from a series being presented on a screen. Deciding whether to add or subtract reflects a more complex intention than that of whether to push a button, and Haynes argues that it is a more realistic model for everyday decisions. Even in this more abstract task, the researchers detected activity up to four seconds before the subjects were conscious of deciding, Haynes says.
Some researchers have literally gone deeper into the brain. One of those is Itzhak Fried, a neuroscientist and surgeon at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel. He studied individuals with electrodes implanted in their brains as part of a surgical procedure to treat epilepsy4. Recording from single neurons in this way gives scientists a much more precise picture of brain activity than fMRI or EEG. Fried's experiments showed that there was activity in individual neurons of particular brain areas about a second and a half before the subject made a conscious decision to press a button. With about 700 milliseconds to go, the researchers could predict the timing of that decision with more than 80% accuracy. "At some point, things that are predetermined are admitted into consciousness," says Fried. The conscious will might be added on to a decision at a later stage, he suggests.
London Counselling 1:06 PM
After having seen studies on twins that were raised separately, yet still show similar tastes and thought patterns I can agree that there is a goodly amount of decision-making that stems from mental wiring as much as from circumstances, Fascinating study.
Jay 10:49 AM
It's amazing what modern neuroscience uncovers. Knowing what we will do before we know it. Exciting years ahead!
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52% of Malaysians believe businesses have a responsibility to prevent environmental damage
Environment, International, LOCAL, Retail & consumer
on January 4, 2018, 9 a.m.
Three quarters of consumers say they’d have a more positive impression of a business that gives even a small amount of its profits to charity
New YouGov Omnibus research finds that 92% of Malaysians think businesses have a responsibility to do social good, suggesting that corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains an important consideration for Malaysian brands.
Overall, half of Malaysians (52%) believe businesses have a responsibility to ensure their supply chain does not harm the environment.
Compared with the wider region, Malaysians are slightly more likely to believe that businesses have a responsibility to ensure their supply chain doesn’t harm the environment than most. Across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) half of all consumers (50%) believe businesses bear such a responsibility. This rises to nearly two thirds (63%) among Filipinos, the highest in the region, and falls to four in ten (42%) in Thailand, the lowest in the region.
48% believe businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their supply chain is free from harmful practices such as forced labour
Nearly half (48%) of Malaysian consumers also believe businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their supply chain is free from damaging practices, such as forced labour, while more than half of Malaysians believe that businesses have a responsibility to give to charity (58%) and assist upskilling members of the community (52%).
63% of Malaysians would be more likely to recommend a brand that gives even a small portion of its annual profits to charity
The study also finds that if consumers were aware that a business was giving even a small portion of its annual profits to charity (up to 5%), three quarters (73%) would have a more positive opinion of the business.
At a regional level, 62% of APAC consumers would be more likely to recommend a brand to their friends and family if it gave a small portion of its annual profits to charity. This rises to 75% in Indonesia and 70% in Thailand but falls to 51% in Singapore and 55% in both Australia and Hong Kong.
Overall, nearly six in ten (59%) of Malaysians surveyed believe business should be doing more to help charities as a whole.
The latest YouGov Omnibus research shows a considerable proportion of consumers give weight to a brand’s ethics when making purchasing decisions and would be more likely to both consider and recommend a brand that gives even a small amount to charity. Furthermore, that a majority of consumers believe that businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they have ethical supply chains suggests consumers expect ever more from brands. In order to get ahead, brands now have to go beyond simply proving that their given product is a cut above the rest; smart business looking to distinguish themselves need to work hard to showcase their values as well.
*Data was collected online between 15 and 23 November 2017 using YouGov’s panel of over 5 million people worldwide. Sample size: Asia Pacific (n = 9,000; Australia: 1,000; China: 1,000: Hong Kong: 1,000; Indonesia: 1,000; Malaysia: 1,000; Philippines: 1,000; Singapore: 1,000; Thailand: 1,000; Vietnam: 1,000)
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Home Sections Entertainment Noted TV Actor John Ross Bowie Makes His Stage Debut
Noted TV Actor John Ross Bowie Makes His Stage Debut
Ira (Jeff Campanella), Kenny (Cornelius Jones, Jr.), Carol (LaNisa Renee Frederick), Lucas (Jason Grasl), Brian (John Ross Bowie), Val (Roland Rusinek), Milt (Ty Mayberry), and Max (Pat Towne) in Laughter on the 23rd Floor at the Garry Marshall Theatre. (Photo Courtesy Chelsea Sutton)
Actor John Ross Bowie brings a lot of hot food to any table he sits at, and he’s sat at quite a few. Even a quick eyeballing of Wiki reveals a person who’s been in a pop punk band, done sketch comedy, co-created TV comedies, and garnered a string of film and TV credits. Long-time fans love to hate him as The Big Bang Theory’s Barry Kripke, a Caltech phyicist who speaks like Elmer Fudd and annoys like Bugs Bunny. More recently, Bowie has a major role in the groundbreaking TV series Speechless, airing on ABC, which has just wrapped up filming for its second hit season.
And now, Bowie sits at yet another big table, live theater at the Garry Marshall Theatre. He plays an edgy Irish writer in Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor, premiering next Wednesday, March 21. After a long day of rehearsing, Bowie and Laughter on the 23rd Floor‘ s director Michael A. Shepperd still had some energy left over to speak with myBurbank.com.
Bowie drives home the point that Laughter is a laugh fest that packs a lot of relevance. “Anytime you revive a play, you have to ask: Why this play? Why now? Why here?” Because, “It’s funny. It takes place in a divisive time. And a lot of the history of TV occurred in Burbank.”
Laughter occurs in the McCarthy era of the early 1950s, when Hollywood blacklisted some of its leading writers, directors and actors. Apparently, shredding the First Amendment was seen as a great way to fight the insidious, freedom-hating influence of communist Russia. Not the best time for writers (a suspect group if ever there was one) to be pushing the envelope on a comedy/variety show aimed at a mass audience.
But that’s just what Laughter’s motley crew of writers do, fighting a running battle with NBC executives who fear that sophisticated humor will go over the heads of Middle America or worse, be received as vaguely subversive. Or even worse, be funny and subversive. (Make that funny, therefore subversive.) Though Laughter’s battle between the suits and the smart alecs is fought in New York, the battles off stage continued well past the mid-50’s, when NBC established its west coast operations in Burbank.
Shepperd’s diverse cast will give today’s audiences a way to connect with yesteryear’s non-WASP diversity. “Everyone was an outsider,” he continues, “Jewish comedians, fresh-off-the-boat immigrants and women.” Bowie describes his role as “the one gentile Bryan Doyle, a feisty, self-destructive Irish Catholic who’s very confrontational, but fighting with his words rather than his fists.”
ABC’s “Speechless” stars John Ross Bowie as Jimmy DiMeo. (Photo Courtesy ABC/Bob D’Amico)
So how challenging was it for Bowie to go from channeling Elmer Fudd to doing a New York accent? Bowie unleashes Barry Kripke for a few wascally seconds then deadpans, “Well I grew up in New York, so the accent comes easier. But that clipped toughness is almost extinct now,” he adds, lamenting the today’s blurring of regional speech.
“More of a nasal voice than from the chest,” offers Shepperd, an observation that may help other cast members who didn’t have the benefit of a New York upbringing. Shepperd uses his benefit of having a strong background in musical theater and choreography to add “physical comedy and energy” to Laughter, mirroring the frenetic mental energy of the protagonists.
Maybe the dawn of TV was the best of times to risk it all, to show some guts and to make an enduring mark on popular culture. “So much of what we consider sitcom has its roots in Neil Simon,” Bowie points out. “It set a certain tone that endures to this day.”
Neil Simon was no armchair warrior. Laughter is a thinly disguised version of his time as a junior writer on NBC’s weekly Show of Shows, which ran from 1950 through 1954. Maintaining one’s integrity carried a real risk of losing one’s career and reputation. By the time Laughter debuted in the 1980s, Neil Simon had seen that those early struggles had led to shows like All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Mash, among many others.
The legacy of Neil Simon continues in shows like Speechless, the ABC comedy about the family of “J. J.” DiMeo, a teenager with cerebral palsy (played by Micah Fowler, who also has cerebral palsy.) J. J. can’t speak and so instead communicates by aiming a laser pointer—attached to his glasses—at a keyboard. Early in the first season, The Atlantic had pronounced Speechless “hilarious.”
“The character with disabilities is at the center of the narrative, “ says Bowie, pointing out that Speechless has broken new TV ground. Bowie plays Jimmy DiMeo, J.J.’s dad, who The Atlantic saw as “the peacemaker,” smoothing the waters after his feistier wife (played by Minnie Driver) confronts various insensitive people and bureaucracies.
Ira (Jeff Campanella), Kenny (Cornelius Jones, Jr.), Carol (LaNisa Renee Frederick), and Lucas (Jason Grasl), Brian (John Ross Bowie) in Laughter on the 23rd Floor at the Garry Marshall Theatre. (Photo Courtesy Chelsea Sutton)
Two seasons in, Bowie has a more nuanced view of his character. “I’m more like the diplomat but very much working for the home team. It’s a good cop/bad cop relationship, where I assume the good cop role.” But his Jimmy DiMeo character can be feisty as well.
“Halfway through Season Two, I had a very gnarly argument with Minnie’s character about J. J.” says Bowie, adding, “It’s been very clear out of the gate that Speechless is not one of those sitcom marriages where the husband is sad and horny all the time.”
There are occasions when Speechless “can be almost surreal,” as one might suppose when the main character uses a beam of light to make his thoughts known. But J.J.’s challenging life can lead to truly fresh perspectives about the world. Indeed, Bowie shares that J. J. will be expressing his unique vision more and more, ultimately becoming “Stanley Kubrick in a wheelchair.”
As a successful actor already involved with two hit TV shows, Bowie gives the lie to the claim that Los Angeles theater is glorified auditioning. “L.A. theater is very special,” he asserts. “It’s scrappier and low budget compared to New York but sincere and with really hardworking actors. We do it for love.” Bowie agrees that L.A. theater has benefited greatly by an influx of Midwesterners. In the case of Laughter, for example, “there are tons of Chicago people working on the show.”
For Bowie, Laughter is his “first professional run of a play,” in contrast with the readings he had occasionally done. One gets the unmistakable impression of a person continually expanding the boundaries of his craft, together with like-minded others. And that makes the L.A. theatrical scene “very special” indeed.
Laughter on the 23rd Floor previewed at the Gary Marshall Theatre on Wednesday, March 21, and Thursday, March 22. Opening night is Friday, March 23. Continues Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. through April 22. Added show Sunday, April 8, at 7:00 p.m. No show Sunday, April 1. Tickets are $45 – $65.
Garry Marshall Theatre
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Appeals of Nazi camp guard conviction in Germany dropped
BERLIN (AP) — All appeals against the conviction of a 93-year-old Nazi concentration camp guard have been dropped, a Hamburg court said Monday, making the decision legally binding and easing the way for possible future prosecutions.
Bruno Dey was convicted last month of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder in Hamburg state court — equal to the number of people believed to have been killed at Stutthof during his service there in 1944 and 1945.
Because he was 17 and 18 at the time of his alleged crimes, Dey’s case was heard in juvenile court and he was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Dey was convicted under new legal reasoning that even though there was no evidence linking him to a specific crime, as a camp guard he was guilty of accessory to murders committed while he was there.
The reasoning had been successfully used in the past to convict death camp guards, and the precedent set in 2015 when a federal court upheld the 2015 conviction of former Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening.
Dey's case extended the argument to apply to a guard at a concentration camp — camps where people were killed by the tens of thousands, but that did not exist for the sole purpose of extermination like the Nazi death camps.
His conviction is now considered legally binding, after his attorney and three people who had joined the trial as co-plaintiffs decided to retract their appeals, the Hamburg state court said.
That eases the way for more possible prosecutions of concentration camp guards even though it's 75 years since the end of World War II.
Last month, another former Stutthof guard, aged 95, was charged and the special prosecutors’ office that investigates Nazi-era crimes has more than a dozen ongoing investigations.
Initially a collection point for Jews and non-Jewish Poles removed from Danzig, Stutthof from about 1940 was used as a so-called “work education camp” where forced laborers, primarily Polish and Soviet citizens, were sent to serve sentences and often died.
From mid-1944, when Dey was posted there, tens of thousands of Jews from ghettos in the Baltics and from Auschwitz filled the camp along with thousands of Polish civilians swept up in the brutal Nazi suppression of the Warsaw uprising.
More than 60,000 people were killed there by being given lethal injections of gasoline or phenol directly to their hearts, shot or starved. Others were forced outside in winter without clothing until they died of exposure, or were put to death in a gas chamber.
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An AHGP Transcription Project
Watauga County North Carolina History
*The first court in Watauga was held in an old barn near the home of Joseph Hardin one mile east of Boone, Judge Mitchell presiding, and E. C. Bartlett being clerk. The first court house was built in Boone in 1850 by John Horton for $4,000, but was burned in 1873, with the records. The records were restored afterwards by legislative authority upon satisfactory evidence being furnished, and T. J. Coffey & Bro. in 1874 rebuilt the court house for $4,800, the building committee having been Henry Taylor, Dudley Farthing and Jacob Williams. The present fine court house was erected in 1904 by L. W. Cooper of Charlotte for $19,000. Alex. Green, J. W. Hodges and George Robbins were the county commissioners. The first jail was of brick and built by Mr. Dammons for $400, and the second jail was a wooden building of heavy logs. On the second floor the timbers were twelve inches square, crossed with iron, and when it was torn away by W. P. Critcher in 1909 the logs were made into lumber of the finest grade. A splendid new jail, with iron cages and rooms, was built in 1889 by Wm. Stephenson of Mayesville, Kentucky, for $5,000.
The following have been sheriffs of Watauga:
Michael Cook, John Horton, Cob McCanles, Sidney Deal, A. J. McBride, John Horton, A. J. McBride, D. F. Baird, J. L. Hayes, D. F. Baird, J. L. Hayes, D. F. Baird, W. M. Calloway, W. B. Baird, J. H. Hodges, D. C. Reagan.
The following have been clerks:
Mr. McClewee, J. B. Todd, Henry Blair, W. J. Critcher, J. B. Todd, M. B. Blackburn, J. H. Bingham, Thomas Bingham, W. D. Farthing.
W. L. Bryan in 1872 started the Bryan hotel and conducted a first class hotel for 27 years. In 1865 T. J. Coffey & Bro. came to Boone, and started the Coffey hotel, where they maintained an up-to-date stopping place for many years. It is now being conducted by Mr. Murry Critcher.
In 1858 Marcus Holesclaw, Thomas Greene and William Horton ran for the legislature upon the issue of moving the court house from Boone to Brushy Fork, and Holesclaw was elected by one vote. This meant that the court house must be moved; and Holesclaw introduced the bill for that purpose; but Joe Dobson represented this district in the senate, and although he was from Surry County, he managed to keep Holesclaw's bill at the foot of the calendar until the legislature adjourned. Of course, Holesclaw was never satisfied that his bill never reached a vote in the senate.
From ordinary circumstances L. L. Green came from the farm, studied law and became a leader in politics; was elected judge and performed his duties well. His portrait hangs in the court room, to the left of the judge's stand, while on the right is a portrait of his friend, Major Bingham, who was a fine lawyer and a great teacher of law. His name and fame went out over the whole State.
W. B. Councill was a student of the learned Col. G. N. Folk, who after being admitted to the bar was elevated to the position of judge of the Superior court of this judicial district. He declined a re-nomination.
Other First Settlers were Amos and Edward Greene near Blowing Rock; Ransom Hayes at Boone; Jackson, Steven and Abner Farthing at Beaver Dams, James McCanless, Elisha Coffey, Amos Greene, Isaac Greene, Lee Foster and Joel Moody, at and near Shull's Mills; Maiden Harmon, Calvin Harmon, Seaton Mast, Lorenzo Whittington, and George Moody, on Cove creek. Henry Taylor came to Valle Crucis long before the Civil War and married a Miss Mast.
Forgot How to Make an "S."
In the graveyard of the old German Reformed church, one mile from Blowing Rock, is an old gravestone which, tradition says, was brought by a Mr. Sullivan from the Jersey settlement in Davidson County for the purpose, as he stated, of "starting a graveyard." On it are carved or scratched the following letters and numbers: E E s 1794. This stone is said to mark the grave of the pioneer who brought it to Blowing Rock. But whether he died or was born in the year given, is not known. It is quite evident that he had forgotten in which way an "S" is turned.
* Source: Western North Carolina a History From 1730 to 1913, By John Preston Arthur, Published by Edward Buncombe Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of Asheville, N. C., 1914
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Information contained on this website may be used for personal genealogical research only and not to be given to pay to view sites or used on any other web site without the express consent of the contributor.
Copyright © 2014~2021 by Paula Franklin.
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Tian Yu Cao
From Current Algebra to Quantum Chromodynamics: A Case for Structural Realism
Tian Yu Cao, From Current Algebra to Quantum Chromodynamics: A Case for Structural Realism, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 308pp., $85.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780521889339.
Reviewed by Meinard Kuhlmann, University of Bremen
Cao's book is the first part of a larger project about the formation of quantum chromodynamics [QCD]. (The second part of Cao's project is a detailed historical study, called The Making of QCD, which is not covered by this review.) This theory is an important part of the Standard Model of particle physics and covers the strong force or 'color force', accounting for the cohesion of the nucleus despite the electrostatic repulsion of its constituent protons. The emergence of QCD in the 1960s and early 70s was a glorious period in modern physics, with spectacular predictive successes based on ideas about the fundamental symmetries with an unprecedented speculative nature. It suggested that something radically new had happened, which turned our established ontology and methodology around. It seemed that somehow symmetries as such entered the center stage of physics and that everything else follows from the fundamental symmetries. But what exactly does this mean, methodologically and ontologically? This is what Cao explores in great conceptual and historical detail, with the intention to offer a reading of the developments in terms of structural realism.
If one understands structural realism as the claim that structures, or nets of relations, exist and play a crucial role in scientific inquiries, then Cao offers a convincing defense. For modern physics in particular, structural considerations in terms of symmetries were pivotal in the discovery of quarks and other fundamental constituents of the physical world. But who wants to deny that? So does Cao make any stronger claim that deserves the name structural realism? Does he make a case in favor of epistemic structural realism, by showing that we can only have knowledge about structures? Or does he even make the very strong ontological claim that all that exists are structures -- the eliminative version of ontic structural realism? Or the weaker and more widespread, but still controversial, claim that although not all that exists are structures, they nevertheless have ontological priority in some sense -- which is the non-eliminative version of ontic structural realism. Surprisingly, Cao makes none of these claims. So, to put it briefly, Cao does not make a case in favor of structural realism, if it is understood in any sense that is not completely uncontroversial. Thus most readers will find the title of Cao's book to be misleading. Someone who is looking for arguments in favor of structural realism on the basis of quantum field theory [QFT] will largely be disappointed. Nevertheless, Cao has interesting things to say about the history, methodology and interpretation of one of the most fascinating parts of QFT.
The most spectacular and widely known aspect of QCD is the postulation of quarks by, among others, the enigmatic American physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1964 and the gradual empirical confirmation of their existence in the following decades up to 1995, when the last quark, the top quark, was taken to be "observed". Already in 1961, Gell-Mann (and independently Ne'eman) had proposed the notorious "eightfold way", according to which there is an abstract symmetry -- specified by the special unitary group SU(3) -- that allows for a neat classification of the increasingly anarchic particle zoo, which housed some 100 "fundamental" particles in the 1950s. The proposed classification entailed the introduction of three new kinds of charges for the strongly interacting particles, or "hadrons" (e.g., protons and neutrons), on a par with the one electromagnetic charge in quantum electrodynamics. Although these charges are called "color charges", there is no more than a loose analogy to the three colors red, green and blue which are perceptible by humans. Only later it turned out that in fact one needs six color charges, corresponding to six types of quarks. Gell-Mann also introduced the notion of current algebra, which is formed by the operators for the hadron currents between initial and final hadron states in scattering experiments. The current algebra became a very popular tool in the 1960s because it allowed making predictions without having a reliable model for the underlying dynamics.
At the time when quarks were first postulated, it was by no means clear whether they should actually be viewed as real constituents of hadrons or rather, as Gell-Mann saw it for a long time, as mathematical devices in order to represent certain observed symmetries. And there is one peculiarity of quarks in particular which seems to exclude viewing them as real particles, namely, quark confinement. Unlike the other forces, the strong force between quarks gets stronger with larger separation instead of diminishing. This entails that it would require an infinite amount of energy to separate two quarks, so that quarks can never exist as free particles but are always confined to composites with further quarks. Only in 1969 was there strong evidence for quarks as real fundamental constituents of matter in experiments with deep inelastic scattering of electrons and protons performed at Stanford's National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
As Cao emphasizes, particle physics underwent a radical change of its fundamental ontology between the 1950s and the early 1970s. In the mid 1950s roughly 100 hadrons, amongst them the proton and the neutron, were known; and it was believed that they were all equally fundamental: "nuclear democracy" or "hadronic egalitarianism" was the consensus. That view was to change radically in the period that Cao studies in the present book: with the formulation of QCD in 1972-73, none of the hadrons was taken as fundamental any more. Instead, far fewer particles were seen as really fundamental constituents, namely only a few kinds of quarks, besides gluons, which mediate the strong interaction and which are themselves charged, unlike photons, the mediators of the electromagnetic force.
Cao's crucial point about these developments is the role of symmetries in the construction of theories. As he emphasizes in chapter 2 -- see in particular sections 2.3 and 2.4 -- the SU(3) symmetry in Gell-Mann's eightfold way was understood as an abstract symmetry since it does not directly refer to "elementary" (fermionic) baryons. These, along with the (bosonic) mesons make up the hadrons, which feel the strong force. One, if not the main, result of Cao's analysis of the ensuing development appears at the end of chapter 7. Here, he concludes that Gell-Mann went through a fundamental change regarding his conception of physical reality. In the beginning
he took an algebraic structure of the world, assumed by current algebra and confirmed by many observations, as more real than the hypothetic world of quarks and gluons. When QCD was at hand, he "clarified" his view and . . . took the world of quarks and color octet gluons as more real than the algebraic structure abstracted from it. (p. 158)
Cao goes on to generalize that such a conversion "just fits into the general pattern" (p. 158) of the construction of theories. Thus in his view, structural knowledge, expressed by empirically confirmed symmetries, is often all one has in certain periods of research. However, eventually the role of structural insights is to lead the way to theories of a deeper level of reality, with fundamental objects, such as quarks and gluons, which constitute the ultimate ontology of the physical world.
Before pondering in more detail the message that results from Cao's case study, I wish to briefly mention some possible obstacles for readers. Cao's book is explicitly "not intended to be a popular exposition" (p. 2) of the conceptual history of the emergence of QCD. Nor, one must add, is it a particularly accessible exposition of structural realism. In order to profit from Cao's book you will need to come to terms with a lot of lingo and you should have a firm grip on both QCD and the ramifications of the debate about realism, including, in particular, the position of structural realism. If you don't, you will most likely be lost. For both issues, crucial basic arguments and positions are often not introduced in a clear, intelligible and recognizable way and/or they appear much too late (e.g., current algebra on p. 33). Moreover, the presentation is sometimes confusing and non-conclusive. Putnam appears as the arch anti-realist and is associated with the "pessimistic induction" (p. 4), whereas Larry Laudan, who should be foremost associated with "pessimistic metainduction", is not even mentioned, nor is Putnam's famous no-miracles argument in favor of realism. In general, the exposition often meanders from position to position without a clearly discernible aim or structure. Apart from the fact that this makes the reading tedious it has the more serious disadvantage that it is often pretty hard to recognize Cao's own point of view. A last shortcoming is that Cao takes hardly any notice of the literature after 2003, in particular the vibrant debate between eliminative and non-eliminative ontic structural realists, which is clearly relevant for his study.
So what does Cao show? He calls the version of structural realism he advocates constructive structural realism -- and takes it to be a third option besides epistemic and ontic structural realism. Here are "two of its basic assumptions":
(i) the physical world consists of entities that are all structured and/or involved in larger structures; and (ii) entities of any kind can be approached through their internal and external structural properties and relations that are epistemically accessible to us. (p. 6)
Unfortunately, this is not very helpful, because it is hard to recognize any clear and interesting claims. Has assumption (i) got anything specific to do with structural realism? It seems that a traditional realist would have no problem agreeing. And the same applies to assumption (ii), which is very vague. Does "can be approached" mean that this is one among other ways? Also, is "that are epistemically accessible to us" taken to mean only they are epistemically accessible to us? And, finally, what does the expression "internal and external structural properties and relations" mean? Are there internal structural properties and also internal structural relations? I find it very hard to understand what exactly Cao wants to say.
Cao continues with the clearer statement that the "core idea [of constructive structural realism] that differentiates it from other versions of structural realism is that the reality of unobservable entity can be inferred from the reality of structure." (p. 6) Thus Cao's constructive structural realism -- let's call it CSR -- deviates from the current ontic version of structural realism (OSR) by maintaining the traditional view that the fundamental ontology consists of objects. (A short note on terminology: Cao speaks of 'entity ontology' to label a conception on which things or 'substances' or objects are basic. I follow the expedient practice in ontology of using the expression 'entity' as its most general term. Thus things, properties, structures, states of affairs, or anything else you consider including in your ontology are entities, although, of course, different kinds of entities. In order to have a uniform terminology, I use the expression 'object' -- which is unequivocal in the present context -- where Cao talks about 'entity'.)
Calling CSR a third option besides epistemic and ontic structural realism may sound like an alternative between the latter two, i.e., ESR and OSR. This is not the case, however: CSR is not only less revisionary, and in this sense weaker, than OSR -- for CSR does not dispense with (the priority of) objects -- but it is also weaker than ESR, since CSR does not claim that we can only know structures. Thus CSR makes no new ontological claim, and it also makes no claim regarding the limits of our knowledge.
However, if nothing else, CSR does make a methodological claim. Cao's crucial point is that "fundamental ontology is historically constructed from available structural knowledge of reality" (p. 7). And a bit later he links this general point to his case study about the successful application of current algebra by pointing out that
if we interpret the Lie algebra in terms of physical structures, taking electromagnetic and weak currents as its representations, then we have physical content, but only at the phenomenological level. In order to understand the physical structures (the currents) properly, we have to move deeper onto the level of their constituents (hadrons or quarks) and their dynamics (p. 7).
Now that's a bit thick for the staunch structural realist! Not only do objects exist and are ontologically prior to structures, physical structures cannot even be fully understood without referring to a deeper level of objects. Therefore, according to Cao it is not only the case that there is more to know than structures, but (physical) structures as such cannot even be properly understood unless one infers and thus specifies the objects that underlie these structures (also see p. 226f). Now we have in Cao's own words a lot of what the critics of structural realism have objected all along.
Although Cao's position is thus a far cry from what current ontic structural realists in particular would like to see for QFT, maybe this is what the insights that motivated structural realism boil down to at the end of the day. And the upshot is this: structural considerations, centered on invariances expressed by symmetry groups, were crucial for the theoretical development of QFT and for the discovery of its unobservable fundamental ontology (quarks, gluons etc.). However, this entails neither that all there is are structures nor that structures are ontologically prior to objects, nor does it mean that we can only know structures. Structural approaches in the sciences, such as the application of Gell-Mann's current algebra in the 1960s, are "merely" highly valuable for the construction of theories and the discovery of the unobservable objects on the fundamental level of reality.
Thus which philosophers may profit from Cao's book in the end? I can see two antipodal camps. One camp is the critics of structural realism, for Cao offers a detailed historical argument against all those versions of structural realism that are currently discussed. The other camp may actually be advocates of structural realism because Cao supplies them with a wealth of potentially relevant material. However, when it comes to making "a case for structural realism", they will be better off not relying on Cao and should instead find their own arguments.
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Tropical Depression “Vicky” kills five (5), set to make landfall over Palawan, Philippines
Posted by Julie Celestial on December 19, 2020 Watchers.news
At least five fatalities were reported during the onslaught of Tropical Depression “Vicky” in the Philippines on Saturday, December 19, 2020 — the storm is forecast to make landfall over the central portion of Palawan on Saturday night, and intensify into a tropical storm once it reaches the West Philippine Sea.
The storm triggered landslides and flooding that killed at least two people in Mahaplag, Leyte, according to Mayor Daisy Lleve. The victims were identified as two elderly women aged 67 and 62. Two others sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital.
Lleve added that a portion of the road Mahaplag via Baybay was impassable as of Saturday morning due to damage.
In Southern Leyte, disaster management officials reported a landslide in Barangay Tubod on Friday, resulting in the collapse of a portion of a road embankment. Only one lane on the road was passable.
In Surigao Del Sur, governor Alexander Pimentel said three people lost their lives due to drowning. Another landslide damaged a power substation in Bislig City, affecting four transmission lines.
Widespread flooding was reported in several parts of Visayas and Mindanao, including Leyte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur, prompting rescues of residents who were trapped in their homes.
In Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, and Lapu Lapu City in Cebu, huge waves and heavy rains caused damage to several houses in coastal areas. About 50 houses were heavily affected in Tinago, Dumaguete, said councilor Paul Baybay.
In Mactan Island, waves washed away more than 70 houses, displacing over 290 residents, according to the city disaster management office.
On Saturday, officials said they are providing help to the affected communities. The Philippine National Police deployed 1 590 search and rescue personnel, while crews from the Department of Public Works and Highways cleared roads.
According to PAGASA, as of 11:00 UTC (19:00 LT), the center of Vicky was estimated at 70 km (43 miles) east-southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, moving west-northwestward at 20 km/h (12 mph) with maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h (28 mph) and gusts of up to 55 km/h (34 mph).
The system is forecast to make landfall over the central portion of Palawan on Saturday night and is likely to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Sunday afternoon, December 20. Vicky is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm as it reaches the West Philippine Sea by Monday, December 21.
Categories: Hurricane Update
JEWISH RABBIS; RARE GALACTIC ‘STAR OF JACOB’ CANDIDATE ABOUT TO LIGHT UP NIGHT SKY PRESAGING MESSIAH
Increasing Earthquakes in ‘Diverse Places’; Antarctica hit by unprecedented 30,000 (3) earthquakes in the past 3 months. ‘Intensity and Emphasis.’ M6.0 on November 6 over a 60 (6) mile ‘channel.’
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Headline News Switch
NX Development Kits Reportedly Deployed
October 18, 2015 November 2, 2015 Craig Majaski 0 Comments
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has sent out software development kits for its upcoming videogame platform, the NX (codename for now, final name TBA). It’s no secret that both the 3DS and Wii U have struggled to gain market share. The 3DS has done an admirable job of outselling the Vita, but Sony’s PlayStation 4 has more than doubled the sales of the Wii U, which is quite remarkable considering the Wii U had a year head start. The combination of no real success story on Wii U and the readiness of its next platform lead me to believe they are moving forward with a 2016 showing and possible release. Nintendo has consistently maintained that NX won’t be talked about until 2016, but has never said when it would actually hit store shelves.
Earlier this year, on March 17, Nintendo announced a partnership with Japanese mobile game designer DeNA to create a series of five mobile device games. At the same meeting, Nintendo of Japan’s president, Satoru Iwata (who later passed due to health complications), first made mention of the NX platform. He wanted to reiterate Nintendo’s commitment to dedicated gaming machines:
Nintendo has decided to deploy its video game business on smart devices but it is not because we have lost passion or vision for the business of dedicated video game systems. On the contrary, now that we have decided how we will make use of smart devices, we have come to hold an even stronger passion and vision for the dedicated video game system business than ever before. Nintendo has made this decision because we have concluded that the approach of making use of smart devices is a rational way for us to encourage even more people around the world to recognize the great value of the wonderful game software available on our dedicated game systems.
As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename “NX.” It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.
Later in the year, at Nintendo’s 75th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, an investor was concerned that the NX could meet a similar fate to the Wii U. Iwata gave this reply:
Since the word “NX” has been mentioned, please let me elaborate. When Nintendo announced the collaboration with DeNA on March 17 of this year, I mentioned that Nintendo is currently developing a new dedicated video game system codenamed “NX.” The reason I mentioned this was, at that time, there were more than a certain number of people that thought that Nintendo would give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development, or that Nintendo should take that path. In addition, such tone could be seen frequently through the media. I felt it was necessary to communicate that Nintendo is not pessimistic about the future of the dedicated game system business but rather more and more eager to continue it. On the other hand, details on the new platform essentially should come later. This is because the entertainment business has an aspect where there is value in surprising consumers. It is not convincing enough to the consumer if we describe how the magic works before actually showing it to them and then expecting them to be surprised or delighted. Having the element of surprise or doing the unexpected is the premise for introducing new ideas and having them welcomed with surprise. That is why I have been repeatedly saying that the next news on NX will not be announced during 2015 but will be announced in 2016.
Nevertheless, since NX has news value, when I am interviewed on various occasions, I am asked about it almost every time. I will not share details on NX today but with regard to the launch of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U not necessarily having progressed well and not acquiring sufficient support from software publishers, we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution. Thank you for understanding that we are making various considerations and preparations in order to avoid what happened with the previous generations.
Nintendo’s new membership service will be designed to work across all existing and new platforms.
Also, a little background regarding the NX can be gleaned from Iwata’s prior comments when talking about integrating the hardware and software development teams at Nintendo of Japan. It gives credence to the idea that NX could be a platform, sort of like iOS is for Apple, which could spawn multiple devices in various form factors. Right now you can download a game for the iPad and it will often work on an iPhone. This is the same philosophy Nintendo wants to use going forward. It will save time and money on programming resources, which in turn could lead to fewer software droughts, an increased production of new IP, and a larger variety of gaming genres. Iwata’s relevant points are below:
For example, currently it requires a huge amount of effort to port Wii software to Nintendo 3DS because not only their resolutions but also the methods of software development are entirely different. The same thing happens when we try to port Nintendo 3DS software to Wii U. If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms. Also, as technological advances took place at such a dramatic rate, and we were forced to choose the best technologies for video games under cost restrictions, each time we developed a new platform, we always ended up developing a system that was completely different from its predecessor. The only exception was when we went from Nintendo GameCube to Wii. Though the controller changed completely, the actual computer and graphics chips were developed very smoothly as they were very similar to those of Nintendo GameCube, but all the other systems required ground-up effort. However, I think that we no longer need this kind of effort under the current circumstances. In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.
Still, I am not sure if the form factor (the size and configuration of the hardware) will be integrated. In contrast, the number of form factors might increase. Currently, we can only provide two form factors because if we had three or four different architectures, we would face serious shortages of software on every platform. To cite a specific case, Apple is able to release smart devices with various form factors one after another because there is one way of programming adopted by all platforms. Apple has a common platform called iOS. Another example is Android. Though there are various models, Android does not face software shortages because there is one common way of programming on the Android platform that works with various models. The point is, Nintendo platforms should be like those two examples. Whether we will ultimately need just one device will be determined by what consumers demand in the future, and that is not something we know at the moment. However, we are hoping to change and correct the situation in which we develop games for different platforms individually and sometimes disappoint consumers with game shortages as we attempt to move from one platform to another, and we believe that we will be able to deliver tangible results in the future.
Given the timeframe of the development kits going out to third parties, it seems reasonable to expect the NX to launch Holiday 2016. Looking at past events, the Xbox One and PS4 development kits were supposedly given to select third parties about 12 to 16 months prior to launch. If the NX kits indeed went out earlier this month, that gives developers a 12 to 14 month timetable to get a game completed, a mark that seems doable. Keep in mind that internal studios will have likely had the development kits for quite a bit longer. Developers like Retro Studios and Monolith Soft would have been the very first ones to get to play around with the new kits.
Dragon Quest XI is the first game announced for the NX (PS4 screen shown).
Given the dearth of new game announcements for the Wii U, it’s becoming obvious that Nintendo is getting ready to move on to the next system. For all of 2016 we have just a smattering of games announced: Pokkén Tournament, Genei Ibun Roku #FE (Fire Emblem x Shin Megami), The Legend of Zelda, Mario & Sonic 2016 Olympic Games, and the recently delayed Star Fox Zero. Assuming the NX satisfies both the console and the handheld market, 3DS has even less titles announced for a U.S. release: Fire Emblem Fates and Bravely Second End Layer. That’s not to say more games for both systems won’t be announced, but it sure is a shaky lineup so far.
No matter the case, I’m excited to hear what’s coming next from Nintendo. There is an investor’s meeting soon, and although it’s unlikely we will hear any concrete information about the NX, you never know. What do you think? Will the NX come out in 2016 and what form will it take? Let us know in the comments below.
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100 in 100: Wayne County’s Jimmy Graham, record-setting tight end
July 29, 2020 Brett Friedlander
North State Journal’s 100 in 100 series will showcase the best athlete from each of North Carolina’s 100 counties. From Alamance to Yancey, each county will feature one athlete who stands above the rest. Some […]
100 in 100: Moore County’s Charles Waddell, 3-sport standout
June 12, 2020 Brett Friedlander
Seahawks’ Wilson: ‘I don’t even want to talk about football’
June 3, 2020 Tim Booth, The Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Speaking to the media for the first time since the end of last season, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t care to talk about the game that’s helped make him famous. “To […]
Duke standout Mike Curtis, fierce linebacker for Colts, dies at 77
April 21, 2020 David Ginsburg, The Associated Press
BALTIMORE — Former Duke star Mike Curtis, a hard-hitting, no-nonsense linebacker who helped the Colts win a Super Bowl during a 14-year NFL career spent predominantly in Baltimore, has died. He was 77. Curtis died […]
Wilson, Seahawks top Panthers to clinch playoff berth
December 15, 2019 Steve Reed, The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — Russell Wilson had done just about everything right for 3 1/2 quarters when the Seattle Seahawks asked their star quarterback to make one more big play. And, as he’s done so many times […]
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Dr. Howard Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., Named Chief of Cardiology
Howard Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., has been named as Chief of Cardiology at North Shore Medical Center. Dr. Waldman will assume responsibilities as Chief of Cardiology effective April 1, and will continue in his role as medical director of the catheterization lab and PCI at the NSMC Heart Center.
Dr. Waldman brings a wealth of clinical and leadership talent to his new role. Dr. Waldman has been on staff at NSMC since 1991. He was appointed as the medical director of the catheterization laboratory in 1993 and was instrumental in the development of the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) program that opened in 2003. As a result of his collaborative style and focus on quality, he has developed excellent relationships across North Shore Medical Center and the entire Partners HealthCare system.
Dr. Waldman received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University and his M.D. from the University of Buffalo. He completed his internal medicine residency at UNC Chapel Hill and received his training in general cardiology and interventional cardiology and congenital heart disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has been on staff at MGH since 1987, serving as an attending physician in the catheterization lab.
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NTCAT staff can provide you with information about NTCAT processes and procedures, but not legal advice.
There are a range of services in the Northern Territory that can help you with free or low-cost legal information, advice and assistance.
A list of services is provided below for your information. All services are provided by organisations external to NTCAT. If you require assistance, you should contact the relevant service directly to see if they can help you.
Alicia Johnson Justice Centre
The Alicia Johnson Justice Centre is administered by the Charles Darwin University Foundation. It brings together solicitors, final year law students and legal academics to offer concessional legal representation to low income earners in civil disputes.
NT Anti-Discrimination Commission
NT Anti-Discrimination Commission aims to eliminate discrimination from happening by raising awareness about individual’s rights and responsibilities under the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Act. The Anti-Discrimination Commission has three main roles: Public education and training, handling complaints and community engagement.
Community Justice Centre
The Community Justice Centre is a Northern Territory Government service that offers free mediation services to help people reach an agreement on a wide range of disputes.
NT Consumer Affairs
The main functions of Consumer Affairs are associated with consumer protection within the purchase of goods and services, residential tenancies and residential building disputes.
NT Health and Community Services Complaints Commission
NT Health and Community Services Complaints Commission provides assistance to resolve complaints about health, disability and aged services and make recommendations to improve the quality of these services.
Law Society of NT
Law Society of NT provides an online listing of all current Northern Territory legal practitioners to help you find a qualified lawyer suitable for your needs. You will need to pay fees for the lawyer.
NT Legal Aid
NT Legal Aid provides legal services to disadvantaged clients across the Northern Territory in most areas of criminal, family and civil law.
Local Court of the NT
The Local Court deals with criminal and civil matters involving debts, damages or other actions in excess of $25,000 to a maximum of $250, 000.
NT Office of the Public Guardian
NTCAT may appoint the Public Guardian as the guardian of a person with impaired decision-making capacity. They also provide information and support to private guardians.
NT Public Trustee
NT Public Trustee provides services such as estate, trustee, will and will storage services to Northern Territory residents.
Supreme Court of the NT
The Supreme Court is the highest Court in the Northern Territory and deals with civil and criminal matters as well as appeals.
Top End Services
Darwin Community Legal Service
Darwin Community Legal Service assists disadvantaged members of the community to protect their legal rights by the provision of free legal advice in most areas of criminal, family and civil law.
Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Services
Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Services provides free and confidential information, advice, legal representation, referral, community legal education, and advocacy to women in Katherine and surrounding areas.
North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency
North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency provides legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the Top End in most areas of criminal and civil law.
Top End Women’s Legal Services
Top End Women’s Legal Services provides free and confidential legal information, advice, legal representation, referral, community legal education, and advocacy to women in Darwin and surrounding areas.
Central Australia Services
Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Ltd
Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Ltd provides legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Central Australia in most areas of family, criminal and civil law.
Central Australian Women’s Legal Services
Central Australian Women’s Legal Services provides free and confidential information, advice, legal representation, referral, community legal education, and advocacy to women in Central Australia.
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Nigel January 14, 2019 Scarborough Borough Council
an “In My View” opinion piece by NIGEL WARD, commenting on the apparently successful ruse to defuse the persistent challenge to the CEO’s claimed powers to ban a Councillor from Council, in defiance of electoral mandate, thus preserving the appearances – though not preventing Mr DILLON ‘s ‘retirement’ at the end of June 2019.
Jim DILLON has today announced his intention to leave Scarborough Borough Council at the end of June. There will be no sense of surprise at the Enquirer.
Under pressure by elected members for information on his disbarment of Councillor Michelle DONOHUE-MONCRIEFF [Ind.], SBC Chief Executive Jim DILLON finally arrived at a nice little ruse; commissioning a solicitor directly involved in the Harvey -v- Ledbury case to brief the Councillors on the legal technicalities of the respective duties of a principal Council’s Standards Committee, on the one hand, and its Head of Paid Service, on the other.
This would, of course, shut them up – and, since Mr Jonathan GOOLDEN of Wilkins Chapman LLP could only answer questions in the most general terms (in order not to fall foul of personal data regulations), the Officers could continue to withhold vital information from members, whilst pretending to have provided that information via the briefing. Case closed.
Well, that seems to have been the plan, but it has all gone awry – as disingenuousness often does.
Early in December 2018, having clearly been instructed to major on what the Localism Act does not regulate, Mr GOOLDEN briefed those Councillors who showed up (less than half), dutifully emphasising that Councils can, in an emergency, take immediate “measures” to contain a specific and imminent threat. These emergency “measures” are lawful under an entirely separate authorisation, in no way to be regarded as an available alternative to “sanctions” imposed by a Standards Committee under the authorisation of the Localism Act 2011.
The question arising is this:
“What is a CEO to do when faced with a Councillor entering the Town Hall strapped into a suicide vest and brandishing a semi-automatic assault rifle?”
He can hardly say,
“Councillor, forgive me for pointing out that entering the Council Chamber carrying Semtex and a Kalashnikov may amount to a breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. I have no alternative but to refer you for investigation by the Monitoring Officer and the Independent Person, which may, in six or eight months time, result in a Hearing before the Standards Committee, which, in turn – and in the rare event that a complaint is actually upheld – may result in the imposition of certain minimal sanctions against you. Meanwhile, please do come along in.”
Commonsense dictates that someone must have powers to effect an immediate intervention in cases of genuine emergency. In the case of a Council, that ‘someone’ must surely be the Chief Executive Officer – or, perhaps, the Leader (who at least has an electoral mandate).
Obviously, in cases of clear and present danger, immediate action is required. This, according to Mr DILLON, is what he has done – he simply responded to a perceived urgent threat (of course, one without an assault rifle or IED).
What he has not explained – and this is crucial – is why he allowed SEVENTEEN DAYS to elapse between the perceived threat and his action to prohibit Councillor DONOHUE-MONCRIEFF from attending Council and Committee meetings, or contacting SBC Officers (though what danger “contacting SBC Officers” could conceivably have entailed has never been explained).
Having listened to the audio of MR GOOLDEN’s briefing and Q&A, and having examined his PowerPoint Presentation, I have seen nothing to suggest that a correct interpretation of the law would support the notion that immediate emergency “measures” to mitigate an imminent clear and present danger could be implemented SEVENTEEN DAYS after the event. That would be tantamount to claiming that seventeen days is a reasonable and acceptable response time for emergency services such as the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, or the Coastguard, or the Air Ambulance.
An “emergency” that provokes no action for such a long period cannot be regarded as an “emergency” at all.
Mr DILLON’s action was not taken in the heat of the action; it was taken after a great deal of dither time. By the time his prohibition was finally transmitted to Councillor DONOHUE-MONCRIEFF (on the last working day before the next Full Council meeting), any notional “emergency” powers had long since dissipated and the only lawful alternative was a referral to the Standards Committee, the Monitoring Officer and the Independent Person – which never took place.
The much-debated legal advice confirmed only that the CEO – responsible for the safety of everyone in the Town Hall – did have the powers to act in an “emergency”. No-one had disputed that.
Unfortunately, the Chief Executive’s obvious contempt for the basic intelligence of members has led him to miscalculate, once again. Did he not think they were capable of asking searching questions? But ask they did.
Equally unfortunately, the members may not to have grasped the significance of the answers they received.
Under members’ cross-examination, the true position emerged. Yes, a CEO can take immediate and temporary “measures” to ensure security, but he MUST then refer the matter to the Police or Standards process to fully investigate and, if necessary, to uphold the “measure” and ratify it as a “sanction”, under powers vested in the Standards Committee by the Localism Act 2011. Even then, the sanctions available to the Standards Committee fall far short of Mr DILLON’s total prohibition.
Even where “measures” are sustained during a Standards investigation, they MUST be under constant review to ensure that they are proportionate and reasonable, and the process MUST involve independent oversight. At SBC, there is no effective independent oversight.
Again unfortunately, no member challenged the matter of the CEO dragging his heels for SEVENTEEN DAYS – a delay that gives the lie to any pretence of urgency.
So, on the face of it, Mr DILLON has been widely misperceived to have been vindicated by Mr GOOLDEN. Nothing to see here, folks – keep shopping. Vast quantities of Council Tax-payers’ money have been spent in defence of the beleaguered CEO and members can now let the matter go – when they should be letting Mr DILLON go.
How much cheaper it would have been just to give members the legal advice spelling out these vital legal distinctions when Councillor Tony RANDERSON first requested sight of the advice six months ago. It can hardly be said to be controversial. Unless, of course, there was no imminent threat at the time, in which case, the CEO had no powers in the matter whatsoever, as has been thoroughly explicated by the Enquirer.
So the crux, once again, became this: On precisely what points of law did Mr DILLON seek advice? A real and immediate danger – or an unconfirmed perception of a possible threat, since which seventeen days without incident were allowed to elapse?
It follows, in my opinion, that the CEO’s “measures” were not in response to an immediate threat and are therefore not compliant with the requirements. And by that simple fact, Mr DILLON is, and remains, undone.
In simple terms, emergency “measures” can be taken – but only when immediate and proportionate, and not in the circumstances or manner in which they were mobilised by Mr DILLON.
The proper legal procedure, as explained by Mr GOOLDEN, was ignored and instead replaced by Mr DILLON’s ‘back-of-a-fag-packet’ ad hoc process. Even the misperception of danger was long past. The “measures” were not immediate, proportionate, relevant or properly reviewed. The Independent Person was not involved. There was no investigation. The Standards Committee were not involved in upholding or overturning the “measures”. There was no oversight. The whole thing was a crock.
In my view, therefore, Mr DILLON’s carefully contrived ruse to sweep the matter under the carpet may yet founder. But a legal challenge is rather unlikely; who would fund it – even in the confident opinion that the Judge would not entertain a seventeen day delay as a credible emergency “measure”? Not I.
However, the matter will be dismissed as academic – Mr DILLON will be leaving the Council at the end of June, having overseen the local elections in May, for which he is the Returning Officer.
Alas, he will leave with at least the appearance of an unblemished record, without hint of him ever having overstepped a line. Enquirer readers will know better.
SBC Mayor Called Upon to RESIGN!
“Last Train to Retiresville?”
“The Letter of the Law”
“Phew!…and far between!”
Another SBC FOIA Stone-Wall
Open Letter to ‘Silent’ Jim
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This Might Be the Angriest You’ll Ever See Hillary Clinton [Updated]
For months now, Republicans have argued that the Obama administration intentionally deceived the American people about the deadly attack on a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi by portraying it, a few days later, as a protest that got out of hand as opposed to a premeditated assault. Despite a complete lack of evidence to back up this assertion, the belief in a cover-up is so strong that various conservatives suggested that Hillary Clinton faked a concussion in December to avoid testifying about Benghazi. Well, this morning Clinton is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And as this very testy exchange with Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson shows, she does not appreciate the conspiracy theories at all:
You really get the sense that Clinton barely managed to restrain herself from dropping an F-bomb there.
Update, 11:41 a.m.: Later, John McCain scolded Clinton for her unconvincing excuses. Clinton was not impressed.
Update, 11:50 a.m.: The hearing didn’t get any easier from there. Senator Rand Paul told Clinton he would have fired her after Benghazi if he were president.
Update, 4:27 p.m.: Senator Johnson tells Buzzfeed that Clinton’s outburst of emotion was calculated. “I think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead Americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions,” he said. “It was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me.”
Clinton Erupts at Benghazi Hearing
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Not One Penny Memo: Republicans’ Abhorrent Tax Law Failed in The Midterms
FROM: Not One Penny
SUBJECT: Republicans’ Abhorrent Tax Law Failed in The Midterms
Yesterday, the American public voted for a Democratic majority in the House. Voters resoundingly declared that Republicans’ sole legislative achievement—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA)—was a failure, rejecting both the GOP’s tax scam and the Republicans who championed it.
When the GOP passed their tax bill last December, Mitch McConnell confidently said, “If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work.” Now that House Republicans have been voted out of office, the American people have told House Republicans to find new jobs.
From Florida to Iowa to Maine, Americans saw through the money and spin that Republicans poured into races promoting their only legislative accomplishment. In fact, this week, a Change Research poll of voters in GA-06, MI-06, MI-08, NC-13, OH-01, and VA-02 showed that those polled were less likely to vote again for their representatives because they had voted for the tax bill.
Despite the GOP claims that this bill was a middle-class tax cut, more than half of all Americans will actually see their taxes increase. Earlier this year, CAP Action Fund showed “for Americans, real wages are stagnant and even declining because consumer prices (costs for everyday spending) are rising,” all while corporate profits are skyrocketing.
Prior to the bill’s passage, Senator Susan Collins claimed lowering the taxes on corporations was not meant “to encourage stock buybacks, which tend to enrich the executives of a firm.” Despite corporations receiving over a trillion dollars in tax giveaways, a 99 percent of companies said the GOP tax cuts didn’t prompt them to increase wages. In reality, the tax law just pushed the total amount of stock buybacks authorized by companies to a record $786 billion.
Democrats’ victory in the House of Representatives last night shows that the American people saw the tax bill for exactly what it was—and rejected it. Now, it’s clear Americans are demanding tax fairness and economic justice, not tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations.
GOP’s Tax Law Remained Wildly Unpopular
Republicans staked everything on the fight for their tax plan even though, at the time of the bill’s passage, it was one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation in recent history. After its passage, poll after poll has shown that the American people continue to oppose it.
The GOP had hoped to propel this bill into a winning message. Yet, in special elections in PA-18 and OH-12, they found that running on the GOP tax law was a losing issue. Just a few months later, polling continued to show that just 1-in-3 Americans approved of the tax plan, compared to 41 percent who disapproved. And support for the tax law continued to decline as the midterms approached.
Prior to the election, Not One Penny also conducted two comprehensive studies into how efforts to hold Republicans accountable for their votes on taxes and health care succeeded in key congressional districts. Those results showed that sustained, grassroots campaigns on taxes and health care targeting incumbent Republicans like Rod Blum (IA-01) moved the needle towards Democrats.
Most tellingly, a memo leaked in September 2018 showed that even Republicans’ internal polling showed that they’d “lost the messaging battle” in attempting to sell their tax law to the American public. This has been playing out in some of the top swing districts across the country, particularly those where opponents of the GOP’s tax law—like Not One Penny—educated and motivated voters.
Polling from Navigator Research showed that this campaign was successful, with over a an overwhelming majority of people—72 percent of Americans—acknowledging that this tax law made the rich even richer at their expense. A separate report from Navigator Research released showed that the GOP continued to lose their advantage on taxes as progressives vigorously campaigned against their tax law.
Last night’s election results, including Democratic victories against Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), Rod Blum (IA-01), David Young (IA-03), Erik Paulsen (MN-03), and in other key races showed what we knew all along: the American people rejected tax policy that put wealthy corporations and millionaires and billionaires before working families.
Republicans’ Broke Their Promises, and Americans Know it
After pushing their tax law through Congress without public hearings or bipartisan support, Republicans continued to lie about how their tax law would boost wages, create new jobs, and lead to economic growth. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Just after the law passed, only two percent of Americans said they had seen any benefit from it.
In March 2018, a majority of Americans reported no increase in take home pay.
In August 2018, a Quinnipiac poll indicated that a majority of voters believed their personal financial situation had remained the same or gotten worse over the past two years.
In August 2018, survey data published by the Associated Press confirmed that the law failed to deliver as a “middle-class miracle” and will not be the “rocket fuel” for our country’s economy that the Trump promised.
In August, 2018, analysis from the Urban Institute showed that wages have remained stagnant and that more than 40 percent of Americans continue to struggle to meet basic needs.
An exit poll conducted by several news outlets showed that just 28 percent said the GOP tax law had helped them as the law phased in.
Republicans also claimed that companies would use billions in tax savings to create new jobs, but dozens of multinational companies like AT&T have announced massive layoffs since the tax law passed. These same corporations used their tax cuts to buyback nearly $1 trillion in stock to enrich shareholders instead of investing in employees.
Put simply: the American people aren’t seeing the benefits Republicans promised.
Progressives Energy Beat Republicans’ Campaign of Misinformation
After forcing their tax law through Congress, Republicans and their wealthy donors pledged to aggressively campaign in the midterm elections on their tax cuts. In fact, special interest groups and Republican donors spent more than $100 million campaigning for the tax law, attempting to make it palatable for the public.
To combat the false narrative being pushed by the GOP, the Not One Penny coalition was formed by Tax March and over 70 organizations, including Americans for Tax Fairness, CAP Action, Indivisible, MoveOn, and numerous others. Through a massive network of activists, advocates, and organizers, the coalition fought back against the GOP’s agenda of giving tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires and wealthy organizations at the expense of everyone else.
Republican donors continued to spend hundreds of millions throughout this cycle to sell this tax disaster, including the Chamber of Commerce, Congressional Leadership Fund, and National Republican Congressional Committee. But it seems their money was wasted. Despite the flood of campaign cash from Republican groups, it couldn’t match the public’s fierce opposition to this law.
And wasn’t just House Leader Nancy Pelosi or Democrats in Congress talking about the GOP’s tax law: even the Nuns on the Bus were talking about the harmful impacts of this tax law.
It’s simple: progressives’ vigorous opposition to the law and voters’ concern about how it impacts their families rendered Republicans’ campaign of disinformation as ineffective as, well, their tax law.
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Saudi Use Of Solar Could Boost Its Oil Exports
By Charles Kennedy - Dec 22, 2016, 4:00 PM CST
Saudi Arabia will turn to solar for electricity, which could allow it to export a lot more oil.
The connection between solar and oil is not an obvious one since they typically do not compete against each other – oil is used to refine fuels for transportation while solar is used to generate electricity. Solar traditionally competes with natural gas, coal and nuclear power. However, that is not the case in Saudi Arabia, where oil is still burned for electricity, an increasingly uncommon practice throughout the world. In fact, Saudi Arabia is the largest consumer of oil for electricity, a weakness that Saudi officials believe they can no longer afford.
Saudi Arabia burns through roughly 900,000 barrels per day during the summer months, according to the IEA, when Saudi citizens crank up the AC to provide some relief during the sweltering heat. That consumption is equivalent to roughly $16 billion.
Those are barrels that Saudi Arabia cannot export, and barrels that do not bring in dollars, a sorely needed resource in Riyadh.
But there is one thing that is not in short supply in Saudi Arabia: sunshine. Installing solar power will reduce domestic oil consumption, freeing up oil for export. Saudi Arabia has vowed to step up the installation of renewable energy in recent years, but has failed to follow through on those promises. But the oil kingdom could finally get serious about clean energy as soon as next quarter, Bloomberg reports. “I’m fully expecting within the first quarter 500 megawatts to come out in tenders and then it’ll ramp up,” Paddy Padmanathan, the CEO of Acwa Power International in Riyadh, told Bloomberg. “That will be a game changer for the region.” Related: 10 Energy Surprises In 2017
Saudi Arabia is set to add 700 megawatts of wind and solar in 2018. But the rate of installations escalates after that – another 8.8 gigawatts are estimated to come online by 2023.
“You take a look at the opportunity cost of using crude oil for electricity production and you have a very high operating expense, and the power demand growth in Saudi Arabia is one of the largest in the region,” Sami Khoreibi, the CEO of Enviromena Power Systems, an Abu Dhabi solar developer, said in a Bloomberg interview.
Low oil prices have wreaked havoc on the Saudi budget, forcing austerity in a country that is unfamiliar with belt-tightening. The kingdom rolled up a $100 billion deficit in 2015, or 15 percent of GDP. That shrank slightly to $79 billion this year, still a massive problem. Saudi Arabia was so desperate for an oil price rally that it made concession to seal a deal with OPEC, but more work is needed to fix the economy. Saudi officials believe solar will help free up more oil for export.
The Bearish Case For Oil In 2017
‘’EVs, Solar Could Push Oil Down To $10 By 2025’’
2017 Oil Market Recovery Is Sure To Be Slow
Oil Consumption Is Immune To A Transport Transformation
How Much Biofuel Do Santa’s Reindeer Need?
Dan on December 22 2016 said:
Nice hopeful solar salesman but, it order to purchase solar one needs money. The Saudi already running growing deficits are in need of much higher oil prices in order to generate that capital ,which much is earmarked for military growth and nuke weapon development. Solar is on page 252.
jimbob on December 26 2016 said:
Buy stock in a company that makes squeegees, because KSA solar is going to require tens of thousands of South Asians with tens of thousands of squeegees to keep the panels clean.
Anthony Michael Ruggiero on December 27 2016 said:
solar is only 20% efficiency and in the USA was subsidized by $104,000,000,000 and produced only $71,000,000,000 in value !
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Vladimir Putin: Paralympic ban inhumane, Russia to stage its own competitions
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked the ban on his country from the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics as immoral and inhumane on Thursday.
Russia was suspended on Aug. 7 over what International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven called a “medals over morals” culture with evidence of state-sponsored doping. The ban was confirmed Tuesday when the Court of Arbitration of Sport rejected a Russian appeal.
“The decision to disqualify our Paralympians is outside the bounds of law, morality and humanity,” Putin said at an award ceremony for Olympic athletes at the Kremlin. He called the ruling against Russia “cynical” and claimed that “it even humiliates those who take such decisions.”
The Paralympics start Sept. 7.
Special competitions will be organized in Russia for banned Paralympic athletes with winners getting the same prizes they would have had from success in Rio, Putin said. The Russian government awards cash prizes to Olympic and Paralympic medalists.
Putin also attacked what he said was political manipulation of sport directed against Russia, whose team was reduced to a single athlete in track and field and banned entirely from weightlifting at the Olympics. That came after World Anti-Doping Agency investigations detailed widespread doping and evidence that senior sports ministry officials allegedly covered up hundreds of doping cases.
“You came through a tough test with honor,” Putin told a room full of Olympic gold medalists. “We know how difficult it was for our athletes in Rio. Ahead of the competition, the team was cut by almost a third, and was deprived of the chance to show what it can do in sports where Russia is traditionally considered one of the favorites. But our team, you, my friends, coped with all the difficulties, competed as a united team.”
Russia was fourth in the medal count with 56 medals, 19 of them gold.
MORE: Paralympic broadcast schedule
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> Home > San Diego History Center (formerly San Diego Historical Society)
∞ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt100036tb/
Guide to the Pioneer Society of San Diego County Records MS 104
Contact San Diego History Center (formerly San Diego Historical Society)
This collection contains records of the Pioneer Society of San Diego County, including documents related to administration, finances, membership, accessions, and events. It also contains original correspondence to and from members of the Society.
The Pioneer Society of San Diego County was organized on May 31, 1895, and was originally called “The Ladies’ Pioneer Society of San Diego.” One of its purposes, as stated in the Bylaws, was “to collect, record, and preserve the history of the State of California, and more especially the history and traditions of the City and County of San Diego, and incidents connected therewith.” Mrs. Flora Kimball and Hattie Phillips were the first president and secretary, respectively. Membership was limited to those persons who came to California before January 1, 1880, with extension of privileges to their descendants and to others who had shown an interest in the objects of the society. Originally all members were women, but in 1905 men were given honorary memberships. Honorary members included such figures as General John J. Pershing, Winifred Davidson, and John F. Forward. A 1908 letter from John G. Capron states that the symbol of the society was an evergreen sprig. The society held one open meeting and several closed meetings per year that featured talks on local history by a variety of guests, introduced people important in politics and society, and presented local music talents as well as entertainment and refreshments.
2.75 Linear feet (6 boxes)
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Biographical / Historical Notes
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by Neil Burns | Jan 8, 2021
Anastasiou to lead all technical activities at growing green chemistry company
Woodbridge, CT – January 8th, 2021 – P2 Science Inc., a green chemistry company, announced that Dr. Theodore Anastasiou has joined the senior management ranks of the company to lead all technical and research & development activities.
Anastasiou has over 15 years of R&D leadership experience in the fields of flavors and fragrances, including stints at IFF, Mondelez and Firmenich. He comes to P2 after leading North American homecare technical development and innovation at Firmenich.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to bring into P2, someone of Ted’s incredible technical caliber,” said P2 CEO, Neil Burns. “He has accomplished a huge amount in the course of his career to date and we look forward to his providing great leadership as we develop and commercialize many more products in the coming years.”
Anastasiou graduated with a Ph.D in organic and polymer chemistry from Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he worked on biodegradable polymers in controlled delivery systems. He has a strong record of innovation in novel polymers and encapsulation technology.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to work with such a creative and successful group of professionals,” said Anastasiou. “I look forward to accelerating the technical development process at P2 and helping our customers create significant value in their markets with P2’s innovative, green chemistry.”
Dr. Anastasiou is based at P2’s Woodbridge, CT research facility.
P2 Science is a green chemistry company, co-founded by Professor Paul Anastas, head of the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. P2 has developed and patented technologies for converting renewable feedstocks into high-value specialty products. Investors in P2 include BASF Venture Capital, Xeraya Capital, Elm Street Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Ironwood Capital, HG Ventures and Chanel. The company started up its first manufacturing plant in September of 2018 which produces novel renewable aroma chemicals and cosmetic ingredients. For more information, visit www.p2science.com
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Tyler Perry slammed by fans after admitting he has no writer’s room
A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry)
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It ain’t easy being Madea.
Tyler Perry admitted this week that he’s written several of his plays, films and television shows solo, apparently hoping to inspire others with his work ethic. Many fans missed that sentiment, however, and called out the studio owner for not hiring writers.
“So, I don’t know if you know, this but all shows on television have a writer’s room,” Perry, 50, said in an Instagram clip Monday. “Most of the time, they’re 10 people, 12, whatever, that write on these television shows. Well, I have no writer’s room. Nobody writes any of my work. I write it all. Why am I telling [you] this? I wrote all of these scripts by myself in 2019. What’s my point? Work ethic!”
But rather than be inspired, many of Perry’s followers took issue with what they saw as his refusal to employ writers who could bring fresh perspectives to his work.
“Tyler Perry not having writers explains why his writing hasn’t evolved much,” wrote one critic. “I say that because when you have a writer’s room, you could bounce off of each other’s ideas. He doesn’t have anyone challenging him nor is he opening himself up to new thoughts.”
Others noted that Tyler should consider hiring black, female writers specifically, given that much of his work is told from that perspective.
Even fellow director Judd Apatow encouraged Perry to consider hiring a team, tweeting, “The most fun part of running a show is the writer’s room. You should try it @tylerperry. You make friends and laugh. Lots of Chinese food too! Occasionally someone says something so funny that you can’t breathe. Usually, it’s just a story from life and not usable in the show.”
Apatow later clarified that while he personally prefers a writer’s room for his projects, he understands Perry’s choice, as other shows have worked with only one writer on staff.
Perry also received support from fans who don’t blame him for finding a formula that works, with one fan writing, “Keep up the great work Mr. Perry, if it ain’t broke why fix it?”
Perry responded to both his supporters and naysayers with a photo of him in his “writer’s room,” which appears to be his lavish living room.
“My writer’s room!!!” he wrote Tuesday evening. “To the millions of you who are loving what I do and watch my shows every week, don’t worry, I ain’t stopping!!! Don’t forget. The Haves and the Have Nots returns tonight on @owntv and The Oval and Sistas return tomorrow on @BET!!”
Filed under tyler perry , writers , 1/8/20
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal departure shouldn't...
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Write or arrange for the orchestra? Listen with care to orchestra music? I’ve said it before: When it comes to the sections of the orchestra, nothing provides the array of timbres on a par with the woodwinds.
I already hear the arguments about trumpets and trombones, with and without their mutes and the variety of strings and their techniques. And, I will admit that the historically overlooked percussion section surely offers a virtually endless list of traditional and nontraditional sounds.
And I know I’m being more than just a bit dogmatic. But, when it comes to the big three (woodwinds, brass and strings), nothing provides the broad spectrum and depth than do the woodwinds.
This post will be highlighting some well-known and some lesser-known woodwind passages in the literature. It’s not that these selections are exhaustive in the scope of their unique sounds, the intention is to bring to mind some ideas for new ways of writing – and listening – to the orchestra.
Copland: “Saturday Night Waltz” from Rodeo
If one hears a parallel in the ranges between the string voices and those of the woodwinds, it may be expressed as Violin I = Flute, Violin II = Oboe, Viola = Clarinet, Cello and Bass = Bassoon. Naturally this is a simplistic view, but not unusual in any orchestrations. There are many passages, for example, of clarinets teaming up with violas in full scores. Their ranges are similar, filling in that spot just below the lowest violin note, but still sounding more like the upper instruments in the section than the lower ones.
In Example 69.1 Aaron Copland blends these two voices and adds the flute to the mix. In fact, the flute, clarinet and viola are all that’s happening in this slow section, save for the small mixture of instruments providing the waltz beats on one and two.
Example 69.1 Aaron Copland: Rodeo, “Saturday Night Waltz” (69 – 90)
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Angel
Over the rich legato viola line, the clarinet provides a lazy set of chord tones with the flute essentially punctuating and echoing the final few notes of the clarinet lines.
This is not a particularly special or unique use of this group, however. In fact, all three instruments are playing in their middle ranges. These are the ranges where most instruments sound “like themselves.”
So often, composers focus on the very top or very bottom of an instrument’s range to exploit the lesser known sounds they can often produce there. But it’s in that comfort zone for most instruments that the composer has to step up and write compelling music that relies on its substance, creativity and intrinsic interest. Yet, it also gives the performer a chance to demonstrate the hours, months, years of honing his or her craft. (All those sustained tones.)
One more thing to point out is how Copland mixes up the accompaniment. The pedal downbeats are alternately played by the trombone and the bass clarinet, with the offbeats chords on two played by the clarinet and bassoon. After a few bars the second violins and the cellos are added. This again returns to the slight shift in color that each combination provides. It’s simple, economic and utterly charming.
Beethoven: Symphony Number 3 (“Eroica”), Movement 1
The orchestra of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was limited for a variety of technical, architectural, economic and sociopolitical reasons. As most students of music learn, Beethoven had a tendency to push boundaries wherever he could. As an example, his third symphony, the “Eroica,” has a first movement that is about as long as an entire Haydn symphony.
In this symphony, which premiered in 1805, the orchestration does not seem to be on his top list of icons he wanted to demolish. Nevertheless, he still used the winds in ways that would probably cause an audience to perk up their ears in surprise at their variety.
Example 69.2 Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony Number 3 (“Eroica”), Movement 1 (450 – 471)
John Eliot Gardiner, Orchestre Révolutionnaire Et Romantique, Deutsche Grammophon Archiv
Example 69.2 is from the first movement. It is a brief passage from the recapitulation in the lengthy transition from the first to the second theme. Beginning in measure 452 you hear a descending motif that is just a dotted quarter note beginning on the second beat of the measure followed by an eighth note and then a quarter note on the next downbeat.
Beethoven begins this in the flute, followed by the oboe, the clarinet, then the first violins. The pattern repeats after which the clarinet and bassoon return with it, now in a descending scalar line. The flute is added to the motif on its repeat just before the flute, oboe and all the strings return to end the phrase.
It’s a brief bit of “tossing the ball around,” colorfully showing the timbre of each of the woodwinds. What follows is an interesting employment of the clarinets being used as inner voices, rising in thirds in bars 464 and 465, as the viola and cellos double the second bassoon line. The warmth of the clarinets is apparent. It’s not too hard to imagine how much less colorful this passage would be if it were played by strings alone.
It’s what we’ve come to expect from Herr Beethoven. But one can only imagine how this passage sounded to unknowing ears some two hundred years ago.
Earlier I just mentioned the technical issues faced by the orchestra of the early nineteenth century and so I’ll just point out how in measures 458 and 459, two horns join the clarinet in its statement of the motif. Later in the century with the introduction of new technology, the horns could have easily played all of these parts. But while Beethoven was writing the limitations of the current technology would have made producing these tones on the horn virtually impossible.
Bernstein: Candide Overture
In the less than five minute overture to Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, the orchestra runs at an almost alarming pace. The composer often utilizes the woodwinds the way a chef sprinkles salt and pepper – a dash here and a trace there. In a manner frequently seen in scores many composers, a three or four note motif is played by one voice and then echoed by others. This can be heard and seen clearly in the Beethoven above (Example 69.2).
In the next two examples I have chosen two passages that show off some of the dexterity that the woodwinds offer the composer. Like most performers, the woodwinds can handle almost anything thrown at them. This is certainly true for world-class players. Of course, with a technically challenging passage, if you’re not sure that those playing your piece are up to a difficult part and you have the opportunity, it’s always a good idea to check.
Listen to Example 69.3, a transitional passage in the work. The flute has this eighth note passage first. But just a second or so later the clarinet replies. As soon as the clarinet finishes, the bassoon, joined by the bass clarinet, has the motif a couple of octaves lower. Although lower range performers, who generally play in the small and great octaves, are pushing more air through their instruments, they can still keep up with their above-middle-C neighbors.
As the composer deconstructs the motif it’s played by the flute and oboe, answered by two solo violins, partially joined by the solo flute, before being played again by the flute and oboe. The pattern repeats until it’s taken up at the end of measure 74 by the piccolo. The piccolo keeps it until measure 80 with the flute echoing the downward leaps in the second half of the alternate measures.
Example 69.3 Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture (63 – 83)
Leonard Bernstein, London Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon
Notice the way Bernstein hands off the B-flat on the downbeat of measure 80 from the piccolo to the flute. This note is just below the very top of the range of the flute. It takes a little bit more pressure to hit the note cold as in this example. The addition of the octave grace note means the performer may at some subconscious level play these five notes with just a tad more intensity than the piccolo, here in the middle of its range.
As the flute then hands it off to the E-flat clarinet on the downbeat of measure 81 the composer actually presents a plain old dominant seventh arpeggio in the E-flat clarinet. To cement the V – I tonality here he adds the glockenspiel on the leading tone and, on the second half of the first measure, the low octave pizzicato on the V. This leaves the E-flat clarinet to retain the notes of the V7 chord in its chalumeau register.
There is a lot of orchestration in this brief passage. One background element that’s easy to miss is the eighth note-quarter note downward leaps on the last eighth note of each half of each measure from 67 to 75, first in the oboe, then in the bassoon and lastly in the bass clarinet. It’s in some ways typical of this work that the listener is kept on his or her toes, with these rapid drops starting before the beat.
One other piece of work here is the sustained tones in the oboe and clarinets. With everything else going on it’s easy to miss it, but when you focus on what these three players do here, you notice how it glues the passage together. Once the whole notes end in bar 74, it’s as though the sun breaks through the clouds with the piccolo stepping in, acting as the sun.
Lastly, note the second pizzicato F on the second half of measure 81. Bernstein further plays with the listener to throw off the regularity of the beat. A more conventional composer might punctuate the downbeat of measure 81 in the same way as the F punctuates the downbeat of the previous measure. Instead, Bernstein provides the accent on the second half of the measure. This playful gesture is reflected throughout the piece so, in some ways, it’s the composer exploiting what he has already provided to the listener. It’s another way to color the music.
Remember that orchestration is about color.
And on that subject, listen to another section of the same piece a little bit later in Example 69.4. In this snippet, the solo flute has the passage that was just heard, but this time it has a bigger chunk of the theme. Before tracing the tune and what it does next, listen to the introduction. When the tutti descending scalar passage ends on the downbeat of measure 139 the composer has four horns in thirds stopped in the now-familiar three quarter note bars. The tone quality of these instruments playing this way is unique in the orchestra. The change in timbre is even enhanced by the horns entering fresh and not playing with the woodwinds and strings in the previous bar.
After their novel entrance, the horns give the three quarter note motif over to the middle register clarinets in harmony, as the bass clarinet and two bassoons have the off beat sustained notes. Note the way, for these initial two bars, Bernstein includes the cellos and basses pizzicato to double and emphasize the beginning of the off-kilter passage.
Example 69.4 Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture (137 – 153)
At the beginning of bar 147 as the composer shifts the energy, a solo violin has rapid arpeggios across the strings while the rest of the upper strings have pizzicato downbeats and offbeats. Suddenly the contained sound of the previous measures is spread out. Here, unlike the earlier passage, the piccolo is doubled down an octave by the oboe. When the line returns it’s in octaves again in the flutes. The third iteration has the E-flat clarinet doubling the piccolo at the octave. To further emphasize the staccato line the composer adds the melody in the glockenspiel.
To return to the opening of the example, note the triangle roll during the descending quarter notes. The triangle has a long history as one of the more consistent orchestral percussion instruments and often it’s used to add a shimmering effect to a passage. Here it’s used almost the way a composer might use a snare drum roll.
And one last little bit is on the downbeat of bar 139, there’s just the extra emphasis of the bass drum. It’s a tiny thing, but it cements the ensuing syncopations so that the listener has at least some sense of where the beat is – or at least where it was.
Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet, “Walk to the Paradise Garden”
The pace is going to slow down, so much in fact that tempo almost becomes secondary. Oh it’s there, but the languorous lush lines don’t provide much for those wanting to tap their toes. The passage has a few rhythmic motives. One is the opening ascending eighth note triplets on the downbeat of the bar. Another is the sustained dotted half note followed by a quarter.
Probably most prominent here are the simple woodwind solos of a bar or two in length. After the opening two string section bars the flute and English horn play in octaves. This is a range in which the double reed is rich and full and, though it often is overpowered in this range, the flute is too.
Next up is the bass clarinet followed by the horn and then the first violins who extend the line for an additional bar as the other strings enter on the fourth beat. The violins cede to the oboe in the following measure who also plays the two measure phrase. Next, the clarinet enters with a similar, but rhythmically more complex two measure phrase. The clarinet is in turn followed by the oboe and then the flute.
69.5 Frederick Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet, “Walk to the Paradise Garden” (44 – 60)
Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Teldec
This leisurely passage is a useful study of the woodwinds showing off the richness of tone quality, phrasing and fullness of sound. Once any of the instruments makes an entrance the strings seem to drift into the background. Although there is some variety in the flavoring in the string parts, it’s mostly support for the woodwind solos.
One important item to hear is the way Delius takes a brief pause from the string section at measure 49. Just as the sustained notes of the bass clarinet and the lower strings end, the first horn solo begins. But note the background. Although its range is very close to where the violins, violas, cellos and basses stopped, now we have an all brass background supplied by the three trombones and tuba. The chord they play changes in the next bar, but again they spend three beat alone – as the harmonic background to the first violins. This elegant transition from strings to brass and back to strings can be almost transparent because the composer’s slight of hand tricks the listener’s ears to remain focused on the repeating triplet phrase on the downbeat of each measure.
Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra
The passages presented above provide some great examples of a composer tossing the melody football around the woodwind section. This final example retains the same concept, but rather than spreading it around the woodwinds, it’s kept mostly in just one section. In this case it’s the clarinets.
This quiet passage begins with a pianissimo version of the well-known opening trumpet fanfare which is soon repeated in the oboe. But it’s just as the oboist is about to relinquish its note that the first clarinet enters on the same note, drops a fifth and has a rapid ascending line, returning near where it began. This is the point, on the second beat of measure 266, where the E-flat clarinet takes over.
And before the E-flat clarinet is done with its iteration, the second B-flat clarinet steps up. After a repeat of the root-fifth-octave motif in the English horn, the clarinet section does it again. It’s a great opportunity to hear the E-flat and B-flat clarinets playing almost the same lines in such close proximity. As I mentioned above, the E-flat clarinet can sound very much like the more standard clarinet in B-flat (AKA soprano clarinet).
Listen a little more and you’ll hear the English horn enter with the little line, joined then by the flute and a beat later it returns to the clarinet section.
A note of caution: Be aware that the example crescendos very rapidly near the end of the passage. So, if you’ve turned up the volume to listen to the clarinets and other woodwinds, when the full orchestra enters in measure 278 it gets loud! I included the last few measures to show how the same motif, now played in unison by the flutes, clarinets and all the violins, can be so nicely balanced by the double reeds, brass and lower strings when playing at a forte.
Chronologically these examples range from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. As I discussed, Beethoven and his contemporaries had fewer instrument options to work with than his successors. Nevertheless, what all of these examples provide is a composer’s use of the wide variety of sounds available from the woodwind family. These excerpts will continue for the next several posts.
I hope you enjoyed this post and/or found it useful. Feel free to send me a note (my address is on the About page) or leave a comment.
March 24, 2017 May 30, 2017 Orchestra Sounds Tagged Aaron Copland, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Beethoven, Candide, Delius, Eroica Symphony, Leonard Bernstein, Paradise Garden, Richard Strauss, Rodeo, Saturday Night Waltz 1 Comment
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Dev Gowda
Statement on P&G’s Consumer Product Fragrance Disclosure Announcement
Statement from OSPIRG Toxics Advocate Dev Gowda on P&G’s Fragrance Disclosure Announcement.
OSPIRG applauds consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, the maker of brands like Olay, Old Spice, and Pampers, for its announcement today that it will increase fragrance ingredient transparency in all of its consumer brands.
Consumers have the right to know if they are exposed to harmful chemicals. Some chemicals used in fragrance have been linked to cancer, but because companies aren’t required to disclose fragrance ingredients, consumers have no way of knowing if the products they apply to their bodies are putting their health at risk. P&G has listened to the public and is now increasing transparency in the chemicals that they use in their fragrances.
Last year, OSPIRG and several other consumer, public health, and environment groups called on P&G to disclose fragrance ingredients and to pledge to be toxic-free. You can view our open letter here. OSPIRG also recently delivered thousands of petitions to P&G’s headquarters calling on the consumer giant to disclose fragrance ingredients.
According to P&G’s statement, it will expand its current ingredient lists to include the fragrance ingredients in a product’s formulation above 0.01% (100 parts per million) through a smartphone or computer via SmartLabel™. P&G aims to complete this update by the end of 2019.
This is a victory for consumer product transparency. Other personal care manufacturers like L’Oréal should follow P&G’s lead and provide greater fragrance transparency.
The ingredient “fragrance” or “parfum” refers to a mixture of scent chemicals and ingredients that are not required by law to be disclosed. According to the International Fragrance Association approximately 3,000 chemicals can be used to make fragrance, some of which have been linked to cancer, reproductive and respiratory problems, and allergies.
P&G’s announcement comes on the heels of Unilever USA’s announcement in February 2017 that it will disclose fragrance ingredients in its personal care brands by 2018.
While we applaud P&G’s actions today, we will also urge them to go further in protecting public health. P&G should also provide full fragrance disclosure to consumers on product packages, regardless of the product category and whether the product contains fragrance ingredients over 100 parts per million. For certain chemicals like endocrine-disrupting compounds, low level exposures have been associated with serious health effects. Putting the info right there on the package means that shoppers won’t need to pull out their smartphone or computer, which is one more hurdle to jump through.
While this is a move in the right direction to increase transparency for consumers, P&G should take the next step to protect public health and achieve full fragrance disclosure and remove all toxic chemicals of concern from their consumer product brands.
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Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta
Born to a prominent family in Havana but exiled to the United States as a girl, Ana Mendieta (1948–1985) is regarded as one of the most significant artists of the postwar era. During her too-brief career, she produced a distinctive body of work that includes drawings, installations, performances, photographs, and sculptures. Less well known is her remarkable and prolific production of films. This richly illustrated catalogue presents a series of sequential color stills from each of twenty-one original Super 8 films that have been newly preserved and digitized in high definition for the 2015 exhibition, combined with related photographs, and reference still images from all of the artist’s 104 filmworks; together these illustrations sample the full range of the artist’s film practice from 1971 to 1981. The book includes Mendieta’s first published comprehensive filmography resulting from three years of collaborative research conducted by the Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection and the University of Minnesota as well as original essays by John Perreault, Michael Rush, Rachel Weiss, Lynn Lukkas, Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, and Laura Wertheim Joseph. The first book-length treatment of Mendieta’s moving-image practice, Covered in Time and History aims to locate her films centrally within her larger oeuvre and at the forefront of the multidisciplinary shifts that characterized visual arts practice during the 1970s.
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How to Find Deceased Classmates
By: Ashley Leonard
How to Find School Records for Family History
How to Trace Your Family Tree for Free
How to Find Ancestry in Singapore
How to Find an Old Friend in Canada
How to Find Deceased High School Alumni
If you were close to your former classmates and you lost contact with them, dealing with their death can be hard. There are various ways to find out information on the deceased classmate, including family information and final resting place. Finding out about your deceased classmate can give you some kind of closure and help you with your grief.
Contact your former school to see if the school has any information about the classmates and their families. Inquire about their last known address. The alumni association at many schools should have the last known address of all graduates. Contact the head of the alumni association for more information that may be useful to you.
Speak with former classmates that you have kept in contact with over the years. If you and the deceased classmates have a mutual friend then it may be easier to find out about them and their families. One of your friends might have been close to one of the deceased classmates and can give you information on how to find out about the person and the person's family.
Run a search on social media. If your deceased classmate's Facebook profile is still out there, you should be able to view whether you have any mutual friends with them. Consider getting in touch with a few of those mutual friends to see if they have any information about the deceased.
Join classmates.com to get in touch with former classmates. To begin the registration process select the location of your school (state then city) on the homepage. When you register for a free account on classmates.com you can speak with former classmates and post discussions on the class discussion board. Post a new discussion about the deceased classmate or classmates and ask your former classmates for any information they have on that person. You don’t have to worry about the lack of privacy on the discussion board because only members of that school on the website can see the post.
Talk to your parents or the parents of your former classmates. It's possible that a few of them kept in touch with the deceased’s family, so they might have some useful information.
Look in the obituaries section in your local paper. Usually when someone dies the family buries the person either in the deceased's hometown or in the town the person lived the longest. If you know the date of death you can look at the obituaries for that week. The obituary of the deceased may include family information, as well as information on the funeral home and cemetery. Go to the library to look at the newspaper archives. Inquire with the librarian about the years of the newspapers they have on file, and how far back they go. Go online to legacy.com; you can search obituaries from multiple newspapers. On the website, on the right side, type in your classmate's first and last name and click "Search." According to legacy.com, you can search millions of obituaries from more than 750 newspapers in the United States and abroad.
Check the Social Security Death Index for deceased classmates. Type in the full name (first and last) of the deceased in the spaces provided and click "Submit." A list of names will come up displaying their date of birth, date of death, and last known residence. Scroll through each name until you find the person you are looking for. According to genealogybank.com, the Social Security Death Index contains more than 85 million death records for individuals with U.S. Social Security numbers.
Social Security Death Index (1937-Current)
Searching Obituaries
Based in New Jersey, Ashley Leonard has been writing professionally since 2007. Her articles have appeared on rsportscars.com and various other websites. Leonard holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Marymount Manhattan College.
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by Frank Lowe
“A Gay Action Thriller”
Two guys in their mid-twenties, each unhappy with their careers in Washington D.C., make decisions that would offer them a brighter future. Both decisions backfired; sending each of these guys into conflict with a powerful man who heads a secret organization that trafficks terrorists into his homegrown terrorist cell. Finding themselves each fighting to stay alive as this man, intent on silencing them, sets them on a collision course which leads them, if they survived, to meet in Rome and destroy each other. But when Scott Dennis and Bentley Thornton met in a trattoria in Rome, new to Rome and to each other, everything changed. They became bonded in a powerfully intimate relationship where they decided that, together, they could escape this menace. They devised a plan to set a trap for their killer, using themselves as bait. This risky trial and error journey, accompanied by a dangerous assortment of bizarre characters, sent them into a future together neither would have expected.
Genre: FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
Frank Lowe, an actor writer, has worked and traveled widely in the USA, living in Paris and Japan. He has written two plays and this is his third novel. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner. All characters mentioned in this story are figments of my imagination and are not based on any persons living or dead. Clavinlowe628@gmail.com.
https://outskirtspress.com/COLLISIONCOURSE
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Tag Archives: grimaces
Egyptian Convert Endures Life at a Standstill – on the Run
Daughter unable to attend school, church; acid thrown on her jacket.
CAIRO, Egypt, May 25 (CDN) — From the mosque across the street, words blasting from minaret megaphones reverberate throughout the tiny apartment where Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary is forced to hide. Immediately following afternoon prayers, the Friday sermon is, in part, on how to deal with Christians.
“Do not shake their hands. Do not go into their homes. Do not eat their food,” an imam shouts as El-Gohary, a convert to Christianity from Islam, looks through his window toward the mosque, shakes his head and grimaces.
“I hope one day to live in a place where there are no mosques,” he says. “How many megaphones do they need?”
For nearly two years, El-Gohary and his teenage daughter have been living in hiding because he abandoned Islam and embraced Christianity. During this time he has been beaten and forcibly detained, and his daughter has been attacked. He has had to endure death threats, poverty and crushing boredom.
Asked what gets him through the constant pressure of living on the run, El-Gohary said he wants to show the world how Christians are treated in Egypt.
“My main driving force is I want to prove to people the amount of persecution that Muslim converts and Christians face here, and that the persecution has been going on for 1,400 years,” he said.
When asked the same question, his 16-year-old daughter, Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem, pushed back tears and said one word.
El-Gohary, 57, and his daughter were forced into hiding shortly after August 2008, when he sued the national government to allow him to change the religion listed on his state-issued ID from Islam to Christianity.
El-Gohary followed in the footsteps of Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, 27, also a convert from Islam, in filing an ID case because he didn’t want his daughter to be forced to take Islamic education classes or have her declared an “apostate” by Egyptian Islamic authorities if she decided to stay a Christian into adulthood. Dina is required by law to possess an ID card. The ID card is used for everything from opening a bank account to receiving medical care. The identification also determines whether Egyptians are subject to Islamic civil courts.
Dina is the daughter of El-Gohary and his first wife, who is a Muslim. El-Gohary said that before he got married, he told his future wife that one day he would be baptized as a Christian. He said he now thinks she was convinced that he would eventually turn back to Islam. Over time, she grew tired of his refusal go back on his faith and complained to El-Gohary’s family, demanding a divorce.
“She started crying. She went to my parents and my brother and said, ‘This is not going to work out, I thought that he was going to change his mind. I didn’t think he was that serious about it,’” El-Gohary said. “She started talking about it to other people to the point where they started calling me from the loudspeakers of the local mosque, asking me what I was doing and ordering me to come back and pray.”
Eventually El-Gohary married another Muslim, and over the years she became a Christian. She has fled Egypt and lives in the United States; El-Gohary hasn’t seen her since March 2009.
On April 11, 2009, El-Gohary’s lawyers presented a conversion certificate from the Coptic Church in court. He obtained the certificate under court directions after going to Cyprus, at great expense, to obtain a baptismal certificate. The next month, the State Council, a consultative body of Egypt’s Administrative Court, provided the court with a report stating that El-Gohary’s change of faith violated Islamic law. They instructed that he should be subject to the death penalty.
In February 2009, lawyers opposing El-Gohary’s case advocated that he be sentenced to death for apostasy. On June 13, 2009, a Cairo judge rejected El-Gohary’s suit.
On Sept. 17, 2009, authorities at Cairo International Airport seized his passport. He was trying to travel to China with the eventual hope of going to the United States. On March 9, 2010, the Egyptian State Council Court in Giza, an administrative court, refused to return his passport. He has another hearing about the passport on June 29.
“I think it’s a kind of punishment, to set an example to other Muslims who want to convert,” El-Gohary said. “They want me to stay here and suffer to show other converts to be afraid. They are also afraid that if they let me go, then I will get out and start talking about what is happening in Egypt about the persecution and the injustice. We are trapped in our own country without even the rights that animals have.”
As recently as last week, El-Gohary and his daughter were living in a small, two-bedroom apartment across the street from a mosque on the outskirts of an undisclosed city in Egypt. The floor was littered with grime and bits of trash. Clumps of dust and used water bottles were everywhere.
El-Gohary had taped over the locks, as well as taped shut the inside of windows and doors, to guard against eavesdroppers and intruders. He had taped over all the drain holes of the sinks to keep anyone from pumping in natural gas at night.
Even the shower drain was taped over.
The yellow walls were faded, scuffed and barren, save for a single picture, a holographic portrait of Jesus, taped up in what qualified as a living room. El-Gohary motioned through a door to a porch outside. Rocks and pebbles thrown by area residents who recently learned that he lived there covered the porch.
“I would open the window, but I don’t want the rocks to start coming in,” he said.
El-Gohary has an old television set and a laptop with limited access to the Internet. Dina said she spends her time reading the Bible, talking to her father or drawing the occasional dress in preparation for obtaining her dream job, designing clothes.
Even the simple task of leaving El-Gohary’s apartment is fraught with risk. Every time he leaves, he places a padlock on the door, wraps it with a small plastic bag and melts the bag to the lock with a match.
El-Gohary cannot work and has to rely on the kindness of other Christians. People bring him food and water and the occasional donation. When the food runs out, he has to brave going outside.
“Our life is extremely, extremely hard. It’s hard for us to attend a church more than once because people will know it is us,” he said. “We can’t go to a supermarket more than once because we are going to be killed.”
Possibly the worst part for El-Gohary is watching his daughter suffer. A reflective youth with a gentle demeanor, Dina is quick to smile. But at a time when her life should be filled with friends, freedom and self-discovery, she is instead confined between four walls.
Even going to school, normally a simple thing, is fraught with dangerous possibilities. Dina hasn’t gone to school in about a year. She said that the last time she did, other students ridiculed her mercilessly, and a teacher hit her when she tried to attend religious classes for Christians instead of Muslims.
Now she and her father fear she could be beaten, kidnapped and forcibly converted, or simply killed. She can’t even go to church, she said.
“I don’t understand why I am being treated this way,” she said. “I believe in something, Christianity – I chose the religion because I love it. So why should I be treated this way?”
Dina was a little girl when she starting hearing about Jesus. Her father used to sit with her and tell her stories from the Bible, and he also told her about his conversion experience. Like her father, she cites a supernatural experience as a defining event in her faith.
One night, she said, she had a dream in which an enormous image of Jesus smiling appeared in a garden. She said the image became bigger and bigger until it touched the ground and became a golden church. She told her father about the dream, and since then she has believed in Christ.
Under Islamic law, Dina is considered a Muslim because her father was born as one. Because, like her father, Dina has decided to follow Christ, she is considered an “apostate” under most interpretations of Islamic law.
She gained national prominence in November 2009, when she wrote a letter, through a Coptic website, to U.S. President Barack Obama. She told the president that Muslims in the United States are treated much better than Copts in Egypt and asked why this was the case. She hopes the president will pressure the Egyptian government to ensure religious rights or let her and her father immigrate to the United States.
One afternoon last month, Dina was walking to a market with her father. As the two walked, El-Gohary noticed smoke and vapors coming off Dina’s jacket. The canvas was sizzling and dissolving. Someone had poured acid over the jacket. El-Gohary ripped it off her and threw it away.
“I asked people if they saw what happened and everyone said, ‘No, we didn’t see anything,’” El-Gohary said.
Luckily, Dina was not physically injured in the attack, but since then she has been terrified to go outside.
“I am very, very scared,” she said. “I haven’t gone outside since the attack happened.”
Change of Faith
El-Gohary, also known as Peter Athanasius, became a Christian 36 years ago while attending an academy for police trainees. During his second year of school, he became good friends with his roommate, a Copt and the only Christian in the academy. After watching cadets harass his roommate for praying, El-Gohary asked him why the others had ridiculed him.
“For me, it was the first time I had heard something like that,” El-Gohary said. “I didn’t have any Christian friends before, and I didn’t know about the level of persecution that takes place against Christians.”
Eventually, El-Gohary asked his friend for a Bible and took it home. His family tried to dissuade him from reading it.
“No, you can’t read the Bible,” his father told him. “It’s a really bad book.”
Undeterred, El-Gohary began reading the Bible in the privacy of his room. In the beginning, he said, the Bible was difficult to understand. But El-Gohary concentrated his efforts on the New Testament, and for the first time in his life, he said, he felt like God was speaking to him.
El-Gohary read the account of Jesus meeting the woman caught committing adultery, and the level of mercy that Jesus showed her transformed him, he said.
“Jesus said, ‘If anyone among you is without sin, then let him throw the first stone.’ The amount of forgiveness and love in this story really opened my eyes to the nature of Christianity,” El-Gohary said. “The main law that Jesus talked about was loving God ‘with all your heart, soul and mind.’ The basis of Christianity is love and forgiveness, unlike Islam, where it is based on revenge, fighting and war.”
Also, El-Gohary said, when he compared the two religions’ versions of heaven, he found that the Islamic version was about physical pleasure, whereas for Christians it was about being released from the physical world to be with God.
El-Gohary said his decision to follow Christ was final after he had a brilliant vision of light in his bedroom at his parents’ home, accompanied by the presence of “the peace of God.” El-Gohary said at first he thought he was seeing things, but then his father knocked on the door and demanded to know why the light was on. He told his father he was looking for something.
Persecution Begins
As a budding Christian convert, El-Gohary went back to the police academy and learned as much as he could about Christ and the Bible from his roommate. Persecution wasn’t long in coming.
One day an upperclassman spotted El-Gohary absent-mindedly drawing a cross on a notebook. The cadet sent El-Gohary to a superior for questioning.
El-Gohary avoided telling academy officials that his roommate had taught him about Christianity, but a captain at the school was able to piece together the evidence. The captain called El-Gohary’s father, a high-ranking officer at the academy, who in turn told the captain to make the young convert’s life “hell.”
Officials were imaginative in their attempts to break El-Gohary. He had to wake up before all the other students. He was ordered to carry his mattress around buildings and up and down flights of stairs. They exercised El-Gohary until he was about to pass out. Then they forced him to clean bathroom facilities with a toothbrush.
El-Gohary was not swayed from Christ, but he decided he couldn’t stay in what he said is the agency that “is the center of persecution against Christians” in Egypt. He tried numerous times to resign, but officials wouldn’t let him. Then he tried to get kicked out. Eventually, officials suspended the police cadet and sent him home for two weeks. At home, his family had a surprise waiting; they had hired an Islamic scholar to bring him back to Islam.
The scholar started by yelling Islamic teachings into El-Gohary’s ears, then moved on to write Quranic verses on his arms. El-Gohary remained seated and bore the humiliation in silence. Suddenly El-Gohary stood up, pinned the man against a wall and started yelling at him; the convert had caught the distinct smell of burning flesh – when he looked down at his arms, El-Gohary saw the scholar burning his hands with thin, smoldering iron rods.
“I said, ‘Enough! I have tolerated all of your talk. I have listened to all you have said, but this has gone too far,’” El-Gohary recalled. “The man said I had a ‘Christian demon’ inside me.”
As bad as things have been for El-Gohary and his daughter, their dedication seems rock-solid. They said they have never regretted their decisions to become Christians.
El-Gohary said that eventually, he will triumph.
“By law, my circumstance will have to change,” he said. “I have done nothing illegal.”
Dina is not so sure; she said she doesn’t feel like she has a future in Egypt, and she hopes to move to a place where she can get an education.
Whatever happens, both El-Gohary and his daughter said they are prepared to live in hiding indefinitely.
“There are days that I break down and cry, but I am not giving up,” Dina said. “I am still not going back to Islam.”
Posted in Barack Obama, Barrack Obama, Christianity, Cyprus, Egypt, Islam, Orthodox, USA | Tagged 2008, 2009, abandoned, absent-mindedly, academy, access, accompanied, account, acid, across, administrative, Administrative Court, adultery, adulthood, advocated, afraid, afternoon, agency, allow, amount, animals, apartment, apostasy, apostate, appeared, area, arms, attack, attacked, attempts, attend, attending, August, authorities, avoided, back, bad, bag, bank, baptismal, baptized, Barack Obama, barren, based, basis, bathroom, beaten, bedroom, beginning, begins, believe, believed, Bible, bigger, bits, blasting, body, book, bore, boredom, born, bottles, brave, break, brilliant, bring, brother, budding, buildings, burning, cadets, Cairo, Cairo International Airport, calling, canvas, captain, card, care, carry, case, caught, center, certificate, change, China, chose, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, circumstance, city, civil, classes, clean, clothes, clumps, committing, compared, complained, concentrated, conditions, confined, considered, constant, consultative, conversion, convert, converted, convinced, Copt, Coptic, Copts, country, Courts, covered, cross, crushing, cry, crying, Cyprus, danger, daughter, deal, death, death penalty, death threats, decided, declared, dedication, defining, demanded, demanding, demeanor, demon, designing, detained, determines, difficult, Dina Maher Ahmad Mo'otahssem, directions, dissolving, dissuade, distinct, divorce, donation, doors, drain, drawing, dream, dress, driving, dust, ears, eat, eavesdroppers, education, efforts, Egypt, Egyptian, Egyptian State Council Court, embraced, endures, enormous, event, eventual, everything, evidence, example, exercised, expense, experience, extremely, eyes, facilities, faded, faith, family, Father, fear, Februray, feel, fighting, filing, filled, Final, first, fled, flesh, flights, floor, following, food, footsteps, force, forced, forcibly, forgiveness, fraught, freedom, Friday, friends, future, gained, garden, gas, gentle, girl, Giza, God, golden, good, government, great, grew, grimaces, grime, ground, guard, hands, happened, happening, harass, hard, head, hearing, heart, heaven, hell, hide, high-ranking, hired, hit, holes, holographic, homes, hope, humiliation, ID, identification, illegal, image, imaginative, imam, immediately, immigrate, indefinitely, injured, injustice, inside, instructed, Internet, interpretations, interrupted, intruders, iron, Islam, Islamic, jacket, Jesus, job, judge, kicked, Kidnapped, killed, kind, kindness, knocked, laptop, law, lawyers, learned, leaving, letter, level, life, light, limited, listed, listened, littered, little, live, lives, living room, local, locks, looks, loudspeakers, love, loving, Maher El-Mo'otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, main, man, march, market, married, match, mattress, medical, meeting, megaphones, melts, mercilessly, mercy, minaret, mind, Mohammed Ahmed Hegacy, mosque, motioned, Muslim, muslims, national, natural, nature, New Testament, night, notebook, nothing, obtain, obtained, obtaining, occasional, officer, officials, old, open, opened, opening, opposing, ordering, Orthodox, outside, outskirts, padlock, parents, part, passport, peace, pebbles, people, Persecution, Peter Athanasius, physically, picture, piece, pinned, plastic, pleasure, police, porch, portrait, possess, possibilities, poured, poverty, pray, prayers, praying, preparation, prepared, presence, presented, President, pressure, privacy, prominence, prove, provided, pumping, punishment, pushed, qualified, questioning, quick, Quranic, reading, recalled, receiving, recently, reflective, refusal, refused, rejected, released, religion, religious, rely, remained, report, required, residents, resign, return, revenge, reverberate, ridiculed, rights, ripped, risk, rock-solid, rocks, rods, room, roommate, run, scared, scholar, school, scuffed, seated, seeing, seized, self discovery, sentenced, serious, sermon, set, shake, shakes, shouts, show, showed, shower, shut, silence, simple, sin, single, sinks, sizzling, small, smell, smile, smiling, smoke, smoldering, soul, speaking, spends, spotted, stairs, standstill, started, State Council, state-issued, stating, stay, stories, story, street, students, subject, sued, suffer, suit, superior, supermarket, supernatural, surprise, suspended, swayed, talk, talking, taped, task, taught, teacher, teachings, tears, teenage, television, terrified, thin, things, threw, throughout, throw, thrown, time, tiny, tired, together, tolerated, toothbrush, touched, trainees, transformed, trapped, trash, travel, treated, tried, triumph, trying, two-bedroom, unable, undertsand, undisclosed, upperclassman, USA, used, vapors, verses, versions, violated, vision, waiting, wake, walking, walls, War, watching, water, way, Website, wife, window, windows, woman, words, work, world, wraps, write, wrote, yelling, yellow, youth | Leave a comment
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Information Privacy in the Cloud
University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 161, No. 1623 (2013)
UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 2290303
40 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2013
See all articles by Paul M. Schwartz
Paul M. Schwartz
Cloud computing is the locating of computing resources on the Internet in a fashion that makes them highly dynamic and scalable. This kind of distributed computing environment can quickly expand to handle a greater system load or take on new tasks. Cloud computing thereby permits dramatic flexibility in processing decisions – and on a global basis. The rise of the cloud has also significantly challenged established legal paradigms. This Article analyzes current shortcomings of information privacy law in the context of the cloud. It also develops normative proposals to allow the cloud to become a central part of the evolving Internet. These proposals rest on strong and effective protections for information privacy that are sensitive to technological changes.
This Article examines three areas of change in personal data processing due to the cloud. The first area of change concerns the nature of information processing at companies. For many organizations, data transmissions are no longer point-to-point transactions within one country; they are now increasingly international in nature. As a result of this development, the legal distinction between national and international data processing is less meaningful than in the past. Computing activities now shift from country to country depending on load capacity, time of day, and a variety of other concerns. The jurisdictional concepts of EU law do not fit well with these changes in the scale and nature of international data processing.
A second legal issue concerns the multi-directional nature of modern data flows, which occur today as a networked series of processes made to deliver a business result. Due to this development, established concepts of privacy law, such as the definition of “personal information” and the meaning of “automated processing” have become problematic. There is also no international harmonization of these concepts. As a result, European Union and U.S. officials may differ on whether certain activities in the cloud implicate privacy law.
A final change relates to a shift to a process-oriented management approach. Users no longer need to own technology, whether software or hardware, that is placed in the cloud. Rather, different parties in the cloud can contribute inputs and outputs and execute other kinds of actions. In short, technology has provided new answers to a question that Ronald Coase first posed in “The Nature of the Firm.” New technologies and accompanying business models now allow firms to approach “make or buy” decisions in innovative ways. Yet, privacy law’s approach to liability for privacy violations and data losses in the new “make or buy” world of the cloud may not create adequate incentives for the multiple parties who handle personal data.
Keywords: information privacy, data protection, European Union
JEL Classification: F10, K00
Schwartz, Paul M., Information Privacy in the Cloud (May 1, 2013). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 161, No. 1623 (2013), UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 2290303, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2290303
Paul M. Schwartz (Contact Author)
Boalt Hall #7200
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Home Fashion What Are The Most Expensive Diamonds In The World
What Are The Most Expensive Diamonds In The World
Diamonds that you can buy on the high street are incredibly affordable but will make you feel like you are worth millions. This wasn’t always the case when diamonds were only available to the wealthiest of high society.
There are many diamonds in the world today that fetch an eye-watering price which is too much for ordinary people to afford. The world’s most expensive diamonds are usually bought by the sheikhs and emirs of oil-rich Middle Eastern nations.
What are some of the most expensive diamonds in the world?
Oppenheimer Blue
The Oppenheimer Blue diamond sold for an eye-watering £39.8m in 2016, making it the world’s most expensive diamond at the time of writing. That is nearly as much as Manchester United football club paid for the Argentinean midfielder Angel Di Maria.
It is shaped into a rectangle and is also the largest blue diamond in the world. The identity of the person who made the jaw-dropping purchase is not known, and is likely to remain a secret for years to come. Learn about one of the foremost diamond-sellers in the world by reading this James Allen review.
Blue Moon Of Josephine
The Blue Moon Of Josephine is another diamond that sold for an astronomical price. Joseph Lau is a Hong-Kong based businessman who bought the diamond for his daughter in 2015. He promptly named the diamond after her. This is a 12.03 carat diamond, which unsurprisingly is the colour blue.
The diamond cost the businessman a staggering £23 million.
Graff Pink
The Graff Pink was bought by British diamond dealer Laurence Graff. He named the diamond after himself. This diamond is a brilliant pink colour and was described as one of the greatest diamonds ever to be unearthed. It has a platinum ring and it garnered worldwide attention before it was sold at the auction in Switzerland.
Graff bought the diamond for the barely-believable price of £29 million.
Princie Diamond
The Princie diamond originated in India and is one of the oldest diamonds in the world. It was unearthed over 300 years ago in India. This has been one of the most sought after diamonds ever. It is 34.65 carats and is the third largest pink diamond in the world.
The colour of the fluorescence when it is exposed to UV light is bright orange and red, which is highly unusual.
The diamond sold at auction in 2013 for a heart-stopping amount of £32.3. This makes it one of the most expensive diamonds in the world.
The Orange Diamond
The Orange Diamond gets its moniker from its vivid orange colour. This is the largest vivid orange diamond in the world and has 14.82 carats. It was sold in November 2013 for the huge price of £29.1, and became the most expensive diamond of its kind.
The Zoe Diamond
The Zoe Diamond is one of the most striking pieces of jewellery in the world. It also happens to be one of the most expensive. It sold for £26.8.
You might not be able to afford any of the world’s most expensive diamonds, but plenty is available on the high street.
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YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO ACCESSORIZING WITH NECKLACES
4 Tote-Ally Cool Handbag Trends for Fall and Winter 2020-21
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Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
Homer’s long-lost half-brother is the CEO of a car company that’s wildly successful… until he hires Homer to help design a car for the average man.
Bart Gets an F Mar. 23, 1991
Simpson and Delilah Mar. 16, 1991
Treehouse of Horror Mar. 30, 1991
Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish Apr. 06, 1991
Dancin Apr. 13, 1991
Dead Putting Society Apr. 27, 1991
Bart vs. Thanksgiving Apr. 20, 1991
Bart the Daredevil Jun. 29, 1991
Itchy & Scratchy & Marge May. 04, 1991
Bart Gets Hit by a Car May. 11, 1991
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish May. 18, 1991
The Way We Was May. 25, 1991
Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment Jun. 11, 1991
Principal Charming Jun. 08, 1991
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Jun. 15, 1991
Bart Aug. 22, 1991
Old Money Jun. 22, 1991
Brush with Greatness Aug. 20, 1991
Lisa Aug. 21, 1991
The War of the Simpsons Aug. 23, 1991
Three Men and a Comic Book Aug. 26, 1991
Blood Feud Aug. 27, 1991
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Flotsam And Jetsam Are A Tough Act To Follow!!!!
With the buzz of amplified chaos still ringing in my brain and ears, I thought this would be a great time to write my review of last nights Flotsam and Jetsam set. Opening for Hammerfall at the Worcester Palladium, the band had a big task ahead of them... and they not only delivered but made a huge fan of me.
My history with Flotsam and Jetsam was one more of curiosity. When they first arrived on the scene with the brilliant DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER in 1986, I thought they were a solid band who was a more aggressive and heavier Iron Maiden, but my hard rock/heavy metal musical tastes back then were more aligned with Iron Maiden, UFO, Dokken and Stryper so I never gave them a chance to have a lasting impact on me.
That was stupid!!!!!!
Since they were opening the show, the fans were witness to a nine song attack that never let you breathe! Opening with The Incantation and diving right into the thundering Monkey Wrench, Flotsam And Jetsam proved a few things to me; they are an amazing band live and play a style of music that is built for the live stage. Musically, they are not just a 'thrash' band; they are heavy, fast and loud but they also have a lot of personality and talent in their songs and playing. Sure their classic stuff like Hammerhead, Dreams Of Death and No Place For Disgrace completes with anything that Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax were doing at the time and still hold up today, their legacy is NOT in the past. Their last album FLOTSAM AND JETSAM from 2014 was the most solid and complete album of their career and a few songs thankfully made it into the set. One of the real treats in the set was the song, Iron Maiden! Lyrically the song is about the infamous torture device but musically is a nice tribute to a band that had a big influence on their sound. This song is so cool for me because I always thought Flotsam And Jetsam sounded like early Iron Maiden (the first album and KILLERS era) if Bruce Dickinson sang on them.
On stage Flotsam And Jetsam is as solid and professional as you can get. Vocalist Eric A.K. Knutson has got a powerful voice and a ton of charisma that brought the audience closer. Guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley traded off riffs and leads with precision and excitement and compliment each other very nicely. Bassist Michael Spencer was the unsung hero here, holding it all down as it exploded on both sides and behind him. Behind the drums was the 'new guy' Ken Mary who adds a lot of show and flair into the show.
In a future episode of Power Chords you will hear an interview I did with Ken Mary where we talk about House Of Lords, his style and what he was gonna do following the show!
Flotsam and Jetsam are amazing and won me over 20 seconds into the show!!! In the past two weeks I was able to witness live the majesty of Stryper, the spectacle of Ghost and now... the awesomeness of Flotsam And Jetsam.
The band will be on the road until late June! Four tour dates you can go to their site by clicking here
On November 9th, the band will release their latest album, THE END OF CHAOS of AFM Records.
The Incantation / Monkey Wrench
Dreams of Death
She Took an Axe
I Live You Die
No Place for Disgrace
Power Chords Podcast: Track 19--Fates Warning and Gus G
Alice in Chains release new single “The One You know” (https://youtu.be/352RBWh6ViU)
Kix Releasing Fuse 30 Reblown
Doro New Album and Single Details
Gus G. Documentary for Fearless (https://youtu.be/Tu6Cmq9vWl4)
Kansas tour news
George Lynch and Corey Glover form Ultraphonix
Fates Warning: No Exit (1988)
Gus G.: Fearless (2018)
Rockversation: Ron Young (Part 1 of 2)
Matt recently spoke with the founder and lead singer of Little Caesar about the band’s early years. You can find our more about the band and keep up with tour news at www.littlecaesar.net. Stay tuned for the second half of the interview in our next episode!
Bonus Track: TNT: Tears In My Eyes
From the new album XIII, which will be out June 8th on Frontiers Music Srl.
Stryper Rock The Mixx 360 in Malden, MA
Stryper have a lot to be excited about... a new album GOD DAMN EVIL, a new bass player and a brand new tour... bringing the music to the masses!!!!
Saturday night I had the pleasure of seeing Stryper up close; having fun on stage, enjoying each others company offstage and providing yet another amazing show and providing the faithful with a show for the ages!!!! The show was at the Mixx 360 in Malden, MA,, a club that brings in some great music, has excellent sound, features a very intimate stage area... but NO place to take pictures. But... that was my problem...
Hitting the stage, Stryper flew through a well balanced set that was heavy on their 'hits', heavy on their roots and mixed in some newer songs including four from GOD DAMN EVIL. Stryper may not have been aware on stage, but the new songs they played; the title track, Sorry, The Valley and my favorite new one, Can't Live Without Your Love went over so well with the crowd they are now part of their/our history. Many times, new songs bring a bit of curiosity that results in quiet... but not here!
Opening with the recent epic Yahweh, Michael Sweet took center stage, grabbed hold of the crowd and never let go. Always given credit for his voice and guitar playing, Michael is an incredible front man... talking to the crowd (not at them) and making everyone feel like a part of the show. His stage banter is situational, feeding off the audience and things he sees while performing. Guitarist Oz Fox is the same now as he has ever been; insanely talented and doing whatever he needs to do for the songs whether its providing solid rhythms or a blistering solo, he is as much the Stryper sound as anyone else. Behind the kit, Robert Sweet is one of the most underrated drummers of his era! He plays hard but with a sense of melody that carries the music to the next level. On record, Robert is solid but live... he is a presence!!! With everything going on you need someone who can not only hold it all together but make it a bit heavier, and that someone is bassist Perry Richardson. Playing only his seventh show with Stryper, Perry is not only an amazing bassist, but he is also an incredible singer, giving the songs that much needed vocal push!
As far as the set (see complete set list below) it was a solid as it can be. Sure, they didn't do about 100 songs I wanted to hear, but they only have so much time to play. For me the highlights were; All For One and Always There For You. The first is from their underrated AGAINST THE LAW album that sum up so much of what the band is all about. The second, from IN GOD WE TRUST is a song many fans have a love/hate relationship with because it was very commercial. I LOVE this song and when played live it becomes much heavier and so much cooler. Much like KISS' I Was Made For Loving You, the years have been kind to it and on stage it is given a whole new feeling and sound.
It was also so much fun seeing the guys after the show, giving them UFO books to read while on the road and seeing how relaxed the backstage area was. Smiles and laughter all over the place. This is why I got home at 4 AM the next day, but I do need a note from Michael, Rob, Oz and Perry for my wife, to explain where I was and why I was so late!
Stryper are just a few dates into their 2018 world tour and I implore you... go see them if you get the chance! They were and continue to be one of the best bands you will see live and always play play this way because they don't know any better!
http://www.stryper.com/Tour/tour.html
Calling on You Free
Soldiers Under Command
God Damn Evil
Big Screen Lies
Can't Live Without Your Love
Loud 'N' Clear
To Hell With The Devil
Matman's Power Picks or "Get 'em While Their Hot!"
This week I'm picking two completely new releases that each appeal to me in a different way! Give 'em a try!!!!!!!!
Gus G - FEARLESS (AFM Records)
Known for his years spent as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist, Gus G steps out with FEARLESS, an album that caught me completely off guard! When a guitarist makes an album, usually the songs tend to suffer a bit for the fretwork... but not here!!! The songs are tight, the playing is so perfect and overall, it is an incredible and very satisfying listen. You can hear the Ozzy influence on songs like Letting Go and even a bit of a KISS feel on Mr. Manson. The band Gus has assembled here; vocalist/bassist Dennis Ward and drummer Will Hunt play like they have been together forever and have a solid groove. As far as Gus' fretwork, he has impressed me quite a bit here playing beyond anything he has recorded before! A few of the shocks on the album; Thrill Of The Chase, an instrumental that makes me forget how much I don't normally like instrumentals, and Money For Nothing, a cover of the Dire Straits classic works..... and works well! My favorite on the album, Nothing To Say is just a heartfelt and beautiful song that demands a huge audience!!! FEARLESS is powerful and a complete album that will spend a lot of time in my car!
FEARLESS IS OUT NOW!!!!
Foreigner - WITH THE 21ST CENTURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS (Trigger Productions)
Since their debut album hit the world in 1977, Foreigner have recorded some of the most beloved and greatest rock songs ever! Saying that I must admit here, I am not a fan AT ALL of their biggest selling album 4, but I love everything else! On this collection, Foreigner have taken their greatest hits; Hot Blooded, Double Vision and Cold As Ice and added choir and symphony with amazing results! You are hearing classic songs played in a brand new way and still making them sound as cool as they did all those years ago. Fourteen amazing songs including forgotten gems like Starrider, That Was Yesterday and When It Comes To Love all make this live recording come... ALIVE!!! Despite not having my favorite Foreigner song, Long Way From Home on it it still is an easy TOP 5 of 2018 for me!!!
WITH THE 21ST CENTURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS IS OUT NOW!!!!
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Peremyshl. Podvig na granitse (2015)
TV Movie | 52 min | Documentary, History, War
Peremyshl (now Przemysl), the city in Poland, which in 1939 was literally divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, became again the center of the Wehrmacht attacks in 1941, when World War II was unleashed. In fact, it was the first ...See morePeremyshl (now Przemysl), the city in Poland, which in 1939 was literally divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, became again the center of the Wehrmacht attacks in 1941, when World War II was unleashed. In fact, it was the first Soviet city captured by the Wehrmacht. It happened on June 23, 1941 - on the second day of the war. Polish historians and a few extant witnesses tell about the first battles of the war. With the help of local residents film crew managed to make some discoveries associated with the first battles at the border - the facts, which were new not only to the crew, but to professional historians as well. See less
Vadim Gasanov
Tamara Dyakova | Vladimir Solovyov (as Vladimir Slolovyov) | Alexander Zhukov
Sergey Kirilov
Andrey Kuznetsov
Dimitri Zhigunov
Become a member to see MOVIEmeter and news information about Peremyshl. Podvig na granitse.
Feb 11, 2015 (Russia)
Become a member to see contact information for Peremyshl. Podvig na granitse.
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Defacements, Hacking
School Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), Gurgaon take down by Hackers, claim attack by ISIS
March 10, 2015, 5:50 PM March 10, 2015 722
Hackers claiming to belong to the terror group, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), took down the website of the School Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), Gurgaon on Sunday. Later in the day, the SCERT said its website had been retrieved.
A logo of ISIS was displayed on the home page of the website, http://scertharyana.in. An audio of the ISIS anthem also played in the background. According to a staff member of the SCERT, the website was hacked on Sunday morning. However, the staff came to know about it only in the evening.
A police complaint was filed by SCERT director Snehlata.
“We filed a police complaint as soon as we came to know about the website hacking. Now the website has been retrieved,” – Snehlata.
When contacted, ACP (crime) Rajesh Kumar said an FIR has been registered. “The case has been forwarded to the cybercrime cell. We will definitely get all the information about the hacking and the group behind it at the earliest,” he said.
An ethical hacker in town, Himanshu, stressed the importance of updating of websites to ward off hackers. “Many government departments don’t update their servers periodically, as is the practice with private companies. That is what makes them vulnerable to hacking,” Himanshu said.
Talking about plans to safeguard the website, Snehlata said, “We are planning to hand over the website’s maintenance to the NIC to prevent such incidents in the future.” The website gives important information to teachers and students. While teachers get the schedule and details of forthcoming workshops and training programmes, students access the sections on syllabus, suggestions and sample papers on the website.
DefacedHackers
Previous ArticleSelf-taught ‘cyber sleuth’, all of 21, may train Mumbai Police soonNext ArticleFacebook Login hijacking tool offered to black hat hackers
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C-SPAN Cuts Away From Trump Speech In Real Time After...
Americans Want Answers After Pro-Trump Protesters Were Allowed Inside The...
2020, Breaking News, Donald Trump
Pence Just Pissed In Trump’s Cheerios, Officially Announced That He Has No “Unilateral Authority To Decide Presidential Contests”
Trump is going to LOSE IT.
Donald Trump’s desperation in regard to the 2020 presidential election that he clearly and fairly lost has been nothing short of blatantly apparent since the very first vote against him was counted. In the weeks and months since the November election, Trump has done quite literally everything he could cook up in an effort to somehow overturn the results and secure himself another four years in the White House that he did not earn, nor does he rightfully deserve. Since Election Day, we have seen countless lawsuits, all of which blew up spectacularly in his face, recounts that only served to find a few more votes for his opponent, and an influx of tweets that, if put all together, could serve as a psychologist’s worst nightmare. Nothing has worked.
Here we are now, just days away from Biden’s official inauguration, Congress is counting and certifying the Electoral College vote as we speak, and Trump is nowhere closer to a “win” than he was 2 months ago.
So, in the last several days Trump has turned to the only thing he thought he had left — his Vice President, who is in charge of announcing the official certification of the Electoral College votes.
During an event in Georgia earlier this week, Donald called on his right-hand man to “do the right thing” and refuse the results of the vote, saying that he “won’t like him as much” if he doesn’t. But today, as Congress chips away at the certification process, Mike Pence put the final nail in the coffin of that idea when he officially announced that it wasn’t going to happen.
According to a breaking report from CNN, Pence penned a letter to lawmakers, in which he declared that he has no “unilateral authority to decide presidential contests” and could not alter the results of the election.
“It is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” Pence wrote in his final words before heading in to preside over a joint session of Congress as they count the electoral votes.
It’s clear as crystal at this point that Donald Trump has truly exhausted all his options. It’s time to give it up, dude.
presidency, Republicans, Trumpism
by Andrea Thompson 1 day ago 1 day ago
2020, Corruption, GOPtuesdaymotivations, TuesdayThoughts, TuesdayVibe
Lindsey Graham Could Be In Trouble As Georgia State Election Board Was Asked To Investigate Whether He Tried To Interfere In Presidential And Senate Elections
Did he really think he could get away with this?
Past Photos Of Trump On The Golf Course Had Twitter Calling Him “Diaper Toe” And It Can’t Be Unseen
Staffers Reportedly Urged Melania To Intercede To Stop...
NYT Reporter Claims Trump Is “Angry” About Impeachment,...
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These Photos Plunge You Into the Inner Madness of Guantánamo
‘Welcome to Camp America’ goes beyond the standard photobook.
Mark MurrmannOctober 7, 2017
Smoke Break, Camp AmericaDebi Cornwall, from "Welcome to Camp America"
Debi Cornwall’s Welcome to Camp America: Inside Guantánamo Bay (Radius Books) is an exhaustively researched, exceptionally photographed documentation of one the most heavily guarded prisons in the world. The way in which photographs, interviews, and government documents intersect and overlap in a multifaceted layout makes the physical book itself becomes important to the narrative. As Cornwall says, the fold-over pages and other layout elements invite the reader to either “take what is given or choose to dig a little deeper.” It’s rare to find a photobook in which the book doesn’t just act as an outlet, but actually amplifies the power of the work within.
It’s no surprise that access at Guantánamo proved to be restrictive, even for Cornwall, who was first granted access in 2014 after a nine month clearance process. What can and can’t be photographed on the base is highly controlled. When shooting film, she had to develop the work on base, under control of military censors. Working within those confines, Cornwall’s work focuses on life and the every day elements at Gitmo—for US military personnel and, as much as possible, for detainees. Most of her photos, though, are hauntingly empty—empty cells, empty restaurants, empty golf courses. Operational security largely prevents the inclusion of people in photos. In the rare instance people appear, their back is to the camera.
Against this barren backdrop, Cornwall drops in still life photos of items available for purchase at the Gitmo gift shop. You can buy a bobblehead Fidel Castro ($20), a Camp X-Ray coffee mug ($7.99), plush rasta iguana ($4.99), I LOVE Gitmo lip balm (price not available). It’s easy to laugh when you’re on this side of the fence. But not all the still life images portray such a queasy playfulness. Cornwall also photographed items not available at the gift shop: shackles used to restrain detainees ($142.50), detainee-issue shoes ($8.59/pair), shirts ($21.95), and trousers ($26.95). It’s surreal mix of images, made only more disorienting by the inclusion of the government documents—partially redacted, naturally.
Recreation Pen, Camp Echo
Liberty Center Band Room (Analog 2015)
Right: Turkey Vulture ($11.99); Left: Toddler Tee ($6.99)
What makes Camp America different from other photo projects on Guantánamo Bay—like Louie Palu’s excellent Guantánamo, Paolo Pellegrin’s multimedia piece of the same name, or Christopher Sims’ project from 2009—is the inclusion of 14 inserts containing portraits of former detainees who have been released. Like the few soldiers who appear in the book, the detainees are photographed with their backs to the camera, faceless. But unlike the US soldiers we see in the book, these men are not completely anonymous. The inserts include basic information: where they’re from, their current occupation, where they’re photographed, how long they were held, when and where they were released, and the charges filed (if any). This humanizing aspect of the book, buffeted by pieces of interviews with detainees dropped in throughout the book, make it so much more than a quirky look at a secretive, tropical military base. Cornwall plunges you just a little into the utter madness of Guantánamo.
Djamel, Berber (Algeria)
Held: 11 years, 11 months, 18 days
Cleared: October 9, 2008 & May 8, 2009
Charges: never filed in U.S.
Acquitted and exonerated at trial in Algeria.
Looking homeward, outside Algiers
Murat, Turkish German (Germany)
Refugee counselor
Held: 4 years, 7 months, 22 days
Charges: never filed
Containerdorf, Refugee Housing, Bremen
“Guantánamo Bay’s detention centers have now been open for more than fifteen years,” writes Cornwall in an essay in the book, which is heavily and powerfully influenced by her past as a civil rights lawyer focused on wrongful convictions. “Of the 780 men who have been held there, only eight have been convicted in the military commissions, and five of those convictions were overturned on appeal. Nine captives have died. Hundreds have been cleared and released, returning home or, if U.S. authorities deemed it necessary, transferred to third countries pursuant to secret agreements between governments. As of this writing, 61 men remain in custody.”
The book also includes essays from the president of the International Center of Photography, Fred Ritchin, and from a former Guantánamo detainee named Moazzam Begg. All text in the book is printed in both English and Arabic—an important nod to the book’s audience beyond the usual English-speaking crowd. All these elements push this book past a mere photobook. It’s an important documentation of an awful period in America’s history, one that, it should be noted, is ongoing.
“Placing ‘War on Terror’ captives,” Cornwall writes, “on an offshore military base has on one level been a great success: out of sight, out of mind. Over the last fifteen years, most Americans have stopped looking.”
Welcome to Camp America will be on exhibition at New York’s Steven Kasher Gallery, 26 October through 22 December, 2017 with a panel discussion, 28 October 2:30-4pm.
My Visit With One of the Forgotten Prisoners of Guantánamo
Noor Zafar
Eight Years Later, Obama Finally Moves to Shut Down Guantanamo
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Run for the Border, Steve King’s Coming!
It’s not just illegal aliens: The likely next chair of the House immigration subcommittee wants to deport liberals too.
Zuma/<a href="http://www.zumapress.com/zpdtl.html?IMG=20101009_mkh_f33_857.jpg&CNT=3">Tina Fultz</a>
Rep. Steve King has compared border-crossers to livestock, asserted that President Obama “favors the black person,” and described illegal immigration as a “slow-motion terrorist attack.” Last summer, the Iowa Republican proclaimed that he would support amnesty for illegal immigrants under just one condition—that “every time we give amnesty for an illegal alien, we deport a liberal.” Since Tom Tancredo left office in 2008, King has risen to take his place as the right’s biggest anti-immigration flamethrower. Now he’s preparing to wage an even bigger assault under Republican-controlled House. King is very likely to become the next chair of the House Judiciary’s subcommittee on immigration, working together with Judiciary’s incoming chairman, Lamar Smith—another immigration hawk who’s vowed to put a crackdown at the top of his agenda.
King has already begun laying out his plan to get tough on immigrants in the next Congress, vowing to push legislation that would ban birthright citizenship. “[W]e will have the votes in the House to put an end to the anchor babies in this country,” King told conservative site Newsmax last week after the election, referring to the US-born children of illegal immigrants. He continued: “We need to put the marker down and push this thing forward. If we can’t get it past the president, then at least we will have made the case for the president, and have set the stage.” He’s also pledged to push bills that punish employers for hiring illegal immigrants and outlaw so-called” sanctuary cities” that have refused to target illegal immigrants.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)—the current subcommittee chair whom King will be replacing—calls his approach to the issue “over the top…he is very far out there.” Lofgren adds that she isn’t even sure if the House Republican leadership “will let him go that far,” describing King’s proposals as “very punitive, very anti-immigrant.” But there’s even more that King has in store. Echoing Rep. Darrell Issa’s impending assault on the Obama administration—promising to hold over 200 hearings as chair of the House Oversight Committee—King plans to grill the Obama administration about its immigration enforcement policy, telling Politico that he wants to bring Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano before the committee, among others.
Immigration advocates say that King simply intends to create more rabble-rousing political theater and inflame the masses—particularly as nearly all of his proposals stand little chance of passing the House, let alone the Senate or the president’s desk. “A lot of it is theatrics, really using the bully pulpit of committee majority position to push these things out there and stir things up. It wouldn’t necessarily result in legislative [victories],” says Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center. She adds that the oversight hearings are meant to hammer home the message that “Obama has failed to enforce the law” on immigration—even though the current administration is deporting even more immigrants than under Bush, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security.
King will certainly have a friend in Smith, the incoming House Judiciary chair, who’s pledged to place immigration front and center—and has also singled out the president for attack. Smith has a long track record as an immigration hardliner, leading the fight to pass a 1996 law that empowered the federal government to deport a much broader array of immigrants. And he’s already zeroed in on some of his targets. “Instead of enforcing the laws, the Obama administration continues to ignore them,” Smith wrote in September. “Workplace enforcement of immigration laws has fallen dramatically…the Obama administration is also scheming to allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay and work in the United States and not be deported. That’s amnesty for law-breakers.” The Texas Republican has reiterated such criticisms since the election, promising to launch a full-out assault on these policies once he assumes his chairmanship.
Advocates for more restrictive and punitive immigration policies are thrilled by the prospect of both King and Smith taking the helm. Conservative immigration advocates were disappointed when the House GOP only made a “scant mention of border enforcement” and failed to “mention any and all forms of amnesty” in its “Pledge to America,” which laid out the party’s goals in the lead up to the election, says Bob Dane, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Now FAIR is confident that their concerns will gain a broader hearing under the new leadership. “Neither of these guys are newcomers to the immigration issue, and the first order of business will be a thoroughgoing examination into why the Obama administration has systematically dismantled immigration reform,” says Dane, accusing the administration of “detaining and deporting criminal aliens while pretty much giving all others a free pass.”
Moreover, despite the impending congressional gridlock, there’s one arena in which Republicans could score a legislative victory. Giovagnoli says that she expects a bill requiring employers to verify the citizenship of their workers could stand a chance in the next Congress. King and Smith have both pushed for mandatory use of E-Verify—a citizenship verification system that’s already in use at the state and federal level—and Blue Dog Democrats like Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) have supported such proposals in the past.
To be sure, the GOP also risks self-immolation if immigration hardliners like King and Smith are allowed to dominate the conversation. In the midterms, Democrats managed to stem the Republican tide partly due to a “firewall” of Latino supporters who swung for them in California, Nevada, and other states where Republican candidates espoused extreme anti-immigration rhetoric. The party risks further alienating the Latino vote ahead of the 2012 elections if it continues to demonize immigrants. In addition, putting the spotlight on the Obama administration will also give pro-immigration advocates the opportunity to make their own case for immigration reform—and air their criticisms of the federal government’s immigration policy. “It’s dividing families when everyone is law-abiding,” says Lofgren, referring to the administration’s deportation policy.
Given how far right Obama has already moved on immigration during his presidency—pushing a bill to ramp up border enforcement without making concessions to the other side—liberal advocates will need to stand firm if they want to keep the administration from going even further under a GOP House. Their conservative counterparts are already gearing up for the push. When the Republicans take power in the House, says Dane, “We’re going to hold their feet to the fire.”
Texas Rep. Introduces “Arizona-Style” Immigration Law
Immigration Reform in 2011?
Immigration Hawks: Landing in a Gov’s Office Near You
Who Should Pay for Illegal Immigrants’ Health Care?
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Balloon Boy’s Parents Plead Guilty
According to CNN — The Colorado couple who said their 6-year-old son was aboard an escaped balloon pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the well-publicized “balloon boy” case.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty in Larimer County Court to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. His wife, Mayumi Heene, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities.
The Heenes’ attorneys said prosecutors had agreed to a sentence of probation with the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard Heene and up to 60 days in jail for his wife.
The incident occurred in October, when a large silver balloon came loose from its moorings in the Heenes’ yard and drifted over eastern Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple’s 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside the craft.
Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it below.
Video: Did they do this for the show?
* Richard Heene
* Mayumi Heene
Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said.
Watch the moment the hoax was revealed
The couple’s attorneys have said that the threat of Mayumi Heene’s deportation was a factor in the plea deal negotiations.
Mayumi Heene is a Japanese citizen but is in the United States legally.
“Even though Mr. Heene would have a triable case, I believe, to avoid the risk that his wife is deported … we have decided that the best course of action is to proceed as we are proceeding,” Richard Heene’s lawyer, David Lane, said Friday.
The judge is allowing the Heenes to leave the state while they remain on bond. Lane said Richard Heene is going to seek employment in New York and also has plans to to go to California. Mayumi Heene’s attorney said she may accompany him on those trips.
Sentencing will be next month.
Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and “instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax.”
Their motive? To “make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests,” the documents said.
balloon boy , family , News
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Home » The President of Malta » Biography
His Excellency, George Vella President of Malta
Dr George Vella is the tenth President of the Republic of Malta, by virtue of a Parliamentary Resolution passed on 7th March 2019 by the House of Representatives.
President Vella was born on 24th April 1942. His educational path commenced at the Żejtun Primary School, followed by secondary education at the De La Salle College in Birgu.
In 2018, he was identified by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth as one of eight ‘Eminent Persons’ from the Commonwealth to prepare a report on the ‘Governance of the Commonwealth Secretariat’.
Dr George Vella has been decorated with Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta), Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (UK), Gran Croce ‘pro Merito Melitense’ of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), Cavaliere di Gran Croce del’Ordine di Sant’Agata (San Marino), and Grand Commandeur de l’Ordre de l’Honneur (Hellenic Republic).
He is married to Miriam and has three children: Claire, Elaine, George Jr., and seven grandchildren.
Since 2003, Dr Vella has served as a Specialist in Family Medicine.
He was first elected to Parliament in January 1978 following by-election in the Third District.
Between 1978 to 1986 he was a Member of Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE), and Substitute Member of the Parliamentary Assembly (Council of Europe).
Between 1981 and 1987, he was elected as MP in the interests of MLP from the Third District, whilst in 1982 he was Rapporteur to CLRAE on ‘Marine Pollution from Maritime Sources’. From January to May 1987 he was Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe.
After serving as MP in the interests of the Labour Party between 1992 and 1996, he was elected as Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs for the Labour Party up to 2003, where he was also Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chairman of the Joint EU/Malta Parliamentary Committee. In April 1997, Dr Vella served as Honorary President of the second Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference.
Between 1996 and 1998, Dr Vella was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Environment.The medical, environmental, and international relations fields continued to play central roles in his academic involvement and professional commitments.
All along his political career, Dr Vella led many delegations abroad, and attended numerous conferences and seminars, including those by OSCE, Council of Europe, and IPU. He has also delivered numerous speeches, mostly on environmental and foreign affairs in Strasbourg, Aachen, Tripoli, Tunis, Marseilles, and numerous other capital cities around the world.
Before his nomination as President of the Republic, Dr Vella served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta (2013-2017). During this term he developed and broadened the extent of Malta’s foreign policy by leading high-level delegations to countries across the globe. Among his regular appointments, Dr Vella represented Malta at the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union, where his involvement on Mediterranean-related issues was very visible.
Aside from Malta’s immediate neighbourhood, Dr George Vella expanded Malta’s outreach to several other regions of interest such as the Western Balkans, Central Europe, Asia, and the Gulf. As a firm believer in multilateralism, Dr Vella contributed actively to regional, as well as international, bodies such as the UfM, 5+5, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, with the aim of encouraging dialogue and mutual understanding on every front. During this term, Dr Vella was on the front line in the organisation and chairing of proceedings during the EU-Africa Summit (2015), Conference of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth (CHOGM) (2015), as well as during Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to June 2017.
Between 1957 and 1964 he studied Medicine at the Royal University of Malta and graduated as Doctor in Medicine and Surgery in 1964.
Dr Vella served as Demonstrator in Physiology and Biochemistry at the Medical School within the University of Malta between 1966 to 1975. Between 1966 to 1973, he served as Medical Officer at the Malta Drydocks, and as Medical Officer to Air Malta and Consultant in Aviation Medicine from 1977 to 1990. In 1977 he obtained a Certificate in General Aviation Medicine from the College of Aviation Medicine in Farnborough, UK.
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By Savithri Subramanian
Statutory Compliance means adhering to rules and regulations of the state in which the business is established. All the labor and taxation laws of the state come under statutory compliance. Every company in India has to mandatorily abide by both national and state-level laws. Hence dealing with statutory compliance requires companies to be well-versed with the various labor regulations in India.
Non-compliant with the regulations amounts to facing legal troubles like
Heavy fines, penalties or even complete shutdown in extreme cases.
Civil or criminal liabilities.
Loss of the company’s integrity.
Distrust amongst stakeholders.
Loss of company’s loyalty among employees, clients etc.
Deep knowledge of statutory compliances is required to minimize the risk associated with the non-compliance of statutory requirements.
The various laws of the country take necessary precautions to ensure that the employees are given fair treatment, minimum wage rate, a fair chance is given to both men and women, working hours and conditions, maternity leave for both male and female workers to ensure exploitation.
Statutory compliance is advantageous to the organizations by saving the organizations from undue penalties and fines when the complaint, protects them from unreasonable wage or benefit demands from trade unions.
The Following image would enumerate the various acts enforcing rules and regulations to ensure both the employee and the employer conduct fairly to each other.
The Statutory Compliance Required for Indian Payroll
Statutory Requirements for Minimum Wages:
The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament giving both the Central government and State government jurisdiction in fixing wages, concerning Indian labor law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labors. The Indian Constitution has defined a ‘ living wage ‘ that is the level of income for a worker which will ensure a basic standard of living including good health, dignity, comfort, education and provide for any contingency. The act is legally non-binding but statutory. Payment of wages below the minimum wage rate amounts to forced labor.
TDS Deduction:
Under Section 192 of the Income Tax Act, every employer who is paying a salary income to his employee is required to deduct TDS from the salary income if it exceeds the basic exemption limit. Since TDS deduction is compulsory, it is important to understand the rate of such deduction and how such deduction happens. The average rate can be defined as the total tax liability divided by the total income of an employee. To arrive at total tax liability for deducting tax on salary, the employer will take into account the tax-saving investments made by him.
Individuals must remember that while deducting TDS on income other than salary like interest income, professional income etc. TDS is deducted at a flat rate and calculation of cess is not considered.
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965:
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 aims to regulate the amount of bonus to be paid to the persons employed in establishments based on its profit and productivity to incentivize employees. Applicability of Bonus is as under:
It applies to any factory or establishment which had twenty or more workers employed on any day during the year.
The act does not apply to non-profit making organizations.
The employee receiving salary or wages up to Rs.21,000 per month
The employee engaged in any work whether skilled, unskilled, managerial, supervisory etc.
The employee who have worked not less than 30 working days in the same year.
The act provides the below on how much of a bonus to be paid during the year.
The minimum bonus will be 8.33% of the salary during the year.
The maximum bonus is 20% of the salary during the accounting year.
Statutory Compliances for ESI Fund and PF Deduction:
Employees’ State Insurance (abbreviated as ESI) is a self-financing social security and health insurance scheme for Indian workers. The fund is managed by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) according to rules and regulations stipulated in the ESI Act 1948. The act was initially intended for factory workers but later became applicable to all establishments having 10 or more workers. As of 31 March 2016, the total beneficiaries are 82.8 million.
For all employees earning ₹21,000 (US$290) or less per month as wages, the employer contributes 3.25% and the employee contributes 0.75%, total share 4%. ESI fund is applicable to employees’ earning Rs 21,000 or less per month to provide the cash and medical benefits to them and their families.
Provident Fund (PF) is a self-financed, compulsory contributory fund for the future of employees after their retirement or for their dependents in case of their early death. PF works as a corpus fund that is generated through monthly or regular contributions from the employee and the employer contribution. From the employee’s salary, a minimum of 12% gets deducted and contributed to the PF. If the employer is registered to EPFO, all employees who are working in that organization with a basic wage of up to Rs.15,000 must join the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as well The cumulative contribution of the employee and employer gets added to the PF of the employee, and that can be enchased for future use. The organizations are required to register to EPFO once they reach the limit of 20 employees under a company name.
Penalty charges for ESI & PF:
The ESI payment interest is 12% for each day of delay in payment. The person who fails to complete the payment within the given deadline shall be responsible for paying 12% per year interest for each day he has delayed. The EPFO has mentioned some charges that will apply to the late payment of the Provident Fund deposit.
Professional Taxes:
Professional tax or employment tax is a state-based tax. It is one of the statutory deductions from the gross income before computing the tax.
The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 has divided non-government employees into two categories. Gratuity is given by the employer to his/her employee for the services rendered by him/her during the period of employment. It is usually paid at the time of retirement but can be paid earlier, provided certain conditions are met. Some of the gratuity rules in India are:
5 Years Continuous Service.
Gratuity Only After Leaving Job.
Death or Disablement Relaxation.
Gratuity is Non-Taxable.
Employer Can give Excess Gratuity.
Gratuity Rules Applicable If Employees Are More than 10.
Gratuity in India is calculated using the formula:
(where Last drawn salary = Basic Salary + Dearness Allowance and the ratio 15/26 represents 15 days out of 26 working days in a month.)
Is your Payroll Statutory Compliant?
The payroll module of PulseHRM automates payroll processing by fetching the data from time and attendance module and leaves modules for the total payable days in a month after taking care of statutory compliances. Generates pay sheet, bank statement and statutory compliances reports. This module is also integrated with accounts management systems.
The employer shall arrange to pay the amount of gratuity within 30 days from the date it is billed to the person to whom the gratuity is allocated. Gratuity should be paid in cash, or if so desired by the payee, by demand draft or bank check to the eligible employee, nominee, or legal heir.
Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
An Act to regulate the employment of women whether directly or through any agency grants her full paid absence from work in any establishment for a certain period before and after child-birth (includes a still-born child) and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits.
Maternity leave available to working women has been increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children. This maternity benefit should not be availed before eight weeks from the date of expected delivery.
Maternity leave for the third child onwards will continue to be 12 weeks.
Maternity leave of 12 weeks is required to be made available to mothers adopting a child below the age of three months as well as to the commissioning mother’.
The employer may permit a woman to work from home if the nature of work permits them to do so.
Every establishment will be required to intimate all the benefits available under the Act, in writing and electronically, to all women at the time of their initial appointment.
EDLI:
The EDLI (Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme) provides assurance benefit (death insurance cover) to employees along with PF benefit. The employees do not contribute anything towards EDLI. The employers contribute 0.5% of the total wages of employees subject to a maximum of Rs 6500/-. EDLI applies to all the organizations where the EPF Scheme applies.
Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1965:
The labor welfare fund is a statutory contribution maintained by individual state authorities. Frequency and amount of contribution are decided by the state labor board and this differs from state to state. It is social security legislation that is used to improve the conditions of the laborers. The contribution to this fund is made by employees, employers and in some states by the government annually or monthly. This Act has been implemented only in 15 states which also includes Union territories. This Act is not applicable to all categories of the employees, the application may depend on the designation and wages earned by the employees and may differ from state to state.
The money from the Labor Fund may be utilized for the following purposes-
a) Vocational training.
b) Educational facilities for the children of the workers.
c) Medical facilities for their workers and their families.
d) Housing facilities etc.
Savithri Subramanian
The Delhi Minimum Wages Rules, 1950
Marketing Research Companies in India
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home table of contents humor May 2000 email
God, Adam and Eve, and your kids
Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to God’s kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was:
“Don’t what?” Adam replied.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.” God said.
“Forbidden fruit?
We got forbidden fruit?
“Hey, Eve…we got forbidden fruit!”
“Yes way!”
“Don’t eat that fruit!” said God.
“Because I am your Father and I said so!” said God, wondering why he hadn’t stopped after making the elephants. A few minutes later God saw his kids having an apple break and was angry.
“Didn’t I tell you not to eat the fruit?” the First Parent asked.
“Uh huh, ” Adam replied.
“Then why did you?”
“I dunno” Eve answered.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did too!”
“DID NOT!!”
Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus, the pattern was set and it has never changed.
But there is reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and they haven’t taken it, don’t be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?
Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: Take two and keep away from children.
This page was last updated May 1, 2000.
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Organ Recital: Stephen P. Rapp
Sunday, July 22, 2018, 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM
Tony Hewitt-Jones (1926-1989)
Sonata in A Major, Op. 65, No. 3 (based on Luther’s chorale “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir”)
Con moto maestoso – Andante tranquillo
David Hurd (b. 1950)
from Four Spiritual Preludes: A Suite
from Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 42, No. 1
V. Toccata
Hailed by The New York Times for a “sterling performance,” Stephen Rapp has toured as soloist and collaborative artist at the organ, harpsichord and piano throughout much of the US and Europe as well as in India, Japan and Bolivia.
Dr. Rapp holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music including the coveted Performer’s Certificate, and the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. He attended the Cologne Conservatory under a grant from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Further keyboard studies have been with Harald Vogel, Elisabeth Wright, Edward Parmentier and Roberta Gary.
Music Director and Organist at the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in the Bronx since 2016, Stephen served previously at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Stamford, Connecticut and Christ’s Church (Episcopal), Rye, New York. He has also been Assistant Organist of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick, New York for the past six years at all weekday and Saturday morning Masses that are broadcast on SiriusXM radio and local-access cable TV.
His recordings as soloist and continuo player are available on the Raven Musical Heritage Society and BREVE labels.
Dr. Rapp has been an adjudicator for the Fulbright Commission and for the American Guild of Organists’ NYACOP Competition. He has performed and lectured for AGO chapters and conventions as well Association of Lutheran Church Musicians conferences and the Valparaiso Liturgical Institute.
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3 Dead, 4 Wounded in Office Shooting
Filed Under:Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) A gunman opened fire at an Albuquerque fiber optics manufacturer on Monday, killing two people and wounding four others before turning the gun on himself in what police said was a domestic violence dispute.
Earlier Monday, police Chief Ray Schultz said there were six dead.
He explained at a news conference later that responding officers had seen people down and believed they were dead, then continued into the building to search for the gunman. Officers who arrived later determined several shooting victims had survived.
Schultz also said there was confusion at University of New Mexico hospital, where one victim died but was reported as two deaths.
The shooting at Emcore Corp. appeared to involve the 37-year-old gunman’s ex-wife or girlfriend, police Chief Ray Schultz said. It was not immediately clear whether she was among the dead, or what caliber weapon he used.
“In a situation like this, there are other people in the building and they became, unfortunately, casualties as well,” he said.
Schultz said the gunman was a former employee, but did not release his name.
Chaos unfolded as the gunman opened fire, sending employees fleeing for cover as police locked down the entire neighborhood. Police were alerted to the shooting shortly before 9:30 a.m. Five officers were inside the building within three minutes, Schultz said.
Police locked down the city’s southeast side as a precaution but Schultz said authorities don’t believe there was a second gunman.
Schultz said the gunman had children who live outside Albuquerque and said they were taken into custody by “another agency.”
The chief said there was at least one previous domestic violence call involving the gunman but said it occurred outside Albuquerque. He did not say where.
Police said 85 employees were later taken to a community center for interviews with detectives.
Emcore manufactures components that allow voice, video and data transmission over fiber optic lines. They also manufacture solar power systems for satellite and ground-based systems.
Based in Albuquerque, the company has about 700 full-time employees.
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Executive Director – Peter K. Enns
Peter K. Enns is an Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University and Executive Director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. He is the author of Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World and editor (with Christopher Wlezien) of Who Gets Represented? His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation and has appeared or is forthcoming in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Political Behavior, and Public Opinion Quarterly. Peter received his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his undergraduate degree from Colorado College. Prior to graduate school, he taught high school for three years in Baltimore, MD, through Teach for America. Email Peter.
Associate Director – Brett Powell
Brett Powell is the Associate Director of the Roper Center. His many years of marketing experience include serving as Senior Director of Marketing and Fan Experience at International Speedway Corporation at Watkins Glen International and as Director of Business Development and Client Services at the marketing and communications firm Howell Liberatore & Associates, Inc. In 2015, Powell was recognized on the Central New York Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list. Brett has been an adjunct professor at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College as well as Corning Community College and holds an MS in Experimental Psychology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Email Brett.
Director of Data Operations and Communications – Kathleen Weldon
Kathleen Weldon is the Director of Data Operations and Communications at the Roper Center. She joined the Roper Center in 2014 as Research Coordinator. Kathleen manages data provider relations, oversees the data curation process, plans archival development, and works closely with the IT development team in building new user tools. She also uses the Center’s rich data collection to write overviews of the history of public opinion on a wide range of topics for the Roper website and Huffington Post. A graduate of Wesleyan University with a BA in English, she started her career in public opinion at Harvard University designing surveys with media and foundation partners. Email Kathleen.
Data Curator – Anna Arzrumtsyan
Anna Arzrumtsyan is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. She works closely with the other members of the data team to process, maintain and share various datasets. Anna previously worked at the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University on a variety of GIS projects. Anna has an MA in Library and Information Science from St. John’s University, and an MA in Geography (Geographic Information Science) from SUNY Albany. Email Anna.
Membership Coordinator – Alexis Bortle
Alexis Bortle is the Membership Coordinator for the Roper Center. As a seasoned sales, business development, and marketing professional, Alexis is experienced in the development of strategic communications and events for both the private sector and nonprofit organizations. A former journalist, Alexis has a deep relationship with her Tioga County community and is an active volunteer with several organizations, including the Bridge of the Penn-York Valley Churches and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She currently holds a BA in Corporate Communications from Lycoming College. Email Alexis.
Roper iPoll Manager – Carl Brown
Carl Brown is the iPOLL Acquisitions Manager. He has been with the Roper Center since 1999, and currently collects and prepares new polls for entry into the iPOLL system and selects poll questions for our daily Twitter and Facebook feeds. He previously worked on the JPoll system of Japanese poll questions and prepared Elmo Roper’s papers at the Dodd Center at the University of Connecticut. He has a BA in Modern European History and an MA in American History from the University of Connecticut. Email Carl.
Data Curator – Joseph Burgess
Joseph Burgess is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. He works closely with the other members of the data team to process, maintain, and share various datasets. Joseph currently holds a BA/BS in American Studies and Sociology from Creighton University. He previously worked in politics and election administration in and around Upstate NY. Email Joseph.
Data Curator - Claire Cepuran
Claire Cepuran is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. She works closely with the other members of the data team to process, maintain and share various datasets. Claire previously worked on the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program at ICPSR. She currently holds a BA in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Systems Administrator – Will Hall
Will Hall is a Systems Administrator at the Roper Center. Skilled in server and database administration, web development, and application analysis, he has worked as a technology professional for a Fortune 500 company and consulting firms. Prior to Roper, he worked in the financial industry in IT Operations. When not finding solutions to technical problems he enjoys playing hockey, snow/water skiing, and fishing in the Finger Lakes. He currently holds a BA in Psychology from Syracuse University, as well as multiple technical certifications.
Applications Programmer--Paul Houle
Paul Houle is an Applications Programmer at the Roper Center. Paul has been a developer, sys admin, and DBA for hundreds of web sites, including the Cornell University Library, local web design firms, and others. Paul helps put advanced technology applications (e.g. neural networks) in front of customers. At times he has been focused on sales automation, semantic web, and model-based approaches to software development. He serves on a committee that develops tools to help users understand the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard. Paul completed a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell.
Applications Programmer – Joshua Lewis
Josh is an Applications Programmer for the Roper Center. He is responsible for designing and implementing software systems to support the goals and vision of the Center. He previously worked on retirement software for a financial institution. He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in computer science. Email Joshua.
Health Opinion Database Project Director - Bethany Mackey
Bethany joins the Roper Center team as Project Director after working at Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield on technology modernization projects. Prior to Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, she assisted her employers in building production support departments, creating new products and with business development. Bethany will be using her past experience to help the Roper Center create a new data portal with a focus on health. Email Bethany.
Quality Assurance Analyst - Kathy Mertens
Kathy Mertens brings over 22 years of professional academic, commercial and private consulting experience to her role as Quality Assurance Analyst at the Roper Center. Her goal is to define and implement exceptional quality standards for the software development lifecycle using world-class QA process flows and modern project management technologies. She holds a BBA in Business Administration from SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Email Kathy.
Data Curator – Kelsie Norek
Kelsie Norek is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. She works closely with the other members of the data team to process, maintain, and share various datasets. Kelsie currently holds an MA in Psychology from the University at Buffalo. Email Kelsie.
Data Curator – Jessica Riggs
Jessica Riggs is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. She works closely with other members of the data team to process, maintain, and share various datasets. Jessica previously worked at the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect as well as Cornell University Library. She currently holds a BS in Human Development from Cornell University and an MS in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University. Email Jessica.
Administrative Assistant--Meg Ross
Meg Ross is the Administrative Assistant for the Roper Center. She handles the day-to-day needs of the Roper staff and student workers, as well as assisting with marketing and member relations, financial administration, and planning events both on- and off-campus. Meg's previous work has provided her with a strong and varied background in customer service and success. She currently holds a BA in Creative Writing from SUNY Oswego.
Marketing Coordinator – Henry Smith
Henry Smith is the Marketing Coordinator for the Roper Center. His years of experience come from the range of sales and marking activities involved in supporting SaaS software sales and adoption. Most recently with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ ADSK), he supported subscription sales and marketing in the Manufacturing and AEC markets. As a marketing consultant, he specializes in direct response marketing campaigns, eNewsletters, and customer case studies. Outside of work, you will find him exploring Ithaca with his family and a fly rod, or helping lead local Cub Scout Pack 55. He is a graduate of Syracuse University with a dual major in English and Education. Email Henry.
Data Curator - Shavon Stewart
Shavon Stewart is a data curator with the Roper Center. She brings her previous work with Dryad Digital Repository to this position. She currently holds a MS in Library and Information Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA in History from North Carolina A & T State University.
Lead Software Engineer – Gene Wang
Gene Wang is the lead software engineer at the Roper Center. He is responsible for coordinating and planning technical projects at Roper, as well as designing and implementing software systems to support the goals and vision of the Center. Prior to Roper, Gene spent three years as a developer and technical lead at a software company in the retirement industry. He currently holds a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University at Buffalo. Email Gene.
Data Curator – Sarah Wolfe
Sarah Wolfe is a Data Curator at the Roper Center. She works closely with the other members of the data team to process, maintain, and share various datasets. She currently holds a BA in Psychology from SUNY New Paltz. Email Sarah.
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Trilogy Metals – Strong Management, High Grade, Solid Partners, Located In The World’s Friendliest Mining Jurisdictions
Company: Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX, NYSE American: TMQ)
President, CEO and Director: Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse
Education: Candidature degree in Science from the Université de Louvain, Belgium. Master of Science degree in Geology from the University of Arizona
Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Number of locations: 1 – Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, Alaska
Previous position: Founder, President, CEO and Director, NovaGold Resources
Canada’s top think-tank, the Fraser Institute, has dubbed Alaska the 5th largest mining district in the world. Located in a safe, environmentally conscious and mineral rich region, Alaska is home to the Ambler Copper District, owned by Canadian mining company, Trilogy Metals Inc. (Trilogy). “Trilogy is developing the Ambler Mining District to produce Copper, Zinc, Lead, Gold, Silver and Cobalt,” says the company’s President, CEO and Director Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse. These are all metals that are needed in order to support our modern way of life.”
While southern Africa and Chile produce the majority of the world’s mined copper, with a total of 70% coming from these regions, neither have the combined appeal offered by Alaska’s Trilogy Metals – who’s high-grade assets are located within a friendly jurisdiction. “Alaska is highly supportive of mining. This is particularly important given that geopolitical risk has been growing significantly in many other copper mining jurisdictions in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.” Van Nieuwenhuyse goes on to explain the unique proposition that lays in the asset’s location. “Most of the global copper projects are low-grade bulk tonnage operations that require billions of dollars for development. The average grade of copper projects today is less than 1% whereas Trilogy’s Arctic Project has an average reserve grade of 5% copper equivalent. Even in a weak copper price environment, the Arctic Project’s economics are still highly compelling.”
In addition, Trilogy has strong financial backing. “We have an option agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture with South32 Ltd. (South32) which has a current capitalization of approximately USD$13 billion.” As part of the agreement between the two companies, South32 paid Trilogy USD$30 million over three years, with the last payment having already been made in January 2019. “South32 now has until the end of January 2020 to exercise its option. Once the option is exercised, South32 must contribute approximately USD$150 million to the joint venture.”
Another significant partnership is between Trilogy Metals and NANA Regional Corporation (NANA), one of thirteen regional native corporations. “This partnership has benefited us tremendously. NANA is a multibillion-dollar entity that derives a significant amount of its revenue from mining and mining related services. Having an indigenous group as a partner that has benefited from mining is a huge advantage for us.”
Prior to joining Trilogy, Van Nieuwenhuyse was the head of NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (“NOVAGOLD”). “We took the 40 million-ounce Donlin Gold project up the value chain to a feasibility level of study. The assets that form the basis of Trilogy were spun out of NOVAGOLD to form a copper focused exploration company.”
While market conditions have impacted most companies across the board, Trilogy Metals’ stock has managed to perform quite well. Van Nieuwenhuyse attributes this success to a strong shareholder base. “Our shareholders have always been very supportive of the company. In addition, Trilogy is well capitalized, and has a very supportive partner in South32. Finally, medium and long-term copper fundamentals are very robust and the company is poised to take advantage of this situation.”
According to Van Nieuwenhuyse, 2019 will be a big year for the copper mining company. “We have budgeted USD$18.2 million for our projects in the Ambler Mining District. We are also spending USD$2 million on a regional exploration program at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects.” In addition, by the end of 2019, it’s expected that permitting for a 210-mile road that will provide easy access to the mine will be completed.
In summary, Van Nieuwenhuyse cites three reasons why investors should be purchasing Trilogy stock now:
The Company’s Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) contain some of the highest-grade base metal (copper and zinc) mineral deposits in the world.
Trilogy has an option agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture with South32. Should South32 decide to exercise the option, it will contribute USD$150 million to the joint venture.
The team at the helm of Trilogy brings years of geological and mine management experience with a notable track record.
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RTG Applauds President Obama’s Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative
The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) heartily applauds President Obama’s announcement today introducing the Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative. In addition to releasing 500 MHz of additional spectrum for commercial use in the next decade, the initiative also recognizes the public benefit of incentive auctions as a means to unleash more spectrum while simultaneously raising billions of dollars in revenue. RTG especially supports the White House’s commitment to target $5 billion to fund the build out of 4G in rural America and to reform the Universal Service Fund to accommodate wireless broadband. While RTG still believes that an auction is the most efficient and productive use of the vacant 700 MHz “D Block” to ensure that 4G Public Safety communications are available in rural America, it is nonetheless proud of this Administration’s firm commitment to prepare Public Safety communications networks for the challenges of the 21st Century.
However, the President’s most laudable goal by far within the initiative is to deliver 4G wireless services to at least 98% of all Americans, including those in rural markets, within the next five years. The combination of newly released spectrum and rural build-out programs will go a long way toward achieving the President’s goals. However, only by combining these actions with additional steps that would ensure access to data roaming and network interoperability in the 700 MHz band, will it be possible for all Americans to have 3G and eventually 4G access from coast to coast, regardless of their wireless carrier, and regardless of where they live. Quite simply, the U.S. cannot win the future unless all of its citizens, including rural Americans, have the ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet where they live, work and travel.
About RTG – Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Rural Telecommunications Group is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient and innovative telecommunications technologies to remote and underserved communities. www.ruraltelecomgroup.org @RTGwireless
Account Administrator 2018-03-07T16:16:49-04:00 February 10th, 2011|Categories: Press Releases, Roaming, Spectrum, Universal Service|Tags: 4G, Public Safety, White House|
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Neural underpinnings of obesity: The role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain
Mullins, C. A., Gannaban, R. B., Khan, M. S., Shah, H., Siddik, M. A. B., Hegde, V. K., Hemachandra Reddy, P. & Shin, A. C., Oct 2020, In: Antioxidants. 9, 10, p. 1-21 21 p., 1018.
Obesity and diabetes mediated chronic inflammation: A potential biomarker in Alzheimer’s disease
Khan, M. S. H. & Hegde, V., Jun 2020, In: Journal of Personalized Medicine. 10, 2, 42.
Hyperinsulinemia or Insulin Resistance: What Impacts the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease?
Hegde, V., Dhurandhar, N. V. & Hemachandra Reddy, P., 2019, In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 72, s1, p. S71-S79
Potential role of E4orf1 protein in aging-associated impairment in glycemic control
Gamage, S., Reddy, P. H., Dhurandhar, N. V. & Hegde, V., Mar 2019, In: Journal of Diabetes and its Complications. 33, 3, p. 261-265 5 p.
Twenty-five years of research about adipogenic adenoviruses: A systematic review
Akheruzzaman, M., Hegde, V. & Dhurandhar, N. V., Apr 2019, In: Obesity Reviews. 20, 4, p. 499-509 11 p.
Aviadenovirus
Microbes and obesity-interrelationship between infection, adipose tissue and the immune system
Hegde, V. & Dhurandhar, N. V., Apr 2013, In: Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 19, 4, p. 314-320 7 p.
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What book should I read next? That was the original idea behind Sci Fi Cadre. Provide a way to recommend books I read and enjoy. It spread from there to offering news and views of science fiction and fact in other media.
Since this is a science fiction site, we should probably talk a little about what we consider to be science fiction. By the strictest definition, sci fi needs to be rooted in sound scientific theory at the time of its creation. The problem with this definition is it leaves out a lot of what people would call science fiction. For example, Star Trek would be a science fantasy since so much of its story boils down to “because science!” with no basis in reality. (Consider the use of fictitious chronotons to time travel.) Star Wars, which basically throws science out the window entirely, would be a space fantasy.
However, I really think most people would consider both franchises to be science fiction. This begs the question: what separates science fiction from fantasy? To me, it is simple. Does the individual story feel science-y? If it feels like it has some basis in science, then, even the most tenuous grasp, it is science fiction for the purpose of this website.
Tim Greenshields
Tim Greenshields is the founder, and currently sole contributor, of Sci Fi Cadre. He is a lifelong geek that loves genre fiction, especially science fiction. He doesn’t limit himself to one form of media either. Whether it be books, comics, TV shows, movies, or games, Tim is there for it. Bring on the science!
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Listen: Ukraine, Crimea, Kerch Strait discussed on PRI's The World
"I'm Marco werman. You're with the world the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been on a slow burn for the last couple of years that is until yesterday. Russian warplanes and ships attacked and sees three ships of Ukraine's navy after they approach waters claimed by Russia in response. Ukraine's government is declaring martial law in border regions. Sunday's clash took place in a vital seaway. Call the Kerch strait. Alina Polyakova is a fellow at the Brookings Institution. The Kerch strait has been a issue of serious contention ever since Russia's illegal annexation and contain ocupation of Crimea twenty fourteen because it is a body of water through which Ukrainian Russian and other ships have to pass to get for example, let's say from Istanbul. If you want to make a shipment directly to a port in southeastern Ukraine, you have to pass through the Kurt straight, and it's relatively narrow passageways. So it is, you know, very ripe for potential accidents for conflict. So it is a significant. Commercial passageway that is critical to the Korean economy. I mean, it's not far from where the fighting has been happening since two thousand fourteen how is this event in the Kerch strait and the fighting in eastern, Ukraine. How are they connected since? Russia took control of Crimea, the Russian government to much fanfare has now built a bridge that connects mainland Russia over the Kerch straight to Crimea, which allows Russia to supply Crimea with food and other resources. What's been happening on land on Ukrainian land tour? Tori, not in the maritime territory is that Russia has seemed to desire to have a land bridge. I'm all the way to Crimea. Because even with the construction of the bridge that does connect Russia to Crimea. It is still difficult to get other things like electricity and water to Crimea. And it is costing the Russian federation quite a bit of money to continue have to go over this bridge and to use water. As especially so it's a potential strategy on the Russian side to try to put more pressure on Medupi's, especially so they can over time even take over that land territory and have access to Crimea via land versus via water. Isn't it totally illegal? Yes. Yes, glad we cleared that up. What is your sense of who actually started this? Well, we know that is typical Russian strategy not just in the Ukraine conflict. But also going all the way back two thousand eight with the Russian war with Georgia. It's to provoke with a initial aggressive move that seems relatively minor ramming a small Ukrainian tugboat, for example, which is what happened in the last few days, then any sort of response from the other side is then used as an excuse to commence, much, more, direct, military aggression. And this is exactly the kind of pattern that was seen developed today with this esscalation in the as OC and the cart straight. So this is part of the Kremlin's playbook. We've seen this movie before I think the big question now is will the international community respond in a much more sort of way than we've seen back. Let's say in two thousand eight with the Russian warned Georgia so do. You see this turning into a war? And would it be a clash between the actual armed forces of both Russia and Ukraine deep potential for a full out war of that nature is unlikely first of all the Ukrainians are no match for Russian naval military might in the sea of us. They're completely outflanked and outmatched. And then the Russian side there is also not much incentive to have a full blown out why which could potentially involve other world powers like the United States or even your up. But that's not something that the Russian people would want. I don't think that's something live in leadership. But one I think what is much more likely is that we're going to see this slow burning continued aggression that we've been seeing on land in Ukraine now happening in the c- last thing just curious to know Alina what you think whether whether Putin felt kind of substantially emboldened by Trump's kind of whatever response to what happened to Jamaica Shoji. That's an interesting question. I think certainly President Trump's stated desire to stand by Saudi Arabia in light of this quite brutal murder has sent a signal to Putin that President Trump will likely stand by him as well. I hope that is not true.."
PRI's The World
Ukraine, Crimea, Kerch Strait discussed on PRI's The World
Ukraine Crimea Kerch Strait Russia Russian Federation Russian Government Alina Polyakova Marco Werman President Trump Georgia Brookings Institution Istanbul Kurt Putin Tori United States Medupi OC
I'm Marco werman. You're with the world the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been on a slow burn for the last couple of years that is until yesterday. Russian warplanes and ships attacked and sees three ships of Ukraine's navy after they approach waters claimed by Russia in response. Ukraine's government is declaring martial law in border regions. Sunday's clash took place in a vital seaway. Call the Kerch strait. Alina Polyakova is a fellow at the Brookings Institution. The Kerch strait has been a issue of serious contention ever since Russia's illegal annexation and contain ocupation of Crimea twenty fourteen because it is a body of water through which Ukrainian Russian and other ships have to pass to get for example, let's say from Istanbul. If you want to make a shipment directly to a port in southeastern Ukraine, you have to pass through the Kurt straight, and it's relatively narrow passageways. So it is, you know, very ripe for potential accidents for conflict. So it is a significant. Commercial passageway that is critical to the Korean economy. I mean, it's not far from where the fighting has been happening since two thousand fourteen how is this event in the Kerch strait and the fighting in eastern, Ukraine. How are they connected since? Russia took control of Crimea, the Russian government to much fanfare has now built a bridge that connects mainland Russia over the Kerch straight to Crimea, which allows Russia to supply Crimea with food and other resources. What's been happening on land on Ukrainian land tour? Tori, not in the maritime territory is that Russia has seemed to desire to have a land bridge. I'm all the way to Crimea. Because even with the construction of the bridge that does connect Russia to Crimea. It is still difficult to get other things like electricity and water to Crimea. And it is costing the Russian federation quite a bit of money to continue have to go over this bridge and to use water. As especially so it's a potential strategy on the Russian side to try to put more pressure on Medupi's, especially so they can over time even take over that land territory and have access to Crimea via land versus via water. Isn't it totally illegal? Yes. Yes, glad we cleared that up. What is your sense of who actually started this? Well, we know that is typical Russian strategy not just in the Ukraine conflict. But also going all the way back two thousand eight with the Russian war with Georgia. It's to provoke with a initial aggressive move that seems relatively minor ramming a small Ukrainian tugboat, for example, which is what happened in the last few days, then any sort of response from the other side is then used as an excuse to commence, much, more, direct, military aggression. And this is exactly the kind of pattern that was seen developed today with this esscalation in the as OC and the cart straight. So this is part of the Kremlin's playbook. We've seen this movie before I think the big question now is will the international community respond in a much more sort of way than we've seen back. Let's say in two thousand eight with the Russian warned Georgia so do. You see this turning into a war? And would it be a clash between the actual armed forces of both Russia and Ukraine deep potential for a full out war of that nature is unlikely first of all the Ukrainians are no match for Russian naval military might in the sea of us. They're completely outflanked and outmatched. And then the Russian side there is also not much incentive to have a full blown out why which could potentially involve other world powers like the United States or even your up. But that's not something that the Russian people would want. I don't think that's something live in leadership. But one I think what is much more likely is that we're going to see this slow burning continued aggression that we've been seeing on land in Ukraine now happening in the c- last thing just curious to know Alina what you think whether whether Putin felt kind of substantially emboldened by Trump's kind of whatever response to what happened to Jamaica Shoji. That's an interesting question. I think certainly President Trump's stated desire to stand by Saudi Arabia in light of this quite brutal murder has sent a signal to Putin that President Trump will likely stand by him as well. I hope that is not true..
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Wolves – Aston Villa : Preview & Prediction
Wolverhampton struggled to beat Slovan Bratislava (1-0) at home on Thursday night in the Europa League thanks to a goal from Jiménez in injury time (90 + 2). A success that allows the Wolves to get closer to a qualification for the 1/16 finals of this C3. The current 12th in the Premier League has achieved great performances for almost two months, namely 1 success on the Manchester City lawn (2-0) on October 6 and 3 Draws on the last 3 days against Southampton (1- 1), Newcastle (1-1) and Arsenal (1-1). Aston Villa, currently 16th, is under threat from the relegation zone. The Villans have failed in the last two days of the championship on Manchester City (3-0) and Liverpool (1-2) in Villa Park. With 3 points taken from 15 points on the outside, Aston Villa’s away run is very disappointing.
Aston Villa have lost their last two league games in City and against Liverpool.
Wolverhampton has not lost in the league since September 14th.
Wolverhampton have 2 wins and 4 draws in the last 6 days of the Premier League.
Aston Villa has suffered 4 defeats in his five trips to the Premier League!
Wolverhampton have won their last two oppositions against Aston Villa at Molineux Stadium in the League Cup in 2017.
Despite the fatigue registered in the Europa League on Thursday night, Wolverhampton has big ambitions against Aston Villa. A success of the Wolves would allow them to switch in the first half of the rankings.
Wolves – Aston Villa : Betting Tips
Wolves – Win Odds: 1.95
Sampdoria – Atalanta Prediction (2019-11-10)
Predictions Serie A
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The OKC Thunder: 7 Things Fans Don’t Know
FeaturedLifeSports
The OKC Thunder has become a formidable competitor in the NBA, and we are here to give you all the essential information that every fan should know! If you are big on the Thunder, read on to discover the seven things that you don’t know about your favorite team!
Number Seven: The Start of the Thunder
Before the Oklahoma City Thunder emerged, the team started out as the Seattle Supersonics franchise. They played under this name from 1967 to 2008, when a legal dispute moved the team to Oklahoma City.
Number Six: Sprouting Greatness
The most popular and successful player in the history of the Thunder is arguably Kevin Durant, mainly because he is exceptional at making himself into a legend. In the 2009-2010 season, this astounding man became the youngest player of all time to attain the title of the NBA Scoring Champion, with an average of 30.1 points per game. Even more remarkable, he accomplished this in only his third season on the NBA court. The following year, he snatched up the title once more.
Number Five: Taking in a Lost Team
After the tragic effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the New Orleans Hornets found themselves lacking a court. Feeling charitable, the OKC Thunder allowed the team to share their home for two seasons. They also decided to share player Desmond Mason, when the Hornets were in need of a fill-in.
Number Four: The Resourceful OKC Thunder
As the Sonics transformed into the Thunder and moved to Oklahoma, they had a bit of trouble getting their team set up at first. Lacking a practice facility, the Southern Nazarene University offered their campus as the temporary home for the Thunder’s practices. During this time, the New Orleans Hornets also borrowed their facilities. By 2011, the Thunder attained a practice facility of their very own.
Number Three: A Big Hairy Bison
Because every sports team needs a fun mascot, Thunder’s Rumble the Bison emerged in 2009. This big, hairy mascot was named to be the NBA’s Mascot of the Year in the very same year he was introduced. This spunky personality was designed after the original mascot choice, an actual bison named Alphie, who currently works as the mascot of the University of Colorado.
Number Two: Team Stats
Throughout the OKC Thunder’s history, they have definitely proved that the team is capable of great feats. The Thunder experienced their longest win streak in all of Oklahoma City history with 12 games in the 2012 season; this streak is also the second longest winning streak in all of the franchise’s history. Since 2009, the only team to have won more games than the Thunder is the San Antonio Spurs.
Number One: Retired Jerseys
Since the team first began as the Sonics, they have retired only six jerseys to honor their star players. These players include Gus Williams (1), Nate McMillan (10), Lenny Wilkins (19), Spencer Haywood (24), Fred Brown (32), and Jack Sikma (43). Additionally, the team also decided to “retire” an honorary microphone to pay tribute to Bob Blackburn, who called the Sonics games for 25 years. We hope you enjoyed the seven things fans don’t know about the OKC Thunder!
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Indiana court rules in favor of student who published MySpace.com page
INDIANA — A court infringed on a student’s free speech when it placed her on probation for creating an expletive-filled MySpace page that criticized a school principal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
The three-judge panel ordered the Putnam Circuit Court to relinquish its penalty against the female student, referred to as A.B. in the court’s decision.
In February 2006, Greencastle Middle School Principal Shawn Gobert discovered a Web page attributed to him on MySpace, a popular social networking Web site. The page contained postings from the student on the page that were critical of the school’s policy prohibiting body piercings. Another unnamed student created the MySpace page that A.B. posted her criticisms.
“It is clear that school authorities are state actors for purposes of freedom of expression and, as such, are subject to the commands of the First Amendment,” Judge Patricia Riley wrote in the 10-page opinion. “A.B. openly criticizes Gobert’s imposed school policy on decorative body piercings and forcefully indicates her displeasure with it.”
“While we have little regard for A.B.’s use of vulgar epithets, we conclude that her overall message constitutes political speech.”
The state filed a delinquency petition in March alleging that A.B.’s acts would have been harassment, identity theft and identity deception if committed by an adult, according to the Associated Press. The juvenile court dropped most of the charges, but in June found A.B. to be a delinquent child and placed her on nine months of probation after ruling the comments were obscene.
But A.B. appealed, contending that her comments were political speech protected by federal and state laws because they concerned school policy.
The Court of Appeals found that the comments were protected under the free expression provision of the Indiana Constitution, ruling that the juvenile court unconstitutionally suppressed her right of free expression.
“We find that there is insufficient evidence to support that A.B.’s adjucation of harassment based on her posted message…is consistent with her right to free speech,” according to the decision. “Therefore, we hold that A.B.’s conviction for harassment contravened her right to speak, as guaranteed by the Indiana Constitution.”
By Jared Taylor, SPLC staff writer
A.B. vs. State, No.67A01-0609-JV-372 (Ind. Ct. App. Apr. 9, 2007) (Slip op.)
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Home » Giants vs Jets: Who Will Come Out On Top In 2020?
The New York Giants and the New York Jets have one of the oldest rivalries in the NFL. The rivalry began in the 1960’s as the two New York teams made media comments about being the best football team in New York. The Jets were part of the American Football League (AFL), and the Giants were part of the National Football League (NFL).
With the merger of the AFL and NFL, the two teams were placed in separate conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). As a result, the Jets and the Giants don’t play each other every season. At the moment, they play each other once every four seasons, unless they meet at the Super Bowl.
The 2019-2020 NFL season falls on one of the rivalry’s four year matches, and the Jets vs Giants game was played on 10 November 2019. The New York Jets news headlines had the bragging rights this year, as the game ended with the Jets victorious, 34-27. This means the rivalry currently sits with the Giants leading the Jets with 8 victories to 6. The Jets have won the last two league matches, so the Giants will want to make sure they are ready in 2023.
The Giants vs Jets game was a highlight in what has been an otherwise disappointing season for both teams, and New York’s football fans. Both teams are out of the running to make the playoffs this season. This is perhaps not surprising, given the two teams’ form over this past decade.
The New York Jets last made the playoffs in 2010. The New York Giants on the other hand won Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, but were unable to maintain that form. The Giants last made the playoffs in 2016, and fell out in the wildcard round. Make no mistake, both the New York Giants and the New York Jets are in rebuilding phases.
As both teams start to look towards the 2020-2021 season, which team is on the right track? They both have young quarterbacks who are finding their feet in the league, and both need to figure out how they plan to build a playoff-quality roster.
The following four areas will ultimately decide who will come out on top in 2020:
Quarterback development
Roster quality
The New York Giants and the New York Jets both have young quarterbacks, in Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold respectively. Both have undoubted talent but also need to refine their games further. The story of the two New York quarterbacks also has a place in the Giants vs Jets rivalry.
In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants had the second pick and the Jets had the third. Many thought that the Giants would draft Darnold, but instead drafted Saquon Barkley. The Jets drafted Darnold with their pick.
In the build up to the Giants vs Jets game in November, many New York Jets news headlines were about how Darnold should show the Giants what they missed out on by not drafting him. To a degree he did just that by emerging victorious with the Jets.
Looking at the two quarterbacks, it’s perhaps too early to decide which team has the better player. Comparing both of their rookie seasons shows how close the two are. In 2018-2019, Darnold played 13 games, with 239 passes completed, had 2865 yards gained by passing, and 17 passing touchdowns. Jones in comparison has played 11 games, with 228 passes completed, 2374 yards gained by passing and 18 passing touchdowns.
Looking at both players’ 2019-2020 stats, they are even more similar. Darnold has a 61.7% pass completion, while Jones has 61.6%. Darnold has a quarterback rating of 84.3% and Jones has 84%. Both have scored two touchdowns, and Jones has thrown one more touchdown pass so far this season. With both players being the same age (22), time will tell who has the better quarterback.
One factor that could be in Jones’ favor is that he is only in his rookie season, and could still be learning the pace and intensity of the NFL. Darnold, on the other hand, has already had a season in the NFL and should start to show that he is refining and evolving his game.
Teams that are in the process of rebuilding can build the necessary roster depth through a combination of trades and good draft picks. Looking at the rosters of both teams, it is clear that this process has already begun. Both teams have rosters with an average age of just over 26 years old, both with young quarterbacks.
For the Giants, Barkley and Sterling Shepard are excellent talents, but Odell Beckham Jr. and Landan Collins have departed. At tight ends, they have quality players in Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison.
Perhaps most importantly, they have freed up salary cap and could be in a good position to go out and get what the team needs at the end of the season. They’ll also have an opportunity in the 2020 NFL Draft to bring in more talent. Chase Young is a viable option for the Giants. Young plays Edge, and could be the perfect young offensive tackle to add to their roster. The New York Giants news sites will no doubt be showcasing some of Young’s college highlights in the build-up to the draft.
For the Jets, the rebuild project perhaps has further to go. Currently their best players are arguably Le’Veon Bell, Jamal Adams and Robby Anderson. Outside of these three players and Darnold, there are many players who show promising signs, like Jordan Jenkins, but are yet to truly deliver for the Jets.
With a decent sized salary cap available, there is no doubt that a few New York Jets rumours will be surrounding potential trades. The Jets will likely be looking for a wide receiver, an additional running back and more cover for the offensive line.
They’ll also be looking to the 2020 NFL Draft to bring more depth to the roster. They’ll also be looking to Chase Young, Jerry Jeudy at wide receiver (especially if Anderson isn’t re-signed) or Andrew Thomas at offensive tackle.
Comparing the two rebuilds, it seems like the Giants have a stronger roster at the moment, although the Jets have won more games this season, including the rivalry game against the Giants. It will be a big offseason for both sets of recruitment and scouting teams.
It would not be a shock to see both the Giants and the Jets with new head coaches in 2020. The Jets have seemed unable to bring about a sustained run of form and the Giants have at times been abysmal.
Adam Gase is only in his first season with the Jets, and could get more time to sort the team out. The Jets have already paid two head coaches compensation packages recently, so could be reluctant to pay another.
Recent New York Jets rumours of a fallout with Darnold are certainly a worrying sign for Gase. While the Jets owner has given Gase his vote of approval, things may change if it becomes a choice between Gase and Darnold.
Giants head coach Pat Shurmer may not even make the end of the season if he can’t turn the team in the right direction. Shurmer seemed less than confident about his position when New York Giants news reporters asked him if he’d last the season. Shurmer is in his second season and doesn’t seem to be the right coach for the team at the moment.
Whether the Jets stick with Gase or if Shurmer can turn things around, will be decisive for the rebuilding phase at both teams. Darnold and Jones are not going to stay 22 forever, so the rebuild has a timeframe. Any rebuild requires quality leadership.
Who will come out on top in 2020?
At quarterback, both Darnold and Jones have the potential to guide their teams back to the playoffs, but will need to refine their games further. If the Giants replace Shurmer with a proven head coach, recruit well and draft a player like Chase Young, they could be returning to the playoffs sooner than the Jets.
If the Jets recruit well and draft a player like Jerry Jeudy, they could start to push on stronger than the Giants. If Gase is not the right head coach, delaying a decision could prove costly in terms of giving a new head coach time to continue the rebuild. If Gase proves himself at the end of the season, the Jets could prove the doubters and Giants fans wrong in 2020.
You can bet any sports fan knows that even after extensive research, predicting the future is anything but a certainty. That’s part of the fun of sports betting: studying the game, seeing the sports betting lines on an online sportsbook and deciding whether you think it’s worth a punt.
Learning how to bet on sports is fairly straightforward. Many sports betting websites and blogs offer tips to help you know the difference between sports betting odds and sports betting lines. From there it’s all about betting responsibly and legally.
Online sports betting is only legal in certain specified countries and states. If you’re looking for the best online sportsbook, make sure to check whether they are licensed by an official regulatory body. Register with Borgata Online for the best legal online sports betting experience.
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