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Recent Greene County COVID-19 cases visited Walmart, DSW, Macy's, restaurants, bars
Katie Kull
Recent coronavirus cases in Greene County visited nearly a dozen local stores, restaurants and bars in recent days while potentially able to spread the virus.
According to a health department news release, the Springfield area set a new single-day record of 49 new cases reported Monday.
One recent case worked at Orange Leaf, 1011 S. Glenstone Ave. from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday, July 6 before being diagnosed with the virus but while experiencing symptoms and wearing a mask.
Other recent cases visited the following locations:
Walmart Supercenter, 2825 N. Kansas Expressway in the afternoon of Thursday, July 2 for 30 minutes (infectious and symptomatic, masked)
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, 3333 S Glenstone Ave., from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 4 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Walmart Supercenter, 2021 E. Independence St., 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, masked)
El Puente, 1111 E. Republic Road, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Best Buy, 3450 S. Glenstone Ave., 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious and symptomatic, masked)
Macy’s in the Battlefield Mall, 2825 S. Glenstone Ave., 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Bath and Body Works in the Battlefield Mall, 2825 S. Glenstone Ave., from 1:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Mexican Villa South, 2755 S. Campbell Ave., 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Patton Alley Pub, 313 S Patton Ave., 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, July 5 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Fuji Japanese Seafood & Steakhouse, 2909 S. Campbell Ave., around 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 6 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Jose Locos, 853 N. Glenstone Ave., 12:20 p.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 7 (infectious and symptomatic, not masked)
Walmart Supercenter, 3315 S. Campbell Ave. sometime in the afternoon before 5 p.m. for 30 minutes Tuesday, July 7 (infectious but not symptomatic, not masked)
Shoe Carnival, 3408 S Glenstone Ave., 5 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, July 8 (infectious and symptomatic, not masked)
Anyone who visited those locations on those dates is at low risk for contracting the coronavirus but should monitor for symptoms, according to the health department.
However, if you are sick or think you may be sick, you should stay home. Everybody in the community should be practicing physical distancing, using proper hand hygiene and wearing a face covering whenever possible, according to the release.
Symptoms of the coronavirus include:
Katie Kull covers local government for the News-Leader. Got a story to tell? Give her a call at 417-408-1025 or email her at kkull@news-leader.com. You can also support local journalism at News-Leader.com/subscribe.
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Applications available for 50 painter, decorator and paperhanger jobs
By James T. Madore james.madore@newsday.com @JamesTMadore Updated October 15, 2019 6:00 AM
The Finishing Trades Institute of New York will begin taking applications Wednesday for 50 painter, decorator and paperhanger apprenticeships.
Applications must be obtained in person at the institute, 36-13 36th Ave., Long Island City, Queens, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Forms will be available until Oct. 29 or until 500 have been distributed, whichever comes first.
Applicants must be 18 or older, have a high school diploma or its equivalent, be physically able to do the work, attend a three-day orientation event and be able to read and understand English.
More information is available by calling 718-937-7440.
By James T. Madore james.madore@newsday.com @JamesTMadore
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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Nationals greeted by an electric atmosphere for Game 3
A fan holds a sign during the first inning to Game 3 of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 25, 2019. Credit: Getty Images/Patrick Smith
By Erik Boland erik.boland@newsday.com @eboland11 Updated October 25, 2019 9:22 PM
WASHINGTON — Adam Eaton predicted a “ridiculous” atmosphere greeting the Nationals for Game 3 of the World Series. He wasn’t wrong.
Hosting a World Series game for the first time in 86 years will do that for civic excitement.
There was plenty of that inside and outside this downtown ballpark on Friday. More than six hours before the 8:07 p.m. first pitch, the surrounding streets were filled with fans wearing red and white Nationals gear.
Friday would have been electric regardless for the first World Series game played in this city with a checkered baseball past since Oct. 17, 1933. On that day, the New York Giants earned a series-clinching 4-3 victory over the Washington Senators in Game 5. (The Giants moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season and the Senators no longer exist; the first version became the Minnesota Twins for the 1961 season and the second version became the Texas Rangers in 1972.) The Montreal Expos franchise moved here before the 2005 season and was renamed the Nationals.
“They’ve been unbelievable this whole postseason so far,” Nationals shortstop Trea Turner said of the fans. “I expect a sellout and people going nuts. I think one game we had a beer shower, which was pretty incredible to watch, so hopefully they can be rocking and we’re excited to play in front of them.”
That was a reference to the NL wild-card game against the Brewers, one the Washington fans were ready to add to an already crowded list of October disappointments.
The Nationals trailed 3-1 entering the eighth, but Juan Soto, who turned 21 Friday, began what has been a breakout October with a bases-loaded single. When it got past Brewers rightfielder Trent Grisham, three runs scored and the Brewers reached the NLDS with a 4-3 victory.
And with that, the past postseason disappointments — losing win-or-go-home Game 5s at home in 2012, 2016 and 2017 – were wiped clean and baseball fever took over.
Upsetting the Dodgers in the NLDS (including an extra-inning victory in the deciding Game 5 at Dodger Stadium), earning a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in the NLCS and taking the first two games of the World Series have only added to it.
“It’s going to be awesome,” said first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, a member of the original Nationals team in 2005. “I think [the fans have] been great all postseason and every postseason, really. [But] I’m sure they’re more excited than we are, honestly. They’ve been waiting for something like this, so, obviously, really excited to see what the atmosphere is like and can’t wait to get there.”
Second-year manager Dave Martinez, who lives relatively close to the ballpark, said during this postseason run that he’s been recognized more and more frequently on the streets.
“It’s been unbelievable, it really has,” said Martinez, whose job security was a frequent source of speculation during the early-season struggles that bottomed out with a 19-31 record in May. “As you know, I travel by scooter everywhere around. And now -- before I used to wear my hat and nobody really [noticed] -- and now wherever I stop — as a matter of fact, sometimes people just come up and smack me on the back, ‘Nice going, nice going, Davey.’ I’m like, ‘Hey.’ But it’s been overwhelming. The fans have bought in and it’s been great. And I know apparently [for Game 2] almost 15,000 people here watching us play [on the big screen]. I can’t wait until [Game 3]. This place, I said it before, this place gets really loud and it’s electric. So I know the boys are excited to play.”
By Erik Boland erik.boland@newsday.com @eboland11
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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Judge Tosses Criminal Case Against Flynn
Trump's pardon doesn't make the former national security adviser innocent, ruling says
Posted Dec 8, 2020 2:46 PM CST
Michael Flynn, shown last year, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, file)
(Newser) – A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, two weeks after a pardon from the president effectively ended the case. The order from US District Judge Emmet Sullivan was largely procedural in light of the pardon from President Trump, which wiped away Flynn's conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation, the AP reports. Sullivan made clear in a 43-page order that he was compelled to dismiss the case because of the pardon. But he also stressed that a pardon, by itself, did not mean that Flynn was innocent. Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts during the presidential transition period with the Russian ambassador.
"The history of the Constitution, its structure, and the Supreme Court's interpretation of the pardon power make clear that President Trump’s decision to pardon Mr. Flynn is a political decision, not a legal one," Sullivan wrote. "Because the law recognizes the President’s political power to pardon, the appropriate course is to dismiss this case as moot." Addressing the issue of whether he'd have ruled the same way if there had been no pardon, per Axios, Sullivan wrote that the Justice Department's reasoning for dropping the charges is "dubious to say the least, arguably overcoming the strong presumption of regularity that usually attaches to prosecutorial decisions."
(Read more Michael Flynn stories.)
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Regent Park Scholars Charter Academy is a tuition-free public charter school open to all students in Michigan. Our program not only follows state standards, but offers a great college-prep education and custom-created moral focus program. Founded in 2011 by members of your community, we work tirelessly to give parents a better choice.
A charter school is a tuition-free public school that offers parents a choice. Like district public schools, charter schools are required to adhere to all federal, state, and local education, health, and safety rules and regulations.
Who can attend a charter school?
Any student who meets the proper age and residency requirements can apply to attend. Please be aware it is customary for charter schools to hold random, public lotteries to accept students if they receive more applications than they have seats available.
How are charter schools different from public schools?
Charter schools are held to the same standards as other district schools. Charter schools also report to an authorizer who determines if the school is meeting the goals in its charter.
What are authorizers?
An authorizer is an entity that monitors the performance, finances, and organizational stability of charter schools, and has the authority to close schools that don’t meet required standards. Charter schools can be authorized by a state board of education, a state university, community college or local district.
How are charter schools created?
When individuals want to provide an alternative to district public schools, they may opt to propose a charter to their state authorizing agency. These community leaders, parents, teachers, principals or businesses create a charter that outlines the following:
Their program of study
The students they will to serve
The methods of assessment they’ll use to measure these goals
They then submit this charter to the state authorizing agency who either approves or denies their application.
How are charter schools managed?
Charter schools can operate alone or be run by a management organization. In the case of those operated by management organizations -- like National Heritage Academies -- the management firm often provides central support to a number of schools, so each individual school can focus their energy on teaching and learning.
On a local level, individual schools can be managed by their own Board of Directors who provide guidance and oversight to the principal.
How are charter schools funded?
Charter schools are tuition-free. They receive public funding based on their number of students, and receive grants to help with some start-up costs. Many charter schools raise funds to help with other expenses. Charter schools are also eligible for federal funding for programs like Title 1 and Special Education.
Are charter school teachers certified?
Individual states have different requirements. National Heritage Academies recruits certified and highly qualified teachers.
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Georgia governor declares state of emergency, dispatches National Guard to Atlanta
FILE - National Guard troops take a position surrounding a portion of the State Capitol to protect it as protests occur nearby, Monday, June 1, in Atlanta. (John Amis/AP)
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and called 1,000 National Guard troops to Atlanta to protect public buildings and statues after a weekend where five people, including an 8-year-old girl, were shot and killed.
“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,” Kemp said Monday.
“This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city. I have declared a State of Emergency and called up the Georgia Guard because the safety of our citizens comes first. This measure will allow troops to protect state property and dispatch state law enforcement officers to patrol our streets. Enough with the tough talk. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.”
According to WSB-TV 2, the troops will guard state buildings in the city, including the state capitol building and the governor’s mansion, freeing up Georgia State Police troopers to patrol the streets.
The Georgia State Police headquarters in Atlanta was vandalized over the weekend by demonstrators.
Protests have continued in Atlanta following the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, the latter of which occurred at an Atlanta Wendy’s and led to murder charges for the officer and the city’s police chief resigning.
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Carmelo Anthony leaves game early in Knicks’ 109-95 loss to Heat
By Peter Botte
HEAT 109, KNICKS 95
MIAMI – Carmelo Anthony admitted after the latest flare-up with his nagging left knee that he's getting closer to the point of shutting himself down for the season.
"Yeah, it's little things that I'm doing out there on the court, I'm restricted, or I'm not getting that power or that bounce. To do something like I did today, I'm getting closer to that point," a frustrated Anthony said after leaving Monday's 109-95 loss to the Heat in the fourth quarter. "I think I just irritated it again… It's the same thing. It's just very sore at this point.
"I mean, it's frustrating, for me as an individual, not being able to be yourself, just trying to fight through it and trying to now finally get to the bottom of it and take care of it, and then with the losing record, all of that kind of plays into it."
Carmelo Anthony, battling a sore left knee, scores 26 points before exiting the game early in the fourth quarter. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images)
Anthony has been dealing with left-knee soreness since the second game of the season; and he likely will undergo surgery eventually after Sunday's All-Star Game at the Garden. He limped to the locker room with 7:30 remaining to have his knee taped but never returned as the Knicks (10-42) dropped their fourth straight after winning five of seven to open the second half.
"I tried to plant. I think I came down too low…I felt it when I came back here. I was too sore to go back," Anthony said.
When asked if he would have already shut down his knee if the All-Star Game wasn't being played in New York, the eight-time All-Star acknowledged: "Maybe. It's hard to say."
Chris Bosh, who scores a game-high 32 points, plays keep away from Jose Calderon. (Steve Mitchell/USA Today Sports)
"I'm not thinking about All-Star at this point," Anthony added. "As long as I can go to Orlando (for Wednesday's game) and wake up and kind of don't feel nothing or no soreness, I'll see what happens."
BARGNANI'S BACK
Andrea Bargnani was in uniform after missing all but two of the first 51 games with hamstring and calf injuries, scoring four points in 14 minutes. The Knicks had 15 healthy players for the first time all season; little-used rookies Cleanthony Early and Travis Wear were inactive.
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Stockholm Visitor Guide Gets Online Makeover
The Stockholm Visitors Board launched a new and interactive version of its official tourist website on Thursday, with the board promising users an even smoother and more colourful guide to getting around the Swedish capital.
"Stockholm is an innovative city, an IT city. We've seen we need to have a webpage that reflects this," Peter Lindqvist, the CEO at Stockholm Visitors Board, told The Local.
Lindqvist promised that the interactive site, which is available for both smartphones and tablets, will reflect the city's strong points and will offer users an easier and more colourful way to navigate the city.
And with summer in full swing in the Swedish capital, and many tourists keen to see what all the Scandinavian fuss is about, the new site couldn't have come at a better time.
"We decided that it was time for this, our annual visitors number around three to four million and more than half come from outside Sweden, and there are always more in summer. As we have seen their activity on iPads and other mobile devices increase by around 30 percent, we decided to offer them a service they can enjoy," Lindqvist said.
"Plus Stockholm is a city that's better enjoyed through pictures rather than text."
The site offers user-friendly look at everything in Stockholm from places to eat, the best swimming spots, ice cream spots and museum information.
The website is still in it's beta phase, and will continue to add more languages and new functions over the summer.
Source: http://www.thelocal.se/48868/20130704/
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From healthy eating to a no-phone policy, 67’s success goes beyond the ice
OHL club finished season with league-best 50 wins, tying a team record
No cellphones on the practice ice. Healthy meals on road trips.
Along with an obviously talented core of players and coaches, those sorts of initiatives are being lauded by Ottawa 67’s head coach André Tourigny as reasons the Ontario Hockey League club has been so successful this year.
The team finished the regular season with a league-best 50 wins, tying a club record, and set a team record with 106 points.
Tourigny said it’s the product of commitment and hard work from his players, but also making a space where good players can succeed — including an education consultant, a skills coach, monthly leadership workshops and a fitness trainer.
“The last two years [since I was hired] we worked on the environment and culture and made sure the players had everything they needed to perform,” he said.
“We give them all the tools and then we hold them accountable.”
CBC News OttawaOttawa 67’s get ready for playoff run WATCH00:00 00:45The Ottawa 67’s head coach André Tourigny says his team’s record setting season is the product of commitment and a positive attitude from players. 0:45
‘We want to make stronger athletes’
Team owners Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, who also own the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa Fury FC, spent a “significant” amount of money on these efforts, said general manager James Boyd, without getting into specific costs.
As part of the strategy, the team has balanced meals delivered after practices, with head strength and conditioning coach Sean Young’s fiancée finding restaurants with healthy menus when the team is on the road.
The food is “standardized for every player,” Young said.
“We want to make stronger athletes, we want to make mobile athletes, and [we want to] keep the weight on them — during the season they can lose quite a bit of weight,” he said.
“You have a big guy like Kevin Bahl, he’s 6-6, he might need two or three chicken breasts, he might want more protein versus carbohydrates because he’s trying to cut weight. I might have a kid like [6-0, 175-pound] Mitch Hoelscher eat lots more carbohydrates.”
Sean Young has a sport science background and tailors meals, supplements and drinks to what players need before and after workouts. (Kim Vallière/Radio-Canada)
Building a ‘family’
The club’s player development and performance director, Derek Miller, has also helped create a personalized skill-boosting plan for each player, which they work on at least twice a week after practice to improve their stickhandling, shooting and skating.
“The mandate [when I was hired] was to change the culture and to give the players what they need to succeed, to develop and become the athletes they want to be,” said Miller.
Tourigny said the players have really lived up to those expectations, noting they do 90-minute workouts followed by 90-minute practices.
The team, mostly made of teenagers, also has a policy where they turn their cellphones in at the coach’s office when they get to the arena.
“The principle is simple. The 67’s are a family,” Tourigny said.
“When you come across the door, what’s important is your family … If you’re not able to focus on your teammates [for three hours], there’s a problem.”
Derek Miller’s hockey career took him to the NCAA and AHL. His coaching career has included a stint as the head coach of national teams in Scotland. (Kim Vallière/Radio-Canada)
Playoffs start Friday
Tourigny also credited the rest of his coaching staff for encouraging the team.
“My coaching staff are fantastic people, they have energy every day,” he said. “They are happy to show up at the rink every day and I think that is contagious.”
“They kind of eliminate all the excuses. It’s similar to Hockey Canada. You can just go play.” said 67’s goalie Mike DiPietro, who has spent time with the Vancouver Canucks and world junior team this season.
Forward Sasha Chmelevski said he has seen no other team perform at this level in his four seasons in the league.
The OHL playoffs have already kicked off, with the Ottawa 67’s facing a rematch against their first-round opponent from last year, the Hamilton Bulldogs.
This time around, the tables have turned, with Ottawa as the top seed and Hamilton earning the final playoff spot.
Game 1 was Friday night and Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in Ottawa before a pair of midweek games in Hamilton. This year’s Ottawa 67’s team is considered one of the best in the franchise’s history, setting more records this weekend as they wrapped up the regular season.
Ottawa hits a population of one million: Big ideas for a big city
Weekly LRT Update - City of Ottawa believes it will have keys to LRT before Canada Day
OLH Team March 25, 2019
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All your past sins are since past
You should be sleeping
It's all right, sleep tight
Through the long night with me
As with his other albums, Billy closes out Glass Houses with a ballad "Through The Long Night." This is another underappreciated song. It is one of Billy's most tender and vulnerable songs. Unlike his other song lyrics which tend to be very literal or tell a story, the lyrics in "Through The Long Night" are more impressionistic. The song opens with: "the cold hands, the sad eyes, the dark Irish silence." Maybe this is a foreshadowing of the type of lyrics and songs that would appear in Billy's next studio album, The Nylon Curtain.
Picasso's "La Reve" (1932). See discussion (right) and in video (right).
The cold hands, the sad eyes
The dark Irish silence
It's so late, but I'll wait
Through the long night with you
The warm tears, the bad dreams
The soft trembling shoulders
The old fears, but I'm here
Oh, what has it cost you
I almost lost you
Oh, you should have told me
But you had to bleed to know
No, I didn't start it
You're broken hearted
From a long, long time ago
Oh, the way you hold me
Is all that I need to know
And it's so late, but I'll wait
This is not a simple "I love you" or "I want you" song. This is a more mature song. Billy has said that the song came about when helping someone close to him overcome emotional trauma, staying with that person through the suffering, giving a loved one emotional support, and watching that person sleep (the Glass Houses album is dedicated to Patrick Driscoll). It's an intensely personal song, but the beauty of the lyrics is that they are more universal and could be interpreted in many ways.
Musically, the song is reminiscent of The Beatles' "Yesterday," though Billy has said that he had "Yes It Is" (demo version) in mind. Like most of the songs on side two of Glass Houses, "Through The Long Night" did not get much recognition and is rarely played, but hardcore Billy Joel fans are fond of this sad and introspective ballad.
In the video below, during a Q&A session, Billy explains the story behind "Through The Long Night." It's a very Irish song, he says, and he explains that the song came to him while he was watching someone who was undergoing emotional turmoil and had fallen asleep like in Pablo Picasso's series of paintings (left).
Billy received the Grammy Award for "Best Rock Performance, Male" for Glass Houses in 1981, but in "Through The Long Night" Billy demonstrates that he can still create a very meaningful and tender ballad. It is one of his most underrated songs, and is little-known except to Billy's most ardent fans.
"And it's so late but I'll wait, through the long night with you. With you."
"Through The Long Night" with photos of Picasso paintings, from the same video as above, but jumps to 1:52 where the song begins. "Through The Long Night" is © 1980 Sony Music Entertainment.
Demo version of "Through The Long Night."
Acoustic instrumental version of "Through The Long Night" arranged and performed by Jim Bosse. Bosse is Billy's child hood friend and former bandmate. See the song "James."
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openDemocracyUK: Opinion
The establishment or the far right? Slovaks have no good direction to turn
Slovakia will vote on Saturday in an election dominated by the murder of a journalist. But few voters seem inspired by the options on offer.
Adam Ramsay
Demonstration in memory of murdered journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. Bratislava, March 2nd 2018
Peter Tkac, some rights reserved.
Elections are supposed to be about choice. The problem for Slovaks is their only real choice is between the uninspiring and the unpalatable. Not surprisingly, then, the likely winner is an ‘anti-politics’ party.
That’s worrying, because this election is vitally important. Partly because it has been set alight by a murder trial with allegations of connections to key figures in the ruling party, Smer. It may well determine the future of the party itself.
It has been in power more often than not over the last twenty years. Aligned with the party of European socialists (from which it was for a while expelled due to its coalition with a far-right nationalist party), it is now essentially the anti-immigrant centrist party of Slovakia’s post-communist establishment. Few in the country see it as representing anything approximating left-wing politics today. “They try to claim that label, but they haven’t done anything to justify it for years,” one man says to me.
The politics of Smer have been overshadowed, though, by the murder of the 27-year-old journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancé Martina Kušnírová in 2018. Kuciak had been investigating the tax affairs and criminal connections of figures in the party, and his assassination triggered major protests, forcing the resignation of the prime minister, Robert Fico – though he didn’t stand down as party leader.
The trial of key figures accused of involvement in the murder has run in parallel with campaigning, with one man pleading guilty to pulling the trigger last month, and many Slovaks have followed closely as a web of connections between the key defendent, the infamous Slovakian businessmen Marián Kočner, and some of the richest and most powerful people in Slovakia – including Fico himself – has been revealed.
Despite the unfolding scandal in the courts and the Slovakian newspapers, Smer managed to keep its lead in the polls until two weeks before the vote – after which it’s illegal to publish surveys. But only just: the final poll had them on 17.2%, while second-placed OL’aNO (whose full name translates as ‘Ordinary People and Independent Personalities’) was on 16.4%.
OL’aNO is widely predicted to win the election. It is an anti-politics right wing collection of individuals, led by unpredictable front man Igor Matovič. I asked various Slovak political experts for an international comparison - Italy’s 5 Star Movement, perhaps? They shrugged, and explained that no one really knows. It’s barely even really a party, Matovič has only announced a deputy leader under pressure from the media in the final days of the campaign. His grouping really is just a collection of individuals held together by their attacks on politics, and what kind of programme they will bring to government is hard to discern.
That’s not the most worrying thing, though. The election is important because it looks like it’s going to give a major boost to the neo-Nazi People’s Party – Our Slovakia, led by a former district governor, Marian Kotleba. Kotleba has spoken out against the Slovak anti-Nazi resistance in the Second World War and has used explicit hate speech against Jews. His campaign targets the large Roma minority in the country. In the final poll before the election, his party was in third place, on 10.2%.
Also at the far right of the spectrum, a party called We Are Family is expected to make it past the 5% threshold required to win seats. The sister party of France’s National Rally, Italy’s Lega and the Austrian Freedom Party, it is polling at more than 7%. The ultra-conservative party Fatherland, on the other hand, is expecting only around 3%, which means no seats in parliament.
Coming in behind the neo-Nazis is the remaining shrapnel of splintered centrist parties which represents, along with OL’aNO, the democratic opposition. Speaking to people across a number of Slovakian towns over the last week, many expressed their dislike for the “corrupt” Smer and the “Nazi” Kotleba. But the vast majority were yet to settle on which opposition party they’d support, uninspired by any of them.
There’s Progressive Slovakia: the centre-left party which managed to win last year’s presidential election in the wake of the murders. This time, it’s projected to win just 9%. For The People, a centre-right liberal party founded by former president Andrej Kiska is on around 8%. Slovakia’s Christian Democratic Party, KDH, is struggling to keep above the 5% threshold for entry into parliament, while the libertarian pro-flat tax SNS is projected to slip below that line, as is the inter-ethnic party “Bridge” and the centre-left “Good Choice”.
Roma mobilising
A group of Roma voters listen to candidates from democratic parties vying for their votes in Poprad, Slovakia | Image: Adam Ramsay
Responding to the rise of the far right, a new initiative, Rise Roma – named after a popular slogan in the Roma community – has launched in the south of the country.
In a smoky basement bar, its charismatic young spokesman Koloman Lovas explains the plan in rapid English. Touring Roma communities to discuss their concerns, Rise Roma has developed a manifesto, focusing on issues like the segregated education much of the Roma community still faces, the informal and slum housing they are forced to put up with, and the lack of Roma representation in the country’s media and culture.
They have asked all parties to sign up to a five-point pledge based on these concerns, and are mobilising the Roma community to turn out and vote for those parties which do.
Speaking to me about the election over a large plate of beef and dumplings in the rural Banská region, the country’s only Roma MP, Štefan Vavrek of The Bridge, says that he’s never seen the community so mobilised to vote. Travelling round the region, hosting small rallies in different villages each morning, he explains that attempts by the neo-Nazis to vilify the community have succeeded in politicising the community. One Roma woman I spoke to told me that she just wants justice for everyone, while another said she just wants a fair chance – and they were pretty much the only motivated voters I met.
How many Roma people there are in Slovakia is contested – many don’t tick the box on the census for fear of discrimination. Around half are double minorities, also being members of the Hungarian-speaking population close to the southern border, while the other half live more often in the east, and speak Romani at home. But Ondrej Poduska, a staff member of the US government-funded National Democratic Institute tells me he estimates the figure at around 10% of the population.
In an electoral system where securing 20% of the vote means coming first, that’s a large potential voter block.
‘He wants a holocaust’
Kotleba denies he is a fascist. But someone I met who knows him personally – I won’t say more for fear of identifying them – doesn’t believe him: “He wants a holocaust, he doesn’t like Gypsies or homosexuals.”
In the mountain town of Poprad, I meet a multilingual middle-class woman who tells me she’s the chair of the local electoral commission. When I ask if she’s allowed to tell me who she supports, she says she’s been a member of Kotleba’s party for three years, largely because she opposes “the LGBT agenda”. The next day, outside the ice hockey stadium in Slovakia’s second city, Košice, 25-year-old Michael tells me that he is a conservative, and will vote for “one of the conservative parties”, but only names Kotleba. Asked about LGBTIQ rights, he says, in English, “gender ideology is not for Slovakia”.
Alienation and discontent
While the presence of neo-Nazi voters is deeply worrying, many more people I spoke to had an attitude which was summed up by 25-year-old Gurast: “Not Smer, not Kotleba, not sure.” As 18-year-old Philip, also in Košice, said: “In this election, I don’t think I have something good I can choose.”
It is this lack of enthusiasm which has fractured the vote of the majority who oppose both Smer and Kotleba into a smattering of smaller parties: consistently, when I asked groups of friends who they were voting for, they would each cite a different member of the democratic opposition.
And it is this lack of enthusiasm about politics which has encouraged voters to stump for the anti-political OL’aNO. In the university town of Zvolen, a number of the students I spoke to were supporting them, for lack of faith in anyone else. While most of this disenchantment can be put down to the murder of a young investigative journalist only two years ago, and widespread belief that the traditional ruling class is deeply corrupt, numerous people I spoke to talked about endless online attack ads, particulary targetting the centre-left Progressive Slovakia.
Whether Smer’s promise to increase the retirement pension allows it to cling to power, or OL’aNO ends up with the job of turning its anti-politics into a programme and piecing together a coalition from a handful of smaller parties; whether one of the other democratic parties manages to convince the thousands or undecideds at the last minute, and whether the Roma vote mobilises to crush Kotleba or the neo-Nazis give us even more of a shock than polls have indicated; this isn’t just any old election.
I’ve heard despair about politics in the other countries I’ve visited in recent weeks – Ukraine, Hungary, Austria – but among the Slovakians I’ve talked to it’s seemed deeper. Few felt that anyone was offering them the sort of change that they wanted. As one builder said: “We want choice.” At the moment, the only options are centrists or the far right. And that wasn’t, it seemed, what most of them were looking for, though few could put there finger on what would inspire them.
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The Dangers of Hype
June 19, 2019 199 views1
Booting up Nier: Automata for the first time was weighed by heavy odds. The game had come out over two years ago and yet, still remained on my shelf, unplayed. There was no real reason for it, just that other games and life itself got in the way and the game got pushed back into near obscurity in my backlog. Since then, the game has gone on to win many awards, garnered critical acclaim, gained a cult following and now has a game of the year edition (or Game of the YoRHa). That’s a lot of expectations to put on a game for newcomers, so when my friend finally convinced me to play it I was nervous but excited.
Facing that brave new world.
Going back to 2005, Tim Schafer of Double Fine Productions released his crazy and absurd vision to the world in the form of Psychonauts, a bizarre and wacky platformer revolving around a character who enters peoples’ minds with a host of psychic abilities. It’s a premise that was hard to sell and shouldn’t have worked, and it didn’t, at the time anyway. On release, Psychonauts was received by great reviews but failed to meet demands in the eyes of sales. It was considered a failure commercially and any hopes of a sequel were crushed. But yet, in 2019 many people are eagerly awaiting the release of the upcoming sequel (appropriately named Psychonauts 2). How did a game that sold so poorly even manage to get funded for a sequel? Much like Nier: Automata, this is a game shrouded in critical acclaim and a heavy word of mouth from its cult fans, and starting this recently gave me the same feelings I had when I booted up Nier.
10 hours into Nier: Automata I was underwhelmed. The story was disjointed, the world was lifeless and the combat was barebones. I sat there, as I’d slain one of the thousands of same enemies wondering to myself, what am I missing? Everywhere I look is nothing but praise, my friend gave it the highest recommendation and we are on the same page when it comes to gaming, yet, nothing in this world struck me as beyond average. Every set piece I arrived at, I would hear him in our party chat exclaiming how he loved this part or how great the next part is. However, I felt empty. Each scenario and challenge the game threw at me left me feeling deflated, unfulfilled and desperately wondering why this game has the hype it does. Hype is a powerful tool, one that can make or break a game and one that ultimately ruined my first playthrough of Nier.
During Microsoft’s E3 conference of 2019 Tim Schafer took to the stage as the head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty just announced his company Double Fine Productions would be joining the Xbox brand. Following that we were graced with the Psychonauts 2 trailer, which showcased what appears to be an incredible upcoming platformer. The crowd was going crazy for it and further showed the power of hype over the years. I’ve heard a lot about Psychonauts and everything I had seen leads me to believe it would be a game I would love, from it’s Tim Burton-esque world to the intense platforming. The first game had been sitting in my PlayStation 4 library for months, bought on a sale purely on the screenshots. Now was the time to try it, but this time, I would ignore the fanfare and the hype. After Nier, I wanted to accept the game on its own terms, how it was represented to me, not built upon a foundation of other people’s thoughts and opinions. Now, 10 hours into Psychonauts, I’m loving it.
A look into Tim Schafer’s incredible imagination.
Playthrough two of Nier: Automata has been a completely different experience. As I was exploring my first few hours of Psychonauts I couldn’t help but feel my thoughts were mirrored in a polar opposite. Everything clicked instantly, the world, the characters and the gameplay was constantly pushing me to explore further into this insane creation which was clearly full of passion and ideas. I decided it was time to play Nier on its own terms, canceling out the opinions of my friend and random strangers online. It clicked instantly. My second playthrough has shown me how wrong my first opinion was of this game and how hype had perhaps clouded my judgment. The second playthrough takes you through all the same story beats and progression that the first did but as a second character, but fundamentally, is the same game to a point. But this time the world felt more alive, the combat appears more flashy and exhilarating and the story came together like a jigsaw that was just begging to be finished. All of it made sense and the game has now sunk its claws into me until I’ve finished my second and third playthrough, maybe even a fourth.
Every year, the same cycle happens. Games are announced, opinions are forged, the game is released, a consensus is made. But how powerful can the opinions be on someone and how do they reflect your own judgment of the game? If I hadn’t of heard and read everything I had about Nier: Automata, would it have clicked instantly? It’s scary to think how easily we can be influenced in the hype surrounding a product that from an outsider’s perspective, it can be hard to penetrate. E3 this year has proven again how strong-willed opinions can be with some games receiving an insane amount of hype (I’m looking at you Cyberpunk 2077). But it’s unfair to judge a game with any sort of prenotion, whether that be good or bad. After dozens of hours with both of these games, I am hooked and that’s due to my own thoughts and feelings, not others and as this console generation draws to a close and we receive some of this generations heaviest hitters to close this era, I think it’s only fair that we all do the same and appreciate all games for what they are and not what others have convinced us.
Daniel is a writer for Parallax Media.
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[…] The Dangers of Hype […]
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Digital Technology for Older People: A Review of Recent Research
Helen Petrie and Jenny S. Darzentas
The Oxford Handbook of Digital Technology and Society
Edited by Simeon J. Yates and Ronald E. Rice
Sociology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190932596.013.6
Scope of the Review
Uses of Mainstream Technologies by and for Older People
Topic 1: Older People’s Interaction with Mainstream Digital Technologies
Topic 2: Older People’s Lived Experience of Digital Technologies
Topic 3: Older People’s Use of Digital Technology for Communication and Social Interaction
Topic 4: Using Digital Technologies to Assist Older People: Monitoring Older People’s Welfare
Reflections on the Research on Uses of Digital Technology for Older People
Particular Subtopics within Topics
Two Themes across the Four Topics
Appendix: Publications Analyzed
Introduction to the Oxford Handbook of Digital Technology and Society: Terms, Domains, and Themes
ESRC Review: Methodology
ESRC Review: Health and Well-Being
Computer-Mediated Communication and Mental Health: A Computational Scoping Review of an Interdisciplinary Field
Digital Inclusion and Women’s Health and Well-Being in Rural Communities
A Digital Nexus: Sustainable HCI and Domestic Resource Consumption
ESRC Review: Communication and Relationships
Media Mastery by College Students: A Typology and Review
Boundary Management and Communication Technologies
ESRC Review: Economy and Organizations
The Changing Nature of Knowledge and Service Work in the Age of Intelligent Machines
Workplace “Digital Culture” and the Uptake of Digital Solutions: Personal and Organizational Factors
ESRC Review: Communities and Identities
Digital Engagement and Class: Economic, Social, and Cultural Capital in a Digital Age
ESCR Review: Citizenship and Politics
Digital Ecology of Free Speech: Authenticity, Identity, and Self-Censorship
ESRC Review: Data and Representation
Digital Citizenship in the Age of Datafication
Digitizing Cultural Complexity: Representing Rich Cultural Data in a Big Data Environment
Motivations for Online Knowledge Sharing
ESCR Review: Governance and Security
Governance and Accountability in Internet of Things (IoT) Networks
ESRC Review: Future Research on the Social, Organizational, and Personal Impacts of Automation: Findings from Two Expert Panels
Conclusion: Cross-Cutting, Unique, and General Themes in the <i>Oxford Handbook of Digital Technology and Society</i>
This chapter reviews recent research on digital technology to support older people. The review concentrates on research emphasizing the design and evaluation of technologies used by older people, rather than the technical implementation of the technologies. Such papers provided insight into the needs and interests for this group, how older people were involved in the research, and what outcomes were achieved. 407 papers were identified and grouped into 16 major topics of research. Four of these topics are discussed in detail, as well as several of the general themes that emerged from the research.
Keywords: ageingaging population, being digital, digital technology, lived experience, mainstream digital technologies, older people, older people’s welfare
Helen Petrie is Professor of Human Computer Interaction in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York in the UK. Her research centers on the use of new technologies for people with disabilities and older people, particularly the web. She has been involved in many British and international projects and has published extensively. She has advised numerous private and public sector organizations on web accessibility and accessibility issues of other new technologies. She directed the largest study in the world on web accessibility for the Disability Rights Commission of Great Britain and a similar study for the UK Museums, Libraries, and Archive Council, and she has conducted many smaller studies of web accessibility. In 2009 she was awarded an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Award for the social impact of her research, and in 2017 she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal National Institute for Blind People.
Jenny S. Darzentas
Jenny S. Darzentas was the Marie Curie Advanced Researcher Fellow in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York 2016–2018 during the writing of the chapter. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece. Her research interests are in accessibility, service design and systems thinking, and information design. She has worked on collaborative research projects funded by the European Union on HCI, intelligent tutoring, decision support, library and information systems, and universal design. She also has an interest in accessibility issues in international (ISO) and European (CEN/CENELEC) standardization efforts through her voluntary work with ANEC (www.anec.gr). She has published widely on all these subjects.
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The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book
Earl Of Harwood
The New Pocket Kobbe's Complete Opera Book is the world's leading reference work on opera, and (in the words of Bernard Levin) 'no single-volume operatic guide can possibly compare with it'. Kobbe is the only book which summaries the libretti of the world's opera, describes their music and gives a history of their performance within a single volume. But it is a large and relatively expensive book. The new pocket edition, at a price accessable to the huge new audience for opera, has been redesigned and extended, existing entries have been rewritten, and new operas included. The total number of works covered is now over 200, including important new works like John Adams Nixon in China, Harrison Birtwistle's Gawain and Thomas Ades's Powder Her Face, and a number of half-forgotten works that are now undergoing revival. Unlike the previous edition, it is now simply arranged, alphabetically by composer. Lord Harewood's strongly individual commentaries, together with his unparalleled knowledge of and enthusiasm for opera, make the New Pocket Kobbe a book no opera-goer can afford to be without.
The Earl of Harewood was the editor of Kobbe's Complete Opera Book for more than forty years, and, with Antony Peattie, edited the New Kobbe's Opera Book first published in 1997. He held many important appointments in the musical world, and was Managing Director of the English National Opera from 1972 to 1985. In recognition of his services to opera he was made KBE in 1986. Michael Shmith, a former arts editor of the Melbourne Age, writes on music and opera for various publications. He is the author of Mahler: Musician of the Century.
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The Key – Symbol of Freedom
Last weekend Stephanie and I visited the OBOD Imbolc camp and took part in a special ceremony that marked the completion of a 19 year cycle, and the birthing of a new chapter in the story of druid camps.
In 1993 I met Ronald Hutton for the first time at a planning meeting for a conference to be hosted by the Secular Order of Druids. We were in the evocative setting of Avebury and I can remember the moment when Ronald told me of a phenomenon he’d discovered: camps focused around a theme such as astrology or dance. “Are they any good?” I asked him. “They are so good I would swim through a river of sewage to get to one!” came Ronald’s reply.
The seed was planted, and the following year we held our first camp in the Vale of the White Horse in Oxfordshire. A dragon made of withies and paper, operated by three or four people, blessed our opening ceremony and spat a bag of stage ‘thunder-flash’ powder into the central fire. The magic had begun! Over the years we’ve held dozens of camps, four a year since 1996, and it’s changed many peoples’ lives, including a whole generation of children, including our own, whose lives have been enriched by the love and creativity they’ve experienced on them. You can see photographs and accounts of them here.
OBOD and Druidry work with the dynamics of radiance, fertility, giving and seeding, and once our camps, after the first few years, had taken root, they began to inspire others to start Druid camps: the British Druid Order, then the Druid Network and Rainbow 2000 held weekend camps in the summer. Then some OBOD groves started their own camps. Then OBOD groups in the Netherlands, Germany, and New Zealand. Variations on the theme (using hostels or gites rather than tents) developed in France, Belgium, and Australia.
All of these other gatherings were autonomous – in other words organized by groups of members who took full responsibility for their camps. They were open to OBOD members and friends, but they were not organized by the Order.
After 19 years (which represents a Metonic cycle, which symbolizes completion and wholeness to Druids) it feels as if the original UK camps group should join the ranks of all the other groups to become completely autonomous.
Now there is not just one camp group that reaches OBOD members but many. Rather than having a situation where there seems to be only one ‘official’ group run by the Order, and others that are somehow different, we have created a situation whereby all camps are ‘unofficial’! Any member or group of members can create a gathering or camp for Order members, just as any member can establish a Seed Group. If it works it will work, and if it doesn’t it won’t. The camps in Britain have built up such a body of experience, such a team of dedicated people who work incredibly hard to create magical events, I am sure they will go from strength to strength. The less ‘officialdom’ we can have the better. As an organization we don’t want to build an empire, or hold on to structures for longer than is necessary to ensure strong foundations.
To mark this moment we held a ceremony on Sunday. About 40 of us were standing in the sacred circle in a great yurt at Wildways in Shropshire (where the Imbolc camps have been held for many years). After the opening ritual, Stephanie and I stepped forward and spoke of the story of camps, of the way in which Imbolc is a time of seeding, and how camps have seeded their joy around the world. We honoured the history of camps and all the people who have nurtured it. We acknowledged and honoured the land on which camps were born and have grown: Adam’s farm in the Vale of the White Horse, the field beside Dragon Hill at the foot of the Horse, the woodland sanctuary of Wildways for Imbolc. We honoured the spirits of the land, the camp and the Order who have nurtured us. We acknowledged and gave thanks for the gift the camps have given to our children. We honoured and thanked the elders, trustees, site crew, focalizers, visiting speakers and volunteers of every kind who have created and held camps over the years.
And then I asked Garth to step forward. Garth, who has reached the age of 80 this year, has been in charge of the Gate of camps for many years. This is a job that requires the ability to spend most of the time isolated from the rest of camp, waiting to receive visitors, welcoming new arrivals, offering them tea and biscuits to help them ‘ground’ and fully ‘arrive’, and collecting their fees. Garth has done this with incredible dedication for so long I’ve forgotten how long! And since the Gate represents the doorway into the magic of camps I figured he was the right person to give the symbol of the gift of freedom, which had arrived synchronistically a few days before, just as I had been asking for inspiration on what symbolic gesture I could make in the forthcoming ceremony. I knew what I wanted to say, but I didn’t know how I could enact something ritually, and then a package arrived from Sofia in Bulgaria for my birthday. The gift was an ornate key, and I sensed at once that this would be the perfect gift for another kind of birthday – a gift from the city named after the Goddess of Wisdom to symbolize maturity, adulthood, the Freedom of the City, or in this case the Field! Here is Garth with the key:
11 Responses to “The Key – Symbol of Freedom”
Garry Watts says:
Beautiful. I hope to visit a camp one day when I feel sufficiently spiritually mature. I have been doing the Bardic grade since 2006 and won’t complete it till I’m sure I’m ready for the Ovate. I hope the Order goes on from strength to strength, and bless you all for carrying on the good work and keeping the continuity going so that I can.
Treeshrew says:
I have recently joined the Order, and I am hoping to come along to some Druid camps as part of my learning experience. Will the new camps be advertised on the OBOD website, or on here, for those of us not in the know?
All good wishes for the future of the Order and the camps!
Hi – Yes all the camps put on by members will be announced on the OBOD site – so no change there! Blessings, Philip
Thanks a lot for getting back to me! I look forward to going to one of the camps in future.
Roger D. LeBlanc says:
I hope that the gate-keeper will experience the camp fully someday!
Daleth Hall says:
19 years is also the length of a lunar node cycle–the time it takes for the North and South Nodes of the Moon (or “Dragon’s Head” and “Dragon’s Tail”) to circle fully round the zodiac.
Thank you Daleth – that’s nice isn’t it? We started with the dragon and in this cycle he has curled his tail around full circle.
Steve King says:
Nicely put Philip. Previously I felt the “anchor” of official OBOD camp was an important thing for camps – and maybe it was for the 19 years. But I am pretty sure camps will prosper anyway now. They have done so much for me in the past, more than I can say. For reasons I won’t bore you with here I cannot go to camps anymore and I miss them desperately. But it is good to see them continue, they have helped me so much, I have many wonderful memories from them, and I know they will continue to be of inestimable value to others.
Cheryl Yambrach Rose-Hall says:
Beautiful Story Philip
Dan Allford says:
It was a magical day Phillip. The ceremony especially felt strong and clear and gentle.
In the evening, after lighting candles much hilarity ensued and at the end of what turned into an impromptu eisteddfod, we all gathered closely and sang ‘Happy Birthday To Us!’ before blowing them out in the yurt.
And now the process of transformation and evolution is continuing. Much work to be done but a great sense of free ideas and Awen.
Love to you and Stephanie /|
Elizabeth Cruse says:
Thanks Philip and I hope we will still see you and Stephanie at camps sometimes in the future
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TiVO CEO Interview: TiVO Skips Past the DVR
TiVO has been in the news more than usual lately. In May it reached a settlement with Dish , which calls for Dish to pay TiVo $500 million for using its “time warp” technology that simultaneously records and plays back television shows. It also has recently been regarded as a takeover target.
In the Latin American market, TiVO partners with Cablevision in Mexico and DirectTV Latin America panregionally. TiVO’s plans are also very interesting in the light of Netflix’s announcement last week to expand into the Latin American market. Our Digital Media Correspondent, Levi Shapiro interviewed Tom Rogers, TiVO's CEO, who shares his views on the future of television and onwhy Nielsen has it all wrong and his plans for spending half a billion dollars.
TiVO disrupted the TV industry when it invented the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) in 1997. Now that 40% of US Households have a DVR (Magna Global), the company should be swimming in riches. Instead, TiVO's DVR business is in free-fall, bleeding money in 10 of the last 11 years with more than half of its subscriber base abandoning the service in the last three years. Last month, the company was given a fresh start, courtesy of a $500 million legal settlement with DISH Network. Tom Rogers, TiVO CEO, shares his perspective:
TiVO's opportunity is clear- there are 160 million set top boxes in the US, almost none of which support Advanced Television features. For example, internet radio provider Pandora surpassed 100 million subscribers last month while Over the top (OTT) video service Netflix grew to over 26 million subscribers as 176 million Americans viewed online video last month (Nielsen). Facebook also continued to absorb a greater proportion of online media consumption (see below). Unfortunately, none of these experiences are accessible from most Pay TV set top boxes, explaining the rapid growth of devices like Roku, Boxee and Apple TV. "The world of mobile phones, tablets and internet has put power in the hands of consumers. That did not happen with television. The Pay TV ecosystem missed the boat with the social experience. TiVO's new products help operators bring TV back to the center of the media world".
TiVO is adopting a sue 'em and woo 'em strategy. While litigation continues with Microsoft, Verizon and AT&T, the focus is on selling software to the operators. "We make hardware solely to effectuate deployment. Our technology is not hardware dependent. Or you can build our software into someone else's hardware- we don't care".
Not being a hardware player helped TiVO win its first deal with a cable operator, replacing Motorola. "We don't make money on the hardware but will provide it for cable companies to reach their audience. As a result, we have the ability to be a cost-effective alternative for cable companies".
Rogers is adamant that advanced television requires better audience measurement. TiVO is taking the fight directly to Nielsen. "The current system has not kept pace with advertiser needs", says Rogers. As the former President of NBC's cable operations, he calls TiVO's second-by-second StopWatch ratings service "long overdue. Nielsen does not adequately differentiate between when an ad is being watched and when a show is being watched. When you have a high percentage of people skipping the ad, Nielsen really doesn't provide an accurate view. TiVO can help determine what ads work, where they work, and when."
TiVO launched its own real-time, minute-by-minute audience measurement service called StopWatch. To help marketers and agencies understand the service, earlier this year the company launched a free site, ScoreCard (www.tivo.com/ad-scorecard), to assess campaign effectiveness, viewer retention and performance relative to other brands.
The burning question for shareholders and technology start-ups alike is how will TiVO spend the $500 million? Don't expect a dividend. "We are more inclined toward a buyback," says Rogers. This would also help offset dilution from a recent convertible bond offering. "TiVO is interested in acquisitions. However, we are seeing great organic growth for our TiVO Premiere products". In the slow-moving world of Pay TV technology providers, the DISH settlement will enable TiVO to skip past the DVR era.
"TV began as a very social medium. Now it has devolved into a solo, isolated activity. The user experience is not commensurate with the technologies available and has fallen behind other platforms. TV is still the principal media experience but there is a lot of great content that you can't get from the Set Top Box. We are helping Pay TV operators bring over 7 million pieces of content, including music, online video, pictures, etc from the internet right to your TV set".
Grupo Televisa Net Income Little Changed as Pay TV Helps Sales Increase
Sales Leads: P&G – Yahoo! La Costeña, Vme-Pedigree, Paccar, Tampico, MiBanco
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East: What A Relief
Goal hero thrilled to be back in action
It has been a long spell on the sidelines for Danny East.
The versatile 22-year-old had not featured since injuring his ankle in a goalless draw against Northampton at Fratton Park just after Christmas.
But he returned to action against the same opposition – and scored the winning goal to stretch Pompey’s winning run to five matches.
And it was a welcome relief for East to get a taste of first team action again after almost four months on the treatment table.
He said: “I didn’t stop running for the first 30 minutes – that’s what the gaffer wanted me to do. But I was pretty tired by the time I came off near the end.
“I’ve overcome a big injury before and I knew I’d overcome this one as well. It took longer than we thought and, but we got there in the end.
“It’s been a frustrating season all around, but especially when we were in our bad run and I couldn’t do anything to help.
“Then we started doing well and I was really happy for the boys, but I wanted to be a part of it and I’m happy that I was finally able to do that.
“I’ve shown what I can do in training during the week, so the manager knows what I’m about and that I’ll give everything for the team.”
East made 19 appearances while on loan with the Cobblers from Hull last season.
And although he was pleased to be on the winning side at Sixfields Stadium, Pompey’s goal hero hopes his former side can beat the drop.
“The boys dug in deep,” said East. “Northampton put a lot of pressure on us, but we held on for the three points.
“They had some good chances at the end, but then we were doing them on the break.
“There are some good people at the club and hopefully they can now go on to avoid relegation. I think they’ve got enough quality to do that.”
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The Ice Princess #1
Author(s): Camilla Lackberg
The psychological thriller debut of No.1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. A small town can hide many secrets Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems like she's taken her own life. Meanwhile, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. It's only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about a small town with a deeply disturbing past...
Camilla Lackberg is a worldwide bestseller renowned for her brilliant contemporary psychological thrillers. Her novels have sold to 55 countries with translations into 38 languages. She has sold over 10 million copies to date and was Europe's ninth bestselling author last year.
Author : Camilla Lackberg
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Why Martin and Idah add up for City
Norwich City youngster Josh Martin is now a serious frontline option for Daniel Farke Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Adam Idah and Josh Martin are carrying the baton for Norwich City’s new wave, and Daniel Farke is willing to unleash the duo over the club’s league and cup run-in.
Idah burst onto the scene with a hat-trick in the FA Cup third round at Preston, and made his Premier League debut against Saturday’s quarter-final opponents Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Attacking wide player Martin made his first top-flight appearance in the recent Southampton defeat - and in Farke they have a mentor ready to trust in youth.
The likes of Max Aarons, Jamal Lewis, Ben Godfrey and Todd Cantwell all blossomed with early first team exposure under this head coach at Carrow Road.
“They are not just options. I think they have done fantastically well in the recent weeks,” said Farke. “If I feel they can make an impact they will get a chance.
“Of course they won’t be involved each and every minute, or even in the matchday squads every week, but I trust then and I am not scared to play them because they are young.
“If they are the best option, they will play.
“Adam was pretty impressive during this period and Josh got his chance, although it wasn’t the best game for his debut (against Southampton). Sadly his first few weeks during lockdown he had a small muscle injury and he was behind the other players. Probably from training a little too much individually.
“But he is growing from day to day in his performances.
“I like this positive naivety and this bravery of the youth. We need it to win points. We probably have the most inexperienced squad at this level. That is challenging and demanding.”
Idah is now a much-improved asset, insists Farke, from his FA Cup third round hat-trick heroics.
“He has made a big step from the beginning of the season,” he said. “He had to adapt to the speed of the game. He has this natural goalscoring instinct. He will always score goals, he is blessed with that, but had to work a bit on his play with his back to goal and the technical aspects.
“It is no coincidence that in recent games for such a young lad he got some game time.
“It is important to use this naivety. He just goes out trying to create something, and with his physicality it is not easy for centre backs.”
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Fozzy: Players aware of predicament
Published: 6:00 AM January 12, 2009 Updated: 10:52 PM October 10, 2020
Chris Lakey Canaries skipper Mark Fotheringham says it's difficult to stay positive amid City's slide towards the Championship relegation zone.Amid the chest-thumping call to arms lies the inescapable fact that, for the 10th time in 14 away games, City returned empty-handed.
Canaries skipper Mark Fotheringham says it's difficult to stay positive amid City's slide towards the Championship relegation zone.
Amid the chest-thumping call to arms lies the inescapable fact that, for the 10th time in 14 away games, City returned empty-handed.
“It's really hard to be positive when you're losing these games,” admitted Fotheringham. “We all talk about the performances and it is hard when we are trying to be positive about it - we would rather take a win any day above the performance. But you set your stall out all week to perform well and go and pass the ball and create chances, and we're doing that. We are just so unlucky at the moment - you can see that in the games, we're having some great spells, but we're just not taking the game and taking the points home and killing the teams off.
“It's so important in this league to kill teams off and then defend for your lives for the next 30 minutes in games. You saw Sheffield, they were happy with the 1-0.
“Norwich have got to begin to believe that when we're 1-0 up there's nothing wrong with winning 1-0 and making it an ugly game. Hopefully fans will understand that when teams come to Carrow Road now and maybe we haven't got so much of the ball, that's okay.”
Only goal difference separates City and the final relegation spot, and Fotheringham says the difficulty of City's situation isn't lost on the team.
“We all realise we are in a fight and we are going to have to stick together as a team and as a unit because it's so important that we get away from this area of the table,” he said. “I think we have enough quality, and we showed that today.
“We have had a very unfortunate season and I think we should be a lot higher up in the table than what we are, but the games and the points that you get, the results don't lie and we are there for a reason. So we have to put it right and we will be working on that as much and as fast as we can to get us up that table where we should be.”
January could be a defining month, with two home games and one away against teams they should be able to beat.
“There are some important games, but we have proved against some of the better teams - Wolves, Ipswich and Sheffield United at home this season - that we are more than capable of beating the big teams as well,” he said.
“But it is important to beat the teams that are round about you. On our day we are capable of beating anyone, we just have to get a little bit more consistency and I think we need to defend a little bit better as a unit away from home because we give away some cheap goals at times. But if we can sort these little things out I'm sure we'll kick on in the latter half of the season.”
Fotheringham admits there is a conundrum - do City try and stick to the passing game or do they go more direct?
“I think we got the blend of football right today,” he said. “There was a good mix of one and two-touch football with Wes (Hoolahan) in the midfield, and we got the ball a lot more into Sibby (Antoine Sibierski) who was causing them a lot of problems with his flick-ons for Arturo - who for me is a very talented boy. You can see that he brings a lot to the team. He reminds of Darren Huckerby a little bit where he can take the ball and run and he brings the whole team up the pitch.”
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Today's News: Our Take - Recapping The Biggest Hits In Pop Music Right Now
With all that time spent outdoors, it's tough to stay in-the-know when it comes to new music during the summer. But with the summer now drawing to a close, this is as good a time as ever to bring you ...
With all that time spent outdoors, it's tough to stay in-the-know when it comes to new music during the summer. But with the summer now drawing to a close, this is as good a time as ever to bring you up to speed on some of the biggest songs - some that you probably know and some that you might not. Read on for the backstory on the biggest hits right now to ensure you're up on what's new and hot in music.
MILEY CYRUS, "WRECKING BALL"
If you own a TV, there's a good chance that you saw Miley's controversial performance at the MTV VMAs. Lost in all that controversy is the fact that Miley can actually sing. Her new single "Wrecking Ball" is a powerful ballad that excellently showcases her voice (as opposed to her antics). The "Wrecking Ball" lyrics are about Miley trying to cope with a break-up - a far cry from the controversial subject of her previous single "We Can't Stop." The song was produced in part by Dr. Luke, who also co-produced Katy Perry's "Roar" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," and at one time was rumored to be taking a judge's chair on American Idol.
JAY Z, "HOLY GRAIL"
After seeing the commercial advertising Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail for the hundredth time, you may have asked yourself, "Is this a Jay Z album or a Samsung album?" The promotional campaign that preceded this album was one of the most elaborate in recent memory, but, thanks to the Samsung sponsorship, Jay sold 500,000 copies of the album before it was released. On "Holy Grail," the album's lead single, Jay Z teams up with Justin Timberlake, his tourmate on the Legends of the Summer tour. If Jay Z keeps banking at this rate, he'll have no problem affording all the luxurious things he references in the "Holy Grail" lyrics.
ROBIN THICKE, "BLURRED LINES"
The "Blurred Lines" lyrics drew criticism this summer for their questionable subject matter -- which lines are he crossing exactly? Nevertheless, the song reached a level of ubiquity rarely seen in music today. "Blurred Lines" smashed radio-play records and soundtracked probably every outdoor BBQ this summer. And is that such a bad thing? The track is guaranteed to make you get up and dance, which is why it's no surprise that it was featured in the latest season of So You Think You Can Dance. And don't forget Thicke's memorable performance on The Colbert Report in the wake of Daft Punk's infamous no-show.
LORDE, "ROYALS"
"Royals," a song from 16-year-old New Zealander Lorde, traveled across the ocean to the U.S. this summer. The song has been a huge success on the charts, thanks in large part to its authentic, genuine songwriting. It's written from the perspective of an average high school girl. "A lot of people think teenagers live in this world like [Skins]," says Lorde, referring to the British TV series about debaucherous teens. "Truth is, half the time we aren't doing anything cooler than playing with lighters." Keep bringing us that real talk, Lorde.
AVICII, "WAKE ME UP"
There's a good chance that Avicii's big break into the mainstream came in October 2011 when his soon-to-be mega-hit "Levels" was featured in the end credits of HBO's How To Make It in America. Since then, he's become one of the world's biggest DJs, pushing EDM to a new level. On his latest single, "Wake Me Up," the first off his debut album True - Avicii teams up with neo-soul singer Aloe Blacc. But the single isn't the mix of R&B and fist-pumping beats you'd expect; instead, Avicii has gone bluegrass! "Wake Me Up" sounds like what you might get if you put Mumford & Sons,Marvin Gaye, and David Guetta into a musical blender. But Avicii makes the song his own, and has earned his reputation as a top genre-mixing producer.
View original Recapping The Biggest Hits In Pop Music Right Now at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com American IdolSo You Think You Can DanceJay-ZColbert ReportJustin TimberlakeDaft PunkMarvin GayeMiley CyrusRobin ThickeKaty PerrySkinsDavid GuettaHow to Make It in AmericaMumford & SonsDr. Luke
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View cart “NWA Meteorite, Morocco Unclassified Find 2005” has been added to your cart.
Home / Meteorites / Stony Meteorites / NWA Meteorite, Morocco Unclassified Find 2005
NWA Meteorite, Morocco Unclassified Find 2005
This Stony Meteorite is a beautifully crusted unclassified NWA from Morocco. The meteorite is a chondrite and exhibits magnetism. Stony Meteorites are the most abundant of all meteorites.
SKU: nwa-med-4 Category: Stony Meteorites Tags: comet, meteorite, space, stony
Stony Meteorites, which are the most abundant kind of meteorite, are divided into two groups: chondrites and achondrites. Chondrites are physically and chemically the most primitive meteorites in the solar system.
About 86% of the meteorites are chondrites, which are named for the small, round particles they contain. These particles, or chondrules, are composed mostly of silicate minerals that appear to have been melted while they were free-floating objects in space. Certain types of chondrites also contain small amounts of organic matter, including amino acids, and presolar grains. Chondrites are typically about 4.55 billion years old and are thought to represent material from the asteroid belt that never coalesced into large bodies. Like comets, chondritic asteroids are some of the oldest and most primitive materials in the solar system. Chondrites are often considered to be “the building blocks of the planets”.
About 8% of the meteorites are achondrites (meaning they do not contain chondrules), some of which are similar to terrestrial igneous rocks. Most achondrites are also ancient rocks, and are thought to represent crustal material of differentiated planetesimals. One large family of achondrites (the HED meteorites) may have originated on the parent body of the Vesta Family, although this claim is disputed. Others derive from unidentified asteroids. Two small groups of achondrites are special, as they are younger and do not appear to come from the asteroid belt. One of these groups comes from the Moon, and includes rocks similar to those brought back to Earth by Apollo and Luna programs. The other group is almost certainly from Mars and constitutes the only materials from other planets ever recovered by humans.
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The Morning After < < < Non-Prince Songs All Prince Songs Unreleased Songs > > > The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
single art for The Morning Papers
Performer: Prince and the New Power Generation
First Released: 13 October 1992 - album
Writer(s): Prince (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation)
Producer(s): Prince (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation)
18 February 1993, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, Minnesota
6 September 2007: The O2 Arena, London, England
The Morning Papers is the fourth track on Prince’s 14th album , the second to be credited to Prince and the New Power Generation, and, four and a half months after the album’s release (five and a half months in North America), The Morning Papers was released as the album’s fifth and final single.
While specific recording dates are not known, basic tracking took place in early December 1991, at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota (during the same set of sessions that produced Sexy M.F., Love 2 The 9’s, The Sacrifice Of Victor, Arrogance, and And God Created Woman). It was included as the third track on early configurations of the album, until Prince later added the track My Name Is Prince, recorded a few months previously. It was included as the sixth track (fourth song) on the March 1992 and Summer, 1992 configurations of the album, before many of the album’s segues were removed for release. It was also included as the b-side on a planned single of Love 2 The 9’s in Spring, 1993, shortly before the release of The Morning Papers as a single.
Early December 1991 Paisley Park Studios,
Levi Seacer, Jr. - rhythm guitar
Michael B. Nelson - trombone (credited as "Mike Nelson")
Kathy Jensen - baritone saxophone (credited as "Kathy J.")
The Morning Papers 3:57
The Morning Papers single
The Morning Papers 3:57 3 Chains O’ Gold VHS/laserdisc Promo video See The Morning Papers for details
The Morning Papers 4:00 Act I TV-special Video version See Act I TV-special for details.
The Morning Papers ?:?? Delayed performance TV broadcast Live 23 February 1993, Arsenio Hall Show, Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA, USA
The Morning Papers video
The Morning After < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > > The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Retrieved from "https://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=The_Morning_Papers&oldid=221275"
Songs (Prince and the New Power Generation)
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Hughes Selected by OneWeb for Ground System Development and Production under New $250 Million Contract
Hughes Network Systems, LLC
Hughes to Produce Gateways and User Terminal Modules to Power Services on the Low Earth Orbit Satellite Network
GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, has been chosen by OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company, to develop and manufacture essential ground system technology for the new LEO constellation. In a three-year contract valued at approximately $250 million, Hughes will produce the gateway electronics for the OneWeb system as well as the core module that will be used in every user terminal.
"Today's announcement of a continued technology partnership with OneWeb reflects our position as the trusted innovator in the industry," said Pradman Kaul, president, Hughes. "The ground system we develop will enable reliable, low latency broadband data, ideal for a wide range of customer applications."
Neil Masterson, CEO, OneWeb, said: "OneWeb is building a global broadband network to deliver high-throughput, low latency enterprise grade connectivity services for a wide range of government, commercial, and mobility use cases. Our goal is to commercialize services in a year, and our partnership with Hughes will be vital in helping us launch a secure, trusted, resilient, space-based network."
Designed by Hughes engineers, each OneWeb gateway is capable of 10,000 hand-offs per second, orchestrating handover and tracking of hundreds of gigabits of data across hundreds of beams and millions of users. Under an agreement with OneWeb prior to a restructuring in March, seven gateways had been installed with several more in various stages of production. Under the new agreement, Hughes has ramped up production on the gateway equipment and resumed testing on the installed systems.
The agreement announced today also calls for Hughes to develop and manufacture the core module for the OneWeb user terminals. Designed by Hughes, the core module is uniquely adaptable across fixed as well as aeronautical and maritime mobility terminals, for either electronically or mechanically steered antennas.
After filing for bankruptcy protection in March, OneWeb is now under ownership by a new consortium led by the U.K. Government and Bharti Enterprises and in which Hughes has agreed in principle to invest $50 million.
About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in broadband satellite technology and services for home and office. Its flagship high-speed satellite Internet service is HughesNet®, the world's largest satellite network with over 1.5 million residential and business customers across the Americas. For large enterprises and governments, the company's HughesON™ managed network services provide complete connectivity solutions employing an optimized mix of satellite and terrestrial technologies. The JUPITER™ System is the world's most widely deployed High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) platform, operating on more than 40 satellites by leading service providers, delivering a wide range of broadband enterprise, mobility and cellular backhaul applications. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 7 million terminals of all types to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share, and its technology is powering broadband services to aircraft around the world.
Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com and follow @HughesConnects on Twitter.
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.
About OneWeb
OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at http://www.oneweb.world
©2020 Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company. Hughes and HughesNet are registered trademarks and JUPITER is a trademark of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/455788/Hughes_Network_Systems_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC
Hughes to Join UK Government and Bharti Enterprises in New OneWeb ...
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Black-Owned Companies Featured in New Phase of Small Business Spotlight
Multichannel Responsibility
August 12, 2020: Qurate Retail Group is using its production resources, television broadcasts, and digital platforms to help 40 Black-owned businesses gain more visibility through our Small Business Spotlight, a collaboration with the National Retail Federation (NRF) Foundation to help small businesses navigate today’s challenging retail environment.
This new phase of Small Business Spotlight is part of Qurate Retail Group’s commitment to continuing to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our company and in society at large. None of these businesses are current Qurate Retail Group vendors.
Starting August 12 and continuing through mid-October, QVC and HSN will feature 20 Black-owned businesses on air, online, on social, and on our streaming service. This will include:
A day dedicated to each business on our main QVC and HSN channels, featuring a video profile and multiple live appearances by the business owner via Skype (amidst our normal programming).
Edited collections of the on-air content, shared on our QVC/HSN streaming service (on Roku and Amazon Fire) and on our YouTube channels.
An interview with each business owner on QVC’s Shop Culture, a podcast that celebrates all things shopping.
A page on QVC.com and HSN.com, with profiles of each Black-owned small business.
A culmination show on QVC3 at the end of the campaign, featuring profiles of all participating business.
Zulily is promoting the campaign on its website, email, and social. Additionally, the businesses can also tap Qurate Retail Group team members for advice on solving a business issue through a virtual mentoring initiative.
An additional 20 businesses will be featured on QVC.com and HSN.com’s landing pages and in a group episode of the Shop Culture podcast. These placements will take place from September 1 through December 31.
“We’re proud to use our expertise and platforms to help these amazing Black-owned businesses raise their profiles on a national stage,” said Mike George, President and CEO, Qurate Retail, Inc. “QVC and HSN have always believed in the power of relationships, and in these challenging times, we want the Black community and Black-owned businesses to know that we stand with them.”
In addition to the Small Business Spotlight, last month, QVC.com and HSN.com launched landing pages highlighting Black-owned businesses that are currently part of our assortment of brands. Here, customers can learn about each business in a dedicated profile and shop its products.
The new iteration of the spotlight program is the second phase of Qurate Retail Group and the NRF Foundation’s Small Business Spotlight which launched earlier this year as part of our global relief efforts in response to COVID-19.
Qurate Retail Group is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, in collaboration with our team members, our communities, and the retail industry. We elevated this commitment by announcing several initiatives to promote diversity including donations and dialog earlier this year.
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Home » Movie Recommendations » Thriller » Mr. Nice [2010]
Mr. Nice [2010]
It is pretty hard to transform a good book into a movie, but if it works it is usually pretty amazing. The autobiography of an infamous British drug dealer Howard Marks was a bestseller, and it is a pretty logical idea to turn it into a
movie. However, although the beginning of this movie was very promising, the rest of it was disjointed and seemed rushed. You could feel that this is a movie based on a book, and that was not a good feeling, at least in this case. The trailer was suggesting that this is a high paced thriller with lot of twists and turns, but the reality was quite different. Still, excellent actors, acting and incredible life story of Mr. Nice are the things that will keep your attention, especially if you like to enjoy in some illegal substances (and don’t like reading books). Rhys Ifans not only looks like Howard Marks, but he seems like a guy crazy enough to actually do this in real life.
Howard Marks came from a small village Kenfig Hill in Wales, and he was bit of a nerd. Studying hard he even reached Oxford where he was first introduced to the wonderful world of drugs. Smoking marijuana, drinking and sex were his preoccupations during those years. A true college student, but all good things end, and after he finished school he got a job as a teacher and gave up that life. But the life did not give up on him… And one final fact before you see the movie, at the height of his career Mr. Howard Marks controlled TEN percent of the WORLD’S hashish trade (respect).
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, David Thewlis, Elsa Pataky, Crispin Glover, Andrew Tiernan
Fun Facts: Made its worldwide premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Texas, United States, in March 2010
Movies About DrugsMovies Based On A Novel
Better Living Through Chemistry [2014]
Strange Days [1995]
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AMA launches desktop toolkit for GP resources
Written by Kate McDonald on 25 June 2012 .
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has developed a GP Desktop Practice Support Toolkit for members to provide easy access to over 300 commonly used administrative or diagnostic tools.
The toolkit, which is free to members, can be downloaded from the AMA's website. It will sit on the GP's desktop computer as a separate file and is not linked to vendor-specific practice management software, a spokesman for the AMA's member services division said.
New or updated documents or tools will be automatically linked through the toolkit, the spokesman said. It has been designed on the Google Doc platform to allow easy access to the tools, which include state and territory specific documents such as forms for WorkCover and S8 prescribing.
The toolkit is divided into five categories:
Online practice tools that are accessible or can be completed online
Checklists and questionnaires that are available in PDF format and can be printed
Commonly used forms that are available in PDF and can be printed
Relevant administrative and clinical guidelines, and
References and other resources.
The spokesman said members can download the toolkit by dragging it onto their desktop. “When you need a document, you just click on the link and the latest version will be there,” he said. “We'll be checking it once a week to make sure all the links work and the latest versions are uploaded.”
The AMA will add new links or tools as they are identified and members are welcome to suggest other tools to be added. Send suggestions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Paul Williams remains one of America's best recognized all-purpose celebrities in the '70s and '80s -- while plenty of folks are aware that he was a songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist, he also acted in movies and television, was a frequent guest on leading talk shows (he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson over a dozen times), competed on game shows of all sorts, and was as likely to pop up in a Planet of the Apes sequel as he was to write a hit song. But if music was just one of Williams' career paths at the height of his fame, it proved to be the most enduring, and it was his music that won him an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe. Paul Williams was born September 19, 1940, in Omaha, Nebraska. Williams' father died in an auto accident when Paul was just 13, and the young man soon relocated to Long Beach, California, where he was raised by his aunt. Williams developed a passion for both music and acting, and began appearing in school theater productions as well as local talent shows. A medical condition stunted Williams' growth, preventing him from becoming taller than five feet, two inches, and at one point he considered a career as a jockey. But his love of the stage won out, and Williams did regional theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico before returning to California and joining a repertory theater company, Studio 58. Williams hoped to break into the movies, but despite landing a plum role in Tony Richardson's 1965 cult favorite The Loved One, his career in Hollywood didn't take off right away. After a spell as a comedy writer penning gags for Mort Sahl, Williams teamed up with songwriter Biff Rose, providing lyrics for Rose's melodies, and the two enjoyed a windfall when Tiny Tim recorded their song "Fill Your Heart." The tune ended up on the B-side of Tim's smash single "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," and after getting his foot in the door of the music business, Williams formed a band with his brother Mentor Williams called the Holy Mackerel. The group scored a deal with Reprise Records, but its sole self-titled album was a commercial disappointment, and Williams set out on a solo career as he worked on his songwriting. Williams cut his first solo album for Reprise, 1970's Someday Man, but it fared no better than the Holy Mackerel album. It was when Williams landed a job as a staff songwriter at A&M Records that his career finally started to click; working with Roger Nichols, his co-writer on Someday Man, he penned "Out in the Country," which became a major hit for Three Dog Night, and the group had major chart success with two other Williams tunes, "Just an Old Fashioned Love Song" and "The Family of Man." And a tune Williams and Nichols wrote for a bank commercial enjoyed an impressive second life when the Carpenters cut "We've Only Just Begun" and it became a massive chart success. In 1971, as his run of songwriting hits grew, A&M released Williams' second solo album, Just an Old Fashioned Love Song; in October 1971, Williams appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and Carson was so taken with Williams' quick wit and mixture of arrogance and self-depreciation that he became a frequent guest on the show, eventually appearing 14 times. Williams' new visibility helped kick-start his acting career; he was cast in a supporting role as an orangutan in 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes, and in 1974 he did double duty on Brian DePalma's cult classic Phantom of the Paradise, composing songs for the film and playing sinister rock & roll mogul Swan. Williams also earned an Oscar nomination for writing the song "Nice to Be Around" for the movie Cinderella Liberty, a Song of the Year nomination after Helen Reddy cut "You and Me Against the World," and in 1976 he was nominated for Academy Awards for his compositions for the films Bugsy Malone and A Star Is Born, taking home an Oscar for the love theme from A Star is Born, "Evergreen." (The song also brought him a Golden Globe and a Grammy.) While all this was happening, Williams somehow found time to cut five more albums for A&M: Life Goes On (1972), A Little Bit of Love (1974), Here Comes Inspiration (1974), Ordinary Fool (1975), and A Little on the Windy Side (1979). Between his songwriting work and his acting gigs in everything from the TV shows The Odd Couple and The Love Boat (he also co-wrote the theme song for the latter) to the movie Smokey and the Bandit, Williams was seemingly everywhere, and in 1979 he won another Grammy (as well as another Oscar nomination) for the song "The Rainbow Connection," written for The Muppet Movie. Williams worked for Muppets creator Jim Henson again when he wrote songs for the 1981 TV special Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas and for the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol. However, by the mid-'80s, Williams' career had gone into a major slump; by his own admission, he had developed a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol during his years in the spotlight, and it wasn't until 1990 that he got clean and sober and began rebuilding his life and career. Williams is now an advocate for recovery, having become a certified drug rehabilitation counselor and authoring the book Gratitude and Trust with Tracey Jackson. In the 1990s, Williams made his way back into acting and music, doing voice work in animated cartoons and taking on a recurring role on the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful, while also writing a pair of hits for country acts Diamond Rio ("You're Gone") and Neal McCoy ("Party On"). In 1999, Williams recorded his first new album in 20 years, Back to Love Again, and also wrote the music and lyrics for a stage musical based on the TV show Happy Days. In 2006, Williams collaborated with Jake Shears and Babydaddy of the group Scissor Sisters, co-writing the song "Almost Sorry" for the deluxe edition of their 2006 album, Ta-Dah. The year 2011 saw the release of Paul Williams: Still Alive, a documentary in which filmmaker Stephen Kessler, a Williams fan in his youth, tracks down his former hero and has a hard time accepting that the older, wiser, and sober Paul is a happier man than the all-media star of the '70s. And in 2013, Williams scored his biggest hit in decades when he was invited to contribute to Daft Punk's smash hit album Random Access Memories, writing lyrics and singing on the tracks "Touch" and "Beyond." In addition to his work as a songwriter and performer, Williams is also the president and director of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), one of America's leading performing rights organizations, and is an outspoken advocate for the rights of songwriters and artists in the digital age.
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Blue Moon Rhythm & Blues (2)
Clubstream Orange (1)
Clubstream Red (1)
Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
Bandes originales de films - Paru le 2 novembre 2018 | Varese Sarabande
Rock - Paru le 1 janvier 2016 | A&M
Bande Originale du Film "Bugsy Malone" (Alan Parker - 1976)
Bandes originales de films - Paru le 1 janvier 1976 | Polydor Records
I'm Going Back There Someday
Variété internationale - Paru le 13 décembre 2019 | Time-Life Music
Pop - Paru le 1 janvier 1972 | A&M
Here Comes Inspiration
Someday Man
Country - Paru le 15 mars 2005 | Rhino - Warner Records
Someday Man (Deluxe Edition)
The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 1949-1952
Blues - Paru le 11 juin 2015 | Blue Moon Rhythm & Blues
The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 (1945 - 1948)
Blues - Paru le 1 janvier 2013 | Blue Moon Rhythm & Blues
Ordinary Fool
Jazz - Paru le 1 mai 2011 | Master Classics Records
A Little on the Windy Side (Expanded Edition)
Rock - Paru le 29 avril 2016 | Epic - Legacy
Bugsy Malone (Original London Cast)
Bandes originales de films - Paru le 1 janvier 1997 | Jay Records
Hard Working Pilgrim
Folk - Paru le 19 avril 2005 | Rebel Records Llc
Alternatif et Indé - Paru le 1 janvier 1999 | ASH INTERNATIONAL
Natural Act
Soul - Paru le 2 mai 1986 | Satril - A Division of HHO
He Makes Me Smile
Jazz - Paru le 10 février 2018 | Paul Williams
Hastings St. Bounce
Blues - Paru le 11 avril 2014 | Redwood Records
Paul Williams dans le magazine
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QSAA supports Qatar University research project >>
A pioneering research project led by a team of Qatar University (QU) researchers and external collaborators is using underwater video to survey the abundance of sharks and rays in the coastal waters of Qatar.
Led by QU Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) Research Assistant Professor Dr J Jed Brown, a team of researchers from QU and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) conducted a research project entitled “Underwater Video Survey of the Elasmobranchs of Qatar: A first step towards conservation”. The project is part of an agreement signed between CSD and AIMS in January 2017. It is funded by a QU internal grant awarded to Dr Brown and the Global FinPrint project -- a 3-year project sponsored by Microsoft Co-founder Mr Paul Allen to study tropical reef ecosystems for sharks and rays.
The team used Baited Remote Underwater Video Cameras (BRUVS) to study the abundance of sharks and rays in the coastal waters of Qatar. The BRUVS attract and record fish life in the immediate area. Additionally, one of the unique highlights of this study is that one of the camera systems that are being deployed is actually a 3D virtual reality camera housing, which houses six individual cameras. Footage from this camera housing can be viewed on virtual reality head-sets or other systems such as the virtual reality cave in QU virtual reality lab.
The team has completed over 100 deployments of the BRUVS in Northern and Southern Qatar. Preliminary results show that very few sharks and rays have been observed. However, the lack of observations is useful data in and of itself. It provides a baseline for future studies and may be a sign that sharks are no longer found in habitats where they should be due to overfishing or habitat destruction.
Sharks and rays are of particular conservation concern due to their vulnerability to overfishing, and to their slow growth and reproductive rates, Dr Brown said, adding, “the research outcomes can be used to guide conservation and/or restoration efforts for vulnerable species, such as sawfishes, which have been heavily overexploited in the Gulf.”
He added: “This is one of QU’s research activities that highlights its core role in addressing important environmental issues. It also demonstrates QU’s commitment to knowledge-sharing and to providing expertise for multidisciplinary research, education and learning in line with its research priorities and in contribution to the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030, the National Research Strategy, and other national development strategies.”
AIMS Postdoctoral Research Scientist Dr Conrad Speed said: “We welcome these types of partnerships that help us carry out the Global FinPrint project. Working with collaborative institutions such as Qatar University has enabled us to gain local knowledge and expertise, which are invaluable to our research. We hope that this collaboration will foster additional research in the future and build local capacity for carrying out marine surveys using BRUVS in the Gulf.”
About Qatar University:
Qatar University is one of the leading institutions of academic
and research excellence in the GCC region. It provides high
quality undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare
competent graduates, primed to shape the future of Qatar.
The organization's strong relationship with Qatari society is
reflected in its community service efforts and in its vibrant
research portfolio that addresses relevant local and regional
challenges, advances national goals towards a knowledge-based
economy, and contributes actively to the needs and aspirations
of the society.
www.qu.edu.qa
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North Dakota Republican apologizes for berating Native Americans at victims aid meeting
Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota apologized on Thursday for his tone during an argument over the Violence Against Women Act.
The Republican congressman told the Grand Forks Herald a report of his comments to a group of Native American victim assistance professionals in Bismarck this week was "not an accurate account" of what happened. However, Cramer admitted his "style" was inappropriate for the discussion.
“We had a very frank discussion about my belief in equal protection under the law and due process,” Cramer said. “I don’t want [the Violence Against Women Act] overturned. I wanted to improve it so it doesn’t get overturned. I engaged in a discussion, or maybe I should say debate, that was probably more like a debate we’d have in Congress than with a group of people dedicated to helping women and children."
His remarks were reported by Melissa Merrick, the director of Spirit Lake Victim Assistance, at the website Last Real Indians. Merrick participated in the meeting and described Cramer's comments as "roughly 20 minutes verbal attacks directed at me and meant for all Native people."
Cramer allegedly said he didn't feel safe on Native American reservations because of a provision in the Violence Against Women Act that allows tribal courts to prosecute non-Native American individuals for sexual and domestic violence crimes committed on tribal land.
The congressman also berated tribal leaders for being "dysfunctional" and said he wanted to "ring the Tribal council's neck and slam them against the wall." Although Cramer voted in favor of the law, he told the group that the provision was unconstitutional and that non-Native American perpetrators would not receive fair trails.
Merrick said Cramer's comments offended many people at the meeting. She described his tone as condescending and added it was clear he "did not come to the meeting with the intention to listen."
"As a native woman, I am part of a group that has been most victimized; more than any other demographic group," Merrick concluded. "As a survivor, throughout my life I have been victimized by men. In his arrogance, Cramer probably doesn’t realize he just did the very same, and in front of an audience."
With reporting by David Edwards
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Press Digest: Russia cancels resolution to deploy troops in Ukraine
Darya Lyubinskaya
President Petro Poroshenko is planning to submit to the parliament draft changes to the Ukrainian Constitution. Source: Vostok photo
RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, analysing the decision by Russia’s Federation Council to annul its resolution permitting the deployment of Russian armed forces in Ukraine, and proposed changes to the draft of the new Ukrainian Constitution submitted by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The newspaper Kommersant writes that the Russian Federation Council has canceled its own resolution giving the president permission to use Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine. This proposal was made to the Federation Council “for the purpose of normalizing the environment and settling the situation in Ukraine’s eastern regions and in connection with the recently initiated trilateral negotiations on this issue,” the newspaper reports.
The original March 1 resolution “was protective and preventive and was not aimed against anyone,” Kommersant writes. “It is no coincidence that on the day of its adoption, the president said he hoped the right granted to him would not be used,” the newspaper continues.
Press Digest: June 25
At the time that the resolution was adopted, the Russian authorities were facing the challenge of “cautioning the hotheads in Kiev against aggressive actions in Crimea and in south-eastern Ukraine,” Kommersant reports.
The decision “fulfilled its historical role and notably strengthened Russia’s authority in Asia, Africa, and Latin America,” because it had not so much a military as a politically preventive significance, the newspaper writes. Russia “has confirmed its status as a great power by forcing its partners to reckon with it,” Kommersant says.
According to the newspaper, those who believe the president’s latest decision to be a sign of weakness are deliberately “distorting the constructive direction of his proposals.” In Kommersant’s opinion, Russia’s western partners will perceive Putin’s decision as a positive signal.
In another article, Kommersant reports on draft changes to the Ukrainian Constitution, which President Petro Poroshenko is planning to submit to the parliament. According to the newspaper, the changes mostly deal with decentralizing authority and increasing regional autonomy. Governors will be elected locally and not appointed from Kiev.
Furthermore, the powers of local communities and councils will be expanded, and matters of language will fall to communities to decide. The status of the Russian language will not change, Kommersant reports: “Ukrainian was, is, and will be the only state, constitutional language.” However, Russian and the languages of national minorities will be used on a par with Ukrainian in the regions, Kommersant writes.
Moscow agrees to take part in Russia-EU-Ukraine ministerial consultations on July 11
Approx. 10,000 Ukrainians apply for asylum in Russia
Putin orders govt to draft proposals on helping people from conflict zone in Ukraine
Local administrations will be liquidated, and government representative offices will be created instead to monitor constitutional compliance and coordinate the activities of territorial bodies of executive power.
Meanwhile, presidential powers will be significantly curtailed; the president will be stripped of the right to appoint judges and nominate foreign and defense minister candidates to the parliament, Kommersant reports.
The government will be formed at the suggestion of the prime minister and with the parliament’s approval, but the Cabinet of Ministers will continue to be accountable to the president. The prime minister will be appointed with presidential approval but must be nominated by a majority coalition of parliament members. According to Kommersant, the new draft of the constitution practically makes the parliament “immortal,” because the president will be able to dissolve it in only one case – if the Rada is unable to form a government in a 60-day period.
“All of Ukraine’s leaders have aspired to touch up the constitution in accordance with their own vision. Petro Poroshenko is agreeing to cut his powers because he doesn’t need the excess. In a complicated economic and political situation, he will place most of the arrows in the government’s quiver; besides, he can easily dismiss the government,” a Kommersant expert says, summing up the main thrust of the reform.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Nezavisimaya Gazeta also reports that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko intends to submit a plan for new constitutional reform. In essence, the changes aim to decentralize authority and grant broad powers to the regions. According to the newspaper, this approach could be key to implementing Poroshenko’s peace plan.
No end to tensions in sight for Russia and Ukraine
At the same time, Kiev admits that the first stage of the ceasefire failed, and the constitutional reforms that were planned during Yanukovych’s rule and initiated after the regime change resulted in backstage intrigues.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes that the Verkhovna Rada commission that was supposed to present a draft of the new constitution to the public violated the deadline for writing the document and found itself mired in political dispute.
During that time, Ukraine elected a legitimate president, who is obligated to fulfill the demands for constitutional reform that the public made back in the winter. However, Poroshenko has “failed to retrieve the matter from a deadlock.”
Russia-Ukraine relations journalism media World Ukraine Russian press on Ukraine
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Rediff.com » News » Can Congress hear Assam's wake up call now?
Can Congress hear Assam's wake up call now?
By Anirban Ganguly
The latest flare-up in Assam is a wake up call for the Congress governments at the state and the Centre that they cannot afford to ignore ethnic equations that generate cyclical clashes, writes Anirban Ganguly
Just about four years ago, between August and October 2008, around 70 people were killed in clashes between the Bodos and the Muslims in the northern Assam districts of Udalhuri and Darrang.
The clashes had seen 100,000 people rendered homeless on either side.
The Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam, exulting in its hat-trick has, it appears, learnt no lessons from that past situation of riot nor taken any concrete measures in the last four years to sort out ethnic and land issues in the region.
Even the present chain of violence, a repetition of past cycles, elicited a delayed response and then a denial of gravity and seriousness.
In fact, having ruled Assam for the longest period, post independence, the Congress can hardly escape blame for the present state of things in the state. A lot of it is the result of its political schemes and strategies implemented in the state during the past five odd decades.
The issue at hand is to briefly see a few angles to the conflagration and, while hoping that peace and sanity soon return to the area, call for the immediate deliberation on certain fundamental issues that need to be addressed.
Land has been at the centre of conflicts in this region, which comprises the Bodo Territorial Area District.
Land-related clashes have occurred at regular intervals since 1993.
The period between 1993 and 1998 was especially bad in terms of killing and displacements.
In October 1993, around 50 people were killed in clashes between the Bodos and immigrant Muslims in Bongaigaon district. July 1994 saw clashes erupt again between the Bodos and Muslims, leaving an estimated 100 dead, while the May 1996 clashes between the Bodos and Santhals left 200 dead. Clashes between the communities repeated again between May and September 1998.
The problem seems to have multiple dimensions to it.
One view is that the Bodos, due to historical reasons of being displaced from their lands, have always fiercely protected their turf and have actively resisted any encroachment.
The policy of settling migrant Bengali Muslims from East Bengal was part of the colonial scheme of things. The British decided to settle Muslim peasants in order to increase food production and were thus 'responsible for the land alienation of the Bodos.'
The Wasteland Settlement Policy of the British was a liberal one and allowed the cultivators to grab large swathes of land. The tribal's jhoom cultivation land was encroached in the process.
The adivasis brought by the British from other parts of India, were the other settlers who fulfilled the labour requirement in the tea plantation sector. This situation developed for over a century creating pressures on tribal lands that evolved into conflicts.
Migration continued unabated even when East Bengal became East Pakistan. Pakistan saw it as its legitimate right to claim Assam's space and resources.
Earlier, the Muslim League government of Mohammed Sadullah, which took over in wake of the resignation of the Gopinath Bordoloi led coalition, discontinued the line system set up by the British and released huge land and grazing reserves for the occupation of the East Bengali settlers.
In tune with that policy, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also referred to Assam in his book Myth of Independence.
He referred to Assam and some districts of India adjacent to East Pakistan to which Pakistan has a very good claim, 'and which should not have been allowed to remain quiescent.'
Thus, post-partition and post-formation of Bangladesh, the inflow continued generating tensions and clashes and has been almost always at the root of the present as well as past conflicts.
The other issue, which has been highlighted, is the inbuilt contradictions in the BTC, formed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
A number of minority Bodo-areas comprising Adivasis, Rajbonghshis and others have also been included in the BTAD in order to make the body contiguous. This has caused resentment and fear in the past and continues to unsettle the situation.
There have been calls to have a relook at the composition and structure of the BTAD and the BTC itself in order to avert future clashes. An urgent revisiting of these structures is what is required when passion calm down. The process may be a protracted and long-winding one but there is no alternative.
Adding another dimension to the entire episode, local reports have also observed that easy availability of firearms in Kokrajhar combined with extortion rackets run by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland and sections of the ruling coalition in the area have often led to clashes and lawlessness and escalation of conflict situations.
The present conflict, these reports have argued, is the result of an abject failure of governance at the state level and the Centre's unwillingness to take steps to solve the various problems plaguing the region and its administrative framework.
The immigration angle, however, cannot be discounted altogether.
Gossaigaon subdivision, which is one of the worst affected, has a large immigrant population.
In his much-discussed 1998 report to the President of India, the then Assam Governor Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha had pointed to the growing presence of immigrants from Bangladesh and the gradual demographic, ethnic and cultural challenges it would pose to the indigenous communities in Assam. The report had also argued to look at the issue from the national security point of view.
The immigration issue remains at the core of much of the conflict that Assam has seen in the past three decades.
The present situation has also reminds one of the plight of the Jummas -- ethnic minority groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts districts of Bangladesh.
Ever since Pakistan was formed it became the policy of the East Pakistan government in 1950s and 1960s to settle Bengali-Muslim peasants from the plains in the hills of Chittagong and generate pressure on tribal land.
This policy was aimed at altering the demographic pattern in the region and gradually drove large sections of the tribal population into becoming refugees -- 40,000 Chakmas sought refuge in India. The engineered ethnic tensions engendered riots, which continue to this day.
February 2010 saw some of the worst land-related riots between indigenous Chakmas and government-settled Bengali Muslim populations in the CHT.
In 1960, the East Pakistan government's Kaptai Hydroelectric project on the Karnafuli River flooded 1.036 sq km of tribal land and is said to have submerged 54 per cent of the best arable tribal land.
Independent Bangladesh, especially under Zia-ur-Rehman in the late 1970 and early 1980s, continued with the policy of tribal land alienation and political marginalisation of the Jumma people leading to major ethnic unrests in the area.
The current unrest in Assam has also similarities.
Continuing immigration from Bangladesh into tribal lands in Assam keeps increasing tension and generating cyclical clashes. Local factors and ethnic equations serve to further compound the issue.
On the flip side, the Indian government is not even willing to take up the issue of immigration and the effects of a consequent demographic change with the Bangladesh government.
The issue of infiltration figured nowhere on the agenda during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in early 2010 and Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in 2011 and one is not certain how far the Coordinated Border Management Plan will go in abating the situation.
The problem has assumed gigantic proportions, but ignoring it, is obviously going to serve no purpose.
It will only exacerbate the situation on the Indian side of the border.
Leaving rhetoric aside the two sides must be at least willing to talk the issue out and place it among the major agenda points in future discussions and joint-communiques.
The Bangladesh media and a section of the Indian media continue to highlight every BSF firing that takes place along the border. In a similar vein there ought to equally develop a balanced and considered debate on the issue of illegal immigration into India from Bangladesh.
The socio-cultural effects of a gradual demographic change due to such immigration need to be equally discussed and highlighted. Throwing a shroud of silence over these issues will serve no purpose except to postpone the inevitable.
Instead of rejoicing at its political hat-trick of ruling Assam for three consecutive terms, the Congress could well stop politicking over the current situation -- law and order in Assam has indeed badly deteriorated at all levels -- accept its failure and get its acts together and display that there is indeed a Union government.
But then, is it capable of really providing leadership any longer?
Anirban Ganguly
Related News: Assam, Bodos, Bodo Territorial Area District, East Pakistan, Bangladesh
'Elements outside Bodo areas fanning violence in Assam'
Ethnic violence rocks Assam, thousands flee
It's not a Hindu vs Muslim conflict in Assam, but Indians vs foreigners
Why we must take note of the warning signs in Assam
'Everyone for redeployment of army in riot-hit Assam'
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Church of St James, Sussex Gardens, Paddington, London
The history of churches in the Paddington area is complex, due to the massive development in the area during the 19th century. At its peak in 1890 there were twenty three ecclesiastical parishes.
In 1845, the new church of had become the parish church of Paddington, built at southern end of Westbourne Terrace. To retain the standing required by the main parish church, it was decided to completely rebuild it. The rebuild was complex and entailed the reconstruction on the existing site whilst still retaining its function for worship. Despite this, incredibly it was rebuilt in under a year in 1882.
Amongst the most famous being married here was that of Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde and Constance Mary Lloyd on 29/5/1884.
Unfortunately there was considerable damage to the structure during the Second World War, including a loss of about 60 feet from the top of the spire. The church was restored, but by the 1970s the area had seen considerable exodus of its church population and subsequently the churches of Christ Church Lancaster gate and Holy Trinity Bishops Bridge Road were closed and the parish of St James was expanded to into these areas.
Edward Quinlan and Mary Reffell, marriage date: 27/2/1853
John William Reffell and Mary Ann Jones, marriage date: 12/10/1890
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USA 'most liveable' for Brit expats
Why is the USA deemed most liveable for UK expats? What other countries make the "liveability" list?
The USA is adjudged the most 'liveable' place for British expats in a new ranking of the ten most popular destinations for migrating Britons.The new 'Expat Index', based on research by international luggage delivery service Send My Bag, placed France in the last spot in the global top 10.
15 categories in the Expat Index
Fifteen categories were assessed for the index including cost of living, per capita GDP, happiness, average flight time to the UK, unemployment rate, average salaries, housing costs, weather, crime, pollution, difficulty of language and - essentially, perhaps - the cost of beer.The research was based on the ten most popular destinations among UK expats; Australia, USA, Canada, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, France, South Africa, Germany and Italy.The US came top with a score of 9.42 out of a possible maximum of 15, followed by Canada and Spain. France managed only 6.76 out of 15.
International job prospects index
In the all-important category of job prospects, the index - based on data compiled before the Covid-19 pandemic struck - found that Germany offered the most opportunities, although Britons' linguistic limitations was considered a barrier.The USA offered the most lucrative job opportunities with a purchasing power parity (PPP) of $63,093, ahead of Australia in second place with a PPP of $53,349.South Africa had the poorest job prospects with unemployment at 27.32% before the pandemic and with the lowest PPP of $13,840. Spain had the second worst unemployment rate and a PPP of $38,761.
Rentiing and buying a house abroad
On the other hand, South Africa proved to be the cheapest option for both renters and buyers, with house prices on average costing £676.41 per square metre, followed by Spain where prices averaged £2322.41 per square metre. Rents in South Africa were found to be 49% less than in the UK.By comparison, the cost of buying a property was deemed to be highest in France where prices averaged £5128.31 per square metre. Ireland was rated the most expensive country for rent - some 48% higher than the UK average.
International cost of living ranked
Overall, the cost of living was found to be cheapest in South Africa - some 43% lower than the UK across a range of common products and services. The cost of living in Spain, in second place, was 17% lower than in the UK.On the other hand, Ireland ranked as the most expensive expat destination at 17% higher than the UK rate, followed by France (15%) and Australia (14%).Most importantly, perhaps, expats can find the cheapest pint in South Africa for £1.41 and in Spain for £2.23.
"Renewed hope that Brits may once again be able to move abroad"
Adam Ewart, CEO and founder of Send My Bag, said, “Since the government announced air bridges allowing unfettered travel to several popular European destinations, consumers have understandably been eager to start traveling again and holiday bookings abroad are on the rise. It seems some normality is resuming in air travel and there is renewed hope that Brits may once again be able to move abroad, joining the five million current UK expats worldwide.“This inaugural ‘Expat Index’ aims to help people considering relocating or considering a holiday home, by pitting the top ten most popular global destinations against each other for the first time. The fifteen decisive categories take out some of the subjectivity from the decision, but there are options to suit everyone’s priorities.”Liveability’ rankings:
USA 9.42
Spain 9.02
Germany 8.76
Ireland 8.64
Australia 8.31
New Zealand 7.53
South Africa 7.41
France 6.76
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Donetsk People's Republic asks Moscow to consider its accession into Russia
Donbass residents vote in the referendum on the status of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (RIA Novosti/Maksim Blinov) © RIA Novosti
Donetsk People's Republic has proclaimed itself a sovereign state and has asked Moscow to consider its accession into Russia, the Republic’s council said.
“We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic, declare that from now on DPR is now a sovereign state,” Republic Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin said. “Given the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to restore historical justice, we ask Russia to consider the issue of our republic’s accession into the Russian Federation,” he added.
Earlier on Monday the results of referendums have been announced in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions, showing the majority of voters support self-rule, amid an intensified military operation by Kiev which resulted in several deaths.
Almost 90 percent of voters in Donetsk Region have endorsed political independence from Kiev, the head of the Central Election Commission of the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’, Roman Lyagin, announced.
“Counting the ballots proved to be surprisingly easy – the number of people who said ‘no’ was relatively small and there appeared to be only a tiny proportion of spoiled ballots, so we managed to carry out counting quite fast. The figures are as follows: 89.07 percent voted ‘for’, 10.19 percent voted ‘against’ and 0.74 percent of ballots were rendered ineligible,” Lyagin told journalists.
In Lugansk Region 96.2 percent of voters supported the region’s self-rule, according to the final figures announced by the local election commission.
The Kremlin’s press service has issued a statement, saying: “Moscow respects the will of the people in Donetsk and Lugansk and hopes that the practical realization of the outcome of the referendums will be carried out in a civilized manner.”
It stressed the necessity of a “dialogue between representatives of Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk.”
At the same time, both the EU and US dismissed the ballots in eastern Ukraine as illegal.
In the two weeks prior to the referendum, Kiev intensified the military operation in southeastern Ukraine. May 9 became one of the bloodiest days in the weeks of the operation. It has been confirmed that nine people were killed and another 49 injured during the armed assault of Kiev’s army on Mariupol’s Police HQ. Driven by reports of shooting, residents, then mostly celebrating WWII Victory Day, flocked to the scene. The Kiev fighters opened fire on civilians.
Referendum results in Donetsk and Lugansk Regions show landslide support for self-rule
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'I should not have been there': Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley says it was a 'mistake' to walk with Trump to church
William Cummings and Tom Vanden Brook USA TODAY
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said Thursday it was a "mistake" to accompany President Donald Trump and other top administration officials on a walk to historic St. John's Episcopal Church after peaceful protesters were forcibly cleared from the area.
"My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics," Milley said in livestreamed remarks for a National Defense University commencement ceremony. "As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it."
Attorney General William Barr said his decision to have security forces clear the area around the White House of demonstrators was out of safety concerns and unrelated to the president's walk to the church, which had been damaged by protesters the night before.
But the move on June 1 was widely condemned by many, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who assailed the use of force in order for the president to pose for photographs while holding a Bible.
Milley said the nation's top military officer, said his participation in the event undermined the separation of the military from politics.
"I should not have been there," he said.
"We who wear the cloth of our nation, come from the people of our nation," he added. "And we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our republic."
Protests erupted in cities across the U.S. and have continued since George Floyd, an African-American man, was killed May 25 when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Milley’s remarks mark a dramatic breach between the Pentagon and the White House on the military’s role in responding to the protests that followed Floyd’s death. The photograph of Milley, in his camouflage combat uniform, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper walking along a path cleared of mostly peaceful protesters by police and National Guard forces sparked outrage among recently retired military officials.
Milley’s admission that his presence there was a mistake acknowledges that he had allowed the military to become involved in domestic politics. The remarks echo those of Mattis and others who warned of a political and constitutional crisis by drawing the armed forces into domestic politics.
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SAWS moves forward on pipeline By: Josh Baugh
on Jul 02 2014 by briannad com Comments Off on SAWS moves forward on pipeline By: Josh Baugh cat Economic Research, Economic Research (Featured), International Trade, News
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Water System board of trustees on Tuesday approved a proposal for a water pipeline from Central Texas that would provide enough water annually for more than 150,000 homes, ensuring the city’s long-term water security.
Hours later, a negotiating team formed by the trustees entered into contract talks with the Vista Ridge Consortium — a partnership between Spanish-based Abengoa, a water-treatment and desalination company, and Austin-based Blue Water Systems.
SAWS officials expect to have a contract for board and City Council approval by fall.
Vista Ridge’s proposal is to pipe 50,000 acre-feet annually from Burleson County in Central Texas to San Antonio through a 142-mile-long pipeline that generally would follow the Interstate 35 corridor.
SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente told the trustees that the project would solidify the city’s water security for decades and ultimately save money by purchasing water for the future at today’s costs.
The plan also likely would negate the need for the stage 3 and stage 4 outdoor watering restrictions during droughts.
Board Chairman Heriberto “Berto” Guerra Jr. and Trustee Reed Williams, a former councilman, recused themselves from the discussion of the proposal and subsequent vote because they’d been meeting with the consortium to clarify its proposal.
The proposal was approved unanimously without discussion, save for some closing remarks from Mayor Julián Castro, who thanked Guerra, Williams and the “folks from Abengoa.”
“I know that this will provide the opportunity to move forward on negotiations with the hope that San Antonio can get ahead of the game in terms of water use in the decades to come,” Castro said. “This is one of several approaches that the utility has taken and will be taking in the future to ensure that there’s never a question about our water supply.”
Some balked at the proposal, saying San Antonio would have enough water in the future if appropriate conservation measures are implemented.
Meredith McGuire, a Trinity University professor, pleaded with the board to spike the proposal. San Antonio should do a better job of conserving and collecting rainwater, she said. Piping in water would encourage waste, drive up rates and promote development over the aquifer’s recharge zone, McGuire said.
“The city simply cannot afford any such deal — economically or morally,” she said.
At a news conference after the board’s vote, Greg Flores, SAWS’ vice president of public affairs, challenged those assertions, saying that while San Antonio is a national leader in conservation efforts, that isn’t enough to keep up with expected growth in the coming decades.
Earlier this year, the idea of piping in fresh water from other parts of Texas seemed to have fizzled after SAWS’ staffers raised significant concerns about Abengoa’s original proposal.
They recommended the option of increasing the capacity of a planned desalination plant over a freshwater pipeline.
Robust pushback from some business leaders and others put the concept back in play, and the consortium addressed SAWS’ concerns in the revamped proposal the trustees approved Tuesday.
Under the new proposal, the consortium carries the risk of the project rather than SAWS, which will only pay for water delivered or made available. It also offers a clear price definition and removes the $5 million annual reservation fee that the consortium had sought while the project was being developed.
The group has also agreed to remove automatic 2 percent price escalations, saving $700 million from the cost of the original proposal.
At the end of the 30-year contract, SAWS would get ownership of the wellfield in Burleson County, the pipeline and associated pump stations but will have no interest in the water rights at the end of the term. Owning the infrastructure better positions the utility to continue water production in the future.
One of the elements that makes the proposal attractive for SAWS, Puente said, is that the consortium already has 30-year permits to pump 50,000 acre-feet annually and export the water to Bexar County.
The proposal shows the cost of water per acre-foot in 2020 to be $1,852. Add in the pass-through costs for power, maintenance and operations of the pipeline, the first-year cost would be $2,239 per acre-foot — or, $111,950,000.
SAWS officials said they expect the overall cost of the 30-year contract to be about $3.4 billion. That price is about $725 million less than the consortium originally proposed.
jbaugh@express-news.net
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‘Well-rounded’ RN works the night shift
Amy Peterson holds the record for the longest-tenured registered nurse at Salina Presbyterian Manor.
The Kansas Wesleyan University graduate has been a nurse since 1996, and she’s spent nearly her entire career at Presbyterian Manor. For 17 years, she has worked the overnight shift from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. in the health care center.
“I felt led to nursing when I was in junior high,” Amy said. “I feel lucky that I just knew what I wanted to do.”
Amy initially planned to become a nurse anesthetist or work in psychiatric care. Though a long-term care setting was not her original plan, the field suits her.
“We get to do a little bit of everything,” Amy said. These tasks range from dietary education and medication management to serving as a friend and confidant to residents.
“You get to do the science part of nursing, but also the human part,” Amy said. “It’s amazing.”
She also appreciates the connections she has with her coworkers and the residents, as well as the atmosphere in the health care center.
“More than anything, this is the residents’ home,” she said. “We’re just making it as comfortable as possible.”
In her own home, Amy dotes on her two dogs: a cardigan Welsh corgi named Hiccup and Tonk, a husky/lab mix. She keeps busy with Bible study and book club. She earned her black belt in the Japanese martial art Aikido, which emphasizes defense and protecting attackers from injury.
Amy has also developed an impressive traveling track record, having visited Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Iceland, Japan and Italy.
“I try to be a well-rounded person,” Amy said.
The World Health Organization designated 2020 as “the year of the nurse.” This observation coincides with the 200th birth anniversary of revolutionary nurse Florence Nightingale, whose leadership forever elevated the nursing profession. Throughout the year, PMMA communities will shine a spotlight on nurses as part of this global recognition. You can share your nurse story by sending an email to 2020YearoftheNurse@pmma.org.
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Campus Computing & Networking provides general and technical information services to support the Rio Grande faculty, staff, students, and affiliates.
Delivering advanced voice & data services to our customers is our primary focus.
It is our goal to support the campus technology needs of the university stakeholders with effective professional services enabling the faculty, staff, and students to achieve their goals. Our responsibilities include: Campus Network Infrastructure, Network Security, Internet Connectivity, Desktop Computing, Computer Lab Management, Server Virtualization, Operating system, Software Deployment, Phones & Voicemail.
Acceptable & Ethical Use of Technology Resources Policy
– Board Approved (summer 97) –
It is the express intent of the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community college to promote the responsible use of computing resources in support of the primary educational and academic missions of these entities. It is furthermore the express intent of the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College to adhere to the provisions of state and federal laws concerning use of computers, installation and/or use of software, copyrights, and information access, and to promote responsible academic activities within these boundaries.
Campus Technology resources at the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) are essential and indispensable tools for learning, research and administration. It is the policy of the University that its computing, telecommunications, video, and associated network facilities be used ethically and legally, in accord with applicable licenses and contracts, and according to their intended use in support of the University’s mission.
Any use that would impede teaching and research, hinder the functioning of the University, violate an applicable license or contract, violate a state or federal law, or damage community relations or relations with institutions with whom we share responsibility, is a violation of this policy.
Violation of this policy may result in suspension of privileges to access the information technology involved, initiation of University disciplinary procedures or, in extreme cases, criminal prosecution under federal or state law.
Please refer any questions about this policy or its applicability to a particular situation to the Vice President Technology and Long Range Planning.
To these ends the following ethical guidelines have been developed.
Ethical Use of Campus Technology Resources
Campus computing, networking, media and technology resources are provided for the use of University students, faculty, and staff in support of the programs of the University. Most people use these resources in an ethical and responsible manner. However, as with many shared resources, it is possible that misuse, either accidental or willful, can seriously disrupt the work of others. The guidelines below are provided to increase your awareness of the issues involved.
Campus Technology Resources
(CTR) include, but are not limited to, terminals, computers, computer peripherals, communication devices, telephones and telecommunications equipment, fax machines, computer data networks, video equipment and video networks, photocopying machines, computer software, supporting documentation, supplies, storage media, support facilities and energy sources. Computer systems are limited to those leased, rented, owned by, or loaned to the University.
Campus Technology Services
(CTS) consist of Management Information Systems (administrative computing), Campus Computing and Network Services, Instructional Media Center, and telecommunications services. An example of these “other services” is an external network infrastructure such as the Internet or an audio visual instructional network connecting partnering institutions.
Electronic Information (Information)
(EI) includes all material stored in or moved by electronic information technology systems including, but not limited to data, records, files, data bases, electronic mail, text, digital images, video images, digital sounds, voice mail, discussion group postings, electronic bulletin board discussions, software, programs, codes and electronic procedures.
User Authentication Codes
(UAC) are any form of information used to authenticate, secure or control electronic information technology systems. This includes, but is not limited to, logon ID’s, passwords, keys, and account numbers.
Campus Technology Services Administrator
(CTSA) is the person responsible for the administration and use policy for a particular portion of Campus Technology Resources. The Campus Technology Resource environment is a collection of separately administered and often interconnected Campus Technology Resources. For example, one portion might be a departmental local area network, including local servers, printers, etc. connected to a University backbone network. A portion might also be shared central computers, the telecommunications network or the campus-wide video network. The campus-wide data network provides dial-in access and access to external national and international data networks.
The CTSA will often delegate specific responsibilities to designated individuals. A portion might be a departmental local area network, including local servers, printers, etc. connected to a University backbone network. In this case the delegated individual responsible might be the department or division head or school chairperson.
The CTSA for the campus-wide data network, the telecommunications network, the campus- wide video network and MIS computing is the Vice-Provost for Technology and Long-Range Planning.
Departmental Technology Coordinator
(DTC) Departments or Schools may appoint a coordinator of technology services for the purpose of autonomy and/or responsiveness to local needs. By necessity, this individual needs to be in close communications with the CTSA and the persons responsible for Campus Technology Services and have expertise with the technologies involved. The DTC may employ the assistance of Lab Coordinators and/or other student labor resources to extend the management and supervision of localized technology services.
Technology Services – Organizational Structure
Campus Technology Services Administrator (CTSA)
Management Information Systems(MIS)
MIS Staff
Student Labor
Campus Computing and Networking Services(CCNS)
CCNS Staff
Instructional Media Center(IMC)
Campus Telecommunications(CT)
Out-Sourced to a Vendor or Campus Staff
Departmental Technology Coordinator(DTC)
Department Head School Chair Delegated Person(s)
1. Campus Technology Resource (CTR) Ethics
Access to Campus Technology Resources is a privilege that is granted by the University and comes with a responsibility to respect the rights of other users and the rights of the University. To do otherwise is unethical. Issues concerning ownership and privacy of Information are addressed in the attached University Conditions of Use of Campus Technology Resources statement. If you will not abide by the University Conditions of Use of Campus Technology Resources, it is unethical to use any portion of the University CTR.
2. User Authentication Code Usage
A. Access to Campus Technology Resources is a privilege that has an accompanying responsibility to protect those systems. In general, you are responsible for all usage done under your Authentication Codes. Should you choose to disclose your User Authentication Code(s) to others, you will be held responsible for the resulting usage. In particular, you should never disclose User Authentication which were intended to provide you alone with personal access to University Campus Technology Resources. You should avoid disclosing your CTR Access Codes, even when requested to by someone who says it is necessary to work on a problem.
Disclosure of User Authentication may put you and/or the person to whom you have disclosed your User Authentication in violation of an applicable license or contract. You should take all reasonable precautions, including but not limited to frequent password changes and other file protection measures, to prevent unauthorized use of the systems and software accessible by means of your Access Codes.
B. You should only use CTR User authentication that you are authorized to use. You should not try in any way to obtain CTR User authentication codes in an unauthorized or fraudulent manner. This includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information for the purpose of obtaining Access Codes, capturing of User authentication or theft of Access Codes. It is unethical to engage in activity that is intended to produce entry into a CTR by persuading CTR users to reveal their access codes.
C. Although you have a right to access the Information for which you are authorized, you should not attempt to circumvent User Authentication procedures or Information protection schemes or uncover security loopholes or attempt to break authentication procedures or encryption protocols. These activities are sometimes called “hacking” or “cracking.” Using loopholes in CTR security systems to access your own data is inappropriate and may be hazardous. Using loopholes in CTR security systems for unauthorized access or activities is unethical and in many cases illegal (for partial example, see 18 USC 1030, 1343, 2071, 2314, 2701-2711; ORC 2913.04). These activities include, but are not limited to, the unauthorized changing of access rights, privileges, ownership, resource allocations, or quotas. You should refrain from experiments that attempt to find or demonstrate CTR vulnerabilities without the prior permission of the appropriate CCTSA. In particular, it is expected that you will not use University Campus Technology Resources to “hack” or “crack” External Campus Technology Resources. It is also expected that you will respect the financial structure of the Campus Technology Resources by not intentionally developing or using any unauthorized mechanisms to alter or avoid charges levied for CTR access or use. If you find that you have unintentionally gained unauthorized access, stop. Take no further action on the system and immediately contact the appropriate CTSA.
3. Anonymous Activity
A. Sending information, especially electronic mail, that does not correctly identify the sender is unethical, and can be illegal (see for partial example, 18 USC 1030, 1343; ORC 4165.02).
B. It is also the responsibility of the CTSA to ensure that Campus Technology Resources do not permit “public” User authentication which permit the anonymous distribution of arbitrary Information. For example, it would be fine to allow access to public domain software or documentation through a public “Guest” Access Code, but would be inappropriate to allow “Guests” to send electronic mail to just anyone. It would also be inappropriate for the CTSA to allow “Guests” to access resources outside the domain of his or her CTR. For example, it would be improper to provide “Guests” with general access to the Internet.
C. CTSAs should refrain from setting up “generic” or “project” computer accounts with the intent to grant the same CTR Access Code to multiple people. Multiple access can obscure anonymous activity. Other technical solutions should be explored for such purposes, such as a distribution list that receives a message and forwards it to several unique IDs.
D. Setting up an CTR to “masquerade” as another CTR for the purpose of anonymous activity is unethical and may be illegal. (For example, see ORC 4165.02).
4. Illegal Activity
In general, it is unethical to store and/or give access to Information on Campus Technology Resources that could result in legal action against the University. You should not use Campus Technology Resources in the course of any illegal activity. Individuals using CTR should be familiar with the Electronic Communications Act (18 USC 2701-2711) and various Ohio statutes governing computing activities, such as ORC 2913.04 and 4165.02. A non-exhaustive list of these and additional statutes which may apply (along with Web addresses) may be found in Appendix A.
Campus Technology System Administrators responsible for CTR Information servers have the responsibility to ensure that their Information servers are operated in an ethical manner. In particular, the CTSA for CTR Information servers should ensure that access to licensed Information on their servers conforms to the terms and conditions of the license. Legal questions should be referred to the appropriate CTSA, the Vice-Provost for Technology and Long-Range Planning, and/or University Counsel.
5. Communication Tampering
A. It is unethical and may be criminal to attempt to monitor other people’s communications without their permission. Likewise, you should not view, read, listen to, copy, change, execute or delete another user’s Information without that user’s or the owner’s permission. This includes but is not limited to monitoring, reading, or tampering with electronic-mail of which you are neither the author nor the addressee. In particular, you should not read electronic mail messages without the consent of one of the addressees. Exceptions for legitimate purposes should be obtained from the Vice Provost for Technology and Long-Range Planning. Authorization to possess and use packet/data observation software for legitimate diagnostic purposes may be obtained from the appropriate CTSA.
B. CTSAs may authorize CTR “postmasters” to read electronic mail headers as necessary in order to correct addresses on “dead letters” or to perform other legitimate diagnostic tasks.
6. Restricted Software and Hardware
A. You should not knowingly possess, give to another person, install on any CTR, or run, programs or other Information which could result in the violation of any University policy or the violation of any applicable license, contract, State or Federal Statute. This is directed towards but not limited to software known as viruses, Trojan horses, worms, password breakers, and packet observers. Authorization to possess and use Trojan horses, worms, viruses and password breakers for legitimate research or diagnostic purposes can be obtained from the Vice President for Technology and Long-Range Planning. Authorization to possess and use packet/data observation software for diagnostic purposes may be obtained from the appropriate CTR.
B. The unauthorized physical connection of monitoring devices to the CTR which could result in the violation of University policy or applicable licenses or contracts or state or federal statutes is unethical. This includes but is not limited to the attachment of any electronic device to the CTR for the purpose of monitoring data, packets, signals or other Information. Authorization to possess and use such hardware for legitimate diagnostic purposes must be obtained from the appropriate CTR.
7. Copying and Copyrights
A. Respect for intellectual labor and creativity is essential to academic discourse. This tenet applies to works of all authors and publishers in all media. It includes respect for the right to acknowledgment and right to determine the form, manner, and terms of publication and distribution. If a copyright exists, as in most situations, it includes the right to determine whether the work may be reproduced at all. Because electronic Information is volatile and easily reproduced or altered, respect for the work and personal expression of others is especially critical in CTR environments. Viewing, listening to or using another person’s Information without authorization is unethical. Ethical standards apply even when this Information is left unprotected.
(The above paragraph is adapted with permission from “Software Initiative Publishes Statement on Software and Intellectual Rights”, EDUCOM Bulletin, Spring 1987)
B. Users of Campus Technology Resources must abide by the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) Copyright Policy, which covers copyright issues pertaining to University faculty, staff and students as well as commissioned works of non-employees.
C. For Information which the individual or the University does not hold the copyright, written permission from the copyright holder is required to duplicate any copyrighted material. This includes duplication of audio tapes, videotapes, photographs, illustrations, computer software and all other Information for educational use or any other purpose. Exceptions to this policy must be obtained in writing from University counsel.
D. In particular, you should be aware of and abide by the University Policy on Copying and Using Computer Software. Most software that resides on Campus Technology Resources is owned by the University or third parties, and is protected by copyright and other laws, together with licenses and other contractual agreements. You are required to respect and abide by the terms and conditions of software use and redistribution licenses. Such restrictions may include prohibitions against copying programs or data for use on Campus Technology Resources or for distribution outside the University; against the resale of data or programs, or the use of them for non-educational purposes or for financial gain; and against public disclosure of information about programs (e.g., source code) without the owner’s authorization. University employees who develop new packages that include components subject to use, copying, or redistribution restrictions have the responsibility to make any such restrictions known to the users of those packages.
E. With a greater emphasis on computer based assignments, students need to be especially aware of CTR ethics. In particular, academic dishonesty or plagiarism in a student assignment may be suspected if the assignment calling for independent work results in two or more solutions so similar that one can be converted to another by a mechanical transformation. Academic dishonesty in an assignment may also be suspected if a student who was to complete an assignment independently cannot explain both the intricacies of the solution and the techniques used to generate that solution. Suspected occurrences of academic dishonesty are referred to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College Copyright Policy
Link to Policy’s Text
A. The University has a policy prohibiting sexual and discriminatory harassment. The University Policy Statement on Discriminatory Harassment covers all forms and means of sexual discriminatory harassment, including any such activities using Campus Technology Resources. CTR usage or Information that is perceived by its recipient as sexual or discriminatory harassment as defined by University policy may be considered a violation. In particular, many computer-mediated conferences available via External Campus Technology Resources are open to the general public. Engaging in sexual or discriminatory harassment in this context or in any public conference on a network is an unethical abuse of access privilege.
B. The display of offensive material in any publicly accessible area is likely to violate University harassment policy. There are materials available on the Internet and elsewhere that some members of the University community will find offensive. One example is sexually explicit graphics. The University can not restrict the availability of such material, but it considers its display in a publicly accessible area to be unethical. Public display includes, but is not limited to, publicly accessible computer screens and printers.
9. Wasting Resources
A. It is unethical and possibly illegal to deliberately perform any act which will impair the operation of any CTR or deny access by legitimate users to any Electronic System. This includes but is not limited to wasting resources, tampering with components or reducing the operational readiness of a CTR.
B. The willful wasting of CTR resources is unethical and potentially illegal. Wastefulness includes but is not limited to passing chain letters, willful generation of large volumes of unnecessary printed output or disk space, willful creation of unnecessary multiple jobs or processes, or willful creation of heavy network traffic. In particular, the practice of willfully using CTR for the establishment of frivolous and unnecessary chains of communication connections (“spamming”) is an unethical waste of resources.
C. Game-playing outside of an educational context is generally permitted insofar as such activities do not adversely impact others or violate other provisions of these Guidelines. “Game-playing” is developing or executing a computer program which primarily provides amusement or diversion. Game-playing may be restricted or banned by the appropriate (usually local) CTSA.
D. The sending of random mailings (“junk mail”) is strongly discouraged but generally permitted insofar as such activities do not violate the other guidelines set out in this document. It is poor etiquette at best, and harassment at worst, to deliberately send unwanted mail messages to strangers. Recipients who find such junk mail objectionable should contact the sender of the mail, and request to be removed from the mailing list. If the junk mail continues, the recipient should contact the appropriate CTSA.
10. Unrelated Use
A. CTRs are provided by the University for the sole purpose of supporting its mission. Without permission from the appropriate CTR, it is unethical to use Campus Technology Resources for: 1)commercial gain or placing a third party in a position of commercial advantage; or, 2) any non-university related activity, including non-university related communications.
This applies to each segment of the Electronic System utilized by such activity, and specifically to the Campus-Wide Data and Voice Network. Permission from the Vice Provost for Technology and Long-Range Planning must be obtained before using any portion of the Campus-Wide Data or Voice Network for these activities.
This paragraph is not intended to restrict free speech or to restrict casual, personal communications between consenting parties.
B. General University policy prohibits non-University use of University facilities. This does not prohibit the University, through its CTRs, from setting up Information servers or other CTR specifically designated for the purpose of fostering an “electronic community”. These designated Information servers may or may not conform to the guidelines in the previous paragraph.
These designated Information servers or other CTRs are not exempt from any other portion of the University Information Technology Use Policy, the Guidelines of the Ethical Use of Information Technology or other general University policies.
11. Compliance with CTR Rules
A. When using Campus Technology Resources to access External Campus Technology Resources, you are ethically bound to comply with the rules, regulations, and appropriate use-statements of the External Campus Technology Resources. This includes but is not limited to complying with the usage rules of networks such as CREN (BITNET), USENET, EARN and NFSNet (the Internet), and The World-Wide Web (WWW).
B. You should carefully consider anything you send outside the University, because it could reflect on the whole University. In particular, anything you send to destinations outside the US, must satisfy the Department of Commerce rules (Section 779 of the Export Administration Regulations) for international transmission of information. If you send Information that does not satisfy the requirements of General License GTDA (General Technical Data Availability, Section 779.3), you must obtain the proper Individual Validated License or other available General License for the export of such material. Note in particular, that these rules severly restrict distribution outside the United States of cryptographic programs and software that implements the Data Encryption Standard (DES).
12. Additional Guidelines at Local Sites
The University Campus Technology Resources are composed of several “sites.” Each site may have local rules and regulations which govern the use of Campus Technology Resources at that site. Each site has operators, consultants, and/or supervisors who have been given the responsibility to supervise the use of that site. Each site has a CTSA with overall policy responsibility for the site. CTR users are expected to cooperate with these individuals and comply with University and local site policies. Site policies may be more restrictive than University policy. In the event that there is a conflict between site policy and University policy, the more restrictive policy shall prevail. It is the responsibility of the CTR to post or distribute local rules and regulations in an appropriate manner.
13. Connection to the Campus-Wide Data Network
Many campus buildings are already included in the Campus-Wide Data Network topology. To maintain Campus Technology Resources integrity, Campus-Wide Data Network connections are made only by specialized personnel under the direction of the Information Technology Division. You are encouraged to attach appropriate equipment only at existing user- connection points. All requests for additional Campus-Wide Data Network connections or for the relocation of a connection should be directed to the Vice Provost for Technology and Long-Range Planning.
14. Shared Responsibility
All students, faculty and staff share responsibility for seeing that Electronic Information Technology Systems are used in an ethical manner. Please notify the appropriate CTR of any suspected violation the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) Information Technology Use Policy. You may be asked to cooperate with the University should an investigation into the abuse of a Campus Technology Resource arise. You are also encouraged to report any information relating to a flaw in, or bypass of, Campus Technology Resources security to the appropriate CTR.
15. Copying of Software
The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) licenses the use of its computer software from a variety of outside companies. University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) does not own this software or its related documentation and, unless authorized by the software developer, neither the University nor its employees and students have the right to reproduce it.
With regard to use on local area networks or on multiple machines, University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) employees and students shall use the software only in accordance with the license agreement, University Copyright Policy, and U.S. Copyright Law.
A. Reporting of Violations
University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) employees and students learning of any misuse of software or related documentation within the University shall notify their supervisor or, in the case of students, the appropriate faculty member, DTC, the University Copyright Officer, or other appropriate University official.
B. Disciplinary Action
University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) employees and students who make, acquire or use unauthorized copies of computer software will be disciplined as appropriate under the circumstances.
C. Civil and Criminal Liability
According to U.S. Copyright Law, a person who makes an unauthorized copy is liable to the copyright owner for actual damages and profits or statutory damages of up to $50,000.00 plus court costs and attorney fees. In addition, in certain cases the infringer may be criminally prosecuted and subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.
Information Technology Use Policy
University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) has established a University Policy on Information Technology Use. That policy establishes the expectation that Campus Technology Resources will be used in an ethical manner. However, Campus Technology Resources are complex, evolving and incur some risk. This statement is intended to establish the expectations for the use of the Information Technology environment at the University.
A summary of this policy appears in computing labs across campus.
1. Integrity and Privacy not Guaranteed
A. The University does not guarantee the security, the confidentiality or the integrity of a user’s Information on Campus Technology Resources. Some portions of the CTR are more secure than others. Very high standards of security and integrity prevail in portions of the CTR associated with Administrative Systems. In smaller local work group settings, the standards may not be as high. It is the user’s responsibility to assess the risk and to use all means appropriate to safeguard Information. You use CTR at your own risk. Should you feel appropriate safeguards are not in place, you are advised to not use that portion of the CTR and to discuss the situation with the appropriate CTSA. The University will not be responsible for the loss or disclosure of user Information on Campus Technology Resources.
B. The University, through its employees, will treat all of its Information on students and employees as confidential, disclosing that Information only when authorized by the student or employee in question, approved by the appropriate University Official, or required by local, state or federal law. Student and employee information is accessed by University staff, formally authorized, on a need-to-know basis, only for the business purposes of the University. Aggregate information may be released by an appropriate University Official, for example, to respond to a survey.
C. Viruses, Trojan horses, worms, password breakers and packet observer programs are known to exist or have been known to exist on campus. Although reasonable efforts will be made to eradicate dangerous and unethical software, be aware that these programs exist, and take appropriate precautions. In particular, never run a program sent to you unless you know what it does and trust the source. Some “gifts” have been known to erase the recipient’s files, send obscene messages in the recipient’s name, replicate themselves, and generally cause trouble for the Electronic System on which they were run.
D. Some CTRs have procedures associated with mis-directed mail that involve someone acting in a “Postmaster” capacity. The Postmaster, as indicated in the University Information Technology Use Policy, may read mail file headers to the extent necessary to resolve addressing problems for delivery or diagnostic purposes. Typically, someone designated by each CTR has permission to look at any file on that associated portion of the CTR for diagnostic purposes only.
2. Ownership of Information
A. Information created using or stored in University Campus Technology Resources is subject to the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) Copyright Policy, which covers copyright issues pertaining to University faculty, staff and students, as well as commissioned works of non-employees.
B. CTR users, as a condition of CTR use, recognize that the University may do as it sees fit with its owned and copyrighted Information. CTR users, as a condition of CTR use, grant the University permission to copy or delete Information they have created or stored in CTR. Some CTRs have procedures associated with the management of computer storage space that could result in Information being arbitrarily removed from a CTR. An example would be a policy of automatically deleting unread electronic or voice mail after a set period. Computer files which are unused for extended periods of time might be moved to off-line storage and eventually erased. Contact the appropriate CTSA for current storage management procedures, if any.
C. CTR users, as a condition of use, recognize that when they leave the University (cease to be an enrolled student or an employee of the University,) their Information may be removed from University CTRs without notice. CTR users must remove their Information or make arrangements for its retention prior to leaving the University. Specific CTR policies on retention and removal may vary by system.
3. Campus Technology Resources Administration of Information Servers
The University Information Technology Use Policy states, in part, “…it is unethical to store and or give access to Information on Campus Technology Resources that could result in legal action against the university”. This requires that the CTSA for an Information server be responsible for the content of the server.
Users should be aware that CTR’s will have appropriate policy and procedures set up for their Information servers as necessary to meet the requirements of University Information Technology Use Policy. When using a CTR Information server for the first time, you should find out if you have any responsibilities or restrictions beyond what has been indicated in the University Information Technology Use Policy and its Guidelines on the Ethical Use of Information Technology. This information is typically available from the CTR Information server or its CTSA.
4. Integrity and Safeguarding Activity in Shared Systems
A. Unrestricted CTR access (“Super-user Privilege”) is granted only to immediate staff by the appropriate CTSA. These authorized individuals are responsible for the integrity and safeguarding of the Campus Technology Resources and the Information within them. They are expected to respect the privacy of Information within the CTR and are not exempt from the University Information Technology Use Policy.
B. To protect the integrity of the Campus Technology Resources against unauthorized or improper use, and to protect authorized users from the effects of unauthorized or improper usage, the University reserves the right to limit permanently or restrict any user’s CTR usage; to inspect, copy, remove, or otherwise alter any Information or system resources that may undermine the authorized use of that Electronic System; and to do so with or without notice to the user. However, no such action will be taken without specific authorization from the appropriate CTSA. The University, through authorized individuals, also reserves the right to periodically check and monitor its Campus Technology Resources, and reserves any other rights necessary to protect the Campus Technology Resources.
C. The University disclaims responsibility and will not be responsible for loss or disclosure of user Information or interference with user Information resulting from its efforts to maintain the privacy, security, and integrity of its Campus Technology Resources and Information. Most CTRs have backup procedures that periodically save user Information. Backup copies may be stored off-site and may be retained for long periods of time. The intent is to be able to recover the Information in case of system disaster. CTR backup procedures and backup retention periods differ by individual CTR policy. You may or may not be able to recover lost information. The University retains the right to review Information contained in backups in conjunction with its CTR integrity and safeguarding activities or as part of an official investigation of alleged violation of University Policy.
D. The University reserves the right to take emergency action to safeguard the integrity and security of Campus Technology Resources. This includes but is not limited to the termination of a program, job, or on-line session, or the temporary alteration of user Access Codes. Such emergency action will be taken on the authorization of the appropriate CTSA. The taking of emergency action does not waive the rights of the University to take additional actions under this policy.
5. User Responsibility
A. To protect all users of Campus Technology Resources, you should contact the appropriate CTSA if you believe your rights have been compromised when using Campus Technology Resources. In such instances, please provide details including a description of the incident, date, time, and persons involved. If you suspect that your files have been altered or access has been gained to your Information, STOP. Do not alter, access or execute anything. Notify your instructor, DTC and/or CTSA immediately.
B. If you use a “personal” system, even if it is provided by the University, it is your responsibility to insure that the system is properly backed up and that the Information contained in that “personal” system is safeguarded. Contact your local CTSA for assistance if necessary.
C. In order to receive user support either from the University or vendors, you may be asked to produce the manuals, original diskettes, serial number, or other proof of proper software licensing. In addition, vendors may require proof of purchase to upgrade to a new version of the product. It is the responsibility of the appropriate CTSA, or the individual user in the case of a “personal” system, to insure that proper documentation and records are maintained.
6. Exposure to Offensive Material
Users should be aware that the University has no control over the content of Information servers on External Campus Technology Resources, for example, the World Wide Web. This is to inform you that some Information may be offensive to you and/or unsuitable for certain audiences. User discretion is advised.
The University will not be liable for any losses, including lost revenues, or for any claims or demands against the user of an CTR by any other party. In no event will the University be liable for consequential damages, even if the University has been advised of the possibility of such damages. The University will not be responsible for any damages due to the loss of output, loss of data, time delay, Campus Technology Resources performance, software performance, incorrect advice from a consultant, or any other damages arising from the use of the University’s Campus Technology Resources and Information. The University will make reasonable attempts to correct conditions and restore Information losses.
8. Information Technology Use Policy Procedures
A. Users of Information Technology at the University are expected to comply with the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (URGRGCC) Information Technology Use Policy. In the event of a suspected violation, the appropriate instructor or CTSA will (in conjunction with University Counsel and University Security personnel, if necessary) investigate the allegations and determine if an offense has occurred.
B. The University will deal with violations of these policies in the same manner as violations of other university policies and may conduct a disciplinary review. In such a review, the accused may be subject to the full range of disciplinary sanctions, which include the loss of computer use privileges, dismissal from the University, and civil or criminal legal action.
Some violations of these policies may constitute a criminal offense. Individuals using campus computer facilities should be familiar with 18 USC 2701-2711 and ORC 2913.04.
The following is a partial list of Federal and State statutes critical to the development of the above policies:
2913.04 Unauthorized Use, Hacking, Cracking, etc.
(http://38.223.23.20/stacks/orc/title-29/sec-2913/home.htm )
4165.02 Forged origination information
(http://38.223.23.20/stacks/orc/title-41/sec-4165/home.htm)
United States Code (Revised) Statutes
18 U. S. C. 646 Embezzlement by a bank employee
18 U. S. C. 793 Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information
18 U. S. C. 912 Impersonation of a government employee to obtain a thing of value
18 U. S. C. 1005 False entries in bank records
18 U. S. C. 1006 False entries in institution records
18 U. S. C. 1014 False statements in loan and credit applications
18 U. S. C. 1029 Credit card Fraud Act of 1984
18 U. S. C. 1030 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
18 U. S. C. 1343 Wire fraud (use of a phone, wire, radio, or television transmissions to further a scheme to defraud
18 U. S. C. 1361 Malicious mischief to government property
18 U. S. C. 2071 Concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records
18 U. S. C. 2314 Interstate transportation of stolen property
18 U. S. C. 2319 Willful infringement of a copyright for profit
18 U. S. C. 2701-2711 Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Anti-Piracy Hotline: 1-800-688-2721
United States Code statutes…Search
http://law.house.gov/usearch.htm
Overview & Purpose
University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College’s copyright policy is based upon United States Copyright Law, Title 17, U.S. Code, 1976. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Our policy is based on careful review of the law itself, the Fair Use of Guidelines of 1997, the TEACH Act of 2002, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the DMCA exemptions of 2006.
This Copyright Policy has been prepared in an effort to help the University community better understand what is allowable by law, and why some services that are technically possible may nevertheless be restricted. The University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College will always remain open to receiving any new information on or interpretation of copyright law.
This policy applies to all members of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and any other person who has access to information technology resources at the University.
Copyright law protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium. The University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College upholds the principle that faculty retain copyright ownership for traditional works that they have created, including books, films, music, and other works of art. The University of California’s policies on Copyright Ownership and Ownership of Course Materials clarify who owns the copyright to original works when produced by members of the faculty. There are occasions, however, when a work produced by an employee may fall under a “work made for hire” as defined in section 101 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In these instances, copyright ownership would be ascribed to the institution.
Compliance with the federal copyright law and with this policy is the
responsibility of every member of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College, including faculty, staff and students. An up-to-date policy is posted on Rio Grande’s website and all members of the academic community are expected to take a personal interest in becoming informed about how copyright law affects our work at the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College.
It is the intent of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College to adhere to the provisions of state and federal copyright laws as described above. The following tenants represent a sincere effort to comply with those laws
A. The ethical and practical problems caused by illegal copying should be included in the University’s in-service and faculty development programs.
B. Only legal copies of copyrighted materials may be made or used on University equipment.
C. The University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College does not give permission for any illegal copying of University owned copyrighted materials.
D. No student shall be advised that they may copy protected materials other than those allowed by the guidelines defined by copyright law and in this policy.
E. It shall be the policy of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College to negotiate for specific copyright releases when applicable.
F. University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College will make a copy of this policy available to all University employees.
G. The College will create and maintain the position of copyright officer for this institution.
H. Employees may exceed these policies only with the permission of the copyright officer and/or in consultation with the University’s legal counsel.
I. The appended guidelines will be modified periodically to reflect changes in the law and/or technology.
Note: This text provides only a summary of the main provisions of the United States copyright laws. For more details regarding these laws in their entirety, or questions as to what is and what is not permissible under Copyright, please visit the U.S. Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov/ or the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com
General Information About Copyright
Copyright grants to the author or originator the sole and exclusive privilege of creating multiple copies of literary or artistic productions and publishing and selling them. Copyright protection exists for original works fixed in any tangible medium of expression, including:
1. Literary works
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. Pantomimes and choreographic work
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculpture work
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings.
Copyright Protections and Fair Use Principles
To help members of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College understand and comply with copyright laws, this section summarizes basic principles of copyright law including the application of “fair use”. The principle of Fair Use offers additional access privileges in educational settings.
Copyright law is inherently complex. A fair use of a copyrighted work depends upon a specific determination based upon the circumstances of the use. The principles below are intended to provide an initial context for complying with the law.
Principle 1: The copyright holder has important and exclusive rights. Copyright law protects original works such as writings, music, visual arts, and films by giving the copyright holder a set of exclusive rights in that work. These rights include the right to copy, distribute, adapt, perform, display, and create derivative or collected works. In general, any use of copyrighted materials requires permission from, and potentially payment of royalties to, the copyright holder unless the use falls within an exemption in the law, such as the fair use exemption.
Principle 2: Responsible decision-making means that University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College members must make demonstrable good faith efforts to understand the fundamentals of copyright law and the reasonable application of fair use. When University members plan to use a copyrighted work in their teaching or research, they must examine the specifics of their use within the context of the law in order to determine whether they should seek permission for the use or depend instead upon the fair use exemption.
Principle 3: An appropriate exercise of fair use depends on a case-by-case application and balancing of four factors as set forth in a statute enacted by Congress. A proper determination of fair use – in daily practice and in the courts – requires applying these four factors to the specific circumstances of the use. These factors must be evaluated to determine whether most of them weigh in favor of or against fair use. The four factors include:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether the copied material will be for nonprofit, educational, or commercial use. This factor at first seems reassuring; but unfortunately for educators, several courts have held that absence of financial gain is insufficient for a finding of fair use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work, with special consideration given to the distinction between a creative work and an informational work. For example, photocopies made of a newspaper or newsmagazine column are more likely to be considered a fair use than copies made of a musical score or a short story. Duplication of material originally developed for classroom consumption is less likely to be a fair use than is the duplication of materials prepared for public consumption. For example, a teacher who photocopies a workbook page or a textbook chapter is depriving the copyright owner of profits more directly than if copying one page from the daily paper.
3. The amount, substantiality, or portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. This factor requires consideration of 1) the proportion of the larger work that is copied and used, and 2) the significance of the copied portion.
4. The effect of the use on the potential market of the copyrighted work. This factor is regarded as the most critical one in determining fair use; and it serves as the basic principle from which the other three factors are derived and to which they are related. If the reproduction of a copyrighted work reduces the potential market and sales and, therefore, the potential profits of the copyright owner, that use is unlikely to be found a fair use.
Principle 4: Nonprofit educational purposes are generally favored in the application of the four factors of fair use, but an educational use does not by itself make the use a “fair use.” One must always consider and weigh all four factors of fair use together. The educational purpose of the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College will usually weight the first of the four factors, the purpose or character of the use, in favor of fair use. However, an educational use does not mean that the use is, by that factor alone, a fair use. All four factors must be weighed in making a decision.
Copying Materials for Instructional Use
Under certain conditions specified in copyright law, a photocopy or other reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
Primary and secondary school educators have, with publishers, developed guidelines which allow an instructor to distribute photocopied materials to students in a class, without the publisher’s prior permission, upon compliance with these conditions:
The distribution of the same photocopied materials does not occur every semester.
Only one copy is distributed for each student, which must become the student’s property.
The materials include a copyright notice on the first page of the portion of material photocopied.
The students are not assessed any fee beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.
The amount of material should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of material assigned for one term of a course.
The effect of copying the material should not be detrimental to the market for the work. In general, the library should own at least one copy of the work, and the use of the work.
General Guidelines for Print and Electronic Reserve
• One chapter from a book.
• One article from a journal issue or newspaper.
• Multiple excerpts from a single book or journal issue will be accepted only if the total length of the submission is 10% or less of the total length of the book or journal issue.
• A short story, short essay, or short poem.
• A chart, diagram, drawing, graph, cartoon, or picture.
Materials in excess of Fair Use may still be used with appropriate permission and/or fees to the copyright holder.
Displaying Media on Campus
Users must secure public performance rights prior to showing a copyrighted work on campus, unless the work was purchased with public performance rights attached. The only exemption to this requirement is for classroom showings (i.e., the Face-to-Face exemption).
Classroom Showing
Classroom use or showing of a copyrighted video (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray) is permissible under the following conditions:
The use must be by instructors or by students.
The use is part of the curriculum for a specific course and is confined to members in a discrete course or other teaching activity.
The entire audience is involved with the teaching activity.
The showing takes place in a classroom or other instructional venue.
The video is lawfully made; the person responsible has no reason to believe that the video was not lawfully made.
Unless a film has public performance rights attached, it should be assumed that permission is required for a public screening of the film. Public performance rights must be obtained prior to scheduling, advertising, or showing a copyrighted film.
If the film is being shown for entertainment purposes, if it includes viewers not enrolled in the course showing the film, or if the film is advertised, it is considered a public (open) showing. The screening of the film is not excused from the “public” designation just because it is an “educational” film, it is being advertised only on campus, or admission is not being charged. The licensing status of the film or work should be determined prior to any advertisement. If it is determined that a public performance license is required, the copyright holder will need to be identified and permission secured. The person showing the film is responsible for securing permission and paying any performance fees.
Off-Air Recording
• Off-air broadcasts may be recorded and legally shown once to a single class within the first ten days after the date of the broadcast. This does not allow for multiple showings or general showings within the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College.
• The recording must be from a commercial broadcast (no premium cable channels).
• After ten days the recording may not be shown unless copyright clearance is
The professor may retain the recording for an additional 35 days for personal evaluation purposes only. After that time the recording must be erased or copyright clearance obtained.
Using Multimedia Materials
The use of multimedia materials is governed by the Fair Use Guidelines cited above.
Existing Video Footage
Faculty and students are permitted to copy portions of video materials for the purpose of incorporating the clips into a new production for educational use in the classroom, without obtaining permission from the copyright holder.
The borrowed material may not constitute more than 3 minutes of the original work, nor may it comprise the majority of the finished product. The opening screen of the project and any accompanying print material must include a notice that certain materials have been used under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 specifically addressed digital media, including DVDs, and introduced new restrictions on copying. Section 1201 of the DMCA prohibits the circumvention of encryption on all digital media. It is a violation of the DMCA, for example, to make a digital copy of an encrypted DVD, because doing so would require breaking the copy protection. In November 2006, several exemptions to the DMCA restrictions were approved. One of the new exemptions is for multimedia works included in the educational library of a college or university’s film or media studies department, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of making compilations of portions of those works for educational use in the classroom by media studies or film professors.
Guidelines for Using Multimedia Sources
Existing multimedia (music, lyrics, music videos, motion media, photographs, and illustrations) can be incorporated into a student or faculty multimedia project. The amount of the copyrighted work that a student may use in her/his educational multimedia project is restricted by specific portion limitations (see below). In particular, the portion limitations relate to the amount of copyrighted work that can reasonably be used in educational multimedia projects regardless of the original medium from which the copyrighted works are taken. Only two copies of the student educational multimedia project may be made, for reserve and preservation purposes.
Attribution and acknowledgement are required. Students must credit the sources of the copyrighted works, display copyright notice and ownership information, and include notice of use restrictions.
Copyrighted Music, Lyrics, and Music Videos: up to 10%, but in no event more than 30 seconds.
Motion Media Work: no more than 3 minutes.
Photographs and Illustrations: no more than 5 images by an artist or photographer. For photographs or illustrations from a published collective work, no more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides an opportunity for Internet service providers (ISP’s) to shield themselves from liability for the actions of their users that infringe on the copyrights of others. All institutions of higher education that provide Internet access fall within the scope of the definition of an ISP, with relevant users being their students, faculty and staff.
As an ISP, the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College are potentially liable for monetary damages (plus attorneys’ fees) if any of its users provide Internet access to material that infringes on the copyrights of others. The same is true if, for example, a user transmits infringing materials in an e-mail message. Copyright owners are entitled to recover either their “actual” damages, or statutory damages that range as high as $30,000 per work infringed. (In the case of willful infringement, the statutory damages can be as high as $150,000 per work.) In all cases, the “fair-use” exemption that allows use of copyrighted materials in narrowly defined circumstances applies to materials in digital form just as it applies to traditional media.
University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College DMCA Procedures
The DMCA does not require that the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College “police” the Internet activities of its faculty, staff or students. Rather, it requires that the University respond in specified ways to avoid institutional liability when evidence of infringing activity is brought to its attention or when it receives information that makes it apparent that infringing activity is occurring. The University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College follows DMCA requirements in the following way:
When the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College receives a notice from an agent (the RIAA, MPAA or other agent) or the copyright holder, the University will investigate who is attached to the network address given in the notice. Following receipt of a proper notification, the University must “expeditiously” remove (“take down”) the infringing material or block access to it when identified content is hosted on institutional resources.
The University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College must “promptly” notify the user of the University’s action. Such notification coupled with the removal of the material shields Rio Grande from liability for damages sought for the actions of the user. A member of the Office of Campus Computing & Networking (CC&N) or the campus Copyright Officer will contact the person in question via email to meet with him or her. At this meeting, the specific implications of the infraction will be outlined along with actions required and information on potential legal or disciplinary outcomes.
The person receiving the notice must sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the notice and understanding that receipt of a second notice will trigger notification to appropriate University officials to determine what sanctions may be issued.
Upon receipt of a second notice the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College will follow all of the above procedures, and the individual will be required to additionally meet with the Provost.
If the individual receives a third notice, the Provost will bring an honor code charge against the individual for disciplinary action.
In February 2007, the RIAA began sending pre-settlement and settlement letters to individuals they believed were infringing upon their rights as copyright owners. If the College receives any such letters, it will notify students or staff that such pre-settlement letters have been received and will forward those settlement letters to the individuals for whom they are intended. If an individual receives such a letter, they are personally responsible for interpreting the Policy and laws and retaining legal advice, if they so choose.
Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008
The University of Rio Grande follows the Educause recommendations for compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.
http://www.educause.edu/library/higher-education-opportunity-act-heoa
The HEOA legal mandate states more specific requirements for U.S. colleges and universities regarding copyright infractions through the use of Peer to Peer file-sharing technologies. Failure to meet compliance and having repeated offenses from your campus could impact Federal Financial Aid to the institution.
Educause highly encourages three measures of proactive action.
1. An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law.
2. A plan to “effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials” by users of its network, including “the use of one or more technology-based deterrents”.
3. A plan to “offer alternatives to illegal downloading”.
Campus Computing & Networking addresses the Educause recommendations with the following:
1. Rio Grande posts on the website language regarding the use of P2P file sharing and provides training to all LA10001 (Student Success) classes each term.
2. Rio Grande uses a Palo Alto firewall which permits the blocking of all P2P protocol network activities.
3. Rio Grande instructs users of legal alternatives like Apple iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google Play Store, etc.
Should the rio.edu domain “hostmaster” receive notification of a violation, the CC&N and the Dean of Students (or, Provost) provides verbal warnings informing the suspected violator that the institution has received a “notification of a suspected violation(s)” and does NOT have the ability to shield or protect the individual from legal actions initiated by outside organizations as outlined in the Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws statement.
Each campus must distribute three pieces of information related to copyright policy and law:
i) A statement that explicitly informs its students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject the students to civil and criminal liabilities;
ii) A summary of the penalties for violation of Federal copyright laws; and
iii) A description of the institution’s policies with respect to unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, including disciplinary actions that are taken against students who engage in illegal downloading or unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials using the institution’s information technology system.
In its “Dear Colleague” letter of June 4, 2010, the Department of Education provided the following sample text for (ii)
Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These
rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.
Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq
Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act The Copyright Clearance Center summarizes the TEACH Act as “… the product of discussion and negotiation among academic institutions, publishers, library organizations and Congress. It offers many improvements over previous regulations, specifically sections 110(2) and 112(f) of the U.S. [Copyright Law, Title 17, U.S. Code, 1976]”
The TEACH Act provides additional guidance and exemptions for non-profit educational institutions to use digital media in distance learning. In order for institutions to use these copyrighted materials in distance education, the institution must meet specific criteria to qualify for its exemptions. There are specific materials to which the TEACH Act exemptions do not apply. Members of the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College using the TEACH Act exemptions for distance education should consult readily available resources (such as through the Copyright Clearance Center) to clarify what is and what is not permissible. The TEACH Act does not supersede fair use or existing digital license agreements.
Online forms for copyright clearance and permission, including Pay-Per-Use Services, can be found through the Copyright Clearance Center. If the work being used is not a well-known resource, and is not on the Copyright Clearance Center website, then the individual using the work is responsible for contacting the copyright holder and obtaining permission to use the copyrighted work.
This Policy was adapted, with permission, from Wellesley College’s “Copyright Policy” (http://www.wellesley.edu/lts/policies/copyrightpolicy).
Copyright Law of the United States accessed from http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
Fair Use section of the U.S. Copyright Law accessed from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
The U.S. Copyright Office website accessed from http://www.copyright.gov/
The Copyright Clearance Center website accessed from http://www.copyright.com/
Digital Millennium Copyright Act accessed from http://copyright.gov/title17/92appb.html
Copyright Basics: THE TEACH Act accessed from http://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/teach.html
Network User Account Policy
Policy #: 7.4.2
Responsible Executive: Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Responsible Office: Campus Computing & Networking
Originally Issued: (TBD)
Revised: N/A
The University will provision and maintain a Network User Account (RioNET) for all full and part-time students, faculty, and staff for the purpose of authentication and Federated Identity Management as a Certified Identity Provider under the authority of the Internet2 InCommon organization.
Guests, contractors, consultants, Trustees and other persons may also have RioNET accounts upon approval of Human Resources.
Users provided a RioNET account are bound to the Terms & Conditions outlined in the campus Acceptable Use Policy and others outlined by accessed content/service providers.
The University shall operate industry standard identity management systems capable of providing assurance of a user’s electronic identity plus other required attributes.
Campus Computing & Networking shall be charged with the operations of such identity management systems and shall purge delinquent and unused accounts as necessary for compliance to meet the assurance requirements of content/service providers seeking Federated Identity Management user authentication.
Student & alumni accounts remain active providing the user continues use after enrollment terms. Continued active status is achieved by e-mail logins for a minimum of six months off-line.
Staff and faculty accounts remain active during the period of employment or through the benefits extended via Emeritus status as recommended and approved by action of the Trustees.
Guest, contractors, consultant and Trustee accounts remain active during the term of the user’s engagement with the institution.
Operational procedures and best practices are maintained within the requirements of InCommon and the participating content/service providers.
InCommon, operated by Internet2, provides a secure and privacy-preserving trust fabric for research and higher education, and their partners, in the United States. InCommon’s identity management federation serves 8 million end-users (IPEDS data; October 2014). InCommon also operates a related assurance program, and offers certificate and multifactor authentication services. https://www.incommon.org/
External compliance for Identity Provider standards with
III. Entities Affected By This Policy
All units of the University.
IV. Who Should Read This Policy
All members of the University community.
V. Website Address for This Policy
VI. Related Documents, Forms, and Tools
VII. Contacts
Direct any questions about this policy to your department’s administrative manager.
If you have questions about specific issues, call the following offices: Campus Computing & Networking
Subject Contact Telephone E-mail/Web Site
Policy Clarification and Interpretation
Computing & Networking
Instructional Design & Media Services
VIII. Definitions
IX. Responsibilities
X. Principles
Authority/Laws
Economy and Efficiency
XI. Procedures
How do I change my RioNET password?
You can reset your password at your convenience a few different ways:
While logged into a campus computer, press CTRL+ALT+DEL and select Change a Password.
From a web broswer, naviage to myRio, then select Password Reset.
In person on campus – Moulton Hall – B4 (fire lane entrance side)
Email – support@rio.edu
How do I set up my student e-mail?
Your RioNET email is all set up and ready to go when you attend orientation or one week prior to the start of the first semester in which you are enrolled at Rio. You simply need to change the default password in order to gain access to your RioNET email.
At orientation the Campus Computing & Networking staff are available to assist all students in changing their default passwords, connecting to the campus WiFi, accessing RioNET email for the first time and adding the Exchange email account to your mobile device.
Otherwise, one week prior to the start of the semester the new students RioNET account is created. The New User Guide for Students has step-by-step instructions.
New User Guide for Students
How do I print from my personal device?
Open a web browser, navigate to: https://print.rio.edu Enter your RioNET username & password. Select Print from the navigation menu. Upload the document you wish to print, Click Next. Select the printer at the location you wish to use. Click Print. Collect your print job.
How to I connect to WiFi?
On your device open the wireless settings, select eduroam. Enter your full RioNET email address and password. Select Join/Connect. When prompted Accept or Trust the eduroam.rio.edu security certificate. Congratulations, you are now connected.
TitleChief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer
Emailshughes@rio.edu
Michael Snider
TitleSr. Network & Systems Administrator
Emailmsnider@rio.edu
Allen Hudson
TitleNetwork & Systems Administrator
Emailahudson@rio.edu
Alex Gagucas
TitleNetwork and Systems Administrator
Emailagagucas@rio.edu
Caleb Bevan
TitleComputer Support Specialist
Emailcbevan@rio.edu
Minda Hager
TitleInstructional Designer/LMS Administrator
Emailmhager@rio.edu
Campus Computing & Networking is located in the basement of Moulton Hall on the University of Rio Grande & Rio Grande Community College campus.
Closed each day from 12-1 for lunch (even the nerds need to eat)
Primary Contact: support@rio.edu
Better Learning Through Networking!
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The home of Scottish sailing since 1824
Welcome to the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club, a club with a fantastic heritage and a modern outlook.
The Royal Northern & Clyde was founded in 1824 and is proud to be Scotland's oldest yacht club, as well as one of the oldest sailing clubs in the UK and the World.
Almost 200 years on, today we remain one of the largest, most active and successful yacht clubs in the country. We enjoy reciprocal links with the most prestigious yacht clubs around the globe.
The Club is located in the picturesque village of Rhu, near Helensburgh, nestled between the Firth of Clyde (our sailing area) on one side, and Loch Lomond on the other.
Many of our members live and work in Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city, and travel to the club to race on midweek evenings and weekends.
To encourage and support sailing and a wide range of water-based activities, and to provide and maintain a suitable clubhouse and associated facilities for the sporting, recreational and social use of its members.
To be the club of choice for keelboat racing in Scotland, including match/team-racing, yacht and One Design racing
To provide comprehensive training to allow children and adults to take up sailing and to improve existing skills
To provide opportunities to develop people to become qualified race officials
To run high-quality international events
To be a centre for all water-based sports and recreational activity, and have an active membership with good participation rates
To be a social hub for the local community in Rhu and Helensburgh
The Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club was delighted to host of the 2018 Blind Match Racing World Championship.
This was the first time this event has been held in the UK and we were thrilled to welcome welcome five teams from Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the United States to our Club in September 2018.
To find out more please visit our dedicated BMRWC webpages.
The Club has a strong focus on racing.
With a fleet of evenly-matched Sonar keelboats, we're able to host team-racing and match-racing events, and teams take part in national and international team-racing events.
We also offer club fleet-racing throughout the summer and opportunities for cruising.
Located on the banks of the Gareloch, our magnificent clubhouse in Rhu is open most days with bar and dining facilities available to members.
Our clubhouse hosts an extensive social programme, and has a range of rooms suitable for private functions including meetings, receptions and weddings.
We are a growing Club and welcome new members.
There are lots of reasons to become a member of the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club - click here for more information about the benefits of Club membership.
For the latest news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Please get in touch with any questions about membership,
club facilities or upcoming events.
G84 8NG
mail@rncyc.com
www.rncyc.com
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Warren Glen Fletcher
A celebration of life for Warren Glen Fletcher, 87, West Plains, Missouri, will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, December 12, 2014, at First Baptist Church of West Plains.
Warren Glen Fletcher, loving husband, father and friend was welcomed into the kingdom of heaven on Friday, December 5, 2014.
He was born November 20, 1927, at Wheatland, Indiana, to Irvel Irvin Fletcher and Bertha Wise Fletcher. Warren joined the United States Navy on June 27, 1945. He worked for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad after his military service. On May 9, 1953, he was married at Rosemont, Illinois, to Ruth Irene Palis, who preceded him in death on July 5, 2010. They moved to West Plains in 1959 where Warren worked as a Sales Representative for Western Auto and later moved to St. Louis as a new store sales manager. His love for friends, church and the community drew him back to West Plains in 1968 as the administrator of West Vue Nursing Home, Inc. Warren worked diligently to improve long term healthcare as a member of local, state and national advisory boards. He served the City of West Plains by membership on many boards and committees and was a member of the Rotary Club. He loved the outdoors and spent many hours fishing, hunting and playing golf with friends and family. Warren was an active deacon at the First Baptist Church of West Plains. He faithfully served God through various avenues of ministry both local and worldwide. His greatest joy was knowing God and leading others into His presence.
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
He is survived by two daughters, Diana Kay Dirk and husband, Reverend John A. Dirk, Woodway, Texas and Ruth Anne Castleberry and husband, Reverend Richard A. Castleberry, Chesapeake, Virginia; and four grandchildren, Major John David Dirk, United States Marine Corps and wife, Elizabeth, Lexington Park, Maryland, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, and husband, Major Chad Fitzgerald, United States Army, West Point, New York, Anna Rebekah Castleberry, Tyler, Texas and Jonathan Andrew Castleberry and wife, Emily, Selma, Alabama; four great-grandchildren, Caleb and Grace Fitzgerald and John Michael and Margaret Dirk; two sisters, June Gammon and Margaret Cornelison, husband, Allen, Wheatland, Indiana; one brother, Jerry Fletcher, State of Alaska; one sister-in-law, Dottie Fletcher, State of Alaska; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, three sisters and three brothers.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions may be made to Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Fund or First Baptist Church Benevolent Fund, and may be left at Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.
Ralph James Albin Jerry Lynn Goss
Sherri Mulhaney
I just wanted to say that I’m so sad that Uncle Warren is gone. My boys and I just made reservations to come visit him, Aunt June, Aunt Margie and Uncle Allen – I tried to call him on Friday to surprise him with the news. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
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Analyst Upgrades: Apple, Kite Pharma, BioMarin Pharma
Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Kite Pharma Inc (KITE), and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN)
Analysts are weighing in on Mac maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), as well as drugmakers Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AAPL, KITE, and BMRN.
Goldman Sachs added AAPL to its "Conviction Buy" list, saying it "would use any potential share price weakness around supply chain datapoints as an opportunity to build positions." This is just more of the same from a stock that's been rated a "buy" or better by 22 of 31 analysts, with not a single "sell" recommendation to be found. Also, Apple Inc.'s consensus 12-month price target of $148.64 sits in all-time-high territory. Technically speaking, the shares have advanced 3% year-to-date at $113.69, and are currently testing support at their 80-week moving average. Ahead of the bell, AAPL is pointed 1.4% higher.
KITE has been a beast on the charts, powering 43.5% higher quarter-to-date to close Tuesday at $79.89 -- thanks to a sharp bounce off its 320-day trendline in early October. This technical tenacity is being rewarded today, as Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating and $111 price target -- in uncharted territory. Elsewhere, short interest on Kite Pharma Inc represents over 16% of its total float, or nearly seven days' worth of pent-up buying demand, at typical volumes. In other words, if the shares -- up 4.5% in electronic training -- can sustain their fourth-quarter momentum, a short-covering rally could ensue. In other news, KITE CEO Dr. Arie Belldegrun appeared on CNBC earlier to discuss the firm's development of "highly personalized" cancer immunotherapies.
Goldman Sachs also weighed in on BMRN, doling out a "buy" rating and $158 price target -- expressing more optimism than Oppenheimer, which late yesterday started coverage with a "market perform" opinion and $119 price target. Technically speaking, the stock hasn't done much to merit bullish consideration, considering it's pulled back 29% since hitting a record high of $151.75 in late July to trade at $107.32, and has been notoriously weak during the month of November. This morning, though, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. is poised to pop 1.6% at the open. In the options pits, traders have been accumulating bearish positions in recent weeks. Specifically, across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BMRN has racked up a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.05 -- just 5 percentage points from a 12-month peak.
Sign up now for Schaeffer's Opening View newsletter to get a head start on all the major pre-market news!
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Lynx hire former star Katie Smith as assistant coach
The Minnesota Lynx hired Katie Smith, the franchise’s third-leading all-time scorer and Hall of Fame player, as the lead assistant Tuesday on coach Cheryl Reeve’s staff.
Smith was head coach of the New York Liberty the past two seasons. She was replaced by Walt Hopkins, who was an assistant for the Lynx the last three years.
It’s a reunion of sorts. Smith won WNBA titles in 2006 and 2008 with the Detroit Shock when Reeve as an assistant coach.
With 6,452 points in 482 games, Smith is tied for fifth in WNBA history. Including 1,433 points accumulated in the now-defunct ABL, Smith is the second-leading scorer in U.S. women’s professional basketball behind only Diana Taurasi (8,575).
Smith guided the Lynx to their first appearance in the WNBA playoffs in 2003. She totaled 3,605 points in seven seasons with the team, before being traded to Detroit. She’s a seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist. The 45-year-old Smith retired in 2013.
Smith was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Sanofi and Regeneron Announce that Dupilumab Used with Topical Corticosteroids (TCS) was Superior to Treatment with TCS Alone in Long-term Phase 3 Trial in Inadequately Controlled Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis Patients
Paris, France, and Tarrytown, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that a one-year Phase 3 study, known as LIBERTY AD CHRONOS, evaluating investigational dupilumab met its primary and key secondary endpoints. In the study, dupilumab with topical corticosteroids (TCS) was compared to TCS alone in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) adult patients. Patients enrolled in the study were inadequately controlled by topical corticosteroids (TCS) with or without topical calcineurin inhibitor (TCI). Dupilumab with TCS significantly improved measures of overall disease severity at 16 and 52 weeks, when compared to placebo with TCS.
“These are the first long-term Phase 3 data that demonstrated dupilumab with topical corticosteroids was superior to topical corticosteroids alone, and provided sustained efficacy, significantly improving measures of overall disease severity, skin clearing, itching, and quality of life through one year of treatment,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron and President of Regeneron Laboratories. “Although topical corticosteroids are standard therapies for atopic dermatitis, they are non-specific anti-inflammatory agents, while dupilumab is a targeted therapy that specifically blocks the IL-4/IL-13 signaling pathway. Our collective clinical data demonstrate that this pathway is a root cause in atopic dermatitis, asthma and nasal polyposis and we continue to evaluate the potential of this pathway in these atopic and allergic diseases.”
“Dupilumab is an innovative first-in-class investigational agent that has shown significant efficacy and a favorable safety profile in two pivotal Phase 3 studies in monotherapy for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, and now in concomitant administration with topical corticosteroids,” said Elias Zerhouni, M.D., President, Global R&D, Sanofi. “These one-year data strengthen the earlier 16-week results, suggesting that dupilumab impacts the aberrant activation of the IL-4/IL-13 pathway which resulted in significant efficacy without the side effects associated with immune-suppressing therapies. We will continue to advance dupilumab for patients worldwide suffering from inadequately controlled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, with the first regulatory submission planned in the U.S. for the third quarter of this year.”
The primary endpoint results at week 16 were the following:
39 percent of patients who received either dupilumab 300 mg weekly or dupilumab 300 mg every two weeks with TCS achieved clearing or near-clearing of skin lesions (IGA 0 or 1), compared to 12 percent of patients receiving placebo with TCS (p less than 0.0001).
64 percent of patients who received dupilumab 300 mg weekly with TCS, and 69 percent of patients who received dupilumab 300 mg every two weeks with TCS achieved EASI-75, compared to 23 percent of patients receiving placebo with TCS (p less than 0.0001).
The secondary endpoint 52-week results were the following:
40 percent of patients who received dupilumab 300 mg weekly with TCS, and 36 percent of patients who received dupilumab 300 mg every two weeks with TCS achieved clearing or near-clearing of skin lesions (IGA 0 or 1), compared to 12.5 percent of patients receiving placebo with TCS (p less than 0.0001).
64 percent of patients who received 300 mg weekly with TCS, and 65 percent of patients who received 300 mg every two weeks with TCS achieved EASI-75, compared to 22 percent with placebo with TCS (p less than 0.0001).
Patients were less likely to discontinue therapy in the dupilumab with TCS groups compared to placebo with TCS group (15 percent in both dupilumab groups; 33 percent placebo).
The overall rate of adverse events was comparable between the dupilumab with TCS groups (83 percent for the weekly dose and 88 percent for the every two weeks dose) and the placebo with TCS group (84 percent). The rate of serious adverse events was comparable between the dupilumab with TCS groups (3 and 4 percent) and placebo with TCS group (5 percent). Serious and/or severe infections were numerically higher in the placebo with TCS group (1 percent in both dupilumab groups and 2 percent placebo). Adverse events that were noted to have a higher rate with dupilumab included injection site reactions (20 and 16 percent dupilumab; 9 percent placebo) and conjunctivitis (19 and 13 percent dupilumab; 8 percent placebo); 22 percent of patients on placebo, and 23 and 28 percent of patients on dupilumab reported a history of allergic conjunctivitis at study entry.
More detailed results, including long-term efficacy and safety data from CHRONOS will be submitted for presentation at a future medical congress.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted dupilumab Breakthrough Therapy designation in AD in November 2014. Dupilumab is currently under clinical development and its safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority. If approved, dupilumab would be commercialized by Regeneron and Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business of Sanofi.
The LIBERTY AD Phase 3 clinical program consists of five trials of patients with moderate-to-severe AD at sites worldwide.
About the LIBERTY CHRONOS TRIAL
A total of 740 adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD were enrolled in CHRONOS. All patients were inadequately controlled with topical medications and were assessed via the 5-point Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) scale, ranging from 0 (clear) to 4 (severe); entry criteria required a baseline score of 3 or 4. Patients were also assessed using the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and other measures. All patients initiated daily treatment with a medium potency TCS or low potency TCS on areas of the body where medium potency TCS is considered unsafe. Patients were randomized in a 3:1:3 fashion into the following treatment groups: dupilumab 300 mg subcutaneously once per week (n=319), dupilumab 300 mg subcutaneously every two weeks (n=106), or placebo (n=315). This design allowed sufficient power for the efficacy endpoints in both dupilumab groups while increasing the available safety data on the more frequent dosing regimen. In the U.S., the primary efficacy endpoint of the study was the percent of patients who achieved IGA 0 or 1 at 16 weeks. In Europe and Japan there was an additional co-primary endpoint: the percent of patients achieving an EASI 75 score at week 16. The primary analysis was pre-specified to occur 52 weeks after approximately 85 percent of patients were randomized into the study.
Atopic dermatitis – a serious form of eczema – is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by itchy, inflamed skin that can be present on any part of the body.1,2 Though symptoms appear externally, atopic dermatitis is characterized by underlying inflammation.3 About 70 percent of people with atopic dermatitis have a family history of other common atopic diseases, such as asthma or hay fever.2,8 In many cases, atopic dermatitis is characterized by pruritus (itchiness) and skin lesions.9,10,11 The intense itching, scratching and skin damage associated with the disease can cause secondary infections that may require additional treatments. In addition, the physical manifestations of the disease can lead to anxiety, depression, and feelings of social isolation.12,13,14,15,16 Based on a survey of 200 physicians, there are approximately 1.6 million patients in the U.S. that have been diagnosed with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, and are currently being treated but still are living with inadequately controlled disease.7
Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi is organized into five global business units: Diabetes and Cardiovascular, General Medicines and Emerging Markets, Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur and Merial. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
Sanofi Genzyme focuses on developing specialty treatments for debilitating diseases that are often difficult to diagnose and treat, providing hope to patients and their families.
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading science-based biopharmaceutical company based in Tarrytown, New York that discovers, invents, develops, manufactures, and commercializes medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. Regeneron commercializes medicines for high LDL cholesterol, eye diseases, and a rare inflammatory condition and has product candidates in development in other areas of high unmet medical need, including oncology, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, pain, and infectious diseases. For additional information about the company, please visit www.regeneron.com or follow @Regeneron on Twitter.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans" and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the absence of guarantee that the product candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, the impact of cost containment initiatives and subsequent changes thereto, the average number of shares outstanding as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
Regeneron Forward-Looking Statements and Use of Digital Media
This news release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to future events and the future performance of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Regeneron” or the "Company"), and actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements concern, and these risks and uncertainties include, among others, the nature, timing, and possible success and therapeutic applications of Regeneron's products, product candidates, and research and clinical programs now underway or planned, including without limitation dupilumab; unforeseen safety issues resulting from the administration of products and product candidates in patients, including serious complications or side effects in connection with the use of Regeneron's product candidates in clinical trials, such as the clinical development programs evaluating dupilumab; the likelihood and timing of possible regulatory approval (including U.S. regulatory approval) and commercial launch of Regeneron's late-stage product candidates, such as dupilumab for atopic dermatitis or other indications; determinations by regulatory and administrative governmental authorities which may delay or restrict Regeneron's ability to continue to develop or commercialize Regeneron's products and product candidates, such as dupilumab; ongoing regulatory obligations and oversight impacting Regeneron’s marketed products, research and clinical programs, and business, including those relating to patient privacy; competing drugs and product candidates that may be superior to Regeneron's products and product candidates; uncertainty of market acceptance and commercial success of Regeneron's products and product candidates and the impact of studies (whether conducted by Regeneron or others and whether mandated or voluntary) on the commercial success of Regeneron's products and product candidates; the ability of Regeneron to manufacture and manage supply chains for multiple products and product candidates; coverage and reimbursement determinations by third-party payers, including Medicare and Medicaid; unanticipated expenses; the costs of developing, producing, and selling products; the ability of Regeneron to meet any of its sales or other financial projections or guidance and changes to the assumptions underlying those projections or guidance; the potential for any license or collaboration agreement, including Regeneron's agreements with Sanofi and Bayer HealthCare LLC, to be cancelled or terminated without any further product success; and risks associated with intellectual property of other parties and pending or future litigation relating thereto. A more complete description of these and other material risks can be found in Regeneron's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2016. Any forward-looking statements are made based on management's current beliefs and judgment, and the reader is cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements made by Regeneron. Regeneron does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, including without limitation any financial projection or guidance, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Regeneron uses its media and investor relations website and social media outlets to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Regeneron is routinely posted and is accessible on Regeneron’s media and investor relations website (http://newsroom.regeneron.com) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/regeneron).
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The "Black Legend" and the "Orientalisation" of Spain: The Impact on the Discourse and Practice of Cuban, Catalan and Basque Nationalism, 1850-1914
Angel Smith, University of Leeds and St. Antony’s College
Angel Smith is Reader in Modern Spanish history at the University of Leeds. His major monographs are Anarchism, Revolution and Reaction: Catalan Labour and the Crisis of the Spanish State, 1898-1923... Read more
Fourth François-Xavier Guerra Seminar
Romy Sánchez, University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Jesús Sanjurjo, University of Leeds
University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris
Fourth François-Xavier Guerra Seminar – jointly organized with the Centre de reserche d’histoire de l’Amerique Latine at du monde ibérique (CRALMI), University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne – Please... Read more
Representation Without Taxation, Taxation Without Consent: the Legacy of Spanish Colonialism to Latin America
Alejandra Irigoin, LSE
Alejandra Irigoin is an Associate Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics, where she teaches Latin American Economic History and Early Modern global history. Her research on... Read more
Importing the War on Drugs? U.S. Pressure and Mexican Anti-Drugs Efforts from 1940 to 1980
Carlos Pérez Ricart, St. Antony’s College
Carlos A. Pérez Ricart is Postdoctoral Fellow in the Contemporary History and Public Policy of Mexico at the University of Oxford. He holds a PhD in Political Science and in Latin American Studies... Read more
Entangled History: The Hispanic-Anglosphere (late 18th - early 20th centuries)
Graciela Iglesias-Rogers, University of Winchester
Graciela Iglesias-Rogers is currently principal investigator of the AHRC-funded project ‘The Hispanic-Anglosphere: transnational networks, global communities (late 18th-20th centuries)’ in... Read more
Where is Latin American History Going?
Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University
Jeremy Adelman completed his DPhil at Oxford in 1989, and has since authored or edited ten books, including Sovereignty and Revolution in the Iberian Atlantic (2006) and Worldly Philosopher: The... Read more
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. One of my favorite things to do while walking the trail is to go to a nearby rock off Old Fishermen's Wharf and count the harbor seals sunning themselves. As an added bonus, I can usually spot a sea otter playing in the kelp offshore and there are always a couple of funny pelicans and cormorants hanging around.
I had counted about 18 harbor seals when I heard a splash; I knew a noise like that could only mean one thing. As I looked up my breath was taken away, in the distance I saw a huge humpback whale jumping out of the water. That's the thing about living near Monterey Bay, year-round there is something cool to see and the wildlife never ceases to amaze me. All I could think about was how lucky I am to live in such a unique and pristine area.
One reason so much wildlife collects in this particular area is because it was designated in 1992 by Congress as a NOAA national marine sanctuary. National marine sanctuaries are designated for their irreplaceable resources with the goal of protecting these places while still allowing people to enjoy the ocean.
For you history buffs, the National Marine Sanctuaries Act passed in 1972, after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, and made it possible for the designation and regulation of national marine sanctuaries. Originally, Congress wanted to protect these areas from the harm associated with oil drilling but today the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is also an important line of defense against resource destruction such as pollution, coastal development, and wildlife disturbances.
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, referred to as the "Serengeti of the Sea," attracts tourists from around the globe to admire some of the best wildlife watching in the world. Supporting sustainable tourism and recreation is important to national marine sanctuaries, especially in Monterey Bay where these opportunities continue to grow and offer significant potential to boost the economy and create jobs.
You don't only have to enjoy looking at whales to want to visit Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The sanctuary offers a surplus of tourism amenities for travelers who enjoy a diversity of recreational activities, including hiking, swimming, diving, boating, fishing, surfing, kayaking, tide pooling, or playing on the beach. The Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz and the Coastal Discovery Center in San Simeon houses dynamic exhibits about sanctuaries and offers educational programs to learn about ocean resources protected by national marine sanctuaries. As an added bonus, sanctuaries are open to visitors year-round and are free to the public.
Interested in spending an afternoon like mine? Check out national marine sanctuaries website or join us on Saturday August 2, 2014 for our FREE Get Into Your Sanctuary Day. Post pictures or comments of you "engaging" with your sanctuary to Facebook or Twitter using #VisitSanctuaries. Need ideas on how to connect with your sanctuary? Follow any of the 5 West Coast national marine sanctuary social media accounts as they live post their adventures in Monterey Bay and the West Coast national marine sanctuaries.
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary - Facebook - Twitter
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - Facebook - Twitter
Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (currently creating a Facebook page that will be up for this event)
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary - Facebook - Twitter
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary - Facebook - Twitter
So get out there! Enjoy a nice day on the water, connect with nature, and support Monterey Bay and NOAA national marine sanctuaries simultaneously on August 2nd by participating in the Get Into Your Sanctuary Day.
Categories: Activities & Tours, Special Events
Author: Ashley Quackenbush
I am a Seattle native currently working toward my Master's of Science in Applied Marine and Watershed Science at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Once completing my M.S. my goal is to become a leader in coastal resource management. My studies focus on developing cutting-edge technologies, such as GIS and remote sensing, to monitor anthropogenic and natural impacts and recommend progressive management techniques. My academic and professional experience in science communication, technology, and project management gives me a unique skill set. My innovation, dedication to my work, and commitment to learning makes me an up-and-coming leader in the environmental world. I am interested in finding work in a highly professional, collaborative and innovative environment. Please review my resume and a couple of my favorite projects I have outlined in the left hand panel.
My passion for science and exploration is complimented by my fondness for travel and the outdoors. I have an advanced SCUBA certificate and have had the opportunity to dive at some of the best sites in the world including the Blue Hole in Belize, and with whale sharks in Honduras. During my most recent adventure I traveled to the Arctic where I was able to observe one of my favorite mammals, the polar bear.
When I am not traveling or on the water, I enjoy hot yoga and escaping to my family cabin in northern Washington.
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List all tracks by this artist
Born in London, David Ingall formed Project 2020 in the year 2000 after playing various instruments from drums to French horn in groups ranging in style from orchestral to heavy metal. Through Project 2020, David has focused his attention on composing and producing urban music amongst other styles, combining the styles that he has performed and listened to since childhood.
Since its creation, Project 2020 has received national airplay on UK radio and has also had its music featured as part of an international advertising for a major electronics company.
Composer's performance affiliation: PRS and PPL (UK).
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Backlot: Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever Film Panel With Nerdist
"Stay at home" virtual panel hosted by Nerdist featuring TeamRiderUS and other influencers from the Tokusatsu community.
Backlot: San Diego Comic-Con At Home 2020: MST3K Panel
Erik Adams (AV Club / Onion) leads a discussion with MST3K creator Joel Hodgson and former cast members Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot # 2) and J. Elvis Weinstein (Tom Servo # 1) as they engage in some good old-fashioned Q & A.
Backlot: The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis Marathon With David Martel (The Adventures Of Pete & Pete)
Backlot: San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Home Movies Panel
Join Shout! Factory as we break out of the office and bring you with us to San Diego Comic-Con 2019! We stopped by the Home Movies 20th Anniversary panel with co-creators Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small, as well as cast members H. Jon Benjamin and Melissa Galsky for a spirited reunion. Nerdist's Dan Casey is moderating.
Backlot: San Diego Comic-Con 2019: What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Panel
The full What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 with showrunner Ira Steven Behr, filmmaker David Zappone (The Captains) and DS9 cast members Andrew Robinson (Elim Garak), Aron Eisenberg (Nog), Penny Johnson Jerald (Kasidy Yates), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), and Chase Masterson (Leeta).
Backlot: San Diego Comic-Con 2018: Shout! Factory Panel
Shout! Factory makes some big announcements and answers questions at our 2018 San Diego Comic-Con panel.
Backlot: Piranha: The Making Of Piranha
Roger Corman, Joe Dante and many more talk about the special effects and go behind the scenes of Piranha.
Backlot: The Decline Of Western Civilization II: LACMA Panel
In this panel at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, we take a look back at the film that captured the spirit of the Los Angeles punk rock scene in the late '70s, as well as the third film in the series, which shined a light on the lifestyle of homeless teens known as gutter punks. We'll learn how there's little difference between a punk band and its audience, why the third film in the series was so hard to find for so long, and why there wouldn't be any punk scene in LA without a man named Brendan Mullen.
Backlot: Freaks And Geeks: Interview With Paul Feig & Judd Apatow
Sit down with creator Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow of the famed series as they discuss their careers and what it's like to work with a cast of future stars including Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, James Franco and more!
Backlot: Rock 'N' Roll High School
Get a backstage pass to Rock 'n' Roll High School, a Roger Corman production featuring iconic punk rockers The Ramones. If you ever wondered how they got the band to be in the movie, or where P.J. Soles got her wardrobe, Backlot has you covered in this interview with Arkush, Corman, Clint Howard, Joe Dante and more.
MORE VIDEO ENTRIES
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Loan Update
A look at how our players are getting on away from the club
Shaun Rowley’s start to life at Slough Town couldn’t have got off to a much better start as he saved a penalty on debut in a 4-1 win over Cinderford Town. Slough are flying high in the Evo-Stick Southern Premier League and they got off to a good start when Warren Harris put them in front on 23 minutes. Slough then got their second right on the stroke of half time as Gavin James rounded the Cinderford ‘keeper before slotting home and Slough made it 3-0 just six minutes into the second half through Chris Flood.
Rowley then had to face two penalties in the space of five second half minutes. The first one saw him sent the wrong way by Jarrad Welch, but he made amends just minutes later when he got down well to his right to keep the same man out. Slough then got their fourth of the afternoon through Gavin James to seal the win, but there was still time for Rowley to make a couple more eye-catching saves in a productive debut.
It wasn’t such a good afternoon for Town’s other loan goalie as Callum Burton was beaten three times for AFC Telford United against Bradford Park Avenue. Bradford took the lead on 35 minutes when a Bradford cross deflected off a Telford defender and looped into the back of the net. The Bucks equalised midway through the second half when Lee Hughes won and converted a penalty. However, some poor Telford defending in the final 10 minutes saw them concede twice meaning Telford now sit 17th in the National League North table, just four points from safety.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing weekend for our other three non-league loanees as Stourbridge, Oxford City and Skelmersdale United were all on the end of defeats. Ethan Jones, Kaiman Anderson and Callum Grogan all started for their respective sides, but they failed to make much of an impression. Stourbridge were beaten 3-1 by Workington, Oxford City went down 2-1 to East Thurrock and Skelmersdale were defeated 4-0 by league leaders Blyth Spartans.
Finally, up in Scotland, Ross County drew 1-1 with bottom of the table Inverness Caldonian Thistle. Inverness took the lead through Greg Tansey before Jim O’Brien was introduced on 78 minutes and he helped County get an equaliser in the 86th minute when Alex Schalk scored with a powerful drive. O’Brien had earlier tested the Thistle ‘keeper from range with a decent effort.
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Meet the Final Candidates Vying to Become U.S. Soccer's Next President
There are eight official candidates cleared to run for U.S. Soccer president in February's election. Here's background information on all of the contenders vying to replace longtime president Sunil Gulati.
And then there were eight.
On Wednesday, U.S. Soccer announced the official candidates who will stand in the election for federation president that will take place on Feb. 10 in Orlando, Florida. To become an official candidate required receiving three formal nominating letters of support and passing a background check. The deadline to supply those nominations was Dec. 12, but the time required to complete the background check process resulted in the delay of revealing the qualified candidates. Out of the initial group of nine people who claimed they would run, only Paul Lapointe did not reach the final stage.
In the coming weeks, SI will continue its series of interviewing all of the candidates, with Kathy Carter, Steve Gans, Kyle Martino and Eric Wynalda appearing thus far on the Planet Fútbol Podcast.
Here are the official candidates vying to replace Sunil Gulati, who has been the federation president since 2006 and announced earlier this month that he will not seek re-election (in alphabetical order):
PAUL CALIGIURI
A former national team standout who famously scored the goal that sent the U.S. to its first men’s World Cup in 40 years in 1990, Caligiuri has provided fewer details of his candidacy than former players Wynalda and Martino. He is in favor of promotion and relegation and includes having the USWNT win World Cup 2019 and the USMNT win World Cup 2022 as planks in his platform. Among the former players running, Caligiuri will face a challenge gaining the support that Wynalda and Martino have in the race.
KATHY CARTER
The on-leave president of Soccer United Marketing, MLS’s marketing arm, Carter has a long track record on the business side of American soccer, and she also played the game at William and Mary. Critics will argue that Carter would only strengthen the concern that for-profit MLS/SUM and non-profit U.S. Soccer are too cozy, and her business acumen may be viewed as less important at a time when it’s the soccer side of the federation that needs improvement. Carter, who is vying to become the first woman to be president of U.S. Soccer, will have to persuade voters outside the Pro Council that her plan to be inclusive on decision-making (including on technical matters) will work.
The current vice president of U.S. Soccer and a former Goldman Sachs executive, Cordeiro split from longtime ally Gulati to announce his candidacy before Gulati pulled out of the race. Cordeiro has plenty of experience inside U.S. Soccer—he has been on the board since 2007—but, like Carter, he will have to convince voters that he can provide effective leadership on the soccer side. (Cordeiro has proposed more inclusive decision-making and having a “general manager” in charge of technical decisions.) Carter’s late entry into the race hurts Cordeiro more than anyone else, but Cordeiro can argue that he’s not part of the MLS/SUM group whose influence on U.S. Soccer has raised questions about the federation’s independence.
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STEVE GANS
Neither a federation insider nor a former national team player, Gans is a Boston-based lawyer and former COO who has advised the business sides of youth soccer and Premier League clubs. He’s also the lone candidate who can say he had the vision to get into the race before the U.S. men’s failure to qualify for the World Cup. Gans did play professionally in the indoor game and wants to address the pay-to-play issue in part with money from the federation’s $130 million surplus. His challenge will be to find a path to victory despite not having the voter pull that comes with being a federation insider or recognition as a former national team player.
KYLE MARTINO
On leave from his job at NBC as a Premier League analyst, Martino is a former national team player who has drawn support from several former star players, including David Beckham, Thierry Henry and former U.S. men’s and women’s standouts, many of whom remain unnamed due to concerns about angering the federation's political establishment. Martino is convening sessions of influencers to help produce a “Progress Plan” for U.S. Soccer that he will release publicly. Critics of Martino note his lack of experience in business or running an organization.
Perhaps the greatest U.S. goalkeeper of all time and the most famous person in the race, the polarizing Solo was a late entry into the campaign but gained the necessary nominations to be an official candidate. Her candidacy announcement focused on improving the financial challenges facing youth soccer players that she herself experienced growing up in Washington.
MICHAEL WINOGRAD
A corporate attorney in New York City who played in Israel, Winograd is an outsider to the federation who nevertheless combines experience in legal negotiations with coaching at the youth and collegiate levels and administration at the lower-league pro level. Winograd has gained some momentum at speaking events involving the candidates, and his ability to land the necessary nominations will give him about two more months to build on his longshot candidacy.
On leave from his job at Fox Sports as a soccer analyst, Wynalda is a former national team standout who has put in extensive work meeting with Adult and Youth Council voting representatives to turn himself into a credible candidate. Wynalda has leveraged a populist appeal to those who are angriest over the U.S. men’s World Cup qualifying failure and the influence and business relationships of MLS/SUM with U.S. Soccer. Supporters of Wynalda will say he has the soccer chops and the boldness to improve what ails U.S. Soccer the most. Critics will argue that he doesn’t have the temperament or the experience to run an organization effectively.
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What's in a Name? A quaint philosophy (short story)
One theory of time and space that had currency two decades ago asserts that, as events unfurl, duplicate universes representing each moment in time are created along a single time line.
Every state of being remains in existence: each frozen at one instance of time. Your first kiss, like mine, is represented in an eternity of universes like the frames of a film. In this quaint philosophy we are all still back there, alive and young.
St Quinten, Jordaens, 1650
Within this breathtaking fantasy, reflective intelligence alone traverses the timeline. Intelligence is conceived as organism that travels the timeline within the changing states of a host – a simple parasite carrying with it a single sense of identity.
Alas, it seems capable of steady travel in one direction. If it could be persuaded to reverse direction, what opportunity would there be to re-explore each passing moment, and maybe correct past mistakes? That first kiss perhaps.
I went looking for this quaint philosophy. Sadly, the most powerful search engines of this time cannot identify the source. A bit like music from the 80’s, it was never captured or indexed and so now no longer exists. Maybe I imagined it.
Still, it was enough to get me thinking about my own past, and my sense of identity. I have an interest in the past reinforced accidentally in legal work in the intestines of the law and some self-indulgent dabbling in the alchemy of family trees. Perhaps enough to stir my interest to feed that parasite within - pushing me into attempting a little time travel.
Names remain a powerful anchor to this world: part of the glue that binds families together in love and hate. They reinforce kinship values and loyalty.
Out of Scandinavia raiders wrested the East Coast of France from Paris and established the realm of Normandy. The family name ‘Quinton’ derives from this time – it was a Norman family from this period - with the family represented in France, England and Ireland. The name has a number of spellings. Quinton is the most settled form but Quentin and Quintyn were common forms in medieval times. Quentin was also a popular baptismal name (particularly in Scotland). An unrelated Scottish family possibly derives from this practise (which is now less common).
But the name itself has even older roots. The name is taken from the French town of St Quentin on the Somme, called after the missionary martyred there in 287AD. St Quentin is upstream from Amiens on the Somme River and is about halfway between Paris and Brussels.
St Quentin is the site of an old Gallic-Roman fort Augusta Viromanduorum.[1] The site is strategically important being at the point of a natural crossing of the Somme, having good defensive terrain and being placed at the centre of trading routes to the East, West and South. During Roman times, the town probably had a population to about 2-3,000 people.
The story of Saint Quentin has been deserted by the church - elements of the death are fantastical and, perhaps more disturbingly, recall elements of the resurrection.[2] Towards the end of the second century AD, during the reign of the fellow-Augustus Maximian[3], Christian missionaries from Rome, Quintinus (son of a Roman senator, Zenon) and Lucian (later St Lucian of Beavois) went to Gaul.[4] At Amiens they parted, Quintinus remaining to preach in the area. The Roman prefect Rictivarus ordered his arrest in 287AD. Initially Rictivarus tried to persuade Quintinus to give up Christianity. Refusal led to Quintinus’s torture and ‘passio’ in Amiens. He survived many tortures and marvels (limbs stretched with pulleys until dislocated, body torn with iron wire, boiled pitch and oil etc) to escape and continue to preach. He was recaptured and taken to Viromanduorum where he was tortured and killed (“when his head was cut off, a white dove issued”). His body and head were thrown into the Somme.
The first of a series of miracles occurred later when Quintinus emerged to the Roman Eusebie from the Somme intact. He was recovered and promptly buried by converts.
By the time St Gregory of Tours and Bede were writing, the area had taken on Quintinus’s name in the form of St Quentin Viromanduorum. A small building was erected over his tomb in 355AD. The building was destroyed about 362AD during the reversion to paganism under Emperor Julian the Apostate. It was ravished during barbarian attacks in 407AD, 451AD and 534AD. It was rebuilt in 497AD after the baptism of Clovis. When Eligius, bishop of Noyon rediscovered the relics of Quintinus in 650AD he founded a monastery at the site. The Normans burnt the monastery in 883AD before settling in the area, becoming Christians and rebuilding it in the 10th century. The site survives today and the Saint’s remains lie in the crypt under the church.
The first recorded person using the ‘Quinton’ surname was the 10th century writer Dudo ds Saint-Quentin. He wrote the Historia Normanorum. It is likely that during this time many Normans from the region also took on the name de Saint-Quentin.[5] A number of men from the district travelled with William the Conqueror in his successful attack on England in 1066. After the war, they were granted land near old Roman forts in Staffordshire, Kent and Wiltshire where they prospered and became established landholders. In Wiltshire, the family continued its military tradition, owning land at Bupton and still recorded arms in c1560.[6]
In the 17th century a growing number of Quintons can be found in London[7] and some of the larger towns. After the invasion of Ireland by Cromwell, there were records of Quintons in the ‘Anglisised’ east coast of Ireland. By the next century, with growing industrialisation and the break-down of rural life, Quintons could be found in many English counties.[8] Two parishes are named Quinton (in counties Northampton and Gloucester).
Research suggests that my family can be traced back through Ireland to Staffordshire.[9] This research is not concluded but naming patterns and historical events give it some support. In Staffordshire, the family owned land in the region around the towns of Wall, Lichfield and Longden. The ancient family home survived until c1750. William Quintyn of Wall (d.1596) derived of French lineage, taking the family name from the town of St Quentin. He claimed that the family settled there in the reign of William I. William Quintyn’s descendants are traced in an old description of the history and antiquities of Shenshone Parish (north of Birmingham):
“Quintyn, or St Quintyn, is a name and family of note for antiquity and possessions in Wall, Lichfield, and Longden; but the first I meet with settled in Wall is William Quintyn, derived of French lineage that took their name from St. Quintyn, a town in Piccardy, and most likely settled in this nation in the reign of William I. William Quintyn, of Wall, son of William, who died in 1596, at Wall, married Ann Jackson (daughter, as I think, of John Jackson), in 1597. Dorothy Quintyn was married that year to Richard Sylvester, of Over Stonall, and had Richard, born 1599. Richard Quintyn, son of William, was witness to the sale of lands by Richard Sylvester to Rowland Rydding, in the 13th year of the reign of James I.[10] In 1631 lived John Quintyn of Wall, gent. who, in 1644-5, was obliged to pay to Robert Tuthill, governor of Rushall house, 20l. immediately, besides his weekly contribution, for the use of that parliamentary garrison.[11] In 1647 William Quintyn, of Derby, Thomas Orme, of Ashborne in the Peak, and Elizabeth his wife, sold to John Quinton, of Wall, a messuage, barns, orchard, garden, curtilage, in Wall; a close called Crof[12], a green, land named Round hills, seven acres of arable land in Wall, and Rakemore meadow in Shenstone parish, then in the tenure of the said John; witnessed by Richard Gladwyn, John Nevill, W. Leyton, Thomas Manther, and William Quinton, of Wall; John Quintyn died in 1659 possessed of considerable estates in Lichfield, Hammerwick, Shenstone, Wall, and elsewhere, leaving issue William, John, and Thomas, Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Webbe, Mary, and Anne. This John Quintyn made, besides what is aforesaid, several purchases, some tenements of John Smyth, of Lichfield; the Muckleys in Wall, of William Bull, with a burgage in Geeles-lane, Lichfield; land in Hammerwick of Nicolas Smallwood; and in Lichfield of Thomas Martyn. To the said John Quintyn’s will, dated August 16, 1658, are witnesses Thomas Nevil, Richard Gladwyn, and Sarah Wolverstan. Eleanor, his widow, was living in 1664.
William Quintyn, as appears by an agreement made in his life-time, was contacted to Alice, daughter of Thomas Dutton, of Wall, gent. who was to pay her 300l. as her present fortune, and I suppose the marriage was consummated. This Thomas Dutton is in the said contract named his cousin William, died in 1698-9, leaving John and Thomas, if no other children.
Thomas Quintyn, of Freeford, brother, as I conjecture, of John father of William, died in 1704. Another Thomas died in 1706, at Wall. Elizabeth Quintyn, widow, died there in 1711, as did Sarah Quintyn; also Thomas, in 1713, possessed of lands in Chesterfield and Wall. John, eldest son of William, was noted for a well-bred gentleman, and was then the head of this family, with an estate of 200l. yearly, which he chiefly farmed himself; dying unmarried. Thomas, his brother, became his principal heir, who owned Leyfields, and other lands near Swynsen, but afterwards proved a waster; in a few years his estates were in mortgage to - Turton, esq. of Hargrave, and afterwards were sold to John Porter of Lichfield, attorney at law, whose son, Sheldon Porter, in the present reign, erected a handsome mansion on the spot where stood the ancient family house of the Quintyns. Thomas Quintyn has issue three daughters, Elizabeth, who died young; Anne, wife of - Jackson, goldsmith, at Lichfield, who had issue one daughter, lately living; and Alicia, wife of James Garlick, of Stourbridge, surgeon of the hospital at Woolwich or Sheerness, who died a few years since,without issue, she was living in 1773.
Leyfields abovesaid, near Swynsen, were sold by Thomas Quintyn to - Capper, of Birmingham.
Lands named Rosthall’s, and part of the Rakemoors, passed from Thomas Quintyn, to the Jacksons of Wall.
James Garlick abovesaid had in his possession several coins of Allectus, who assumed the purple and title of emperor A.D. 294, and, if I remember right, of Carausius[13], his predecessor in this island; he also shewed me many of the emperor Constantine[14], and others found in Wall.”[15]
The research in this note has been taken from good old-fashioned ink on parchment. I have a deep distrust of the way old religious stories and weather data alike seem to have subtly changed during digitization.
[1] Possibly named as such following a reference to the Viromandui in Caeser’s commentary on the battle of the Sambre in 57BC. I have used the modern French rather than Catholic/Latin spelling.
[2] The saint’s day is 31 October – but some place the feast day in February.
[3] Diocletian appointed Maximian to rule the Western Empire in 286. In 287 Carausius revolted in Britain.
[4] According to one story, the Pope Marcellin authorised the mission.
[5] I have seen a grant of land to the Catholic church from a Quentin dating to the 12th century to build a church at St Quentin suggesting that the Saint had been dropped from the surname before 1100AD.
[6] In 1565 the arms of John Quinten of Bupton were described as Ermine, on a chief Gules three lions rampant Or, impling Long as under Long, of Selways. Much of the rest of the record is indistinct, but it seems to describe a fairly wealthy family with extensive land holdings.
[7] Probably immigrants from Kent. There are a number of grave sites at St Bene’t, Paul’s Wharf in the 17th century. Some are tantilising, others sad: “4 July 1640, Ellena daughter of Edward Quinton, in churchyarde, in a coffin by ye wall”,
[8] in the last quarter of 1837, births were registered in Stockton on Tees, Nottingham, Gateshead, Cirencester and Bristol.
[9] Members of the Staffordshire line joined the parliamentary army under Cromwell that suppressed the 1649 revolution in Ireland. Traces of the family from Australia to the ‘Anglisised’ East coast of Ireland are tantalising - but gaps in Irish records make the link back to Staffordshire difficult to substantiate. Nevertheless, naming patterns and other historical events make this a better fit than other possibilities.
[10] that is, 1616.
[11] A curious reference that deserves clarification. In 1644 the protestant revolution against Charles I was in full progress. It seems that John Quintyn supported the revolutionary forces of the parliament against the royalists. In 1649 Oliver Cromwell ruthlessly suppressed an Irish revolution against the Protestants. In England, the parliamentary forces were successful when Oliver Cromwell was installed in 1653 as Protector of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1659 and Charles II took the throne in 1660.
[12] or Cros
[13] Created an independant empire in England 287-97 AD. Lost by his successor Alexander.
[14] Emperor 305-337AD
[15] Bibliotheca Topographica Britanica (ix,4,274). Surviving parish records from Staffordshire give considerable support to the family information contained within this extract
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The pandemic has caused the gap between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of us to grow larger than ever before. Thanks to the hyperinflationary…
The COVID pandemic has caused the gap between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of us to grow larger than it ever has been before. Thanks to the hyperinflationary policies of the Federal Reserve and our politicians in Washington, stock prices have soared to unprecedented heights in recent months. This pushed the wealth of the uber-rich to dizzying heights, but for the rest of the country 2020 was an unmitigated nightmare. As I have discussed previously, one survey found that 2020 was a “personal financial disaster” for 55 percent of all Americans. More than 110,000 restaurants shut down permanently last year, Americans filed more than 70 million claims for unemployment benefits, and tens of millions are potentially facing eviction in 2021. But even though we are mired in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, those at the very top of the economic pyramid are laughing all the way to the bank.
Earlier today, I came across a tweet from Sven Heinrich that really struck an emotional chord with me…
655 people have $4 trillion in wealth.
200 million can’t cover a $1000 expense.
I certainly don’t have any problem with people gaining wealth by working extremely hard and making society a better place in the process.
But most of the people at the very top of the economic pyramid only increased their wealth in 2020 because the powers that be decided to open up the firehoses and rain obscene amounts of money on them.
That isn’t right.
As a result of the deeply flawed policies that were implemented because of the COVID pandemic, the gap between “gains in financial assets and the health of the economy” was the largest ever recorded last year…
But as stock market indexes staged a huge rebound from the lows seen in March when the pandemic first hit, the gap between the wealthy and the poor extended an already widening trend to historic proportions.
A report via BofA Global Research published on Friday notes that a measure of the differential between gains in financial assets and the health of the economy hit a record at 6.3X in 2020.
My regular readers are probably sick and tired of hearing me say that the stock market has become completely divorced from economic reality, and now we have a hard number which backs up what I have been saying all along.
As I write this article, the Dow is sitting just above 31,000, and that is utterly absurd.
If the Dow were to fall to 15,000 it would still be overvalued.
Meanwhile, a brand new survey has discovered that only 39 percent of all Americans “would be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense”…
Just 39% of Americans would be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to a new report from Bankrate.com.
That’s down from 2020, when 41% of people said they could cover a $1,000 cost with their savings.
If only 39 percent of Americans currently have enough money for such an unexpected expense, that means that 61 percent of Americans do not.
According to Google, the current population of the U.S. is 328 million, and 61 percent of 328 million is just over 200 million.
So that is where Sven Heinrich got that figure from.
200 million of us have so little money that we are just barely scraping by from month to month.
And according to one of Walmart’s top executives, many of their customers do not expect “any kind of speedy recovery”…
Walmart Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside said Tuesday that many of its shoppers don’t expect the economy to quickly bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.
Almost half of customers surveyed in November told Walmart that they were worried about the current health of the economy, she said when speaking at the virtual National Retail Federation conference. She said 40% said they didn’t expect “any kind of speedy recovery.”
Unfortunately, those that are pessimistic about how the U.S. economy will perform in 2021 are right on target.
It is going to be a very painful year.
Of course it isn’t just consumers that are concerned about the year ahead. Small business optimism is falling as well…
A popular gauge of small-business confidence in the US sank to a seven-month low in December as stricter lockdown measures and climbing daily case counts cut into economic activity.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ index of small-business optimism fell 5.5 points last month to 95.9, according to a Tuesday release. The reading lands below the average index value since 1978 of 98 and marks the lowest level since May. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the gauge to dip slightly to 100.2.
Americans generally tend to be quite optimistic about the future, but looking ahead there just aren’t any reasons to be optimistic about the U.S. economy in 2021.
The COVID pandemic continues to get even worse, new lockdowns have been instituted all over the country, our federal government is in a state of chaos, and there will inevitably be more rioting, looting and civil unrest in the months ahead.
Plus, there will undoubtedly be some additional unexpected surprises that most people are not anticipating.
Before I wrap up this article, there is just one more thing that I wanted to mention. A programmer in San Francisco named Stefan Thomas is the proud owner of 7,002 Bitcoin, but he can’t access his fortune because he forgot the password, and he only has two more tries before he is locked out permanently…
Take Stefan Thomas, a programmer in San Francisco, who told The New York Times that he has 7,002 Bitcoin tucked away — currently worth about $236 million, nearly a quarter billion dollars — but that he has no idea how to access it and can only guess two more passwords before being locked out forever.
Even setting aside the long term prospects for crypto, the key message of these horror stories is that taking digital finances into your own hands is a huge risk if you can’t manage your passwords.
Can you imagine how you would feel if that happened to you?
Sadly, it could be argued that essentially the same thing is happening to the nation as a whole.
America has “forgotten the password” to what once made us so great, and we are running out of chances.
Let us hope that we wake up before it is too late, because time is not on our side at this point.
***Michael’s new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael Snyder and my brand new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book, I have written four others that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing the books you help to support the work that my wife and I are doing, and by giving it to others you help to multiply the impact that we are having on people all over the globe. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Parler, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as we possibly can.
Tags: economic collapse, how bad will it get, Income Inequality, Michael Snyder, us lockdowns, us shutdowns, Wealth inequality
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June 15, 2012 David
Spain Hammer Ireland While Italy Struggle Again
The Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2012 dreams came to an end last night as they were soundly beaten 4-0 by Spain, while Italy’s progression to the knockout stages is in doubt after drawing 1-1 with Croatia.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque went with a more orthodox line-up against the Irish, inserting Fernando Torres into his starting line-up and Torres repaid his coach by scoring two goals, and giving the type of performance that made Chelsea spend all that money on him 18 months ago.
Because of the earlier draw between Croatia and Italy, Ireland knew that they had to basically beat Spain and Italy if they were to progress in the tournament. A tough task to begin with, and one that became ever harder when Torres scored after only four minutes when he dispossessed Richard Dunne inside the area and then shot through goalkeeper Shay Given.
Shay Given was a doubt coming into the tournament with an injury, and his performances in the first two games show that he is not fit. He was at fault for two of the three Croatia goals in the first game and he should have done better with this Torres’s shot.
Uncharacteristically for the Irish, in both games they have conceded goals at beginning of games and half’s. Despite giving up the early goal to Torres it was still only 1-0 to Spain at half-time. But four minutes into the second half, Givens punched a shot straight to David Silva who made it 2-0 and game over.
Torres and Cesc Fabregas added two more as the Spanish showed why they are European and World Champions. Terrific performance by Spain, who along with Germany have really impressed me so far.
In the early match, Italy once again could not defend a lead as they drew 1-1 with Croatia. Italy dominated the first half and deservedly went ahead through a terrific free kick from Pirlo. But once again Italy ran out of the steam in the second half and with Luka Modric pulling the strings for Croatia, they got the goal they deserved thanks to Mario Mandzukic’s third goal of the tournament.
The draw leaves Italy, on two points, in a tricky situation. Both Spain and Croatia have four points and a 2-2 draw between them will see Italy eliminated from the tournament regardless of what the Italians do against Ireland in their game.
This is a familiar scenario for the Italians because at Euro 2004 they were knocked out of the group stage after a 2-2 draw between Sweden and Denmark, a result that suited both sides.
Will history repeat itself?
Group Round-Up, Part 2
Holland On Brink Of Elimination As They Lose To Germany 2-1
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Former Solar players Hayden and ‘Tater’ part of ACC Championship at Wake Forest
By jennifer | November 15, 2016
Second-ranked Wake Forest Mens Soccer Team earned a 3-1 victory over No. 2 ranked Clemson to claim the 2016 ACC Tournament Championship on Sunday, Nov 13th. It’s the program’s 2nd ACC Championship in their history and the first since 1989.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, now 15-2-3 on the season, earned a first round bye with their No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. Their next match will be Sunday, Nov 20th at Wake’s Spry Stadium. Solar SC proudly has two former players on this championship squad: Hayden Partain (Sr) and Nathanael ‘Tater’ Rennhack (RSFr).
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Song Zhang Resume
Song Zhang is a visual artist using lighting as his medium to express his aesthetic view and communicate with people. He has found a solid understanding between Western and Eastern cultures. He received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015 and BFA from China Academy of Art in 2007.
In the past decade, Song started his career as a painter and has developed his interest in new media including photography, video and installation. His works have been exhibited around the world, including China, Germany, and Australia. He won the the Outstanding Artist award from Today Art Museum in Beijing, and his work was collected by Queensland Art Gallery in Australia. He worked as a leading graphic and media designer in multi-international companies in Shanghai for five years.
In 2012, he decided to use lighting as his major material to combine his skills and came to the U.S.A. to explore his new visual language. For the past three years, he has designed differently-scaled shows in theater and worked as an architectural lighting designer in New York City.
Song’s aspiration is to visualize all emotional aspects of people’s lives, and enjoys the challenge of revealing invisible joy in the difficult challenges of humans’ lives: beauty in ugliness, passion in sadness, hope in struggle, and peace in chaos.
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GRAMMY-NOMINATED SINGER/SONGWRITER RO JAMES RETURNS WITH 4-TRACK ‘SMOKE EP’
AVAILABLE NOW AT ALL DIGITAL SERVICE PROVIDERS VIA BYSTORM ENTERTAINMENT/RCA RECORDS
[March 28, 2018] Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Ro James returns with the release of his 4-track Smoke EP, released Friday March 23. The EP is available to purchase and stream at all digital service providers via ByStorm Entertainment/RCA Records. Smoke EP is the first of two EP installments, which will be released in anticipation for Ro’s sophomore album due out later this year. The second installment, entitled Mirrors EP is due out later this spring.
Click here to listen to Smoke EP.
Ro James first treated fans to “Lost My Mind” ft. Notorious B.I.G. on March 9th, the anniversary of the legendary Brooklyn-rapper’s death. “Lost My Mind” ft. Notorious B.I.G. is produced by Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Nas, Miguel). Click here to see Ro’s tribute post on Instagram. The Smoke EP features additional production by Soundz (Bryson Tiller, Justin Bieber, Wale), Andre Harris (Rae Sremmurd, Jill Scott, Yo Gotti), and Tricky Stewart (Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Usher).
On the release of the EP, Ro James says: “Smoke is just the intro into the fire. Mirrors is about reflection and self. I’ve been away for a bit recalibrating, growing and learning. I’m ready to share again. Decided to drop an EP and warm it up a little while I finish off the album. Smoke & Mirrors.”
The release of the Smoke EP follows Ro’s critically acclaimed debut album ELDORADO, which included his hit single “Permission.” “Permission” has been streamed over 100 million times worldwide, earned Ro his first-ever Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance and spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Urban Adult Radio chart. Additionally, he earned nominations for Best New Artist at the 2017 NAACP Image Awards and Best New R&B Artist at the 2017 iHeart Radio Music Awards.
About Ro James
Born in Stuttgart, Germany to a military father turned preacher, Ro James found himself moving around for most of his childhood. From Indiana, California, Hawaii, Oklahoma to the place he now calls home, New York, music was always in the forefront of James’ life. His musical inspirations come from the sounds of Johnny Cash, Prince, Tupac, Jodeci, and more. Since his emergence in 2013, Ro James has worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Brenmar. That same year he also released an EP trilogy: Coke, Jack & Cadillacs, which received critical praise from outlets such as The FADER, The Source, VIBE, and HypeTrak. Since then James has been covered by outlets including NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series, Interview Magazine, Rolling Stone, Us Weekly and more.
Noisey calls his music, “a subtle blend of smoothed out, soulful R&B…” and Billboard declares “James’ sound is reminiscent of the greats, think Prince meets D’Angelo…” Combining these influences with his journey, he has crafted his best work to date on ELDORADO. Released in May 2016, James’ debut album ELDORADO entered the charts at #3 on The Billboard R&B Albums Chart and #8 on the Top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums Chart.
James has toured with the likes of The Dream, Toni Braxton, K. Michelle, Erykah Badu and most recently with Maxwell and Mary J. Blige on their “King + Queens of Hearts” Tour in fall of 2016. He also embarked on his own headlining North American “XIX” Tour with dates in Europe in Amsterdam, London and Paris in early 2017.
With his official return and the release of his Smoke EP, Ro James is fortifying his place in music with soulful grit and impassioned vocals, all while continuing to share his journey along the way.
Smoke EP Track Listing:
Outside Ya Box (How Bout That)
Lost My Mind ft. Notorious B.I.G.
Buy/Stream Smoke EP:
http://smarturl.it/SmokeEP
For the latest on Ro James, please visit:
www.RoJamesXIX.com
https://twitter.com/RoJamesXIX
https://instagram.com/rojamesxix/
https://www.facebook.com/rojames1
https://www.youtube.com/user/RoJamesVEVO
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Home Sports This week, Danny talked to Boston Globe columnist Chris Gasper
This week, Danny talked to Boston Globe columnist Chris Gasper
DANNY PICARD: Let me play the role of Boston Globe sports editor for a minute. You come into my office and I ask you, “When you go down to Houston for Super Bowl LI, Chris, what’s your No. 1 story line? If I gave you a choice to write one thing all week, heading into the big game, what would it be? What is the top story line for you in this Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons?
CHRIS GASPER: I think, for me, Danny, it’s where the Patriots are on their precipice of history. I think if they win this one, if Brady and Belichick win this, a fifth championship together, I think that they solidify themselves as the greatest dynasty in NFL history. And that, to me, is the most interesting thing here, that they can sort of put that away. I know a lot of people want to talk about Roger Goodell and all this. I’m interested in that too, but I think people forget that there was a lot of animosity when they were in the Super Bowl the last time. Remember, Robert Kraft shows up and the Patriots showed up at Super Bowl XLIX, and the first availability, Kraft said he believes Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and that they never lied to him, and that the league should apologize. It was a little awkward even then. So I know there’s that whole angle with Deflategate and Brady sitting out the first four games. That’s interesting, we’ve been talking about that all year long. But I’m someone who likes history. I consider myself a student of history. So for me, it’s that ability to take it to another level, to win that fifth one. That’s the thing I’m most interested in.
DP: The top story line for me in this Super Bowl is that Belichick and Brady; this is the season, the perfect season in which they are just driving their critics nuts. Because think of all the things that have gone wrong for the Patriots. Brady was suspended the first four games because of his Deflategate suspension. Meanwhile, you’ve got Rob Gronkowski missing games at the beginning of the season. And not only that, Jimmy Garoppolo — the backup quarterback gets hurt in Week 2 — and you still go 3-1. With all of that going on at the beginning of the season, they still find a way to weather that storm. Then, during the bye week, you trade one of your best defensive players, in Jamie Collins. And you had a lot of people saying that was the trade that would do Belichick and the Patriots in. And they weathered that storm. Then you had the Jabaal Sheard situation, where he was a healthy scratch, and people were wondering what was going on in the Patriots locker room. Well, they get through that. And then Gronk gets injured again against Seattle, and then is placed on season-ending injured reserve a few weeks later. So, think of all this stuff that has gone wrong for the Patriots, yet, best record in the league at 14-2, No. 1 seed in the AFC, and now they are rolling into the Super Bowl. I just think that the top story is; the people who hate Belichick and Brady, they hate this season. The critics hate this season. This is the season that the Patriots have really stuck it to their critics.
CG: I would agree with you. And I think this is probably, to be honest with you, the last thing the league wanted. And when I say the league, I don’t mean just 345 Park Avenue, I think the other owners. Look, let’s be real. This suspension, for a quarter of the season, was intended to try and prevent this. It was supposed to put the Patriots at some sort of disadvantage. And I’m sure it’s maddening for people in the league to look and see that it was really no disadvantage at all. If anything, it’s probably going to help them in the long run, because now Jimmy Garoppolo has more trade value. People have seen him. They saw the way he played for about six quarters there. So that’s going to help them.
Listen to this entire episode of “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com. Also available on iTunes and Google Play. And you can hear Danny every weekend on WEEI 93.7 FM.
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McGuinness shows support for the Tractor on Tour 2008
The Tractor on Tour 2008 event which seeks to raise funds for children's hospices was welcomed to Parliament Buildings today by Sinn Féin deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness MP MLA and the First Minister.
The drive, which commenced in Kildare last Monday will visit every county in Ireland before returning to Kildare next week. Money raised will be used to fund the building of a new Children's Hospice at Laura Lynne House as well as the existing NI Children's Hospice in Newtownabbey.
Welcoming the tractor drive Mr McGuinness said:
"No charities touch our hearts more than those involving children and I am delighted to join with the First Minister in wishing those involved in this event every success as they aim to raise €50,000 for these worthy causes.
"I see that on leaving here today you will travel to my native North West and I'm sure people there and throughout Ireland will be as generous as always."
Both Ministers also paid special tribute to Jill and Louise Barrett the organisers of the event and all involved in the tractor drive.
The tractor tour commenced on April 17 in Kildare and aims to visit a town in each county in Ireland before returning to Kildare on April 30th.
The Laura Lynne Foundation and Children's Sunshine Home have together raised €6M towards the construction of a children's hospice; this event hopes to raise a minimum of €50,000 to assist both them and the NI Children's Hospice.
A proportion of the sponsorship will be raised prior to the event, with the remainder being collected through bucket collections along the route.
It is planned that the event will take the following route over the next couple of days:
21 April Stormont, Antrim, Derry, Letterkenny
22 April Letterkenny, Omagh, Enniskillen, Sligo
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Max. Classroom Capacity: An Interview With Dr. Janet Kottke
Loren J. Naidoo, California State University, Northridge
Dear readers, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Janet Kottke, the 2020 winner of SIOP’s Distinguished Teaching Contributions Award, to Max. Classroom Capacity to discuss her exceptional teaching career. Dr. Kottke is a professor of I-O psychology at California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) and founder of that school’s MS program in I-O psychology. Dr. Kottke has been at the forefront of research on and the practice of undergraduate- and graduate-level I-O psychology education. Her collaborative research with directors of MS programs around the country has produced publications and conference presentations that have advanced teaching practice. Some of this work has appeared in Teaching of Psychology, Psychology Learning & Teaching, Active Learning in Higher Education, College Student Journal, and Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. The most recent work, with Ken Shultz and Mike Aamodt, is a chapter in Mastering Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Training Issues for Master’s Level I-O Psychologists, edited by Betsy Shoenfelt, a volume in SIOP’s Professional Practice Series (2020).
Loren Naidoo: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me! Congratulations on receiving SIOP’s Distinguished Teaching Award! You are perhaps best known for your teaching in CSUSB’s MS program in I-O psychology, a program that you founded and have directed. Perhaps we can start by talking about how that program came about. What was the impetus for founding the program? What made you decide to found an MS program in I-O psychology in what might seem like an unlikely place given how I-O psychology is less well established on the West coast compared to most other regions of the country?
Jan Kottke: Thanks, Loren, for taking the time to conduct the interview when you are no doubt very busy, getting ready for fall classes.
I am delighted to talk about our master’s program in I-O psychology. Our program and I-O are my favorite topics! The I-O program at CSUSB came about in much the same way that I-O psychology came about: People needed jobs after they earned their doctorates in psychology and, fortunately, employers began to understand the considerable value in applying psychology to work. For myself, I had done an internship at Baltimore Gas & Electric and though that experience was invaluable, I had concluded that working an 8-to-5 job wasn’t for me. When I did a national search for a job, CSUSB was advertising for someone to start a master’s program in I-O. I had been a TA for a career development course taught by Bob Guion at Bowling Green and, because he was involved in many consulting projects elsewhere, I did a fair amount of TAing. In that career development course, one topic emphasized was “stretch” assignments: challenging but doable work assignments. Building a program from scratch thus looked like a good career option. To be frank, I was somewhat ignorant of just how few programs were on the West Coast. The psychology department was very small then—just 15 faculty—and had two existing master’s programs, one in counseling and the other in general experimental. The new I-O program would become a concentration in the GE program, though, ironically, it was a counseling faculty member, Dave Lutz, who proposed to the department that it establish an I-O graduate program. Dave thought that a program in I-O could do well in southern California. He was right. (Thanks again, Dave!)
LN: Wow, I didn’t realize that you were hired to start the MS program—that’s quite a stretch assignment for your first full-time faculty position! Did you have a particular teaching approach or philosophy that informed your early decisions about what the program would look like?
JK: My primary guiding focus at the beginning was to identify what the students needed to apply psychological principles to work settings—and what would fit into the existing curriculum, which meant that the program began with just two I-O content courses! These were, if memory serves, Motivation and Morale (the Oish side) and Industrial Psychology with a heavy focus on selection and performance appraisal. Initially, I viewed the program as predominantly applied with the I-O courses overlaid upon the backbone of the general experimental research and statistics courses. As we began to expand our I-O course offerings—and heard from our alumni—I concluded that the scientist–practitioner model was a superior approach for training and for students to conceptualize the field. The technology that we apply to our work has consistently changed—consider the use of big data in recruitment, for example—but the fundamental thinking about how to solve problems and innovate in the workplace is still very relevant. If one can answer questions scientifically, one can keep up with and manage the changes in technology, environment, and composition of the workforce. Because our students typically take jobs upon graduation, I like to think of I-O master’s education as on the frontline of the often-debated scientist–practitioner divide. We need to balance the needs of organizations who want our graduates to plug in and contribute right away, with our understanding that science may not support the latest organizational fad (or there may not yet be any science to support that fad). A scientist–practitioner focus serves those who choose to work immediately upon (or often before) graduation but also those who elect to pursue doctoral education.
LN: When you reflect on all of your work in undergraduate- and graduate-level I-O education, what specific practices, innovations, or policies are you most proud of having instituted?
JK: This is a really thought-provoking question; thank you for posing it. From the very beginning, my goal was for students to conduct applied projects in as many courses as was feasible, at both the graduate and undergraduate level: doing job analyses, developing recruiting strategies, interpreting satisfaction data, constructing interview protocols, and conducting organizational diagnoses to name the most obvious. I felt that it was important for students to connect the theory, research, and application. Besides giving students practical experience for a résumé item, it promotes learning (i.e., the ancient proverb, “I do and I understand”). One of my other guiding principles of teaching—degree of student autonomy—has evolved. When I started, I felt that the instructor was completely responsible for structuring everything. And to be sure, we need to provide guidance and offer our knowledge and experience. But especially at the master’s level, students are quite capable of doing the background reading and are eager (and motivated) to apply the knowledge. When we work on a class project now, we discuss the desired outcome, and I provide students the tools to work toward achieving that goal. As an example, a key course in our program is an applied practicum in which we typically do pro bono consulting. The students form a short-term consulting team who nominate a project manager, develop an organizational structure, and work with a client. The instructor serves as a partner in the firm, offering guidance and support. Students in this class have done remarkable projects and have had impacts beyond a single organization. For example, one year, through interviews and surveys of physicians, nurses, mothers, and breastfeeding advocates, the class team was able to clarify why two counties with similar demographics had strikingly dissimilar breastfeeding rates. They made their recommendations to the county governing body (client) for how to increase rates. I won’t go into detail here, but breastfeeding has long-term effects (e.g., lowered rates of childhood obesity, fewer allergies as an adult), so any increase in these rates has major societal benefits. There are many other projects we have done that I could name, but my bottom line here is that even if the only outcome is that the students learned by doing, that is a major win.
I’d like to mention one other thing that isn’t directly related to the classroom, but I believe has had an impact on the quality of our program. When I first arrived, I was the director of the program for nearly a decade. As we hired more faculty, I proposed we rotate every 2 years the directorship of the program (and we also created some specific functions for all members of the faculty, such as a recruiting coordinator and a student club supervisor). This may seem like a small thing (and an obvious division of duties), but I think with everyone having a responsibility helped to unify the faculty around the needs of the program. Further, having all of the program faculty rotate through the leadership role gives everyone a good sense of the totality of the program, its curriculum, its complexities, faculty strengths, and student needs. I guess you could call this an academic version of “term limits!” I am very proud of our students and of our faculty who form the partnership that has led to and continues to lead to such good outcomes.
LN: Changing directions a bit here, it looks like a lot of I-O programs are considering major structural and/or curricular changes due to COVID-19. I’d love to hear your thoughts on teaching during the pandemic. I have so many questions! Let’s start with the short term—the CSU system was early in deciding to deliver almost all instruction virtually for the fall, and many other (though not all) universities have made similar decisions. What adjustments do you think instructors need to make to be effective teaching in a virtual context?
JK: Good question, and honestly, a hard one to answer. Whereas I am grateful that technology has given us tools to continue in the face of a worldwide pandemic, this has been tough on students and instructors alike. I view learning as a partnership of student and instructor; we work together to construct knowledge and to develop professional skills, among others. How can we do that virtually?
Answering that question depends somewhat on how we define “effective.” If by effective we mean that content is delivered and students stay on track to complete assignments (and the course), structuring the course to be consumable in weekly “bites” is important. Being responsive to student questions, understanding, and making adjustments to accommodate unexpected hiccups are critical. But that is only part of the equation. We are social creatures, and some of the most important learning takes place from working with others. Some of this social contact is possible with online discussion boards or breakout rooms in Zoom. Further, we know that engagement is important in the face-to-face environment and, so too, in the virtual world. To engage requires considerable effort in the virtual context but can be done. This spring, I supervised an intern who conducted interviews and performed tasks virtually. Through weekly voice conversations and shared electronic documents, we were able to create a meaningful, engaging experience. (BTW, I found SIOP’s resource page posted earlier this year to have a lot of helpful tips.)
LN: Yes, I think that is the question—can we (as a profession) engage students as effectively in a virtual environment as in a face-to-face environment? I think we are at a very interesting inflection point where we may make tremendous strides in developing tech-based education solutions that cement the future of education in the virtual space, or it may become increasingly clear that the fundamentally social nature of education cannot adequately be reproduced with the technology currently available. How do you see the future of education from where we stand now?
JK: To address that first question about engagement, I feel at a disadvantage when I rely exclusively on the virtual for working with students. There is a synergy from the students interacting in the same space and me with them. It is far easier to read nonverbal cues and give immediate feedback in the FTF environment. This synergy can be captured to some degree in the synchronous format, but I feel some process loss.
The future? My sense is that the future of education is going to continue to build on technological platforms, with many variants of hybrid models. These distinctions may depend on the mix of knowledge and skills to be learned. There will continue to be some face to face—for example, it is hard to imagine a phlebotomist learning how to draw blood with only an orange and YouTube videos or a budding surgeon learning surgical techniques exclusively through virtual simulations—but increasingly students in all majors will be enrolled in purely online courses as well as combinations of face to face, simulations, and so on. With regard to the example of the phlebotomist, it is possible that technology will lead to less need to draw blood to make medical decisions (i.e., alternative physiological readings), which would reduce the need for phlebotomists in the first place. To my mind, these issues all speak to the importance of I-Os continuing to monitor the trends in the workplace. We have already seen how many organizations have replaced people with machines. Simply dialing customer service brings that point home. No doubt automation will continue to expand into education as well. As I-O psychologists, I think that one of our aims should include not only understanding how these changes affect people’s attachment to their work—with resulting productivity issues—but consider how I-Os could take the lead in emphasizing to organizations that some of their best payoffs are just as likely to come from listening to their employees. Focusing on automation to the exclusion of hearing what employees on the frontlines working with customers, clients, patients, or students have to say seems shortsighted. I worry that employees are returning largely to the role of tending machines—much as we saw in the industrial revolution with Taylorism. Whether I-O takes a lead in promoting employee well-being will have an impact on our educational models.
LN: I think that’s a great point, and the burgeoning focus on occupational health issues in our field is an encouraging sign. But to further delve into that idea, the massive changes to the nature of work that are happening right now also makes me wonder whether we I-O psychology educators need to rethink our curricula and reimagine our roles or our goals when it comes to preparing students for the working world of the future. How do you see the field of I-O psychology and our roles as I-O educators changing (or not)?
JK: The largest change I have personally seen over my career has clearly been the effect of technology. It has changed nearly every aspect of my professional life, including teaching. (Does anyone remember chalk? Overheads?) How people learn hasn’t really changed, however—we need to process information deeply to be able to apply it—so the fundamentals of teaching will probably evolve somewhat as we may learn more about the learning process but not that much. To the more “nuts and bolts” question of changing curricula, and I am thinking of this from the perspective of someone working with master’s-level students, we may be walking a fine line. We want our students prepared for the jobs they will take in a year or 2, meaning we monitor what employers are looking for, and the students gain applied experience that mirrors those jobs. We also want to be sure that students are prepared for their long-term careers, which means to me that we continue to teach students the basic critical-thinking skills that ensue from understanding the scientific method and its results.
LN: Jan, thanks again for a very interesting and thought-provoking conversation—it’s been a real pleasure!
Readers, as always, your comments, questions, and feedback are welcome: Loren.Naidoo@CSUN.edu. Stay safe and healthy!
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Why The Matrix Should (or Shouldn’t) Be Rebooted
Posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2017 by Peter Sciretta
Yesterday, a shocking piece of news was unleashed upon the world: Donald Trump’s 2005 income tax papers finally proved that rich people pay much less percentage-wise than you and me and that tax changes he’s trying to get approved will allow people like him to pay even less! And then, Hollywood responded with some shocking news of its own. The Hollywood Reporter broke a huge entertainment news story: Warner Bros is developing a reboot of The Matrix without the involvement of original franchise creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski and possibly starring Michael B. Jordan.
My immediate response is that this is a horrible idea. After dwelling on it, I compiled a list of reasons to leave this franchise alone…and then decided to play devil’s advocate and also look at the reasons why The Matrix should be rebooted.
SHOULDN’T: The Wachoskis Aren’t Involved
At this point, the Wachowski’s aren’t involved in the Matrix reboot, which seems wrong. As our own Jacob Hall messaged me to say:
Those movies are purely the Wachowskis. Every great moment, flaw, inspiration, and choice comes straight from their very specific sensibilities. Everything they love, everything they fear, their very specific fetishes…it’s all on display. They’re almost autobiographical: the characters emerge from a haze to find their true selves and transform into the people they always wanted to be. Those movies are them. If they’re not steering it, it’s not The Matrix.
SHOULD: The Wachoskis Aren’t Involved
That’s right, the number one reason The Matrix should and shouldn’t be rebooted are the exact same reason.
I love The Matrix, but was disappointed by the sequels. Since then, the Wachowskis have made several more films but they’ve been divisive: Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending have as many passionate fans as they do haters. Even those film fanatics who are still Wachowski diehards have to admit that their aesthetics and tastes sometimes feel a bit dated in the modern film landscape. It’s not that I want to see a Matrix reboot – it’s that I’m not sure I want to see another Matrix movie from the Wachowskis. If anything, I’d personally like to see a new filmmaker bring their own unique take to the property.
Not having the Wachowskis at the helm might allow for different kinds of stories. It’s not that the Wachowskis don’t have the ability to do that, but having a different perspective might allow the world to be explored in a way that the Wachowskis never would have thought about. In The Animatrix, we got nine distinct animé filmmakers taking on different aspects of the universe. None of them featured Neo, and even the worst shorts of the bunch were interesting, at the very least.
SHOULDN’T: The Matrix Sequels Already Prove It’s a Bad Idea
The Matrix sequels might not be as bad as history remembers (Ed. note: Some of us really like them!), but they are certainly not as great as the original 1999 film. The expansion of the ideas from the initial film were not as satisfying. Everything was more effective when we knew and saw less. Why are we to believe that someone can do any better?
SHOULD: Finally! A Chance To Make Up For the Wrongs of the Matrix Sequels!
I think you can draw a good parallel between The Matrix and the television series Lost. Both started with some amazing ideas, but an apparent lack of planning was a big reason why they didn’t stick the landing. Maybe a Matrix reboot would allow a new filmmaker to plan for the larger arc of a story before they dives in? One of the reasons I believe limited event television series work is because the showrunners are given one season to tell their story and every step is planned out ahead of time. The Matrix and Lost have a lot in common – great beginnings and great ideas, with no coherent towards the end game.
SHOULDN’T: The Ending’s Open-Endedness Is Perfect
The Matrix trilogy has an open ending that leaves a lot to the imagination. The conclusion of The Matrix Revolutions features a ceasefire between the humans and the machines – no one wins and everyone will have to learn to live together. It’s an ending about balance that you can read as hopeful…or about the inevitability of more conceit. It’s frustrating and vague by design and some people love that. To be fair, plenty of other fans were frustrated by it.
SHOULD: There’s Huge World To Explore Beyond The One
There’s a huge world to explore beyond the story of “The One.” The open ending allows for the potential resurgence of another heroic “anomaly,” and continuing the story wouldn’t necessarily require too much explanation. As Ethan Anderson noted in his post:
Unlike some franchises that get the reboot treatment, The Matrix essentially has a built-in narrative device for getting rebooted. In the original film series, part of the plot revolves around the fact that there have been several versions of the Matrix, and the entire system gets rebooted once Neo (Keanu Reeves) serves his purpose as The One. Therefore, it would be easy to begin a whole new narrative with new characters set within the same universes.
The Matrix Reloaded establishes this cycle and that Neo isn’t the first “One,” so a reboot could explore earlier or later cycles. I would hate to see a movie with Michael B. Jordan playing a young version of Morpheus, but the world of The Matrix may be worth exploring further. After all, we’re seeing a lot more sequels that are based on fan love for a world, not necessarily a set of characters, with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Avatar 2 being prominent examples.
Continue Reading Why The Matrix Shouldn’t (Or Should) Be Rebooted >>
Watch ‘The Office’ Series Finale Unused Cold Open with ‘The Matrix’ Prank Played on Dwight
/Featured Stories Sidebar, Action/Adventure, Features, Rant, Sci-Fi, Sequels, Top 10 Lists, Warner Brothers, Carrie-Anne-Moss, Keanu-Reeves, Lana Wachowski, Laurence-Fishburne, Lilly Wachowski, Michael B. Jordan, The-Matrix
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The Amandolier Building light show, winner of the German Design Award 2020!
Posted: 22 November, 2019 Categories: Events
Located at 30 Route de Chêne, the Amandolier Building, whose night-time lighting was renovated by the SPG Prorenova Division in collaboration with Lighting Design Collective, has been awarded a victory in the Excellent Architecture category of the German Design Award 2020. Each year, this prestigious competition recognises the best projects, selected from among thousands of entries from Germany and around the world.
© Loris Von Siebenthal
The Amandolier Building, a fascinating, ecological design
The fifteen-year-old façade lighting of the Amandolier Building was due for updates at the technological and environmental levels. In 2017, in partnership with the architectural lighting engineers of Lighting Design Collective, SPG Prorenova devised a lighting concept combining modernity and visual art.
The results proved to be innovative, original and unique to Geneva. The building’s 340 windows are illuminated from dusk to dawn by a light show on the cutting-edge of technology. The system consists of new-generation LED lights that consume a negligible amount of surplus energy during the night-time hours.
Using electricity at night prevents wasting the surplus energy that is produced during periods of low consumption. It also makes it possible to maintain the network during these off-peak hours. Additionally, an astronomical timer was installed to turn off the lighting transformers during the hours when the facility is not in use. This prevents the consumption of electricity when they are connected, but the lights are not being used during the day.
The Amandolier Building with its elegant cubic structure plays a role that goes far beyond simple functionality: by day, it reflects the life of the city and, by night, it takes on a life of its own with a spectacular light show. The lights appear to dance across the façade, transforming the entire building into a bona fide work of contemporary art. Thus, its visual identity is constantly renewed, as full-fledged scenarios featuring the interplay of light and colour are executed continuously from the moment night falls. This fascinating result, allied with the simplicity of the cubic structure, was what finally convinced the judges of the prestigious competition.
This victory rewards the expertise of the SPG Prorenova Division and the company Lighting Design Collective. This recognition is no small matter, considering that the German Design Award is a well-known, highly respected institution in the international world of design, with an excellent reputation that extends far beyond specialised fields. Established in 2012, the competition supports design in all its forms. It is extremely selective, given the fact that all of the entries must be nominated beforehand in order to compete. The awards ceremony will take place on Friday, February 7 in Frankfurt, during the Ambiente Fair.
Would you like to renovate your property?
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Glenn Reynolds Hates Free Speech
Don't pretend speech doesn't matter.
You’d think that people who support free speech would be vigorous defenders of the value of speech. But oddly, that isn't the case. On the contrary, when people defend speech, they often do so specifically on the grounds that the speech in question is worthless. Speech, to free speech defenders, is presented as a joke, the content of which is irrelevant, since it will affect no one.
Nick Gillespie, the editor of Reason.com, demonstrated this contradiction recently in a full-throated defense of Glenn Reynolds. Reynolds was briefly banned from Twitter after posting a picture of North Carolina protestors blocking the highway. Reynolds added the caption, "Run them down."
Gillespie delicately refused to comment on whether he thought that running down protestors was a good idea. Instead, he argued, that Reynolds was not really saying what he said, or that no one would think he meant for anyone to act on it. "Whatever you think of the tastefulness of his suggestion regarding the protesters in Charlotte," Gillespie writes, "the idea that he is seriously inciting any sort of actual or real threat is risible."
The problem here is that Reynolds wrote follow-up posts on his blog in which he makes it quite clear that he was completely serious. Gillespie quotes him: "Sorry, blocking the interstate is dangerous, and trapping people in their cars is a threat. Driving on is self-preservation, especially when we've had mobs destroying property and injuring and killing people." Reynolds is arguing that when protestors walk across a highway in front of your car, you should gun the engine, and let the bodies fall where they may.
The reaction on Twitter suggests that Reynolds' many fans and followers took him seriously. Numerous people echo his arguments for murder; protestors are a threat, the Twitter interlocutors declare. You need to save yourself by driving your car into them and injuring or killing them. Reynolds and his followers do not treat this argument as a "risible" suggestion. They talk about it coldly and directly, as what they should do, if they’re ever confronted with a protest.
Still, Gillespie insists that it's obvious that Reynolds' tweet is not a threat to murder protestors. As he said to me via email: "Nobody would be influenced by his tweet to run down protesters (with whom I sympathize as a libertarian who has for decades been commissioning, editing, and writing stories about police abuse). If somebody decided that Glenn Reynolds was commanding them to rent a car and drive it through a crowd of people, that nutjob is responsible for his actions, just as Mark David Chapman (not J.D. Salinger) was when he pulled the trigger on John Lennon."
The first parenthetical in Gillespie's statement is interesting. He says he’s spent decades writing and editing stories about police abuse. But why do that if writing doesn't influence people? Surely the point of criticizing police abuse is to get people to end police abuse. Otherwise, why bother? And if it's possible for a story about police abuse to influence people to sympathize with protestors, why isn't it possible for a tweet urging violence against protestors to lead someone to commit violence against protestors?
Gillespie argues that Reynolds' statement doesn't rise to the level of true threat—which is probably true. But Reynolds is deliberately advocating for the curtailment of free speech rights. He is saying, on Twitter and in his blog that protests are illegitimate, and that protestors should be violently attacked. If you're talking about free speech issues, shouldn't that get a mention? Yes, Reynolds didn't actually attack anyone, but a climate in which violent acts against protestors are encouraged and justified surely makes protest more difficult and dangerous. Reynolds is making a case against free speech, and by all appearances doing his best to curtail the speech of others. Shouldn't libertarians care about that?
I'm sure banning Reynolds didn't do much good, and in general Twitter's scattershot approach to abusive speech is worse than useless. But if you're going to defend his right to speak, do it without pretending that his words don't matter. Reynolds wasn't joking; he's a man with a large platform encouraging his many followers to commit racist violence against people exercising their right to assembly and protest. He means what he says, and people who listen to him, and take him seriously, understand him perfectly.
"God help all of us who write a lot (whether for fun or for profit) the day that our words are endowed with magical powers to command our readers like some sort of zombie army," Gillespie told me. To which I'd respond, God help writers and editors everywhere if our chief moral commitment consists of repetitively denying the possibility that someone, somewhere, might actually listen to what we have to say.
This Election Isn't Fun
Dem Response to Terrorism Shows Why Trump Can Win
America Is Weary and Waiting to Die
Bill de Blasio and Progressives Want Terrorism Normalized
America, You’re Killing Me
Really not seeing how Reynolds is deliberately advocating for the curtailment of free speech rights, unless you think that right is guaranteed in the middle of traffic, which I'm pretty sure it isn't. Being against free speech on a highway isn't much to be concerned about, although telling people to run them over makes him an asshole.
Protest by its nature is meant to inconvenience people. If the right of assembly means anything, it means assembling occasionally in places where you're inconveniencing others. Calling for the death of protestors who inconvenience you is intended to frighten and intimidate people into shutting up. It's a deliberate effort to curtail speech and protest, imo.
I mean, these lines are always murky, but flapping your hands because someoen was banned from a private service for a couple hours vs. the possible harm of calling for violence against protestors...I dunno.
No, the purpose of protest is to get people's attention and make a political point. People don't get swayed because they were inconvenienced. Inconveniencing people is the BLM version of protest, and blocking a highway goes well beyond inconveniencing people anyway.
Noah Berlatsky, Sep 23, 2016, 11:26AM
So...this is complete nonsense, and probably not worth arguing about. You could read this, though, if you'd like. As Masket says, you're the white liberal MLK was talking to in the Birmingham Jail speech. https://psmag.com/for-most-there-s-never-a-right-time-to-protest-8177404f34e#.3rt4ncavu
or if it's too much trouble...Civil Rights movement was not trying to change individual people's minds. it was trying to create a crisis situation in which elites felt great pressure to address the issue. MLK used many of these same tactics (including blocking highways: http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/07/mlk-would-never-shut-down-a-freeway-and-6-other-myths-about-the-civil-rights-movement-and-black-lives-matter/)
Figured it wouldn't take too long to get you into your default condescension mode, but why don't you take a look at this and tell me more about free speech and MLK. https://twitter.com/JaredWyand/status/778946897478356992?s=09
Noah, how'd you feel if a loved one couldn't get to the hospital on time because of a protest? Or if a loved one was shot during a home invasion because police could not get there in time because protesters blocked the way? I'm all for protesting injustices but very much against hurting the innocent in order to make a point.
I'm 100 percent with Texan on this one. I don't care if you're elite or dirt-poor, blocking highways as a form of protest is heinous. As Texan said, people need to get to hospitals, sometimes life and death situations. Missing the first 45 minutes of a movie, no big deal. But, as an elite, Noah, you never miss an opportunity to hand down wisdom from Mt. Krugman.
Yes, Noah is reflexively condescending, which he substitutes for an argument. He says that protest is "meant" to inconvenience people, indicating he can't tell the difference between goals and tactics. Protest is "meant" to effect social and political change. One tactic of such protest could be inconveniencing people. Another tactic could be making sure you don't inconvenience other people. It's helpful when being condescending to at least be correct.
Blocking highways is worse than a tweet. Whatever happened to sticks n stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? I'm inclined to agree with Clint Eastwood on this one - young people protesting on highways are clueless cowards.
Beck, it's hard not to be condescendign with you because you have no idea what you're talking about in most instances. Also,you're super touchy about the fact that you don't know much, which makes it hard to resist tweaking you.// We all realize that MLK protested on highways, right? A. Philip Randolph threatened to shut down Washington during wartime. Civil rights protestors deliberately interfered with public transit. And so forth. "protest should not inconvenience anyone ever" is just not how successful protests have ever been conducted. And yes, protests are meant to cause inconvenience, because inconvenience draws attention and makes people uncomfortable, which in turn forces elites to take action.// But...you're all pretty much confirming the point of the piece, which was that Reynolds was not joking when he suggested running over protestors, and that, in fact, people (not Nick, but many people) find that idea congenial.// Texan, how'd you feel if a loved one were shot to death by a cop, and then people came out of the woodwork to concocting hypothetical scenarios to justify to themselves that your efforts to change things made you the aggressor?
Texan, Sep 24, 2016, 10:53AM
Also, aren't you all mostly libertarianish? why the eagerness to side with cops all of a sudden?
I'll take that as a compliment, coming from someone so ignorant he can't tell the difference between a tactic and a goal, and someone so sloppy he can't even spell correctly when he's trying to put someone down, which is the one time you want to get the spelling correct, if you're trying to look smart,. which is normally your goal above all else, being the pretentious pseudo-intellectual you are
Noah Berlatsky, Sep 23, 2016, 04:34PM
Richard Aubrey
Is there some kind of pre-agreement going on here? Did you all agree to pretend nobody in the cars was threatened? No cars were damaged with bricks or rocks? A truck wasn't burned? Reginald Denny was a fiction? Reynolds made it clear that driving on was the thing to if one is threatened or reasonably fears for his safety--the latter being a self-defense defense. Did you all decide to pretend this was not an issue? What happened? Of course, he could have said, "drive on", in which case you would have been screaming that he meant to pursue and run down peaceful protestors. Tell you what. Next time there's a riot, go get yourself stuck in a protestor's traffic jam. No matter what happens, don't take the trans out of park. And open your windows. Because you wouldn't want to be against free speech. Sheesh. You all figured the rest of us were as dumb as you are pretending to be? Come on.
I'm not justifying anything Noah. I'm just explaining cause and effect to you. What's next, your defense of drunk drivers who make it home safely from a charity event? What about looters who steal and vandalize mom and pop businesses because they are angry? As for being "libertarianish", what does that have to do with being a responsible citizen. I'm neither pro, nor, con cop. I am in favor of individuals being responsible for their actions and that includes both civil servants and civilians equally. After all, I don't recall MLK saying that he had a dream of causing innocent people harm in order to get his way.
Noah, is it really so hard to concede that someone has made a valid point that might require you to modify your position? You're really beginning to sound a lot like Trump.
joshtk76
This is a good piece. The fact that a major libertarian voice's knee-jerk reaction to disruptive black collective action is "run them over" does not reflect well on that movement, but it continues the proud libertarian tradition of hostility to black political action going back to at least Barry Goldwater and Ayn Rand.
Texan, I have productive arguments all the time in which I modify my position. Not with you or Beck or Richard, though, very often.// Thanks Josh. I'm glad you liked the piece.
So...Reginald Denny did the right thing?
Ok, Noah, if you really want to keep this up for whatever, then I can oblige you. Not having a productive discussion couldn't possibly be on you, right? Because you're all about promoting productive discussion, instead of being a sniveling little prick, am I right? Like how it went with you and Freddie deBoer, who should be your natural ally, maybe? Let me quote Freddie on you: "He is one of these writers that has made a living being a professional The Only Righteous White Man Alive." Now that is right on the money! I think most would agree that Freddie is a much more authentic voice of the left than you are, and he sure did see through you quickly. "Beacon of political morals" is how he described you, and once again, bingo. He wrote that you read his work with "manic attentiveness, poring over my tweets, looking for something to seize on for one of his goodness performances. It seems exhausting, but I guess it’s a living." Yes, you're a master of the goodness performance. I like this one too: "One of Berlatsky’s constant tactics is to chum the waters by lying about what someone else said, throwing it on Twitter, and trusting that no one will actually check if it’s true or not." Looks like there are people out there with some stature who doubt your character and honesty in no uncertain terms. I put this out here so people can see it's not just me grinding some personal axe against you. I'd say Freddie's got you pegged. I tend to believe him when he writes of you: "It’s all performance, no practice. They aren’t engaged in political action; they’re engaged in political posturing." Ouch, again! Freddie TKO'd you. You talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. All empty words. I'd say he's calling you a phony, which certainly rings true. As he puts it, you've "monetized a certain kind of affected progressive posturing." Well, at least you have Aurthur Chu, your fellow saint, to console you. The two Most Righteous Men Alive.
Pow, right in the kisser!
Oh, good grief. You go whining to Freddie deBoer to help you? And now you've got Texan cheering you on; that must mean you're really...clever. Or something.
Whining? No, I just went back and reread something I saw months ago but never mentioned to you until you gave me a reason to. Anyone who wants to read the entirety of Freddie's brutal takedown of you can go here: http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/08/30/one-rule/
I think Freddie's mostly a joke...though I know he's an idol for many independent self-declared iconoclasts such as yourself.// Tbf, Freddie would be appalled at the islamophobic racist nonsense you traffic in. So if you need to kiss someone's feet to prove your free thinking bona fides, better him than Sam Harris.
Since Freddie's "a joke," I'm probably not going to worry too much about your claim that he'd disapprove of me. Paying heed to jokes is bad policy, I'm certain you'd agree.
Sure, I wouldn't worry too much about what Freddie says. You do in fact seem to worry about it...but if you were to stop, I think that would be for the best, probably.//and as I said, he's not as much of a joke as Sam Harris. If you're determined to pledge your allegiance to a joke, you could do worse than Freddie...and you have!
Both Freddie and Sam write coherently and persuasively, a skill that eludes you and your fellow regressive leftists, who are mostly about posturing and gaining approval from particular interest groups. This is the standard practice of the useful idiot, but it's such a boring cliché.
Nah; they just flatter you by telling you you're special, and you eat it up. But that's fine. Good to have something to get you through the day.
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IPL Auction 2017: 5 surprising picks
K Gowtham was bought by the Mumbai Indians
Shankar Narayan
These players will be delighted to go for the sum that they have gone for.
The 2017 IPL auction saw as many as 66 players getting picked by franchisees in a lot of 351 stars, who went under the hammer for the duration of the day. it was a frenetic auction, which saw many players go for exponential amounts to various teams while there were others as well, who did not get any buyers in the auction.
Also in the mix were a few surprise picks who went for huge amounts and here we take a look at 5 such players:
5.K Gowtham (2 Crores)
The Karnataka off-spinner had a good season for his state side in the Ranji Trophy, picking up 27 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 19.51. He proved to be the third highest wicket-taker for the side, behind experienced campaigners like Sreenath Aravind and R Vinay Kumar and led the way in the spin department for the team.
Those performances helped him earn a berth in the India A squad for the warm-up match against the Australians at the Cricket Club of India last week and he did not get enough overs to show his prowess, bowling just four overs for nine runs.
On Monday, during the IPL auctions, the 27-year-old found a buyer in the form of the Mumbai Indians, who roped him in for Rs. 2 Crores to add another component to their off spinning resources.
The addition of Gowtham is just another example of the franchise roping in a low-profile domestic player and providing him a platform to perform. Last season, it was Krunal Pandya who proved to be a very effective player and prior to that, it was Jagadeesh Suchith. Maybe in Gowtham, they may unearth yet another similar kind of player.
IPL Auction 2020 Darren Bravo Rashid Khan
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Research Council Scholarships
Economic and Social Research Council studentship funding
As one of 16 member universities of the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science, the University of St Andrews is able to offer full- and part-funded PhD scholarships across a range of social science disciplines.
The University of St Andrews offers two types of ESRC funded scholarships through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) to suitably qualified UK and international applicants:
1+3 scholarships comprise a one year Masters degree followed by a three year doctoral degree
+3 scholarships comprise a three year doctoral degree
Scholarships are available in the following Schools/Departments for projects aligned with the SGSSS disciplinary hubs and pathways:
Economies, Mind, and Technologies
Accounting, Finance, Business, and Management
Society and Welfare
Health, Families, Relationships, and Demographic Change
School of Geography and Sustainable Development
Human Geography, Environment, and Urban Planning
Economic and Social History
ESRC scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence.
If you are applying for a 1+3 scholarship you must hold or be completing a UK undergraduate degree in a social science subject with first- or upper second-class honours (or an international qualification at an equivalent level).
If you are applying for a +3 scholarship you must, in addition to holding a UK undergraduate degree in a social science subject with first- or upper second-class honours (or an international qualification at an equivalent level), hold or be completing a Masters degree in a social science subject and satisfying the ESRC training requirements.
ESRC scholarships are open to UK applicants; a proportion of the awards available may also be offered to international applicants. Awards cover tuition fees for the award term and include a stipend at the regular Research Council rate.
Full eligibility requirements can be found in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide.
Scholarships are awarded annually. The scholarship competition opens in autumn for degrees starting the following September.
Prospective students are strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible:
Identify and contact a potential supervisor - you must have the support of your preferred supervisor before making an application. If you are unable to identify a potential supervisor, contact the relevant pathway contact (details below).
Apply for admission as a student – see the advice on applying for admission
Create an account on the SGSSS GradHub – see the SGSSS application advice
Add contact details for your referees to the SGSSS GradHub. It is vital that you contact your referees as soon as possible and let them know that they will be expected to provide a reference no later than 5pm on 7 January 2021.
Upload your application and supporting documents to the SGSSS GradHub – applications must be uploaded by 5pm on 7 January 2021.
Applications will be considered by the University in the first instance. Shortlisted applications will go forward to the next round of the competition.
Pathway Contacts
Dr Shona Russell, mgmtdopg@st-andrews.ac.uk
Prof. Miguel Costa-Gomes, miguel.costa-gomes@st-andrews.ac.uk
Dr Jacqueline Rose, histdopg@st-andrews.ac.uk
Prof. Hill Kulu, hill.kulu@st-andrews.ac.uk
Dr Katherine Keenan, klk4@st-andrews.ac.uk
Professor Anthony F. Lang, al51@st-andrews.ac.uk
Dr Ines Jentzsch, ij7@st-andrews.ac.uk
Dr Adam Reed, ader@st-andrews.ac.uk
Scottish Graduate School of Social Science
The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) is the UK's largest facilitator of funding, training, and support for doctoral students in social science.
By combining the expertise of 16 universities across Scotland, the SGSSS facilitates world-class PhD research. The SGSSS is funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council.
To complement the discipline-specific research training delivered through the partner universities the SGSSS hosts advanced training courses as well as an annual summer school. These provide SGSSS students with opportunities to develop further their research, knowledge exchange, and transferable professional skills.
Doctoral Research at St Andrews
As a doctoral student at the University of St Andrews you will be part of a growing, vibrant, and intellectually stimulating postgraduate community. St Andrews is one of the leading research-intensive universities in the world and offers a postgraduate experience of remarkable richness.
St Leonard’s Doctoral and Postgraduate College is at the heart of the postgraduate community of St Andrews. The College supports all postgraduates and aims to provide opportunities for postgraduates to come together, socially and intellectually, and make new connections.
St Leonard’s College works closely with the Postgraduate Society which is one of the most active societies within the Students’ Association. All doctoral students are automatically welcomed into the Postgraduate Society when they join the University.
In addition to the research training that doctoral students complete in their home School and the advanced training provided by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science, doctoral students at St Andrews have access to GRADskills – a free, comprehensive training programme to support their academic, professional, and personal development.
How to Apply – Doctoral Degrees
St Leonard’s Doctoral and Postgraduate College
Postgraduate Society at St Andrews
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Saints Gear(opens in new window/tab)
Women's Network Weekend 2019
Past Women's Network Events
Alumni Office Team
Please join us this November for our 2019 Women's Network Weekend: The Built World: Reimagining Space and Place. The weekend will celebrate alumni who work in several professions pertaining to the built world, such as engineering, architecture, construction, real estate, design, and environmental sustainability. Our keynote speakers are Annie Imbrie-Moore ’12, Jean Li ’06, and Margaux K. Lopez ’11. The weekend will also feature an alumnae panel and workshops led by alumni.
Women's Network events are open to ALL members of the St. Andrew's family, inclusive of alumni, current parents, alumni parents, grandparents, and of course, men! We hope you will be able to return to St. Andrew's for this weekend of inspiration and connection with our current students, alumni, parents, and faculty. For more information, please contact Director of Events Kathy Mitchell at kmitchell@standrews-de.org.
Elizabeth Roach
Dean of Teaching & Learning
Director of Women's Network
11:15 a.m. —Lunch, Dining Hall, Founders Hall
11:45 a.m.— Keynote Talk, Jean Li ’06, duPont Memorial Chapel, Founders Hall
6:45 p.m.— Buffet Dinner with the Class of 2020 & Alumni Participants, Dining Hall, Founders Hall
8:00 p.m.—Keynote Talk, Margaux Lopez ’11 & Annie Imbrie-Moore ’12, Engelhard Hall, O’Brien Arts Center
9:30 p.m.—Reception for Alumni, Parents & Faculty, Home of Tad and Elizabeth Roach
8:00 a.m.—Continental Breakfast, Gahagan Room, O’Brien Arts Center
8:30 a.m.—Alumnae Panel, Engelhard Hall, O’Brien Arts Center
10:15 a.m.—Workshops Led by Alumni, Various Campus Locations
11:30 a.m.—Lunch, Dining Hall, Founders Hall
Jean Li ’06
Jean Li is an architect in New York City. After graduating from St. Andrew's, she studied architecture at M.I.T. and interned at design firms in Beijing and Barcelona. Jean is passionate about design that can serve communities and impact a broad range of people. In New York, she worked for CookFox Architects on a variety of projects including affordable housing in Brooklyn and the redevelopment of an industrial site in Salem, MA. In 2017, she joined MBB Architects and is overseeing projects for schools and religious institutions.
Margaux Lopez ’11
Margaux Lopez ‘11 is a mechanical engineer at SLAC National Lab in Menlo Park, California, where she is working on astronomy’s biggest digital camera. This camera is destined for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, an observatory under construction just outside of La Serena, Chile that will produce an unprecedented amount of astronomical data. Margaux works on the assembly of delicate camera components as well as preparing the facility in Chile for the arrival of the camera in 2021. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the California Institute of Technology as well as a master’s degree from San Jose State University, both in mechanical engineering.
Annie Imbrie-Moore ’12
Annie Imbrie-Moore ’12 is a Ph.D. student in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University, where she works in the Advanced Therapeutics for Heart Failure Research Laboratory. Her research focuses on improving surgical valve repair techniques through experimental and analytical investigation of mitral and aortic valve biomechanics. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Stanford Graduate Fellow, and an Accel Innovation Scholar. Prior to Stanford, she received her Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Harvard University.
Timothy B. Abbott ’86
James W. Carrington ’98
Clare Colburn ’87
Brian L. Court ’92
Elizabeth G. Court ’06
Kim G. Cortes ’01
Lucy (Long) Doswell ’00
Ari K. Ellis ’89
Elisa Espiritu ’98
Michael Evans ’98
Alice (Duffee) Healy ’88
Michael R. Hindle ’88
Faith Loehr ’13
Tarlton Long ’04
Michelle Madeley ’03
Elizabeth A. Martin ’09
Heather Williams Mitchell ’92
Brandy (Bennett) Nauman ’03
Alexandra Porrazzo ’13
Bret E. Peters ’81
William Rehrig ’11
Sydnor Scholer ’04
Robert A. Toomey ’92
Carter (Meyer) Wilcox ’90
The St. Andrew's Women's Network was founded in 2010 with a goal of connecting, celebrating, and harnessing the power of the School's alumnae through events held both on and off campus. Since its inception, Women's Network events have expanded in size and scope, and have become central to our mission to provide community, inspiration, and mentorship for all members of our community. We hope you will be able to return to St. Andrew's for this weekend of inspiration and connection with our current students, alumni, parents, and faculty.
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The 2020 tax filing season opens Jan. 27: Here's what you need to know
Russ Wiles, Arizona Republic
The Internal Revenue Service will start accepting tax returns from individual taxpayers on Jan. 27, kicking off the filing season when more than 150 million returns are expected to be processed.
If this year resembles last, most taxpayers who receive refunds will get back about $2,800 on average.
As before, the IRS is touting the benefits of filing returns electronically. Those benefits include automatic flagging of some common errors and reminders to taxpayers to supply missing information.
The normal due date this year will be April 15, with automatic extensions to Oct. 15 available. Here are some themes to this year's tax-filing season.
Not many major changes
Compared to the significant alterations for tax-year 2018 that involved itemized deductions, the personal exemption and other key elements, there are few changes for 2019 individual returns.
Various dollar thresholds change a bit, such as a slightly higher standard deduction of $12,200 for singles and $24,400 for married couples. The higher amounts make it even less likely that taxpayers will itemize deductions.
If you do itemize, medical expenses were supposed to become harder to write off this filing season. Starting with 2019 returns, medical costs originally were destined to be deductible only to the extent they exceed 10% of adjusted gross income, up from 7.5% the past two years. But legislation signed near the end of last year will keep the 7.5% threshold for two more tax years, 2019 and 2020.
Speaking of medical, the penalty for not carrying personal health insurance has been dropped and no longer applies on federal tax returns starting in 2019.
And for divorces finalized after 2018, former spouses who pay alimony not longer can deduct these payments, and alimony income no longer will be taxable for recipients.
Also, taxpayers 65 and older who don't itemize have the option of using a new return – a simplified version of Form 1040, with larger print size that makes it easier to read and includes just 24 line items. The new form is 1040-SR, for seniors.
Free filing still needs help
The IRS for years has encouraged individuals to file their returns electronically. Part of this effort involves the Free File program – a partnership between the IRS and various private-sector tax-return software companies. The idea is to offer free software help to millions of individuals.
Yet the program appears woefully underutilized. According to a January report from the office of the National Taxpayer Advocate, an IRS-watchdog division, only about 2% of eligible individuals used some type of free-filing software in 2018. But roughly 90% of returns are filed electronically, which means the vast majority of filers pay fees.
Those who use Free File are largely dissatisfied with the program and often are steered toward paid services through cross-marketing efforts, said the report, which noted that the IRS doesn't routinely test the software for quality.
Plus, there are restrictions. At the time of the report, only four of the 11 participating Free File software companies offered services to taxpayers of all ages, with further limitations based on income, state of residence or other factors. Only two companies offer help in a foreign language (Spanish). No wonder the National Taxpayer Advocate concluded that the Free File program "is not promoting the best interests of taxpayers."
This year, 10 software companies are participating in the Free File program, and the eligibility cutoff is household adjusted gross income of $69,000 or less.
Customer service, refund problems
The taxpayer advocate's report focused on 10 issues plaguing the IRS. These range from a need to overhaul the IRS' information technology system to a need to provide better and more consistent customer service.
According to the report, the IRS has improved its ability to detect and prevent refund fraud, including the prevention of $2.7 billion in improper payments over the first nine months of 2019. Yet the agency continues to cause delays in releasing rightful refunds, causing hardships for some people, and it has high false-positive rates (flagging problems where they aren't any).
Also, the IRS doesn't always provide much help to legitimate taxpayers in expediting their refunds, with delays often exceeding 40 days, the report said.
As another concern, the "offers in compromise" program could be improved, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. This program authorizes the IRS to accept partial payments from some taxpayers, providing an incentive for them to continue filing returns and paying some taxes. Yet the report found that in about 40% of the cases where the IRS refused an offer, the agency wound up collecting much less, if anything.
Fighting fraud, closing the 'tax gap'
The IRS faces an array of other challenges, including the need to do more with less manpower. IRS staffing has fallen over the years, contributing to ever-lower audit rates of under 1% for individual returns.
In addition to its regular oversight, there also are new challenges, such as those imposed by ride-sharing, private-home renting and other elements of the sharing or "gig" economy, where people don't always know, or respect, their tax obligations. The IRS this month launched a new gig economy tax center on IRS.gov.
Another area of concern involves payroll taxes withheld by employers, which represent 72% of all revenue collected by the IRS. Noncompliance or fraud in this area represents "one of the biggest challenges for the nation's tax system," the IRS said in its latest annual report, released in January
These and other challenges show up in the nation's tax gap – the difference between what taxpayers rightfully owe and what they willingly pay on time. The IRS estimates the shortfall at about $440 billion.
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Issue #78, May 11, 2002
Dropping Bridges
French Marksmanship during the Seven Years� War
The Marines at Beirut: A Profile
From the Archives - Geronimo Wins!
"�Vive la muerte! � Long live death!"
--Jose Millan Astray, "El Mutilado"
From the time he was a junior officer in the Foreign Legion, Achille Bazaine, who rose from private to marshal in the French Army during the mid-nineteenth century before blowing the big one at Sedan, always led his troops into action wielding a walking stick.
The first American ground troops to use the M1 Helmet � the World War II U.S. helmet � in combat were the men of the 1st Marine Division who landed on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942.
Of 2,400 German mercenaries embarked at Hamburg in 1781 for service with the British Army in the American Revolution, 66 (c. 3%) died during the voyage, and a further (c. 17%), were unfit for service upon arrival at New York, for a loss of 476 men, nearly a fifth of the troops embarked.
The �Paris Gun,� with which the Germans bombarded Paris at a range of some 26 kilometers, fired 320 rounds during the Spring and Summer of 1918, inflicting insignificant casualties.
During the Gulf War the battleships Wisonscin and Missouri fired 1,102 rounder of 16-inch ammunition in the performance of 83 separate missions.
When the newly minted Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and his wife arrived, courtesy of the French Army, at the National Palace in Mexico City on June 12, 1864, the place proved so dilapidated and filthy that the imperial couple had to spend their first night in the captial sleeping on a billiard table.
In a �show of force� intended to assert its claims to a large swathe of Antarctica, in 1948 Argentina dispatched to the frozen contenent a fleet of two cruisers and six destroyers, commanded by no less than five admirals.
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新科大清贫本科生可享多达四年免费教育
Lianhe Zaobao, 22 Feb 2019, Undergraduate students from SUTD can enjoy up to four years of free education (translation)
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has enhanced an education grant programme this year to benefit more students from low- and middle-income families.
Students from families with monthly per capita income of $690 and below will receive the most benefit. The remaining tuition fees and hostel expenses that they need to pay after utilising the tuition grant subsidy by the Government can be fully offset by this education grant. This means the students can receive up to four years of free undergraduate education.
The SUTD Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is part of SUTD’s total Financial Aid Package and students who still require financial assistance after receiving government grants and subsidies are eligible for this additional funding.
Currently, the grant is for students whose family monthly per capita income is below $690. These students receive a fixed subsidy of $4,000 not including hostel fee subsidy.
Starting this year, SUTD has increased the amount of the SEOG and expanded its criteria to allow more students to receive assistance. The SEOG is awarded at four levels according to family income. Students from households with monthly per capita income of $690 and below will receive the highest subsidy and the maximum household monthly per capita income to qualify for this grant is $2,250.
At SUTD, first year students are required to stay in hostels during the first three terms. This year, Freshmores from families with monthly per capita income that do not exceed $1000 will be able to apply for the SEOG to offset their hostel fees for the first three terms.
Using a student whose household monthly per capita income is $690 as an example, under the SEOG, the student can receive over $8,000, which is enough to offset the remaining expenses after taking into account the government subsidy and bursary assistance. The grant amount will increase proportionately according to increases in tuition fees.
Increase in scholarships; Overseas immersion trip subsidy
Additionally, SUTD will also be awarding more scholarships to undergraduates this year, which will not only cover the subsidised tuition fees for undergraduate studies, but also funds an overseas experience of at least eight weeks’ duration under the Global Leadership Programme.
SUTD president, Professor Chong Tow Chong said that the University wanted to ensure that all students with financial needs are able to pursue a high quality education at SUTD without worrying too much about their finances. He said that with the enhanced scholarship and financial assistance offerings, more than half of SUTD students admitted will receive some form of financial support.
SUTD also launched an overseas immersion programme for first-year students this year. These overseas immersion trips will take place in ASEAN and Asian countries, and will be linked to their courses. SUTD will provide a substantial subsidy for all students participating in these overseas immersions, which will cover the cost of airfare and possibly the cost of accommodation for most trips. It is estimated that up to half of the Freshmore students will be able to participate in these overseas immersion trips. SUTD expects to be able to send all Freshmore students overseas by 2021.
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SVSU Board approves renovations to student housing, lease for downtown Saginaw location
The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control approved spending up to $4.6 million to renovate a residence hall and some on-campus apartments during the Board’s regular meeting Monday, Oct. 28.
SVSU plans to renovate Living Center South and a portion of Pine Grove Apartments next summer, in advance of the 2020-21 academic year. For two consecutive years, SVSU has placed No. 1 in the nation among all U.S. public universities in the website Niche’s “Best College Dorms” ranking, which uses a weighted formula where 70 percent of a school’s score comes from student satisfaction surveys.
The university has sufficient funds in existing reserves for capital projects and the auxiliary system to finance the renovations.
The Board also agreed to proceed with leasing a building in downtown Saginaw to offer academic programs and community outreach. The Board approved spending up to $275,000 to renovate the building at 208 S. Washington for university use.
The Board also authorized the sale of SVSU’s Regional Education Center - Macomb, located in Macomb County’s Chesterfield Township. SVSU has offered distance education and graduate courses for the College of Education at the facility, but the emergence of online classes allows for more modern methods to deliver course content. Classes taught at the center this fall will not be affected, as the sale of the property is not expected to be finalized until January.
Approved changes to the Student Association charter, as requested by Student Association.
Recommended a liquor license for the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum.
Received and accepted the annual financial audit and federal awards audit for fiscal year 2018-19, as prepared by Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC.
Approved SVSU’s capital outlay request plan for the 2021 fiscal year.
SVSU students victorious in 'Battle,' raising $20K for Midland nonprofit
The persevering spirit of Saginaw Valley State University students will improve the lives of young people in the Great Lakes Bay Region, as SVSU students insisted on continuing a fundraising tradition, resulting in a donation of at least $20,302 for a Midland-based nonprofit.
The total was raised during SVSU’s “Battle of the Valley” week-long fundraiser from Oct. 6-11, benefiting The ROCK Center for Youth Development, an organization that provides after-school programs and development initiatives for teenagers across the region.
The fundraiser nearly didn’t happen. Formerly known as “Battle of the Valleys,” the tradition from 2003 to 2018 involved students from SVSU and Grand Valley State University competing to raise the most amount of money for their respective nonprofit beneficiaries. GVSU students backed out of the event this year. But SVSU student leaders rallied to save the tradition, re-imagining it as a fundraising campaign organized exclusively at SVSU.
Nora Lipetzky, one of the student leaders involved in creating “Battle of the Valley” this year, said the $20,302 raised was a success — especially considering there were some who were skeptical the fundraiser would find much success without the added motivation of a competing university.
“We’re ecstatic and elated that we raised so much for such a deserving nonprofit,” said Lipetzky, a native of Palos Heights, Illinois who earned a bachelor's degree in political science in May and is pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
“There were some naysayers who didn’t think we would raise $10,000.”
Kylie Anderson, The ROCK Center for Youth Development’s director of development, said she was “thrilled” when she learned about the total funds raised.
“We know it was a new venture — with the solo ‘Battle of the Valley’ — and it was great to see the students and the SVSU community do such an amazing job, rallying together like that. We are very grateful.”
Anderson was able to attend some of the activities organized as part of the week-long fundraiser. Those events included sponsored gatherings at nearby businesses — including Buffalo Wild Wings and Stardust Lanes — as well as on-campus events that allowed participants to contribute funds in exchange for petting puppies, throwing pies at professors and smashing a car with a bat.
“It was awesome to see all of that going on,” she said. “I loved the creativity.”
Representatives from The ROCK Center for Youth Development plan to accept a ceremonial check during SVSU’s next home football game scheduled Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. SVSU students continue to sell the remaining inventory of T-shirts and sweatshirts, so the final fundraising total is likely to increase.
Meanwhile, SVSU student leaders already are planning next year’s “Battle.” Lipetzky said they hope to recruit another university — replacing GVSU — to insert a competitive element back into the tradition for 2020.
Lipetzky said SVSU’s student government, known as Student Association, already has begun reaching out to gauge the interest of some peer institutions. A decision could be announced by the end of the year, she said.
“We want ‘Battle of the Valley’ to remain a quality philanthropic event,” Lipetzky said, “so we hope to find a compatible match that will ensure that.”
Sound 'Proof': Student's talent adds depth to SVSU production of Pulitzer Prize-winning play
A sophomore’s passion for theatre sound and lighting design — along with his quickly-growing résumé of experience and training in the field — will be on display during a Saginaw Valley State University production of “Proof” later this month.
Hot off both summer courses taught at a Las Vegas institute and a key behind-the-scenes role for a hit musical produced across the Great Lakes Bay Region, Lucas Inman next will design an “ultra-real” soundscape aimed at transporting audiences deep into the world of the David Auburn-penned Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Performances of "Proof" are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 30-Nov. 2; and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, in SVSU’s Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. Tickets cost $15.
The story of “Proof” — about a troubled woman struggling with her late father’s legacy as a brilliant mathematician — takes place in a single setting: the backyard of a house. In his role as sound designer, Inman will record and edit audio from real outdoor environments that later will be used to simulate the setting of the play on SVSU's stage via speakers.
David Rzeszutek, the associate professor of theatre serving as the play's director, said Inman’s work will create a rich and immersive environment that will better connect audiences with the characters of "Proof."
"This whole show has a sound design underlying throughout the whole thing, almost like you might hear in a movie,” Rzeszutek said.
“From the moment the audience walks in, they're going to be in the neighborhood. Certain areas will have a dog barking; music playing from a neighboring house. The audience is always going to feel like they're sitting in the neighborhood, being surrounded by the neighborhood itself."
Creating an engaging theatrical experience requires a skill Inman has been fine-tuning since childhood, when he discovered a passion for behind-the-scenes work managing sound design for events at his church and vacation Bible school. Later, as a student at Heritage High School, he was involved in theatre productions there as an audio engineer.
The Saginaw native enrolled at SVSU last year, providing sound and lighting design as a freshman for the university’s theatre productions. The theatre major's talent and enthusiasm for the work at the collegiate level earned him invitations to national conferences offering training as well as opportunities to learn from some of the top professionals working in the entertainment industry today.
While attending the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Region III Festival in Madison, Wisconsin in January 2019, Inman met Jane Childs, director of the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas. He accepted her invitation to attend the organization’s summer courses. There, Inman trained with professionals to learn more about digital drafting, rigging, audio, and lighting technology. He also witnessed and studied behind-the-scenes work of beloved Las Vegas productions such as Cirque du Soleil’s “The Beatles LOVE.”
“Every single second we were there, we were learning something, even if it wasn't a skill for technical theater — like how to keep yourself motivated, how to keep your confidence, and how to keep your integrity,” Inman said.
For his next role back in Michigan, he applied many of the lessons learned in Las Vegas.
Inman worked as an LED (light-emitting diode) tape electrician during the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance’s fall production of “Mamma Mia!” The experience involved complex planning for the play's two stages set at the Midland Center for the Arts as well as Pit and Balcony Theatre in Saginaw. The student soldered over 75 pieces of LED tape to various set pieces. Each light was individually added to a circuit that was remotely controlled and programmed by the production's crew to coordinate with — and compliment — the performances of the musical's massive cast of 38 actors.
Rzeszutek said it's impressive for a second-year student to possess as much skill as Inman wields in sound and lighting design. The director said he was excited to see those talents at work for "Proof."
“Usually, at this point, a sophomore is under someone’s wing or working as an assistant on a production,” Rzeszutek said. “As a sophomore, this is an extremely nice opportunity for Lucas.”
Tickets for “Proof” can be purchased online at www.etix.com/ticket/v/14187.
For more information, please contact the SVSU Box Office at (989) 964-4261.
Judge, U.S. Army veteran among panelists for SVSU Alumni Authors Showcase
Saginaw Valley State University has inspired writers for decades. The institution again will host some of that talent during its annual Alumni Authors Showcase scheduled Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m.
Scheduled in Curtiss Hall’s seminar rooms D and E at SVSU, the event will feature a panel of five alumni authors followed by a reception with refreshments. A book signing is scheduled at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The panelists include Judge Marylin E. Atkins, R.S. Deeren, Adela Crandell Durkee, Bethany (Phipps) Goforth and Walter E. Kitter.
The authors have written on a range of topics and genres including memoirs, poetry and historical fiction. Their books will be available for purchase at the event.
Atkins is the longest-serving chief judge in the history of Detroit’s 36th District Court. Her memoir, “The Triumph of Rosemary,” showcases triumph over family rejection, abuse and a religious scandal when she married former Roman Catholic priest Thomas Lee Atkins. Atkins earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1973. Atkins served as SVSU's commencement ceremony keynote speaker in May 2018.
Deeren is a writer from Caro, where he has worked as a line cook, a lumberjack, a landscaper and a bank teller. His fiction has appeared in Rosebud Magazine, Joyland Fiction, Midwestern Gothic, Great Lakes Review and in the anthology, “Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation.” Deeren received a bachelor’s degree in creative writing in 2012.
Durkee grew up on a small mid-Michigan farm. Her first novel, “A Ship of Pearl,” is a coming-of-age historical fiction set in the 1930s. Durkee earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1982.
Goforth is a professional graphic designer and award-winning illustrator. The illustrations for her book, “Coco and Kitty,” were created using a variety of graphite pencils. Her work has been featured on the covers of the Michigan Horse Council’s newsletter and the Michigan Quarter Horse Association Magazine. Goforth earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design in 2014.
Kitter is a U.S. Army veteran who served in West Germany during the 1980s. His book, “A Place That I Love: A Tour Driver’s Perspective of Mackinac Island,” is an exploration of the island’s history and tourist spots, as well as some lesser-known attractions and hidden gems. He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 2004.
The Alumni Author Showcase is part of SVSU's celebration of the National Day of Writing. The event is sponsored by SVSU's Forever Red, SVSU Alumni Relations and the SVSU Writing Center.
For more information about the event, contact Jim Dwyer, executive director of Alumni Relations, at 989-964-4209.
SVSU alumna joins NBA as sixth female referee in league history
A Saginaw Valley State University alumna's passion for basketball helped her land a role as the sixth female referee hired in NBA history.
Jenna Schroeder, a Clio native who received a bachelor’s degree in communications from SVSU in 2009, was hired by the NBA after years spent refereeing college, the WNBA and the NBA developmental league known as the G League.
“I was shocked by the timing of it,” Schroeder told the Associated Press. “But I was obviously hoping this was my year. Nobody’s ever truly ready, but I’m as ready as I can be.”
She is scheduled to referee her first regular season NBA game tonight — Wednesday, Oct. 23 — when the New York Knicks travel to play the San Antonio Spurs in Texas. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. EST. Viewers can watch it via NBA League Pass, a subscription service that is offering a free preview of the start of the season through Oct. 29. Click here to access the San Antonio game after it begins.
She will serve as one of four female referees this season.
Schroeder was a player herself. As a guard for SVSU’s women’s basketball team from 2006-07, she averaged 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2 steals over the course of 25 games played as a Cardinal.
She recalled her own experiences with referees when she was a player. Schroeder told the AP she fouled out of her first three games at SVSU, also picking up a technical foul “for a colorful comment.”
Before enrolling at SVSU, she played for the women’s basketball team at Oakland University.
Schroeder told the AP she began refereeing while in high school, and later, after she graduated from SVSU: “Someone looked at me one day and asked why I didn’t just do it as a profession, and I said, ‘You can do that?’”
Schroeder joins the relatively small class of female NBA referees that formed when Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner officiated their first league games during the 1997 season.
Fans can learn which games Schroeder officiates by accessing the NBA’s referee assignment webpage. Assignments are announced at 9 a.m. on the day of each game at https://official.nba.com/referee-assignments/.
'Mad Feast' author to offer taste of his writing at SVSU reading
A critically-acclaimed author will read from his work in nonfiction and poetry during a visit next week to Saginaw Valley State University.
Matthew Gavin Frank will visit campus Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Emeriti Room — located in SVSU’s Curtiss Hall — to share selections of his work. Admission is free and open to the public.
The Chicago-born author's nonfiction books include “The Mad Feast: An Ecstatic Tour Through America’s Food," an illustrated writing that offers insight on popular food items in each of the nation's 50 states.
Christopher Kimball of The Wall Street Journal reviewed "The Mad Feast" in November 2015: "Mr. Frank is not ‘mad’ as the title might imply, nor is he perversely calculating," Kimball wrote. "He feels his way along his travels and connects one notion to another until he develops a literary skein that vibrates with passion. That, I suppose, is a pretty good definition of writing, the good kind."
Frank's other work includes “Preparing the Ghost: An Essay Concerning the Giant Squid and its First Photographer,” “Pot Farm,” and “Barolo." His work has been showcased by media outlets and magazines including The Chicago Tribune, HuffPost, The Poetry Foundation, North American Review, and Creative Nonfiction.
Frank teaches creative writing in the Master of Fine Arts program at Northern Michigan University, after spending 17 years working in the restaurant industry across the U.S. and internationally. He received his master’s degree in poetry and creative nonfiction from Arizona State University.
For more information about the author, visit his website at https://matthewgfrank.com/.
Frank's appearance is the latest in the Voices in the Valley Reading Series presented by SVSU’s Department of English. The program invites award-winning writers to SVSU, where they provide public readings as well as visit English and creative writing classrooms at the campus.
Education expert to discuss student engagement methods during SVSU talk
An expert in education will discuss concepts aimed at engaging learners in new ways during her visit to Saginaw Valley State University later this month.
Elizabeth Wardle — director of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio — will explain the roles of liminal spaces and threshold concepts in education during her SVSU presentation Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m., in Gilbertson Hall, room GS 202. The event is free and open to the public.
Threshold concepts are critical topics to master in order for continued learning and participation to occur within a classroom. Wardle's presentation, titled "Engaging Learners in Liminal Spaces," will examine how these concepts work in liminal spaces, which are educational settings — including classrooms — designed to help students learn through collaborating with peers and teachers.
She will explain threshold concepts, discuss the nature of student learning blocks — as described through the threshold concepts framework — as well as explore the role of liminality in the learning process. She also will explain how to use these concepts to better engage students.
Wardle will focus on topics from her award-winning collection of insights, a book titled "Naming What We Know." Part of the book defines 37 threshold concepts, each of which are written by researchers and teachers who participated in a collaborative online discussion led by the book’s editors, including Wardle.
Wardle is a distinguished professor of written communication at Miami University. Her research focuses on first-year composition, knowledge transfer, threshold concepts and writing in the disciplines. She has also co-authored four editions of the textbook "Writing about Writing" with Doug Downs, a Montana State University educator.
Wardle's appearance is part of SVSU's annual Visiting Scholars and Artists speaker series. She will serve as an SVSU Dow Visiting Scholar.
SVSU panel to spotlight impact of female entrepreneurs in Great Lakes Bay Region, beyond
With women-led businesses on the rise, the need for role models, mentors and real-world training for female entrepreneurs is a demand that Rebecca Cox recognized clearly.
“Women interested in becoming an entrepreneur are five times more likely to start a business when they have a mentor,” said Cox, president and owner of the Midland-based Savant Group.
The need for more more female role models in business is a demand Cox plans to meet — along with three of her peers from the Great Lakes Bay Region — when they serve as panelists at Saginaw Valley State University's upcoming Women Entrepreneurship Week event.
“Life Lessons from Successful Women Entrepreneurs” is a panel discussion scheduled Monday, Oct. 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in SVSU's Curtiss Hall Banquet Room A. Hosted by the Dow Entrepreneurship Institute at SVSU, the event is free and open to the public.
Along with Cox, panelists include Mary Draves, chief sustainability officer and vice president of environment, health and safety for Dow; Kathie Fuce-Hobohm, founder and president of Midland-based SPACE, Inc.; and Wendy Traschen, owner of Bolger and Battle Marketing Communications as well as Whine, a Midland restaurant.
Cox said Monday's event will reinforce the importance of female-led businesses in advancing the region's economy.
“Continuing to highlight women business owners will break down gender stereotypes and biases, grow a greater support network and positively impact on our economy,” she said. “It’s not just good for women — it’s good for everyone.”
Draves, an SVSU alumna, said mid-Michigan remains a ripe environment for women ambitious to serve as leaders in business.
“The Great Lakes Bay Region is home to many examples of female entrepreneurs who are doing stellar work,” Draves said. “Their businesses are strong contributors to our region’s economic engine.”
Cox has participated as a board member for the Midland Chamber of Commerce, Midland Tomorrow, Midland Business Alliance, the Local Development Finance Authority Board of Midland, and the Small Business Association of Michigan. She is a Leadership Midland 2006 Class graduate, a member of the Midland 100 Club, and a founding member of the Women's Executive Round Table. Her business, The Savant Group, tests oils and lubrications for various industries. Cox received a bachelor's degree in business from Western Michigan University and a master's degree in business from Indiana University.
In her role at Dow, Draves leads corporate environment, health, and safety-related governance as well as the organization's 2025 Sustainability Goals. She joined Dow in 1989 and has served in several leadership roles since then. Draves has built a reputation for being an effective and collaborative leader who inspires commitment in her teams while also attaining results. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in technological processes from SVSU.
Fuce-Hobohm started SPACE, Inc. in 1995 and has over 30 years of experience in the office interior industry. As president, she oversees the sales and financial strategies along with the overall operations for the company. Fuce-Hobohm has received honors for her work including the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce's ATHENA award, Girl Scouts Women of Distinction recognition, the MidMichigan Innovation Center Innovation Award, Corp! Magazine’s Entrepreneur of Distinction recognition, and Leadership Midland’s Leader of the Year. She also was named a Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate.
For more than 20 years, Traschen has served as a fierce advocate for the power of strong branding and integrated marketing communications to move organizations to the next level of their industries. In addition to her well-earned agency credentials — including leading a diverse team of writers, designers and account executives in support of about 150 clients — she brings a strong business background in retail, hospitality, nonprofits and education.
For more information or to register to attend this event, visit www.svsu.edu/entrepreneurshipinstitute/.
At SVSU event, former MIT president to discuss ‘living machines,’ technology of the future
‘Living machines’ and their role in the future of humanity will be the focus of a guest speaker’s talk this week at Saginaw Valley State University.
Susan Hockfield, a neuroscientist and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president, will discuss “convergence” — a term referring to the merging of technologies — during her SVSU visit Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. The event is free and open to the public.
Her presentation will examine how convergence and “living machines” can combine technology and biology to solve problems plaguing the 21st century. Hockfield’s address, titled “Welcome to the Age of Living Machines," will feature material covered in her latest book, "The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution." Published in May, the book is available on Amazon and other online bookstores.
A “living machine” is biological matter — such as a cell — that scientists can repurpose to solve human problems. In the book, Hockfield wrote that “living machines” could shape the future of humanity in the same way inventions such as computers and nuclear power defined modern society.
Among the examples of potential "living machine"-related technological breakthroughs she discussed in the book: scientists using viruses to build batteries without toxic waste. Hockfield wrote that, as the world population increases, scientists will seek sustainable solutions to rising temperatures, rising sea levels, drought, famine and drug-resistant diseases.
Hockfield served as MIT’s first female president from 2004-12. She also served on the faculty at both Yale and Harvard universities.
Her appearance at SVSU is part of its annual Visiting Scholars and Artists speakers series and is the university’s 2019 James E. O’Neill Jr. Memorial Lecture.
More than 130 businesses, organizations to seek prospective employees at SVSU fair
Saginaw Valley State University will host its annual Fall University-wide Employment & Networking Fair later this week.
More than 130 employers are registered to attend the event Friday, Oct. 18, from noon to 3 p.m. on the second floor of SVSU's Curtiss Hall.
This employment fair — along with the other seven employment fairs hosted annually by SVSU's Career Services office — is free and open to the public.
Businesses and organizations such as Chemical Bank, Dow, MidMichigan Health, Nexteer Automotive, and the U.S. Army will be in attendance to offer co-ops, internships, seasonal, part-time and full-time employment opportunities.
Tom Barnikow, interim associate director of SVSU Career Services, said attendees hoping to make an impression on employers there should memorize a 30-second pitch tailored for specific organizations.
“Describe yourself in terms of your experiences, your stories, the anecdotes that you’ve been able to build on over the course of your time in the professional field,” Barnikow said. “Specifically, looking at experience that’s directly related to the company that you’re talking with.”
Dynamic Focus Photography will be at the fair, offering free services for photography that attendees can use for their LinkedIn social media profiles. The free service will be available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about the event, visit www.svsu.edu/careerservices/events/falluniversity-wideemploymentfair/.
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Alain Berset must now show stamina
22.01.2018 – Markus Brotschi
24 September could have provided an early overture to Federal Councillor Alain Berset’s presidential year. However, as the Swiss people rejected the far-reaching pension reform put to them that day, he now has to deal with the controversy over stabilising the old-age pension system during his year as President of the Swiss Confederation.
Until now Alain Berset had been achieving things more quickly than usual in Swiss politics. The French-speaking Swiss from Belfaux in the canton of Fribourg was elected to the Council of States at the age of 31 and to the Federal Council aged 39. After six years in office it is now his turn to take up the presidency and, at 45, he is still the youngest member of national government by some margin.
With Berset, a new generation of social democratic politicians entered national government in 2010. He represents left-wing politics without ideological undertones and is a great pragmatist and tactician. He cuts a finer figure in a suit and tie than some conservative members of government. Berset, who paid his way as a bar pianist during a gap year in Brazil after sitting his school-leaving exams, has brought dynamism to the Federal Council.
Quick-witted but not aloof
Berset was predestined for the official engagements that are part and parcel of his year as President. He always strikes the right tone, is charming and quick-witted but never aloof. He enjoys meeting the public, is an excellent communicator and is also popular with the younger generation. Pupils from a vocational school who were in the audience of Swiss television’s “Arena” show on pension reform swarmed around the federal councillor for a selfie after the broadcast.
The French-speaking native of Fribourg is equally comfortable on the international and domestic stage, whether it is the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Locarno Film Festival or, as in 2017, the Swiss yodelling festival. Visits to the WEF and the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea are scheduled for the presidential year. He will also receive the heads of government from the German-speaking countries for a joint meeting in Switzerland.
In Switzerland, the President remains head of his department first and foremost. Here Berset faces two issues which need to be dealt with urgently – health insurance and the old-age pension system. After his election six years ago, the crucially important Federal Department of Home Affairs was returned to SP hands after two Free Democrat federal councillors had spent nine years grappling with rising health insurance premiums and the fallout of demographic change. Berset has proven himself a resourceful head of department with great drive who wants to tackle reform head-on rather than procrastinating. His ambitious plan entailed the simultaneous reform of the first and second pillars and he almost succeeded in pulling it off. If he had he would have created history. However, he failed to break the 20-year deadlock over old-age pension after falling short by a few percentage points and being unable to secure the support of the majority of the cantons on 24 September 2017.
Facing the reality of Swiss politics on the ground
After the failed attempt at pension reform, Berset now faces the reality of Swiss politics on the ground where grand schemes rarely come off and success requires painstaking detail. The former top middle-distance runner, who specialised in the 800 metres, now has to show the stamina of a long-distance athlete to get the new proposal for urgently needed pension reform on track and to push it through Parliament and a referendum.
He may sometimes wish that he could have moved across to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs after Didier Burkhalter’s retirement. He certainly has the profile required as he once successfully completed the selection procedure for training in the diplomatic corps. But Berset’s party would never have forgiven him for handing over control of social policy to Ignazio Cassis, the new FDP federal councillor.
Right-wing MPs will have been delighted by Berset’s referendum defeat not just due to their views on the issue itself but also because Berset is one of the strongest figures on the Federal Council. When Cassis was asked about the social democrat two years ago, the former leader of the FDP parliamentary group replied: “He is a damned good federal councillor, which is unfortunate for conservative politicians.” The state plays a key role in Berset’s politics but he is certainly no “left-wing ideologist”.
Markus Brotschi is the federal political affairs editor for the “Tages-Anzeiger” and “Der Bund”.
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Artwork depicting a Kuiper Belt Object far beyond Neptune. Credit: ASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)
Neptune's back yard just got 316 new residents
Mar 17, 2020, 9:00 AM EDT (Updated)
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Tag: Trans Neptunian Objects
Tag: dark energy
Out past Neptune lies a vast region of space, far from the light of the Sun. But it's not empty; in it are billions of small bodies called Trans-Neptunian Objects (or TNOs). Made of rock and ice, the biggest known is Pluto, and there are perhaps 100,000 bigger than 100 kilometers in diameter. The problem is, they're so far away that they are incredibly faint. Excluding Pluto (which is an exception because it's unusually big, close, and reflective, making it brighter), the first one was found in 1992.
Several thousand are now known, but that's still a tiny fraction of what's out there. Finding as many as possible is important: As the four massive planets in the outer solar system moved around in the early days after formation, they left a gravitational imprint on the TNOs, so studying these small bodies tells us about what he planets did. Also, TNOs are relatively pristine remnants of the formation of the solar system itself, so learning more about them tells us what things were like back then, and also how they've changed in the ensuing 4.5 billion years.
So the more we find the better. Well, good news: Astronomers have just found 316 more! Twist: It was done with a project designed to look at how the Universe expands, and why the vast majority of it is dark and weird.
Artwork depicting the largest Trans-Neptunian Objects to scale, inclduing the Earth and Moon (bottom) for comparison. Credit: Wikipedia / Lexicon
The project is called the Dark Energy Survey. It's a huge 520-megapixel camera mounted on four-meter telescope in Chile, where skies are very dark. Over the course of six years (2013–2019) it scanned 5,000 square degrees of southern skies (for comparison, the entire sky is about 40,000 square degrees, so this is a huge chunk of it) over and again. It mapped the position, brightness, and colors of thousands of galaxies, looked for huge galaxy clusters, and examined the light from exploding stars. All of these are used to figure out what dark matter and dark energy are; between them they make up about 95% of the mass and energy of the Universe, but we know very little about them. This survey should help.
But, being a wide survey that can see very faint objects, it can also be used for other science, too. Like, say, looking for TNOs. The thing is it's not designed to do that, and that's a problem. Surveys meant to look for TNOs have a process to maximize the chance of finding them. For example, they tend to look at the same section of the sky every few hours, enough time for a potential object to move a little bit and get flagged.
The Dark Energy Survey does the opposite of that! It avoids looking at the same section of sky every night, so that any changes in atmospheric conditions (turbulent air, haze, whatever) are spread out over time, and easier to compensate for. But, while this makes it harder to use it to find TNOs, it's not impossible.
Video of Crash Course Astronomy Oort Cloud
The way they did this was clever. First, they used software to look for as many “point sources” as they could — these are small, unresolved dots in the sky. Stars, asteroids, distant small galaxies, TNOs, supernovae… these are all far enough away to look like dots in the camera. Looking at the first four years of observations — 60,000 separate exposures! — they found a staggering seven billion such "dots."
Most of these are objects that don't move over time, like stars and galaxies. Eliminating those left a mere 22 million objects. They labeled these transients, meaning things that moved over time. They then employed an algorithm that searched for observations in one part of the sky taken at a different times, looking to see if a transient in one image was near a transient in another image, under the assumption that it could be a single object that moved between exposures.
If they found an object that was seen in three different images, they could then determine a rough orbital path for it, and then look for it in more images. If it was found in more than 10 images they automatically flagged it as a Trans-Neptunian Object. Any in less than six was rejected.
If it was in 6 to 10 images, they couldn't be sure. Maybe it really was in more, but the Earth's atmosphere was bad those nights and smeared the object's image out, making it too faint to see.
So what they did was calculate where the object would be in all the images where it couldn't be seen directly, and shifted all the images to center the object in them. Adding the images together then boosts the object's signal, making it brighter. So if they saw something in the added images they called it a hit, and a miss otherwise.
Some individual images of a TNO (left) show it clearly (red lines) and some don’t (blue lines). All the images added together show it clearly (top right), and it even appears when individual images that don’t show it are added together (bottom right). This indicates the object is real. Credit: Bernardinelli et al.
In the end, they found a total of 316 TNOs. Of these, 139 were discovered for the first time (some had been discovered using other telescopes, and some had already been seen in Dark Energy Survey images before and previously announced). That's roughly 10% of all known TNOs!
The objects they found range in distance from the Sun of about 4.5 billion to over 13 billion kilometers (Neptune is about 4.5 billion km out, for comparison), but seven were extreme, lying more than 22 billion km out, and one was over 37 billion kilometers away!
The locations on the sky of all 316 TNOs found in the Dark Energy Survey color-coded by distance (1 AU = 150 million km, the Earth-Sun distance). The black outline is the boundary of the survey, and the line at 0° is the plane of the solar system. Most were found on or near that plane. Credit: Bernardinelli et al.
They also found several different classes of TNOs. Some (54 in total) are what are called detached objects, so far out they aren't hugely affected by Neptune and planets closer in to the Sun. 87 are resonant objects, which means the time they take to orbit the Sun is some simple ratio of Neptune's period, which means they can be strongly affected by it. Seven of the ones found are Neptune Trojans, meaning they share Neptune's orbit but stay 60° ahead or behind it as it moves around the Sun; of those four are new discoveries.
And they're not done. They only looked at four of the six years of the survey, and they expect to be able to find more TNOs once all the data are processed. They'll be able to do better rejecting stationary objects as well as find more transients, especially since the total survey will see to fainter object brightness.
Pretty cool. One of the beauties of surveys like this is that they look at a lot of the sky and look for very faint objects, so even though they may be designed to look for one kind of thing, or even many kinds of things, there are others that can be found as well. And, because these data are digital and stored, they can be mined for more objects later as people come up with new ways to look for them.
It may be dark and cold out past Neptune, but we're just starting to shine a light on what's out there.
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About the Clinch River Watershed
Biodiversity in the Clinch
The Clinch River originates in Tazewell County where the headwaters flow from freshwater cave springs traveling southwest through the counties of Russell, Wise and Scott before joining the Powell River and entering Tennessee. At this juncture, the Clinch-Powell flows into the Tennessee River just west of Knoxville, then continues westward to the Ohio River, onto the Mississippi River and finally emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Clinch River is part of the Southern Rivers in Virginia as opposed to the rivers in the northern, middle and eastern parts of the Commonwealth that flow to the Chesapeake Bay. The Clinch River and its tributaries measure a total of 1,773 miles, according to The Clinch River: A World Class Treasure.
Historical accounts describe the travels of early explorers who found their way to the Clinch River to utilize this water resource throughout their journey in the region. Legend tells how the Clinch River got its name when an Irish explorer tried to cross the river after heavy rains, but fell into the water and cried, “Clinch me,” which apparently meant, “Save me,” according to Indian Creek: A Local and National Treasure. One of the most notable explorers to float the Clinch, Daniel Boone at one time lived near Castlewood in Russell County.
Today, the Clinch River is labeled by The Nature Conservancy as a biodiversity hotspot because of the variety of rare and endangered species found in the water. According to The Nature Conservancy, the Clinch River is home to 29 types of rare freshwater mussels and 19 species of fish. A variety of animals live along the riverbanks, including birds and mammals as well as rare plants that grow there.
The Clinch River Valley Initiative
The Clinch River Valley Initiative (CRVI) is a collaborative effort in Southwest Virginia, focusing on the Clinch River Valley—one of the most biodiverse river systems in North America. Working at a watershed scale with many local partners, this grassroots effort has developed significant momentum with applicability for communities in Appalachia and beyond.
Utilizing a consensus-based approach, project partners have developed goals for connecting downtown revitalization, outdoor recreation, water quality, entrepreneurship, and environmental education along the Clinch River, and are taking action to realize the prioritized goals. The project connects to cultural and natural heritage efforts including Heartwood: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Gateway, ‘Round the Mountain, Crooked Road, and other artisan networks and local efforts. Finally, the effort builds upon the unique cultural and ecological assets of the Clinch River to create new possibilities in the communities along the Clinch, particularly around environmental education, economic development, and entrepreneurship.
Clinch River Valley Initiative Vision
“By 2020, the Clinch River Valley will be a global destination based on its unique biodiversity, natural beauty, cultural attractions, and outdoor opportunities. This collaboration will bring measurable economic, environmental, and social benefits to the region’s communities while protecting the Clinch’s globally rare species."
Teach the Clinch was supported and made possible by funding from the Virginia Environmental Endowment.
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Chimica Oggi-Chemistry Today
Minakem opens new high co...
Minakem opens new high containment facility for production of the highest class of HPAPI
Tags: MINAKEM
Minakem, the CDMO division of Minafin, specialized in custom development and manufacturing of building blocks, GMP intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs and HPAPI), announced that it is in the final qualification run to open a new closed-controlled environment high containment production facility in August. This high-class production facility is among only a dozen of its kind in the world; roughly half are located in Europe.
The new facility, based at the Louvain-la-Neuve plant in Belgium, extends Minakem’s capacity to develop and manufacture HPAPI compounds, such as Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC) toxins, from small-scale development to full GMP batch releases. Unlike others in this category, Minakem’s facility will be equipped with a preparative chromatography system that allows the isolation and purification of target molecules at varying scales, from milligrams to hundreds of grams, geared to addressing a range of client needs from routine activity to analytics.
Equally importantly, Minakem’s HPAPI production will be carried out with an Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) below 0,1μg/m3/8h. This emphasis on Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) reflects Minakem’s more than 20 years’ experience in continuously monitoring and controlling hazardous working environments, marking its leadership in this area.
“This new facility is a significant asset, strengthening Minakem’s position as a leader in developing and producing substantial quantities of highly potent compounds more robustly, safely and economically,” said Amadeo Ferreira, R&D manager at Minakem. “The Louvain-la-Neuve site has handled highly potent molecules for decades. Specialized training, adequacy of housekeeping measures and engineering controls are the pillars in the effectiveness of containment. This new investment allows an increased capacity to integrate new projects as well as handle the most highly potent molecules on the market. These measures are requested by our customers for use in Antibody Drug Conjugates at 10 ng/m3 levels. The entire team is proud to be part of the future generation of drugs aimed at treating cancers.”
The new facility has state-of-the-art equipment. It consists of nine fume hoods and a double-barrier of protection in the form of new generation glove boxes in room – dedicated to dry powder handling and weighing, air locks, HEPA air filters and cascading flow.
According to industry reports, the global HPAPIs market is expected to reach $26.84 billion (€22.8bn) by 2023 from $17.72 billion (€15bn) in 2018, at a CAGR 8.7%. Growth is driven in part by increased demand in oncology drugs, growing demand for antibody-drug conjugates and a growing focus on precision medicine. As a supplier to the HPAPI market, Minakem is anticipating the need for further expansion of its capacity in the next five years.
Minakem based the design of the laboratory on its own expertise and input from customers and equipment suppliers. It used a risk analysis approach to define a suitable way to work with these compounds while maintaining great flexibility. The company anticipates that the high-performance equipment, including preparative chromatography, will increase its customers’ market competitiveness. It will start operations in the new high containment facility in September.
www.minakem.com
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The State of Texas: March 1, 2016
Judgment Day for Republican hopefuls, an ”abortion travel agent,” and another Texas-EPA lawsuit.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-state-of-texas-march-1-2016/
Sure, this is establishment Democrat Joaquin Castro regurgitating something from the Democratic party on social media. And sure, politics means never backing yourself into a corner. But, like Donald Trump, can Governor Greg Abbott really not unequivocally repudiate even the most obviously racist group?
CNN: Greg Abbott "doesn't know" if Republicans should disavow KKK support – YouTube https://t.co/NaD7ZrcN3v
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) March 1, 2016
The Reckoning — It’s all happening, y’all! Will Donald Trump, the most symbolic representation ever of our clown car of a political system sweep the primaries, or will our own senator manage to pull away with a win on Super Tuesday? Just about every major Texas paper is running with the idea that Ted Cruz must win his home state, but the between-the-lines reading is that “must” = “might not.” As the Austin American-Statesman writes, Cruz has been “barnstorming” across the state with his all-star team of Texas heavyweights (the Houston Chronicle called them the “big guns”), i.e. Governor Greg Abbott and Rick Perry. Despite all of his politicking, the Statesman points to Cruz’s third-rate wins in the previous primaries and caucuses, and it appears that even Cruz isn’t exactly confident. “We are running neck and neck with Donald Trump in Super Tuesday states all across the country,” said Cruz. Or, as one Austin lobbyist (unnamed, of course) said, “He’s hanging on for dear life.” The number of voters who turn out for Super Tuesday has no easy answer either, particularly since the (again, completely unnecessary) voter ID law is in effect. Turns out, “a federal court in Texas found that 608,470 registered voters don’t have the voter IDs that the state now requires for voting,” according to the Washington Post. What’s three percent of citizens who want to exercise their right? But hey, if you can vote and actually want to participate in the circus, KXAN has a readers’ digest on how to do it.
Plan C — And just after Super Tuesday, there’s, um, Trouble Wednesday at the U.S. Supreme Court (the Ides of March really can’t come soon enough). “On Wednesday, a suddenly short-staffed Supreme Court will hear the most significant challenge in a generation to the ever-rising number of state abortion restrictions. Clinics in Texas, a dwindling breed under the 2013 law, are fighting requirements that doctors must have admitting privileges at local hospitals and clinics must meet the same operating standards as surgical centers,” writes USA Today in its easy-to-understand preview of the abortion debate that’s pretty much taken over Texas politics in the past couple of years. As if things weren’t tense enough with the debate over a women’s right to choose, and, like, have access to that choice, CNN just did a story could make anyone wince. “I’m an abortion travel agent’ and other tales from Texas’ new desert,” screams the headline. The stories of the women in need paint the realities that politicians hate dealing with, and as the piece notes, the direct truth from said agent, Natalie St. Clair, “is blunt, bold and a sign of the times.” The job was created, of course, after HB2 shut down access (or made the rules more strict for the “safety” of the women, if you wanna go that way) across the state. “Working out of an office in Austin, St. Clair often wires women gas money … books flights, taxis, bus tickets and hotel rooms. She regularly studies Greyhound routes and bookmarks airline schedules. Once she drove 3½ hours one-way to hand deliver last-minute financial help.” It’s a long and fascinating, albeit sad look, at the state of things in Texas just as SCOTUS-minus-one begins considering the case.
Immovable Object/Unstoppable Force — Texas has been fighting the federal government, specifically the EPA, for so long at this point that it really deserves its own collection of folk songs. Regardless, the unstoppable attorney general’s office once again runs up against the immoveable federal government. “Texas is suing the agency for rejecting parts of a seven-year-old state proposal to reduce haze in wilderness areas,” writes the Texas Tribune. “The EPA rejected portions of the plan in January, citing concerns that it did not adequately address requirements of the agency’s Regional Haze Rule, which regulates the air in natural areas in Texas and Oklahoma.” All the usual suspects are involved, including the Sierra Club, which, of course, objected to the lawsuit. At least it took Texas two whole months to file its first lawsuit against the EPA this year?
Welcome Back — The Austin-based State District Judge Julie Kocurek returned with some fanfare, “nearly four months after an assassination attempt in the driveway of her Tarrytown home that seriously wounded her,” writes the Statesman and KVUE. The shooting attack left her in the hospital for almost two months. “Kocurek’s return will be her first public appearance at the courthouse since the Nov. 6 attack … Kocurek had said within days of the shooting that she planned to return to the bench, and hers is the only name on the ballot for a new term in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. It is unclear whether Kocurek, who has declined interview requests, plans to comment publicly about the attack.” The attack is still under investigation, and the man suspected in the shooting—with ties to a Nigerian drug ring—has yet to be formally charged.
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Thailand to expand ties with South Korea
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today reiterated Thailand’s support for South Korean investment in the kingdom and continued collaboration with the Northeast Asian country as a strategic partner
Nadjib Mohamed
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today reiterated Thailand’s support for South Korean investment in the kingdom and continued collaboration with the Northeast Asian country as a strategic partner.
She paid a courtesy call on Park Geun-hye after South Korea’s first female president was sworn in. The two leaders discussed a variety of bilateral issues including cooperation in promoting the roles of women in the region.
Both leaders also agreed to study the possibility of the creation of an Economic Partnership Agreement aiming to increase trade and investment between the two countries by as much as Bt30 billion by 2016.
Korea and Thailand Plan Separate FTA
Korea and Thailand hope to conclude an extra free trade agreement on top of the deal Korea concluded with the ASEAN bloc in 2006.
The FTA would mean that Korea will likely import more Thai agricultural produce and Thailand more Korean-made cars and electronics.
In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Sunday, Thai Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said the two countries will start joint research this year about the benefits of a separate FTA. It will be possible for the two countries to cooperate more closely than Korea and the entire Southeast Asian trade bloc, he added.
He said Thailand has benefited less from the ASEAN-Korea FTA than its neighbors and wanted to sign a separate free trade pact from the beginning.
Boonsong was in Seoul to attend President Park Geun-hye’s inauguration on Monday.
The agreement is expected to cover the investment expansion by South Korean companies in Thailand in the automotive, metal, and energy industries, as well as in infrastructure projects in order to enhance Thailand to become the hub of regional connectivity and ASEAN.
Ms Yingluck also invited Ms Park to attend a high-level meeting on Asia-Pacific Water Resources, to be hosted by Thailand in May.
A South Korean firm, K-water, is one of the private companies selected in a preliminary framework for a sustainable water management system to solve Thailand’s chronic flood problems.
Foreign ownership of S. Korean stocks hits all-time high
Foreign ownership of South Korea’s listed stocks reached a record high level on the back of growing optimism for an economic recovery, the stock market operator said Tuesday.
Overseas investors held shares worth 420.4 trillion won (US$387.2 billion) in the country’s stock markets as of Wednesday, up 2.3 percent from 410 trillion won tallied in end-2012, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said.
Shares listed on the main bourse accounted for 97.6 percent of the combined foreign investment, while foreigners also held stocks worth 9.9 trillion won in the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, according to the KRX.
It marks the first time that the foreign ownership of local shares has exceeded the 420 trillion won mark.
Market watchers said the increase is attributable to the country’s strong economic fundamentals and improved profitability of local companies.
“While a foreign sell-off weighed on the stock market last month, overseas investors have scooped up South Korean shares since the second half of 2012,” said Lim Soo-kyun, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co.
Foreign investors’ net selling of local shares came to 1.8 trillion won in January on the main bourse, apparently due to the volatile foreign exchange market, which dented the local firms’ business performance.
However, overseas investors turned net buyers of South Korean shares by scooping up a net 1.4 trillion won through Friday this month, as they had a brighter outlook on South Korea’s economy.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art to reopen five days a week beginning in August
A bellwether for the New York's other museums, the 5th Avenue flagship location will operate at 25% capacity while the Met Cloisters will not open until September
15th July 2020 18:01 GMT
The Met's location on 5th Avenue will reopen 29 August. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced on Wednesday that it plans to reopen its 5th Avenue flagship location for five days a week starting 29 August. It will, however, only operate at a 25% capacity and require visitors to practice social distancing and wear face coverings, per guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the state government.
The museum, which received more than six million visitors in 2019, closed on 13 March due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the best known art institutions in the world, it had not been closed for more than three days in a row in over a century.
Max Hollein, the director of the museum, says that reopening “is an important signal for New York” and its reopening is expected to prompt several other area museums to follow suit. Hollein says that visitors, who have “reached out during the time of closure to express how much they miss being at the Met” will soon be able to “reconnect with their favourite artworks and spaces in their museum.”
It is contingent, however, on New York City entering Phase 4 of its gradual reopening, which is scheduled for next week, although Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a City Hall press briefing today that “Phase Four is being deliberated right now between the city and the state,” adding that a final decision was expected by Friday.
Nevertheless, Daniel Weiss, the president and chief executive of the Met, says in a statement that the “safety of our staff and visitors remains our greatest concern”, and that the Met is “eager and expects” that it will be possible to reopen next month.
As part of the process, the museum will implement series of guidelines, including conducting regular staff health checks and introducing an enhanced sanitation routine for “high touch” areas and objects. It will also aim to provide a contactless experience by offering digital rather than printed materials and guides.
The museum's guidelines also state that “an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 exists in any public space where people are present [and] we cannot guarantee that you will not be exposed to Covid-19 during your visit; those who visit the Met do so at their own risk of exposure.”
Three new exhibitions will be on view as the institution welcomes visitors back: Making the Met, 1870-2020, a show commemorating the museum’s 150th-anniversary; its annual roof garden commission by Héctor Zamora, called Lattice Detour; and the show Jacob Lawrence: the American Struggle, which presents the American artist’s little-known series Struggle, From the History of the American People (1954–56).
The Met Cloisters, the museum’s outpost for medieval art in Upper Manhattan, will not open until September and the museum’s other location, the Met Breuer, will not reopen at all given that plans to vacate the building were already underway before the pandemic.
The 5th Avenue location will be open Thursday through Monday. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday it will be open from 10am to 5pm. On Thursdays and Fridays it will be open from 12pm to 7pm. Preview days for members will be held on 27-28 August.
More NewsTopicscoronavirusMetropolitan Museum of Art
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Russ Rose
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Record-breaking. History-making. Legendary. All of these words can be used to describe the tenure of Penn State head coach Russ Rose's career in Happy Valley. It’s been nearly four decades since Russ Rose arrived on campus in Happy Valley. Entering his 39th season at the helm of the Penn State women’s volleyball ahead of the 2017 season, his name has become synonymous with the pride and tradition of the storied program. The leader of arguably the nation’s most elite women’s volleyball program, his record-setting seven NCCA national titles and 16 Big Ten championships speak directly to the confidence and character he’s passed along throughout his career.
Few have come close to matching Rose’s impressive win total, as he’s collected victories at a staggering pace. Never having posted less than 22 wins in a season, his 1,189 career wins heading into the 2016 season rank first all-time among NCAA DI head coaches.
As each year passes, his list of accomplishments continues to swell, but a quick snapshot of his legendary tenure might read something like this: The leader of a women’s volleyball powerhouse who has kept his program among the nation’s elite for nearly 40 years, amassing a stunning career record of 1,189-186. He has guided his teams to a record-setting seven NCAA national titles, including an unprecedented four consecutive championships from 2007-10. Along with 16 Big Ten titles, his program is one of only two women’s volleyball schools to compete in all 35 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championship events. He’s produced multiple Olympians, four AVCA National Players of the Year, 13 Big Ten conference Players of the Year and at least one AVCA All-American in 36 of 37 complete seasons. His student-athletes excel in the classroom as well, with an outstanding 174 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 12 Academic All-Americans, who have earned 17 selections.
Those who know Rose, know about the tremendous impact he has made in the volleyball community, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the country.
While he prefers not to focus on personal accolades, Rose’s list of accomplishments continues to grow as each year passes. In 2014 Rose guided Penn State to its seventh NCAA national championship in program history, the most of any women’s volleyball program in the country. The 2014 title marked the sixth national championship for Penn State in an eight-year span and the first back-to-back stretch of national crowns since 2009-10, when PSU rounded out its string of four straight from 2007-10.
Rose led Penn State to its first national championship in 1999, before returning to capture the title in four consecutive seasons from 2007-2010. Along the way, Rose picked up three AVCA National Coach of the Year honors and four Big Ten Coach of the Year awards, while also earning a spot in the AVCA Hall of Fame at the end of the 2007 season. Following the 2013 championship and the program’s 16th Big Ten title, Rose earned his fifth career AVCA National Coach of the Year Honor. From 2007-2010, Rose guided the Nittany Lions on their unprecedented and historic run of 109 victories, which included back-to-back 38-0 seasons in 2008 and 2009.
He has mentored 40 different Nittany Lions to a total of 89 All-America honors, including four who went on to win the AVCA National Player of the Year award. In 2014, senior Micha Hancock joined an elite group as the AVCA DI National Player of the Year. Additionally, five of the 40 honorees received All-American honors consecutively across all four years, including 2013 senior Deja McClendon, who is the most recent addition to the list.
Many of Rose’s athletes have excelled off the court, garnering 174 Academic All-Big Ten accolades as well 17 Academic All-America selections. Four of his 12 different Academic All-American Nittany Lions were also selected for the prestigious Academic All-America of the Year award.
Many of his former student-athletes are currently still in the game coaching or playing professionally. This long list includes 2012 Olympic silver medalists Christa Dietzen (Harmotto) and Megan Easy (Hodge). Alisha Glass and Nicole Fawcett also served as alternates on the 2012 U.S.A. women’s national team.
Throughout his career, Rose has been called on to share his expertise with coaches and players who represent the United States in International competition. He’s also an active clinician, traveling around both the United States and other parts of the world to share his vast knowledge of the game.
A 1975 graduate of the George Williams College, Rose was a member of the school’s 1974 NAIA national championship team and captain of the 1975 squad. Upon graduation, he remained at George Williams as a part-time coach, helping the women’s team to a pair of state titles and a sixth-place finish at the national level. In 1978, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, while also serving as a defensive coach for the women’s team. While writing his thesis on volleyball statistics, he led the second team to a two-year varsity mark of 52-5.
A 2013 Penn State Honorary Alumni honoree, Rose married Lori Barberich, a former three-time All-American at Penn State in 1986. The two are the parents of four sons, Jonathan, Michael, Christopher, and Nicholas.
Courtesy of gopsusports.com read more...
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Volleyball Setting Drills
Volleyball Skills
Blocking Technique
Hitting Technique
Individual Defense Technique
Passing Technique
Serving Technique
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Coaching secrets: Know your strengths
The art of setting up drills
Play until the last whistle
Coverage drill for the importance of covering the hitter
Defensive systems: Middle up
Individual defensive positioning
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Focused passing form and drills
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5 vs. 5 drill to work on defending a hole in the block
Russ’s rule: NO FREE BALLS
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Assets & Markets Commodities
History of the Gold Standard
Why the Dollar Was Backed by Gold
••• Tetra Images/ Getty Images
Toby Walters is a financial writer, investor, and lifelong learner. He has a passion for analyzing economic and financial data and sharing it with others.
Toby Walters
Gold has been used as the currency of choice throughout history. The earliest known use was in 600 B.C. in Lydia, which is in present-day Turkey.
Gold was part of a naturally occurring compound known as electrum, which the Lydians used to make coins. By 560 B.C., the Lydians had figured out how to separate the gold from the silver, and so created the first truly gold coin. The first king to use gold for coins was named Croesus, and his name lives on in the phrase "rich as Croesus."
In those days, the value of the coin was based solely on the value of the metal within, and the country with the most gold had the most wealth. As a result, Spain, Portugal, and England sent Columbus and other explorers to the New World. They needed more gold so they could be wealthier than each other.
Introduction of the Gold Standard
When gold was found at Sutter's Mill in 1848, it inspired the California Gold Rush the following year, which helped unify western America. At the time, it resulted in inflation because the United States was already on a de facto gold standard since 1834, so the flood of new gold led to rising prices.
In 1861, Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase printed the first U.S. paper currency. The Gold Standard Act of 1900 established gold as the only metal for redeeming paper currency. It set the value of gold at $20.67 an ounce.
European countries wanted to standardize transactions in the booming world trade market, so they adopted the gold standard by the 1870s. It guaranteed that the government would redeem any amount of paper money for its value in gold, and meant transactions no longer had to be done with heavy gold bullion or coins, since paper currency now had guaranteed valued tied to something real.
This huge change also increased the trust needed for successful global trade, and it came with its own risks: gold prices and currency values dropped every time miners found large new gold deposits.
In 1913, Congress created the Federal Reserve to stabilize gold and currency values in the United States. When World War I broke out, the United States and European countries suspended the gold standard so they could print enough money to pay for their military involvement.
The Great War proved to be the first nail in the coffin for the international gold standard.
After the war, countries realized they didn't need to tie their currency to gold, and that it may in fact be harming the world economy to do so. Countries quickly returned to a modified gold standard after the war, including the United States in 1919. But the gold exchange standard was causing deflation and unemployment to run rampant in the world economy, and so countries began leaving the gold standard en masse by the 1930s as the Great Depression reached its peak. The United States finally abandoned the gold standard entirely in 1933.
The Gold Standard and the Great Depression
Once the Great Depression hit with full force, countries had to abandon the gold standard. When the stock market crashed in 1929, investors began trading in currencies and commodities. As the price of gold rose, people exchanged their dollars for gold. It worsened when banks began failing, as people began hoarding gold because they didn't trust any financial institution.
The Federal Reserve kept raising interest rates in an attempt to make dollars more valuable and dissuade people from further depleting the U.S. gold reserves, but it made the cost of doing business more expensive. Many companies went bankrupt, creating record levels of unemployment.
On March 6, 1933, the newly-elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt closed the banks in response to a run on the gold reserves at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. By the time banks re-opened on March 13, they had turned in all their gold to the Federal Reserve. They could no longer redeem dollars for gold, and no one could export gold.
On April 20, FDR ordered Americans to turn in their gold in exchange for dollars to prohibit the hoarding of gold and the redemption of gold by other countries. This created the gold reserves at Fort Knox. The United States soon held the world's largest supply of gold.
On January 30, 1934, the Gold Reserve Act prohibited the private ownership of gold except under license. It allowed the government to pay its debts in dollars, not gold, and authorized FDR to increase the price of gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35 per ounce (which consequently devalued the dollar).
1944 Bretton Woods Agreement
The 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement set the exchange value for all currencies in terms of gold. It obligated member countries to convert foreign official holdings of their currencies into gold at these par values.
The United States held the majority of the world's gold. As a result, most countries simply pegged the value of their currency to the dollar instead of gold. Central banks maintained fixed exchange rates between their currencies and the dollar by buying their own country's currency in foreign exchange markets if their currency became too low relative to the dollar. If it became too high, they'd print more of their currency and sell it. It became more convenient for countries to trade when they peg to the dollar. As a result, most countries no longer needed to exchange their currency for gold, as the dollar had replaced it.
The value of the dollar subsequently increased, even though its worth in gold remained the same. This made the U.S. dollar the de facto world currency.
End of the Gold Standard
In 1960, the United States held $19.4 billion in gold reserves, including $1.6 billion in the International Monetary Fund. That was enough to cover the $18.7 billion in foreign dollars outstanding.
As the U.S. economy prospered, Americans bought more imported goods and paid in dollars. This large balance of payments deficit worried foreign governments that the United States would no longer back up the dollar in gold.
Also, the Soviet Union had become a large oil producer. It was accumulating U.S. dollars in its foreign reserves since oil is priced in dollars due to fears that the United States would seize its bank accounts as a tactic in the Cold War. The Soviet Union deposited its dollar reserves in European banks, and these became known as eurodollars.
By the 1970s, the United States stockpile of gold continued to decline as President Nixon's economic policies created stagflation. Double-digit inflation reduced the eurodollar's value, and more and more banks started redeeming their holdings for gold. The United States could no longer meet this growing obligation.
That's when Nixon changed the dollar/gold relationship to $38 per ounce. He no longer allowed the Fed to redeem dollars with gold, which made the gold standard meaningless. The U.S. government repriced gold to $42.22 per ounce in 1973 and then decoupled the value of the dollar from gold altogether in 1976. The price of gold quickly shot up to $124.84.
The Legacy of Gold
Once the gold standard was dropped, countries began printing more of their own currency, which resulted in inflation but also more economic growth. Although there are advocates for a return to the gold standard, it appears unlikely that those days will return. Economists regard the gold standard as necessary during its time, but no longer applicable in the modern world economy.
Gold continues to have appeal as an asset of real value. Whenever a recession or inflation looms, investors return to gold as a safe haven. It reached its record high of $1,895 an ounce on September 5, 2011.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gold
Fixed assets back the money's value
Provides a self-regulating and stabilizing effect on the economy
Discourages inflation
Discourages government budget deficits and debt
Rewards productive nations
A country's economy is dependent upon its supply of gold
Countries fixate on keeping their gold
Actions to protect gold reserves caused significant fluctuations in the economy
Advantages Explained
The benefit of a gold standard is that a fixed asset backs the money's value. Proponents of a gold standard say it provides a self-regulating and stabilizing effect on the economy. Under the gold standard, the government can only print as much money as its country has in gold. That discourages inflation, which happens when too much money chases too few goods. It also discourages government budget deficits and debt, which can't exceed the supply of gold.
A gold standard rewards the more productive nations. For example, they receive gold when they export. With more gold in their reserves, they can print more money. That boosts investment in their profitable export businesses.
The gold standard spurred exploration. It's why Spain and other European countries discovered the New World in the 1500s. They needed to get more gold to increase their prosperity. It also prompted the Gold Rush in California and Alaska during the 1800s.
Disadvantages Explained
One problem with a gold standard is that the size and health of a country's economy are dependent upon its supply of gold. The economy is not reliant on the resourcefulness of its people and businesses. Countries without any gold are at a competitive disadvantage.
The United States never had that problem. It was the world's second-largest gold mining country after Australia. Most gold mining in the United States occurs on federally owned lands in 12 western states. According to the National Mining Association, Nevada is the primary source. Many developing countries are also major gold producers.
The gold standard makes countries obsessed with keeping their gold. They ignore the more important task of improving the business climate. During the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. It wanted to make dollars more valuable and prevent people from demanding gold, but it should have been lowering rates to stimulate the economy.
Government actions to protect their gold reserves caused significant fluctuations in the economy. In fact, between 1890 and 1905, the U.S. economy suffered five major recessions for this reason. Edward M. Gramlich mentioned these facts in his remarks at the 24th Annual Conference of the Eastern Economic Association on February 27, 1998. Gramlich was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
Can America Return to a Gold Standard?
How would a return to the gold standard affect the U.S. economy? First, it would constrict the government's ability to manage the economy. The Fed would no longer be able to reduce the money supply by raising interest rates in times of inflation. Nor could it increase the money supply by lowering rates in times of recession. In fact, this is why many advocate a return to the gold standard. It would enforce fiscal discipline, balance the budget, and limit government intervention. The Cato Institute’s policy analysis, ”The Gold Standard: An Analysis of Some Recent Proposals,” presents an evaluation of methods for returning to the gold standard.
A fixed money supply, dependent on gold reserves, would limit economic growth. Many businesses would not get funded because of a lack of capital. Furthermore, the United States could not unilaterally convert to a gold standard if the rest of the world didn't. If it did, everyone in the world could demand that the United States redeem their dollars with gold. American reserves would be quickly depleted. Defense of the United States’ supply of gold helped cause the Great Depression. The Great Depression ended when Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the New Deal.
The U.S. no longer has enough gold at current rates to pay off its debt owed to foreign investors. Even when gold hit its peak price of $1,896 an ounce in September 2011, there wasn't enough gold for the United States to pay off its debt. At that time, China, Japan, and other countries owned $4.7 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt.
Today, the U.S. economy is an important partner in an integrated global economy. Central banks work together throughout the world to manage monetary policy. It's too late for the United States to adopt an isolationist economic stance.
Gold Standard and the Depression
Returning to a Gold Standard
Yale University. "The Origin of Lydian and Greek Coinage: Cost and Quantity," Page 5. Accessed April 24, 2020.
The Open University. "As Rich as Croesus." Accessed Accessed April 24, 2020.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "Crisis Chronicles–The California Gold Rush and the Gold Standard: More Monetary Shock Than Crisis." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Iowa State University. "Gold Standard Act, 1900." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Encyclopedia Britannica. "The Decline of Gold." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Congressional Research Service. "Brief History of the Gold Standard in the United States." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Federal Reserve History. "Roosevelt's Gold Program." Accessed April 24, 2020.
The Living New Deal. "Gold Reserve Act (1934)." Accessed Dec. 25, 2020.
National Mining Association. "The History of Gold." Accessed April 24, 2020.
International Monetary Fund. "Annual Report 1960," Page 147. Accessed April 24, 2020.
Kitco. "Historical Gold." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Iowa State University Department of Economics. "What Would Be the Costs and Benefits of Returning to the Gold Standard?" Accessed April 24, 2020.
ProCon.org. "Should the United States Return to a Gold Standard?" Accessed April 24, 2020.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. "Why the Fed Is a Well-Designed Central Bank." Accessed April 24, 2020.
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. "Migration North to Alaska, The Alaska Gold Rush." Accessed April 24, 2020.
California Department of Parks and Recreation. "Gold Rush Overview." Accessed April 24, 2020.
U.S. Government Accountability Office."Hardrock Mining: Information on State Royalties and Trends in Mineral Imports and Exports." Accessed April 24, 2020.
U.S. Department of the Interior. "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019," Page 71. Accessed April 24, 2020.
The Federal Reserve Board. "Remarks by Governor Edward M. Gramlich." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Cato Institute. "Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 16: The Gold Standard: An Analysis of Some Recent Proposals." Accessed April 24, 2020.
National Endowment for the Humanities. "A Great Depression and a New Deal." Accessed April 24, 2020.
MacroTrends. "Gold Prices - 100 Year Historical Chart." Accessed April 24, 2020.
U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities." Accessed April 24, 2020.
Here's Why Gold Will Drop Below $1,000 Again
The Impact of Gold on the Economy
Countries With the Largest Gold Reserves
How a 1944 Agreement Created a New World Order
The US Economy and How It Works
How Milton Friedman's Theory of Monetarism Works
Gold, "The Ultimate Bubble," Has Burst
Why Rising Prices Are Better Than Falling Prices. Yes, Really.
The Secret Symbols on the Back of the Dollar
What the Dollar Is Worth in 5 Other Currencies
Why the US Dollar Is the Global Currency
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Conservative Review May 01, 2020
Horowitz: Why is the Trump admin allowing judges to illegally release criminal aliens?
Attorney General Barr threatened to file lawsuits against governors overstepping their power to infringe upon civil liberties, yet the only lawsuits that are succeeding are the ones from illegal aliens. Suddenly, when it comes to those with no right to be in our communities, the courts are all-powerful and the executives are weak. In fact, the president really has the power to deport illegal aliens and prevent them from being released into our communities.
Late on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in Miami became the latest federal judge to illegally mandate that ICE release “vulnerable” populations in detention facilities. She charged that ICE acted with “deliberate indifference” and engaged in what amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” against illegal aliens by not releasing them during the coronavirus epidemic.
Therefore, Cooke ordered ICE to submit twice-weekly reports on the status of the detainees and who is being released. She also ordered that ICE shall immediately provide masks to all detainees and replace them once a week.
Well, I don’t have masks – maybe I can get a judge to order them for me too?
There’s one ingredient missing here, and it sheds light both on the morality of detaining illegal aliens during this epidemic and the legality of a judge ordering them released into our communities rather than released to their home countries. These people are in detention of their own volition. They broke into our country and can always voluntarily depart. The only reason they are being held is because they are the ones resisting repatriation and are trying to litigate their way into the country. That is their choice. If they want to do so during an epidemic they must wait in detention. If they are truly concerned about dying of the virus – enough to file a lawsuit – then they should ask for voluntary departure.
This is an illegal ruling. 8 U.S.C. §1226(e) states plainly that these decisions are not subject to judicial review: “The [AG’s] discretionary judgment regarding the application of this section shall not be subject to review. No court may set aside any action or decision by the [AG] under this section regarding the detention or release of any alien or the grant, revocation, or denial of bond or parole.”
Indeed, ICE lawyers as well as the magistrate judge originally hearing the case under Judge Marcia Cooke agreed there is no authority to adjudicate this case.
Now, an illegal ruling can potentially lead to the release of another 1,200 into our communities, but only if the administration lets it happen.
It’s truly disgusting how during a time of unprecedented executive power, when courts are so passive in the face of the onslaught against citizens’ rights, the federal government is so passive and submissive to an illegal court ruling purporting to govern people who have no right to be here.
If this is truly against statute, the executive branch has an obligation to uphold statute. Yes, all things equal, the law provides these illegal aliens with an immigration court process. But that requires detention, and if a judge is going to subvert detention, then Trump has every right to remove them from the country.
The Supreme Court has said for 130 years, in what is considered one of the most uninterrupted chains of case law, that illegal aliens who have not been affirmatively and consensually admitted to this country are as if they are standing physically outside our country. Clarence Thomas has suggested that perhaps the president has inherent authority to deport even a legal immigrant who is here under statute. But Trump certainly can apply that to an illegal alien who is considered as if he’s standing outside our country.
Already as far back as the 1950s, the Supreme Court had already said, “For over a half century this Court has held that the detention of an alien in custody pending determination of his admissibility does not legally constitute an entry though the alien is physically within the United States.” Leng May Ma v. Barber, 1958.
Even an alien under questionable status, and certainly someone who snuck into the country “was to be regarded as stopped at the boundary line and kept there unless and until her right to enter should be declared.” Kaplan v. Tod, 267 U.S. 228, 230 (1925). Even after she was no longer detained, “[s]he was still in theory of law at the boundary line and had gained no foothold in the United States.”
Once they are regarded as if they are outside the country, not only does the president have inherent constitutional authority (governing foreign affairs and foreign commerce) to repatriate them, but even delegated authority under his emergency health crisis powers.
In fact, what the courts are doing – mandating the release of illegal aliens rather than returning them – is not only harming our security and breaking our laws, but is going to spread the virus even more.
Here’s the reality: the ACLU is right – coronavirus spreads like wildfire in prisons and ICE facilities. But that ship has sailed a long time ago. The good news is it demonstrates that the fatality rate, especially for this predominantly young population, is remarkably low. Out of over 50,000 foreign nationals detained in ICE detention facilities, not a single one has died (although two guards have died). We don’t know how many have contracted COVID-19, but over 60% of the over 1,000 who were tested for it were confirmed positive. Which means it’s likely that thousands have been exposed. This is yet one more data point showing the virus has an even lower fatality rate than people think.
But on the other hand, by releasing them, you will be taking predominantly younger people who have already developed herd immunity in a confined setting and releasing them into a population that has not been exposed quite as much. Moreover, as I noted with regard to domestic criminals being released under COVID-19 jailbreak, they are being thrust suddenly into communities without much of a home and will get even less treatment than they would in the facilities. This is certainly true for illegal aliens who often have no connection to a community but receive better health care at ICE facilities than American inmates in prison. Why release them and not remove them?
What sense does that make? Who knows, but one thing is clear: Like every policy decision revolving around this virus, it is not determined by either science or law.
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Photos from inside Texas church are revealed as pastor holds first service since the massacre
Image source: TheBlaze
First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, opened its doors to the public Sunday for the first time since the deadly shooting last week, offering a look inside the four walls where gunman Devin Patrick Kelley took the lives of 26 churchgoers and injured many more.
What did the inside look like?
The church, which was turned into a memorial honoring the victims of the horrific shooting, was completely renovated.
Church pews had been removed entirely, and the interior had been painted white from top to bottom. The windows were also replaced.
Where each victim sat, a white folding chair was placed, along with a single rose in memory of the victim. The victims' names were painted on the chairs in gold lettering.
First glimpse inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, which reopened today as a memorial pic.twitter.com/V6o0iINrxX
— Melissa Jeltsen (@quasimado) November 12, 2017
NBC News reported that the renovation of the church took 72 hours of round-the-clock labor.
The Huffington Post reported that, at this time, it is unclear whether the memorial — which is currently open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. — will remain, or if the building will be razed.
Footage from inside the First Baptist Church, which has been transformed into a memorial for those murdered last Sunday. pic.twitter.com/rS1aqIvrKy
What was the church's first service like?
The Rev. Frank Pomeroy, pastor of First Baptist Church, held the church's first post-shooting Sunday service in a billowing white tent set up on a baseball field, several blocks from the site of the massacre.
Much of the devastated community attended the service.
The first several rows were reserved specifically for church members, and packets of tissues were left on the seats for attendees.
Pomeroy, fighting back the tears during the service, said, "I know every single name, every one who gave their life that day. They were my best friends, and my daughter. And I guarantee beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are dancing with Jesus.
"God gets the glory," he said.
Pomeroy told those gathered that 11 people had come to Christ in the days since the massacre.
"My heart breaks, but I’m excited to see what God is going to do," Pomeroy elaborated. "I know God has a plan."
According to the Huffington Post, 450 seats at the service were filled. Another 100 attendees stood.
CNN reported that Pomeroy added "victory has a price."
"You cannot be victorious in battle without being wounded in battle," he said.
The New York Times reported that the congregants sang "Amazing Grace" during the service.
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CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta (Kris Connor, Getty Images)
Sanjay Gupta: U.S. should legalize medical marijuana now
Published: Apr 16, 2015, 11:27 am • Updated: Apr 19, 2015, 4:36 pm
By Ricardo Baca, The Cannabist Staff
CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back at it. The cable network’s top doc will debut his third documentary on medical marijuana, “Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution,” on Sunday — a.k.a. 4/20 Eve (airs at 7 p.m. MDT, followed by docu-series “High Profits”).
And while Gupta has taken bold stances on the legitimacy of medical marijuana before, he’s about to go all in, according to an article posted today on CNN under the headline “Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It’s time for a medical marijuana revolution.”
CNN’s cannabis coverage
Also airing April 19: CNN’s “High Profits” tracks booming bud biz in Colorado ski towns
Watch The Cannabist Show. Follow The Cannabist on Twitter and Facebook
In the piece, Gupta struggles with his own professional journalistic distance and objectivity but ultimately comes out with his boldest declaration on medical pot yet.
Journalists shouldn’t take a position. It makes sense. Objectivity is king. But, at some point, open questions do get answered. At some point, contentious issues do get resolved. At some point, common sense prevails.
So, here it is: We should legalize medical marijuana. We should do it nationally. And, we should do it now.
For any legitimate mainstream doctor to make such a declaration is monumental. Remember: Marijuana has made huge gains. As Gupta notes in today’s story: “For the first time a majority, 53%, favor its legalization, with 77% supporting it for medical purposes.” But you still don’t see mainstream medical professionals recommending marijuana as medicine all that often. They still steer clear of the issue when speaking on the record. They talk, quite correctly, about our lack of research and understanding when it comes to this mysterious weed.
News updates on the Denver Cannabis Cup, info on happenings across Colorado, interviews with comic Doug Benson, rapper 2 Chainz and more
Yet here’s Gupta’s predicting a revolution — and demanding change, so more children and adults can have access to this alternative medicine he believes in so strongly.
I see a revolution that is burning white hot among young people, but also shows up among the parents and grandparents in my kids’ school. A police officer I met in Michigan is part of the revolution, as are the editors of the medical journal, Neurosurgery. I see it in the faces of good parents, uprooting their lives to get medicine for their children — and in the children themselves, such as Charlotte, who went from having 300 seizures a week to just one or two a month. We know it won’t consistently have such dramatic results (or any impact at all) in others, but what medicine does?
I see this medical marijuana revolution in surprising places.
Girl’s seizures spur medical marijuana legislation in Georgia
Among my colleagues, my patients and my friends. I have even seen the revolution in my own family. A few years ago, when I told my mother I was investigating the topic for a documentary, I was met with a long pause.
“Marijuana…?” She whispered in a half questioning, half disapproving tone. She could barely even say the word and her response filled me with self-doubt. Even as a grown man, mom can still make my cheeks turn red and shatter my confidence with a single word. But just last week she suddenly stopped mid-conversation and said, “I am proud of you on the whole marijuana thing.” I waited for the other shoe to drop, but it didn’t. Instead, she added, “You probably helped a lot of people who were suffering.”
I don’t think we had ever had a conversation like that one. At that moment, I saw a revolution that can bring you to tears.
Topics: cnn, medical marijuana, Sanjay Gupta
Ricardo Baca
Ricardo Baca is a contributing editor for The Cannabist. He was appointed The Denver Post's first marijuana editor in November 2013 and spearheaded the formation of The Cannabist, a division of the Post. Fortune magazine ranked Baca as one of the...
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Richmond National Cemetery
Richmond National Cemetery was established barely a year after the end of the Civil War, and it lies within what once were the fortification lines built by the Confederate Army. As wartime had flooded Richmond’s earlier cemeteries with corpses, the first burials on this site were re-internments from Oakwood Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery. Richmond National Cemetery is a reminder of the brutalities that war inflicted on the city and its inhabitants.
One of the more peculiar headstones. A tree grew around this headstone.
Superintendent's Lodge at the cemetery
Late 1800s-early 1900s image of the cemetery
Most of those who were first buried in this graveyard hadn’t perished in combat, they were actually prisoners of war. In particular, they were Union soldiers who had passed away as a direct result of injuries suffered in battle. Many such soldiers spent time trying to recover in Richmond’s wartime hospitals.
Even after the end of the war, the amount of casualties was higher than expected, so the need for more burial space soon arose. Even though the cemetery was officially established by the United States Congressional legislation in 1866, the land it lies on wasn’t purchased until 1867.
Soon after the re-internments from Oakwood Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery took place, those buried in the Belle Island Prison Camp cemetery were re-interred here. Later on, as local cemeteries such as Seven Pines National Cemetery and Cold Harbor National Cemetery were reaching their maximum capacities, many soldiers’ bodies were redirected instead of to the location originally intended for them. The high volume of bodies made apparent the need for more space, and only two years after Richmond National Cemetery was established, more land was purchased to expand the site. A second expansion would take place on 1906, which enlarged the cemetery to its current 9.7 acres.
Although many a veteran is buried here, Richmond National Cemetery no longer accepts new interments. In 1995, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Overflowing with corpses from numerous wars, Richmond National Cemetery is even nowadays a reminder of the terrible consequences of war.
National Park Service. "Richmond National Cemetery, Richmond Virginia," accessed June 4, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/Virginia/Richmond_National_Cemetery.html
More information from the National Cemetery Administration
Richmond National Cemetery FB page
1701 Williamsburg Road
Created by Marina Coma on May 18th 2016, 3:25:02 pm.
The American Civil War in Richmond, Virginia
For most of the Civil War, Richmond, Virginia served as the capitol of the Confederate States of America. Union forces made numerous attempts to retake this site of great strategic—and symbolic—importance, inspired by the battle cry: "On to Richmond!" Its proximity to the fighting made Richmond a center for hospitals and military prisons. On April 3, 1865, Richmond fell to the Union army; General Robert E. Lee surrendered soon after, ending the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. This tour explores Richmond's central role during the most formative conflict in United States history—and remembers those who fought in it.
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Dale Farm: why the media had to spike the police's scattergun
John Hardie
It's vital for independent journalism that broadcasters don't have to hand over footage, writes ITN chief executive John Hardie
Dale Farm: vital for the media to draw a line in the sand. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
Today we witnessed a landmark ruling on the distance that must be maintained between the state and the media. A high court judgment quashed a wide-ranging production order that sought to force ITN, the BBC, Sky, Hardcash Productions and freelance photographer Jason Parkinson to hand more than 100 hours of unbroadcast footage of the Dale Farm evictions to Essex police. If we had lost this case then the bar would be so seriously lowered for any such future requests that TV cameras could effectively be seen as police surveillance equipment.
The ruling not only found deficiencies in the original decision but underscores the fundamental principle of press independence if we are to report safely and without fear or favour. We are not agents of the state. And we felt it was important to fight this case to draw a line in the sand that clearly separates – in the eyes of the law as well as in democratic principle – the roles of the police and newsgatherers. We had vehemently contested the Dale Farm production order on the grounds that its speculative nature meant that there was no evidence that our footage would be of substantial benefit to the police's investigation and that the request contravened the right to freedom of expression as described in article 10 of the European convention on human rights.
After the disappointment of losing the case at Chelmsford crown court, we took our appeal to the high court by way of judicial review to argue that the orders to hand over footage should not have been made. This result helps ensure that journalists and cameramen are not seen as an extension of law enforcement and protects the safety of our staff. In the words of Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Eady, who handed down today's high court ruling, "it is the neutrality of the press which affords them protection and augments their ability freely to obtain and disseminate visual recording of events".
The court application by police was a fishing trip to identify suspects in unbroadcast footage from the Dale Farm evictions. It was just the latest in a worrying trend to force disclosure of footage. This trend may be linked to the increase in public disorders and demonstrations in recent times. If so, then it is even more important to report such events fearlessly and impartially, lest we risk jeopardising the public's faith in independent journalism.
The Dale Farm order was a nadir because there was simply no evidence that we had any footage of specific value to Essex police. As today's ruling stated: "The speculative nature of this exercise is perhaps underlined by the scattergun approach towards identifying the material sought." Well, now it is time to put the scattergun down.
Yes, we will of course continue to listen to police requests that relate to specific acts of serious criminality – it would be irresponsible for us not to do so. Media organisations should not consider themselves to be arbiters of the law. But in our democracy the neutrality and objectivity of independent newsgatherers must be respected. There would have been outrage if we had been ordered to hand over footage of our reporting in Bahrain or Syria to authorities in those countries. We should not be expected to compromise our own position on these shores either.
There is no doubt that today's judgment has set an important precedent for any future police applications to commandeer footage. What I hope to see come from this ruling is for the police and courts to now take an intense focus on evidence before applying and granting any orders. It is one thing for the police to believe that a few seconds of our footage may assist an investigation into a specific incident of serious criminality. It is completely different for them to deploy their scattergun and hope for the best.
• John Hardie is chief executive of ITN
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Show us what you’ve done with GH¢154 billion debt – Mahama to Akufo-Addo
Former President John Dramani Mahama
Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has accused President Nana Akufo-Addo of crippling Ghana with huge debts and has nothing to show for the "reckless borrowing."
Addressing residents of Bimbilla, Mr. Mahama said Akufo-Addo "has nothing to show" after superintending over the borrowing of more money in four years than the country had borrowed since independence.
He said while the country had accumulated a total debt stock of GH¢122 billion between 1957 and 2016 when he left office, President Akufo-Addo had added about GH¢154 billion to the public debt in just four years.
"We left a debt of GH¢122 billion," Mahama said. "Between 2017 and 2020, this government, Nana Akufo-Addo, and his Finance Minister have added to the debt, GH¢157 billion. The question is, 'what do you have to show for it?'"
He said beyond the debt accumulations being high, the President and his NPP government had imposed hardship on the Ghanaian people due to their bad policies.
He challenged the Akufo-Addo government to show proof to Ghanaians of how it utilised the borrowed funds, stating that unlike his tenure which was replete with visible and verifiable infrastructure projects, President Akufo-Addo has resorted to "throwing figures around" on what he had done and deceiving Ghanaians.
Source: myxyzonline.com
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| ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.theheraldreview.com/business/article/Samsung-promises-new-phones-will-deliver-more-for-15870023.php\nMichael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer\nBut this time Samsung has made some pricing adjustments that reflect the hard times.\nAll three phones will be less expensive than last year’s comparable models, with the reductions ranging from 7% to 20%. Part of the price drops stems from the falling cost for making devices compatible with faster 5G wireless networks, but Samsung also is trying to make its devices more affordable to consumers struggling to make ends meet, said Drew Blackard, the South Korean company’s vice president of product management.\n“We are always looking at what is happening in the market and try to be responsive of that,” Blackard said.\nApple also has been offering cheaper versions of the iPhones in recent years, a trend that was amplified last year with the April release of a model selling for $400 and another scaled-down device released last fall that sells for $700 compared to $1,100 for its latest top-of-the-line model\nSamsung quickly learned about how the pandemic might reshape the smartphone market when last year’s Galaxy S20 models hit the stores in the U.S. last March just as lockdowns were shutting down wide swaths of the economy and unemployment rates were soaring to their highest levels since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.\nThe downturn curtailed demand for the Galaxy S20 lineup, contributing to a 29% drop from the previous year in Samsung’s smartphone shipments for the April-June period, according to the research firm International Data Corp. The plunge temporarily knocked Samsung from its perch as the world’s leading seller of smartphones, but the company reclaimed the mantle from China’s Huawei after its shipments rebounded during the July-September period.\nBut the slump prompted Samsung to release a lower cost phone, called the Galaxy S20 FE, in October that wasn’t in the company’s original plans last year, Blackard said. That model sold for $700, down from the $1,000 price that Samsung had set for its lower-priced standard Galaxy S20.\nIn this year’s lineup, the standard Galaxy S21 phone will start at $800, a 20% markdown from last year’s comparable model. The latest Galaxy fine will feature a new design for the camera modules, with more photography options, increased privacy controls and a battery that Samsung promises will last at least a day before it needs to be recharged.\nThe two other phones have slightly bigger screens in addition to a few other bells and whistles not offered on the basic model. The Galaxy S21 Plus will sell for $1,000, a 17% reduction from last year’s comparable model while the Galaxy S21 Ultra will sell for $1,300, down by $100 from last year’s comparable model.\nAnd the Ultra model will become the first Galaxy S phone capable of working with a Samsung pen that will be sold separately to allow users to digitally draw on the display the screen. Previously, Samsung has only designed the pen for its Galaxy Note models that are aimed for buyers who use those devices primarily for getting work done rather than for entertainment and leisure. The standard S Pen costs $40.\nSamsung also announced it is teaming up with Audi, BMW, Ford and Genesis to enable the Galaxy S 21 phones to be used as digital keys that can unlock vehicles made by those automakers. That is something Apple already started to do last with on a more limited basis with BMW. Samsung didn't specify when the the digital car key feature on its new phones will be enabled.\nAll three phones will be available in stores Jan. 29, although they can be preordered beginning Thursday."
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The Day a Town Slept
James Best as Bob Barrett
James Best, born Jules Guy, is an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, acting coach and musician. He has appeared in more than 180 television shows and movies in a career spanning 60 years. Following his service in the Army, Best performed in small plays and musicals until he was signed to a contract with Universal Pictures. He guest-starred in numerous westerns, including "Wagon Train" (1957–1965), "The Guns of Will Sonnett" (1967–1969), "Bonanza" (1959–1973) and "Gunsmoke" (1955–1975). He also guest-starred in many other popular series of the 1960s, including "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960–1968), "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955–1962) and "Twilight Zone" (1959–1964). He is probably best-known for his recurring role as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane in "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979–1985). Best made one appearance in THE RIFLEMAN, portraying Bob Barrett in "The Day a Town Slept" (episode 139).
Lawrence Dobkin as Ben Judson
Lawrence Dobkin was an American television director, actor and television screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. His voice was use to narrate the classic western "Broken Arrow" and "The Robe." Dobkin made four guest appearances in THE RIFLEMAN, portraying different characters in each episode. He played Juan Argentez in "The Gaucho" (episode 14), General Phil Sheridan in The Sheridan Story" (episode 16), Don Chimera de Laredo in "The Knight Errant" (episode 117), and Ben Judson in "The Day a Town Slept" (episode 139). Dobkin worked behind the camera on THE RIFLEMAN, with writing credits for "The Actress" (episode 94) and "The Executioner" (episode 142). He also directed several episodes, including "Tinhorn" (episode 134), "The Jealous Man" (episode 136), "Day of Reckoning" (episode 138), and "The Executioner" (episode 142). Dobkin later directed several episodes of the Chuck Connors television series "Branded" (1965-1966). Dobkin's film performances include "Never Fear," "Sweet Smell of Success," and "North by Northwest," He announced the landmark television series "Naked City," closing each episode with the statement, "There are eight million stories in the naked city, and this has been one of them."
Lucas and Mark return from an extended trip to find that their old friend Micah Torrance has been voted out of his position as Marshal of North Fork, and a stranger now has the job. The new Marshal's friendship with a known outlaw makes Lucas suspicious, but before he can investigate, the thief challenges Micah to a gunfight, which Micah accepts.
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The 25-year-old son of King County Councilor Larry Gossett has sued the city and two Seattle Police officers, saying he was roughed up when he was mistaken for a car prowler.
Langston Gossett filed the lawsuit against Officers Felton J. Miles and John P. Knight in King County Superior Court last month, and the defendants had the case transferred to federal court on Friday.
The complaint alleged that Langston Gossett was standing on his parents' porch and talking on his cell phone last June 14 when a police car stopped in front of the home and Knight beckoned him. The officer pulled out his night stick, made Gossett spread his hands on the car, and grabbed his crotch roughly during the pat-down, forcing him to cry out in pain, the complaint said.
Gossett repeatedly asked what he was suspected of, but the officer refused to answer. Miles then showed up, and as Knight searched around the property, Miles bent back Gossett's left hand, causing intense pain, and forced him into the back of a cruiser, the complaint said.
The officers let him go a few minutes later, when the victim arrived and informed them that Gossett wasn't the suspect, but the son of a King County Councilor.
Anne Bremner, the officers' lawyer, said they were investigating a nearby car break-in and that Gossett matched the description of the suspect: a Black man with bushy hair and a cell phone. A witness had said the suspect appeared to change clothes, and the officers detained Gossett while they searched for the extra clothing, she said.
"He engaged in some mild resistance and they bent his hand back for compliance," Bremner said. "These officers were doing their job, investigating a crime, and they acted appropriately at all times. These types of incidents happen every day in our city."
Both officers are Black and veterans of the department, she said. They were cleared by an internal affairs investigation.
Larry Gossett, who wasn't home at the time of the incident, said he supports his son's lawsuit. Police are often too quick to rough up young Black men in low-income neighborhoods, he said.
"He's a grown man. He felt very aggrieved and treated unfairly by the Seattle Police," Gossett said. "I talked to my neighbors about what happened. They all agreed he was abused and not handled very professionally."
The suit seeks unspecified damages.
about-lawsuit
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IRS corrects error in Schedule D tax calculation worksheet
By Sally P. Schreiber, J.D.
On May 15, the IRS notified tax software companies that it had discovered an error in the instructions for the Tax Worksheet for the 2018 Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses. The IRS explained that the tax calculation did not reflect the new regular tax rates and brackets for certain Schedule D filers who had 28% rate gain (which is taxed at a maximum rate of 28%) reported on line 18 of Schedule D or unrecaptured Sec. 1250 gain (which is taxed at a maximum rate of 25%) reported on line 19 of Schedule D, as a result of changes in the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97.
The IRS posted the corrected worksheet at the end of the instructions, which were updated Thursday. The Service advised anyone who downloaded those instructions before May 16, 2019, to download them again. It noted that all returns filed after May 15 should reflect the new calculation and that it will update any returns filed after May 15 to reflect the correct tax using the new calculation. Therefore, taxpayers who filed using the incorrect worksheet do not have to file an amended return or call the IRS. The Service noted that it is reviewing returns submitted before May 16 and will provide more information about this later.
The IRS maintained that because it had already provided the corrected worksheet to its tax software partners, anyone filing a 2018 return, including those with extensions, after May 15, 2019, should not be affected by the error. Taxpayers reporting these types of capital gain transactions usually obtain filing extensions from the IRS. For that reason, the IRS believes that most affected taxpayers have not filed yet. The corrected worksheet results in a lower regular tax for most taxpayers and a higher regular tax for a small number of taxpayers.
Most taxpayers who file Schedule D do not have amounts on line 18, which contains capital gain taxed at the 28% rate, or line 19, where unrecaptured Sec. 1250 gain is reported. Those taxpayers would check “Yes” on line 20, which directs them to complete the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, and would not use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet to figure their regular tax.
The IRS corrected the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) by renumbering line 18 as line 18a, adding new lines 18b and 18c, and updating the text on line 19 to reflect those changes.
— Sally P. Schreiber, J.D., (Sally.Schreiber@aicpa-cima.com) is a Tax Adviser senior editor.
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KATHMANDU, NEPAL, Oct. 24, 2011 — Today we visited temples, World Heritage sites and stupas around Kathmandu. At Pashupatinath Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu, our guide Sohan explained aspects of Hinduism to us. I wish I had a tape recorder-Sohan is very knowledgeable about Hinduism, Buddhism and Nepalese history. We really enjoyed the time we spent with him.
Family ritual
We saw several families on the bank of the Ganges eating sacred meals in honor of their deceased family member. According to their practices, the oldest child in the family lights the fire to cremate the body. Then the ashes are poured into the river completing the cycle of life. According to their beliefs, our bodies are made of the elements: air, earth, water, fire and metal. These elements are represented in the colors of the prayer flags seen all over Nepal.
After visiting the temple we piled back into the van and to Durbar Square. Another World Heritage Site. We walked thru Thamel, exploring hidden corners of fabled Kathmandu.The ancient past lingers on in a maze of narrow streets crowded with turmeric sellers, small golden temples, wandering cows and traditional workshops. The streets are tiny, busy and crowded! Our senses were bombarded.
What a relief to walk into the Garden of Dreams for a late lunch. The garden is a neo- classical garden renowned as the garden of Six Seasons which was created by late field Marshal Kaiser Shumshe Rana. Built in the 1920s. It was considered one of the most sophisticated private gardens of that time. The renovation project was handed over to the Austrian Government and implemented by Eco-Himel. This model project has become a sustainable historic side which was lying dormant. It is an example of how historic places could be similarly restored and developed.
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Chip and Joanna Gaines get sweet surprise send-off as 'Fixer Upper' comes to a close
Nov. 5, 2017, 1:37 AM UTC / Source: TODAY
When is a day at the office not just another day at the office?
When the office is Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Market and the day includes filming the last episode of the last season of the HGTV hit "Fixer Upper."
We know, we know — we're emotional, too. But we're trying to hold it together. After all, we only want the best for our favorite home-renovating couple.
But the Gaines sure aren't making it easy for us to keep the tears from flowing, especially in this clip of the sweet surprise send-off they got from their staff.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbAwQwUH262
"We made it to the finish line!" Joanna captioned an Instagram video of her and Chip driving through a row of balloons, confetti cannons and beaming faces. "We love these people."
As always, the two make the perfect team: Joanna drives while Chip captures the whole thing on film. (How he knew to whip out his camera at this exact moment, we'll never know.)
Earlier, Joanna shared a sneak peek of the final "Fixer Upper" home reveal on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbAnyVgnhrr
"We definitely felt the emotion behind each of those steps leading up to the big canvas," she captioned the photo. "We love you Fixer Upper. Season premiers on November 21."
The pair opened up on TODAY last month about the difficult decision to end the show. "I realized the show was demanding time from me, and I needed to be giving it to our businesses, to our relationship and my family,” Chip, 42, explained of the grueling schedule that required them to film 11 months out of the year.
Chip and Joanna Gaines discuss what's to come after 'Fixer Upper' ends
He continued, "Anybody gets exhausted, and you say or do things you don’t mean ... Jo and I don’t want to find ourselves years from now realizing there were warning signs letting us know we were exhausted. We would rather stop here, where we still feel we’re in a really good place."
A good place that we've been privileged to witness — and we look forward to continuing to do so when the new season premieres on November 21.
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“He is a man, and he cooks. Isn’t he ashamed?”
I knew that raising my daughter abroad would open her eyes to different perspectives. But I thought my own influence on my daughter would be stronger.
By Eva Wieners August 14, 2017
Photo: Eva Wieners
I didn’t make the decision to raise my daughter in Nepal lightly. But the opportunities it presented far outweighed any challenges I could think of: I could do research for my PhD and spend more time with my daughter, Miriam, and she could have a happier childhood, growing up in a country that loves children and gives them room to actually be children. All that proved to be true: Nepal is a very special place.
But as parents, we don’t—or can’t—always see all the potential consequences of our actions. When our kids are young, we think we know everything about their world, and it’s all too easy to forget that they see things differently than we do.
For me, the true impact of that big decision only hit me when we were back home, visiting family in Germany three years after we moved. My father had invited us over for dinner. We got there a bit early, so when we arrived, my dad was still busy preparing potato pancakes in the kitchen. It was a nice, uneventful visit. But on the drive back to where we were staying that night, my six-year-old daughter couldn’t stop giggling. When I asked her what was up, she said, “He cooked. He is a man, and he cooked. That is so funny. Isn’t he ashamed?”
I probed further and, to my horror, discovered that Miriam also thought women couldn’t drive motorbikes, girls had to get married as soon as possible, and men should not have to clean anything. Still in shock, I asked, “Why would you think something like that? Who told you that?” Her answer was simple. “No one told me that,” she replied. “That is just how things are in Nepal!” Only then did I realize that growing up in a different culture was affecting her on so many more levels than I had imagined.
Naively, I thought my own influence on my daughter’s perceptions would be stronger. I completely underestimated the effects of the broader culture and overestimated her capacity to extrapolate from our personal life. After all, she sees me work and her father cook—in our family, gender roles aren’t as rigid. I immediately started giving her a crash course in feminism. And in the two years since that incident at my father’s house, we have talked over gender roles a million times, and I’ve gotten much better at pointing out all the instances where Western culture differs from that of Nepal. Whenever we have the choice between a male and female taxi drivers, I choose the female one. I point out other families where the husband cooks and cleans while the wife works at an office. I try to squeeze in teachable moments whenever I can.
On some level, I think it’s good for her to see such stark differences up close. I grew up with rights and freedoms that our mothers and grandmothers had to viciously fight for and, like many women in my generation, I sometimes take them for granted. I hope that seeing the struggles other women face might make her more appreciative of what women in Germany have already achieved. And it seems to be working: My daughter has become very vocal about gender roles, often pointing out to strangers that I’m not cooking because I have to but because I want to, that my partner does the dishes in our house, that a woman can be the breadwinner in the family, and that she can become whatever she wants in the future. At the same time, she is very aware that this is a privilege that is still being fought for by women in Nepal. Her girlfriends in Nepal have to help cook and clean while the boys can roam freely.
The struggle for me now is in trying to make her realize that there are cultural differences that need to be accepted and others that need to be challenged. I don’t mind if she decides to eat her food in Germany with her hands, but I do mind if she tells me that my skirt is too short. At the same time, I want her to know that it’s also totally fine to wear a long skirt, or trousers, or whatever a person chooses. Talking about it and putting everything she experiences daily in perspective is key to making sure that she takes away a positive message. And it’s a very important experience for me as well because having to reflect about these things makes me see my own privileges and perspectives much more clearly.
Growing up abroad is also teaching Miriam so many things on so many different levels. She is already fluent in German, Nepali and English and currently learning Spanish. She has become incredibly adaptable in the weirdest of circumstances. For her, it’s completely normal to be sitting on the floor of a mud hut in Nepal eating rice with her hands one day and then going to the theatre to see a play in her fancy clothes with her grandmother in Germany the next.
What I love most, though, is the way that she is learning to accept different cultures and religions by experiencing them first-hand. For her, no behaviour or custom is weird—it’s just something new to experience. She is fascinated by the image of Jesus Christ nailed to the cross when we visit Christian churches, prays her mantras at Buddhist stupas, knows her ways around Hindu temples and goes to an Islamic mosque with her friend. Nothing is exclusive for her; everything just adds up to the big picture.
This acceptance of differences is something that I had to learn the hard way. Even after more than a decade of travelling and living in different cultures, I still catch myself thinking, How strange that they do this? How weird is this food? How annoying is that music? Intercultural competence is something I had to learn, but she just lives it.
On our last visit to my father’s house, we had a very different experience. Instead of making fun of him for cooking, my daughter decided that she wanted to learn from him. “Grandpa, your potato pancakes are so delicious! Can you teach me how to make them?”
This is Canada: What parenting looks like from coast to coast
Why travelling with your kids is worth it
FILED UNDER: Family travel Kids Multiculturalism travelling travelling with kids
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Written by Hiroshi Takasa | Published in ART & CULTURE
Interview with Philosopher Dr. Hiroshi Tasaka
TJ: How do you define Buddhism?
TASAKA: Buddhism is a kind of “cosmology” that can accept various value systems - not only religions but philosophies that exist around the world. Zen Buddhism, especially, is a “philosophy of contradiction” that can accept all the contradictions in our life, because contradiction is an essence of life. An important thing in Buddhism is the ability to keep the contradictions in mind, to keep gazing at them and think about the meaning of the contradictions.
TJ: In Europe, many philosophers think Buddhism is not a religion but more of a way to understand life or a style of life because it is not theist. What do you think?
TASAKA: It depends on the definition of religion. If we define a religion as a value system centering around one god, then Buddhism is not a religion. Buddhism sees numerous gods, Buddhahood, everywhere – in mountains, rivers, grass, trees, land and even in the wind. However, we need to understand that religion itself is in the process of transformation and evolution in today’s age. An important question is, “What religious systems will replace the old religious systems in the 21st century?” Even a traditional religious system should transform itself to adapt to the changes in people’s minds in modern society.
TJ: We are very interested in knowing how Buddhism views life and death. Could you explain what life and death means to you?
TASAKA: For Buddhists, there is no difference between life and death in their true meaning because life and death share the same reality in life. If we hope to talk about death, we need to answer the question, “Whose death is it?” Is it the death of the Small Ego or the death of the Great Self? Once we ask this question, we will find that the Great Self cannot die. If we see the Small Ego in our mind, it will die sooner or later. However, if we see the Great Self as the world itself, then there is no life and death. A famous philosopher left an important message to us: “You are the world. The world is you”. tj
Japanese National Tea Ceremony
Written by TJ | Published in ART & CULTURE
Japanese Nagtional Tea Ceremony
Treasures Displayed in L.A.
THE 92-year-old Daisosho (Grand Master) Dr. Genshitsu Sen XV visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on May 24, 2015 to showcase the museum’s March 29 – June 7 exhibition Raku: The Cosmos in a Tea Bowl. The exhibition of 100 ceramic tea ceremony objects spanning five centuries was the first of its kind in the U.S. free of the items were Japanese national treasures, two of which were tea bowls made by the earliest Raku potter Chojiro and lent to LACMA by the Daisosho out of the Urasenke Foundation’s collection.
Written by Anthony Al-Jamie | Published in ART & CULTURE
LACMA's Awazu Kiyoshi Exhibit Featured
Awazu Kiyoshi Graphic Design Exhibit at Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LACMA)
The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LACMA) is hosting a dazzling show to honor the work of the Japanese artist Awazu Kiyoshi entitled “Graphic Design: Summoning the Outdated.” The exhibition started in October 13, 2016 and lasts until May 7, 2017. It is located on the third level of the Helen and Felix Juda Gallery. The exhibition shows books and posters from the 1960’s to the 1970’s. It is an exploration of Japanese visual culture, a personal journey with imagery that presents a folk-influenced character, an investigation of shades and forms, and a reflection on the prospects of the functions of possibility. The show takes the observer amidst Awazu’s foundation of surreal alignment in his work that advertises movies, theatre, art, and literature. LACMA’s ongoing intent to collect and display graphic design means that all the pieces in the exhibition have been acquired fairly recently. A walk-thru of the show gives a feeling of extended rural life.
2016 OC Japan Fair Featured
2016 OC Japan Fair
A Japanese Cultural Experience in Southern California
By Tokyo Journal Intern Michael Tang
On September 9th and 10th, 2016, the OC Japan Fair returned for another amazing festival showcasing Japanese culture in Orange County, California. This year’s event was located at the Phoenix Club of Anaheim. The OC Japan Fair featured an exhibit hall where vendors sold various Japanese related goods, from anime merchandise to traditional Japanese kimonos. There was an area for children to play kingyo-sukui, the fun and sometime stressful game of catching goldfish with a paper scooper.
Consul General of Japan, L.A.
Harry H. Horinouchi Shares his Experience in Japan, China and the U.S.
In August 2014, Harry (Hidehisa) Horinouchi was appointed the Consul General of Japan, Los Angeles. This is his second U.S. mission, with his first being a counselor at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. from 1996 to 1999. During his 25-year career in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), he has held various positions in both Japan and China. His ministry assignments at MOFA’s headquarters in Tokyo involved legal affairs, treaties portfolios, Asian and Oceanian regional affairs and international intelligence analysis. He has authored numerous articles in law journals on international legal issues, authored a book published in China entitled Longevity of Japan, and has been a lecturer on international law at Waseda University. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law and attended Nanjing University in China and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Tokyo Journal’s Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie met with Consul General Horinouchi shortly after Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s historic visit to Los Angeles.
Written by Elena Encarnacion | Published in ART & CULTURE
German Photographer, Yoram Roth, Pays Tribute to Yukio Mishima’s Noh Opera Adaptation
A sullen geisha sitting alone at a station, Hanako waits, For years, she has waited every day in the same place, gripping a treasured fan in her hand.
Such an exquisite beauty, she was noticed by all. The world wondered how she could be so passively obsessive. The conclusion was that she must be mad.
What her spectators didn’t know was that the fan she held was the embodiment of a vow she had made to the man who possessed her heart. Hanako had promised to love Yoshio eternally. When he had to depart, he had given her a fan to represent their love, which would be requited upon his return. And so she had sworn that she would wait.
Written by Kimo Friese | Published in ART & CULTURE
Nagisa Oshima Interviewed by Nick Bornoff
Written by Nick Bornoff | Published in ART & CULTURE
Reprint of August 1983 article
You switch on your TV set any day of the week and there’s Oshima Nagisa conversing about things sociological on a mid-day women’s program or on the panel of a “Whodunit” murder-quiz or, a few days ago, introducing the highlights of Star Wars. He even appears clad in shorts and wielding a butterfly net in a current anti-cockroach TV commercial. Ten years ago, Oshima Nagisa was the darling of dissent, the hirsute enfant terrible of the Japanese cinematic New Wave which he had virtually created in 1960. Whatever Oshima was then, it was and still is impossible to hang a label on him. His radical ideas and politically oriented films placed him in the camp of the leftists, but his Night and Fog in Japan denounced the power-hungry in-fighting and monolithic structure of Japan’s leftist factions. In a country in which everyone voluntarily ascribes to one group or other, Oshima stands alone.
Top Ten Art Museums
WHAT IS THE BEST ART MUSEUM IN JAPAN?
Best Art Museum: 2019 Poll
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The Assassination Game
Starfleet Academy #4: The Assassination Game by Alan Gratz
Read July 4th, 2012
Previous book (Starfleet Academy): #3: The Gemini Agent
Click to purchase The Assassination Game from Amazon.com!
Spoilers ahead for The Assassination Game!
The rules are simple: draw a target. Track him down and "kill" him with a spork. Take your victim's target for your own. Oh, and make sure the player with your name doesn't get to you first. No safe zones. No time outs. The game ends when only one player remains.
James T. Kirk is playing for fun. Leonard "Bones" McCoy is playing to get closer to a girl. But when a series of explosions rocks the usually placid Starfleet Academy campus, it becomes clear that somebody is playing the game for real. Is it one of the visiting Varkolak, on Earth to attend an intergalactic medical conference? Or could it be a member of a super-secret society at the Academy dedicated to taking care of threats to the Federation, no matter what rules they have to break to do it? Find out in The Assassination Game.
Up to this point, I have been avoiding the new young adult series set in the J.J. Abram's universe. I obviously enjoy the main line of Star Trek novels, but the idea of Trek young adult novels didn't really appeal to me. However, new Star Trek is always enticing, so I decided to pick up The Assassination Game and give it a try. For the most part, I wasn't disappointed. Alan Gratz has managed to pen an good story that, while tailored to young adult sensibilities, was still interesting enough to hold my attention.
The story itself is somewhat predictable. I was able to figure out "whodunit" well before the big reveal. However, because it is young adult, it gets a bit of a pass for that. The characters were very well-written, and the "voices" of the new movie versions of the characters come through quite well. The Assassination Game definitely fits well with J.J. Abrams's movie characters. Chris Pine's Kirk and Karl Urban's McCoy particularly come through well.
One aspect of the 2009 Star Trek film that I found a little hard to deal with was the relationship between Spock and Uhura. The beginnings of that union are touched upon in The Assassination Game, and while I still have reservations about it, I thought the subject was handled quite believably. While I still feel that the relationship as depicted in the film isn't entirely in-character, I accept the fact that this is a new take on Star Trek, and the changes made mean that some liberties can be taken.
Finally, a number of allusions and homages exist in this novel, some of them to great effect, while some others are a little jarring and intrusive. Most of the references are small and caused this reader to smile knowingly. However, one in particular was a little over-the-top and went a little too far. At one point, Kirk and a group of cadets are discovered to have been fighting with a visiting delegation. The cadets are hauled before their supervisor and questioned about the fight. The ensuing dialogue is lifted almost completely from a similar scene in the classic episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." While I have no problem with small references and homages, after about the sixth line taken almost verbatim, it was a little much.
Still, this minor quibble aside, The Assassination Game was an interesting read, and I would recommend it for anyone who is hungry for new Star Trek stories set in the new continuity to tide fans over until the new movie's release in 2013.
It's clear that Alan Gratz is a die-hard Star Trek fan who certainly knows his stuff. The Assassination Game is a fun tale, and while the story is fairly simple, it reads quite well for a young adult novel. Also, I enjoyed the reference to this unique product from Thinkgeek.com. A reference to the same item can be found in the Star Trek: TOS novel That Which Divides by Dayton Ward, released earlier this year.
More about The Assassination Game:
Hopefully I'll be able to have a review for The Rings of Tautee up soon. Away-from-keyboard life has been encroaching on my writing time! Stay tuned!
Labels: Alan Gratz, New Trek, review, Starfleet Academy
The Rings of Tautee
Raise the Dawn
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George "Ross" Kelly, Jr.
<p>George Ross Kelly, Jr formerly of Statesboro, GA passed away on Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 at the age of 74.</p> <p>The eldest son of George and Emma Kelly, and one of ten Kelly children to grow up in Statesboro, Ross graduated from Georgia Southern College in 1972. After completing graduate school at the University of Georgia in 1974 his professional career was varied and accomplished, spanned several decades and saw him visit five continents. He was an inspiring and charismatic leader.</p> <p>As a young man, he inherited his mother’s musical talent and toured the south as a gigging musician in high school. This experience gave rise to his tolerant and progressive attitude towards issues of race relations. To Ross Kelly, men and women were all of equal worth and whose only measure was their willingness to embrace their own potential.</p> <p>As a life-long supporter of his mother’s music career, Ross championed her admission into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and after her death in 2001, wrote several books about her life and career, and produced several tribute concerts and stage shows. </p> <p>Just a thought: after suffering a stroke in 2016, Ross rose to the occasion and wrote a book</p> <p>entitled “It’s All About The Work” with the intention of helping and inspiring others who had endured as he had. He became the leader of the Stroke support group in Gainesville to continue his support of others.</p> <p>Ross is survived by his wife, Jennifer Parker of Commerce, Georgia; Brenda Kelly, mother to his three children; sons and daughter, Brett Kelly, Rob Kelly and Erin Knight; and eight grandchildren, Morgan Baird, London Cornelius, Emerie Germ, Isabel Knight, Grayson Knight, Juliet Knight, Finnegan Kelly and Grace Kelly.</p> <p>Ross Kelly was an eternally optimistic and kind person. He saw the best in people and wanted to see them succeed. He was a great listener and a tremendous communicator. He had the talent to stir people to action and the heart to use that skill only for the best purposes. The world is worse off for having lost him but all the better for the lives he touched. There will never be anyone quite like him.</p> <p>A Celebration of Life for family will be held in Statesboro at a later date. </p> <p>In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the Ross Kelly Blues Classic golf tournament this spring. Proceeds will support Glioastoma/Stroke research. For information, please contact: Rosskellybluesclassic@gmail.com</p> Cumming, Georgia
April 26, 1946 - October 20, 202004/26/194610/20/2020
Recommend George "Ross"'s obituary to your friends.
George Ross Kelly, Jr formerly of Statesboro, GA passed away on Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 at the age of 74.
The eldest son of George and Emma Kelly, and one of ten Kelly children to grow up in Statesboro, Ross graduated from Georgia Southern College in 1972. After completing graduate school at the University of Georgia in 1974 his professional career was varied and accomplished, spanned several decades and saw him visit five continents. He was an insp...
There are no events scheduled. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of George "Ross" Kelly, Jr..
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This section shows the ZIP code 31302 Georgia economy using the most recent economic analysis from the 2020 Census Bureau. Starting with Figure 1 which shows the median earnings per worker, 31302 shows it has a Median earnings of $42,891 which is less than most other zip codes in the metro area. The zip code with the highest median earnings per worker in the area is 31322 which shows a median earnings of $55,280 (28.9% larger). Comparing median earnings per worker to the United States average of $49,041, ZIP code 31302 is about 14.3% smaller. Also, measured against the state of Georgia, median earnings per worker of $44,957, ZIP code 31302 is only about 4.8% smaller.
In Figure 2 a more complete view of income is shown which aggregates income from all members in the household and it has a Median household income of $54,857 which is less than most other zip codes in the metro area. The zip code with the highest median household income in the area is 31322 which shows a median income of $82,477 (50.3% larger). Comparing median household income to the United States average of $62,843, ZIP code 31302 is about 14.6% smaller. Also, benchmarked against the state of Georgia, median household income of $58,700, ZIP code 31302 is about 7.0% smaller.
The next section examines a variety of different income statistics for the ZIP code 31302 metropolitan area. In Figure 3 we see that it it has the largest proportion of earnings less than $10,000 at 9.6% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the largest proportion of earnings between $10,000 and $14,999 at 7.9% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has less than most other zip codes in the greater region when ranked by earnings between $15,000 and $19,999 at 34.7% of the total.
Figure 5 has the Average number of hours worked in a typical work week during the year, it has a Avg Hours Worked of 40.9 which is the third most average hours of all other zip codes in the greater ZIP code 31302 region. The zip code with the highest average hours in the area is 31407 which depicts an average hours of 42.1 (only about 2.9% larger). Dividing median annual worker earnings by the average number of hours worked in a year in Figure 6 shows that it has a Avg Hrly Earnings of $20.17 which is less than most other zip codes in the area. The zip code with the highest average hourly earnings in the area is 31322 which depicts an average hourly earnings of $26.18 (29.8% larger). Comparing average hourly earnings to the United States average of $24.31, ZIP code 31302 is about 20.5% smaller. Also, measured against the state of Georgia, average hourly earnings of $21.94, ZIP code 31302 is about 8.8% smaller.
Figure 7 examines the number of self employed people in the ZIP code 31302 metro area based on the number of people who reported any self employment income. 31302 depicts it has a Self Employed of 9.2% which is the highest of all zip codes in the greater region.
Turning our attention to Figure 8, the median household income by age group, has the percentage of median income-under 25 years less than most other zip codes in the local area at $62,981 of the total. Second, it has less than most other zip codes in the greater region in order of median income-25 to 44 years at $53,800 of the total. Third, it has one of the largest proportions of median income-45 to 64 years at $50,288 of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31322 with $53,611.
Figure 9 breaks down the source of income and 31302 has the largest proportion of social security at 1.2% of the total and is ranked #1.
The next chart (Figure 11) shows the percentage of households that had retirement income over the last 12 months and it has a With Retirement Income of 17.4% which is in the mid range of other zip codes in the metropolitan area. The zip code with the highest households with retirement income in the area is 31318 which depicts a households with retirement income of 34.9% (about twice as large).
In the next chart, Figure 12, the median family income is shown for families broken down by racial group and has the percentage of overall family income in the mid range of other zip codes in the surrounding region at $64,583 of the total. Second, it has in the mid range of other zip codes in the metropolitan area in order of hawaiian family income at $26,700 of the total.
Figure 13 shows the cost of living and other consumer spending categories for a variety of cost components from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 31302 depicts it has the hightest cost of 99.1 for the cost of miscellaneous items group.
The next two charts look at very recent, monthly trended employment related performance using data estimated by economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS tracks unemployment statistics for a large number of areas throughout the country on a month to month basis. However, not every location in the U.S. is tracked by the BLS so the chart will only show the closest location available (which may be the same location.) Figure 14 shows the monthly unemployment rate for the area as well as a comparison to the overall national economy measure for the United States. Note that in March to April 2020, the Covid 19 recession or great recession occurred and affects this metric. . It depicts that from February 2010 to before the Coronavirus Pandemic the monthly unemployment rate went from 10.9% to 3.7% in February 2020. This represents a decrease in the monthly unemployment rate of 66.1%. Since that time, the monthly unemployment rate has gone to 6.4% This represents an increase in the monthly unemployment rate of 73.0%. In Figure 15 the monthly labor force participation which are people actively looking for work are also defined as unemployed but do not include people who have given up looking for work. . It shows that from February 2010 to before the disasterous COVID-19 Pandemic the monthly labor force participation went from 62,619 to 67,642 in February 2020. This represents an increase in the monthly labor force participation of 8.0%. Since that time, the monthly labor force participation has gone to 67,633 This represents a decrease in the monthly labor force participation of very little.
The next two charts look at the annual unemployment rate/eligible for unemployment benefits and is based on the American Community survey. Figure 16 shows 31302 depicts it has a Unemployment Rate of 2.5% which is the second smallest when ranked by unemployment rate of all the other zip codes in the surrounding region. The zip code with the highest unemployment rate in the area is 31308 which depicts a rate of 5.4% (about twice as large). Figure 17 shows the labor force participation using the estimated percentage of people either working or actively looking for work. ZIP code 31302 indicates it has a Labor Force Participation of 62.2% which is less than most other zip codes in the surrounding region.
The percentage of full-time workers are compared to the number of part-time workers in Figure 19. 31302 shows full time employees approximately 4.1 times bigger as the part time employees.
The next employment related data item is shown in Figure 21 which is the percentage of families with only a single earner in the greater ZIP code 31302 area. 31302 depicts it has a Single Earner Families of 37.1% which is the second most of all the zip codes in the local area. The zip code with the highest families with a single earner in the area is 31318 which shows a single earners rate of 84.9% (approximately 2.3 times bigger). The percentage of families with no one working is depicted in Figure 22. 31302 shows it has a Families with No One Working of 16.0% which is the third most of all other zip codes in the metropolitan area. The zip code with the highest families with no one working in the area is 31408 which depicts a families with no worker of 34.1% (about twice as large).
The next section details economy analysis about poverty for residents of the ZIP code 31302 community. This performance can be enhanced by government programs such as economic opportunity zone to influence manufacturing, job growth, economic opportunity an hopefully lead to economic recovery after the recent Covid 19 recession. In Figure 23 the total number of people earning less than the poverty level are shown. 31302 depicts it has a Total In Poverty of 949 which is in the center range of other zip codes in the local area. The zip code with the highest total people earning less than the poverty level in the area is 31408 which shows a total people earning less than the poverty level of 1,562 (64.6% larger).
In Figure 24 the percentage of people earning less than the poverty level is shown and compared across the group of places. 31302 depicts it has a Percent of Population In Poverty of 12.2% which is the third most of all other zip codes in the metro area. The zip code with the highest percent of people earning less than the poverty level in the area is 31408 which depicts a percent of people in poverty of 18.4% (51.4% larger).
In Figure 25 people who are in poverty are broken out by age group. ZIP code 31302 has one of the largest proportions of person in poverty under 12 years at 12% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31408 with 21%. Second, it has less than most other zip codes in the metro area in order of person in poverty 12 to 17 years at 8% of the total. Third, it has one of the largest proportions of person in poverty 18 to 34 years at 31% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31322 with 31%. Also, it has one of the largest proportions of person in poverty 35 to 54 years at 17% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31322 with 19%. In addition, it has the largest proportion of person in poverty 55 to 64 years at 13% of the total and is ranked #1.
The next chart, Figure 26, shows the percentage of people in poverty by racial group. ZIP code 31302 has the largest proportion of hawaiian poverty rate at 43% of the total and is ranked #1.
Figure 27 shows key poverty statistics for groups based on marriage status. ZIP code 31302 has the percentage of unmarried with children and in poverty in the mid point range of other zip codes in the greater region at 10% of the total. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of unmarried female with children and in poverty at 14% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31322 with 19%.
The next chart looks at the percentage of people in poverty based on their education level in Figure 28 marriage status. ZIP code 31302 has one of the largest proportions of highschool graduate and in poverty at 10% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31408 with 15%. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of has some college and in poverty at 12% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger zip code being 31408 with 12%. Additionally, Figure 30 looks at the percentage of people who receive some form of public assistance including general assistance, temporary assistance or food stamps (i.e. SNAP.) ZIP code 31302 depicts it has a Public Assistance Percent of 11.6% which is the third most households with public assistance of all other zip codes in the greater ZIP code 31302 region. The zip code with the highest households with public assistance in the area is 31408 which shows a households with public assistance of 22.0% (about twice as large).
Figure 31 shows the "Gini Index of Income Inequality" with a range from zero (perfect equality) to one (perfect inequality). ZIP code 31302 shows it has a Gini Index of 40.4% which is more than all other zip codes in the greater ZIP code 31302 region.
Figure 33 shows a more detailed view of how the population commutes to work for (for example to downtown ZIP code 31302 or elsewhere.) ZIP code 31302 has the smallest proportion of people who took a taxicab, motorcycle or other at 1% of the total.
The next graph in Figure 36 shows the average number of minutes that it takes for people to commute to work. ZIP code 31302 has the largest proportion of people with commute time between 20 to 24 minutes at 13% of the total and is ranked #1.
The average commute time is shown in Figure 37. ZIP code 31302 indicates it has a Avg Commute Time of 26 which is the third most of all other zip codes in the metro area. Figure 38 shows the difference between male versus female commuting time. ZIP code 31302 depicts average commute time in minutes for men 26.2% larger as the average commute time in minutes for women. Figure 40 shows the total number of vehicles available for transportation and ZIP code 31302 has the percentage of no vehicle available in the mid range of other zip codes in the area at 17% of the total. Second, it has in the middle range of other zip codes in the metropolitan area when ranked by 1 vehicle available at 42% of the total. Third, it has less than most other zip codes in the local area when sorted by 3 vehicles available at 7% of the total. Also, it has one of the largest proportions of 4 vehicles available at 3% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 31308 (4%), and #1 31322 (4%) are larger. Figure 41 shows the percentage of people who both work and live in the same city (town or place.) ZIP code 31302 depicts it has a Work in city or place where live of 12% which is in the mid point range of other zip codes in the local area. The zip code with the highest people who both work and live in the same city in the area is 31407 which depicts a people who both work and live in the same city of 34% (approximately 2.9 times bigger). Comparing people who both work and live in the same city to the United States average of 42%, ZIP code 31302 is approximately a third the size. Also, in contrast to the state of Georgia, people who both work and live in the same city of 40%, ZIP code 31302 is approximately a third the size.
The next to charts break out the median earnings for major job categories for men and women. Figure 46 shows the median earnings of men for the job categories. ZIP code 31302 shows it has the hightest median earnings of $80,313 for the earnings-computer, engineering, and science occupations category. Similarly, Figure 47 shows the median earnings of women for the job categories and ZIP code 31302 depicts it has the hightest median earnings of $70,119 for the earnings-healthcare practitioners and tech occupations classification. The table in Figure 48, shows ZIP code 31302 employment data in terms of job categories and salary data.
Figure 49 shows economic activity in terms of the number of people who are self employed in incorporated local business by industry. ZIP code 31302 depicts it has the hightest entrepreneurs of 44% for the self employed in service businesses grouping.
Similar to the last chart is Figure 50 which shows the number of people who are self employed but in more detailed industry categories such as manufacturing, retail sales, residential real estate, commercial real estate, health care, exports/imports, and advanced industries, etc. ZIP code 31302 shows it has the hightest entrepreneurs of 23% for the self employed in retail trade category.
In Figure 51 the average annual self employment/entrepreneur income is shown. ZIP code 31302 depicts it has a Self Employment Income of $41,844 which is the third most average annual self employment income of all other zip codes in the greater ZIP code 31302 region. The zip code with the highest average annual self employment income in the area is 31408 which depicts an average annual self employment income of $75,017 (79.3% larger). Comparing average annual self employment income to the United States average of $39,154, ZIP code 31302 is 6.9% larger. Also, measured against the state of Georgia, average annual self employment income of $36,677, ZIP code 31302 is 14.1% larger.
Figure 52 shows the difference between the number of self employed men and self employed women (i.e. entrepreneurs.) ZIP code 31302 shows total number of self-employed men about twice as large as the total number of self-employed women.
Select a City-PlaceSavannahPoolerGeorgetown CDPRichmond HillRinconGarden CityPort WentworthBloomingdaleHenderson CDPGuytonVernonburg
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Green party joint leaders to stand again for their roles
The two joint leaders of the Green party, Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley, are to stand for their job-shared role again, declaring the time is right to seize the moment and become a mass-membership movement.
Berry and Bartley have held the leadership since 2018, but the party holds a contest every two years to allow others to challenge for the top job.
Bartley previously held the role jointly with the party’s only MP, Caroline Lucas, who stepped aside in 2018 saying it was time for the party to widen the pool of its prominent figures. The party will accept nominations until the end of June and then online voting will take place between 3 August and 31 August.
In a joint statement announcing their intention to stand again, Berry and Bartley said it was a pivotal moment for their party.
They said: “The country is in crisis and at a crossroads, and the decisions being taken now will determine what our world looks like for decades to come. We face the fundamental question of whether we will address the climate and ecological emergency, and whether we will deal with the rampant inequality, racism and poverty that scars the lives of millions – or return to business as usual.
“The Green party must seize this moment. We need to be bigger and better and become a mass-membership movement that demonstrates the new kind of leadership this country so desperately needs.”
The party failed to add any seats at the 2019 election, winning just 2.7% of the vote, but Lucas increased her majority in Brighton Pavilion. The overall vote share was down on its 2015 performance of 3.6%, but up on the 2017 result of 1.6%, when the party was squeezed by the surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.
Berry and Bartley said: “When we were elected, we did so on a platform of working with the wider party leadership team to take the Greens to the next level. Over this time the party has grown its membership by over 50%.
“Together we have more than doubled our number of councillors, and gone from being the official opposition on five councils to playing a part in running 18 councils. And the clarity and passion of our policies and values meant we had our most successful European elections ever, electing seven MEPs last year.”
They said they would continue to put a green new deal policy and the climate emergency at the heart of the party’s agenda.
Jonathan Bartley
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'Your time is up', BJP tells AAP as EC announces poll date
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday warned the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi that its time is up, soon after the Election Commission (EC) announced Assembly poll dates for the national capital.
"AAP has found a new strategy of taking BJP's criticism in its stride by suggesting that they will implement many of them in the next five years. But I want to tell the Aam Aadmi Party that your time is up," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.
BJP's Delhi chief Javadekar said that the fact that election results will be announced on Tuesday (February 11) is a "good indication". In Hindu belief system, Tuesday is considered auspicious.
The verbal onslaught came soon after the EC announced that Delhi will go to the polls on February 8. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that model code of conduct will come to play with immediate effect.
The ruling AAP, which won 67 out of 70 Assembly seats last time, is hopeful of returning to power. The BJP too is desperate to taste power in the national capital, where it has been left in the cold for nearly the last two decades.
Earlier in the day, BJP President Amit Shah too trained his guns at the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, blaming it for the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act violence in Delhi.IANS
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[Un-allotted Half Day] — Future Government Spending
Opposition Day – in the House of Commons at 3:04 pm on 4th March 2015.
All Commons debates on 4 Mar 2015
A majority of MPs voted against increasing the top rate of income tax.
Chris Leslie Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 3:04 pm, 4th March 2015
rejects this Government’s failing austerity plan set out in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement which the Office for Budget Responsibility has said will take public spending back to a share of national income not seen since the late 1930s, before the National Health Service came into existence;
notes that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that this would entail cuts on a colossal scale and has raised concerns that this could involve a fundamental reimagining of the role of the state;
further notes that the Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility has said that these spending figures were based on the policy assumption presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and signed off by the quad, which consists of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury;
and calls on the Government to instead adopt a different, fairer and more balanced approach, which involves sensible reductions in public spending, a reversal of this Government’s £3 billion-a-year top rate of income tax cut for people earning over £150,000 and an economic plan that delivers the sustained rises in living standards needed to boost tax revenues, in order to get the current budget into surplus and national debt as a share of GDP falling as soon as possible in the next Parliament.
I associate myself with the remarks made by my hon. Friend Dan Jarvis in his point of order. He made the point eloquently and I pass on our condolences from the Opposition Front Bench.
The choice between this Government’s failing austerity plan and a better plan for working families at this election is now clear. The majority of people are not feeling the benefit of the recovery and the squeeze on living standards has not been so prolonged since the 1920s. When we cut through the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s rosy view and spin and look at the report produced today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, we can see that it confirms that the vast majority of people, typical working people, are worse off than they were in 2010.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 4 March 2015, c989)
Gerald Howarth Conservative, Aldershot
Chris Leslie Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I shall give way in a moment. What has been less well known is the devastatingly corrosive effect of stagnant wages, falling tax receipts and rising welfare costs on the health of our public finances. The social security bill is £25 billion more than planned at the outset of the Parliament. Tax credit costs have risen to subsidise the low-wage economy. Incidentally, my hon. Friends know from looking at the statistics last week that, in just one year, the number of zero-hours contracts in our society has grown by 20%.
Charlie Elphicke Conservative, Dover
I shall give way in a moment. The number of working people receiving housing benefit has gone up by two thirds since the last general election, tax receipts have been £68 billion lower than expected and national insurance contributions have been £27 billion lower than expected. That impact on the state and health of the public finances has been a direct result of the stagnant wages and suppressed living standards in our society.
Several hon. Members:
I hope that Sir Gerald Howarth can explain why the deficit has continued at such a level and whether he agrees that the fall in living standards has had that effect on our public finances.
I am grateful to the shadow Chief Secretary for giving way. I will tell him why we are in this situation today: the destruction of the public finances by his right hon. Friend Mr Brown, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and the former Prime Minister. When will the shadow Chief Secretary apologise to the British people on behalf of the Labour party for having put them through this misery, which we have now amended? We are restoring the strength of the British economy and we have the fastest-growing economy in the G7. That is no thanks to the shadow Chief Secretary but is thanks to this Government. Apologise.
I expected better than that from a knight of the realm. I thought that such partisanship would be beneath the hon. Gentleman, but no. I did not quite hear him mention those words “global banking crisis” and perhaps I might remind him of the cause of the difficulties our economy has faced. He did not answer my question about the state of our public finances today. He seems to feel content that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who promised that the deficit would all have been eradicated by now, has not done exactly the job he set out to do in 2010. The hon. Gentleman also did not explain why things have not turned out as the Chancellor promised.
Brooks Newmark Conservative, Braintree
I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, because I know that he will try his hardest to explain why things have not turned out as the Chancellor promised.
I would be delighted to explain it to the hon. Gentleman. It is about something called the structural deficit and the Opposition must acknowledge that the problem we face was created not just by the banking crisis but by the massive overspending of the previous Government. That is called the structural deficit.
Now we are coming to some of the issues. The hon. Gentleman feels that the Chancellor did not make an error when he promised back in 2010 that by now we would have no deficit and that it would all have been eradicated. The esteemed Chancellor of the Exchequer promised in his autumn statement that
“we will meet our fiscal mandate to eliminate the structural current budget deficit one year early, in 2014-15.”—[Hansard, 29 November 2010; Vol. 519, c. 532.]
That is the year we are in now. This is about the Government’s record for the past four and a half to five years.
Chris Bryant Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
I will give way to my hon. Friend, whose constituents have been very much affected by the squeeze in living standards. He knows that it is the health of the economy and of the finances of working people across the country that determine the health of our public finances.
Will my hon. Friend explain to Mr Newmark and everyone else who seems to have forgotten that, in 2008, the massed ranks of Conservative party supported Labour’s public spending plans, so they cannot now pretend that they were not in this as well?
It is amazing how quiet Conservative Members are on that particular point.
Dominic Raab Conservative, Esher and Walton
I will give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment, because a particular part of my speech is dedicated to him.
On the “Today” programme this morning, the Chancellor of the Exchequer—for it was he—uttered the phrase:
“We’ve got on top of our debts and deficits.”
Those were the words—[Interruption.] If Government Members really believe that they have been reducing the national debt and that the deficit has been eradicated, they are either delusional or not feeling particularly well.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way; he is being very kind. He has blamed the biggest peacetime budget deficit, which we inherited from the previous Government, on the global economic crisis. Will he confirm that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s public finances database clearly shows that public spending rose by £267 billion between 1997 and 2009-10, and that 71% of that rise took place by 2006-07—well before the financial crisis? Will he confirm that that is true?
I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman was making those points before the last general election. If he can point to evidence that he was warning, “No, those spending plans are entirely wrong and we shouldn’t be spending on schools and hospitals in that way,” I will give way to him again. Did he warn us about those problems at the time?
I thank the shadow Minister for giving way again, but I think the way interventions work is that we on this side ask the questions. My question is simple: was the OBR right or wrong about 71% of the deficit coming from spending before the recession?
The hon. Gentleman is misrepresenting the OBR’s views. It is clear, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said today, that the global banking crisis had a devastating effect not just on this country’s public finances, but across the world. Conspicuous by its absence from the hon. Gentleman’s comments was any evidence that he had said in the past that public expenditure plans were all wrong. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister signed up to support all the previous Government’s proposals.
Helen Goodman Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Does my hon. Friend agree that Government Members should be reminded of chart 1.1 of the OBR report, which shows that total managed expenditure rose from 36% to 40% of GDP between 1998 and 2008, and then from 40% to 46% by 2009? In other words, the biggest part came from the banking crisis.
If we had a Government who understood that a connection exists between living standards, the health of our economy and the health of our public finances, perhaps we could make some progress on deficit reduction and tackle some of those issues. Instead, recent figures show that the gap between what the Government spend and their income is perpetuating at a very high level. I think it came down from £80 billion in the first nine months of last year to £74 billion in the first nine months of this year. The deficit reduction strategy is a thing of the past for this Government, because they do not realise how stagnant wages have pulled the rug from underneath it.
Andrew Gwynne Shadow Minister (Health)
Of course, the inconvenient truth for the Conservative party is that it cannot whitewash history. [Interruption.] A BBC news online article on Monday 3 September 2007, under the headline, “Tories ‘to match Labour spending’”, said:
“A Conservative government would match Labour’s projected public spending totals for the next three years, shadow chancellor George Osborne has said.”
The reason Conservative Members are getting so irritated is that they do not like being reminded that it was a global banking crisis. They like to airbrush that entirely from the record. That has been their strategy throughout, but we will not let them forget that there was a banking crisis across the globe. We needed to take greater action to regulate it, but I did not hear Conservative Members calling for stronger regulation of financial services; the truth was quite the opposite.
If we had a rational debate, we would see the connection between living standards, growth and the health of the public finances.
Helen Jones Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
I will give way in a moment.
I am afraid that Conservative Members are not driven by rationality when it comes to a strategy for dealing with the public finances. They are driven by dogma. [Interruption.] Oh, yes. They are on an ideological crusade to shrink public services as a percentage of national income. Their plan, when they stand up to talk about these things, is not about eliminating the deficit at all; it is beyond that. The guiding principle of the Conservative party is a desire for public services actively to decline year after year after year.
That is why so many Conservative Members have joined that fabled Conservative group, the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs. Kwasi Kwarteng is not in the Chamber, but he has famously called for massive reductions in public spending. The Economic Secretary, who will wind up the debate, is also a member of the Free Enterprise Group, as is her colleague the Exchequer Secretary and the hon. Members for Macclesfield (David Rutley), for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier), for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) and for Dover (Charlie Elphicke). I am sure there are others, although perhaps of a lower ranking order within the Free Enterprise Group structure. [Interruption.] Well, I am not a member of the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs and, with members like that, I am quite glad I am not.
That organisation reveals the true face of the Conservative agenda. It believes very much in shrinking the state and it is driven by that fundamental belief. It is highly dogmatic and has used the financial crisis as a pretext for reducing the level of public investment.
The hon. Gentleman is a member of the Free Enterprise Group. Does he stand by its manifesto?
Let us talk about Labour’s spending commitments. The shadow Minister has been going up and down the country making £20 billion-worth of unfunded spending commitments. Would they be paid for by more borrowing or more taxes?
That was a good try, but the hon. Gentleman knows very well that we do not have unfunded spending commitments. Our manifesto will be fully costed and fully funded. He does not need to take my word for it: we would be more than happy to let the OBR audit all of the proposals in our manifesto and to undertake to validate that they are, indeed, fully costed. I wonder if any Government Members would like to support the idea that all the political parties should have their manifestos fully costed by the OBR. Can I see a show of hands?
Mark Garnier Conservative, Wyre Forest
There is one individual: the hon. Gentleman is an independent champion on Treasury matters. I wonder if he would like to at least say that there is a strong case for letting the OBR cut through this political nonsense and make sure that we have proper independent validation of spending commitments. Does he agree with that?
I do—absolutely. In the early part of this Parliament the Treasury Committee looked at exactly that point and there was a big and heated debate about it. Conservative members were in favour of it, but Labour members were not, and they were led by the shadow Business Secretary, Mr Umunna, who was dead against it. What does the shadow Minister have to say about that?
Well, we are all in favour of it now and I am delighted that there is consensus. In fact, I am tempted to invite the hon. Gentleman to this side of the Chamber, but we have a rigorous application process and he would need to go through a number of other stages first.
The Conservatives’ strategy is failing and there are good reasons for that. They do not realise the important role that active Government can play in supporting our economy and improving living standards. Government and public investment can make a real difference, whether by guaranteeing apprenticeships, tackling unfair energy bills, raising the minimum wage, banning exploitative zero hours contracts or action on housing and infrastructure to boost productivity. All these would represent a better plan but the Conservatives’ 1930s strategy, coupled with that trickle-down philosophy, is totally discredited. Lavishing tax cuts on the very wealthiest 1% is not just the wrong priority; it is also the wrong strategy.
I am conscious that there are many hon. Members who want to get in so I will limit the number of interventions hereafter, but how could I resist giving way to Heather Wheeler?
Heather Wheeler Conservative, South Derbyshire
The hon. Gentleman is very kind. He speaks about tax cuts being only for the top 1%. Will he congratulate Conservative-controlled South Derbyshire district council, which is not only holding the council tax for the fifth year running, but is going to give a rebate in July to every council tax payer in the whole of South Derbyshire? They will all get a council tax rebate.
Local government matters are for individual authorities. I know that there are a number of authorities that are struggling financially and finding things very difficult, not least because the funding formula has been so heavily rigged and skewed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. I do not know the individual case of the hon. Lady’s district council. Individual local authorities will have to make their own decisions. Her constituents, like others, have to look at the situation in the round. The Government are very good at giving a little bit with one hand, and taking back so much more with the other. Her constituents know about the rise in VAT that she voted for and those cuts to tax credits, among other things.
I will give way one more time, then I must make progress.
David Anderson Labour, Blaydon
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He is being far too generous to Government Members, who do not deserve it. In my council area, £328 is being stolen from every man, woman and child and 1,700 good quality public servants are being put on the dole, just to prove that the Government’s long-term economic plan is working. It is not a plan; it is a sham.
We need to tackle the blatant unfairness of the rigged funding formula for local government finance, which the Labour party has committed to do in government.
Will my hon. Friend remind Government Members that when the Government introduced their Local Government Finance Act 2012, they deliberately set up a system that penalised the poorest councils more than the richest councils, they took no notice of the amount of council tax that could be raised from different boroughs, and in doing so they destroyed the social services system, which is now leading to people remaining in hospital when they should be out—a prime example of a stupid cut which costs more in the end? [Interruption.]
Government Members are trying to shout down my hon. Friend because they do not like to hear the truth. The truth is that many of our public services are affected by the support and the funding formula given to local government. She is right to highlight the impact—
Andrew Bridgen Conservative, North West Leicestershire
My hon. Friend Helen Jones is right to highlight the impact on our national health service of some of the devastating changes that have hit social care. She made her point well.
It is bad enough that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister fight so hard against the idea that an inclusive approach leads to a stronger economy and a better plan. [Interruption.] What is worse is that the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and Government Members fully intend to accelerate the failing plan for a further five years—[Interruption.]
Dawn Primarolo Deputy Speaker (Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
Order. Conservative Members have had their fun in shouting across the Chamber. The debate should settle down now, with interventions when they are taken, but a proper debate. Mr Smith, if you have a question, it is normal to stand up on an intervention, not just speak by Christian name across the Chamber. Thank you.
I appreciate that, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Simon Kirby Conservative, Brighton, Kemptown
I may give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment, but not just yet.
I want to pause for a moment and reflect on the implications of taking UK public expenditure on vital public services down to the 35% level that was announced in the autumn statement. These plans would mean that we are only halfway through the cuts. These are plans for the biggest cuts to public services since the second world war. The Office for Budget Responsibility says on page 148 of its report that
“the closest equivalent in the National Accounts implies that by 2019-20 day-to-day spending on public services would be at its lowest level … since the late-1930s as a share of GDP.”
The OBR goes on to say—Government Members may not have heard this—that
“total public spending is now projected to fall to 35.2 per cent of GDP in 2019-20, taking it below the previous post-war lows reached in 1957-58 and 1999-00 to what would probably be its lowest level in 80 years.”
That recalls a time before we had an NHS, when children left school at 14, and when life expectancy was just 60. That is why Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said on 4 December that we can expect
“Spending cuts on a colossal scale…taking total government spending to its lowest level as a proportion of national income since before the last war.”
I seem to have hit a nerve with Government Members. I give way to the good-looking one.
Stephen Hammond Conservative, Wimbledon
That is one of the few points on which I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He has been quoting selectively from various institutions. He has just quoted the IFS. The director general of the IFS has said that
“if the Conservatives win the election they will neither, despite what the opposition would have us believe, destroy the NHS nor return the welfare state . . . to 1930s level of provision.”
Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, and will he now withdraw his previous comment?
With the greatest respect, I do not accept that. I will come to that shortly.
When we look at the effect on public finances of the plan that the hon. Gentleman has signed up to with the Free Enterprise group and with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, the effect on our public services, not least the NHS, could be exceptionally difficult and potentially implausible.
Paul Johnson of the IFS asks:
“How will these cut be implemented? What will local government, the defence force, the transport system, look like in this world? Is this a fundamental reimagining of the role of the state? ... If we move in anything like this direction, whilst continuing to protect health and pensions, the role and shape of the state will have changed beyond recognition.”
Is it any wonder that UKIP has backed Conservative plans? No surprise there.
Be under no illusions—the Conservatives’ pathway for the next Parliament is a statement of intent to wage war on public services, and people need to understand the tremendous risks involved. It is a major threat to the viability of public services, which would wreak havoc especially in non-ring-fenced areas such as policing, border controls, child protection and social care. Such extreme plans would decimate skills, infrastructure, research and development and science, undermining the competitiveness of our economy. Devastation on that scale would not be tolerable, which is why we suspect that the Conservatives have secret plans to hit household finances in other ways.
I want to make sure that other Members have a chance to contribute to the debate, so I will give way one final time.
Andy Sawford Shadow Minister (Communities and Local Government)
The difficulty that Government Members have is the question of motive. When people across the country see Sure Start centres, police stations and NHS walk-in centres closing, underinvestment in schools and queues outside our A and Es, they know what a Tory Government have done already, and they know what will happen if we go back to their 1930s plan.
The whole country will be affected, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, if the Conservatives are given a further five years for their ideological plan. The plan has not just failed to date; it will continue to fail and will continue to harm those on lower and middle incomes and those who depend on public services. The Conservatives will not set out where their billions of social security cuts will hit, for example, so we have to take past performance as a guide.
I will not give way again, because I want to make some progress.
Tax credits, for example, have already been hit hard in this Parliament. The typical household is £1,127 worse off this year as a result of the tax and benefit changes introduced since 2010. Those who depend on tax credits to make ends meet need to be aware of what five more years of Conservative Government would mean.
There is a better, sensible and balanced alternative, a sensible fiscal framework aimed at getting the current budget into surplus and national debt falling as soon as possible in the next Parliament. We must make progress and cut the deficit every year. Where we make promises in our manifesto, supported by Mark Garnier, they will be fully funded—we want them to be audited independently by the OBR—and they will not involve additional borrowing. We need workable efficiencies and spending reductions in non-protected areas. We have already published seven of our interim zero-based review reports listing examples of where those could be made. We need fairer choices on taxation, not a £3 billion give-away to the richest 1% earning over £150,000 a year. Fundamentally, we need rising living standards and sustained growth to repair tax receipts and control welfare spending, which has got totally out of control under this Government.
This Government’s failing plan has not eradicated the deficit, but it has left us with an NHS in crisis, the bedroom tax and 20 million meals served in food banks last year. Their sharp turn towards a right-wing ideological approach would cull public investment to levels not seen since the late 1930s. For our public services, for policing, for social care, for defence and for the NHS, at this election the stakes have never been higher. I urge the House to reject the Conservatives’ risky and extreme approach and instead back Labour’s fairer and better plan for the future.
David Gauke The Financial Secretary to the Treasury 3:31 pm, 4th March 2015
Well, here is another opportunity to tell the House about the successes of our long-term economic plan. I must say that I am impressed by the Labour party’s courage in selecting the economic recovery for the last Opposition day debate of this Parliament, but not by its judgment. Given the catastrophic situation in which Labour left the country after 13 years in charge, Members might have thought that it would have the good grace to accept that our economic plan is putting Britain back on track, delivering growth, jobs and prosperity for hard-working households up and down the country.
Edward Leigh Chair, Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh MP Committee, Chair, Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh MP Committee
It is right that we focus on spending totals, but there is an even better argument. A careful academic study of National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports over Labour’s time in government recently found that a staggering £230 billion was wasted on incompetence, inefficiency and undelivered programmes. That is a real legacy of 13 years of wasted Labour government.
David Gauke The Financial Secretary to the Treasury
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Indeed, as a distinguished Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, he was heavily involved in identifying that wasteful spending. One of this Government’s achievements is the measures we have introduced to reduce such wasteful spending. In particular, the efforts of the Minister for the Cabinet Office in pushing forward reform and identifying efficiency savings have reduced the cost of Whitehall strikingly.
Stewart Jackson Conservative, Peterborough
Is not it disingenuous—some might even say slightly dishonest—to pray in aid references to 35.2% of public expenditure, as opposed to GDP, as ideological extremism when we need look back only 12 years to the Blair-Brown Government to find a time when the percentage was 35.9%, which is almost indistinguishable? Is not that trying to hoodwink and fool the voters, and is not that pretty dishonest?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. The statistics he uses are absolutely right. With regard to public spending on services—I will turn to the detail in a moment—we are talking about returning to the levels of 2002-03, before the previous Government lost control of public spending.
The tenor of the Opposition’s argument is that public spending ought to be higher. Given that they are disagreeing with our plans, should they not specify how much higher they would want it to be?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was struck that when it came to the substance of the shadow Chief Secretary’s speech, he rather rushed through that process. He tells us that he does not like our spending plans—I will come to the details of that in a few moments—but he does not tell us how much extra he would spend, or, if he is going to spend extra, how he is going to pay for it. Will it be through higher taxes or through more borrowing? We did not get any indication.
If we are going to get an answer to that question, I will be delighted to give way.
If the Minister wants to clear all these things up and make sure that we have an independent appraisal, does he back the hon. Member for Wyre
Forest (Mark Garnier) in supporting the idea that the Office for Budget Responsibility should be allowed to report on the proposals of all the parties? What is so wrong with that?
I am afraid that that is a bit of a red herring. If the shadow Chief Secretary wants to set out what his plans are, and if he believes that spending needs to be higher than it would be under a Conservative Government, he can tell us how much higher—he does not need the OBR to look at his numbers. Does he believe that spending should be financed through more borrowing or more tax? What is it to be—a tax bombshell, a borrowing bombshell, or both? I will happily give way to him. He does not want to answer.
Mark Hendrick Labour, Preston
Perhaps there will be an answer from the hon. Gentleman.
The Minister will recall that prior to the 2010 general election, the then Conservative Opposition promised to get rid of the deficit by the end of this Parliament. We have already seen that the Government are planning to borrow £200 billion more than was originally estimated, which is clearly way off track. If they could not get their promises right before the last election, why should we believe them, in government, about what they will do after the next election?
So there we have it—that is the complaint from the Opposition. Their big problem is that we have not cleared up their mess fast enough. That is the essence of their argument. They have opposed every difficult decision we took on the path towards recovery—every spending cut and every welfare change. As for the deficit, they usually forgot to mention it. All the rhetoric we are hearing from them is about how they would reverse the decisions that we have taken and presumably turn the clock back to 2010—the time when we had the worst deficit in peacetime history, when we were borrowing £1 for every £4 spent, when we had an economy whose ability to pay its way was questioned internationally, and when the outlook of the Labour Government could be summed up by the note left by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Byrne:
“I’m afraid there is no money.”
This Government have made great steps forward to get us out of that mess. In 2014, our growth rate was 2.6%—the highest of any major advanced economy. Our deficit is down by half as a percentage of GDP. Thanks to the stability that we have put in place, businesses have created 2.16 million private sector jobs since the first quarter of 2010, each and every one representing someone in the UK who is now standing on their own two feet. Some 2.1 million more entrepreneurships have been set up, with over 750,000 more businesses than in 2010. That has all happened under this Government.
Can the Minister explain why the real Chief Secretary is not responding to this debate? Is it because when the OBR finally audited the Government’s future plans and found that they would take us back to the 1930s, the other coalition partner peeled off and left the Tories isolated?
I have to say that looking around this Chamber I do not feel terribly isolated.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 4 March 2015, c1000)
Henry Smith Conservative, Crawley
I am glad that my hon. Friend has brought this back to jobs and what that means for our constituents. In Crawley, we now see record employment levels. That is not an accident; it is a direct result of the long-term economic plan.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have seen remarkable progress in creating jobs. As I say, that is providing greater security for millions of people up and down the country.
May I ask the Minister about cuts to the Arts Council budget? So far, this Govt have cut it by 30%, but on 5 January, the Tory party produced a report saying that £83 million more would be cut from Arts Council, and that this
“cost is based on the real terms decrease in the Grant in Aid for the Arts Council from 2014/15 to 2015/16”.
Does he stand by the figure that the Arts Council will be cut by £83 million this year?
I recall the debate on arts spending at the beginning of the year. If I remember correctly, the note that was published showing the Labour party’s areas of spending commitments included a commitment on the arts, but the shadow Chancellor very quickly ruled it out. He said it was not correct, and the deputy Leader of the Labour party had to withdraw what she had previously said on that subject. That is my memory of it.
I will give way to the hon. Gentleman one last time.
This is a serious matter, and if the Minister cannot give a precise answer this answer, I would be very grateful if he wrote to me. Does he think that the Arts Council budget will or will not be cut from this year to next year by £83 million?
If we have any future announcements about the Arts Council budget, we will make them in the usual way.
As we have seen only today from the report of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, average household incomes are back to the levels they were at before the recession began and they are expected to grow by well above inflation this year, while income inequality is down and pensioner poverty is at record lows under this Government: our plan is working.
The Labour party claims that we are taking public spending back to the level of the 1930s, but let us look at the facts. Even on the assumption that 100% of our future consolidation comes from cuts to departmental expenditure, which is not the Conservative party’s approach, the Government’s plans will, as my hon. Friend Mr Jackson has pointed out, put spending on public services at their lowest real-terms level since 2002-03, so instead of the late 1930s, we are talking about the early 2000s—only 65 years out.
Throughout the debate, the Opposition have attacked our long-term economic plan, which is delivering the highest economic growth of any developed economy, and has created more jobs in this country than in the whole of Europe added together. Will the Minister remind the House whose economic policies the Labour party was exalting? I seem to remember something about “What Hollande is doing in France I want to do in Britain.”
My hon. Friend makes a very important point, to which I will return in a moment.
Although we have made considerable progress, the reality is that we face further difficult decisions. On that basis, the House signed up to a charter for budget responsibility last month. It enshrines in law that the Government elected in May, whatever their colour, must have a plan to tackle the deficit and to bring our national debt under control. Pretty well all of us, with one or two exceptions, committed to achieving falling national debt as a share of GDP by 2016-17, and to balance the cyclically adjusted current budget by the end of the third year of the rolling forecast period, which is 2017-18.
On the latest forecasts, the charter requires about £30 billion of consolidation in the first two years of the next Parliament. Under the plans set out by the Chancellor, it will be achieved by bearing down on spending, the welfare budget, and tax avoidance and evasion. To break the figure down, that is at least £13 billion of savings from Departments’ spending, at least £12 billion from welfare and more than £5 billion from tax avoidance and evasion.
The Labour party agreed to the charter: the motion was passed by 515 votes to 18. Perhaps it believes that a fiscal consolidation of £30 billion is too much. After all, that is the position of the Greens and the nationalist parties, who have explicitly said that they would borrow more over the next three years. That position is irresponsible, but I accept that it is coherent with everything else that those parties are saying. Labour, however, has voted to accept that a fiscal consolidation of £30 billion is necessary, so where is it coming from?
In a moment. If the Labour party does not believe in making savings from departmental budgets or welfare, where is the money coming from? To quote its leader,
“if we just try and cut our way to getting rid of this deficit, it won’t work.”
That is the Labour party’s position. Out come the old answers, but where is the money coming from?
The Minister must have the charter for budget responsibility with him. I will give him a moment if he wants to pick it out of his file. Where does it say in the charter for budget responsibility—perhaps he could give us a page or line reference—that the figure is £30 billion? Can he quote the OBR on that figure either? Is it not the case that the charter for budget responsibility was about agreeing to focus on current budget plans, and not about the absolute budget surplus that his party was apparently committed to? What on earth was going on?
The position is that getting to a cyclical balance by 2017-18 requires £30 billion of fiscal consolidation.
That position is supported by the IFS. The figure is £30 billion. Where is it coming from? The Labour party simply does not have an answer. If it is not prepared to accept the £30 billion figure, it will be borrowing more. If it does accept the £30 billion figure, where is it coming from? If it is not coming from spending, it must be coming from tax.
Does the Minister recognise the figure given by Paul Johnson of the IFS in The Times on 13 January, when he said that Labour’s plans amounted to £170 billion more on the national debt by 2020, which is about a third higher than the entire NHS budget? That is what we are talking about.
If the Labour party will not meet our spending plans and is going to borrow more—it is giving itself more wriggle room, even though it has signed up to the charter, which commits it to £30 billion of fiscal consolidation—where is the money coming from?
Julian Smith Conservative, Skipton and Ripon
Small businesses across north Yorkshire are really worried about the fact that Labour has not yet ruled out a jobs tax, should it be elected. Are they missing something?
That is the key to the matter. The truth is that there will be either a tax bombshell or a borrowing bombshell if the Labour party is in office. It fought the last general election campaigning for an increase in the jobs tax. I have a strong suspicion that a future Labour Government will look at precisely that to fill the gap.
Perhaps I can help Labour Members. Has not the shadow Chancellor outlined £3.3 billion of cuts to local councils up and down the country? Today there is total chaos, contradiction and confusion. Where is their policy? What is their plan?
As per usual, there is no plan; it is just chaos. We cannot get a consistent position from the Labour party. First it says that it will not borrow more, then it says that it will borrow more. There is simply no consistency.
In the unlikely event that the Minister is in charge after 7 May, is he as confident that he will reach the target in 2017 as he was in 2010 that he would get rid of the deficit in four years, at which he completely and utterly failed?
We stand by the OBR’s projections. We have made considerable progress at a time when other economies have struggled and when there has been a eurozone crisis. But for the steps that we have taken, our debts would have risen much more quickly.
Let us return to the position of the Labour party. Where are its answers on deficit reduction? We get the old answers, which are that it would squeeze the rich and reintroduce the 50p top rate of tax. It conveniently forgets that the previous Government had a top rate of 40p for all but 36 of their 4,758 days in office.
The House will want to be aware that our move to the 45p rate cost only around £100 million—a small price to pay for making the international message loud and clear that we are open for business. How much does Labour think that reversing that policy would raise? I am happy to give way to the shadow Minister on that. To say that a return to the 50p rate would bring in an extra £3 billion a year, which is what he implied, is frankly ludicrous, and I challenge him to identify one reputable economist between now and 7 May who will support such a position.
Angus MacNeil Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Transport), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Constitutional Reform), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Scotland)
The Minister has probably forgotten that when it came to the millionaires’ tax cut, the Labour party abstained and did not vote against it. More importantly, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said that if it were not for austerity, UK GDP would be 5% higher. The tax take with 5% more GDP is about £32 billion, or equivalent to 30% of the current deficit. Does the Minister accept that austerity has been a mistake and that we should have gone for growth through investment?
I am not persuaded by the argument that if we borrow more we ultimately borrow less—I am afraid that is far too easy an answer.
The Government believe that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the biggest burden, and as the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirmed today, that is exactly what is happening. That is why the richest in our society now pay more in tax than at any point under the previous Government. The Labour party can lecture us all it likes about taxing the rich, but it was not on our watch that private equity managers paid a lower rate of tax than their cleaners. It was not on our watch that the wealthy could sidestep stamp duty, or that higher earners could disguise their remuneration as loans that were never repaid. Under our watch, however, every single Budget that we introduced raised revenues from the most well off in society.
Will the Minister confirm that, although the motion talks about reversing our changes to income tax, the latest HMRC data show that someone who earns £10,000 to £15,000 a year will pay 54% less income tax than they did under Labour, while someone who earns £1 million to £2 million pays 14% more?
My hon. Friend raises an interesting point, and the big tax cut that this Government have delivered has been the huge increase in the personal allowance that has benefited millions of hard-working people up and down the country.
The Minister is right to point out those things, and, as my hon. Friend Mr Raab pointed out, we have taken many people out of tax altogether. On Labour’s watch, if it were ever to be in government, the deputy leader of the Labour party has already said:
“Yes I think people on middle incomes should contribute more through their taxes”.
Therefore anyone earning more than £26,000 will have a tax rise under the next Labour Government. That is what the deputy leader of the Labour party has committed to.
As I said, the money has to come from somewhere, and middle-income earners are probably pretty high up the list. To be fair, it is not just the 50p rate, although that is the only policy mentioned in the motion. In television interviews, the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury has proclaimed one other policy to reduce the deficit. This is the key to deficit reduction and the policy that will restore public finances to health: a future Labour Government will put up fees for gun licences. How much will that raise? A whopping £17 million—except, to be fair, the shadow Home Secretary has already pledged to spend that money elsewhere.
Give him both barrels!
I will give way to the man who believes that the answer to our public finances is to raise fees for gun licences.
My hon. Friend urged me to give the Minister both barrels, but I will try to resist. It is all very good banter trying to claim that that is the only way we would deal with the deficit, but of course that is absolute nonsense—when asked for examples, we give examples. The Minister raises an important point about gun licences. It is a small amount of money but it is still worth doing. Is he saying that we should not raise gun licence fees? Is he ruling that out because he thinks it is the wrong idea?
It was an attempt to show how ridiculous the Labour party’s economic policy is when the only example it puts forward, apart from the 50p rate, which is likely to cost money, is increasing gun licences. I did not really expect the shadow Chief Secretary to take it seriously that that was the big policy. Does he disagree that the shadow Home Secretary has already claimed that that money will be spent on policing? It is going to be spent on policing, is it not? There was a time in debating these matters when the big argument from Labour Members, their big macro-economic analysis, was that we were going too far, too fast. Now it has come down to this. What have they got a few days away from a general election? They have a policy on gun licences—that is it. What has the great Labour party come to? Gun licences!
Perhaps the Minister can help me out. The Labour party had a top tax rate of 40% for 155 of its 156 weeks in office, which apparently was the epitome of social justice. Why does he think Labour is attacking us for having a 45% rate, which brings in more money but is suddenly seen as feathering the nest for the rich?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The problem with the 50p policy is that it is not an effective way to raise revenue. Our record is very clear: we have been very effective at getting more money out of the wealthy. As we see from the IFS analysis today, the wealthiest have made the biggest contribution. What we are left with is a symbolic gesture, not a tax policy.
Does my hon. Friend not agree that it is quite remarkable that the Labour party has not yet come out categorically and refused to raise taxes through a jobs tax? Is it not worth remembering while we are debating a possible jobs tax—or not, depending on what they want to do—that there has never been a Labour Government who have not failed to increase unemployment?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is right that we highlight that point. They do not like our spending plans, but what are they going to do? Are they willing to borrow more? Are they willing to tax more? It must be one or the other or both. Which is it to be: a borrowing bombshell or a tax bombshell?
William Bain Labour, Glasgow North East
I will give way to the hon. Lady. She will give us an answer.
I want to bring the Minister back to the point he was making about five minutes ago, when he said that there should be £12 billion of cuts to the welfare budget. Would he like to spell out for the House and the nation what those £12 billion of cuts will be?
We will set out the full details in due course, but we have already said that £3 billion of that will come from freezing benefits. If the Labour party is ruling out touching the welfare budget, which is a considerable part of public spending, where else is the money coming from?
Let me give way to my hon. Friend.
David Rutley Conservative, Macclesfield
One of the reasons the Opposition are focusing on the gun licence is that they have got it wrong on just about everything else. Will my hon. Friend remind us who said it was not possible to cut spending and create jobs?
I think the Leader of the Opposition might be the person in my hon. Friend’s mind. I think he was making predictions of 1 million more unemployed as a consequence of our policy.
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He is right to try to pin down the Opposition on how they will fund their spending commitments, but it is a forlorn hope. It is like trying to bottle fog. He should remember their cornucopia of endless money, the bankers’ bonus tax. They have used it 12 times already. Surely they will be using it again before the election?
To be fair, we have gone this far in the debate and they have not once yet made a claim for it, but it is still early days.
I will give someone the opportunity to make a claim for it.
I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way at last.
The “Charter for Budget Responsibility” states that the Treasury will balance the current budget
“by the end of the third year of the rolling, 5-year forecast period.”
Can the Minister point out the reference to 2017-18? If he cannot, his figure of £30 billion of cuts is entirely bogus?
It is by looking where we are and then adding three years. It is really not that difficult.
In the motion, the Opposition attempt to evade the hard choice between more tax or more borrowing facing those who oppose spending cuts by saying they will grow the economy faster so that wages go up and the problem is solved, despite this being a structural issue. Every Government want the economy to grow faster. When François Hollande came to power, with a new economic model praised by the Leader of the Opposition, I have no doubt that he wanted the French economy to grow faster, but it did not, and I have no doubt that in 2008 the Labour Government also wanted the economy to grow faster, but that did not prevent it from shrinking by 6%. Wanting an economy to grow is not the same as achieving economic growth, and nor is it an excuse for not making the hard decisions necessary to reduce the deficit.
Where is Labour’s plan for growth? If we examine the motion, do we find a single policy that would help economic growth? One specific policy is mentioned, about punishing high earners, but that is hardly a policy for growth. After five years, where are these policies for growth? They could mention increasing the number of apprenticeships, reforming banking regulation and increasing infrastructure investment, except that those are policies delivered by this Government. Or they could set out how they would encourage business investment by putting in place competitive business taxes and reducing regulatory burdens, except those are policies they intend to reverse. Or they could mention improving education standards or securing the future of universities, except that they would abandon the progress we have made, not least with their shambolic policy on tuition fees.
Labour’s policies have three characteristics: they are not long term, they are not economic, and they do not constitute a plan. The motion reveals a vacuous Opposition horribly ill-prepared for government. The motion, like the Opposition, has little to say on macro-economic policy and nothing to say on supply-side policy. It is evasive on the deficit and incoherent on economic growth. The motion, like the Opposition, is destined for a heavy defeat.
Order. There is a seven-minute time limit on all Back-Bench contributions, starting with the next speaker.
Tom Greatrex Shadow Minister (Energy) 4:02 pm, 4th March 2015
For some reason, my mind is drawn increasingly to the time people are in particular positions, and I note this afternoon a conspicuous absence on the Liberal Democrat Benches. I think back to the early part of this Parliament, when Mr Laws held the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury for a total of 17 days, and I recall being in the Chamber when, with barely disguised glee and in a remarkable contribution that has continued in the approach of the coalition, he began the process of cutting back on investments, some of which have since been re-announced. This was at a time when the economy was beginning to grow after a long global banking crisis out of which we are only just starting to emerge. Since then, for the past five years, for the vast majority of constituents in all parts of the UK, things have been getting worse, not better. The coalition justified it on the basis of shoddy analysis of how our economy and situation was the same as that in Greece.
Brian H Donohoe Labour, Central Ayrshire
I notice that there are no Scottish nats in the Chamber at present, which is not unusual. Will my hon. Friend touch on the effect of the price of North sea oil on the economy of today?
Tom Greatrex Shadow Minister (Energy)
My hon. Friend makes a different point from the one I was making, but an important one. The reduction in the price of a barrel of oil has had a significant impact on revenues. If Scotland had become a separate country or was in the process of becoming a separate country, the impact on revenues would have amounted to the equivalent of the entire Education budget. That much would have been wiped out in the course of the last few months, highlighting the dangers of an economy being over-reliant on what the record shows to be such a volatile commodity, and indeed, by definition, a declining one, given the amount of oil still left in the ground. This is an important point for Scotland.
The tenure in office of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has been slightly longer, and 1,591 days ago, the Prime Minister said:
“In five years’ time, we will have balanced the books.”
He has 63 days left in his job, and I suspect that he is not going to meet that promise.
No, I am going to make some progress, and I have a relatively short time.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that borrowing for 2015-16 is set to be £75 billion and that the Government are borrowing over £200 billion more than they planned in 2010—hardly an exemplar of a functioning economic policy.
The last five years, then, have indeed seemed long term—and they felt long term to many of my constituents, who have suffered from declining incomes and struggling to find work. During that long-term five years, they have certainly suffered real economic pain. Such economic pain might well not be appreciated by the Government Members who have chosen to turn up this afternoon, but it is real and long-term economic pain to my constituents. If Government Members were to pay some attention to the entirety of their constituencies, they would find that it is exactly the same for them.
I believe that the Government have failed their own test on the economy because they have failed the test set for them by people’s expectations. Over the last five years, they have failed to create an economy that works for the majority of people. Working people are, on average, £1,600 a year worse off than they were at the start of the Parliament. Wages are stagnant for many people, and I know that all too many of my constituents who have been able to get back into work are in low-paid, insecure work. They are regularly on contracts that make them wait for a text message at the start of the week to be told how many hours’ work they are going to get for that week. [Interruption.]
I note David Rutley shaking his head in disdain, so I invite him to come to my constituency to meet people in my surgeries each week who are suffering as a result of what has been allowed to happen and because of the failure of his party to take action to tackle these types of exploitative contracts. If he thinks that that is a fair basis for our economic growth, I suggest that he is not speaking even for his own constituents, let alone the majority of people in this country.
The hon. Gentleman argues with passion; I argue with similar passion. If he looks at the statistics, he will find that it is clear that the vast majority—more than 70%—of the jobs created are for full-time, permanent work. That benefits his constituents as well as mine. It is working.
Many people in my constituency who were out of work and are now in work are employed on zero-hours contracts—as I said, contracts that make them wait for a text message at the start of the week to find out whether they will get any hours that week. They have variable levels of hours from week to week. It does not involve simply doing a top-up job or an additional job. In many cases, this provides these people’s main source of income, and these contracts have increased over the last five years. That is the reality, and the hon. Gentleman should be ashamed that his Government have failed to tackle it. It is a disgrace that this is where we are in the 21st century—and that is exactly where we are at present.
Sandra Osborne Labour, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
I will, but for the last time.
My hon. Friend will be aware of the thousands of people using food banks in our constituencies up and down the country—and many of the people using them are in work.
Indeed. My hon. Friend makes a very important point—that many of the people accessing and using food banks are the same people who are increasingly reliant on in-work benefits. They are not out of work or seeking to be in work, but the hourly wages they receive are not enough to heat their homes or put food on the table for their families. That is a notable feature of the economy at present.
No, I will not. I have already given way three times, and I am running out of time.
As a result of low and stagnant pay, tax receipts are more than £68 billion lower, and receipts from national insurance contributions are £27.3 billion lower, than they were expected to be five years ago. Chronic low pay only drives up the costs of welfare, and the welfare bill is £25 billion higher than it was planned to be in 2010. The problems have been exacerbated over the last five years, not solved, and that has skewed the economy towards the interests of the few rather than the many. We need a fundamental change of approach: we need an economy that is focused on ensuring that people can earn decent wages and survive. That would enable us to increase the tax take, and to reduce the benefits bill. The choice that we shall all have to make at the general election will be crucial to the future of many of our constituents.
My own constituency badly needs that change of approach. Youth unemployment is 5.7%, well above the United Kingdom average of 3.2%, and median wages last year were 10% lower than the United Kingdom average. Every week I hear from people who are concerned about the contracts under which they are employed and about their prospects, and who fear that their children will be unable to find work. To those people, the last five years have meant a Government who have failed them.
As I have said, there will be a choice to be made at the general election. The Government have demonstrated that their plan is failing. They boast of economic success, but they have created the early signs of a recovery that works only for a handful at the top. There is an alternative to a failing plan, and that is a much better plan. The economy must succeed for working families throughout Britain: it must succeed for everyone in the country. I think that, in 63 days’ time, the people of this country will succeed where the Prime Minister has failed, and will hold him to his pledge. He has failed on the economy, so they will kick him out, and it will be good riddance to a failed Government.
Brooks Newmark Conservative, Braintree 4:12 pm, 4th March 2015
We seem to be living in two parallel universes. What the Opposition do not seem to realise is that we were facing bankruptcy as a country. We were in economic meltdown, and the markets were judging us by raising the cost of our borrowing. That is the best judgment of all: the markets know best when it comes to judging what is going on.
We have heard a great deal from the Opposition about a banking crisis. Of course there was a banking crisis—there was a worldwide banking crisis, we all know that—but the real problem with the way in which the Opposition were managing our economy was something called a structural deficit. We were spending much more on running UK plc than we were bringing in.
I am not sure that it is wise for us to go on all the time about the fact that we have cut the deficit in half. We have cut it in half, but that disguises the real crisis that we are still experiencing. We are still borrowing £90 billion a year, which means that we cannot relax for a moment. It is madness to make unfunded borrowing and spending commitments.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why we had an emergency Budget which laid out clearly our long-term economic plan.
Let us consider our record in government since we picked up the pieces that were left by the last Government. As my hon. Friend has just said, we have halved the deficit. That is important, because it has kept interest rates low for mortgage-holders and for business. Income tax has been cut for 25 million people, by about £705 per person. The personal allowance has been raised from £6,500 to £10,600, and some 3.4 million people have been taken out of tax altogether. Benefits have been capped to reward hard-working people. Employment is up, and youth unemployment is down. The Million Jobs campaign, which I put together, managed to persuade the Chancellor to abolish national insurance payments for those who hired people under 21. That has paid dividends, because it has accelerated the decline in youth unemployment. The state pension is also up by £800. Fuel duty has been frozen. Energy costs are down. Overall, wages now are rising higher than inflation; on the latest statistics, total pay is up by 2.1%, whereas inflation is only up by 0.9%.
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will add to his list of successes the fact that the welfare bill is up by £25 billion, as a result of increases in housing benefit costs to the Exchequer and the failure of low pay.
It is interesting that the hon. Gentleman should talk about our welfare policies as his side wants to increase spending, whereas we are trying to cap it at a reasonable state—£26,000, which is £35,000 pre-tax, which is higher than the average wage of most people.
Labour was financially reckless in government and, it seems, is even more financially reckless in opposition. Already it has £20.7 billion of unfunded spending commitments for 2015-16, which is £1,200 per household. HM Treasury estimates Labour now has £32 billion of borrowing for 2020-21 and £166 billion over the next Parliament—the next five years—or £10,000 extra per household. I hope voters are listening to that. That is £10,000 extra per household; they should remember that before they go into the ballot box. We have learned today that Labour’s new great tax policy is to increase the cost of gun licence. So Labour’s policy going forward is, as always, tax more and borrow more.
Anne Main Conservative, St Albans
This motion refers to
“sensible reductions in public spending”.
Does my hon. Friend know what these reductions are and how much they might raise, because there is no mention of that whatever? They are just a blank canvas.
I know, and I suspect Labour will be going into the election with a blank canvas, and no doubt voters will make their judgment on that.
Going forward, the Government are committed to raising the personal allowance once again—up from £10,500 to £12,500. That is a tax cut for 30 million people, and removes 1 million of the lowest paid out of tax altogether. The Conservative Government are committed to balancing the books by the end of the Parliament, which the Opposition party is not, and a Conservative Government are committed to reducing Government spending to 35.2% by 2020, as Chris Leslie pointed out. I remind him that when Mr Brown was Chancellor he had borrowing at 35.9%, so we are not talking about a huge difference between the 35.2%, which is apparently an absolute crisis, and the 35.9% in 2000.
To conclude, the Government have a track record to be proud of: reducing spending; reducing the deficit; reducing taxes; and reducing unemployment. Here are the words of Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund—although I will not say this in a French accent. She said:
“Certainly from a global perspective this is exactly the sort of result that we would like to see…More growth, less unemployment, a growth that is more”— wait for it—
“inclusive, that is better shared, and a growth that is also sustainable and more balanced.”
These are the words of Christine Lagarde this year, on 15 January 2015, at an IMF roundtable discussion in Washington.
The Government’s long-term economic plan is working, and hopefully on 7 May the British people will not give the keys back to the guys who crashed the car.
Stewart Hosie SNP Chief Whip, SNP Deputy Leader, Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Treasury), Deputy Leader, Scottish National Party 4:19 pm, 4th March 2015
We debated similar issues early in January, when the Government laid out their proposals for the “Charter for Budget Responsibility”. I explained in that debate that the Government had promised that they would eradicate the entire structural deficit within the five years of this Parliament. It is important to understand what the Government pledged. They specifically stated that debt would begin to fall as a share of GDP in 2014-15, that the current account would be in balance in 2015-16 and that public sector net borrowing in that year would be barely £20 billion. We now know that, on their numbers, debt will not begin to fall as a share of GDP until 2016-17 at the earliest, that the current account will not be back in the black until at least the following year and that public sector net borrowing will not be £20 billion for the forthcoming year but almost four times that amount, at £75 billion. In short, the Chancellor and the Government have failed to meet a single one of the key targets that they set for themselves. The Tory policy of a fixed-term approach to deficit reduction strangled the recovery in the early years of this Parliament, and with tens of billions in cuts and tax rises still to come, the inescapable conclusion is that austerity has failed.
Oliver Colvile Conservative, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
Does not the hon. Gentleman recognise that there was a big issue, and that it was called Greece? The problems there and in the eurozone blew everything off course completely.
Stewart Hosie SNP Chief Whip, SNP Deputy Leader, Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Treasury), Deputy Leader, Scottish National Party
That is precisely why the Government should have taken a flexible approach to deficit consolidation, rather than a fixed-term approach. I will say more about that in a moment.
It is useful today to identify precisely what is on offer, other than the £30 billion of extra cuts that were promised by the Government in January. That is, of course, no more than a continuation of the existing failed policy of fixed-term deficit consolidation and a plan for further attacks on the welfare budget. It is a plan to balance the books on the backs of the poor, which we now understand means taking levels of public expenditure back to those of the 1930s.
Today’s motion calls for a
“different, fairer and more balanced approach” and I agree with that. The key thing that needs to be changed is the fixed-term approach to cutting the deficit. Instead of that approach, which has self-evidently failed so far, we should have a more flexible, medium-term strategy whose first principle should be about reducing debt to a “prudent” level. It is important that the Government of the day should specify what is or is not prudent, depending on the real circumstances that they face, precisely to deal with the kind of external shocks that Oliver Colvile has just mentioned.
I hope that the hon. Gentleman can enlighten me. What are the “sensible reductions in public spending” proposed in the motion, and how much will they raise? I really would like to know, given that the motion mentions them.
It is a Labour motion, and I might not even support it. I am merely pointing out that the Tory party told us that the current account would be back in the black, but it is not. We are borrowing almost £80 billion this year. The Tories’ austerity programme has failed.
We need to reduce debt to a prudent level, with the Government of the day specifying what is or is not prudent, depending on the circumstances. A second principle should be that, once debt is reduced, the Government should maintain a balanced budget on average over the medium to long term, not in a way that would prevent them from implementing the steps they believed necessary to achieve their long-term objective, but in order to afford them the flexibility to deal with external shocks over the medium term.
A third principle is that the Government should achieve and maintain a level of net worth that provides a buffer against unforeseen factors. A fourth calls on the Government to manage fiscal risks prudently. A fifth principle is that the Government should pursue policies consistent with a reasonable degree of predictability about the level and stability of tax rates. That is incredibly important, because the tax system, tax rates and tax certainty form a vital component of fiscal stability and fiscal responsibility.
I am sorry; I have given way already, and we are time-limited.
The motion also calls for a programme to get the current account into surplus and to get the national debt falling as a share of GDP as soon as possible. In principle, I agree with that, but my party wants to see an explicit end to austerity because, as Tom Greatrex pointed out, people have suffered enough already. That is why we have set out a plan for a modest real-terms increase in departmental spending that would deliver £180 billion of investment in the next Parliament. Our plan would result in the deficit coming down, from 3.4% to 3%, 2.5% and 2.1% of GDP from 2016-17. It is a plan that would see the national debt fall as a share of GDP, albeit on a different, more shallow trajectory. It is a plan that would in the first year, 2016-17, not see £23 billion of extra Tory-Liberal cuts, but £25 billion of investment. We think that is extremely sensible, and it ties in to what the Chief Secretary said about active government and what difference that and the Government’s investment can make.
The motion also calls for
Our plan is to see a modest increase in departmental spending. Although I would most certainly accept a sensible reduction in spending on Trident and its replacement—a policy apparently supported by three quarters of Labour candidates—that is not on offer today. Sadly, what Labour appears to have proposed is no more than keeping to the Tory spending cuts, and we simply cannot support that.
I hope that tomorrow, in Scotland, Labour will take a different view, and support a real end to austerity and a real increase in public spending, because we do need to take a different approach. We need to take a different approach to economic management because if we do not, we will have set in concrete a further attack on our welfare budgets. With 22% of our children, 11% of our pensioners and 21% of our working age adults in Scotland in poverty, launching a further attack on welfare, as this Government are planning to do, is simply wrong. We also need to change the way we manage the economy or we will be faced with a plan, set out in January by this Government, for future discretionary consolidation that changes the ratio of cuts to tax rises from 4:1 to more than 9:1—in effect, trying to balance the books on the backs of the poor. I am sure no Opposition Member would support that.
This motion also talks of the need for
“an economic plan that delivers the sustained rises in living standards needed to boost tax revenues”.
That is sensible, so I hope the Labour party and others would support the Scottish Government’s economic strategy, which was published yesterday. In particular, I hope they would support the Scottish business pledge, which is designed not just to promote economic growth, which is necessary, but to drive fairness and help tackle inequality at the same time. In return for assistance from the Scottish Government, businesses will be required to pay the living wage, commit to an innovation programme, cease using zero-hours contracts, agree to pursue international opportunities, make progress on gender balance, support youth and so on. That is the kind of initiative that should form the bedrock of any genuine long-term economic plan, and it is one that recognises not only that business growth and economic growth are essential to fund and pay for our vital public services, but that squeezing out inequality is an absolute prerequisite for a growing economy in the first place.
I am sure that there will be more of this debate as we move towards the end of this Parliament and into the election. I am disappointed that Labour appears on its last Opposition day to have said that it will stick to the Tory spending cuts. Let us hope that the results after the election ensure that everybody can change their mind.
David Morris Conservative, Morecambe and Lunesdale 4:28 pm, 4th March 2015
It has been a pleasure to speak twice this week under your guidance, Mr Deputy Speaker. If this is to be my last speech in this Parliament with you in the Chair, may I say that I have had an absolutely great time under your guidance as Deputy Speaker? However, I do hope to come back, and to see you there again and we could have another life of five years together.
Today’s issue is a serious one, but I would like this speech to be in the right vein; it should deal with what this means to those watching our debate today. We are bandying figures about all over the place, but what do they actually mean to people? I can talk only about my experiences over the past five years. I was a newly elected MP and we were going through the Lobby making decisions that we knew were going to affect people’s lives. But we had to take these decisions to get the country on the right track. Over my five years as a first-term MP—after the election I hope to be in a second term, but I do not count my chickens—I have wanted to see what has happened in my community. The first thing I remember talking about was a road in my community. I am glad to say that that road, which took 70 years to build, came to fruition with my guidance and under the coalition Government. Costing £123 million, the road will join up the M6 with the port at Heysham and will increase the prosperity in the area tenfold. For every £1 spent on the road, £10 will be put back into the local economy.
We are considering building a new power station. My constituency already has two nuclear power stations, which account for 2,000 jobs in the area. Thankfully, again under this coalition Government, we have a footprint for a third nuclear power station, which will be completed in the next five to 10 years, creating a further 2,000 new jobs.
Let me turn now to schools. Without wanting to be overtly political, schools that were closed down under the previous Government have reopened under the coalition. In my constituency, a school was closed down and has now reopened. Sadly, another school, Skerton, has closed, but I am fighting to get it reopened as a free school. We can find the money to carry out all this work at a time when austerity is at its worst.
Sea wall defences have been built in my constituency, at a cost of more than £10 million. A mandate went out just before the last general election in which five out of the 10 categories of coastal protection were wiped away. Thankfully, we have put two of them back, and we have saved an area off Sunderland Point.
My hon. Friend has talked a great deal about how much money the Government have put into his area. Does he also not recognise that private sector investment, such as the £140 million of private sector investment that will be put into the Wyre Forest in the future—
Lindsay Hoyle Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP Committee, Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP Committee
Order. I have to intervene. I have allowed some leeway here, but I will not let this debate be turned into an election broadcast for all Members who wish to speak. This is about future Government spending. Obviously, the hon. Gentleman has set out a bit of a programme, but we are in danger of going around every constituency and hearing what the measures will be. That is not what today is about.
David Morris Conservative, Morecambe and Lunesdale
I respectfully understand that, but I do agree with my hon. Friend on that particular point.
Under the coalition, we have had to make some very distasteful decisions, but in my area, health is on the up. We had problems in my local hospital which were put to bed yesterday in the Kirkup inquiry. Since 2010, we have had four new hospital wards at the Royal Lancaster infirmary. [Interruption.] Yes, we have had a new health centre costing £25 million in Heysham—
Order. I am trying to be helpful. This debate is about future Government spending. We cannot talk about what has been spent. I have allowed some leeway in that regard. I understand that a general election is coming, but we cannot be so blatant about it. This is about future Government spending. I am sure that the Government want Members to recognise their vision for the future, and that the Opposition want to challenge the Government. I know that that is what everybody wants. If we can stick around that, I will be very grateful.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for indulging me. I got a bit carried away with the good news in my constituency. So, yes, where are we going in the future? The deficit has been halved. As the self-employment ambassador to the Government, I can say that one of the largest sectors in our economy is self-employment. I am sad to see that the Opposition have not recognised the importance of that sector.
Sheila Gilmore Labour, Edinburgh East
If the hon. Lady will let me finish, I will gladly give way. Labour’s manifesto, which we have seen on the internet, does not recognise the self-employment sector, as it sees it as a failure in the labour market, which is quite wrong. I say that respectfully to the Opposition. I was self-employed for 30 years, so I know what it is like to survive.
Jake Berry Conservative, Rossendale and Darwen
My hon. Friend has set out very eloquently the investment that we have seen in Lancashire in transport and infrastructure, including the £15 million invested in the rail link between Darwen and Manchester—
Order. Absolutely not. The hon. Gentleman should know better than to tempt fate, as the fate will not be good for either of us. This is about future Government spending. We do not need pats on the back over spending that has already been invested.
Once again, thank you for your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker.
The self-employment sector in this country accounts for 760,000 new businesses created since 2010, which shows that the country has an entrepreneurial spirit, with huge advantages for taxation. I hold out an olive branch to the Opposition and ask them to embrace it, purely and simply because it is better for us all, irrespective of political party. I believe that the country is going in the right direction—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Thank you, I really do. Unemployment is moving towards historic low levels and the future is bright. I would like to think that the future is blue, but the electorate will have their say in about eight weeks’ time. I thank the House for the five years for which I have been a Member of Parliament, the Opposition as well as my colleagues, and I thank you, too, Mr Deputy Speaker. I hope that I shall be returned to carry on the good work for Morecambe and Lunesdale’s constituents.
Gemma Doyle Shadow Minister (Defence) 4:35 pm, 4th March 2015
I am somewhat bemused to follow David Morris, who seemed to be giving us a public mulling over of his chances of re-election in May. We will leave him to consider that.
We are discussing Government spending and I am sure that Treasury Ministers will have been hard at work this morning trying to find some positive news in the briefing published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. They will have to keep looking, as the report confirms that working people are worse off now than they were in 2010.
“It’s astonishing actually that seven years later incomes are still no higher than they were pre-recession and indeed for working-age households they're still a bit below where they were pre-recession”.
Those are not my words, but those of the IFS director, Paul Johnson, who has already been quoted today. Mr Johnson might well be astonished that after five years of this Government life for working people in Britain is harder, but I am not. In West Dunbartonshire, we know what a Tory Government means: hardship, job cuts and poverty.
This Government have chosen to pursue an austerity plan that has not worked and that has hurt.
Stephen Mosley Conservative, City of Chester
Gemma Doyle Shadow Minister (Defence)
No, I will not, because my constituents want me to make these points, not to give more time to Conservative Members.
The plan has not hurt the people with the broadest shoulders. No, this Government thought that they deserved a tax cut.
I have already told the hon. Gentleman that I will not give him and his broad shoulders any more time.
The Government’s plan has hurt my constituents. It has hurt the poorest, the people who have to count every penny to pay the bills every month. What have the Government achieved? Nothing but pain. The Prime Minister promised that he would balance the books by 2015, but he has failed. Instead, borrowing for 2015-16 is set to be £75 billion and the Government will have borrowed more than £200 billion more than they planned in 2010. Their failure to balance the books is fundamentally linked to their failure to tackle the cost of living crisis in this country. How can we expect public finances to improve when Ministers have trapped families all over the UK in working poverty? Low pay, rising housing costs, disastrous benefit reforms, sky-high unemployment and spiralling energy costs are the marks of this five years in office and they are all driving up the cost of social security and driving down living standards.
My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. Is not future Government spending a question of priorities? This Government introduced the cruel and pernicious bedroom tax; a Labour Government will scrap it.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It would be naive of us to think that the Government were making life harder for everyone. As he points out, that is simply not the case. The rich are getting richer, bankers’ bonuses are buoyant once again and corporations are lining their pockets at the expense of families in the UK. That is absolutely unacceptable, because when big companies do not pay their taxes the working man and woman have to pay more. It is clear that five more years of the Tories means a continuation of an economy that rewards only the most privileged while piling on the pressure for millions of families. That unbalanced and extreme approach is only going to lead to deeper spending cuts—cuts that my constituents cannot afford to live with.
The Government want us to return to public spending levels last seen in the 1930s, a time before the NHS even existed.
Labour Members reject this Government’s failing austerity plan for what it is: unbalanced, unfair and unjust. This election is about saving the NHS and it is about opportunities and jobs for our young people. A Labour Government would take a very different approach to balancing the books, including a bankers’ bonus tax to fund jobs for our young people, a mansion tax to fund an extra 1,000 nurses in Scotland and raising taxes so that the richest pay more.
No, I will not give way.
Our spending plans would support working people, boost living standards, protect our NHS and support the next generation. We want people in this country to do well, but we are not afraid of asking those with the broadest shoulders to contribute more. If someone has done well for themselves under this Government, the next Government or any Government, they should pay their fair share.
We need to pull together as a society, not drift further apart. We need to return to being a country that works for people, not against them, and that provides public services that families can rely on when they need them most. Unlike this Government, we are taking the important step of ensuring that we can deliver every promise we make. I know from talking to my constituents on the doorstep that they are fed up with being told one thing before an election only for something different to happen afterwards. There is too much of that in politics and it should stop.
The IFS has praised Labour’s approach to our spending commitments. It is a shame that this Government have not been able to make promises that they plan to keep. Our plans are simple: we will make life better for people by increasing the national minimum wage, banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, freezing energy bills, expanding child care and providing a paid job with proper training for young people who are unemployed.
I know from my conversations with people on the doorstep in West Dunbartonshire that they have had enough of the Tory austerity plan. This Government have had five years and they have failed.
I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, because I have some time left.
I thank the hon. Lady for giving way. The motion, which I am sure she will be supporting, calls for
Will she outline what sensible reductions in public spending Labour is planning for her constituency?
My constituents are among the poorest in this country. The point is not to cut spending for the poorest people in this country; it is to support them. The point is that millionaires do not need a tax cut; I do not know why the hon. Gentleman thinks they do, but I certainly think they do not. We need to support people in this country who are trying to get by.
The hon. Gentleman’s Government have failed. The verdict is in: they have had five years and they have failed. We need a change of Government. The Labour party will do things differently and I hope we get the chance to show that in May, because my constituents cannot suffer another five years of this.
Paul Uppal Conservative, Wolverhampton South West 4:43 pm, 4th March 2015
I am afraid this Opposition day debate proves one thing more than anything else: Labour has not changed and it never will.
I am a bit of a political anorak and occasionally I watch re-runs of previous general elections. One of my favourite moments is from the 1983 election when, in the early hours of the morning, Robin Day, with a glass of Scotch in his hand, turned to Arthur Scargill and asked him, “Well, Mr Scargill, what do you think a future Conservative Government will mean for all the voters out there?” Arthur Scargill proceeded to give a bit of a diatribe not dissimilar to the utterances of Chris Leslie on the Labour Front Bench. He said, “Public services will be smashed and the NHS will be privatised.” I half expected the four horsemen of the apocalypse to turn up at some point and also to see Mr Burns from “The Simpsons” rubbing his hands.
The reality is that everything changes in politics, but nothing does actually change. If my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary wants guidance on where Labour is in the 21st century, he would do well to look at the soothsaying words of Arthur Scargill, because that appears to be the party’s direction of travel.
Paul Uppal Conservative, Wolverhampton South West
I know I am going to regret this, but I will give way.
As a matter of historical fact, was Arthur Scargill right that the Conservative Government decimated the public service that was the National Coal Board and the coal industry, putting 200,000 miners on the dole and ending up with this country today importing coal from places such as Ukraine, where 30 men were killed yesterday because of the lousy safety record in that part of the world?
The hon. Gentleman’s words prove my point. We need to look forward to the future.
Through 13 years of government and five years of opposition, Labour has not learned from its previous mistakes—mistakes that left us with the biggest deficit in our peacetime history and took this country to the brink of bankruptcy. The Leader of the Opposition has returned to the old Labour argument that cutting spending will work and refuses to accept that the £30 billion of consolidations that we will continue to make are what is needed for the economic health of the country. Labour’s plans to spend more without higher taxes will naturally lead to increased borrowing and an ever-increasing debt burden on future generations. Our children and grandchildren will have to pick up the tab for those plans.
Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who has already been quoted, predicts that Labour rule would mean that the national debt will climb £170 billion higher by the 2020s. The irony is that the Opposition frequently rail against banks and the bankers, but it is their policies that will mean that a higher proportion of our national income flows into banks and bankers’ pockets in debt repayments and interest charges, instead of being spent on public services. Surely the Opposition can see that the only way we can get to grips with Britain’s debt is to tackle the deficit. Thanks to the difficult decisions this Government have made, we are cutting it by half.
Let us not forget that there is some good news out there. Opposition Members seem to forget that. Our economy is growing at the fastest rate in the G7, and the only way to ensure that this continues is the Conservatives’ long-term economic stewardship. Over the past few years nearly 750,000 businesses have been created and unemployment is down by almost 2 million. In my constituency, Wolverhampton South West, unemployment has fallen by more than 1,000 since May 2010, after rising in the previous five years.
There is still much more to do, which is why Britain must stick with our long-term economic plan. Labour still believes fundamentally in more borrowing, more spending and more debt. It does not have a serious, long-term plan to fix Britain’s economy or to reduce our debt. Often when talking about public services we look at what is being put in, rather than the more important point of what is being achieved. Through greater efficiency and a reduction in bureaucracy and waste, we can be smarter with public money. People often say to me on the doorstep, “We want politicians to spend our money the way you would spend the money in your own pocket, your own wallet, your own purse.” We need a long-term approach from a party which has the long-term interests of the economy at its heart.
The NHS provides a good example of how less bureaucracy leads to improved services. We have rightly increased the NHS budget, but at the same time we are using public funds better. The NHS is something to be valued and protected, but we have made tough decisions to improve front-line services. Let us be under no illusion. The only thing that is a long-term threat to the NHS is Labour being in power and running our economy into the ground, because without a strong economy we cannot have good public services. If Labour is not going to borrow more to cover its spending binge, how will it pay for it? I am sure most of the country want an answer to that question.
It is my view, and that of many others, that Labour is planning a post-election corporation tax rise. The BBC has already reported that Labour will pay for some of its spending by not going ahead with our vital 1p cut in the main corporation tax. That is not just a cut in the rate of corporation tax, but simplifies the tax system. I fear that Labour will go further and instead increase corporation tax, taking Britain out of its competitive position. Such a rise would be disastrous for the UK economy and our jobs recovery. We have seen the impact that low taxes have had on the jobs market, and that move would undo the hard work that we have done to ensure that families have a guaranteed monthly pay cheque. Analysis has shown that even a 1p rise would lead to massive job losses, forcing unemployment up and increasing welfare. The Institute of Directors has described it as a
“dangerous move to risk our business-friendly environment in this way”.
The BBC has gone even further and said:
“Labour must realise that you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul.”
Our business-friendly policies have helped the UK become one of the best countries to do business in, increasing employment levels and reducing the deficit. Labour’s plans, or the lack thereof, would wreck that.
I am surprised that Labour has chosen to go down this route on its final Opposition day. It would have done better by apologising for the financial heart attack it inflicted on this country. Thank goodness that the Government have sorted it out. We might think that there are lots of smart people in this Chamber, and there are, but one lesson is absolutely crucial: never take the voters out there for fools or think that they are stupid. They can see the reality of what we have delivered over the past five years.
David Anderson Labour, Blaydon 4:50 pm, 4th March 2015
I am glad that Paul Uppal finished his speech by saying that this is Labour’s final Opposition day—hopefully it will be the last for a very long time. Is anyone else sick of hearing the term
“long-term economic plan”? Government Members are not; they seem to think it is a catchy phrase. What have we had for the past four years? We have had a short-term economic scam.
The Government promised to cut the deficit in four years, but they have completely and utterly failed. They promised not to borrow, but they have borrowed £219 billion more that they said they would—enough to run the health service for two years. They have decimated public services, destroying hundreds of thousands of good-quality jobs done by people who were delivering vital public services to the people we represent. They were working hard, contributing and paying income tax and national insurance contributions.
The Government have hammered every man, woman and child in this country with a 2.5% VAT rise, and the Liberal Democrats supported it, despite saying they would not. The Government have made life desperate for those people who rely on benefits, so those who were already poor have been made poorer. They have penalised people for having the temerity to be in poverty by bringing in things like the poverty tax—I meant the bedroom tax, but actually I was right first time.
The Government have given away successful public assets such as Royal Mail. They privatised the successful side and nationalised the deficit, which was the pensions. Now even the chief executive worries that it will not be able to keep the universal service obligation. This week they privatised East Coast, the best performing railway line in the country, and now they are talking about privatising Eurostar. We all know, despite their promises, that if they are re-elected the NHS will be moving rapidly towards privatisation, whether via a transatlantic trade and investment partnership or some other route.
My council has been hammered. It now has 45% less money than it did four years ago, meaning that every man, woman and child has been robbed of £328. We have lost 1,700 high-quality people who were delivering services to the people of my town. We have lost a fire engine, and another has been lost in a different part of the constituency, and 130 firefighters had to go across Tyne and Wear. The fire chief’s advice is, “I am being forced to make 35% cuts, and if I do that lives will be lost.” Lives will be lost not only in fires, but on the A1 motorway, which goes through my constituency, the third most congested road in Britain, because firefighters will no longer be available to get people out of damaged vehicles.
There really is a long-term economic plan, and we know what it is: to continue making rich people richer—the same as it has always been with the Tories. They will not stop their friends having dodgy tax deals, because they use the dodgy tax funding for their election campaigns. They will not cut taxes for the poor, but they will for the rich—£7 billion of unfunded tax promises.
My hon. Friend, as an avid watcher of politics, will have seen that in last year’s Conservative party conference the Prime Minister and the Chancellor promised £7 billion of unfunded tax cuts. Is he as worried as I am that they would fund those by making more cuts to the public services that our constituents rely on?
I rarely disagree with my hon. Friend, but I could never bring myself to watch the Tory party conference. However, I heard what they said, and it is quite clear what they would do: they would have to take £7 billion from somewhere, and it will be the public sector. They are committed to going back to the level that things were at in the 1930s, when people in this country were, quite frankly, living like slaves, working in conditions that were abhorrent and going home to houses that were a disgrace. That is why when my party came into government in 1945 we had a massive house building project. That is why we nationalised the coal industry, the rail industry and the steel industry—the Conservatives had let them run into disrepair for decades and did not care a toss about the people who worked in them and lived in conditions that were worse than we could ever imagine.
The Government have not only failed on those levels—they have also failed to collect money because they have made people go out of wealthier jobs into low-paid jobs where they are not paying income tax or national insurance contributions. They have collected £68 billion less in income tax than they projected and lost £27 billion in national insurance contributions. You couldn’t make it up, Mr Deputy Speaker. We can see where they want to be. They want to take us back to the 1930s, when we had a low-paid, low-skill work force who were frightened to stand up to the boss, made to go to work when they did not want to, and made to work for poverty wages. That is exactly what they want to us to go back to—unless, of course, you are one of their friends who happens to be the chairman of a FTSE 100 company, and who last year, on average, had a £4.27 million salary. That is a lot of money, even for the Conservatives. Perhaps it is not as much as some of them earn, but it is a lot of money. The directors in those firms got a 21% pay rise, on average, while at the same time the Government are denying a pay rise of even a meagre 1% to nurses, firefighters and care workers—the people who keep this country running day in, day out, and contribute more in a day than some of these leeches will do in a lifetime.
Debbie Abrahams Labour, Oldham East and Saddleworth
My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech. Is it not also a disgrace that young people are being hammered in so many different directions by this Government and have seen an average 7.8% drop in their income over the past five years?
It is an absolute disgrace. One of the saddest things of my life is that I might go out of it—I hope a long time from now—and leave behind a generation who are worse off than I was, for the first time ever. We should hang our heads in shame if that is where we end up with the young people of this country, because it is clearly where we are going. During the past week, I have been approached by a young man who was an apprentice, and who became ill and had to come off work. He was not even allowed to get statutory sick pay. That is how disgraceful things are in this day and age.
I give way to my hon. Friend from Plymouth.
I am interested in what the hon. Gentleman has to say, but nobody has mentioned how we are going to create wealth in order to meet some of the costs that we end up having to pay.
I am glad that I gave way: thank you very much for being my straight man, Oliver. The Tories will have us believe that prosperity will trickle down. Where is it going to trickle down from? There is no proof of that. In my part of the world, 4,000 people will benefit from the income tax hand-back, but 144,000 have seen their tax credits cut at the same time. Young people and other people in my part of the world have lost £1,160 a year, so they will not be doing very much to create the wealth of this country.
In the programme that we will put forward, we will put small businesses first by lowering their taxes. We will promote a proper industrial strategy for our biggest employers, not just the high-tech firms, and work in partnership with them and the trade unions—I know that is a dirty word for Conservative Members—to create the situation where we increase the national minimum wage to a level it should be at, unlike the Conservatives, who opposed it at every step. We will reverse the cut in the top rate of tax, because that is the right thing to do. We will close the loopholes that have been exploited by the friends and funders of the Conservatives, who take the money off them to run their election campaigns.
We will freeze gas and electricity bills, because we are sick to death of these companies saying “We can’t do any more.” Now they are saying, “Leave us alone, leave us alone.” They have bled this country dry ever since they were privatised in the 1980s. The hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West complained about what was said in the 1980s, but what was projected then is exactly what happened. Public services were decimated and the people of this country are paying the price every time they pay an electricity bill, a gas bill or a water bill.
We will devolve power to councils and people at lower levels so they can take proper decisions on the front line and at the cutting edge, where they know what is going on in their areas. We will make work pay. We will stop exploitive zero-hours contracts, because nothing in the world will ever convince me that having people on tenterhooks, not knowing whether they will work the next day, is an absolute and utter disgrace. We will increase the minimum wage to £8 an hour. That will boost the pay of more than 76,000 people in my part of the world, which they will be really delighted about.
At the end of the day, we will end this system of despair. People have said, “We had no alternative. We had to do it this way.” They did not have to do it this way; they chose to do it this way—on the back of the most vulnerable in society.
Order. Before I call Mr Stewart Jackson, let me say that there is now a six-minute limit on speeches.
Stewart Jackson Conservative, Peterborough 5:00 pm, 4th March 2015
What a pathetic, facile motion the Opposition have brought forward for their last Opposition day debate during this
Government. They could have introduced a proper costed programme. As my hon. Friend Paul Uppal has said, they could have apologised for the huge number of errors they made in government. All elections, including the one in 63 days’ time, are about hope versus fear. From them we hear fear and smear, but we have a policy of hope, because we have turned around the economy following the disastrous economic legacy left by the Labour party.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Elections should be about honesty and transparency. The Labour party has mentioned spending cuts, but it is not telling us which it will make.
Absolutely. In more than two hours, we have not heard anything, except in relation to gun licences and, of course, the recycled bankers’ bonuses.
What a contrast between the Opposition and the Labour party on the cusp of the election on 1 May 1997, when I was a candidate and lost by the not inconsiderable majority of 19,500 in Brent South. No wonder Labour MPs are depressed when they are sober and catatonic when drunk, quite frankly, because they know there is an acute contrast between that historic election and now. The Labour Government led by Tony Blair was ambitious, and their programme was thoughtful, forward looking, positive, generous and optimistic. Tony Blair is now persona non grata in the Labour party, and it now has a core vote strategy, with a mean-spirited, peevish, insular, dreary collection of bungs to special interest groups, and smears and caricatures aimed at the Conservative party.
What is more, Labour policy does not stand up to any form of scrutiny. We have heard about the utilities price freeze—a disastrous policy that has damaged the industry and, perversely, will damage the interests of consumers. Wither Labour’s cost of living crisis? Today, the IFS says that prices are being outstripped by wages for the first time since 2007. There is no more cost of living crisis because wages are growing at 2.1% against a retail prices index of 0.9%. On fuel, council tax, food, beer duty and children’s air passenger duty, the Government have made efforts to reduce the cost of living of ordinary families. We have driven up the personal allowance, and we are committed to drive it up to £12,500 in the next Parliament.
No, I will not give way at present.
As we have already heard, the 45p tax rate has raised more income for public services than was ever done by the 50p rate, which was put in place for cynical political reasons. We will not take any lectures from the party that abolished the 10p tax rate for the poorest working families. What sticks in my craw is the moral superiority of the Labour party in this debate. In 2011, 1,200 people in my constituency had been parked on out-of-work benefits—incapacity benefit or invalidity benefit—for more than 10 years during a period of economic growth. Some 5.2 million were parked on out-of-work benefits when the economy was growing quarter by quarter during the 13 years of the Labour Government. We will not take any lectures or moral indignation from Gemma Doyle and other Labour Members.
The top 1% of taxpayers are paying 25% of income taxes. We have driven up employment levels. More women than ever are working. Some 30.9 million people are working, despite the ludicrous prognostications of people such as David Blanchflower, who told us that 5 million people would be unemployed, and Ed Balls, who said that we could not cut expenditure and have growth in private sector jobs—complete and utter nonsense. In my constituency, unemployment has gone down by almost 60% and youth unemployment by almost 66%.
Under the last Government, almost 1 million young people were out of work. Through apprenticeships and job opportunities, those people now have opportunities and hope for the future. They are the people who are benefitting from this Government. Does my hon. Friend agree?
I absolutely agree. My hon. Friend has put forward the strong views of his constituents in Chester for the past five years, and I expect him to be handsomely re-elected.
What I find depressing is the pernicious smear and myth that we are going back to the 1930s, when there was no NHS. That is a lie. It is disingenuous to make that point. First, the figures were not even collected until 1956. Secondly, the economy is at least 10 times bigger than it ever was in the 1930s. As I made clear in an earlier intervention, expenditure as a proportion of GDP is more or less the same as it was in 2002—the fifth year of a Labour Government.
I will not dwell on Labour’s record on the economy, other than to say that we had a record decline in manufacturing—that is for the benefit of Mr Anderson—we had disastrous school results, youth unemployment doubled, a quarter of all public expenditure was borrowed by the end of Labour’s rule and there was a structural deficit when the economy was growing. While we are at it, inequality grew between 1997 and 2010. The gap between the poorest 10% and the richest 10% grew wider during the time of the Labour Government.
What a contrast that is to what we have done. We have capped benefits, focused on capital investment, driven up the number of apprenticeships, created 760,000 new jobs, increased the state pension and come up with a properly costed plan for our future. I am proud of the work that this Government have done, given the appalling financial inheritance they were encumbered by in May 2010.
Let us have a little humility from Labour Members. The reason they have zero credibility with electors on the deficit and the management of the economy is that they do not believe they did anything wrong. That is normal for a party that won 258 seats, even though if we had got the same number of votes, we would have got fewer than 200 seats because of the boundaries. They think, “One more heave. More spending and more borrowing is absolutely fine.”
However, the election of a Labour Government is an existential threat to the health and prospects of the economy and my constituency, and to the mortgages, jobs, pensions, savings and businesses of my constituents.
Higher mortgage rates, higher unemployment, higher prices, more debt and borrowing, punishing middle-class earners, punishing aspiring wealth creators, same old class envy, same old spiteful prejudice, same old economic failure, same old Labour—on 7 May, the British people just won’t risk it.
Andy Sawford Shadow Minister (Communities and Local Government) 5:08 pm, 4th March 2015
I would like to say that it is a pleasure to follow Mr Jackson, but he reminded me of a performance by Sir Ian Bowler at a “Stand up for Labour” event at the Labour club in my constituency, which was a caricature of a particularly unpleasant form of Conservatism in this country. I can see now how Ian Bowler was inspired. The hon. Gentleman used ugly language to portray a gross mischaracterisation of the events of recent years.
The hon. Gentleman called for some humility. He might have acknowledged that when the Government came to office, they promised to balance the books and said that we would all be in it together. They have failed on both counts, and people in his Peterborough constituency know that.
“In five years’ time, we will have balanced the books,” the Prime Minister told the CBI in October 2010. Let us be absolutely clear: that promise has been broken. They have not balanced the books and the next Labour Government are set to inherit a large deficit as a result. The Office for Budget Responsibility says that borrowing in 2015-16 is set to be £75 billion. The Government will be borrowing over £200 billion more than they planned in 2010. It is because of their failure to deliver on debt and tackle the cost of living crisis that we so desperately need a Labour Government.
Despite Tory claims that our economy is fixed—Conservative Members go around the country and we see pictures of the Chancellor in his hard hat doing a lap of honour while the public look on incredulous—wages have stagnated for many workers. Too many of the jobs that are being created are in low-paid insecure work, rather than high-productivity sectors. I have consistently called for action on zero-hours exploitation, and I introduced a private Member’s Bill on the issue. I am pleased that we have made a tiny bit of progress, and I was proud of the role I played in getting the Office for National Statistics to change the way it records figures so that we now have a more accurate reflection of the situation.
Jim Cunningham Labour, Coventry South
The problem of Mr Jackson is that a lot of us were in the House when the world economic situation deteriorated. He forgot to tell us that the problems started in America. Conservative Members were in their bunkers at the time and talked about doing something about regulation and so on; they never had a policy. Therefore when they talk about honesty in this debate, they should get up and admit that they suddenly discovered there was a problem after they came to power. What happened? People’s wages have been cut by 7%.
My hon. Friend is right. Conservative Members were calling for less regulation of banking in this country. Not only did they back Labour’s spending plans right up to the time of the global financial crash, but I remember that in my area they paraded around during the 2005 election calling for more spending and criticising the then Labour Government because we had not built enough hospitals, rebuilt enough schools, created enough Sure Start centres, or put more police on the beat. They had the cheek to call for more public spending in 2005, and now 10 years later they pretend that they were counselling caution at that time when they plainly were not.
The notion that the Labour party—the powerful Labour party that created a global financial crash that hit a Conservative-led Government in Germany and right-wing Governments in France and America—did so because we were investing in schools and hospitals is completely absurd. The public have found the Government out and they will be exposed for it at the election.
Let me take my hon. Friend back to what he said about low pay and its impact on the economy. Low pay is not just a tragedy for our constituents who are forced to accept low wages; it is a disaster for the economy of Britain. We have seen tax receipts drop by £68 billion, and national insurance contributions by £27.3 billion—money that could be invested in public services.
My hon. Friend is right. The effect of low and stagnant pay means that tax receipts have been much lower than expected. The Government have failed on the deficit and the cost of living crisis. Low pay is combining with higher housing costs and the failure to deliver benefit reform to drive down social security costs, which are rising under this Government. The Tory-led Government are set to spend £25 billion more on social security than they planned in 2010. We need action on the issues that our constituents are facing.
In my area it is not just zero-hours exploitation that causes insecurity, and many people are working through agencies. They come off the books of the jobcentre to work for an agency. That work might last days, weeks, or a few months if they are lucky, and sometimes they get exploited working year in, year out through an agency without holiday pay or proper terms and conditions—desperately insecure employment. Although a few agencies follow the law, when HMRC investigated agencies in my constituency they found more than 70 breaches of the law, and £120,000 owing to local workers in non-payment of the minimum wage. People were being made to pay to get their own pay through payroll companies, or they had to pay illegally for their own protective equipment. That is the real world that many people face in my constituency and across the country.
Adam Afriyie Chair, Adam Afriyie MP Committee, Chair, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Chair, Adam Afriyie MP Committee
I have no more time. The Prime Minister said that he would name and shame those companies. A year ago he made me that promise at the Dispatch Box during Prime Minister’s questions, in front of the whole House and the country. It was on the front page of my local paper, but a year on he still has not named and shamed those local companies. The people in my area do not know which of these agencies is most likely to rip them off.
What about the second part of the Government’s promise: that we are all in this together? They promised us that they would not balance the budget on the back of the poor. They cut the 50p rate to 45p, handing a £3 billion tax cut to the richest 1%. They handed people earning £1 million a tax cut of more than £42,000 a year, while cutting council tax support for war widows and the disabled. They imposed the deeply unfair bedroom tax, which has had the direct result of driving many people into the queues at the food banks in my constituency and across the country. I want to thank Hope church for its brilliant work, which I try to support. The people of Corby have been brilliant. The food bank ran out of stocks recently. We put out an appeal and within 24 hours it was full again. However, people in this country, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, should not have to rely on food banks. That is Tory Britain.
Since 2010, there have been 24 Tory tax rises. Ordinary families are paying £450 a year more in VAT. Figures from the IFS show that households will on average be more than £1,000 a year worse off by the time of the next general election. This is the first Government to lower living standards during their time in office. It gets worse: because of their failure and their dogma—the Tory party tried to stop the NHS being created in the first place—they are now planning to take us back to a time before the NHS existed, to a 1930s level of spending.
At the coming election, there will be a very stark choice. Under Tory plans, the state will shrink from 41% now to 35% by the end of the next Parliament. That is the lowest level since 1939, before the NHS existed and when children left school at the age of 14. That is the equivalent of cutting every penny we spend on schools, half the budget of our NHS, and more than all the Departments’ capital budgets added together, including what we spend on investment in schools, hospitals, roads, railways, housing, science and flood defences.
People in my constituency know that I have been fighting very hard to try to stop cuts to the local fire service and to keep Sure Start centres open. The children’s centre in Raunds has just closed. Our police stations are threatened: the front desk at Oundle has just closed and Corby police station is threatened with closure. We have had cuts to our ambulance services. Last week, the captain of Corby Town football club broke his leg in two places and dislocated his ankle. An ambulance was called at 8.10 pm. It came at 11.10 pm.
That is what has happened in the first five years of a Tory Government. People know what will happen in the next five years of a Tory Government. Our NHS will be completely decimated, as our social care services have been in this Parliament. People in my constituency and across the country cannot afford five more years of this rotten Tory Government.
Oliver Colvile Conservative, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport 5:17 pm, 4th March 2015
First, may I thank the Opposition very much indeed for securing this debate? This is one of the most important issues that we need to discuss between now and 7 May. I congratulate my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Treasury team on controlling public expenditure and making progress on reducing the deficit. I do that not only as a Member of Parliament but principally as a taxpayer. I do not particularly want to see my mortgages go up because we have a Labour Government.
I first raised this issue during the 2001 general election campaign, the first of the three times that I have fought my Plymouth seat. At a meeting of the Plymouth chamber of commerce, I pointed out to then Labour MP that the then Chancellor’s Red Book clearly stipulated that the Government would be creating a structural budget deficit. My predecessor looked somewhat blankly at me and did not appear to be familiar with the Treasury’s Red Book. At the 2005 election when I talked about this again, she seemed to have become a little more familiar with the Red Book. I was told that Mr Brown always got his sums right and that I was just scaremongering. Well, I just have to ask one question: “Oh, really?”
I would like to pay tribute to Warwick Lightfoot, a very good friend of mine and a former special adviser at the Treasury. He has provided me with the intelligence and ammunition in the past 15 years to deal with these issues. Soon after my election in 2010, with his help, I submitted a paper on my thoughts about the strategic defence and security review. I made it quite clear that while I recognised the need to control the public expenditure envelope, I named my spending priorities as defence and long-term care for the elderly. Representing a naval garrison city, I have in the past five years consistently called on the Government to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. This could be achieved by taking the renewal of the nuclear deterrent out of the defence budget and returning it to the Treasury.
I am grateful that the seven Type 23 frigates that the previous Labour Government had proposed to send to Portsmouth have been returned to Plymouth, and I am delighted that HMS Protector has been sent from Portsmouth to Devonport. It is good to have another ship there.
My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for his constituents and has won some great concessions on their behalf in his time here. Does he share my concern—in a way, it is a sadness—that Labour does not seem to have learned anything in the past four or five years? It calls for more spending regardless of whether there is a budget surplus or deficit. If it continued spending as it would like, this country would be back on its knees in the blink of an eye.
My hon. Friend talks the truth about the importance of our controlling public expenditure.
Over the past five years, I have worked closely with Plymouth university’s Ian Sherriff on long-term care for the elderly and combating dementia, which is something I know my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister takes very seriously. For those in our mid-50s and facing old age, the worry is that we will get dementia, so I pay tribute to the Government for implementing the vast majority of the Dilnot report. We have much further to go, but it is a start. Unfortunately, the previous Labour Government did not do much about implementing their royal commission.
Another incredibly important issue in my constituency is the rebalancing of Plymouth’s low-waged, low-skilled economy. More than 38% of people working in the city are employed by the public sector, and when I was first elected, people believed that Plymouth would be badly hit by, and vulnerable to, the cuts to public expenditure, and there was the threat of the claimant count in the city going through the roof, but I am delighted to say that under this Government the count has fallen by 42%.
The city council has criticised me for voting to control public expenditure, claiming that the Government have not invested in the south-west, but it fails to recognise that they have given Plymouth and the peninsula a city deal that, in return for £10 million, will create 10,000 new jobs. It fails to acknowledge that releasing land in South Yard will deliver a marine industry campus and create 1,200 new jobs—this would be helped significantly by an enterprise zone in South Yard as well. It fails to acknowledge that they have given us the Mayflower 2020 commemorations, which will boost the local tourist industry, and the council has disregarded the £2.6 billion investment in our dockyard, which will safeguard 4,000 new jobs, and dismissed the dualling of the A303 after the next election.
The biggest threat to my city over the next few weeks would be the return of a Labour Government, because, unfortunately, a Labour Government would never think about Plymouth—they would be much more interested in looking after Scotland at Plymouth’s expense. Following the 1997 election, when Tony Blair won his landslide, Labour had only four seats in the whole of Devon and Cornwall, meaning they did not invest in transport or skills there. I fear that Labour would put this investment into Scotland at our expense and would not deliver on Mayflower 400.
We need a stronger Navy. We need to put pressure on the Government for more funds to fix our potholes, in addition to the £9.6 million the council has been given over the past five years, and we need to restore our maritime built heritage, particularly Devonport’s north corner pontoon and sea wall. If we want to ensure that Drake’s drum does not sound, we need the Prime Minister back in No. 10 and a Conservative Chancellor making the right decisions.
Order. I am reducing the time limit to five minutes.
Mark Hendrick Labour, Preston 5:24 pm, 4th March 2015
In 2010, the Conservative leader, then in opposition, promised he would be able to “balance the books” by 2015—in other words, during the term of this Parliament that is coming to an end. He failed to do so. Borrowing for 2015-16 is now set for £75 billion. It is clear that the Conservative-led Government have borrowed more than £200 billion more than was planned in 2010. The books have not been balanced, yet there has been a great deal of borrowing. Where has that money gone? I can say where it has not gone. Not much of it has gone on spending in constituencies such as mine.
The Government’s failing austerity plan risks reducing the role of the state to a size not seen since the 1930s, as we have seen. Nowhere is this more evident than in my Preston constituency and certain other parts of Lancashire. The commitment to spending cuts is beginning to show in the quality of local health care. The number of elective operations cancelled in Lancashire has gone up by an average of 12%. Still on health care, I am particularly concerned about the decline in the North West ambulance service response times for both red 1 and red 2 emergency responses. According to the most recent data in 2014, response times within the standard eight minutes were down by 3.5%, while red 2 emergency response times were down by 5%. Those are just two examples of how the health service in my constituency has been degraded and how public services have been degraded generally—despite the extra borrowing undertaken by the Government.
The spending cuts have drastically affected front-line policing in Lancashire. Since 2010, the number of new police officers in the north-west has fallen by 28%. Since 2010, too, 291 police officers have been cut from front-line policing roles in Lancashire, accounting for 10% of the whole of the Lancashire police force. The cut in Government spending on front-line policing in Lancashire has had a direct impact on local crime. Since 2013, drug crimes have risen in Preston, and domestic burglaries have gone up by an average of nearly 6% over the last five years. Offences involving knives and other sharp objects in 2013 rose, on the most recently available statistics, by 8.4%. Hate crimes and disability hate crimes are at an all-time high in Lancashire.
We have seen cuts in child care, too. The number of early-years child care providers in Lancashire has declined by nearly 4.5% since 2012. On housing, there are currently 3,394 households on the waiting list for social housing in Preston—3,394 too many. What we are now seeing is a clear manifestation of what we call the working poor. We used to define people as poor if they were out of work and struggling. Now, however, we see the working poor paying regular visits to Preston’s food banks.
The unemployment figures might be falling, but the real picture is very different. Low pay is endemic, and there is wage stagnation. The Conservatives said that if we introduced the minimum wage, it would cost a million jobs. As we know, the introduction of the minimum wage created lots of jobs. We are seeing more zero-hours contracts, at the same time as we are seeing what I take to be sanctions placed on people—not necessarily because they are not looking for work, but because the Department for Work and Pensions has an unofficial and devolved policy of targeting sanctions on people by various officers and offices. On the “Dispatches” programme on Channel 4 the other night, we saw people dying as a result of these sanctions. Agency workers are contributing to the problem, and people are either being forced to go self-employed or forced off the register altogether.
Some 1,200 properties in Preston have to pay the bedroom tax, while we have seen cuts in local government spending and cuts in health service provision, as I said. For Mr Jackson to say that there is no cost of living crisis is incredible, when year after year since 2007, inflation has run ahead of wages. Now, because there has been a small upturn, he tries to pretend that it has never been any different. The Government are a disgrace; the quicker we can get rid of them, the better. Bring on 7 May!
Andrew Jones Conservative, Harrogate and Knaresborough 5:29 pm, 4th March 2015
At the heart of the motion is the idea that the Government’s economic policy is failing. It raises a scenario of a country going back to the 1930s—a country without the NHS and with mass unemployment. It was indeed a dark time, as Mr Anderson said. I simply do not recognise that scenario, however—either for my own constituency or for the country more broadly. The motion raises the spectre of no NHS. That is absolute nonsense. The NHS budget has risen by £12.7 billion during this Parliament.
The budget may have risen, but the delivery of front-line services, and of services more generally, has been overshadowed by the top-down reorganisation which the Government, when in opposition, said would not happen. That is where much of the money has gone. It has not been spent on the delivery of services.
Andrew Jones Conservative, Harrogate and Knaresborough
I think that the hon. Gentleman is mistaken. The restructuring of the NHS has saved money, and we have more doctors and nurses as a result. Indeed, Members on both sides of the House have backed the NHS’s “Five Year Forward View”. To suggest that we are not investing in health in our country is simply mistaken. The Opposition’s suggestion that the NHS is somehow under enormous pressure is scaring people, because we all rely on the NHS.
Is our plan failing? No, it is not. The evidence simply is not there. Our economic growth is faster than that of any other developed economy, but the best evidence that the plan is succeeding is what that growth means to people, and that is the level of work. Unemployment has been falling, and a huge number of jobs are being created: 1.85 million have been created during this Parliament. In my constituency, the figures are extremely positive. At the start of this Parliament, there were 13,084 unemployed people; now there are 529. That pattern is mirrored throughout the country, and it means that more people are able to provide for themselves and their families.
The motion suggests that the economic plan is unfair. It is not. There is nothing fair about saddling future generations with debt. Of course dealing with a huge recession is a challenge. We all know that people have been under enormous pressure which has been compounded by food price and fuel inflation, although that it is passing. However, the key Government tax policy has been an enormous help. The huge increases in the personal allowance have benefited about 25 million people, and in my constituency about 4,500 people have been taken out of tax altogether. Both the Treasury and the Institute for Fiscal Studies have confirmed that the richest are making the largest contribution to reducing our deficit, as they should. My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary referred to that earlier.
How does the Government’s plan compare with others? If we are failing here, how are other countries doing? I think that they are looking at our progress with some envy. The international response from the OECD, and the national response from business groups, is that the plan is working. The head of the OECD has said that Britain “needs to stick with” its long-term economic plan.
Greg Knight Conservative, East Yorkshire
Does my hon. Friend agree that there is an alternative to the Government’s long-term economic plan, namely the Labour party’s proposals, which would take this country in the direction of Greece?
I entirely agree. There is indeed an alternative, and that alternative is pretty stark. The choice to be made at the next election will be one of the most important that we have faced for a generation.
I am sure that, when the motion was drafted, the Opposition did not realise that the IFS would publish a report today highlighting the fact that average incomes have returned to pre-crisis levels. I recognise that the position is not the same for different groups in our community, and that much more needs to be done. I know that we all want to see living standards rise. I am strongly in favour of the living wage, and was pleased when it was adopted by Harrogate borough council. However, the motion is nonsense. Claims that we are heading back to the 1930s are ridiculous.
Yes, an incoming Conservative Government would see public spending fall as a percentage of our economy, from about 40% now to 35.2% at the end of the next Parliament. That is very similar to the 35.9% that we saw in 2000, and in real terms, when we allow for inflation, the level is the same as it was in 2002. However, we will then be living within our means, and the sooner we reach the point at which we are living within our means, the better it will be for our country.
Austerity has not choked jobs and growth, as the shadow Chancellor predicted. It has been a key ingredient in the progress that we have made. That is why we must continue our drive to balance the books, create the most favourable possible environment for the wealth creators in business, and not pretend that the job is done or that there is an easy way to make progress.
William Bain Labour, Glasgow North East 5:34 pm, 4th March 2015
It has been a pleasure to listen to the whole of this debate and to make a contribution at this stage. It has been a revealing debate, showing the paucity of the Government and the Conservatives’ argument for re-election. It comes down to this: “We have nearly doubled the debt, we have completely broken our promise on the deficit, we have stripped growth out of the economy for the first three years, we have been the worst Government for 140 years on wages and living standards—now go on, vote for us and give us a second term.” That is it: no positive policies; no vision of how the economy can be different; no vision of how to get more people involved in work, in decent, good paying jobs; no vision of high skill, high investment, high exports. No; instead, we have just had negativity and fear and I suspect that that is what will do for this Government on 7 May.
My hon. Friend omitted to mention the fact that voters will, on average, be £1,600 per person worse off than they were at the last general election. What sort of Government can present a spectacle of people being worse off by that amount and still expect to get re-elected?
Indeed, and as the Institute for Fiscal Studies said this morning, this has been the slowest recovery in living standards in history. I do not think any reasonable Government would expect to be re-elected with that kind of record, and those are the facts.
What was extraordinary about the debate was the way in which the Government, having twice moved the goalposts on their deficit target, again tried to pull this extraordinary trick over the eyes of the country today. As I said in an intervention, the “Charter for Budget Responsibility”, which this House endorsed in January, made no reference to balancing the current Budget by 2017-18. It talked about a rolling five-year forecast, yet it was used today by the Financial Secretary, who is no longer in his place, to refer to a bogus sum saying that £30 billion in cuts were implied by that charter. That type of approach shows that the view of the Conservative party and this Government is, “This is as good as it gets”, and that we should have no ambition for our country of higher growth, higher skills and higher investment than that which they have been able to provide. My constituents and Opposition Members reject that completely.
Let us look at what the International Monetary Fund is saying on growth. It says that next year growth will fall compared with this year and that it will still be falling the year after. Is that really as good as it gets for Britain in this early stage of the 21st century? The next Government should follow policies that see us have higher growth, higher wages and higher skills.
It was also revealing in this debate that the Minister could not say whether he supported the Office for Budget Responsibility evaluating the fiscal plans of any other party, and small wonder because the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the one organisation that has evaluated the plans and looked at the difference between the Conservative spending plans and those that would be followed Labour, has said that there will be more growth, more jobs, and faster rises in wages under Labour’s spending plans than under those of the Tories. So there it is: confirmation that if we want to have ambition for our country, a fairer society, better public spending and better living standards and outcomes for our constituents, seeing an end to this Government is absolutely critical.
We also need in this debate a recognition that the way the Government have tried to reduce the deficit in this Parliament has brought exceptional hardship to our constituents. Anyone who has held the hand of a disabled person, as I have, having to pay the wicked, pernicious bedroom tax, with tears in her eyes, wondering how any decent Government could ever inflict that on any of its citizens, knows that the course the country has been on for the past five years is wrong and needs to change. Anyone who has seen, as I have in my surgery, people on low incomes with family members suffering sanctions imposed through targets from the Department for Work and Pensions knows that we are a better country than that and the next Government can do better for all of its people and produce much more fairness.
It is key that we get more people into work, abolish long-term unemployment among our young people and those over the age of 25 and ensure that we have an economy with more productivity leading to rises in wages and higher living standards for all. We need an economy that is based more on exports and investment than on the racking up of public and private debt that this Government have presided over.
I believe that there is a better way, and that the people of this country will vote for it on 7 May. Mr Jackson talked about fear. As we approach this critical general election, we should remember the words of Franklin Roosevelt in his inauguration speech of 1932. He said:
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
I do not believe that the British people will be fearful on 7 May. I believe that they will be purposeful in voting out this Government, in voting for change and in voting for a Labour Government.
Cathy Jamieson Shadow Minister (Treasury) 5:40 pm, 4th March 2015
It is a pleasure to wind up the debate today and to speak in favour of our Opposition motion. This gives me a chance to describe in plain terms the gulf between this Government’s spending plans and the approach that will be taken by a future Labour Government. It also gives me the opportunity to make it crystal clear that we reject the failed austerity plans that were set out in the Government’s autumn statement.
The Minister and the Chancellor were patting themselves on the back in the media this morning, congratulating themselves on their success. That just shows how out of touch the Government are. As my hon. Friend Chris Leslie said earlier, the Chancellor told the “Today” programme this morning:
My hon. Friend made it quite clear that they have not. As he and many other Labour Members made clear, this Government have failed on their own terms. In 2010, the Chancellor said that he would balance the current budget by 2014-15, but in the first nine months of this financial year, the gap was £74 billion. The Chancellor has had five years, and he has failed. We cannot afford to give him another five. That point has been made time and again this afternoon.
Let us look at some more evidence. As I have said, the Government have missed their current budget target by £74 billion. In addition, the social security bill is £25 billion more than planned, and tax credits have risen, subsidising the low-wage economy. The number of working people receiving housing benefit is up two thirds, and tax receipts are much lower than expected. The Government have failed on the deficit, on the debt and on living standards.
Some Conservative Members seemed rather excited about today’s Institute for Fiscal Studies report, but if we look at it in more detail, we can see what it actually says. It states that people are worse off today than they were in 2010. As we have heard this afternoon, the real problem is that more people are scraping by, from day to day and week to week, in poorly paid jobs or on exploitative zero-hours contracts. A number of Members have described what it is like for their constituents who have to wait for a text message on a Monday morning to tell them whether they will have any paid work that week. That is no way for them to live their lives. It does not enable them to have any sort of quality of life or to balance their household budget. There is nothing in that for the Government to be proud of.
A number of Members have eloquently argued that at the heart of the Government’s failure is their ideological obsession with shrinking the state. That seems to be their true aim, superseding all else. From what we have heard from the Government this afternoon, it is clear that they will continue to keep chipping away at that, even as the ground crumbles beneath us.
We have heard some powerful and passionate speeches from Labour Members this afternoon. We heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex), for West Dunbartonshire (Gemma Doyle), for Blaydon (Mr Anderson), for Corby (Andy Sawford), for Preston (Mark Hendrick) and for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain), all of whom are powerful champions for their constituents. My hon. Friends were speaking up for the people who have suffered under this Government, laying out in clear terms what the impact has been on families right across the UK and talking about their experiences of dealing with the zero-hours contracts, the low pay, being on agency work, and the impact of cuts on local government, which has affected and in some cases decimated local services. They spoke about the sense they got from their constituents that living standards simply have not improved for them; any recovery has not yet reached the kitchen table of our constituents.
My hon. Friends spoke this afternoon about the need to do more to tackle tax avoidance. They spoke about the inequities of the Government’s lack of action to tackle the tax dodgers while imposing the hated bedroom tax. Labour Members made it very clear that our constituents cannot face another five years of Tory Government and that we need a change. As for the consequences of five more years of the Tories, they are still intent on doing more damage. As my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East reminded us in his opening speech, and as hon. Members said at various points in the debate, five more years would take us back to a spending level as a percentage of national income that was last seen in the 1930s, before there was an NHS, when kids left school at 14 and when life expectancy was 60.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which has been much quoted by Government Members this afternoon, that would necessitate undeliverable and nigh unthinkable cuts of more than £50 billion. It would, as the IFS said, represent:
“Spending cuts on a colossal scale”— which would leave—
“the role and shape of the state… changed beyond recognition.”
So let us make no mistake: this is not about fixing the economy; it is about remodelling the role of the state This Government’s plans will do real and lasting damage in the long term, wreaking havoc in public services, decimating our skills and infrastructure, and undermining our competitiveness.—[Interruption.] I hear Government Members shouting, “Rubbish”, but they clearly have not listened to the testimonies of Opposition Members, who so eloquently, passionately and powerfully laid out the impact of this Government’s policies and actions on their constituents.
Cathy Jamieson Shadow Minister (Treasury)
I am not going to give way because the hon. Gentleman had his opportunity earlier, and I wish to make a few more points about what has been said this afternoon.
The true scale and nature of that impact cannot be quantified, because the Government will not set out where their billions of social security cuts will fall, so we have to look at past performance as our guide. Those reliant on tax credits to make ends meet will be justly wary of another five years of the Tories; because of their tax and benefit changes, a typical household is £891 worse off this year. This Government’s right-wing, doctrinaire approach to the deficit has already done untold damage. Their trickle-down philosophy has been exposed for the sham that it is, and their true aim, as it ever was, is to pulverise the state and to protect the wealthy.
Labour has a better plan. As last year’s IFS green budget made abundantly clear, there is a huge gulf between this Government’s approach and that outlined by Labour. Our approach is not punitive; it is a common-sense approach. It is balanced and proportionate. We acknowledge and accept the need to close the deficit and reduce the debt as soon as possible in the next Parliament, and we are committed to achieving that, but we will do it fairly. That is because we think the wealthiest should shoulder the greatest burden. So we will reverse the £3 billion tax cut for those earning over £150,000, to increase tax revenues and help reduce the deficit fairly; we will introduce a mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million and crack down on tax avoidance, investing the proceeds in our NHS; and we will tax bank bonuses to create jobs for young people and the long-term unemployed, increase the minimum wage and incentivise payment of the living wage. All our spending commitments will be fully funded. We will deal with the deficit and the debt, but we will not place our public services in jeopardy. Our plan will secure the rising living standards, higher wages and sustainable growth that are needed to fix the economy fairly in a way that benefits everyone, not just a few at the top.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East said at the outset, the stakes could not be higher, and the choice could not be starker. There is a massive gulf between this Government’s spending plans and those outlined by Labour. The Tories' austerity agenda has failed. The choice at the election is between five more years of Tory failure, wage stagnation and decimation of the state, or Labour's progressive and balanced plan for the economy that is sustainable in the long term and better for current and future generations.
Andrea Leadsom The Economic Secretary to the Treasury 5:50 pm, 4th March 2015
How dare Opposition Members indulge in the sort of scaremongering that we have heard this afternoon. I am sure that Cathy Jamieson would like to celebrate the fact that youth unemployment in her constituency has gone down by 43% since 2010 and that overall, unemployment has gone down by 31% over the same period.
Andrea Leadsom The Economic Secretary to the Treasury
I will not give way to the hon. Lady as she did not give way to my hon. Friends.
Furthermore, does the hon. Lady agree that Labour’s motion today is false? She said that the cuts we have made take us back to the 1930s. In fact, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said that
“by 2019-20, day-to-day spending on public services would be at its lowest level since 2002-03 in real terms.”
And that was when Mr Brown was in the Government. Does she want to celebrate any of those points with me?
I thank the Minister for eventually giving way. Although I celebrate young people and the long-term unemployed finding work in my constituency, I hope that she will recognise that for many of them, it is zero-hours contracts, low-paid work, and jobs that are not in their chosen careers. They want more from a future Labour Government and they will get it.
I am sure that there is no need for me to give way to the hon. Lady again so that she can congratulate us on the fact that, on average, 75% of those new jobs are full-time employment. There are some other facts that Opposition Members might like to celebrate. I am talking about the fact that the UK was the fastest growing major economy in 2014; that more than 760,000 private sector businesses have been created over the past four years; and that employment is up by 1.85 million since the last general election—that is 1.85 million more people with the security of bringing home a regular pay packet. She might like to celebrate the fact that wages are rising significantly faster than inflation, and that total pay was up 2.1% in the three months to 2014.
The hon. Lady might like to hear the views of international commentators. Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, said:
“The sweet spot you want is low, stable predictable inflation. You’re going to get that”— in 2015. Is the hon. Lady interested in the view of President Obama? He said:
“I would note that Great Britain and the United States are two economies that are standing out at a time when a lot of other countries are having problems. So we must be doing something right.”
Perhaps she would like to hear the views of Christine Lagarde who runs the IMF. She says:
“A few countries, only a few, are driving growth.”
The hon. Lady needs to listen to this. Christine Lagarde is talking about America and the UK. She goes on to say:
“And the UK, where clearly growth is improving, the deficit has been reduced, and where the unemployment is going down…Certainly from a global perspective this is exactly the sort of result that we would like to see.”
There is a word of warning from the OECD. It says:
“Well done so far, Chancellor. But finish the job. Britain has a long term economic plan, but it needs to stick with it.”
That is vital and it is what we intend to do.
Let me turn now to some of the very interesting comments made by colleagues across the House. In particular, my hon. Friend Mr Newmark gave an excellent talk about the reality of our determination to sort out Labour’s mess. My hon. Friend David Morris told us why the Government have been so good for his constituency and my hon. Friend Paul Uppal spoke about the importance of competition for economic growth. It is absolutely vital.
My hon. Friend Mr Jackson contrasted Labour now with Labour in 1997, when the party at least had a vision. He also talked about Labour’s spiteful prejudice against success, and that is right, Mr Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend Oliver Colvile pointed out the vital need to invest in infrastructure in his constituency and his fears that Labour would prioritise Scottish over English interests. My hon. Friend Andrew Jones pointed out the nonsense of Labour’s motion and the need to ensure that we in this generation do not leave our debts to our children and our grandchildren.
Let me point out to Opposition Members what the IFS recently said about Labour: higher Government borrowing acts to support household incomes in the short run, but the resulting higher levels of Government debt mean that a greater proportion of public spending must be allocated to financing debt interest payments in the long run and potentially leave the UK more vulnerable to large negative shocks in future. Simply borrowing more is just not an option.
The hon. Members for Corby (Andy Sawford) and for Preston (Mark Hendrick) both accused this Government of having done nothing for the NHS, but perhaps they would like to celebrate with me the fact that the health budget has increased in real terms every year during this Parliament, that total health spending has increased by £12.7 billion during this Parliament and that on top of that in the autumn statement the Chancellor announced an additional £2 billion for front-line NHS services in England in 2015-16. The vital point about the NHS is that we cannot have a strong NHS without a strong economy.
Since today we have had a very interesting living standards report from the IFS, I want to give hon. Members some other things to celebrate. The IFS has assessed that average household incomes are now restored to around pre-crisis levels. That is something to celebrate. Wages are up 4.1% in real terms for those in continuous employment. That is fantastic. Inflation is at 0.3%, helping family budgets to stretch further. Let us look at inequality, which is lower than when this Government came to power with, as the IFS has said, pensioner poverty at near record low levels. That is vital in our economy. This Government support fairness and have also ensured, as the IFS has today confirmed, that the richest households have paid the most, with
“larger proportional falls in income for higher-income households.”
That is absolutely vital. Inequality has fallen and the biggest burden has been borne by those with the broadest shoulders.
It is vital that members of the public who have to choose very soon who they want to run the Government for the next five years know that they have the choice between a Government who have been determined to ensure fairness and an Opposition who are completely incoherent and whose lack of facts and plans lead them simply to resort to scaremongering in the hope they can persuade people to accept a non-coherent plan from their Front-Benchers. This Government believe in a fairer society and a fairer society is created by helping the weak get stronger, not by making the strong weaker.
We can only have a fair society on the back of a healthy, well-functioning economy and we can only have a healthy, well-functioning economy on the back of sustainable public finances.
The Government’s long-term economic plan is making public finances sustainable for the first time in a great many years. It is delivering economic growth and as the IFS confirmed today it is raising the standards of living across the country. That is vital. We are finally on the right track and now would be the worst time to change direction. Let us keep going, let us finish the job and let us give the people of this country the fair, strong, healthy and vibrant economy that they deserve.
Division number 168 Opposition Day — The Economy — Top Rate of Income Tax
Aye: 216 MPs
Liz McInnes Labour
Robert Jenrick Conservative
Douglas Carswell UKIP
Mark Reckless UKIP
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Keane to see Robbie in a Red shirt at last
@ste_speed
After a ridiculously underwhelming summer of transfers things finally got very exciting today with the news that Robbie Keane had finally joined his boyhood idols for around £20 million. Keane is a player I’ve wanted us to sign for a number of years and I’ve often wondered in the past why we hadn’t tried to sign him before. I feel he is the type of player who will fit well into the Liverpool style of play.
When it was first revealed that Keane was a transfer target for Rafa Benitez, a few of my friends expressed disappointment that we weren’t going after David Villa instead. This was despite the fact that David Villa had expressed his intentions to stay at Valencia, although now it appears he would favour a move after all. The thought process seems to be that Villa would cost around £25 ‘“ 30 million and is a far better player than Robbie Keane, so worth the extra few million. I don’t think that is necessarily true, Keane is a proven goal-scorer at the highest level in the English game whereas Villa is not. Villa may be fantastic during Champions League games but we don’t know whether he would cut it in rough domestic games. Robbie Keane has proven he can handle the tough games in the league as well as play stylishly against quality opposition. If we were to spend the extra cash on Villa there is always the risk that he could turn out to be another Morientes, amazing in Spain but a shadow of himself in England. There is also a chance he could settle as well as Torres has, but with this being possibly Rafa’s last chance to win the Premiership he can ill afford to risk such a large sum of money. There is also the fact that as proven during Euro 2008, when Villa plays alongside Torres, El Nino tends to be making the plays for Villa to score which neutralises a lot of Torres strengths.
According to UEFA’s rules for the 2008/09 season, a club must have no fewer than eight ‘˜locally trained’, ‘˜association trained’ or ‘˜club-trained’ players within a twenty five man squad. Robbie Keane falls under the category of ‘˜association trained’ player. According to UEFA rule 17.11;
An ‘˜association trained player’ is a player who, between the ages of 15 and 21, an irrespective of his nationality and age, has been registered with a club or with other clubs affiliated to the same national association as that of his current club for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months.
Robbie Keane spent three years with Wolverhampton Wonderers and Coventry City between the ages of seventeen to twenty. Therefore he falls within the UEFA criteria for overseas players and David Villa does not.
This could also be a minor reason as to why Rafa appears to favour Gareth Barry over Xabi Alonso. Although that transfer is more complicated than this reason with the Alonso needing to be sold to finance the signing of Gareth Barry. Personally I disagree with the opinions I have heard from people that Alonso is more suited to the European game than the Premiership as he gets more time on the ball. Apart from last season which was interrupted by injuries, Alonso has been top class from the moment he signed in 2004. I would love to see both Gareth Barry and Xabi Alonso at Liverpool but if it is a case of Alonso being sold to buy Barry I’d sooner just keep Xabi. People who say Gareth Barry is experienced at playing in England seem to forget that Alonso has now been playing here for four seasons and he is hardly a novice.
I am sure there are to be more twists in the transfer market for Liverpool this summer but tonight I will be sleeping with a smile on my face because we have signed a superb player, a Liverpool fan and a proven goal-scorer.
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Elsewhere on the Web » Has Tibet finally lost out to China?
Has Tibet finally lost out to China?
A view of Tibet's mountains, with a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Photographer unknown
By Jonathan Mirsky | The Spectator
ON THE WEB, 30 June 2018
Blessings from Beijing will inform readers who know little about Tibet, and those who know a great deal will discover more. Both groups will be surprised. The newcomers especially will be disabused of any belief that Tibetans were always non-violent, deeply spiritual and unworldly.
Tibetanologists and advanced students will learn that, decades after the Chinese conquest of Tibet in 1950 and the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959, the diaspora of about 130,000 Tibetan refugees, battered by decades of Chinese oppression and ‘soft’ propaganda, is riven by confusion. Some cling to their hope that Tibet will again be sovereign and they will be able to return to their homeland.
[The book’s author] Greg Bruno, modestly described on the book’s flyleaf as a journalist, is actually an expert on many aspects of Tibet’s history, Chinese oppression and persecution — ironically termed ‘blessings’ by the Dalai Lama — and most of all the conditions of the Tibetan diaspora and the deepening despair that rends it. ‘Many Tibetan refugees, pushed away by time, boredom, globalisation and a soft-power war with China, are moving on.’
Bruno has never visited Tibet in the many years he has been concentrating on the ‘blessings’ and the diaspora, but he has travelled around its borders and throughout the world to discover the condition of the refugees and to listen to their opinions and the judgments of their leaders, including the Dalai Lama. One of his most striking characteristics is his modesty; he never claims to know a thing about Tibet and the refugees that he has not learned first-hand. What he knows and what he suspects are kept distinct. But he sums up brilliantly: ‘The Communist party of China is the source of the Tibetan malaise; but Tibetans’ self-inflicted wounds have made China’s strategy more effective.’ From 2010, for example, Beijing blocked escape routes from Tibet except for Tibetans rich enough to fly out, and the Nepalese king denied them settlement.
Bruno tellingly describes and details China’s centuries of relations with Tibet, reaching back to the seventh, when a powerful Tibetan ruler captured a major Chinese city, forcing the emperor to present a royal princess to Lhasa as a placatory gesture. Over the years, depending on China’s power, there were sometimes Chinese officials stationed in Lhasa; but up to 1911 the Chinese emperors and the Dalai Lamas — the present one is the 14th — existed as temporal and spiritual equals. From 1911 to 1950, Tibet was essentially independent; and even after Mao took power, he treated Tibet with some respect for a time, and even negotiated with the young Dalai Lama — whose personal account of those contacts is fascinating — before suggesting, almost off-handedly, that of course Buddhism would have to be abolished.
Indeed, as Bruno makes plain, religion remains at the heart of Beijing’s determination to subdue and transform Tibet. For Tibetans, what makes their society and culture special and unequalled is the selection and enthronement of tulkus, reincarnated lamas. This ceremony, with all its implications, is now being taken over by Beijing. The most spectacular example occurred in 1995, when the 10th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure in Tibet, died. The Dalai Lama announced that his successor was a six-year-old boy. Beijing declared this to be spurious: the boy and his family have vanished, and Beijing installed its own Panchen with full traditional religious honours. He has been declared the senior religious leader in Tibet — where Tibetans ignore him.
Of course Beijing will name its own 15th Dalai Lama when the present one dies, although he has claimed (even to me) that his doctors at Harvard predict he will live well past his 100th birthday. But although he has retired as Tibet’s leading political and religious figure, his successor, a Harvard graduate, is only feebly respected; and as Bruno painstakingly shows, many Tibetans, already in some despair, fear their struggle to exist as a special people will alter or cease when this Dalai Lama is gone.
What has changed in recent years, Bruno writes, and has so deeply undermined the confidence of Tibetans with Tibet and abroad, is the nature of China’s ‘blessings’ — which I saw in bloodthirsty force in the 1980s. Such violence — always in reserve in case of a sudden uprising in Tibetan territories, where many devout and patriotic Buddhists have burned themselves to death — is now overshadowed by the effective Chinese pressure on world leaders and poor countries either to ignore the Dalai Lama and his champions or lose economic ties with Beijing. From Norway to Washington to the Vatican the Dalai Lama can make no high-level contacts. No. 10 declares: ‘We have turned the page on the Dalai Lama.’ Blessings indeed.
Blessings from Beijing: Inside China’s Soft-Power War on Tibet, by Greg C. Bruno. ForeEdge, pp.240, £28.
Copyright © 2018 The Spectator Published in The Spectator Posted in Elsewhere on the Web » Tags: Book Review, China, Dalai Lama XIV, Human Rights, Tibet
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