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African Union: African free trade zone takes effect
Africa, Business, Government/Politics, International, World culture/events
The largest free-trade in the world, spanning the African continent with its 1.2 billion people, has come into effect – worth $2.5 trillion
ADDUS ABABA- An African free-trade zone came into force Thursday, a step toward creating what the African Union (AU) hopes will be a continent-wide market of 1.2 billion people worth $2.5 trillion.
“This is a historic milestone!” tweeted Albert Muchanga, AU commissioner for trade and industry.
“We celebrate the triumph of bold, pragmatic and continent-wide commitment to economic integration.”
The African Continental Free Trade Area had been ratified by 22 countries by April 29, the requisite number for formally notifying the AU. That paved the way for it to take effect 30 days later as stipulated in its statutes.
The agreement’s operational phase is to be launched on July 7 at an AU summit in Niger. There are still a number of outstanding issues to be resolved, including arbitration measures, certifying the origins of goods, tackling corruption and improving infrastructure.
Fifty-two of the AU’s 55 member states have signed the agreement to establish the free trade area since March 2018, with the notable exception of Nigeria, the largest economy on the continent.
But some of Africa’s other economic heavyweights — including Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa — are among the 24 nations that have formally ratified it. In the last month, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso joined the fold.
The AU envisions the free trade zone, once fully implemented, driving economic integration and spurring investment within the continent.
It hopes the progressive elimination of tariffs will help boost intra-Africa trade by 60 percent within three years. At present, only 16 percent of trade by African nations is with continental neighbours.
Advocates for the trade zone say it will help develop African economies long driven by a focus on resource exploitation, and provide a platform for negotiating with markets beyond the continent.
But critics say poor infrastructure and a lack of diversity between the various economies could throw up barriers to this envisioned integration.
Video: Historic African free trade zone comes into force
Video: Boost for African trade
Video: BBC Focus on Africa – The African Free Trade Agreement comes into force
AfCFTA One Year Later
In this commemorative article, the African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry outlines what has been achieved since the AfCFTA Agreement was opened for signature on 21st March, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda and what is expected as the African Union moves to launch of the operational phase of the continental market in July this year.
On 21st March this year, the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area marked one year of existence. It was opened for signature on 21st March, 2018 at an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government in Kigali, Rwanda. At that Summit, forty-four African Union Member States signed the historic Agreement. The number rose to forty-nine at the July, 2018 Nouakchott, Mauritania Summit. Three more signatures were added during the February, 2019 Addis Ababa Summit, bringing the figure to fifty-two as we commemorate the first Anniversary of this major milestone in Africa’s resolute use of the lever of continental economic integration to deliver prosperity to her people in line with Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
Making the Agreement operational is as important as having signatories. While awaiting the remaining three Member-States to sign on, Africa is progressing very well in the direction of securing deposits of instruments of ratification on the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. So far, twenty-two National Parliaments of the African Union Member-States have approved ratification of the Agreement, with twenty Member-States depositing their instruments of ratification. At this point in time, Africa is just short of two deposits of instruments of ratification to have the Agreement enter into force, thirty days after receiving the twenty second instrument of ratification. At the time of going to press, the remaining two Member States assured the Chairperson of the African Union Commission that they would shortly be depositing.
It has been a momentous year of hard and smart work to create an African Continental Free Trade Area with commercial substance. As we commemorate the first year of this large market space, we do so with concrete achievements. The African Continental Free Trade Area is already delivering results well before it enters into force. In December, 2018, we held the First Intra-African Trade Fair, in Cairo, Egypt, which attracted above target exhibitions and business transactions. At the Cairo Fair, we had 1,086 exhibitors, 86 above target. We also had business deals over US$32 billion, well above the target of US$25 billion. This sterling achievement signals the potent force of the Intra-African Trade Fair as a viable platform and brand for trade information as well as actual growth of intra-African trade.
Africa is on target to launch the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area in July this year in Niamey, Niger where we shall hold another Extra-Ordinary Summit for that purpose as well as formally commemorate its First Anniversary. During the launch, the African Continental Free Trade Area shall be fully supported with well-defined rules of origin; schedules of tariff concessions in trade in goods; an online continental non-tariff barriers monitoring and elimination mechanism; a Pan-African digital payments and settlement platform as well as an African Trade Observatory portal. After July this year, traders across Africa will be able to make use of preferential trading arrangements offered by the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area as long as the trade relations involve the twenty-two or more countries that would have deposited instruments of ratification as well as conform to agreed provisions on rules of origin governing trade in the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government shall, at the Niamey Extra-ordinary Summit also make a decision on the location of the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area which will have the principal function of implementing the Agreement through a focused work programme. Seven Member-States: Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar and Senegal submitted bids by the deadline of 20th March this year. An assessment mission will be visiting these countries during May on the basis of which a report will be prepared for consideration by the African Union Ministers of Trade and the Extra-Ordinary Summit. It is the results of the assessment mission which will guide the Extra-Ordinary Summit on deciding the host of the permanent AfCFTA Secretariat. We wish all the bidders, good luck.
The work for the interim and permanent secretariats of the AfCFTA is already being cut out for them. A post launch AfCFTA implementation plan is under preparation and will be submitted to the African Union Ministers of Trade in the first week of June this year, who, if satisfied with it, will convey it to the Extra-Ordinary Summit for its consideration and adoption in July this year.
The vision is to create one African market. In this respect, the historic obligation for each and every Member State of the African Union is to sign and ratify the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. As we move towards celebrating the joyous occasion of the First Anniversary, we call, in the full spirit of Pan-Africanism and oneness; on all African Union Member-States to sign and ratify the Agreement before the July, 2019 Extra-Ordinary Summit.
In launching the African Continental Free Trade Area and making it work, Africa is overcoming the historic fragmentation and isolation of her economies by opening up huge commercial opportunities as well as improving transport and communication linkages among our countries. This aggregation and connectivity are forces for accelerated growth and sustainable development of African countries will enable us and realize the vision of the African Union and Agenda 2063: ‘An integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens, representing a dynamic force in the global arena.’
We are creating more than a free trade area. In January, 2018, the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government launched the Single African Air Transport Market as well as opened for signature, the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment. Moving forward, Africa shall, during this year, conclude work on schedules of specific commitments on trade in services as well as commence negotiations on Protocols on Investment, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights. All these developments show that Africa is laying the ground work for the establishment of an African Common Market or Internal Market, in line with the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, signed in Abuja, Nigeria in 1991 and ratified in 1994. To this end, the February 2019 Assembly of Heads of State and Government directed the African Union Commission to undertake a readiness assessment for this stage of deeper economic integration and policy harmonization among African countries. Work is already underway to implement this strategic Summit decision.
With a strong foundation that has been created, Africa is now better positioned to speak and act as a united entity in global trade negotiations and in the process, leverage her strength to secure trade and investment deals that offer accelerated and inclusive sustainable development for her people. There is hence political, economic, commercial and diplomatic value in establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. Indeed Africa is, by creating the African Continental Free Trade Area also signalling to the wider world that she is committed to multilateralism and global interdependence. In this respect Africa calls on the rest of the world to re-commit in using and strengthening the multilateral trading system to promote shared prosperity among all the people of the world.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is an inclusive undertaking for Africans from all walks of life: Government, Civil Society, Academia, Women, Youth, Diaspora, Labour, Entrepreneurs and several other stakeholders at the national level. With a view to broadening stakeholder involvement, the United Nations Commission for Africa is collaborating with the African Union Commission to assist African Union Member States to formulate and implement National African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation Strategies, with appropriate national institutional arrangements. This will achieve two strategic objectives. In the first instance, Africa shall be bringing her continental integration project closer to the people. Secondly, African Union Member-States shall be able to align national development policies and programmes to the African Continental Free Trade Area legal provisions and work programme. With such alignment and policy harmonisation, Africa’s prospects for rapid socio-economic development will be enhanced.
When Africa looks back to the Kigali Extra-Ordinary Summit, she does so with pride and satisfaction that a lot has been achieved in this one year. True, a lot remains to be done in the years ahead. But Africa is committed to build on this momentum and achieve much more to deepen her economic integration. It is in this spirit that we invite all Africans on the Continent, in the Diaspora and the friends of Africa to commemorate this historic day in July this year. In so doing, Africa shall be communicating to herself and the rest of the world, her resolve to create one African market and use this continental market to deliver accelerated and inclusive sustainable development as well as contribute to strengthening the multilateral trading system.
Video: Nairobi, Kenya
Video: Lagos, Nigeria
Video: Abuja, Nigeria
Video: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Video: Addis Ababa public transit light rail system
Video: Luanda, Angola
Video: Accra, Ghana
Video: Harare, Zimbabwe
Video: Khartoum, Sudan
Video: Cairo, Egypt
Video: Algiers, Algeria
Video: Mogadishu, Somalia
Video: Kigali, Rwanda
Video: Dar es Salaa, Tanzania
Video: Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Video: Dakar, Senegal
Video: Casablanca, Morocco
Video: Tétouan, Morocco
Video: Pretoria, South Africa (Sandton)
Video: Helicopter ride over Johannesburg, South Africa
Video: Johannesburg, South Africa (Sandton)
Video: Johannesburg, South Africa (Sandton City)
Video: Johannesburg, South Africa (Rosebank)
Video: Durban, South Africa
Video: Cape Town, South Africa
Video: Kampala, Uganda
Video: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Video: Lusaka, Zambia
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Home » St. Louis » What’s wrong with Kirkwood?
What’s wrong with Kirkwood?
Dave Farquhar St. Louis February 7, 2008 Kirkwood, police officer
Tonight at 7 PM, a Kirkwood area contractor named Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton walked in to a city council meeting. On his way in he shot two police officers, then opened fire and shot five others, including the mayor, his intended target. He fired on the city attorney and missed; the attorney fought back by throwing chairs at Thornton until more police officers ran in and shot Thornton dead.
Five of Thornton’s victims are dead.Kirkwood is the place where Kevin Johnson hunted down, shot and killed police officer William McEntee after the Kirkwood Police were unable to save his half brother in 2005.
A little over a year ago, kidnapping victims Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby were found in a Kirkwood apartment.
Thornton and Johnson lived about three blocks apart, in Kirkwood’s Meacham Park neighborhood.
Well, mostly Meacham Park, which is what was wrong with Kirkwood 20 years ago.
Kirkwood is largely an upper middle-class suburb today, although there are working-class pockets. At one time it was a railroad town, and it shows in some of the neighborhoods. But by and large, it’s the kind of place a doctor, lawyer, or executive wouldn’t be ashamed to call home, and a potential client wouldn’t think any less of a professional who hailed from there.
I know the area well and like it. In high school, I worked in a restaurant in Kirkwood. I worked in Kirkwood off and on from 1998 to 2005. I don’t live there mostly because I can’t afford to.
When I was a teenager, Meacham Park was mostly a nuisance. People from Meacham Park would come into the restaurant and cause trouble, making a mess or stealing things, whether it would be food off the salad bar or stupid stuff like napkins or straws. When a shift supervisor disappeared mysteriously one night and left the safe empty except for a single $5 bill and some singles, he hid out in Meacham Park. Another coworker who lived in Meacham Park found him–alive.
When parts of Meacham Park were leveled to make way for an enormous strip mall, I didn’t shed any tears for it.
How you fix the Meacham Park problem is pretty clear–provide opportunities. Thornton, by the accounts I’m hearing, did some things right. He had a bachelor’s degree and ran a small business. Unfortunately he racked up more than $18,500 worth of fines, which has been cited as a motive in the shootings. Thornton used to show up at city council meetings and cause trouble. I guess he couldn’t come up with a more constructive way to protest the fines.
It would have been better if he just would have gotten the permits he was supposed to get in order to conduct his business legally.
Thornton claimed discrimination, and others have said he would get ticketed for minor violations. I knew plenty of Kirkwood police officers from my time working in the restaurant. This goes back several years of course, but the Kirkwood police weren’t prejudiced against people because of the color of their skin. They were prejudiced against people who caused problems.
Many of my coworkers were African-American, and the only one who had problems with the Kirkwood police was involved in criminal activity, so it was justifiable.
So I believe they may have targeted Thornton, but I believe the motivation was the past violations.
I don’t know many details of what’s happening, but if you’re a praying person, please pray for the city of Kirkwood and the families of the six deceased and two wounded.
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"Music is the most powerful way to inspire the human spirit." Don Lewis
Don Lewis is a visionary who believes that music makes a difference in the world. As a child in Dayton, Ohio, music became Don's "magic carpet" transporting him out of the projects into a world filled with possibilities of concerts, recordings, and collaborations. Don’s career in music has led him to perform in a variety of venues such as Carnegie Hall, touring with the Beach Boys, playing concerts in European Cathedrals, jazz clubs, and school assemblies. Don’s music always brings a message of hope, peace, and inspiration.
In the studio Don has worked with the likes of Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendez, Michael Jackson, Brothers Johnson, and Marvin Hamlisch. He also has scored and produced music for television, film, and commercials.
An electronic music pioneer, Don designed LEO (Live Electronic Orchestra) in 1974 and completed the project in 1977 with the help of Richard Bates. LEO and Don are credited by Ikutaro Kakehashi as being his "inspiration for MIDI.” LEO will be returning to NAMM's Museum of Making Music in 2020 where it will be on display until 2030.
Don has taught "Gospel Music; A Passionate Heritage" at UC Berkeley Extension and participated in music technology seminars at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and San Jose State University.
With a passion for children and arts education, Don began a school assembly program Say "YES" to Music! in 1987. Throughout the years, Don has encouraged and inspired thousands of children to include music in their lives and to pursue their dreams.
A feature length documentary entitled “The Ballad of Don Lewis” telling the story of Don’s influences in the music industry will be released and distributed in 2019.
theballadofdonlewis.com • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lewis_(musician)
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Members NewsNews
Recycling Lives’ founder named UK’s Entrepreneur of the Year
A Lancashire businessman has been named EY Entrepreneur of the Year UK.
Steve Jackson, founder of Preston-based Recycling Lives took home the highest accolade at Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in London on November 7.
He also won the ‘Societal Impact’ category award, recognising how he has developed a business that focusses on both commercial and charitable aims to deliver financial, environmental and social value.
Mr Jackson said of the win: “I feel very proud and hopeful that the business world is changing for the better.”
Recycling Lives is a nationwide recycling and waste management business using its operations to support a charity and social enterprise which support the homeless, rehabilitate offenders and redistribute surplus food to communities.
Mr Jackson founded Recycling Lives in 2008 from his family’s scrap firm, Preston Recycling. Having seen the impact of homelessness first-hand he set about developing a business model which used employment as a catalyst for changing people’s lives. Today, around 30% of the Recycling Lives team have come through the rehabilitation or residential programmes.
The business has doubled in size this year, following private equity investment from Three Hills Capital Partners in late 2018. It now operates 19 sites nationally, recycling up to 10,000 scrap cars every month and managing waste for businesses, local authorities and householders.
The charity has also grown in recent years, now rehabilitating up to 300 men and women at a time across 11 prisons, supporting dozens of men in its residential charity and redistributing one million meals to communities across Lancashire and Cumbria every year.
Victoria Price, Partner and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year leader in the North, said: “Steve Jackson illustrates the transformational impact entrepreneurs can have on people’s lives. His natural business flair combined with his innate desire to create positive change makes him an inspirational role model for business leaders.”
Mr Jackson will now go on to represent the UK at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year in Monaco in 2020.
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eMoods Classic / Reporting / Wellness App Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy (“Policy“) describes the policies and practices of Yottaram, LLC (“we” or “us“) as to the collection, use and disclosure of information that we collect from you when you visit, access, use or download our website, https://emoodtracker.com; the eMoods Android or iOS mobile applications (the “Apps“); and/or the research & development beta platform (“R&D Beta Platform“) that we operate at https://emoodtracker.com/beta (collectively, the foregoing are called the “Service“). By visiting, accessing, using or downloading the Service, you agree to be bound by our Terms of Use. We will not use or share your Collected Information (as defined below) with anyone except as described in this Policy.
The Purpose of the Policy
We take your privacy seriously. We provide this Policy so that you understand how we treat the information that you provide us as you use the Service (“Collected Information“).
This Policy applies only to information collected through the Service. We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time. Any material changes will take effect immediately as soon as we give you notice of them, which we may do by means including but not limited to issuing an email to the email address listed by registered users and/or posting the revised Policy on this page. Your continued use of the Service after any modification means that you acknowledge the change and consent to the practices that we disclose in the Policy.
The R&D Beta Platform
The R&D Beta Platform is a website where we have invited a small number of our users to opt in, on a voluntary basis, to provide us certain information that we will use as we explore the development of a new set of features that we may launch in the future. The R&D Beta Platform itself has more complete Terms of Use that apply to individuals using it. If you have not received an invitation from us to participate in the R&D Beta Platform, then those portions of this Policy referring to the R&D Beta Platform do not apply to you.
How We Collect Information
We collect information in these ways:
User-Provided Information. We offer users the option in the Apps to manually enter free-form text as daily journal entries. We do not receive this information; it is stored locally on your mobile device, and the manufacturer of your device or the developer of the device’s operating system (Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android) may access or use that information pursuant to their own privacy policies.
Users may opt-in to connect the Apps to the Google Fit service to synchronize their Google Fit step data, workout data, sleep data, and weight data for viewing within the Apps. Google Fit data is displayed in the Apps but remains stored only in Google Fit and is never saved in the context of the Apps. Google Fit data is never shared by the Apps.
Automatically Collected Information. When you use the Service, we may automatically collect or generate information including but not limited to the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address of your computer; web pages that you access within the Service; geographic information; a unique user ID; the type of browser, device or operating system you use; referring services or websites; search information; and usage and browsing information.
We refer to all of the information described in this section as “Collected Information.”
We use Collected Information to deliver services to you and for communicating with you about the Service. If you are a beta tester who has affirmatively opted in to our R&D Beta Platform, then you will provide us with the information requested in the R&D Beta Platform. Otherwise, User-Provided Information is stored locally on your mobile device, and we do not receive it or have access to it. We may also provide you the option, if you affirmatively opt in, to export and transmit your User-Provided Information to a Third-Party Service of your choice such as Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud, and in that case, we still will not receive or have access to that information.
We will never use your personally identifiable information for our own purposes, except as expressly described in this Policy or in our Terms of Use. If we use your email address to communicate with you (with the exception of transactional emails regarding your use of the Service), we will provide you with the option to unsubscribe or opt out of future emails.
How We Disclose Collected Information to Others
We will not sell, rent, license or disclose Collected Information to anyone, except:
where necessary for us to work with third-party companies that we use to provide the Service (“Third-Party Services,” detailed below);
in response to a court order or where required by law;
to investigate suspected fraud, harassment or illegal conduct, or suspected violations of our Terms of Use;
to disclose to another company in the course of a business acquisition, merger or sale of assets; or
to share with our partners with whom we may jointly develop new or improved features or products.
We use various Third-Party Services to operate the Service. These include Google AdWords, Google Analytics, Google Drive, Google Forms, Dropbox, iCloud, Mailchimp and Statcounter and may include others in the future.
Third-Party Services store and use Collected Information pursuant to their own privacy and security policies. By using our Service, you consent to our providing Collected Information with Third-Party Services to be used in accordance with their own privacy and security policies as they exist today and as they may change in the future.
For more information about how Google’s services use your Collected Information, see “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.”
We use reasonable efforts to protect your Collected Information from unauthorized access, but we cannot guarantee that your Collected Information will be free from unauthorized access by third parties such as hackers. By using the Service, you (a) consent to our using your Collected Information as described in this Policy notwithstanding this risk; (b) waive any claims against us relating to the interception, use or disclosure of Confidential Information by third parties unauthorized by us; and (c) agree to notify us promptly if you suspect any unauthorized usage of Confidential Information. For more information on protecting your privacy, please visit www.ftc.gov/privacy.
To access or use the Service, you must be at least 18 years old and have the requisite power and authority to understand and consent to the practices described in this Policy.
“Do Not Track” Technology
If you use Do-Not-Track tools to prevent websites and software products from tracking your online behavior across websites, please be aware that we do not change the way the Service works (as described in this Policy) in response to requests not to be tracked. You may, however, be able to disable certain tracking signals used by individual Third-Party Services, which you may do by accessing those services.
Cookies and other storage technologies
When you use the Service, we or our Third-Party Services may use tools to collect information about how you use it. These tools may include cookies, web beacons or other storage technologies that store users’ IDs or passwords to personalize web pages that they see and provide website analytics. We may also use these tools in advertising the Service. You are welcome to opt out of our use of these tools with you, and you can learn more about how do to so at the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Webchoices page, European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA)’s Framework and the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt Out page.
No Rights of Third Parties
This Policy does not create rights enforceable by third parties, nor does it require disclosure of any information relating to users of the Service.
Limitation of Warranties
We make no representations, warranties or promises about the security of Collected Information except as stated expressly in this Policy or where required by law.
Please direct any questions about this Policy to us info@emoodtracker.com.
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Los Lonely Boys paid their red-state dues
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 8, 2007
Things are going pretty darn well for Los Lonely Boys frontman Henry Garza. His band’s self-titled debut CD sold two million copies and earned four Grammy nominations, taking home the hardware for the hit single “Heaven”. More importantly, the singer-guitarist just taught his four-year-old son, Niko, how to play his first chord: the ever-popular G. He’s got two other boys, aged one and two, so there might be an LLB2 on the horizon in a few years’ time.
Henry was 12 when he started playing professionally with his younger brothers, bassist JoJo and aptly named drummer Ringo. Music was an integral part of their upbringing: at family get-togethers everybody played something and everybody sang something. By the time that Ringo turned seven and was able to man the kit, the kids started backing their country-musician father Enrique on tour. As Garza explains from his hometown of San Angelo, Texas, it wasn’t easy touring the red states in a Mexican family band.
“It was tough, brother,” recalls the 28-year-old picker. “I mean, it’s real rough when you’re a kid and you’re playing all the little cantinas and bars everywhere, and there’s no sheets, no blankets over the doors or windows—you get to see the world at a young age, and it can be cruel, man. We used to play the most redneck part of Nashville, and as soon as we’d walk in it would be, ‘Hey, get those wetbacks off the stage!’ But once we got up there and played [sings] ‘Your cheatin’ heart’, there was like a switch that turned on. And for us that’s what it’s really about—the music, man.”
With all the Republican-driven hubbub stateside about building barriers to keep Mexicans out, it appears as if the racial divide in Dubya’s stomping ground is wider than ever. But according to Garza—who had an ancestor who rode with Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa—it hasn’t actually gotten any worse.
“I tell you, brother, it’s really no different, it’s just that now everybody’s hearin’ about it. I guess somebody in the higher-ups decided to start counting! But we’ve been here forever, man, and all of a sudden they’re talkin’ about a line in the dirt. The line in the dirt was created years ago, you know, and for us it’s not even a thing, man.”
If ever there was an effective soundtrack for eliminating prejudice and bringing folks together, it’s Los Lonely Boys’ self-described “Texican rock ’n’ roll”. The trio conjures party music for the masses on its latest CD, Sacred, whether it be the hooky, uplifting, melodic rock of “Roses” (cowritten by the Garzas and original Doobie Brother Patrick Simmons) or the lowdown rebel country of “Outlaws” (featuring their good buddy Willie Nelson).
Although the brothers do stellar work in the studio, it’s in a concert setting that they really thrive. Check out their “Cottonfields and Crossroads” on the Live From Bonnaroo 2004 DVD to see how gutsy, Stevie Ray Vaughan–inspired Texas blues rock should be played. It’s obvious why Guitar World magazine named Garza its breakthrough artist of 2005.
“We play a lot different live,” the fiery Stratman notes, “and that’s what we’re about, playin’ live and having fun. Bein’ brothers and cuttin’ loose—there ain’t nothin’ like it in the world. It’s a great feelin’, man.”
Posted on September 2, 2013 May 8, 2015 by the newtPosted in american madeTagged Bonnaroo, Guitar Worldo, Henry Garza, Los Lonely Boys, Pancho Villa, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texican rock 'n' roll, wetbacks, Willie Nelson.
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Portfolio / Plant engineering / Flash evaporation
The vapour steams produced in the evaporator when the solution is flashed are used to preheat the circulating solution. At the end of preheating, the energy is supplied in the form of exhaust steam and/or live steam.
Process description
The solution is fed into a certain stage of the evaporator V1-4 and mixes there with the circulating solution. From the last stage of the evaporator, the solution is pumped with the circulation pump UP through the reboilers A3, A2, A1 and warmed up with vapour steams from the evaporator V1-4. At the end of the warm-up section, energy is supplied to the heater H in the form of exhaust steam and/or live steam. The solution then passes through the evaporator stages. Here, the solvent (water) evaporates gradually under decreasing pressure when the solution cools down to the boiling temperature. The resulting vapor steam is used in the heaters to heat the circulating solution. The vapour steam of the last stage is condensed with cooling water in the mixing condenser MK. The inert gases are extracted with a vacuum pump VP. The concentrated solution flows out of the system from a certain stage of the evaporator depending on the desired temperature.
Economical with relatively low concentration in relation to the input quantity.
Low steam consumption, depending on the number of stages and temperature gradient between first and last stage of the evaporator.
The actual vapour evaporation does not take place on the heating surfaces of heat exchangers, which largely eliminates heating surface incrustation. This results in maximum operating times between cleaning processes.
Flexible partial load operation is possible.
Suitable for various applications.
Increase in the number of stages to reduce steam consumption.
Different preheating concepts.
Vapour condensation of the vapour of the last stage in mixing or surface condensers.
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Home > Journals > Journal of Medical Imaging > Volume 5 > Issue 2 > Article
4 January 2018 Plan in 2-D, execute in 3-D: an augmented reality solution for cup placement in total hip arthroplasty
Javad Fotouhi, Clayton P. Alexander M.D., Mathias Unberath, Giacomo Taylor, Sing Chun Lee, Bernhard Fuerst, Alex Johnson M.D., Greg M. Osgood M.D., Russell H. Taylor, Harpal Khanuja M.D., Mehran Armand, Nassir Navab
Javad Fotouhi,1 Clayton P. Alexander M.D.,2 Mathias Unberath,1 Giacomo Taylor,1 Sing Chun Lee,1 Bernhard Fuerst,1 Alex Johnson M.D.,3 Greg M. Osgood M.D.,3 Russell H. Taylor,1 Harpal Khanuja M.D.,2 Mehran Armand,4 Nassir Navab1,5
1Johns Hopkins Univ. (United States)
2Johns Hopkins Medicine (United States)
3The Johns Hopkins Hospital (United States)
4Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., LLC (United States)
5Technische Univ. München (Germany)
J. of Medical Imaging, 5(2), 021205 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.5.2.021205
1.1 Clinical Background
1.2 Related Work
1.3 Proposed Solution
2.1 Cocalibration of the RGBD-C-Arm Imaging Devices
2.2 Vision-Based Estimation of C-Arm Extrinsic Parameters
2.3 Intraoperative Planning of the Acetabular Cup on Two x-ray Images
2.4 Augmented-Reality Visualization
3 Evaluation and Results
3.1 System Setup
3.2 Experimental Results
3.2.1 Stereo cocalibration of the RGBD and x-ray cameras
3.2.2 Accuracy in tracking x-ray poses
3.2.3 Planning accuracy in placing the acetabular component using two views
3.2.4 Preclinical feasibility study of acetabular component planning using stereo x-ray imaging
3.2.5 Error evaluation in the augmented reality environment
4 Discussion and Conclusion
Reproducibly achieving proper implant alignment is a critical step in total hip arthroplasty procedures that has been shown to substantially affect patient outcome. In current practice, correct alignment of the acetabular cup is verified in C-arm x-ray images that are acquired in an anterior–posterior (AP) view. Favorable surgical outcome is, therefore, heavily dependent on the surgeon’s experience in understanding the 3-D orientation of a hemispheric implant from 2-D AP projection images. This work proposes an easy to use intraoperative component planning system based on two C-arm x-ray images that are combined with 3-D augmented reality (AR) visualization that simplifies impactor and cup placement according to the planning by providing a real-time RGBD data overlay. We evaluate the feasibility of our system in a user study comprising four orthopedic surgeons at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and report errors in translation, anteversion, and abduction as low as 1.98 mm, 1.10 deg, and 0.53 deg, respectively. The promising performance of this AR solution shows that deploying this system could eliminate the need for excessive radiation, simplify the intervention, and enable reproducibly accurate placement of acetabular implants.
In total hip arthroplasty (THA), also referred to as total hip replacement, the damaged bone and cartilage are replaced with prosthetic components. The procedure relieves pain and disability with a high success rate. In 2010, there were ∼330,000 THAs performed in the US. This is projected to increase to 570,000 THAs by 20301 as younger patients and patients in developing countries are considered for THA. Together with a prolonged life expectancy, the consideration of younger, more active patients for THA suggests that implant longevity is of increasing importance as it is associated with the time to revision arthroplasty.1 The time to repeat surgery is affected by the wear of the implants that is correlated with their physical properties as well as acetabular component positioning. Poor placement leads to increased impingement and dislocation that promotes accelerated wear. Conversely, proper implant placement that restores the hip anatomy and biomechanics decreases the risk for dislocation, impingement, loosening, and limb length discrepancy and thus implant wear and revision rate.2–6 Steps to ensure accuracy and repeatability of acetabular component positioning are therefore essential. Due to the large volume of THA procedures, small but favorable changes to the risk-benefit profile of this procedure enabled by improved implant positioning will have a significant impact on a large scale.
Unfortunately, optimal placement of the acetabular component is challenging due to two main reasons. First, the ideal position of the implant with respect to the anatomy is unknown, yet a general guideline exists7 and is widely accepted in clinical practice. This guideline suggests abduction and anteversion angles of the hip joint measured with respect to bony landmarks defining the so-called safe zone, which is indicative of an acceptable outcome. Recent studies suggest that an even narrower safe zone may be necessary to minimize the risk of hip dislocation.8,9 Defining the ideal implant position is not as straightforward as the definition of a range of abduction and anteversion angles when considering a large population.10 A static definition of the safe zone seems even more prone to error when considering that the position of the pelvis varies dramatically from supine to sitting to standing posture among individuals.11,12
Second, even if a clinically acceptable safe zone is known, it is questionable whether surgeons are, in fact, able to accomplish acetabular component placement within the suggested margin.9 In light of previous studies that report malpositioning of up to 30% to 75%13–15 when free-hand techniques are used, addressing this challenge seems to be imperative.
Most computer-assisted methods consider the direct anterior approach (DAA) to the hip for THA as it allows for convenient integration of intraoperative fluoroscopy to guide the placement of the acetabular component.16 The guidance methods reviewed below proved effective in reducing outliers and variability in component placement, which equates to more accurate implant positioning.17–20
External navigation systems commonly use certain points on the anatomy of interest, as decided by the surgeon, and conform to a “map” of the known morphology of the anatomy of interest. Despite the fact that THA commonly uses x-ray images for navigation and preoperative patient CT may not be available, several computer-assisted THA solutions suggest planning the desired pose of the acetabular component preoperatively on a CT scan of the patient.21,22 Preoperative CT imaging allows planning of the implants in 3-D, automatically estimating the orientation of the natural acetabular opening, and predicting the appropriate size of the cup implant.23
Navigation-based THA with external trackers are performed based on preoperative patient CT or image-less computer assisted approaches. The planning outcome in a CT-based navigation approach is used intraoperatively with external optical navigation systems to estimate the relative pose of the implant with respect to the patient anatomy during the procedure. Tracking of the patient is commonly performed using fiducials that are drilled into the patient’s bones. Registration of the preoperative CT data to the patient on the surgical bed is performed by manually touching anatomical landmarks on the surface of the patient using a tracked tool.21 In addition to the paired-point transformation estimated by matching the few anatomical landmarks, several points are sampled on the surface of the pelvis and matched to the segmentation of the pelvis in the CT data.24 CT-based navigation showed statistically significant improvement in orienting the acetabular component and eliminating malpositioning, while resulting in increased blood loss, cost, and time for surgery.25,26 Combined simultaneous navigation of the acetabulum and the femur was used in 10 clinical tests, where the surgical outcome based on postoperative imaging showed 2.98 mm and 4.25 deg error in cup position and orientation, respectively.27
Image-less navigation systems do not require any preoperatively acquired radiology data. In this method, the pelvic plane is located in 3-D by only identifying anatomical landmarks on the surface of the patient using a tracked pointer reference tool and optically visible markers attached to the patient.28 This approach showed improvement in terms of cup positioning.29 However, a few number of samples points for registration as well as pelvis tilts resulted in unreliable registration.30
Robotic systems are developed to provide additional confidence to the surgical team in placing implants during THA.31,32 In a robotic system, pins are implanted into the patient’s femur prior to acquiring a preoperative CT scan. After the surgeon has performed the planning on the CT data, the robot is introduced into the operating room. To close the registration loop between patient, robot, and CT volume, each preoperatively implanted pin is touched by the robot with manual support. To eliminate the need for fiducial implantation, registration is either achieved by selecting several points on the surface of the bone using a digitizer and using an iterative closest point algorithm to perform registration to patient CT data,33 or by using intraoperative C-arm fluoroscopy and performing 2-D/3-D registration between the x-ray image and CT volume.34 After registering the preoperative CT data to the patient, the robot assists the surgeon in placing the femoral stem and the acetabular component according to the planning. The outcome of 97 robot-assisted THA procedures indicates performance similar to the conventional technique;35 however, in some cases, additional complications, such as nerve damage, postoperative knee effusion, incorrect orientation of the acetabular component, and deep reaming resulting in leg length discrepancy, were reported when the robotic system was used. To assist the surgeon in placing implants for joint replacement procedures, haptic technology was integrated into robotic solutions to maintain the orientation of the cup according to preoperative planning and to control the operator’s movement.36
If preoperative CT is available, intensity-based 2-D/3-D registration can be used to evaluate and verify the positioning of the acetabular component postoperatively.22 This is done by recovering the spatial relation between a postoperative radiograph (2-D) and the preoperative patient CT data (3-D), followed by a registration of the 3-D CAD model of the component to the 2-D representation of the cup in the postoperative radiograph. To overcome the large variability in individual patient pelvic orientations and to eliminate the need for preoperative 3-D imaging, the use of deformable 2-D/3-D registration with statistical shape models was suggested.37
Aforementioned solutions perform well but require preoperative CT, which increases the time and cost for surgery and requires intraoperative registration to the patient.25,32 Zheng et al.38 proposed a CT-free approach for navigation in THA. The method relies on tracking of the C-arm, surgical instruments used for placing femoral and acetabular components, and the patient’s femur and pelvis using an external navigation system. Multiple stereo C-arm fluoroscopy images are acquired intraoperatively. Anatomical landmarks are then identified both in these x-ray images as well as percutaneously using a point-based digitizer. Due to the tracking of the C-arm, the relative pose between the x-ray images is known; therefore, the anatomical landmarks are triangulated from the images and reconstructed in 3-D. These points are used later to define the anterior pelvic plane and the center of rotation for the acetabulum. After estimating the pelvis coordinate frame, the impactor is moved by the surgeon until the cup is at the correct alignment with respect to a desired orientation in the anterior pelvic plane coordinate frame. This work reported subdegree and submillimeter accuracy in antetorsion, varus/valgus, and leg length discrepancy. Later, this system was tested in 236 hip replacement procedures, where a maximum of 5-deg inclination error and 6-deg anteversion error was observed.39
The state-of-the-art approaches that provide guidance using image-less or image-based methods have certain drawbacks. Image-less methods require complex navigation and may provide unreliable registration.30 Image-based solutions rely on preoperative CT scans or intraoperative fluoroscopy and often use external navigations systems for tracking.40,41 Systems based on external navigation are expensive and increase the operative time due to the added complexity. Use of preoperative CT scans increases the radiation exposure and cost to the patient. Moreover, many of the methods used for registering CT to patient seek to solve ill-posed problems that require manual interaction either for initialization or landmark identification and, thus, disrupt the surgical workflow. Manual annotations can take between 3 to 5 min during the intervention for each image registration.21 Although proven beneficial for the surgical outcome, neither of these costly and labor-intensive navigation techniques were widely adopted in clinical practice.
Partly due to above drawbacks, surgeons who use the DAA often rely solely on fluoroscopic image guidance.16,42 These images, however, are a 2-D representation of 3-D reality and have inherent flaws that complicate the assessment. The challenges include finding the true anterior pelvic plane as well as eyeballing acetabular component position by eye on the image. Therefore, a technique that provides a quantitative and reliable representation of the pelvis and acetabular component intraoperatively without increasing either radiation dose or cost, while largely preserving the procedural workflow, is highly desirable.
Proposed Solution
This work proposes an augmented reality (AR) solution for intraoperative guidance of THA using DAA, where the C-arm is kept in place until the correct alignment of the acetabular cup is confirmed.43,44 With the proposed solution, the surgeon first plans the position of the acetabular cup intraoperatively based on two fluoroscopy images that are acquired after the dislocation of the femoral head and the reaming of the acetabulum are completed. The orientation of the cup in the x-ray images could be either automatically preset based on desired angles relative to the APP plane (or other known pelvic coordinate frames) or adjusted by the surgeon. Once the desired pose of the acetabular cup is estimated relative to the C-arm, we use optical information from the cocalibrated RGBD camera that is mounted on the C-arm to provide an AR overlay45–47 that enables placement of the cup according to the planning. As the cup is not visible in RGBD, we exploit the fact that the acetabular cup is placed using an impactor that is rigidly attached to the cup and is well perceived by the RGBD camera. For accurate cup placement, the surgeon aligns the optical information of the impactor (a cloud of points provided by the RGBD camera) with the planned virtual impactor-cup, which is visualized simultaneously in our AR environment. A schematic of the proposed clinical workflow is shown in Fig. 1.
After the femoral head is dislocated, the size of the acetabular implant is identified based on the size of the reamer. Next, two C-arm x-ray images are acquired from two different perspectives. While the C-arm is repositioned to acquire a new image, the relative poses of the C-arm are estimated using the RGBD camera on the C-arm and a visual marker on the surgical bed. The surgeon then plans the cup position intraoperatively based on these two stereo x-ray images simultaneously. Next, the pose of the planned cup and impactor is estimated relative to the RGBD camera. This pose is used to place the cup in a correct geometric relation with respect to the RGBD camera and visualize it in an AR environment. Finally, the surgeon observes real-time optical information from the impactor and aligns it with the planned impactor using the AR visualization. The green boxes in this figure highlight the contributions of this work.
The AR environment for THA requires a cocalibrated RGBD-C-arm (Sec. 2.1). Whenever the C-arm is repositioned, the RGBD camera on the C-arm tracks and estimates C-arm relative extrinsic parameters (Sec. 2.2). During the intervention, two x-ray images are recorded at different poses together with the respective extrinsic parameters and are used for intraoperative planning of the component (Sec. 2.3). Last, an AR environment is provided for the placement of the cup that comprises surface meshes of a virtual cup and impactor displayed in the pose obtained by intraoperative planning, overlaid with the real-time cloud of points from the surgical site acquired by the RGBD camera (Sec. 2.4).
Cocalibration of the RGBD-C-Arm Imaging Devices
The cocalibration of the RGBD camera and the x-ray imaging devices is performed using a multimodal checkerboard pattern. In this hybrid checkerboard pattern, each black square is backed with a radiopaque thin metal square of the same size.48 Calibration data are acquired by simultaneously recording RGB and x-ray image pairs of the checkerboard at various poses. Next, we estimate the intrinsic parameters for both the RGB channel of the RGBD sensor as well as for the x-ray imaging device. Using these intrinsic parameters, we estimate the 3-D locations of each checkerboard corner, OCHRGB and OCHX, in the RGB and x-ray coordinate frames, respectively. The stereo relation between the x-ray and RGB imaging devices XTRGB is then estimated via least squares minimization:
Eq. (1)
minTXRGB‖TXRGBOCHRGB−OCHX‖22.
The stereo relation between the RGB and IR (or depth) channel of the RGBD sensor is provided by the manufacturer. To simplify the notation, we use TXRGB, which embeds the relation between the RGB, depth, and x-ray imaging devices. We assume that both extrinsic parameters between x-ray and RGBD and the intrinsic parameters of the x-ray remain constant; however, both quantities are subject to minor change while the C-arm rotates to different angles, an observation that is further discussed in Sec. 4. Figure 2(a) illustrates the spatial relation between the RGBD camera and the x-ray source.
In the transformation chain of the RGBD-C-arm system for THA (a), the RGBD, x-ray, visual marker, and acetabular cup coordinate frames are denoted as RGBD, X, M, and C, respectively. In an offline calibration step, the extrinsic relation between the RGBD and x-ray (TXRGBD) is estimated. Once this constant relation is known, the pose of the x-ray source can be estimated for every C-arm repositioning (b) by identifying displacements in the RGBD camera coordinate frame.
Vision-Based Estimation of C-Arm Extrinsic Parameters
The stereo relation between C-arm x-ray images acquired at different poses is estimated by first tracking visual markers in the RGBD camera coordinate frame and then transforming the tracking outcome to the x-ray coordinate frame:
TX′X=TX′−1RGBD′TRGBD′−1MTMRGBDTRGBDX,
where TRGBD′X′=TRGBDX due to the rigid construction of the RGBD camera on the C-arm gantry. In Fig. 2(b), the rigid movement of x-ray source with the RGBD camera origin is shown for an arbitrary C-arm orbit.
Intraoperative Planning of the Acetabular Cup on Two x-ray Images
Planning of the acetabular component is performed in a user interface, where the cup could be rotated and translated by the surgeon in 3-D with six degrees of freedom (DoF) rigid parameters and is forward projected (pcv and pcv′) onto the planes of the two x-ray images acquired from different perspectives:
pcv=KPTX−1CTWCv,pcv′=K′PTX′−1CTWCv,
where K and K′ are the intrinsic perspective projection parameters for each C-arm image, P is a projection operator, and TWCv is the position of vertex v of the cup in the world coordinate frame. Relying on two x-ray views not only provides the ability to plan the orientation of the acetabular component such that it is aligned in two images but, more importantly, also allows adjusting the depth of the cup correctly, which is not possible when a single x-ray image is used. It is worth mentioning that the size of the acetabular cup does not require adjustment but is known at this stage of the procedure as it is selected to match the size of the reamer.
In addition, if the desired orientation of the cup is known relative to an anatomical coordinate frame (e.g., APP plane) and an x-ray image is acquired from a known perspective in relation to that anatomical frame (e.g., AP view), then the orientation of the cup could be automatically adjusted for the user (equivalent to presetting the orientation in TXC). It is worth emphasizing that in several image-guided orthopedic procedures, x-ray images are frequently acquired from the AP view.
The transparency of the cup is adjusted by the surgeon in the user interface such that the ambiguity between the front and the back of the cup is optimally resolved. Finally, the contours around the edge of the cup are estimated and visualized by thresholding the dot product of the unit surface normal nv and the intersecting ray rv:
|rv.nv|<τ.
The planning of an acetabular cup based on two x-ray images is shown in Fig. 3.
(a) and (b) The acetabular component is forward projected from an initial 3-D pose onto the respective x-ray image plane. (c) and (d) The surgeon moves the cup until satisfied with the alignment in both views. The x-ray images shown here are acquired from a dry pelvis phantom encased in gelatin. (e) A cubic visual marker is placed near the phantom but outside the x-ray field of view to track the C-arm.
Augmented-Reality Visualization
Once the desired cup position is known, guidance of the cup placement using an impactor with an AR visualization is needed to ensure a positioning in agreement with the planning. To construct the AR environment, we first estimate the pose of the RGBD sensor relative to the planned cup as follows:
TRGBDC=TXCTRGBDX.
Within the AR environment, we then render a 3-D mesh of the cup and impactor superimposed with the real-time cloud of points observed by the camera, all in the RGBD coordinate frame. In the interventional scenario, the acetabular cup is hidden under the skin and only the impactor is visible. Therefore, the surgeon will only align the cloud of points from the impactor, a cylindrical object, with the 3-D virtual representation of the planned impactor.
Ambiguities in the AR environment, among others occlusions or the rendering of a 3-D scene in a 2-D display, are eliminated by showing different perspectives of the scene simultaneously. Thus, it is ensured that the surgeon’s execution fully matches the planning once alignment of the current cloud of points of the impactor and the planned model is achieved in all perspectives. We provide an intuitive illustration of these relations in Fig. 4.
(a) and (b) Multiple virtual perspectives of the surgical site are shown to the surgeon (c) before the cup is aligned. (d)–(f) The impactor is then moved by the user until it completely overlaps with the virtual planned impactor.
To solely visualize the moving objects (e.g., the surgeon’s hands and tools), background subtraction of point clouds is performed with respect to the first static frame observed by the RGBD camera. It is important to note that in an image-guided DAA procedure, most tools other than the impactor, such as retractors, are removed prior to placing the acetabular component; therefore, important details on the fluoroscopy image are not occluded.
Evaluation and Results
In DAA for THA, the detector is commonly positioned above the surgical bed. This orientation of the C-arm machine is considered to reduce the scattering to the surgical crew. Therefore, we modified the C-arm machine by mounting the RGBD camera near the detector plane of the C-arm, which then allows the detector to remain above the bed. The mount for the RGBD camera extends out from the C-arm detector for nearly 5.00 cm in the XY direction (Z being the principal axis of the x-ray camera) and is screwed to a straight metal plate, which is rigidly tied to the image intensifier. Considering that the RGB camera is used for pose estimation of the C-arm scanner while the depth camera is used for point cloud observation, the RGBD camera needs to be angled such that a maximum of the surgical site is visible in both RGB and depth camera views. The RGBD sensor is, therefore, angled such that it has a direct view onto the surgical site such that the principal axis of the camera is close to the isocenter of the C-arm.
The impactor used for testing is a straight cylindric acetabular trialing from Smith and Nephew. For intraoperative x-ray imaging, we use an Arcadis Orbic 3-D C-arm (Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Forchheim, Germany) with an isocenteric design and an image intensifier. The RGBD camera is a short-range Intel RealSense SR300 (Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, California), which combines depth sensing with HD color imaging. Data transfers from C-arm and the RGBD camera to the development PC are done via Ethernet and powered USB 3.0 connections, respectively.
The AR visualization is implemented as a plug-in application in ImFusion Suite using the ImFusion software development kit (ImFusion GmbH, Germany). We use ARToolkit for visual marker tracking.49
Experimental Results
Stereo cocalibration of the RGBD and x-ray cameras
Offline stereo cocalibration between the x-ray source and the RGBD camera using 22 image pairs yields a mean reprojection error of 1.10 pixels. Individual mean reprojection errors for x-ray and RGBD cameras are 1.46 and 0.74 pixels, respectively.
Accuracy in tracking x-ray poses
Tracking accuracy is computed by acquiring x-ray images from a phantom with several radiopaque landmarks and measuring the stereo error between the corresponding landmark points in different images.
The phantom is constructed by attaching nine radiopaque mammography skin markers (bbs) with diameters of 1.5 mm, inside and near the acetabulum on a pelvis model, as shown in Fig. 5. Next, we acquired 11 x-ray images from −50 deg to +50 deg along C-arm oblique rotation and 9 x-ray images from −40 deg to +40 deg on the cranial/caudal direction, with intervals of 10 deg. In the planning software, we placed a virtual sphere with the same diameter as the bbs on each of the bb landmarks and measured the distance of the bb in the second image to the epipolar line from the center of the corresponding virtual sphere in the first image. The error distance is measured as 7.58±3.02 pixels (values reported as mean±standard deviation) in an x-ray image with pixel size of 1024×1024 and pixel spacing of 0.22mmpixel. In addition, we acquired a cone beam CT (CBCT) scan of the phantom and measured a root mean square error of 1.37 mm between the bbs in the CT and those reconstructed using two x-ray images.
(a) and (b) The geometric error is measured using radiopaque bbs viewed in the stereo x-ray images. (c) The blue line highlights a pair of corresponding bbs in the two images. The phantom is shown in panel (c).
Planning accuracy in placing the acetabular component using two views
To measure 3-D errors and ensure precise placement of the cup in two x-ray images during planning, we construct a dry phantom, where an implant cup is screwed into the acetabulum. Therefore, the desired implant cup placement is well visible in the x-ray images and serves as a reference. We perform experiments, where a virtual cup with the same size of the implant, shown in Fig. 6, must be aligned precisely with the cup implanted a priori that is visible in the x-ray images. To evaluate the 3-D error, we acquire a CBCT scan of the phantom and measure the error between the planning outcome and the ground-truth pose. This yields a mean translation error of 1.71 mm and anteversion and abduction errors of 0.21 deg and 0.88 deg, respectively.
An implant cup is placed inside the acetabulum, and two x-ray images and a CBCT scan are acquired using the C-arm. (a)–(c) The x-ray and CBCT images before planning. (d)–(f) The overlay of the real and virtual cup after proper alignment is shown.
Preclinical feasibility study of acetabular component planning using stereo x-ray imaging
In image-guided DAA hip arthroplasty, the proper alignment of the acetabular component is frequently inferred from AP x-ray images.50 Thus, the accuracy in estimating the 3-D pose-based on a single 2-D image heavily depends on the surgeon’s experience. In this experiment, we seek to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of our solution that is based on stereo x-ray imaging and compare the outcome with image-guided DAA solutions that only use AP x-ray images for guidance. We refer to the latter as “classic DAA.” Although the use of a single AP radiograph and the anterior pelvic plane coordinate system has certain drawbacks, it is the frame of reference that is most commonly used in computer-assisted THA solutions.51 While there may be alternatives (e.g., coronal plane), the use of anterior pelvic plane as the frame of reference will enable direct comparison with the current literature.
We conduct a preclinical user study, where medical experts use the planning software to place acetabular cups on simulated stereo x-ray images. These results are then compared with the conventional AP-based method considering orientational error in abduction and anteversion.
For the purpose of the user study, simulated x-ray images or so-called digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRR) are produced from a cadaver CT data. We generate 21 DRRs from the hip area, starting at −45 deg and ending at +45 deg with increments of +45 deg on the orbital oblique axis of the C-arm, where 0 deg refers to an AP image. Each time the users are given a randomly selected DRR together with the DRR corresponding to the AP plane and are expected to place the acetabular cup such that it is properly aligned in both views.
As the spatial configuration of the DRRs is known relative to the APP plane, we are able to compute the correct rotation of the acetabular component and preset this orientation for the cup in the planning software. This can occur when an AP image is acquired during the intervention and the desired orientation of the component is known relative to the anterior pelvic plane, which allows locking the DoF for rotational parameters. When the orientation is preset, the user only has to adjust a translational component, substantially reducing the task load. Presetting the orientation of the cup is evidently only possible if the x-ray pose is known relative to the APP or the AP image.
Four orthopedic surgery residents from the Johns Hopkins Hospital participated in the user study. The translation error in placing the cup is shown in Fig. 7. The abduction and anteversion errors are measured as zero as a result of presetting the desired angles. The abduction and anteversion adjusted by the user solely using AP image (classic DAA) are 6.52 deg±5.97 deg and 1.82 deg±1.89 deg, respectively. Ground-truth for these statistics includes the five DoF pose of the cup in CT data (as the cup is a symmetric hemisphere, 1 DoF, i.e., rotation around the symmetry axis, is redundant), where abduction and anteversion angles are 40 deg and 25 deg, respectively.
(a) DRRs were generated from −45 deg to +45 deg around the AP view. Participants were each time given two images, where one was always AP and the other one was generated from a different view. (b) The translational errors are shown for all four participants. Note that 0 deg in the horizontal axis refers to where the user performed planning on only the AP x-ray image.
Error evaluation in the augmented reality environment
To evaluate the agreement between surgeons’ actions in the AR environment with their intraoperative planning, we measure the orientational error of the impactor after placement with respect to its planning.
The axis-angle error between the principal axis of the true and planned impactor in the AR environment is measured, as shown in Fig. 8. We repeat this experiment for 10 different poses, and each time we use four virtual perspectives of the surgical site. The orientational error is 0.74 deg±0.41 deg.
The angle between the principal axis of the virtual impactor and the cloud of points represents the orientation error in the AR environment.
After the cup is placed in the acetabulum using AR guidance, we acquire a CBCT scan of the cup and measure the translation, abduction, and anteversion errors compared with a ground-truth CBCT as 1.98 mm, 1.10 deg, and 0.53 deg, respectively.
We propose an AR solution based on intraoperative planning for easy and accurate placement of acetabular components during THA. Planning does not require preoperative data and is performed only on two stereo x-ray images. If either of the two x-ray projections is acquired from an AP perspective, the correct orientation of the cup can be adjusted automatically, thus, reducing the task load of the surgeon and promoting more accurate implant placement.
Our AR environment is built upon an RGBD enhanced C-arm, which enables visualization of 3-D optical information from the surgical site superimposed with the planning target. Ultimately, accurate cup placement is achieved by moving the impactor until it is fully aligned with the desired planning.
Experimental results indicate that the anteversion and abduction errors are minimized substantially compared with the classic DAA approach. The translational error is below 3 mm provided that the lateral opening between two images is larger than 18 deg. All surgeons participating in the user study believed that presetting the cup orientation is useful and valid as having access to AP images in the operating room (OR) is a well-founded assumption. Nonetheless, the authors believe that a pose-aware RGBD augmented C-arm52 can, in the future, assist the surgeon in acquiring and confirming true AP images considering pelvis supine tilts in different planes.
The translational and orientational errors of the proposed AR solution are 1.98 mm and 1.22 deg, respectively, which show reduced error compared with the navigation-based system proposed by Sato et al.,27 which has a translation error of 2.98 mm and an orientation error of 4.25 deg. These results show the clear necessity to continue research and perform user studies on cadaveric specimens, as well as quantify the changes in operating time, number of required x-ray images, dose, accuracy, and surgical task load compared with classic image-guided approaches.
In classic DAA hip arthroplasty, correct translation of the cup is achieved by naturally placing the acetabular component inside the acetabulum and then moving the impactor around the pivot point of the acetabulum until the cup is at proper orientation. However, for our proposed solution to provide reliable guidance, both the translational and orientational alignments need to be planned.
In addition to presetting the orientations for the cup during planning, the surgeon can also adjust all six DoF rigid parameters of the component. Though, in the suggested AR paradigm, there are two redundant DoF: (1) rotation along the symmetry axis of the cup and (2) translation along the acetabular axis.
The RGBD camera on the C-arm is a short-range camera to allow detection even in near distances. The RGB channel of the sensor is used for tracking visual markers, and the depth channel is utilized to enable AR. The field-of-view of the RGBD camera is greater than the x-ray camera. Therefore, it allows placing visual marker outside the x-ray view to not obscure the anatomy in the x-ray image.
The visual marker is only introduced into the surgical scene for a short interval between acquiring two x-ray images. These external visual markers could be avoided if incorporating RGBD-based simultaneous localization and mapping to track the surgical site.52 Alternatively, the impactor, which is a cylindric object, could be used as a fiducial for vision-based inside-out tracking. It is important to note that surgical tools with shiny surfaces reflect IR beam. Tracking the surgical impactor is only done reliably if the surface has a matte finish or it is covered with a nonreflective adhesive material.
Projection of the 3-D hemispheric virtual cup onto the plane of x-ray images is done by utilizing the intrinsics parameters of the x-ray camera. These parameters are estimated while performing the checkerboard calibration. However, at different C-arm arrangements, the focal length and principal point could slightly change due to gravity and flex in the C-arm machine. We quantified the drift in the principal point for ±10 deg, ±20 deg, and ±30 deg of C-arm lateral opening, and the average shift was 5.17, 7.3, and 17 pixels on a 1024×1024 x-ray image. Considering the pixel spacing of the detector, these values are equivalent to 1.16 mm, 1.64 mm, and 3.82 mm drift on the detector plane coordinate frame. To overcome the limitations of change of intrinsics in the future, a look-up table could be constructed from precalibration of the C-arm at different angulations. The correct intrinsic parameters could then be retrieved from the table by matching the corresponding extrinsics from the inside-out tracking of the C-arm. To avoid small inaccuracies due to image distortion of the image intensifier, we placed the acetabulum near the image center, where image distortion is minimal.
During the clinical intervention, sterilization of the imaging device needs to be ensured by either covering the RGBD camera with transparent self-adhesive sterile covers or extending the mount of the camera, such that the camera is located outside the sterile zone. While both options are conceivable, the latter will reduce the range of free motion while rearranging the C-arm.
The RGBD sensor is not embedded in the gantry of the C-arm; therefore, it is possible that the surgical crew inadvertently hits the camera and affects the calibration. Since repeating the cocalibration for the imaging devices is not feasible when the patient is present in the OR, we plan to place an additional cocalibrated camera on the opposite side of the detector. Hence, when the calibration of one camera becomes invalid, the opposite camera could be used as a substitute.
In the proposed solution, the patient is assumed to be static while placing the cup. However, if the patient moves, either the planning needs to be repeated or the surgeon ought to continue with classic fluoroscopy-based guidance.
This AR solution for THA uses a self-contained C-arm, which only needs a one-time offline calibration, requires no external trackers, and does not depend on out-dated preoperative patient data. We believe that this system, by enabling quick planning and visualization, can contribute to reduction of radiation, time, and frustration and can increase the efficiency and accuracy for placing acetabular components. Ultimately, this approach may aid in reducing the risk of revision surgery in patients with diseased hip joints.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Research reported in this publication was partially supported by NIH/NIBIB under the Award Number R21EB020113 and Johns Hopkins University internal funding sources.
The authors want to thank Wolfgang Wein and his team from ImFusion GmbH, Munich, for the opportunity of using the ImFusion Suite and Gerhard Kleinzig and Sebastian Vogt from Siemens Healthineers for their support and making a Siemens ARCADIS Orbic 3-D available.
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Javad Fotouhi has been a PhD student of computer science at Johns Hopkins University since 2014. Prior to joining the Laboratory for Computer Aided Medical Procedures at Johns Hopkins University, he earned his MSc degree in biomedical computing from Technical University of Munich and his BSc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran. His research focus includes x-ray interventional imaging, medical image registration and reconstruction, and augmented reality.
Clayton P. Alexander earned his MD from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, in 2014 and is currently a resident physician in his fourth year of the Johns Hopkins Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training Program. He plans to complete a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery after completion of his residency. His research interests include imaging solutions for component placement for total hip arthroplasty.
Mathias Unberath is a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He received his BSc degree in physics, MSc degree in optical technologies, and PhD in computer science from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nürnberg in 2012, 2014, and 2017, respectively. In 2014, he was appointed graduate research scholar at Stanford University. He is interested in medical image processing and image reconstruction and visualization to improve diagnostic assessment and interventional guidance.
Giacomo Taylor is an undergraduate student at the Johns Hopkins University studying computer science and applied mathematics. He works with the Laboratory for Computer Aided Medical Procedures at Johns Hopkins University and is interested in applying computer vision techniques to improving medical imaging and intervention.
Sing Chun Lee has been a PhD student in the Computer Science Department at Johns Hopkins University since 2016. He received dual degrees in mathematics and information engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2009 and 2010, respectively. He earned his master’s degree in biomedical computing from Technical University Munich in 2016. His research interests include computer-assisted intervention, medical data visualization, and augmented reality.
Bernhard Fuerst was a research engineer at the Johns Hopkins University and is now with Verb Surgical Inc. He received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical computer science in 2009 and his master’s degree in biomedical computing in 2011. During his studies, he joined Siemens Corporate Research to investigate compensation of respiratory motion and Georgetown University to research metaoptimization. At the Johns Hopkins University, his research focus was on robotic ultrasound, minimally invasive nuclear imaging, and bioelectric sensing.
Alex Johnson is a resident physician with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is currently conducting research investigating advanced visualization methods for orthopaedic surgical applications in collaboration with the CAMP Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.
Greg Osgood is an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He graduated medical school from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and then completed residency training at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He completed his subspecialty orthopaedic trauma fellowship at Harborview Medical Center. At Johns Hopkins, he was the first chief of orthopaedic trauma in the hospital’s history. His research focuses are advancing 2-D/3-D imaging, head mounted displays, and advanced guidance for surgery.
Russell H. Taylor received his PhD in computer science from Stanford in 1976. After spending 1976 to 1995 as a research staff member and research manager at IBM research, he moved to Johns Hopkins University, where he is the John C. Malone professor of computer science and director of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics. His research interests include medical robotics and computer-integrated interventional medicine.
Harpal Khanuja is the chief of hip and knee reconstruction with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He is also the Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. His clinical interest is hip and knee replacement surgery, and his research interests include clinical outcomes and applying newer technologies including imaging and robotics to orthopaedic procedures.
Mehran Armand is a principal scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and an associate research professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery. He currently directs the Laboratory for Biomechanical- and Image-Guided Surgical Systems (BIGSS) at Whiting School and AVICENNA center for advancing surgical technologies at Bayview Medical Center. His lab encompasses research in continuum manipulators, biomechanics, and medical image analysis for translation to clinical application of integrated surgical systems.
Nassir Navab, MICCAI fellow, is a professor and director of Laboratory for Computer Aided Medical Procedures at Technical University of Munich and Johns Hopkins University. He completed his PhD at INRIA and University of Paris XI in 1993. He received Siemens inventor of the year award in 2001, SMIT Society Technology award in 2010, and “10 years lasting impact award” of IEEE ISMAR in 2015. His research interests include medical AR, computer vision, and machine learning.
© 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 2329-4302/2018/$25.00 © 2018 SPIE
Javad Fotouhi, Clayton P. Alexander M.D., Mathias Unberath, Giacomo Taylor, Sing Chun Lee, Bernhard Fuerst, Alex Johnson M.D., Greg M. Osgood M.D., Russell H. Taylor, Harpal Khanuja M.D., Mehran Armand, and Nassir Navab "Plan in 2-D, execute in 3-D: an augmented reality solution for cup placement in total hip arthroplasty," Journal of Medical Imaging 5(2), 021205 (4 January 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.5.2.021205
Received: 14 September 2017; Accepted: 12 December 2017; Published: 4 January 2018
3D image processing
Optical augmented reality assisted navigation system for neurosurgery teaching and...
Tracking and registration method based on vector operation for augmented...
Technical note an augmented reality system for total hip...
Vision-based augmented reality computer assisted surgery navigation system
Closed form inverse kinematics for intra operative mobile C arm...
Technical experience from clinical studies with INPRES and a concept...
Javad Fotouhi, Clayton P. Alexander M.D., Mathias Unberath, Giacomo Taylor, Sing Chun Lee, Bernhard Fuerst, Alex Johnson M.D., Greg M. Osgood M.D., Russell H. Taylor, Harpal Khanuja M.D., Mehran Armand, Nassir Navab, "Plan in 2-D, execute in 3-D: an augmented reality solution for cup placement in total hip arthroplasty," J. Med. Imag. 5(2) 021205 (4 January 2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.5.2.021205
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Uber leases 2 lakh sqft space in Bengaluru
, TNN Last Updated: Dec 18, 2016, 01:24 PM IST
The Uber centre will have the capacity to employ about 2,000 people, though it was not immediately clear whether all employees would be part of the engineering team.
Uber has leased about 2 lakh square feet of office space in Bengaluru to set up its biggest hub in the country.
The facility will help the ride-hailing app expand its product and engineering centre in the city to customize solutions for the local market, according to people familiar with the matter.
The engineering centre was set up earlier this year. India has become Uber's largest market outside the United States, accounting for 12% of all Uber trips globally. It now operates in 30 cities and completes about 5.5 million passenger car trips per week in India. It started operations here in 2013.
Uber will pay Rs 52 per sqft, sources said, which will equate to an annual rent of about Rs 12.5 crore. Uber, which will have the option to expand its leased area to 3 lakh sqft, did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by TOI.
Uber, the world's most highly valued startup, at about $70 billion, has leased the space in RGA Tech Park on Sarjapur main road. That area on the Outer Ring Road has become a hub for multinational companies such as Cisco, LinkedIn, JP Morgan, Mylan and Accenture in the past few years, leading to a dearth of Grade A office space and consequent rise in rentals.
Uber has 800 employees in India with 100 in Bengaluru and 350400 in Hyderabad, which houses its support facility for riders and drivers, the company's India head Amit Jain said last month. The Hyderabad facility is 150,000 sqft.
Uber's expansion will round off another good year for Bengaluru's commercial office market space, which has remained vibrant in spite of the sluggishness in the residential market. iPhone maker Apple and Diageo, the world's largest drinks company, also announced plans to set up centres in the city, where net absorption in 2016 is expected to be about 10 million sqft.
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Joseph South
McKay School alumnus Joseph South has been appointed as the new deputy director for the Office of Educational Technology in the U.S. Department of Education.
Joseph South, a McKay School alumnus who has pioneered online and blended learning solutions for students and educators, has been appointed as the new deputy director for the Office of Educational Technology in the U.S. Department of Education. He is now responsible for working with entities such as the federal government and private industry to use technology to help educators solve problems.
South earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in journalism at Brigham Young University. During his undergraduate experience, he worked at the Daily Universe as a photo and online editor. South later earned a master’s degree and doctorate in instructional psychology and technology in the McKay School of Education.
Beginning his career at the Shodor Education Foundation in Durham, North Carolina, South developed his first online course, taught education professionals how to use technology more efficiently along with providing computational science resources for their students. He also designed and conducted a middle school internet science camp that included a live chat with scientists working on the Mars rovers. Following his early success, BYU employed South to develop blended learning courses and an adaptive language learning system; the latter is still in use at the Missionary Training Center.
At two different times in his career, South worked at K12 Inc., an online learning company for grades K through 12, where he managed a portfolio of 31 world language courses and led higher education and product development initiatives in Utah and Oklahoma. Additionally, the firm’s development teams worked on various projects, such as educational iPad apps and development of interactive kiosks and online curriculum with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Between his time working at K12 Inc., South led a product development team for Middlebury Interactive Languages, a startup in Provo, Utah, that designed immersive online language learning courses, among them an award-winning 3D immersive language roleplaying game.
South is convinced that learning should be fun and interactive. He feels satisfied when his work is able to provide an engaging learning experience for students:
"I feel successful if learners are fully engaged with the learning experience we have designed with and for them, if the instructors are able to use the majority of their time for one-on-one and small group tutoring because the technology is doing the heavy lifting of introducing key concepts and relationships in an interactive and personalized way, and most importantly, if there is strong evidence of efficient, effective, and enjoyable learning outcomes. There is no reason that learning should be boring."
The interview process for applying for South’s new position was similar to other employment opportunities, but extensive screening protocols are required by the U.S. Department of Education and the White House to verify the eligibility of the candidate. South was interviewed by individuals with substantial responsibilities in the field of education for the entire nation. “It was a privilege to meet and speak with them about some of the challenges we face collectively and the work they are doing to address those challenges,” South said. “I thought after the interviews that even if I wasn’t offered the position it was worth the time and effort I had spent preparing . . . just to have that one-on-one time.”
South moved to Virginia with his wife, Diana Turnbow, and two young sons who remind him why education is so important. Turnbow worked as the curator of photography at the BYU Museum of Art before making the move to the east coast.
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Policy cycle in education
In this phase, it’s recommended to gather information on the situation of women and men in a particular area. This means looking for sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics, as well as checking for the existence of studies, programme or project reports, and/or evaluations from previous periods.
Did you know that EIGE has a Gender Statistics Database? Check whether there are relevant statistics to feed into your analysis.
Examples of gender and education and training statistics
At the EU level, relevant databases and indexes have been developed to address the dimension of gender and education. Don’t forget to check databases that may also exist at the level of the Member States.
The European Union labour force survey (EU-LFS)
It provides the main aggregated statistics on labour market outcomes in the European Union. The EU-LFS is the main data source for employment and unemployment. Tables on population, employment, working hours, permanency of the job, professional status etc. are included. It provides disaggregated statistics by sex, age groups, economic activity, education attainment and field of education, from which it is possible to measure the characteristics of labour force by level of education attained.
The Eurostat education and training database
It produces and publishes indicators and analysis on the operation, evolution and impact of education. This covers data from early childhood through formal education to learning and training throughout life. Data and indicators disseminated include:
participation rates at different levels of education
enrolments in public and private institutions
tertiary education graduates
pupil-teacher ratios
expenditure on education per student and relative GDP.
Data are disaggregated by sex, age and educational level. The data collection on education statistics is based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). For data on educational attainment based on the EU labour force survey (EU-LFS) the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011) is applied as from 2014.
The Adult education survey (AES)
It is a household survey which is part of the EU statistics on lifelong learning. The AES provides an overview of the participation of individuals in education and training (formal, non-formal and informal learning). The reference period for participation in education and training is the 12 months prior to the interview. The survey focuses on people aged 25 – 64 living in private households. The AES contains information on several aspects of formal and informal training and learning, language and computer skills, and contains variables regarding personal and job-related characteristics (e.g. country of residence, individual and household characteristics, work context), including the highest level of education attained (ISCED) and occupation (ISCO-08). As the target population of the survey is composed of people aged 25 to 64, it allows an analyse of the participation in lifelong learning of adults, disaggregated by sex. A set of calculated indicators is available in Eurostat's online dissemination database, under the education and training section.
OECD run PISA – programme for international student assessment.
This is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. Survey results are useful tools for monitoring gender and education.
Around 510,000 students in 65 countries (34 of which were OECD countries) took part in the PISA 2012 assessment of reading, mathematics and science representing about 28 million 15-year-olds globally.
PISA has developed tests which are designed to assess to what extent students at the end of compulsory education can apply their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society. In addition, given PISA is an ongoing triennial survey, countries participating in successive surveys can compare their students’ performance over time and assess the impact of education policy decisions. Based on the PISA data, gender analyses were carried out. The dataset is available online for further analysis.
To reinforce the collection and monitoring of gender-specific indicators, the OECD updates its gender data portal, also presenting data on education.
EIGE issued their Gender equality index report in 2015, measuring gender equality in the European Union from 2005 to 2012. This compiled 2 main indicators for monitoring gender in education, referring to the proportion of graduates in tertiary education and segregation in education. You can find the results for the EU and the 28 Member States online.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Its website aims to bring together both gender statistics and policies. Focus is on the production, dissemination and use of gender-related data. In addition to statistics, the website outlines some of the main gender issues relevant to the UNECE region, and provides examples of policies and other initiatives. It also contains thematic pages on topics consisting of important methodologies and examples of survey instruments. The UNECE gender statistics database helps to monitor the situation of women and men in all UNECE member countries. It contains data on education attainment disaggregated by sex.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
It is a source for cross-national comparable statistics on education, science and technology, culture, and communication for more than 200 countries and territories.
Examples of studies, research and reports
Eurostat/Eurydice, Key data on education in Europe, 2012
The general key data on education report, published jointly with Eurostat, is a unique publication and a flagship product for the Eurydice network as it combines statistical data and qualitative information to describe the organisation and functioning of education systems in Europe.
EIGE, Gender equality index report, measuring gender equality in the European Union 2005 – 2012, 2015.
The report includes scores for 2005, 2010 and 2012, for the first time allowing for an assessment of the progress made in the pursuit of gender equality in the European Union and Member States over time, also presenting data for the knowledge domain.
Eurydice, Gender differences in educational outcomes: study on the measures taken and the current situation in Europe. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, EU, 2010, Brussels.
The study contains a review of the research literature on gender and education and summarises the main findings from international performance surveys on gender differences in education. It provides secondary analyses of PISA data mostly focusing on the variation of achievement by gender. The comparative overview of policies and measures in place in European countries with respect to gender equality in education forms the main part of the report.
Nesse Network of Experts, Gender and Education (and employment). Gendered imperatives and their implications for women and men, lessons from research for policy makers. European Commission, 2009, Brussels.
This report is a review of international research evidence on the relationship between gender and education, focusing especially on the Lisbon objectives and EU benchmarks. It provides a critical, empirically and theoretically-informed analysis of how gendered identities relate to educational processes and outcomes.
Naves, M.C., and Wisnia-Weill, V., Lutter contre les stéréotypes filles-garçons. Commissariat Général à la Stratégie et à la Prospective, 2014, Paris.
Report commissioned on gender stereotype by the French Ministry of Women’s Rights.
OECD, Are boys and girls equally prepared for life?, 2014.
Introduction to the PISA tests to compare countries’ achievements in education, provides a ‘gender brief’ on boys and girls in mathematics.
UNICEF, A statistical snapshot of violence against adolescent girls, 2014.
Data and analysis of violence against adolescent girls in the world also covering gender-based violence at school.
UNISA, Mncube and Harber, The dynamics of violence in South African schools, 2013.
Data and analysis of gender-based violence at school in a comparative perspective.
The PISA report – The ABC of gender equality in education: Aptitude, behaviour, confidence
This report examines in detail possible reasons for gender differences in PISA reading performance, and many of them are connected with differences in behaviour between boys and girls. For example, boys spend one hour less per week on homework than girls – and each hour of homework per week translates into a 4-point higher score in the PISA reading, mathematics and science tests. Outside school, girls spend more time reading for enjoyment, particularly complex texts like fiction, while boys are much more into playing video games, either on their own or collaboratively. While excessive gaming can lead to lower academic performance, moderate one-player video gaming is associated with better overall performance, and in particular, with better performance in digital areas.
Did you know that EIGE has a resource and documentation centre? Check whether there is relevant information to feed into your analysis.
One of the first steps to take when defining your policy/project/programme is to gather information and analyse the situation of women and men in the respective policy area. The information and data you collected will allow an understanding of the reality and assisting you in designing your policy, programme or project. Specific methods that can be used in this phase are gender analysis and gender impact assessment.
Example of a gender analysis
Fiona Leach, Practising gender analysis in education, Oxfam UK, 2003.
This guide makes a contribution to ongoing efforts at gender mainstreaming in education by providing accessible tools for carrying out gender-sensitive analyses of current situations. Appropriate tools of gender analysis are presented and discussed through several examples. The guide is intended for use by those working to achieve these targets in all types of educational settings: policy makers and planners, teachers and teacher trainers, academics, researchers and students, development agency staff and other practitioners.
Example of a gender impact assessment
Gender mainstreaming in practice: Step-by-step guide for gender impact assessment, Malta National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE).
This guide is designed to assist public administrators or other actors who are involved in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of any policy, activity or programme. More specifically, this guide serves as a reference point to empower policymakers to carry out a gender impact assessment of all policies, programmes and activities. This ensures that prior to their implementation, a thorough analysis is conducted on the potential effects on both women and men, and girls and boys. Although the guide refers to several policy areas, specific examples related to education are reported.
Examples of stakeholders that can be consulted
Consider consulting stakeholders (e.g. gender experts, civil society organisations) on the topic at hand, to share and validate your findings and to improve your policy or programme proposal. This will enhance the learning process on the subject for all those involved and will improve the quality of the work done at the EU level. Stakeholders consultation process will start in this phase, but could also be considered as an important method to be applied along all the policy cycle’s phases.
The Girls’ Education in International Development (GEID) working group
Access the Girls’ Education in International Development (GEID) working group webpage here.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.
In this phase, it’s appropriate to analyse budgets from a gender perspective. Gender budgeting is used to identify how budget allocations contribute to promoting gender equality. Gender budgeting brings visibility to how much public money is spent for women and men respectively. Thus, gender budgeting ensures that public funds are fairly distributed between women and men. It also contributes to accountability and transparency about how public funds are being spent.
Examples of gender budgeting in education and training
2015 Budget of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia
The report on the 2015 Budget of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia of 2015 contains findings of a gender assessment of the budget with a dedicated section on education.
The executive summary of the gender impact report of the Budget 2015 is also available in English.
Examples of indicators for monitoring gender and education
When planning, don’t forget to establish monitoring and evaluation systems and indicators that that will allow measurement and compare the impact of the policy or programme on women and men over the timeframe of its implementation. Remember to define the appropriate moments to monitor and evaluate your policy.
Employment rate for women and men by level of education
Measuring gender-disaggregated employment rates by educational attainment offers an insight into the level of knowledge and skills available in the labour market. The employment rate of the total population is calculated by dividing the number of people in employment by the total population. The employment rate could be calculated by sex, age group and educational attainment (less than primary, primary and lower secondary education (levels 0 – 2), upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (levels 3 – 4) and tertiary education (levels 5 –8)). The employment rate for women and men by level of education attainment is a measure of gender difference in the employment performance and gender employment gap. The indicator is included in the set of indictors for monitoring the area B – Education and Training of Women of the BpfA. Latest figures show that in 2014 women’s employment rates were lower than men’s employment rates for all levels of education attainment (level 0 – 2, women 36%, men 50.5%, level 3 – 4 women 62.6%, men 73.9%, level 5 – 8, women 62.6%, men 73.9%). The higher level of education attainment, the lower the gender gap registered. The indicator is available from Eurostat LFS survey and is also included in the Eurostat education and training data (online data code: lfsa_ergaed).
Proportion of women and men having attained first and second stage of tertiary education (levels 5 and 6 ISCED)
This indicator measures educational attainment, defined as the percentage of people aged 15 – 74 that have attained a given educational level, as measured by International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) (Eurostat, 2013). This indicator focuses on educational attainment for ISCED levels 5 and 6, which represents those who have achieved the first or second stage of tertiary education. The indicator is a measure of gender gap in tertiary education. It is considered in the calculation of the EIGE gender equality index under the knowledge domain. The indicator shows that women now outnumber men in education attainment among university graduates. The percentage of women and men at EU level who have attained tertiary level education has increased markedly in the last years. In 2014 the attainment rate for women was 25.6% compared to 24.1% of men. The indicator is available from Eurostat LFS survey, included in the Eurostat education and training data (online data code: edat_lfs_9903).
Proportion of female graduates and male graduates of all graduates in mathematics, the sciences and technical disciplines (tertiary education)
The indicator describes the proportion of female and male tertiary graduates in mathematics, sciences (science and computing) and technical disciplines (engineering, manufacturing and construction), from both public and private institutions, completing graduate/postgraduate (ISCED 5) as well as advanced research studies (ISCED 6) compared to the total number of tertiary graduates in the respective fields of study. The indicator distinguishes between female and male graduates with ISCED 5 and ISCED 6 qualifications, and thus illustrates the tendency of females engaging in mathematics, sciences and technical disciplines with regard to the level of qualifications acquired as well as vocational destinations. The indicator is a measure of gender segregation in education. The indicator is included in the set of indictors for monitoring the area B – education and training of women of the BPfA. It is also considered in the calculation of the EIGE gender equality index under the knowledge domain. Last available data relating to 2012 show data proportion of graduate women in science, mathematics and computing (ISCED 5) is 40.2% compared to 59.8% of men and 42.1% for women versus 57.9% for men in level ISCED 6. The gender gap increases when considering engineering, manufacturing and construction (26.9% for women, 73.1% for men in ISCED 5 level, 28.4% for women, 71.6% for men in ISCED 6 level). Calculation of the indicator could be made using Eurostat data, education and training statistics (online data code: educ_grad5: Graduates in ISCED 3–6 by field of education and sex).
Early leavers from education and training, 18 – 24
Early leavers from education and training refers to people aged 18 – 24 fulfilling the following 2 conditions: first, the highest level of education or training attained is ISCED 0, 1, 2 or 3c short, second, respondents declared they had not received any education or training in the 4 weeks preceding the survey (numerator). The denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding no answers to the questions “highest level of education or training attained” and “participation in education and training”. It is a indicator measuring the proportion of boys and girls affected by the problem of early school leaving for education and training system. In 2014, the girl early leavers represented 9.5% of the total, compared to 12.7% of boys. The indicator is particularly used at the EU level as it is included into the employment performance indicator under the table on EU policy section of the Eurostat database, as well as in the education and training statistics (online data code: edat_lfse_14).
Example of procurement
When preparing calls for proposals in the framework of funding programmes, or terms of reference in the context of public procurement procedures (notably for contractors to be hired for policy support services), do not forget to formalise gender-related requirements. This will ensure the projects and services which the European Commission will fund are not gender-blind or gender-biased.
The Netherlands organisation for international cooperation in higher education (Nuffic), 2012. Complexities of gender mainstreaming in higher education capacity development programmes.
The document analyses Nuffic’s efforts to ensure the inclusion of women and their interests in its programmes. Examples are provided from practice, indicating the successes achieved and factors that hamper or facilitate gender mainstreaming. A specific chapter is dedicated to “matching demand and supply: tender evaluation.”
In the implementation phase of a policy or programme, ensure that all who are involved are sufficiently aware about the relevant gender objectives and plans. If not, set up briefings and capacity-building initiatives according to staff needs. Think about researchers, proposal evaluators, monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers, programme committee members, etc.
Examples of capacity-building initiatives about gender and education
Scottish Executive, Gender equality toolkit for education, 2007.
In 2007, the Scottish Executive published a toolkit to help education staff to reflect on and develop that process throughout all aspects of their work in schools: Gender equality: a toolkit for education staff.
Denmark, the children’s book on gender roles and educators guide, 2009.
In Denmark, The children’s book on gender roles and educators guide was published in 2009. Its primary target group was five- or six-year-old girls and boys and the secondary target group was kindergarten educators. The book was part of a project aimed to give children equal opportunities to choose what and with whom they want to play.
Belgium, training tool for gender-conscious teaching, 2010.
In 2010, the Flemish regional government in Belgium edited a training tool for gender-conscious teaching for teachers at all educational levels: Gender in de klas (Gender in the classroom).
Belgium, capaticity-building initiative, 2010
In 2010 in Belgium, a capacity-building initiative was launched to stimulate girls’ interest in science and technology, including training material and workshops for girls in primary education.
French Ministry of Education, plant aimed at raising awareness and building capacity on gender equality in primary and secondary education, 2012-2014
In 2013 – 2014, the French Ministry of Education launched a plan aimed at raising awareness and building capacity on gender equality in primary and secondary education. This also targets teachers, for whom a specific training module has been designed.
Portugal, the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG)
In Portugal the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) which is the public institution with responsibility for the area of citizenship, published the education guides on gender and citizenship. The guides – embedded in the third and fourth national plans for equality, citizenship and gender (2007 – 2010 and 2011 – 2013 respectively) – are addressed to teachers of preschool (from 3 to 6 years) and basic education (9 years of schooling). They were developed by experts on gender and education and validated by the Ministry of Education.
Spain, Women’s Institute and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports through the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teachers Training (INTEF)
The Women’s Institute and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports through the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teachers Training (INTEF) of Spain developed the online training course Co-education: Two sexes in one world, which consists of 7 units for teachers and educators from nursery to secondary education. The main aim of the course is to make teachers aware of differences between the 2 sexes; to make them conscious of how those differences can become inequalities in most cases; to break down discriminatory gender stereotypes and to offer educators a vast amount of reflective exercises, reading, videos and links to introduce gender pedagogy in their everyday practices.
Belgium, De onderwijskaravaan . 2012
In Belgium, a project that aims at banishing gender mechanisms and negative choices in study orientation for youngsters in ethnic-cultural minorities was implemented in 2012 (De onderwijskaravaan (the caravan of education)).
Example of gender language in education
Blumerg, R. L., Gender bias in textbooks: A hidden obstacle on the road to gender equality in education, Paris, 2007, UNESCO.
This was a background paper for the 2008 education for all global monitoring report, Education for all by 2012 – will we make it? Gender and language education studies have multiplied in the past decade. However, it does not appear that any state-of-the-art article has reviewed the various undertakings. This paper attempts to fill this gap by focusing on gender representation in learning materials and classroom interaction studies globally within gender and education literature.
A policy cycle or programme should be checked both during – monitoring, and at the end – evaluation, of its implementation.
Monitoring the ongoing work allows for the follow-up of progress and remedying unforeseen difficulties. This process should take into account the indicators delineated in the planning phase and realign data collection based on those indicators.
At the end of a policy cycle or programme, a gender-sensitive evaluation should take place. Make your evaluation publicly accessible and strategically disseminate its results to promote its learning potential.
Examples of monitoring and evaluation on gender and education
Sex discrimination in access to education
In 2011 this report, subtitled Evaluation of the need for and effectiveness of current measures in the Member States was produced. The objective of the report is to enable the European Commission to better understand whether there are concerns/concrete discrimination problems in the Member States in relation to access to compulsory education.
Observatory for Gender Equality in Education
In 2008, Greece started the implementation of the project Monitoring and assessment observatory for actions by the educational policy on gender equality. The main objective of the project was to successfully address the lack of centrally-planned educational policies on gender equality, as well as to evaluate in a systematic and organised way the implementation of equality policies in education, in order to contribute decisively to the improvement of women's position in shaping and developing relevant policies. Within the framework of the project, 5 reports and studies were designed:
study on the existing conditions at global level
report on cooperation perspectives with respective agencies from other EU countries
assessment report on the possibility and perspectives of networking
technical networking reports with suggested structures, designed by the observatory
observatory networking list with national and foreign agencies and brief recording of their goals and actions.
Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Indicators for Primary and Secondary Schools
Also in 2008, the Irish Department of Education and Science put in place the initiative Gender mainstreaming evaluation indicators for primary and secondary schools. The aim of this evaluation was to incorporate gender mainstreaming indicators into the criteria for school inspections. In 2009, the Department of Education and Science circulated guidelines and indicators on gender mainstreaming for primary and secondary schools to all post-primary schools, and a system of indicators to evaluate gender mainstreaming was included in the criteria for school inspections at primary and secondary schools.
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Governance & Organizational Structure
The Early Learning Centre (ELC) is a non-profit service within the department of Family Programs & Services in the Division of Human Resources & Equity. The University of Toronto holds the license to operate a childcare service, and has overall responsibility for the management and operation of the Early Learning Centre.
The management team is composed of a Manager, two Supervisors, Business Coordinator, and the Director of Family Programs & Services. The teaching team is composed of Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE’s), and Early Childhood Assistants (ECA’s) as prescribed by the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. The support team includes Classroom Assistants (CA’s), cook, food service worker, and casual staff.
The Manager is responsible for supervising and providing direction to the Supervisors for the St. George and UTM sites, the Lead Hand Staff at the OISE site, and the Business Coordinator. All teaching, support and casual staff report to the Manager and Supervisors. The Manager reports to the Director of Family Programs & Services in the Office of the Vice President, Human Resources & Equity.
All staff are members of the bargaining unit of CUPE 2484 and USW 1998 save and except the Manager and Director.
The Parent Advisory Committee gives parents the opportunity to provide advice to the management staff on program policies, services and initiatives provided by the ELC.
Three meetings per academic year are held (Fall, Winter and Spring), and ad hoc working groups meet as necessary to work on special projects or to address specific issues. Parent Advisory meeting are open meetings, and all interested ELC community members (family members and staff) are invited to attend and participate in discussions. For more details go to Parent Advisory Committee (PAC).
Parent Involvement Statement
The Early Learning Centre welcomes parent participation in our programs. You may wish to participate at the Parent Advisory Committee advising us on program development or contributing to working groups that examine policies and centre program initiatives.
Alternatively you may have expertise, talents or skills you wish to contribute to the program on a regular or occasional basis. As your child progresses to new age groups at the centre you will be given the opportunity to identify how you wish to contribute to the room.
The easiest way for parents to be involved in their child’s centre experience is to share interests and activities that your child enjoys at home. There is a section on all our program planning charts for parents to write observations and home experiences, in this way staff will be able to integrate activities from home into play and learning at the centre.
Additionally, the manager and supervisors are available either by appointment, telephone or email to receive and discuss suggestions for programs.
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The early history of the University can be considered the 8th of December, 1859, when the Gory-Goretsky agricultural institute welcomed the first students of the Forestry program who were trained for careers in agronomy and forestry with the opportunity of obtaining a PhD degree in the abovementioned fields. Forestry faculties were established in 1919 at the Gory-Goretsky Agricultural Institute and in 1920 in Minsk Polytechnic Institute. They further became a basis for the foundation of the Forestry Institute in Gomel (June, 1, 1930). The new technical institution of higher education faced the task of training engineering personnel for forestry, forest and woodworking industries. Therefore, the year of 2019 will commemorate the 160th anniversary of higher forestry education in Belarus.
In 1934 the Forestry Institute was renamed into the Belarusian Forestry Engineering Institute and was given the name of S.M. Kirov in 1935.
In 1941 at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the Institute was evacuated to the city of Sverdlovsk and became a part of the Ural Forestry Engineering Institute. After liberation of Gomel from German fascist invaders the Institute was re-evacuated to Gomel. In August 1946 the Institute was transferred to Minsk.
Its reformation in 1961 into the Belarusian Technological Institute was inspired by an intensive development of the Republic’s chemical industry. It was put in charge of training engineers for chemical industries. Later it was given the name of the Belarusian Technological Institute named after S.M. Kirov.
On October 20, 1980 by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Institute was awarded the Order of Red Labor Banner with its 50-th Anniversary and for its achievements in training highly-qualified engineers and researchers.
In 1988 the Council of Ministers of the USSR certified the Institute as a leading higher school of the country.
Real flourishing of the Technological Institute started at the end of the 1980s and was brought about by intensive development of science, new graduate programs, improved material and technical facilities, well-equipped laboratories. In 1993 the Government of the Republic of Belarus granted the Institute with a university status (Belarusian State Technological University).
The scope of the University competence has enlarged dramatically. It began training specialists for the careers in landscape architecture, glass and glass ceramics production, construction and fine functional ceramics, chemical sources of current and functional electroplating, polymer and mould products design, engineering and medical binding materials, basic organic and petrochemical synthesis, paintwork materials, industrial ecology, bio-ecology, certification, automation of technological processes, biotechnology of energy carriers, enzymes and fermentation technology, fine organic synthesis, medicines, perfumery and cosmetics, information systems and technology, printing industry, data processing and publishing, management, marketing, tourism and nature management, etc.
The BSTU was the first among the national educational institutions to introduce the Quality Management System holding two Conformity Certificates – National Conformity Certifcate of STB ISO 9001-2009 and International Conformity Certifcate of ISO 9001:2008.
In 2010 the University was awarded the Honorary State Banner of the Republic of Belarus for its outstanding sociocultural achievements and long-lasting traditions of training highly qualified personnel. In 2011 the University was given the Governmental Prize for Quality Management. It was licensed as a research organization and joined Belarusian-Kazakhstan Research and Educational Consortium as a full member.
In 2012, by the decision of the Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich the University was reorganized into an educational, research and production centre in line with lifelong learning principles. In March 2013, the University took under its roof five colleges, i.e. Polotsk State Forestry College, Vitebsk State Technological College, Gomel State Polytechnic College, Bobruisk State Forest Engineering College, and Belarusian State College of Building Materials Industry.
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Work Permit in Ukraine
We provide services of work permit obtaining for foreign citizens in Ukraine. Our lawyers have more than 10 years of experience in employment law and we offer only high-quality services. During this process, we provide consultations, needed documents, and full legal support.
Price – from $190 (state fee is not included)
Needed time – 5-7 business days
How to get work permission in Ukraine? Documents required to obtain.
Foreigners and stateless persons can be employed in Ukraine only after obtaining an appropriate permit that is issued by the State Employment Service of Ukraine. These requirements are established by article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Employment”. People that have a permanent residency in Ukraine do not need a work permit to be employed. Work permit in Ukraine can be issued for the period up to 3 years. Permission may be renovated before it is expired. When making Ukraine company verification, we always check the work permit in case if the company has any foreign employees. That is because the penalty for using foreign labor without the work permit is up to UAH 100 000,00. The company can be fined even in case if there is no employment contract but based on the fact that a foreign private is actually working in that company.
It is not a must for an employee to come to Ukraine with the aim of obtaining a work permit. It is a company to apply needed documents and to pay needed fees. Permission is issued to the employer (legal entity or sole proprietor), and not to the foreigner as an individual. So work permits can be used for employment in a particular company or organization. That means that if you will obtain an employment permit you will be allowed to work only in a certain company in a certain job position.
Making an investment, economic, and business activity by foreigners does not require obtaining a work permit. State registration of non-Ukrainian as sole proprietors also does not require a work permit obtaining. But this permission is required if the foreigner intends to be appointed to the position of the head (Director, Director General, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, President) of the legal entity of which he is a participant or owner.
Permit to work does not entitle a foreigner to reside in Ukraine. But, obtaining of work permit is one of the basics to obtain a temporary residence permit in Ukraine. Many individuals are getting a work permit with the aim of obtaining a residence permit in Ukraine. Consider that there is no such type of visa for Ukraine as a work visa.
If you want to establish a company in Ukraine and to be appointed as director, an employment permit is a must. In such a way you will need a Ukrainian citizen to be a nominee director of the company up till the day when work permit is obtained.
The following documents must be applied to the state authority by an employer:
application;
copy of passport (translated into Ukrainian and certified by the notary);
one color photo (the size of 3.5 x 4.5 centimeters);
draft employment contract (certified by the director of Ukrainian company);
As of 2020, the state fees for the employment permit are:
Validity State fee
1 – 3 years UAH 12 612,00
6 months – 1 year UAH 8 408,00
1 – 6 months UAH 4 204,00
Payment is made after the decision to issue a document was made but not later than 10 working days since that date. If the payment has not been made within 10 days, the work permit is canceled.
The law of Ukraine defines so-called special categories of foreigners which are:
is a founder and/or a shareholder and/or an Ultimate Beneficial Owner of a company that will obtain a Ukrainian work permit;
applies to hold a position that provides for the creation of objects of copyright and (or) related rights as the main labor;
high qualified IT expert;
has a degree of higher education (according to the relevant category of the profession) of one of the educational institutions ranked in the first hundred in one of such world rankings:
Times Higher Education;
Academic Ranking of World Universities;
QS World University Rankings by Faculty;
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities;
Who can obtain a work permit in Ukraine?
Any citizen, regardless of nationality. According to the laws of Ukraine, employment is permitted beginning from the age of 16. Persons who have made a crime previously may be refused in working permit obtaining.
Permission is also granted for the employment of:
foreign citizens who are sent by a foreign employer to Ukraine to perform a certain amount of work (services) on the basis of contracts concluded between the domestic and foreign business entities; the percentage of qualified foreigners employed under the agreement does not exceed half of the total number of people working for Conditions of the contract;
foreigners who are classified as “intra-corporate transferees” according to the schedule of specific obligations in the service sector, the Protocol on Ukraine’s accession to the WTO (Article II of the General Agreement on Trade in Services);
The detailed procedure for the employment permit, state fees, terms, and requirements are regulated by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
It is not required to obtain a work permit for the following categories of citizens:
foreign citizens who have a permanent residence permit in Ukraine;
official refugees, under the legislation of Ukraine;
individuals that have obtained an immigration permit;
foreigners who are recognized as persons in need of additional protection, or who are granted temporary protection in Ukraine;
representatives of foreign maritime (river) fleet and airlines that serve such companies on the territory of Ukraine;
employees of foreign media who are accredited to work in Ukraine;
professional athletes, artists, and art workers to work in Ukraine;
workers of emergency services for urgent work;
employees of foreign representative offices (registered in the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the procedure established by the law);
ecclesiastics, clergymen who are to reside in Ukraine temporarily (on the ground of invitation of religious organization) for canonical or religious activity only in such religious organization;
foreigners who arrived in Ukraine to participate in the implementation of international technical assistance projects;
foreigners who arrived to conduct teaching and/or scientific activity in higher education institutions, universities, etc;
other foreigners in cases provided by laws and international treaties of Ukraine;
The involvement of highly qualified foreign specialists and workers, the need for which is required for Ukraine’s economic progress, is carried out on the grounds defined by the Law of Ukraine “On Immigration”. Consider also, that the employment of foreigners does not require the substantiation of an employment agency if that individual relies on special category of foreigners.
Legalization is needed for documents issued by the following countries: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, Afghanistan; most African countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya, Egypt, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan.
Apostille is needed for the documents issued by the State which is a party of Apostille convention like (but not exclusively): all European Countries, United States of America, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina.
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March 8, 2009 Full Disclosure.net Interview with Richard Fine, explains the Dilemma of County Payments affecting Court Cases
I keep wondering what ever happened to the Silva v. Garcetti lawsuit — was the money distributed? Did this case help precipitate somehow the stipulation that only statewide agencies could distribute child support (versus the local D.A.’s office)?
Hopefully Full Disclosure people will appreciate why Im posting this, and its relevance to what happens when an ADMINISTRATIVE agency (let alone one at the Federal Level) starts affecting Trial Court Cases.
District Attorneys are paid by the county.
Court Reporters (if court-provided) are paid by the county.
Child Support Enforcement Agencies are, of course, paid by the county.
Court-appointed GALs and Child Support ATTORNEYS (who may appear in custody-related hearings) are paid by the county.
Court-appointed mediators, to my understanding, are paid by the county.
County Supervisors/Commissioners are paid by the county.
(Anyone who wants to know who or what else a County pays for — can go look at its payroll records, and accounts which are public records, often on-line, or could be requested as a FOIA, a simple form letter to the given agency requesting the information. Often newspapers or investigators may do this — but anyone is allowed to, I believe).
The county has an incentive to increase its holdings and delay distributions by this fact: it’s an institution! Certain scenarios (when it comes to child support) INCREASE account holdings, and result in Federal Matching funds or rewards. Certain practices would indicate perpetuating certain grants streams (for example, increasing noncustodial parenting time after court-referred services coming under the A/V grants system).
And I didn’t even raise the issue of when County-employees actually form separate nonprofits in order to outsource — to their own nonprofits — the basic business of government.
The “Family Justice Center” model is such a sample, although I believe the Full Disclosure crowd is not involved with this at all. It seems to be my pet peeve, and a few other people’s….
But this Transcript of a Sunday Night I believe is helpful explanation of what’s at stake.
Above the section I quoted, also see comments (and some videos) by a Supervisor and others, “to the contrary” point of view. I was searching “Silva v. Garcetti,” which brought up this section. Highlights are mine, and I might add a paragraph within a person’s comment, for easier reading.
The source is an “AV Hi Desert Forum” under “Judges Lose LA County Payments.”
{BEGINQUOTE:}
EXCERPTS FROM FULL DISCLOSURE NETWORK�
Interview With Leslie Dutton On March 3, 2009
LESLIE: You’ve been up against some formidable challenges. But none quite like the one that’s facing you today. Would you say that tomorrow’s (contempt fearing* before Judge David Yaffe) is — how would you compare that to all of the challenges you’ve had before this?
{{*”fearing” sounds like a Freudian slip? Should be obviously, “hearing”}}
RICHARD FINE: Well, tomorrow’s hearing is interesting because the challenges that I’ve had before are basically challenges that we can say work with in a functioning system. And when I was getting all of this money back and so forth, I was dealing with a system that was functional. I mean, you have a case, you go into a court; it either gets settled, you win it or you lose it, and you’re dealing with a system that has integrity.
Tomorrow’s case, or the case that we have now, is dealing with a dysfunctional system because of the fact that this is now pure politics and retaliation.
We are dealing now with a judge who took money from the County of Los Angeles, who then made an order that I should pay money to the County of Los Angeles, holds me in contempt for refusing to answer questions about my personal assets to force me to pay that money, and now wants to send me to jail because I’m in contempt for not obeying his illegal order, which was illegal because he took illegal money from the County. We’re dealing with a dysfunctional system and a judge that is dealing with political retaliation. So we’re not dealing in a justice system anymore. We’re dealing with what some people would call a third-world country; we’re dealing with all the things that America condemns about other countries. That is what we have in this courtroom tomorrow. So I wouldn’t say that it’s really a comparison. We aren’t dealing in a system that this country was set up to operate.
LESLIE Tomorrow when you go into court, Judge Yaffe is going to make a — he’s going to give you a sentence; is that it? He’s already found you in contempt?
RICHARD FINE: Yes. He’s — he’s found me in contempt for refusing to answer questions from a commissioner about an illegal order that he has made. And he wants to sentence me to jail until I answer those questions. Now, I have gone to the Court of Appeal with what is known as a writ of habeas corpus, which means “bring in the body,” and I have asked the Court of Appeal to enter a stay stopping Judge Yaffee from doing anything. I haven’t heard yet, as of [to]day, whether they’ve entered that stay or not. If they enter the stay, Judge Yaffee is dead in his tracks. If they don’t enter the stay, then I’ll go into the California Supreme Court, and if the California Supreme Court doesn’t enter the stay, then I’ll go into the United States District Court. Sooner or later, I will win. Whether I win before he sends me to jail, I don’t know. But that — that is what we are dealing with.
{{LGH COMMENTARY:
Richard Fine shows here he’s determined to have a return to the Functional Justice system — and the matter at hand is conflict of interest. Notice, his willingness to go to jail for it. He did indeed get sent to jail, but IDEALLY for the rest of us that may or may not have that amount of guts and commitment, nor can we ask others to go to jail for standing up to governmental “dysfunction” (in the form of bribes) – – I’m hoping there is another way, which would include educating enough people on what is and what is NOT a literal bribe, and how to smoke them out FIRST — and THEN go about one’s court litigation. It’s not enough to be bothered or upset; one has to have the data on what happened, what should’ve (legally) happened instead, and what has been going on over the years.
Also note: Like any attorney who’s been litigating — he understood it’s a matter of timing. If the stay he sought was delayed, he could go to jail. if it was delivered timely, then not. The entities issuing such stays (or disbursements) certainly understand the ramifications also; in fact this same Judge Yaffe presided earlier over a case with low-income tenants where the real estate developer’s simply delaying designating (I forget exact term, but whether or not it had actually “begun” its development) meant, did families get to stay — or did they get booted out? That was another prolonged struggle in which the low-income population lost, involving this same Judge in a mass-eviction: (I’ll; put this text in GREEN — it’s for a teaching point, but involves the same judge…)
From a Yahoo Groups discussion on “Lincoln Place” apartment redevelopments, Venice, CA
There are dozens of newspaper articles and TV stories about AIMCO’s redevelopment of “Lincoln Place”, which is a property in Venice, CA for which AIMCO similarly has plans to demolish garden apartments to build a larger number of new units.
http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/heartless-in-venice/57/ (LA Weekly News, December 8, 2005, is pasted into this e-mail), outlines the story (with a mention of the contributions of AIMCO’s lawyers to the City Attorney’s election campaign, and of Patti Shwayder, AIMCO’s Vice President who is involved in the Springhill Lake plans).
The Venice Paper, at http://www.venicepaper.net/pmt_more.php?id=248_0_1_0_M states:
“MAY 17 — An attempt at mediation between AIMCO, Lincoln Place Apartments owner, their tenants, architectural preservationists and Venice community members ended without an agreement on the fate of the fifty elderly and disabled tenants still living in the complex, nor on the shape of future development of the site…”
“…AIMCO spokesperson Patti Shwayder had no comment on the company’s immediate plans. However, the company was negotiating to build 1,284 units of luxury condos, including 190 units of affordable housing, on the property. That is more than the 1,008 units the company was seeking last fall. There were 795 units in the original garden apartment complex…”
http://www.lincolnplace.net/pr/pr060830.htm (August 30, 2006), “LINCOLN PLACE TENANTS TAKE STRUGGLE TO AIMCO SHAREHOLDERS”, contains the following paragraph:
“…In 2002, the City of Los Angeles approved a redevelopment of the property subject to the condition that no tenant be evicted against their will. The condition was offered by AIMCO and its then partner and subsidiary Los Angeles Lincoln Place Investors, Ltd., and is binding on all successors in interest. In 2003, AIMCO became sole owner of Lincoln Place. Rather than live up to its binding agreement to relocate tenants within Lincoln Place, AIMCO began evicting tenants in 2005. On December 6, 2005, 58 households were locked out of their apartments by L.A. sheriffs, the largest single-day lockout in the history of Los Angeles. Now senior and disabled tenants fear they will have to face the same trauma.”
It appears to me that in part, this was possible because AIMCO postponed announcing something that might have triggered the no-evict clause. Representatives from the City Attorney’s office, AIMCO and I guess the tenants, spoke in front of Yaffe – — meanwhile the sheriffs threw people out of their homes (shortly before Christmas 2005). Here’s a bit of summary from an article By LINDA IMMEDIATO; Thursday, December 8, 2005 – 12:00 am:
Some 12 hours earlier, 52 families were forcibly removed from their homes in the affordable-housing complex in Venice. Sheriff’s deputies descended at 9 a.m., kicked them out and changed locks. The families were allowed three trips, holding whatever they could carry in their arms, leaving valuables and heirlooms behind. By evening, the displaced families who had lingered on the pathways, confused, upset and lost, had found somewhere to go. Some went with friends, others to distant relatives or homeless shelters.
“When my 15-year-old son left for school today, he had no idea there would be no home to come back to,” said Clare Sassoon between sobs. “Imagine what that’s going to be like for him. We went straight to a real estate agent, and hopefully we can find something. But as of now, we are homeless.”
The tenants have 15 days to arrange to return for their belongings — a one-time shot, just before Christmas.
The evictions came just minutes before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe was to hear arguments from AIMCO — the Denver-based corporation that owns Lincoln Place — the City Attorney’s Office and preservationists.
{{And I’m sure no in on the court, or at AIMCO, or at the City Attorney’s office had “any idea” that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department was throwing people out of their homes at the time. Must have been coincidence. Sounds like even the resident’s City Councilperson was taken by surprise; this article, a few months later (summary pasted into URL link) called “The Miseducation of Bill Rosendahl” portrays him as trying to force AIMCO to commit to a plan in order to save the remaining elderly and disabled residents. . . who must certainly have felt as they were under siege, and unheard. Apparently sticking up for one’s constituents isn’t good business practice… Residents express the situation:
Lincoln Place residents have claimed that the City Council has ignored them during meetings, some members refusing to look them in the eye. “They just sit there and eat their lunch while you’re talking,” said resident Frieda Marlin, 82 (years old, trying to save her home!). “They don’t care.” Last year, during one meeting, the City Council actually threw a football around while tenants waited to be heard. Another tenant claimed she heard Councilman Jack Weiss lecturing Rosendahl. Weiss was heard saying, “You’re anti-development, Bill, and that will hurt you.” Rosendahl said he couldn’t comment on what Weiss had said, because it happened during a closed meeting.
This is the biggest problem he’s encountered with the City Council — its penchant for closed meetings. “The public should see democracy in action. What are they afraid of?” said Rosendahl. “When meetings are closed, we can’t talk about what happened inside afterward. There’s no accountability.”
AIMCO is from Denver. Interesting — so many corporations influential in the family law arena are Denver-based as well; CPR, PSI, also NCADV… something about the state, maybe, where monopolists congregate to run the rest of the country}}
[12/2005]
The hearing on Tuesday stemmed from an earlier Court of Appeals judgment requiring that conditions for Lincoln Place’s development plan be reviewed. The issue: whether AIMCO’s bulldozing of five buildings in 2003 signifies the start of the project, with all the city-approved conditions kicking in, including a no-eviction clause. It’s hard to sort through because AIMCO won’t publicly state what it plans to do with the property. “We’re not sure,” says Patti Shwayder, AIMCO vice president.
It boils down to this: If AIMCO can hold off announcing that it plans to go through with the preapproved project until after all tenants are evicted, it will make the no-eviction clause moot. This is exactly what the tenants and preservationists believe is happening. Yaffe decided that yes, the conditions must be followed, but he didn’t clarify whether they should be followed now, while tenants are being evicted, or later, if AIMCO applies for permits. Yaffe did his job — he only had to review the conditions, not enforce them. According to Amanda Seward, a representative for the preservationists, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo himself promised he would ask the court to enforce the no-eviction clause.
It’s the City Attorney’s Office, I believe, that would clear the issuance of the permits (I’m not a real estate person). If AIMCO had paid into that office, and then neither the office nor the Judge will take a position on what is, or is not, ethical behavior by this monster (one of the nation’s largest) developers — then no one is responsible. As AIMCO evicted, not applying for permits, and no one stopped them — then it wins and the tenants lose, without even a hearing on the issues. (sounds like family court, almost….)
Diamond {City Attorney spokesperson} passed the buck to Yaffe, claiming it was the judge who “declined to respond and address the issue of enforcing the conditions.” Diamond conceded, “It’s a tough time of year to not have a home.” When asked if it was true that two of AIMCO’s attorneys had contributed to Delgadillo’s campaign, Diamond replied, “You know what? It doesn’t make a bit of difference.” {oh??}
It makes a big difference to the tenants of Lincoln Place. If you hear them tell it, the 38-acre development was a community for people of all ages. Neighbors would pop in on those who were sick or elderly to see if they needed anything from Ralphs, a prescription picked up at Rite Aid, or their mail fetched. Slowly, AIMCO’s evictions have killed the once-thriving community. By next March, when the last of the evictions will have taken place, the way of life there will be but a memory, unless some city agency steps up to challenge the out-of-state developers and protect affordable housing in this city.
FAST-FORWARD TO 2009 and here is Richard Fine, who has stood in front of Yaffe before (on behalf of taxpayers) on similar issues — and he is waiting to see if a “stay” on Yaffe’s contempt action (based on conflicts of interest, etc.) is going to come. If it’s delayed, off to jail he goes, potentially. I gather this is standard practice in Los Angeles area….
California is a leader in the court arena and many other. Its practices trickle (or rather, stream, like flooding) to other states and countries — in part because so many of the personnel in the courts here do indeed have global aspirations; they want to change the world (full speed ahead, civil code of procedures & civil rights be damned.. — or just ignored…) and are good at persuading others to even pay for the transformations). Same with the educational field. So what happens in Los Angeles — and what DID happen last decade — has national relevance. (Did I mention, California is also often chosen for a “demonstration” site of the latest practices. Possibly just because it’s so large… largest court system in the US).}
{CONTINUED QUOTE : 3/8/2009 FullDisclosure.net}
LESLIE Tell us how this all started.
RICHARD FINE: Well, this — this all started in a very innocent type of way. It started back in 1999, and in 1999, I brought a lawsuit called John Silva vs. Garcetti — Gil Garcetti, Los Angeles District Attorney.
{{Note: by this time the states were to have begun centralizing their child support distribution into ONE unite per state, according to 1996 PWORA & TITLE IV}}
And that lawsuit was based upon the fact that John Silva had paid money as part of his divorce — child support money. And child support money was being paid into the County of Los Angeles because the County of Los Angeles, as you know, collects child support money. Now, what we found out is that he had paid his child support money in, but the child support money wasn’t going to his wife. The County was not distributing it. And the County wasn’t distributing about $14 million of child support money. What the County was doing is, the County was taking this money in and it was holding it.
{{It appears that, had Fine & Silva not happened to show up, that money might still be sitting in their earning interest and the kids wondering, “what happened?”}}
Now, there’s a law that says that the County must distribute the child support money within six months or give it back to the father. And they will only give it back to the father if they can’t find the wife or the children. Now, in John’s case, he knew where his wife was, and he knew where the children were, because his wife was friendly. You know, he was giving the money to the County support system; the County wasn’t giving it to his wife. His wife knew that the money was going in, so she was cooperating with us, and we found out that all these other women and children were not getting their money.
{{LGH — OHO CASE WHERE PARENTS SUED THE AGENCY RESPONSIBLE :
Ohio child support collection agency sued
On behalf of Ralph A. Kerns & Associates posted in Child Support on Thursday, May 19, 2011
Ten years ago, the state of Ohio was sued by a group of parents who claimed that the state was withholding child support money. As a result, the state paid millions of dollars to custodial parents who were not distributed the correct amount of child support.
But earlier this month, another legal claim was filed against the state of Ohio and the state’s Department of Job and Family Services. Allegations are that the agency has been over-collecting child support and failing to inform parents of the actual status of their payments. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of parents who need the child support to provide for their children.
The lawsuit claims that the Ohio agency knew that parents were paying more child support than necessary and not seeing those payments go to the custodial parent. The state has said that the problem originates from computer glitches, but some believe it could be a bigger problem. In fact, an example was given of a father who had to pay the state child support even though the child was in his custody.
In addition, a parent in Ohio who fails to make child support payments can go to prison for falling behind. But if there are computer glitches, are some parents going to jail even though they have actually made timely payments?
Right now, there are millions of dollars in undistributed child support in Ohio alone. How many families are unable to provide for their children because of this undistributed money? National concern has been sparked over this issue as more child support collection agencies across the nation are being accused of deceptive practices.
At this point, it is not certain whether Ohio agencies are intentionally withholding child support or simply dealing with some technological difficulties. Regardless, custodial parents rely on child support to provide food, clothes, and shelter for their children. Going without that financial support can make things more difficult for all.
Source: The Sacramento Bee online, “Child Support Overpayments: Lawsuit Alleges State Withholds Too Much Money, Unfairly Charging Parents and U.S. Taxpayers,” 10 May 2011 {{note — broken link, although other child support articles show up on the Sacbee… }}
Here’s that article — and note, they are quoting a fathers’ rights person — but he’s right to bring this up! (I’m color-coding to keep the articles separate)
A class action lawsuit filed on Friday, 6 May 2011, claims Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS is the designated agency for OHIO) over collects child support payments in violation of state statutes and federal regulations. Records indicate in excess of $176 million has been wrongfully taken from over 114,000 child support payers. The suit further alleges ODJFS knowingly and willfully deceives parents concerning the status of their child support records while receiving tens of millions of dollars in unearned incentive and reimbursement payments from U.S. taxpayers.
According to Michael McCormick, executive director of The American Coalition for Fathers and Children (ACFC, www.acfc.org):
“Overzealous and erroneous child support collection efforts affect all citizens. This case is not about parents who don’t, or can’t, pay child support. ODJFS is literally taking money it is not entitled to from tens of thousands of good support paying mothers and fathers who could use those funds for food, shelter, and education for their children when they are with them.”
McCormick adds: “The state should not be misleading parents that their child support balance is zero when they are, in fact, overpaid and should have an account credit. Parents are told they cannot recover the overpayment until the child support case is finished. For many parents that’s ten, twelve or fifteen years down the road.
“Ohio regularly incarcerates poor parents who fall behind on their support obligations sentencing them to what are in effect ‘debtor prisons.’ Now it’s alleged the state has, for years, been pilfering from parents who have fully paid their obligations. There’s more going on than can be justified by the typically forthcoming ‘computer glitch’ excuse. It appears there are problems in the agency across the spectrum of payers,” said McCormick
This is not the first time Ohio has been sued regarding child support payments. A decade ago Ohio was sued for wrongly withholding collected child support money from custodial parents. Millions of dollars were paid to affected children and parents.
In 2010 The Columbus Dispatch reported the story of a young father from whom the state collected $200 per month for his 5 year old son, while the child lived with him. Ohio deprived this child of much needed support for over a year.
(One scenario this might happen — if the father previously had an arrears, and then custody was switched from mother to him….))
Reports list Ohio as having over $26 million in net collected, undistributed child support, also known as UDC. Most states have millions that have not been timely distributed to families.
(Where are the links to those reports? Over time, I can see that as possible — especially as both OCSE and the GAO acknowledge — no one knows, really, how much UDC is there!)
These problems are not unique to Ohio. National dialogue, increased scrutiny and Congressional oversight hearings probing the numerous errors and questionable practices of child support collection agencies are necessary.
Incarcerating indigent parents unable to pay support is bad enough; for states to knowingly and unlawfully take excess money is unconscionable.
APPARENTLY THE WAY TO EXTRACT MONEY LEGALLY DUE A PERSON __ INCLUDING ONE’s KIDS — FROM THE STATE IS TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO GET IT BACK. HOWEVER, THE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES INCLUDE Automatic wage garnishment, tax intercepts, etc.)
{BACK TO RICHARD FINE INTERVIEW, and SILVA case, referring to (@2009) events a decade earlier. IN other words (see above), not much has changed in the interim. you want your money? sue the State agency {or whoever is responsible} for it. Before then, figure out who the county is paying….}
So I sued the County to have this money distributed. The County answered and told me how much money was there, where the accounts were. All they had to do was distribute it. They were refusing to do it. I went into court, and we got to the end of the trial} The County moved to dismiss, and the judge dismissed the case.
And I was astounded.** And I went up into the appeal, and after the trial was over and before I filed my first brief, I found out that the judge, Judge James C. Chalfant, had received money from the County of Los Angeles. That’s how it started. That was one case.
{{**Mr. Fine was apparently not working with welfare parents here, or with anything relating to domestic violence issues — so he may have been unaware of the many other incentives to the courts (if not directly to judges) such as the A/V grants system, or the prolific supervised visitation industry supported in part by this. Also, in 1999, the Centralized State Distribution Units (at least obviously in California) were not (all) in place yet. He talks about COUNTY money functioning as bribes, however we know know that there is also federal incentives to the states functioning similarly. Not to mention private. Kids’ Turn, for example, had been up and running — however his practice appears to have been more in the taxpayer advocacy realm}}.
The second case that it started out with was the case that I mentioned earlier about the County of Los Angeles taking money from the environmental fees, and in that case — that was a case called Amjadi and Lacaoehs vs the Board of Supervisors of County of Los Angeles. And I was brought into that case to get that money out of the general fund of the County of Los Angeles and into a special fund. And I won that. I got the case, you know, got the special fund established. I got $11 million that they still had in the general fund put into the special fund. I got the fees frozen for three years until that $11 million was used up, and then when it came time to get the attorneys fees, Judge Kurt Lewin, who was the judge in the case, refused to award the attorneys fees, saying that I was representing a County union, and unions shouldn’t sue the County
{{The County appears to have the habit of keeping fees for its own purposes; another case I think Fine was on involved the DWP — Dept. of Water and Power. At some point, this guy is clearly beginning to become a thorn in their sides who wished to mix special-fees-funds with the general fund. FYI, this also came up when I was reading about the UDC (Undistributed Child Support) — at least one Southern California county dumped the interest from its withheld (“UDC”) monies into the general purpose funds, which is like trying to track water mixed with water, unless there is some procedure in place for intake & outgo! }}
SPEAKING OF, MIXING SPECIAL TAXES (AND UNFAIR PROFITS FROM UNFAIR RATES) INTO GENERAL FUNDS, TO BE USED “AT-WILL” BY THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES:
{{Speaking of water, here it is — 2006 article. I’ve posted it before, so no commentary):
…Tough Judge makes Villaraigosa return a cool $30 million
On March 25, L.A. Superior Court Judge Kenneth Freeman handed down a tentative ruling against the city’s practice of skimming 5 percent off the top of Angelenos’ water bills, and slamming city officials for this sleazy move just when City Hall can least afford to give back any ill-gotten funds.
For years, city leaders propped up the general fund with as much as $30 million in revenue derived from an added tax on water used by residents and firms.
In 1996, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association crafted state Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, which Californians approved to make sure that “revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge was imposed.”
(And of course, the City fought that, including with some “slick maneuvres” according to this article……
Here’s a 2007 article (on a different type of tax) by the President of this Taxpayers Association, called “No Tears for L.A.” Notice how the City is exploring how to get rid of the Proposition 218, in place to protect taxpayers. Jon Coupal says, some of this doesn’t pass “the laugh test,” and why:
(2) NO TEARS FOR L.A. – May, 2007
(Keep this in mind as crocodile tears over the budget keep showing up in various public official’s faces, nowadays)
BAIT & SWITCH IN PROP. 218 — PASSED TO ATTEMPT TO HOLD CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT TO THE CALIF. CONSTITUTION….
May 20, 2007by Jon Coupal
The city of Los Angeles has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar. The city’s hands are experienced at this maneuver, but they don’t usually get caught. In this case, the California Court of Appeal has ruled that the city broke the law by imposing a tax increase on cell phone use that did not receive approval of voters. Voter approval is required by the expressed language of the California Constitution; specifically, Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act.
Now highly paid city officials are singing the blues that the coming fiscal year’s budget will be short an anticipated $167 million.
In the past, this would have been no problem, as the members of the City Council, the highest paid in the nation, would make up any budget shortfall by snatching up Department of Water and Power revenues that have served as a city slush fund for years. However, a recent $30 million raid on the DWP has been blocked by another court. {{see prev. article}}
There will be more posturing and blustering by public officials as they tell sad stories about the programs that must be cut if the court’s decision is not overturned by the state Supreme Court. However, in a city where most new revenue goes to support pay and benefits for the highly paid municipal workforce, the real issue about which they are concerned is their own welfare.
They should have seen this coming. The constitutional language mandating voter approval is so clear even dissembling elected officials should be able to figure it out. In response to abusive taxes, often on utility users, that were imposed by communities throughout the state without voter consent, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association authored Proposition 218. The Right to Vote on Taxes Act was enthusiastically approved by voters in 1996. It clearly stated that new taxes that were directed to a city or county general fund must be approved by a simple majority of voters — taxes that are earmarked for a specific purpose already required a two-thirds vote approval by Proposition 13. Proposition 218 also clarified the way in which fees and assessments could be imposed, guaranteeing the public a stronger say in their implementation.
So hostile were members of the Los Angeles City Council to the idea that the public would gain more control over local taxes, they approved a motion by then Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg directing the city attorney to prepare a suit that would seek to invalidate Proposition 218. After reviewing the issue, the city attorney reported back that a suit would be without merit.
Now, the City Council — I think I mentioned they are highly paid — may claim that they are victims of term limits and therefore have no institutional memory of these events, but this does not pass the laugh test. The Council has well-compensated legal advisors to point out to them that Proposition 218 and its right to vote provisions are embedded in the California Constitution and therefore take precedence over the whims of city officials. . . .
(3) “A GORILLA WALKS INTO A (SNACK) BAR”:
— overpriced water = fees slosh into the general funds, Loophole found to Prop. 218…)
L.A. Overcharging for Water
(another Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association article, 10/2/2007)
Koko the gorilla, a resident of the Los Angeles Zoo, had become quite adept at picking the pockets of the zoo keeper. One day Koko used the zoo keeper’s key to let himself out of his cage, and ambled over to the snack shop. Climbing onto a bar stool, he grunted “Water.” When the man returned with a bottle of Aquafina, Koko handed him a $20 bill from the zoo keeper’s wallet. Guessing the gorilla wasn’t too smart, the man gave Koko one dollar in change. “We don’t get a lot of business from the animals here,” the man remarked. Koko snorted, “At $19 for bottled water, I’m not surprised.”
Koko is not the only Los Angeles resident paying too much for water. And the snack shop isn’t the only water purveyor hoping that its customers aren’t too smart. In fact, every Los Angeles water customer has been overcharged for years. And, although the California Supreme Court ruled last year that cities can no longer charge customers more than it costs to provide water service, the City of Los Angeles was hoping it could break the law again this year and no one would notice. Sorry, L.A., we at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association noticed.
But first, a little history: In 1999, we sued the City of Los Angeles over its water rates because, for each of the preceding four years the City set rates at an amount that significantly exceeded its cost to provide water. The overcharges resulted in a surplus of over $20 million each year, which the City transferred to its General Fund for the City Council to spend at its discretion.
Perhaps that didn’t sink in, so I’ll repeat it in red (which the practice keeps the residents in, by overcharging). $20 million OVER charged, per year X 6 years.
In 1999, we sued the City of Los Angeles over its water rates because, for each of the preceding four years the City set rates at an amount that significantly exceeded its cost to provide water. The overcharges resulted in a surplus of over $20 million each year, which the City transferred to its General Fund for the City Council to spend at its discretion.
The City will need the surplus to defend itself from lawsuits by disgruntled taxpayers. Clearly they are planning ahead…..
Our lawsuit alleged that the overcharges violated Proposition 218, which in part states, “Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not exceed the funds required to provide the property related service,” and “Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge was imposed.” The suit also alleged that, to the extent water rates did exceed the funds required to provide water service and were spent on other purposes, the overcharge constituted a special tax which required voter approval.
The Taxpayer association is trying — hard — to get the City to function as the public servant it is supposed to be, and not a private corporation…At least they are putting up a fight!
Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal sided with the City, ruling that metered water rates are not fees for a property-related service and therefore are not subject to Proposition 218’s cost-of-service requirement. The Court certified its opinion for publication, which made it a precedent binding every lower court in California. Cities and counties throughout the state immediately took advantage of the decision by raising their water rates to generate new General Fund revenue for things unrelated to water.
This seems like mincing words — the second inbound water hits a meter, it’s suddenly no longer a property-related service? Who is the Court working for? Prop 218 should never have been even needed — it’s obvious (to fair-minded people) that if taxes are sold as for a certain purpose, then they ought to go for that purpose. Also fair is that as we are already paying the salaries of our public officials, they ought not to be voting to gouge us for basic needs — like water! However, that assumes we’re all approximately on the same page. My point is, we aren’t! (not in this state, at least….)
This was the state of affairs for six years. Then, in 2006, the California Supreme Court granted review of a case called Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency v. Verjil. The Bighorn case involved a voter’s initiative to reduce water rates after a water district promised rate relief, but didn’t deliver. The lower court, adhering to the precedent in HJTA v. City of Los Angeles, held that water rates are not subject to Proposition 218. That meant, according to the court, that rates could not be reduced using 218’s initiative power.
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court. The high court not only ruled that reducing rates is within the people’s initiative power, it also held that water rates are subject to the other requirements of Proposition 218 as well. In so doing, the court expressly overruled the precedent from six years earlier in HJTA v. City of Los Angeles.
Aha, persistence pays off at the Supreme Court level….
The Supreme Court issued the Bighorn decision one year ago, in July 2006.
Anyone with faith in the rule of law would expect that, by now, the City of Los Angeles would have adjusted its water rates to comply with the law as laid down by the state’s highest court. Only a cynic would be looking for the small legal notice that appeared in the Metropolitan News-Enterprise addressed to “All persons interested in the matter of the validity of the transfer of $29,931,300 from the Water Revenue Fund of the City of Los Angeles to the City’s Reserve Fund.”
According to the notice, circulated only in this one obscure newspaper and only for three days, the City of Los Angeles recently filed a lawsuit against all of its water customers, and this was their notice that they are being sued.If someone sees the notice and files an Answer to the lawsuit by July 23rd, the notice explained, then the City will litigate with that person whether it may legally continue to generate and transfer a surplus from its Water Fund to the General Fund Reserve.However, the notice continued, if no one files an Answer by July 23rd, then the Court will enter a Default Judgment against all of the City’s water customers, validate the transfer of funds, and the issue will be settled forever.
Although the City was obviously hoping that no one would catch the notice, someone did. We prepared an Answer to the City’s lawsuit denying the City’s asserted right to continue generating and transferring a surplus, and affirmatively alleged that the City’s practice became illegal not only generally, but specifically as to the City of Los Angeles when the Supreme Court overruled HJTA v. City of Los Angeles. The two sides will now battle it out in court, and we’re not monkeying around.
Jon Coupal is the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Timothy Bittle is the organization’s Director of Legal Affairs.
How horrible to be dealing with a huge corporation (the City of Los Angeles) of highly paid employees in a smog-ridden city (last I heard) with all kinds of troubles, including gangs, riots {{after Rodney King beating}}, drug-dealing, police corruption ({Ramparts case}}, and major issues, like many urban areas — and KNOW, that HABITUALLY, the City is going to be trying to pull a fast one on the residents. And then retaliate on whistle-blowers like Mr. Fine… . SUMMARY here
BACK TO FULLDISCLOSURE.NET 2009 INTERVIEW and trying to cut off attorneys’ fees after they got $11 million into a special fund, where it belonged….
And in addition to that, that unions were always in negotiations with the County for wages. And therefore what the union was really doing had really brought the case, not to help the public, but really for its own benefit. Well, I also found out that Judge Lewin was getting money from the County. And to pay the attorneys fees, the attorneys fees would be coming out of these funds, which was County funds.
LESLIE When you talk about these judges getting money from the County, how is it that money is coming to them? For what purpose? Under what..?
RICHARD FINE: Okay. What — the — to answer your question, the way that the money comes from the County to the judges is that every year, the County, as part of its budget, under what is known as Trial Court Funding — if you look in the budget, you’ll actually see this under Trial Court Funding, you will see money going to the judges, and that money in this particular year is approximately $20 million, or $46,370-some-odd per judge. Now, how it started was, back in 1988, the County of Los Angeles, decided, through its Board of Supervisors, that they wanted to pay judges — and these are their — somewhat their exact words — to attract and retain qualified judges and qualified candidates to sit as judges in this — meaning LA — County. And that was their reason. Now, they knew — and we actually — I actually have a copy of the document — they knew at that point in time that they couldn’t do this. They knew that to do this was illegal because under the California Constitution, under what is known as Article 6, Section 19 of the California Constitution, only the State legislature could prescribe the compensation of the judges.
RICHARD FINE: There’s a document in November of 1988 which was written by the — at that point, the County Counsel to Frank Zolin who was the Clerk of the Courts, and it actually went from the County Counsel to the Clerk of the Courts, explaining these things. So the L.A. Superior Court actually got this document. In that document, it said that the Attorney General had given the opinion that this could not be done, and so what the County Counsel tried to rationalize is, he said, “Well, this part of the Constitution really only meant salaries and it didn’t mean compensation,” so they’re gonna try and get around it in that way. They knew they were doing wrong. They also knew that the Attorney General had given opinions that you couldn’t pay this money as part of a statute as compensation for judges. So they knew right then and there that what they were doing was wrong. The other thing that they knew is that if you’re giving the money to attract people as candidates for judges, judges are elected officials — they’re State elected officials under the California Constitution. We vote for a Superior Court judge every six years. So if you’re going to be giving money to a judge to attract him to be a candidate, you’d be giving money to his political campaign, and that would be a gift of public money to a private individual, and that would be a violation of Article 16, Section 6 of the California Constitution.
LESLIE How much was this money that they were giving them?
RICHARD FINE: It turns out that at that point in time they were giving them about 27 percent of their salary, and back in ’88 I’m not sure what the salary was, but it was probably, maybe around $20,000-some a year. Now it’s doubled to $46,000 a year.
LESLIE So would they be able to give that kind of money as a campaign contribution?
RICHARD FINE: As a campaign contribution in 1988, they wouldn’t have been able to give that amount of money to a judge because the campaign contribution limits the State to $1,000 per candidate.
LESLIE So would you say, then, that basically the County was buying judges?
RICHARD FINE: The bottom line of it is yes, because the only reason that the County could be giving this money — the only underlying reason — is that the County had — had cases in front of these judges. The County is a major litigant in the California courts, and it’s the same thing as if Tony — the fictional Tony Soprano had been giving money to the judges. In fact, the County has an average, as far as normal cases are concerned — when I say “normal,” that’s excluding child custody cases, that’s excluding criminal cases — just taking your regular cases. The County has about 700-800 new cases a year in the Superior Court. So when the County is giving this money, the underlying thought, in my opinion, is that the County wanted to influence the judges to decide the cases in the County’s favor. Now, this thought of mine actually came true because we have documents from the County Counsel to the Board of Supervisors that show that in the year 2005 and in the year 2006 and 2007, not one case that was decided by an L.A. Superior Court judge was decided against the County of Los Angeles. So basically nobody won in that period of time. And for the year 2008 — 2007, 2008, in that fiscal year, the documents are a little bit more vague, and possibly two cases were decided by a judge against the County of Los Angeles. But that was about the most. So that gives you the effect of the monies.
LESLIE Now, you made that statement, “That gives you from the beginning of the payments with respect to the payments,” but you’ve only cited 2005, 2006, 2007. You don’t know what the win/loss ratio was from 1988 to 2005?
RICHARD FINE: There — there are no documents that I know of that tells me the win and loss ratio from the years in between, because the only documents that I have been able to pick up are the ones that started in 2005. Now, the County may have internal documents that were not published or that have not been made public that might have — might tell us what’s happened in the previous years. And I don’t know if the court is keeping internal documents as to what has happened on the various cases. Somebody actually — if somebody wanted to go in and do the survey, you could go into the court system and take every case where the County of Los Angeles is named as a defendant and then go in and look to see what happened in the cases and whether it was a judge decision or a jury decision. That would be a fairly large project, but one could do that. And because you’re looking at from 1988 to, say, 2005, you’re looking at approximately 17 years of cases, and 700, you know, cases per year. So you’re looking at maybe 13,000-some-odd cases. It would take a little bit of time for someone to do the survey and dig up the records. But you could actually find out the exact number.
WELL, my time is up for today, so I wanted to just finish off by linking to Ron Kay in LA describing Yaffe’s decision to finally release Mr. Fine, and how holding him 180 days after the time presumed to determine whether coercive confinement is actually going to break someone was, er, wrong.
Judge Yaffe Explains Why He Freed Richard Fine after 18 Months of Coercive Confinement
on September 20, 2010 7:41 AM | Permalink
It was a bizarre and unexpected end to a bizarre story — the Yom Kippur release of anti-tax crusader Richard Fine from County Jail where he was locked up pointlessly for coercive confinement for 18 months.
Judge David Yaffe backed down Friday afternoon and without a hearing or attorneys present issued a court order that basically says Fine must be crazy to have endured the pain and horror of jail for so long and to have fought so hard and at so much personal cost to expose the scandal of tens of millions of dollars in illegal payments to judges by LA County.
Yaffe’s order (Yaffe-Release-Order.rtf), obtained by Leslie Dutton whose Full Disclosure Network has championed Fine’s cause, represents both an attempt to quarrel intellectually with Fine and to dismiss him a nut case whose conduct is “bizarre…irrational…makes no sense.”
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Fine’s conduct is irrational. Fine has always had the key to his own jail cell. He has elected to give up his freedom for 18 months in order to keep a judgment creditor from collecting a $50,000.00 judgment.
“He refuses to even discuss his obligations to the judgment creditor but portrays himself as a lone hero who is being incarcerated because he has exposed a vast conspiracy of over 400 judges of this court who are dishonestly collecting money to
which they are not entitled.”
Yaffe finally concludes:”Fine’s continued incarceration is a detriment to the public because Fine is using up jail space in an overcrowded jail, and may cause the release of persons who constitute a greater threat to the public than Fine does.”
Why it took Yaffe 18 months to determine Fine’s confinement does not serve “any useful purpose” is hard to understand unless you know the judge is regarded by attorneys who have appeared before him as erratic and often irrational in his decisions.
So I guess if Yaffe resorted in the end to self-justification by calling FIne crazy, it’s something he knows about — if only a juvenile name-calling excuse.
Maybe Fine is crazy, maybe everybody who fights for what they believe in is crazy.
That’s certainly the viewpoint of every repressive regime and of every oppressor in modern history. That’s why they use gulags, and prisons for the politically incorrect.
The legal standard for coercive confinement in a contempt of court case is five days in jail after which it is presumed the incarcerated will not back down. Yaffe exceeded that by 180 days.
There was never any question Fine would break. His whole life is marked by an obsessive passion for doing what he believe is right, fighting against illegal taxation and official abuses.
As Yaffe knows, the legal standard for insanity is knowing the difference between right and wrong. The question which deserves a proper judicial inquiry is whether Yaffe — not Fine — can tell the difference.
anti-tax crusader Richard Fine,
illegal payments,
Judge David Yaffe,
l.a. county jail,
Free at Last, Oh Lord, Free at Last — Richard Fine Freed on Yom Kippur after 18 Months in Jail
on September 18, 2010 10:22 AM | Permalink
Inexplicably and without notice on Yom Kippur eve, the Jewish Day of Atonement, Superior Court Judge David Yaffe came to his senses and concluded the jailing of anti-tax crusader Richard I. Fine 18 months ago would not break his will.
Fine, 70, was freed from LA County Jail at sundown Friday night. (Previous articlesLetter from Jail, Prisoner of Conscience)
On Thursday, Yaffe issued a court order (Yaffe-Fine.pdf) refusing the Tarzana attorney’s latest filing seeking to annul the contempt of court case and other rulings against him. Neither Fine nor the attorneys for the Marina del Rey developer, Marina Strand Colony II, which had sought Fine’s financial records, were present.
Yaffe wrote his previous orders were final so he had no jurisdiction over any aspect of the case except whether the jailing of Fine in March 2009 amounted to coercive confinement that no longer served a purpose since Fine had not backed down. It is unprecedented for coercive confinement to last more than five days, the standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court years ago in a case involving LA Times reporter Bill Farr.
“The only continuing jurisdiction that this court retains in case B8109420 is the discretion to release Fine from confinement in the county jail on the ground that his continued confinement will not induce him to answer questions put to him in a
joint debtors examination,” Yaffe wrote.
“Fine’s demand for a release on that ground was ruled on by this court on August 23, 2010, and is calendared for further consideration six months from’ that date.”
Yaffe noted that even if he had jurisdiction, the incarcerated Fine filed his request 13 days before the August hearing when legal procedures required 16 days’ notice.
“The Court will take this matter under submission solely for the purpose of adding to this ruling corrections to certain misstatements of fact made by Fine in his moving papers,” Yaffe said.
Yet, 24 hours later, Yaffe, who is retiring next month, issued another order freeing Fine, apparently accepting the fact that someone who refused to back down for 18 months could not be coerced even if held in jail for the rest of his life as the judge had vowed to do.”
Fine, who won numerous cases fighting illegally imposed taxes, ran afoul of the judiciary when he started crusading against secret illegal payments made to judges by county supervisors. (etc.)
Following up on this theme, I encourage us to look at Federal Incentives to Trial Courts (in custody cases) and to just get SMARTER on who’s on the local county payroll that might be showing up in court cases. After all, these institutions ARE business, they establish business relationships with vendors and contractors (and in the case of child support enforcement, sometimes multinational corporations) and any number of employees are invested in maintaining THEIR jobs also.
Nevertheless — No taxation without representation — takes work to achieve; make time for it! Who else do you think will do the job — the local City Council? Judging by Los Angeles, I’d have to say — no. You want the local churches to be making the decisions? I’ll say No to that one (by the way — see http://www. THERESPONSEUSA.com and “go figure” The ACLU has already filed several FOIA requests on that one.
So who’s going to do it? Skip a PTA meeting and take a look at your local budgets, and teach the skill to someone else.
Posted in History of Family Court
Tagged with Child Support, FullDisclosure.net, L.A. County Payments to Judges, Richard Fine interview, Silva v. Garcetti
Tea Party Hypocrisy — Illinois’ Rep. Joe Walsh Caught in Arrears; but the Real Hypocrite is OCSE.
RE: My last post, Footloose in Tuscaloosa:
I am still sorting out which judges, legislators, and government employees are on which “Help the Children” or “Fatherhood” nonprofits in Alabama; more to come. Meanwhile, I’m hardly going to pass up an opportunity like this:
Lawrence O’Donnell bans ‘deadbeat Dad’ Rep. Joe Walsh
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell has banned tea party Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) from ever appearing on his show again.
Walsh has refused to vote for raising the nation’s debt ceiling, saying he would not place “one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids.” But it turns out that Walsh actually owes more than $100,000 in child support.
“It is time to deny deadbeat dad Joe Walsh some advantages,” O’Donnell said Friday.
“In order to teach deadbeat dad Joe Walsh a lesson about family values, yes, the very same family values that so many Republicans try to exploit politically while failing to come close to living up to them in their own lives, deadbeat dad Joe Walsh is hereby banned from this program. He can go tell his lies about his family values and his sense of fiscal responsibility elsewhere.”
Watch this video from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast July 29, 2011. (on-site).
As the video points out, using the “my kids and grandkids” rhetoric / exhibits in campaign speech is not obligatory. He chose to do so. Others chose to do some look-ups!
ProjectVoteSmart on Rep. Walsh shows his affiliations, and background:
Representative Joe Walsh (IL)
Current Office: U.S. House
Current District: 8
First Elected: 11/02/2010
Next Election: 2012
Family: Wife: Helene*
5 Children*Birth Date:
Birthplace: Barrington, IL
Home City: Barrington, IL
Religion:Education:
MPP, University of Chicago
BA, English, University of IowaProfessional Experience:
Director, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund
Instructor, Hebrew Theological Institute
Instructor, Jobs for Youth
Instructor, Oakton Community College
Heartland Institute {Instructor, student, speaker — what capacity?}Political Experience:
Representative, United States House of Representatives, 2011-present
Candidate, United States Congress, 1996
Candidate, Illinois State House of Representatives, 1998
Member, Americans for Limited Government
Member, Fabretto Childrens Foundation
Member, Legislative Education Action Drive
Member, Milton & Rose Friedman Foundation
Caucuses/Non-Legislative Committees:
Member, American Education Reform Council
Member, Congressional Hockey Caucus
Member, House Republican Israel Caucus
Member, Republican Study Committee
Member, Tea Party Caucus
Member, United Republican Fund
* * re Wife & Children, make that “Current wife” and “5 children, split among two women…”
ProjectVoteSmart asks where they stand on issues:
Representative Joe Walsh refused to tell citizens where he/she stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
This candidate has demonstrated 0% courage during the test.
Voting record — against Planned Parenthood and Taxpayer funded Abortion (goes with the territory). And of course FOR Patriot Act extensions. (File where under “Small Government” label?)
But he voted in April 2011 FOR the budget:
04/15/2011 2011-2012 Budget
H Con Res 34 Y Resolution Passed – House
(235 – 193)
THAT MEANS he voted for the $4 billion child support collection industry (obviously it’s not too good at catching up with him….), and for siphoning parts of this off into fatherhood promotion.
The Heartland Institute:
Heartland Institute is a $6.1 million privately-funded nonprofit:
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit research and education organization with offices in Chicago and Washington DC. Founded in 1984, it is tax exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. It is not affiliated with any political party, business, or foundation.
Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, a Tea Party rising star, sued for $100,000 in unpaid child support
( ,published Friday 7/29/2011 in Syracuse.com)
In this Nov. 17, 2010 file photo, then-Rep.-elect Joe Walsh, R-Ill., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Thursday, July 28, 2011, that Walsh’s ex-wife, Layra Walsh has sued her ex-husband for more than $117,000 in what she says is unpaid child support and interest. Laura Walsh filed the claim in December in their divorce case.
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, a rising star in the Tea Party movement best known for his blistering lectures of President Barack Obama for “spending like a drunken sailor,” is now being peppered with questions about his own financial responsibility after reports surfaced that he’s being sued for more than $100,000 in unpaid child support.
Experts say whatever political star power the 49-year-old Republican previously emanated has been dimmed, if not extinguished, because for at least the immediate future it will be impossible for him to talk about anything other than his personal problems.
As is appropriate. Most of us would rather see a sermon than hear one any time.
“Whenever he wants to go out and talk about the debt limit, they are going to want to talk about whether (he) is a deadbeat dad,” said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of politics at the University of Illinois-Springfield. “His individual problems become the story and he never gets to another issue.”
Redfield and others say it is all but impossible for politician to shake questions about whether or not they’ve provided for their families once a story like the one in Thursday’s Chicago Sun-Times is published.
Well, why should they be able to shake such questions? Would you want a representative who was dishonest with his own family, or have we come to view that as acceptable if it’s a charismatic enough leader? Particularly when it’s a Family Values type political party, let’em practice what they preach!
“Child support is always devastating to politicians when it (such a story) comes out, because the public says, ‘How can you manage our finances when you can’t manage your own?'” said Larry Sabato, a political scientist and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
This reporter could’ve affirmed that a person who cannot manage his own finances (honestly, that is) should hardly be entrusted with others’. How devastating might it be to children to have their well-known father simply ditch child support payments? But instead, the reporter distances him/herself from that point of view and describes the poor (in arrears) politician’s prospects, should word of this get out… Why don’t citizens just move beyond such petty issues as, whether the politician is a liar or not? including to the mother of three of his children?
No, that question raises a very good point, and any religious conservatives should (but often don’t) know this verse:
I Timothy 5. 8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
I suppose one way to handle that is divorce one’s wife and go start a new family, meaning the old ones are no longer in his “house,” and neglecting them, which this person did….
But this won’t phase Tea Partiers much, says the author — they’ll just chalk it up to a “politically motivated” attack, projecting a psychological motive for reporting facts and requesting action on them. Reminds me of how family court, when faced with allegations of abuse, has a tendency to attribute it instead to “parental alienation” and imply the (mother, FYI), just made it up to get an advantage in the divorce.
But Laura Walsh’s attorney, Jack Coladarci, said that Walsh was paying about $1,000 less than he was ordered to between November 2005 and March 2008, and then stopped paying the entire $2,135 he owed every month from April 2008 until December 2010.
He said once Walsh began serving in Congress, earning $175,000 a year, he started making payments of $2,164 a month — after Coladarci contacted the congressional office to advise the office of a court order to withhold that amount from his paycheck.
Maybe we should draft legislation that ALL Congressional New Hires have a child support background check, followed by wage garnishment if it meets certain criteria. After all, the rest of the nation is being subjected to this type of invasive reporting, why not the home boys as well?
AGAIN — NOTICE — this wasn’t a father TRYING to pay and then failing due to unemployment — zero payments from 4/2008 – 12/2010. I know even very poor fathers who can cough up SOMETHING each month (particularly as doing so exonerates them in the OCSE’s eyes)– even a third, a tenth of the order. But this is over two and a half years of nonpayment.
How this all plays out when Walsh runs for re-election remains to be seen. Despite disclosures about a 2008 home foreclosure, his divorce, traffic citations for not having car insurance, bounced checks and a lawsuit by a former campaign manager who alleged Walsh owed him $,20,000, Walsh was elected to Congress.
More than one friend emailed me about Congressman Joe Walsh’s Preaches but doesn’t Practice behavior as to child support; but one made a particularly good point: Where was the OCSE, and why did his ex-wife have to go after child support on her own? Does the OCSE not catch up when child support arrears is over $100K and the deadbeat is an employee of the U.S. Government?
They do this for women who go on welfare — but of course then there is the matter of that extra % that goes back to the Feds if it’s a Title IV case.
The Chicago Sun-Times Article (by Abdon M. Pallisch, political reporter, 7/27/22)
Freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, a tax-bashing Tea Party champion who sharply lectures President Barack Obama and other Democrats on fiscal responsibility, owes more than $100,000 in child support to his ex-wife and three children, according to documents his ex-wife filed in their divorce case in December.
“I won’t place one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids and grandkids unless we structurally reform the way this town spends money!” Walsh says directly into the camera in his viral video lecturing Obama on the need to get the nation’s finances in order.
Was that his first family’s kids, or his second family’s kids he’s referring to here? Because he apparently skipped over two and a half years of child support payments (2008 – 2010) to 3 kids (two of who are now adults) while vacationing (with girlfriend), and details have emerged that he wasn’t exactly on the street during that time (see below, or articles).
Walsh starts the video by saying, “President Obama, quit lying. Have you no shame, sir? In three short years, you’ve bankrupted this country.”
It’s hard to add much to the article – — read on:
An intense, silver-haired firebrand, Walsh, 49, has taken cable TV by storm in recent weeks, becoming the unofficial spokesman for the “No compromise” faction of the Republican majority in the U.S. House — refusing to consider any debt crisis solution that includes raising taxes on the wealthy.
Walsh admits he is not wealthy. Some of his financial problems — including losing his Evanston condo to foreclosure — were documented before his out-of-nowhere victory last fall in the 8th Congressional District in Chicago’s north and northwest suburbs.
FYI President Obama (or, at least, his meteoric political career) came out of Chicago’s South Side. Joe Walsh apparently is out of the North/Northwest Side. Evanston is home to Northwestern University (which actually pre-dates the city), two seminaries and many private schools. It’s per-capita median income in 2000 was about $56K, not too shabby. It’s north of Chicago, and right on Lake Michigan.
But court documents examined this week by the Chicago Sun-Times during research for a profile on the increasingly visible congressman showed his financial issues also included a nine-year child support battle with his ex-wife.
Newspapers and individuals SHOULD do this and know who we are dealing with in politics….
Trying to work out a settlement’
Both sides in the Walsh case have been negotiating Walsh’s overdue child support since he filed his response in February.
“Out of respect for his being in Washington, we haven’t been pushing it. We have been trying to work out a settlement,” Coladarci said.
After Laura Walsh filed for divorce in 2002, Joe Walsh counter-filed for divorce and sought custody of the children, saying he worked from home and Laura Walsh “suffers from psychological and other conditions.” He has not repeated that charge in written motions since 2003. The couple had three children, then ages 15, 12 and 8. They are now 23, 20 and 16.
That’s interesting. Article says she’s an attorney and was working for Eli Lilli.
Before getting elected, he had told Laura Walsh that because he was out of work or between jobs, he could not make child support payments. So she was surprised to read in his congressional campaign disclosures that he was earning enough money to loan his campaign $35,000.
Sounds here like he was lying to his ex-wife; hardly a unique situation. Sounds like she wasn’t exactly hiring private investigators — but was reading his campaign disclosures.
“Joe personally loaned his campaign $35,000, which, given that he failed to make any child support payments to Laura because he ‘had no money’ is surprising,” Laura Walsh’s attorneys wrote in a motion filed in December seeking $117,437 in back child support and interest. “Joe has paid himself back at least $14,200 for the loans he gave himself.”
“Thanks, Dad” . . . would be appropriate for the three children he left behind in that matter. Message to them: “If you’re not living with me, I’m not paying for you. I’ll just go get some more kids with another woman….”
This is not the typical type of case the Office of Child Support Enforcement would track easily. Heck, they can’t even keep track of their own interest income and undistributed collections. The OCSE system is set up to work BEST when some (poor slob) works a job where the wages can be garnished. Certain classes of people are serial entrepreneurs, or, like this one, politically active, or businessmen. Imagine trying to track the income from venture capitalists each time there is a divorce!
Walsh’s attorneys responded in court filings: “Respondent admits that funds were loaned to his campaign fund. . . . Respondent admits that the campaign fund has repaid certain loans.”
He personally wrote in court filings that he thought he and his ex-wife were coming to an agreement on the money he owes. He noted that the children have lived with him for part of the last nine years.
“Part” is a real vague term, both as to % and as to for which years.
Walsh lives with his new wife and children in McHenry. He has not paid any of the $117,437 yet, Laura Walsh’s attorney, Jack Coladarci, said Wednesday.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE OCSE’s ROLE:
My one friend commented, in essence, on behalf of others and :
..certain congressional officers—whom have authoritative oversight of HHS— believe they are exempt from following the same laws they enact and require us to follow. Representative Walsh’s wages were supposed to be garnished from his US Government congressional paycheck—but i[weren’t]. Please do not get distracted by the amounts, . . . the child support agency refused to enforce the court orders and allowed this jerk to run up a $100,000 tab, then required the mother to file her own motion with her own money to get the job done. At the same time, he has voted to DOUBLE the budget to $4 billion for the same untracable and unaccountable IV-D enforcement programs allegedly to enforce support orders. Right.
How this might’ve played out with a different class of person —
your ass would be in jail * and your kids would be caught in a federally funded custody battle. Instead of spending more time with the children during a tough divorce, he took the money he stole from the kids hired a lawyer to battle against them, then went on vacations.
In this case, either the judge is in cahoots with the father, or the judge has lost control of his courtroom because the HHS child support enforcement administrative agency will not enforce the orders. This means that the HHS Office of Child Support Enforcement has modified/set aside/ and created court orders without the constitutionally required authority of the judicial branch.
{{**Or I’d like to add, sitting in a court-mandated parenting class on “How to be a father” and other abstinence-style funding that could draw some federal program $$ to whoever is offering the class }}
The comment may not make sense unless one has been a custodial parent seeking to enforce child support. The agency is frequently secretive about its dealings with the opposing party. With good reason, as we found out afterwards that Title IV-D incentives to continue the litigation exist… IF there is a contested custody matter, that’s another “reason” to suspend disbursement of COLLECTED child support funds — I learned, recently (like, in 2011).
Also, as I have shown in part, in some posts on that undistributed collected child support — the “OIG” (Office of Inspector General) is not auditing all states — or all counties in all states — nor do they affirm their audits of selected counties are even accurate — nor are these audits done even YEARLY, although states are required to report quarterloy. Nor, when serious offences (against generally accepted accounting procedures, or for that matter common sense) have occurred in the states — does the audit even have any teeth. It only “recommends” that these states get their act together. THe OCSE doesn’t have enough “resources” to figure out how many millions, really, are sitting collecting (UNreported!) interest in some state or local county funds. That’s not including those amounts that were co-mingled with the general funds, and no trail of amounts left behind:
They are taking our money, collecting the interest, not forwarding it to our children, then not claiming the interest. Our children starve while [Bank of America] profits off our undisbursed support.
YEP. See this March 2004 “Highlights” of a GAO report. GAO = “Government Accountability Office.” REPORT GAO=04-377. This is not from some heretical, unthankful critic of government practices; it is a government report.
Better Data and More Information on Undistributed Collections are Needed
OCSE reported that the amount of undistributed collections for fiscal year 1999 was $545 million and $657 million for fiscal year 2002; however, these amounts may not be accurate. State agencies had different interpretations of what comprised undistributed collections and data reported by several state agencies were found to be unreliable throughout this time period. OCSE revised the reporting form, but data accuracy concerns remain, in part, because OCSE does not have a process to ensure the accuracy of undistributed collections data.
Federal law, some state policies, and inaccurate or missing information were the underlying causes of nearly all types of undistributed collections. State agencies determined how long they held collections from joint tax refunds and if they held collections received before they were due. Federal law allows collections intercepted from joint tax refunds to be held for up to
180 days and in response to GAO’s survey, 34 state agencies reported holding them for 180 days. Missing or inaccurate information, such as invalid addresses, also leads to undistributed collections. Based on state agencies’ survey responses, GAO determined the median value of the undistributed collections from joint tax refunds was about $1.8 million and the median value of four other types of undistributed collections exceeded $350,000.
Money can be held for up to 6 months (180 days) — which 34 agencies were doing, according to a survey.
That is, long ago, almost a decade ago. They visited ONLY 6 state agencies — out of all 50 states X (counties per state).
OCSE has provided some assistance to help state agencies reduce their undistributed collections. However, the Department of the Treasury has not provided OCSE information that would allow state agencies to distribute collections from joint tax refunds to families sooner. Further, OCSE’s efforts to obtain this information have been minimal.
(Highlight/Left column Inset:
Congress established the child support enforcement program in 1975 to ensure that parents financially supported their children. State agencies administer the program and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services oversees it. In 2002, state agencies collected over $20 billion in child support, but $657 million in collections from 2002 and previous years were undistributed—funds that were delayed or never reached families.
State agencies DO administer the program, but they are required to “do it the OCSE” way if they want their welfare funds next year. OCSE DOES oversee it — sort of.
From the cover letter to this GAO-04-377 Child Support Enforcement
report, which is addressed to the Hon. Charles Grassley (IOWA, right?)
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley Chairman Committee on Finance United States Senate
Dear Mr. Chairman:
In 2002, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), in the Department of Health and Human Services, reported that billions of dollars in child support were collected but that payments totaling $657 million were delayed or never reached the families for whom they were intended. These undistributed child support payments are a concern because child support is an important source of income for many families. According to a 2003 report, for 36 percent of poor children living in families headed by single mothers, child support payments comprised almost one-third of the family’s income in 2001. The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)1 generally requires state child support enforcement agencies to disburse child support collections within 2 business days, if sufficient information identifying the recipient is provided. In addition, portions of child support collections must be distributed to state government programs, such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), to reimburse them for cash assistance provided to families.
Although state child support enforcement agencies administer the child support program, the federal government plays a major role.2
OCSE funds two-thirds of the program’s administrative costs; establishes policies and guidance; provides technical assistance, such as designing curricula and providing support for staff training; and oversees and monitors state agencies. Additionally, OCSE is responsible for taking the necessary steps to help resolve issues at the federal level that affect the child support program such as processes that prevent child support payments from reaching families in a timely manner. OCSE and state agencies collect child support through various methods, such as intercepting the federal tax refunds of noncustodial parents—parents who do not have primary care, custody, or control of their children—who are delinquent in paying their child support.3 If the noncustodial parent has a new spouse and files a joint tax return, generally, only the portion of the refund due to the noncustodial parent should be intercepted.
1Pub. L. No. 104-193, § 312(b) (Aug. 22, 1996).
2In this report we will refer to the state child support enforcement agencies as state agencies.
HOW ODD that the OCSE couldn’t locate the noncustodial in-arrears parent when the parent came to Congress with an open and in arrears? child support case! Is this a matter of principle, or do only welfare cases really count? Would welfare Dads get such an easy slide?
There was a Supreme Court case recently (within my last 5 posts) where a man whose child support was about $60/month was incarcerated for contempt. Respect of persons, much, when Joe Walsh can get along and not pay for over 2 years..
Page 8 of this report:
OCSE Reported Millions in Undistributed Collections, but Data Were Unreliable
Page 11 of this report:
Some State Agencies Reported Inaccurate Amounts of Undistributed Collections
They could be lower, or they could be substantially higher. OCSE doesn’t know!
Local agencies in California used forms that did not always include the federal data elements used by the state agency to report undistributed collections
OCSE Did Not Hold State Agencies Accountable for Accurately Reporting Undistributed Collections
(I’m looking for the paragraph that says they couldn’t afford to!)
While OCSE is required to audit some child support data, it does not have a process to ensure the accuracy of data on undistributed collections. OCSE is required to audit the reliability of the performance indicators used as the basis for paying financial incentives to state agencies. Officials told us {{Commonly known as “hearsay”}} they are conducting these audits annually. To ensure the reliability of the data, OCSE selects representative sample cases for a detailed audit and reviews supporting documentation to check for errors.
They just took a partial batch sampling. Imagine if our food were prepared with this level of oversight….after an outbreak of Undistributed e. coli had been discovered. Notice they have to check much more carefully when it comes to financial incentives to repay the state agenices. THIS money, the OCSE seems more alarmed about mistreatment of. But what about what’s going to the kids? It seems no one is responsible.
AND HERE YOU HAVE IT — OCSE CANNOT AFFORD TO ACTUALLY MONITOR THE STATES (BUT it can afford extra fatherhood programming….)
Although OCSE’s general instructions for the collection of data used for its annual report reminds state agencies that they should report reliable and complete information, OCSE officials told us they have only reviewed data on undistributed collections in special circumstances. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services and OCSE conducted at least three special reviews of California’s undistributed collections data since fiscal year 1994 that revealed problems with the accuracy and reliability of the data. According to OCSE officials, the agency does not have the resources to routinely review data on undistributed collections in the way it reviews other program data.
CALIFORNIA had shown mess-ups three times since 1994.
ONE of these was brought to federal attention from Prisoner 1824367C at Men’s Central Jail, although the entire legislature knew about it by then:
RICHARD I. FINE
ID # 1824367c/o Men’s Central Jail
441 Bauchet Street, Los Angeles, CA90012
RichardIFine@gmail.com
Honorable Eric Holder
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Honorable Andre Birotte
U.S. Attorney General
312 North Spring Street
Honorable Jerry Brown
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
300 South Spring Street
Honorable Steve Cooley
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000
Request for Federal and State Grand Jury Investigations and Indictments for
Obstruction of Justice and Other Crimes Caused By and Related to the $300
million of Illegal Payments by Los Angeles County and Other California Counties
to the State Trial Court Judges in LA County and Other Counties.
Gentlemen:
This formal complaint seeks grand jury investigations and corresponding federal andstate indictments of judges, county supervisors, attorneys and others who participated in thelargest judicial corruption and bribery scheme and “cover up” in American history.
The payments began in the late 1980s and have continued through the present.Neither
LA County nor its attorneys disclosed the payments in any case in which LA County was a party.
The judges receiving the payments from LA County also did not disclose such in the cases in
which they were presiding and in which LA County was a party, nor did they disclose such
payments on their Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest, a mandatory disclosure form.
Since the late 1980s, LA County has paid approximately $300 million to the state-elected
trial court judges of the LA Superior Court.These payments have been held to violate Article
VI, Section 19, of the California Constitution in the case of Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles,
167 Cal.App.4th 630 (2008), rev. denied 12/23/08.The payments have also been acknowledged
to be criminal in California Senate Bill SBx2-11, effective 5/21/09 (seeinfr a)
NOW he is going to cite several cases in support of his request for a Grand Jury Investigation. The second of these deals with child support: $14 million of it!
Honorable Eric Holder, Attorney General
On appeal, LA Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Czuleger was appointed to the panel by designation. Neither Judge Czuleger nor LA County disclosed that he was receiving payments from LA County. I did not know such. The judgment was reversed. The taxpayers lost $250 million.
B. Silva v. Garcetti
In the case of Silva v. Garcetti and LA County, LASC Case No. BC 205645, I representedJohn Silva against LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti, who was illegally withholding $14 millionof child support monies beyond the six-month statutory limit and refusing to distribute such.
Remember the “180 day” ability to hold these monies, that I mentioned above? That’s what he must be referring to. His lawsuit, therefore, is against the County.District Attorneys are paid by the County. So, if the ruling judge was receiving payments from the county that He/She was ruling ON, that’s a biased proceeding; it’s a conflict of interest.
Neither LA County, it lawyers, nor Judge James C. Chalfant disclosed the LA County payments to LA Superior Court Judge Chalfant.
Garcetti’s office admitted that it had the child support money and had not distributed it.
At the end of the trial, Judge Chalfant dismissed the case.
Upon finding out about the payments to Judge Chalfant after the dismissal, I raised the issue in the appeal, App. No. B 150641.
The Appellate Court refused to hear the issue. I then became aware that Justice Kathryn Doi Todd, who had recently been appointed an appellate
justice, had received LA County payments when she was a LA Superior Court judge. Neither
Justice Todd nor LA County or its lawyers disclosed this information in the appeal. I raised the
issue in my Petition for Review to the California Supreme Court (S.Ct. Case No. 105221). The California Supreme Court denied review.
LA County women and children lost $14 million, which they should have timely received.
That’s what my friend is talking about. . . . ..
Mr. Fine also represented a class of plaintiffs which Silva represented, on Civil Rights violations, several counts, around this matter but it appears to be “Silva v. Garcetti” that most irritated the judges and lawmakers, resulting in an illegal incarceration of Mr. Fine, Univ. of Wisconsin, London School of Economics, and as I recall probably Harvard as well. (It’s not your average prisoner that can compose something like this from solitary confinement…) In fact, here are the credentials (obviously jailbait background):
Richard Fine
EDUCATION: University of Wisconsin (B.S., 1961); University of Chicago (Doctor of Law, 1964); University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science (Ph.D., International Law, 1967); Certificate – Hague Academy of International Law, 1965, 1966; Certificate of Comparative Law – International University of Comparative Science, Luxembourg, 1966; Diplome d’Etudes Superieures du Droit Compare (Faculte Internationale pour L’Enseignment du Droit Compare), Strasbourg, 1967.
ADMISSIONS: Illinois 1964; District of Columbia 1972; California 1973, (State Bar #55259); United States Supreme Court 1972; and various U.S. Circuit and District Courts.
AWARDS: Lawyer of the Decades 1976-2006, Awarded by the California Black Republican Women’s Council and the Judea Christian Alliance; Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition “in recognition of outstanding service to the community”; California State Assembly Certificate of Recognition; California State Board of Equalization Resolution “for outstanding dedication and service to the taxpayers of the community“.
Chronology of Events
I didn’t understand the impact of these sets of cases (it took a while) until, one time, I simply read through this spreadsheet chronology of Mr. Fine’s activities in (Southern) California on behalf of taxpayers. Maybe we ought to review them as the cries about how broke our state is come from the mouths of some of the same legislators and judicial mouthpieces:
MORE FROM GAO REPORT:
Many State Agencies Reported Holding More than $1 Million from Joint Tax Refunds and Several Hundred Thousand Dollars in Other Types of Undistributed Collections
I hate to minimize the severe and ever-expanding fatherlessness crisis (which of course must be met in kind by federal prevention efforts, a.k.a. fatherhood media campaigns at every level) — however doesn’t it seem that this MIGHT tend to affect the poverty level of families that actually need that child support? MOreover, as it is the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle — what goes in, may not come out and is not accounted for — at all — I’m starting to think that this is part of our problem:
MARCH 2004 report on earlier surveys:
In response to our survey, 32 state agencies provided dollar amounts for undistributed collections from joint tax refunds. The median value reported for these collections was $1.8 million. Of these 32 state agencies, 19 reported an amount of $1 million dollars or higher with 3 reporting amounts greater than $10 million dollars. In 15 state agencies this was the largest amount reported for any of the nine types of undistributed collections we listed on the survey. For the 9 state agencies that provided values for all nine types, we determined that undistributed collections from joint tax refunds ranged from 27 to 48 percent of total undistributed collections. Our survey requested data as of June 2003, and OCSE officials explained that the amount of undistributed collections from joint tax refunds is generally higher in March through September.
Many officials cited the potential financial loss as the primary reason they are unwilling to assume the risk of releasing these collections before 180 days.
Naturally they are going to protect their own behinds — because people can sue them otherwise:
State agencies are fully responsible for payments made in error and must either attempt to recover money that has been distributed to custodial parents or suffer the financial loss that comes from reimbursing the Treasury for the “injured spouse” claims. One state agency we visited, Texas, reduced the time it held collections from joint tax refunds from 120 days to 90 days after analysis of its data showed that the benefit of distributing these collections outweighed the financial risk of holding them.
While high values were consistently reported for undistributed collections from joint tax refunds, our analysis also revealed that the median value of four other types of undistributed collections that state agencies reported exceeded $350,000. These undistributed collections included those received before they were due, pending legal resolution, with an invalid address for custodial parents, and with data problems.
24 agencies reported collections withheld “pending legal resolution” (may mean a custody issue….) from Min. $9,700 through UP TO $10.2 MILLION, with a median of $431,000. This represents money that is being held (and probably earning interest for the STate or Counties) while the distressed parents — and children with them — fight it out in court. Encouraging such fights — which, face it, the Access and Visitation legislation DOES — could prolong that for years. Do the math (remembering compound interest…. and the declining value of the $$).
So, here comes the OCSE and takes tax money again to solve some problems that its prior practices helped create:
OCSE funded research and provided technical assistance to state agencies to help them reduce undistributed collections. Between fiscal years 2000 and 2002, OCSE awarded three contracts. The first contract awarded in fiscal year 2000, for about $135,000, funded research to identify approaches for reducing undistributed collections in 11 state agencies with large caseloads or amounts of collections. In addition, this contractor reviewed undistributed collections in two New York counties and identified factors in their business processes and automated systems that prevented them from further reducing these collections. According to OCSE, a second contract was also awarded in fiscal year 2000 for about $112,000 that funded research focused on understanding the extent and causes of undistributed collections across state agencies and highlighting best practices for distributing such collections. Additionally, OCSE officials said that a third contract was awarded in fiscal year 2002 for about $300,000 that funded research to review undistributed collections in 5 state agencies.
“OCSE funded” is a misnomer. OCSE is a public Program office under an “Op(erational)Div(ision) under a Department of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government. From small to large:
Program Office (OCSE)
OpDiv (ACF)
Dept. (HHS)
Branch (Executive).
Public funds to correct policies promoted by government employees (i.e., legislators, and appropriations people) that are helping fleece the public. THAT makes a lot of sense….
Meanwhile, others jumped on the bandwagon here, for some press releases on Rep. Walsh:
Mothers And Catholics United Members Call On Rep. Joe Walsh To Honor The Lives Of All Children And Pay Financial Obligations
SATURDAY, 30 JULY 2011 17:42 PRESS RELEASE
Fox Lake, IL–(ENEWSPF)–July 30, 2011. Catholics United members and mothers from the Eighth Congressional District of Illinois gathered in front of Rep. Joe Walsh’s Fox Lake congressional office today to deliver a letter asking the Congressman to act more responsibly when it comes to defaulting on our nation’s financial obligations, especially when doing so adversely affects the lives of children.
However, a recent disclosure of legal documents shows that Congressman Walsh failed to pay child support during a time when he loaned his political campaign $35,000.
“Rep. Walsh claims that he wants to curb federal spending to protect future generations of Americans,said Jeanne Dauray, a mother and member of Catholics United. But this rings hallow in the face of recent disclosures that he’s failed to pay his own child support. Because my father never paid child support, I know firsthand how devastating it can be on families. Joe Walsh should be ashamed.”
In a letter delivered to Rep. Walsh’s office, Catholics United members and mothers from Illinois write:
“As mothers and as people of faith, we know how important responsible fatherhood is to the lives of our children. Therefore it is with great sadness that we ask you to reflect on your past actions and redeem your sense of honor as a father and as a representative.
We ask that you honor the lives of all children, including your own. Do not allow the United States to default on our financial obligations and pay the full child support owed to your family. Failing to do so will only place a greater burden on the lives of children.”
Sure, that should work. The man was vacationing with a girlfriend {great conservative values}, lied to his wife, preached at the President, and when he got a $175K government job, apparently FORGOT this original 3 children, although previously he’d tried to get custody of them by calling his wife (of 15 years) names during the divorce proceedings. Kind of reminds me of appealing to a batterer to think of his kids….
Not to lose an opportunity, “Catholics United” gathered to tell this Dad that “irresponsible fatherhood” was tarnishing the image:
http://www.catholics-united.org/files/CU-protest-letter-signing.jpg (notice the posters)
(CapWiz site)
Residence: McHenry
Marital Status: Married (Helene)
Prev. Occupation: Investment Banker
Prev. Political Exp.: no prior elected office
Education: BA University of Iowa, 1995; MPP University of Chicago, 1991
Birthdate: 12/27/1961
Percentage in Last Election: 48%
Major Opponent: Melissa Bean
Surprisingly?, this shows he voted AGAINST the Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood Bill
H.R.2979 – Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009 (H.R.2979) Support No
7/19/2011 MSNBC Transcript of Interview with “Hardball’s” Chris Matthews (Sorry, I couldn’t resist — found this at Project VoteSmart. Catch the comment about “households” have to balance their budgets……)
MATTHEWS: OK. Let me just ask you three questions. The bill you”re going to vote–you”re going to vote for this bill today, right?
WALSH: Try one at a time, Chris.
MATTHEWS: I can”t get the first answer.
WALSH: Yes, I”m going to vote–
MATTHEWS: Will you tell me why it doesn”t name the cuts?
WALSH: — for this bill.
MATTHEWS: Why doesn”t it name the cuts?
WALSH: It calls for $111 billion in cuts, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Where?
WALSH: And again, in the bill, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Where are the cuts?
WALSH: In the bill. In non-defense discretionary spending.
MATTHEWS: What”s that?
i.e., WHAT “non-defense discretionary spending”? Walsh doesn’t answer:
WALSH: It”s $111 billion. Chris, you know what that is! Again, you want to
harp on this. I”m telling you for the first time–where”s the president”s plan, Chris Matthews?
MATTHEWS: Right. That”s a great question.
WALSH: Where”s the Democrats” plan?
WALSH: No! But wait a minute!
MATTHEWS: You”ve criticized the president for not having a plan, and you don”t have one. I”m looking at your document. Have you read it?
(Sounds like a Yes/No question to me — left hanging….)
WALSH: I”ll criticize the president for not having a plan. He”s not serious and he”s playing politics.
(Changes the topic when almost boxed in. ….. revealing….!)
MATTHEWS: OK–
WALSH: For the first time in this town, Chris, the House is going to pass a serious plan to get spending in this town under control! And you want to ignore the most important piece of that, which is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. And I got to tell you something. The American people are beyond you on this–
WALSH: — and they”re beyond the president.
MATTHEWS: OK, let–
WALSH: They want us to do something dramatic.
MATTHEWS: OK. Your bill doesn”t specify cuts. It calls in 10 years for reduction in government spending to 19.9 percent of the economy. Are you happy with that number, that would reduce it to, basically, $3 trillion from $3.75? It really doesn”t change it much. But my point to you is, do you really think you”re going to get two thirds vote in the House for a balanced budget amendment, a two thirds vote?
WALSH: Hey, Chris, the fiscal situation now–this president–
MATTHEWS: Will you get a–you said you”re going get a two thirds vote.
WALSH: Yes. Yes! Is so severe that we have a great chance this year to pass this out of the House. Look, 80 percent of the American people believe in a balanced budget amendment. Most states have to live according to one.
WALSH: All households do. This is something Americans understand.
Yep, that was Special, reference to American households, when his contribution to his own has been to run up some debt….
Posted in Child Support, History of Family Court
Tagged with Child Support, Congressional Indicators of Responsible Fatherhood in private lives, fatherhood, GAO Report 04-377 (March 2004), GAO reports poor OCSE oversight of State Child Support Agencies' Accounting, IL Rep. Joe Walsh Irresponsible Father, Tea Party Practices - vs what is preached
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America’s Huge Military Budget Doesn’t Make Us Safer
U.S. Marines in Iraq. ( ( Defense Visual Information Center)
I have a friend who constantly rails against the cost of social welfare programs. He thinks they are a huge waste and a drain on the economy. I calmly explain to him that food stamps (which are including in food and agriculture) make up a small fraction of the budget (4 percent,) according to Politifact. And I also added that if America wants to get serious about cutting the budget they would cut the military budget.
According to CNBC, the last military budget was more than $800 billion. President Donald Trump, who claimed that Hillary had left the generals in “rubble,” increased the military budget.
In addition, the Guardian reports the military plans to spend $1 billion per year on a program called Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI.) This program will use Artificial Intelligence to monitor troubled places. Apparently, JEDI will use algorithms to assess potential dangers and then automate the response. (This sounds awfully like the scenario in “Captain America: Winter Soldier.”)
Over a 10-year period, this program would cost $1 trillion. I have to think there are better ways to spend taxpayers money. Also, I’m pretty sure this high-tech system might be vulnerable to hackers.
There are several other problems with this scenario. Firstly, while the American military is very good at overwhelming other forces with their superior technology, they aren’t good at the aftermath. In many cases, America wins the war and loses the peace. This is what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.
American forces dispatched Saddam Hussein’s military in about a month but failed to cope with the chaos unleashed by the end of his reign. We got rid of Saddam, and that was followed by the rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq and then ISIS. The security situation is much worse in Iraq than it was during Saddam’s reign. At least then Iraqis were able to walk the streets at night. The situation is the same in Afghanistan, where the Taliban now controls more land than they did during the beginning of the war, and there are almost daily murders in Kabul.
The American military is really good at fighting wars, but not very good at peacekeeping and nation building. I don’t think the high-tech JEDI system is going to send robots to build roads and schools, hand out food and make former enemies sit down at the peace table. It might be good at zapping terrorists, but killing terrorists often turns into a game of whack-a-mole. Guardian writer Ben Tarnoff says JEDI will just make it easier to carry out never-ending wars.
“The US military knows how to kill. The harder part is figuring out whom to kill. In a more traditional war, you simply kill the enemy. But who is the enemy in a conflict with no national boundaries, no fixed battlefields, and no conventional adversaries?” said Tarnoff. “This is the perennial question of the forever war. It is also a key feature of its design. The vagueness of the enemy is what has enabled the conflict to continue for nearly two decades and to expand to more than 70 countries — a boon to the contractors, bureaucrats and politicians who make their living from US militarism.”
Additionally, if the government opts to sink $1 trillion into a high-tech weapons system, they’re probably going to want to use it. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson makes the same point in an interview on “Background Briefing.” He said people think America’s huge military budget makes us safe, but they’ve got it all wrong. According to Wilkerson, if you have a military brimming with high-tech toys, they’re going to want to use them.
President Barack Obama also acknowledged the limits of military power and realized that spending more on diplomats was a better way to resolve international problems. Some Israelis also understand the limits of military force.
“Israel’s great victory in 1967, in a war of self defense, turned into a curse, as we were left with the rule of over three million Palestinians, who, over the years gained the world’s support on our account. As the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre said: ‘Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from defeat,” said The Jerusalem Post. “IT IS diplomacy by peaceful means that can achieve important goals at a time when the ability to use power is limited. In war there is a winner and a loser, or rather two losers; in good diplomacy all sides win.”
Several years ago I read an Economist article that said the reason why Europeans are able to afford universal healthcare and other social services, is because they’re not spending a large chunk of their budget on their military.
And that’s one area were do agree with Trump. The Europeans need to spend more on their defense. But we also need to spend less.
Brunch, Delusions of Mediocrity, and American Liberalism
Matthew Barad
Illinois Needs the Fair Tax
Austin Stadelman in Stadelman
A National Tax on Campaign Contributions and Lobbying
Jeremy Peters in Politically Speaking
Are We Approaching the End of Peaceful Protest in America?
Brady C. Malone in Dialogue & Discourse
Escaping the Fog of Capitalist Realism
Harold J. Petty
The Need for a Global Political System
How Russian Trolls Are Adapting Cold War Propaganda Techniques to Twitter
The NYU Center for Social Media and Politics in The NYU Center for Social Media and Politics
White Rage Will Not Make America Great Again
Rebecca Stevens A. in ILLUMINATION-Curated
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Forums » News and Announcements
corporation to run an Alaska lottery
April 20, 2020 4:37 AM EDT
Governor proposes independent corporation to run an Alaska lottery
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced legislation that would create a statewide lottery.Get more news about 彩票包网平台,you can vist loto98.com
The bill would see the formation of the Alaska Lottery Corporation, an independent public corporation that would be in charge of operating the state's lottery. The corporation would be in charge of deciding what type of gaming opportunities are offered to Alaskans, including the potential for numbered lottery draws, keno and sports betting.
The legislation would limit participation in Alaska lotteries to people who are 18-years-old or older.
The goal of the governor's proposal is to help bridge the state's $1.5 billion deficit.
"Alaska is one of only five states that does not have any form of a state lottery. I believe it is time we, as a state, have the conversation on the potential benefits that could come from a state lottery," the governor said in a prepared statement.
Sandy Powers, the president of the Alaska Charitable Gaming Alliance, expressed some concern about the governor's proposal and potential impact to nonprofits that rely on gaming revenue.Concerns were also raised by Democratic Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau about the impact a lottery could have on low-income Alaskans and people susceptible to an addiction to gambling.
"Ringing more cash from the poorest Alaskans is not the way to get to sustainable growth for our future," he said.
Officials with the Department of Revenue have a wide range of revenue forecasts depending on which gaming choices would be chosen by the independent corporation:Department of Revenue officials say that the lower-revenue forecasts are more likely.
Fairbanks Republican Rep. Steve Thompson has introduced a bill that would also create a statewide lottery. Thompson's proposal is limited to Alaska creating its own numbered lottery draw or joining a multi-state lottery such as Powerball or Mega Millions.
Thompson reserved judgement on the governor's proposal.
Under the governor's legislation, it would cost an estimated $3 million to create the lottery corporation, officials say. It's estimated that the next fiscal year would be a break-even year before the corporation begins to be profitable in 2022.The governor is touting the proposal as a way to create new business opportunities for small retail establishments. Administration officials did not have a specific forecast on Tuesday about how much of an impact on small businesses that a lottery could provide.
The revenue collected by the Alaska Lottery Corporation is intended to be spent on K-12 education and to address domestic violence, drug abuse, foster care, senior services, and homelessness.
Powers said the ACGA would be looking to protect revenue for nonprofits. "I don't think it's a good idea to do one at the expense of the other," she said.
The Dunleavy administration did not answer on Tuesday if there were projections on the potential impact of a lottery on charitable gaming revenue. Those questions would be answered in legislative hearings, officials said.
The Alaska Constitution prohibits dedicating funds in most instances so it would most likely be up to the Legislature to decide how the lottery funds would be spent.
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Game of Thrones director discusses the super-sized Battle of Winterfell
Emmy-winner Miguel Sapochnik on directing the upcoming Battle of Winterfell: 'This is survival horror'
By James Hibberd
Credit: HBO
Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik returns to Westeros in Sunday’s third episode of the final season chronicling The Battle of Winterfell. The Emmy-winning 44-year-old director previously helmed acclaimed episodes such as “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter.” Last March, EW took a late night walk with Sapochnik between takes on the set of season 8 in Northern Ireland for a spoiler-free discussion about bringing together the super-sized episode where a sprawling assembly of fan-favorite characters face off against the Army of the Dead in an apocalyptic struggle for survival.
The interview below gives some insight into the extraordinary effort that went into pulling off episode and the GoT team’s endgame perfectionism. Some of Sapochnik’s quotes were previously published in our recent cover story going behind the scenes of GoT detailing the extremely difficult working conditions that the cast and crew endured to make the battle as convincing as possible. “Miguel is an animal,” praises Ser Jorah Mormont actor Iain Glen. “He takes care of each individual storyline so well. I don’t know how he does it — to stay as engaged and fresh as he does with this weight on his shoulders.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How eager were you to dive back into this? It’s great when you get so much praise for an episode like “Battle of the Bastards,” but there’s also now pressure I would imagine.
MIGUEL SAPOCHNIK: I wasn’t eager to go back and do anything bigger, no. The thing for me is that everything should be appropriate for the job. [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] asked if I could come back for season 7. I said I couldn’t do season 7 and 8, I could only do one. And thankfully, they said season 8. It meant I had a year off and got to miss Thrones, which is good, because you don’t miss Thrones as much when you’re on Week 6 of night shoots. So I was eager to come back. And yeah, there’s always a bit of trepidation because now there’s this expectation that you have to beat yourself, which I loathe.
I heard originally you were doing 3 episodes, perhaps even more, and then eventually settled on two.
I wanted to do 3, 4, and 5 and there literally just weren’t enough days because we shoot two units. Then I said “4 and 5” and they said, “No, you have to do 3 and 5.” What I really like about 3, 4, and 5 is they’re a complete piece with a beginning middle and end. I try to approach all these [episodes] like they’re one. Like in season 6, [episodes 9 and 10, “The Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter”], were to me one thing. Yes, there was talk of that. Thank god it didn’t happen. I would be so dead right now.
Can you give me a sense of the amount of work you’ve done?
I’ve been working on it since June of 2017. I’m shooting for seven and a half months, which is like 130 days, which is longer than most of the big movies that get made. So in terms of the amount of work, it’s been six- and seven-day weeks, 16-to-18 hour days and, yeah, it’s a lot. I knew that was a lot when I came on board. I felt more confident because I’ve got a format now for how to approach [the episodes] and break them down into pieces. As usual, the scripts are bigger than what we actually end up making. The process of whittling it down took longer this time. Because David and Dan wanted everything. We all want everything but we were up against the reality of what we could achieve in the time we had. The thing I’ve put the most hours into was is how, in episode 3, how to not have an audience feel battle fatigue. After 20 minutes of watching a battle, you’re over it. So how do you stop it from being a battle in that sense?
And the action is around an hour I’ve heard?
I hope not more.* It feels for me at some point you exhaust an audience. For my reference point I watched [The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers] because the siege is a 40-minute sequence, but it’s actually three different battles in three different places intercut. That was the biggest thing I could think of that was contemporary. I was trying to get a sense of when do you tire out. I think we’re going to blow past that. It feels like the only way to really approach it properly is take every sequence and ask yourself: “Why would I care to keep watching?” One thing I found is the less action — the less fighting — you can have in a sequence, the better. We also switch genres. There’s suspense and horror and action and drama and we’re not stuck in killing upon killing because then everybody gets desensitized and it doesn’t mean anything.
Each battle you’ve done have has a different feel and tone. What is this one like?
This is survival horror. That’s the whole episode for me. What we realized is you look at like Assault on Precinct 13 — movies where a group is under siege — usually there’s an ensemble cast and a central theme in there. So I’ve been trying to work out whose story this is. That’s different than the stuff I’ve done previously which was generally from Jon’s perspective. Here I’ve got 20-some cast members and everyone would like it to be their scene. That’s complicated because I find the best battle sequences are when you have a strong point of view, and here the point of view is objective even when you go from one person’s story to another. Because when you’re cutting back and forth, [the perspective] becomes objective whether you want it to or not. I keep thinking, “Whose story am I telling right now? And what restrictions does that place on me that become a good thing?”
There are also dragons.
The visual effects stuff is where you really where you do the pre-visualizing. But we’ve been trying to hold onto the ability to improvise. We have a way of shooting the dragons this time that’s a little looser. When you put an actor on a rotating buck and then you blast them with wind and they’re on a green screen set, the last thing they think is they have to give a performance. So my focus this year is: How can we get a performance from the actor so their story continues even though they’re on a dragon?
The Winterfell set, and [another new set that hasn’t yet been seen], are pretty amazing. They’re like these giant sprawling playspaces.
That’s what I like about Game of Thrones. We built this massive new part of Winterfell and originally thought, “We’ll film this part here and this part there…” and basically broke it down into so many pieces it would be shot like a Marvel movie, with never any flow or improvisation. Everything would be broken into little morsels to be put back together. Even on Star Wars, they build certain parts of the set and then add huge elements of green screen. And that makes sense. There’s an efficiency to that. But I think there’s something that you lose when doing it that way; you lose the spontaneity of being able to move the camera anywhere. And I was walking around [the Winterfell set] thinking, “This is a really cool set. I can find angles I would never have found beforehand.” [And] I turned to producers and said, “I know it’s 11 weeks of night shoots, I know it’s s—ty and going to be cold. I don’t want to do 11 weeks of night shoots and no one else does. But if we don’t we’re going we’re going to lose what makes Game of Thrones cool and that is it feels real — even though it’s supernatural and we have dragons.”
Speaking of which, the showrunners are writing a Star Wars movie next. If they asked you to direct it, are you down?
Ah, you’ll find out. Who knows? I don’t know. Let’s get through this first.
EW will have full coverage Sunday night and Monday with a recap and several exclusive interviews about the Battle of Winterfell.
Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” coverage:
— ‘Game of Thrones’: Emilia Clarke defends Dany’s reaction to Jon’s parentage
— Maisie Williams discusses her surprise Gendry scene: ‘At first, I thought it was a prank…’
— ‘Game of Thrones’ releases ‘Jenny of Oldstones’ performed by Florence + the Machine
— Game of Thrones’ writer breaks down ‘play-like’ season 8, episode 2’s big scenes
— Deep-dive recap for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
*It’s more.
Game of Thrones recap of Winterfell battle: A dark, epic bloodbath
Game of Thrones season 8 premiere recap: Jon finds out
Game of Thrones finale recap: 'The Dragon and the Wolf'
Game of Thrones recap: 'Beyond the Wall'
Game of Thrones recap: 'Eastwatch'
Game of Thrones recap: 'The Spoils of War'
Game of Thrones recap: 'The Queen's Justice'
Game of Thrones recap: 'Stormborn'
Game of Thrones premiere recap: 'Dragonstone'
Game of Thrones season 6 finale recap: The Winds of Winter
Game of Thrones recap: Battle of the Bastards
Game of Thrones recap: No One
Game of Thrones premiere recap: The Red Woman
Game of Thrones recap: The Broken Man
Game of Thrones recap: Blood of My Blood
Game of Thrones recap: The Door
Game of Thrones recap: Book of the Stranger
Game of Thrones recap: Oathbreaker
Game of Thrones recap: Home
Game of Thrones season 5 finale recap: 'Mother's Mercy'
'Game of Thrones' recap: 'The Dance of Dragons'
'Game of Thrones' recap: 'Hardhome'
Game of Thrones recap: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
HBO's epic fantasy drama based on George R.R. Martin's novel series 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'
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Simply Wall St.
What Do The Returns At Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (NASDAQ:OLLI) Mean Going Forward?
Simply Wall St
December 31, 2020, 10:27 PM ·3 min read
Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So when we looked at Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (NASDAQ:OLLI) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.15 = US$256m ÷ (US$1.9b - US$276m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2020).
So, Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings has an ROCE of 15%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 15%.
Check out our latest analysis for Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
The Trend Of ROCE
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings is displaying some positive trends. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 15%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 92%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.
Our Take On Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings' ROCE
All in all, it's terrific to see that Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.
Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should know about.
For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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« No regrets: New signing Harley hoping for Premier League return with Brighton | Main | Snap-shot: Adam Barrett »
29 September 2011 3:19 PM
Talent Scout: Mark O'Brien
By Martin Domin
Next up in our talent scout series is Derby County defender Mark O'Brien.
His name rings a bell but I can't quite place him...
Mark O'Brien has been at Derby County for three years and has recently established himself in the heart of the Rams defence.
So he's still a bit wet behind the ears?
He is. So far he's played just a handful of games for the club having made his debut in May 2009.
Young gun: Mark O'Brien has impressed for Derby in defence this season
If he's that good, why hasn't he played more often?
He had a routine heart scan which showed that the young defender had a problem with one of his valves. He had surgery but it kept him out of action for six months.
But he's recovered now?
Yes, he helped the reserve side win the league title last year and stood in for the injured Shaun Barker in August and has impressed as Derby made a good start to the Championship season.
What are his main qualities?
His bravery. He has no qualms about putting his head in places some players wouldn't put their feet. That was also reflected in his comeback from his heart condition. He is also very committed and will do his bit for the Rams' cause.
Guiding hand: Nigel Clough has helped bring O'Brien through at Derby
Is he in the right place to develop his career?
Well his manager, Nigel Clough, was known more for his attacking exploits but he has some experienced defenders around him. Both club captain Barker and vice-captain Jason Shackell play at the back and will guide him this season.
He's also playing in a winning team and if Clough continues his good work, we could be seeing him in the Premier League sooner rather than later.
Are Derby worried about losing him to a bigger club?
Probably, but he signed a new four year deal this month so they would at least be able to command a fee.
When can we expect to see him in an England shirt?
Never, I'm afraid. He was born in the Republic of Ireland and has represented his country at youth level. There might be a chance if he has an English relative mind.
Partners in crime: Jason Shackell has the experience to contrast O'Brien's youth
What else can you tell me about him?
He has a brother, Jamie, who played for Bradford but is now back in Ireland with Longford. Mark was also named Derby's Academy Player of the Year, and Ireland's Under 16 Player of the Year, in 2009.
September 29, 2011 Comments (1) | Permalink
hey my name is padraig and have always wanted to be in the academy at derby i hope if you have any scouts you can come down and watch my team at sinfin moor park on sunday we are called redwwod rockets our kick off is 10 30 this has always been my dream.
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May 29, 2020 12:27PM PT
Coronavirus Shutdowns Caused Record Drop in Consumer Spending in April
By Jennie Bell
Jennie Bell
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A shopper in Bal Harbor, Fla.
CREDIT: Michele Eve Sandberg/Rex Shutterstock
U.S. consumer spending during April fell 13.6%, the steepest monthly decline since the records began in 1959.
According to the Commerce Department, total expenditures during the month — when a majority of the country was still in lockdown due to the coronavirus — were $10.92 trillion. Contributing to the decline was a $943.3 billion decrease in spending for services and a $758.3 billion decrease in spending on goods (mainly for food and beverages).
However, consumers also significantly scaled back their fashion purchases. Spending on clothing and shoes in April plummeted 49% year-over-year, to $208.6 million.
There were glimmers of hope for the economy, though. Notably, personal income rose 10.5%, primarily due to the government stimulus checks and additional unemployment insurance that was distributed as part of the CARES Act.
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The U.S. economy has been in freefall for months, since the COVID-19 virus outbreak forced businesses to shutter and individuals to quarantine in their homes in March and April. More than 40 million Americans have applied for unemployment since the pandemic took hold, and a growing number of retailers and brands have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection or closed their doors permanently.
Throughout May, though, states have begun to loosen their restrictions to varying degrees, prompting a slight uptick in consumer spending. Payments solutions firm Klarna recently reported a 20% rise in average daily transactions for apparel and footwear during the week of April 25 – May 2.
Nevertheless, economists predict the U.S. economy will be slow to recover, even as stores and businesses fully reopen. “The problem is, there are still a lot of people who aren’t comfortable going to bars or restaurants or shopping,” said Amanda Weinstein, a professor of economics at the University of Akron. “If those consumers aren’t comfortable, then they’re not going to do it, whether the economy is open or not. I don’t think we’re going to see a full recovery until consumers can feel completely confident, whether that’s a vaccine or some type of better cure.”
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thegentlemanultra February 11, 2017 Calcio Femminile, Gazzetta
My Aunt Rose Reilly: A World Cup winner with Italy, by Martin Dunlop
“My aunt has won a World Cup final for Italy.”
This can be quite the conversation starter, especially if you’re Scottish!
There aren’t too many footballers from our small nation who have made it big on the Peninsula – but the success of Rose Reilly more than makes up for any shortage.
A number of trophies and framed pictures – usually of Rose being held aloft by jubilant teammates on balmy Italian evenings – in my gran’s living room, are the first recollections I have of my aunt’s football career. Little did I know at the age of five just how successful a career this had been; the presents my two brothers and I received from Italy – most notably three full Napoli kits with Diego Maradona’s iconic Number 10 on the back – were the top priority for three football-mad youngsters at this stage.
Growing up in the small Ayrshire town of Stewarton, Rose had also been a football-mad youngster. Football opportunities for girls being restricted, she played for Stewarton United Boys Club, and her natural ability quickly caught the eye. Her football skills were matched by success on the track and, by her mid-teens, Rose had played for the Scotland women’s football team and been selected for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games squad.
However, football won the day over athletics, and, at the age of 17, Rose decided that she would have to move abroad if she were to have any chance of realising her dream of becoming a professional footballer.
Although she began in France in 1972, winning a league title with Reims, it was in Italy that Rose’s career really kicked-off. She played for AC Milan – where she won her first two Italian league titles between 1973 and 1977 – before going on to have successful spells with Catania, Lecce, Napoli, Fiorentina and Trani women’s teams.
Rose Reilly, second from the right on the back row, pictured for ACF Trani
The women’s game in Italy was attracting bigger crowds than many Scottish top flight teams can boast today, and Rose was the star of the show. A dual passport allowed her to play for the Italian women’s national team, and in 1983, at the peak of her career, Rose captained her adopted nation to World Cup success. (Although the tournament wasn’t officially endorsed by FIFA at this stage, it was still recognised as the pinnacle of the women’s game). She even scored one of the goals as the Azzurri defeated the USA 3-1 in front of 90,000 fans at China’s National Stadium.
In addition to World Cup success, Rose won eight Serie A titles, four Italian Cups and was twice Serie A Golden Boot winner, as well as being voted the world’s best female footballer. Not a bad record for a girl from Stewarton.
Rose is the only female in the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, and a portrait of her hangs in the Scottish Football Museum in Hampden. Indeed, her love for her homeland never diminished throughout her time playing on the peninsula, and she once said there was ‘a Scottish heart beating’ under her Italian jersey. There’s no doubt that her football abilities combined the best qualities of both nations, and she remains a legendary figure for the women’s game. In fact, her achievements recall those of Ireland’s Anne O’Brien – another iconic figure in the women’s game who played with Rose at Reims, and also went on to forge a highly successful career in Italy with the likes of Lazio, Reggiana and Milano 82.
Click the image to read about Anne O’ Brien (right): The Unknown Legend of Calcio
Following the end of a remarkable career, Rose continued to live in Italy for a number of years, which meant more 1990s Italian football kits making their way over to three football-mad boys in Scotland. Inter and Sampdoria jerseys were added to my own collection, while the Gianluca Pagliuca top and Valsport gloves my eldest brother received were the envy of our home town’s goalkeepers’. An Italia 90 Adidas match ball also graced our back garden, which was swallowed up by the giant hedge behind our goalposts, never to be seen again.
But in truth, as beautiful as these iconic items of memorabilia were, they paled in comparison to the pioneering exploits of Rose Reilly; one of Calcio’s most successful foreign imports and a rare Scottish World Cup winner, albeit in the colours of the Azzurri.
Words by Martin Dunlop: @Dunlop85
Martin’s passion for Italian football kicked off with the ‘Notti Magiche’ of Italia ’90 – from Toto Schillachi to Ciao, the mascot. He thinks the San Siro stadium is the finest building in the world!
Posted in Calcio Femminile, Gazzetta and tagged Italy National Team, Rose Reilly. Bookmark the permalink.
Elsie cook on February 12, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Martin…. Rose started her football career at age 9 with Stewarton Ladies FC and played with them from 1963 until 1973 followed by a year with Westthorn Utd before leaving for Reims, then Milan.
professional resume writing service reviews on February 15, 2017 at 8:52 am
I never knew people who play football. My boyfriend is a football player. I consistently go to all of his games to support him. I just think football players are very attractive.
The top 15 Italian club kits of the last 50 years – The Gentleman Ultra on March 9, 2018 at 12:12 pm
[…] I owned. Even more special was the fact that my two brothers and I were gifted the strips by our Aunt Rose Reilly, who was playing professionally in Italy at the […]
The best kits in the last 50 years of Serie A | Football | Best Worldwide News on March 10, 2018 at 8:47 am
[…] kit I owned. Even more special was the fact that my two brothers and I were given the strips by our Aunt Rose Reilly, who was playing professionally in Italy at the […]
The best kits in the last 50 years of Serie A – Planet News on March 10, 2018 at 8:52 am
The best kits in the last 50 years of Serie A | Beezper News on March 15, 2018 at 6:46 pm
[…] we owned. Even some-more special was a fact that my dual brothers and we were given a strips by a Aunt Rose Reilly, who was personification professionally in Italy during a […]
The TGU Interview: Lana Clelland, the latest Scot to take Italy by storm – The Gentleman Ultra on September 26, 2018 at 6:46 am
[…] My Aunt Rose Reilly: A World Cup winner with Italy […]
Classic Match: Lazio vs. Milan 1999/00
Franco Sensi: A life of family, passion and AS Roma
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FUNKYPANCAKE
an eye for the mundane
Dave Simpson Photography
Auckland Street Photography
Recent Photo Shoots
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Posts Tagged ‘jrpg’
Podcast: The History of JRPGs Coming to the West
This week Fred is again solo, but fear not because he will have his faithful companion Jam back for the next episode. This week he’s discussing the origins of the Japanese Role Playing Game or JRPG and the genre’s eventual journey to the West. From humble roots in the early 80s to the powerhouse genres of the 90s, it’s a wild and crazy road.
https://gaminghistory101.podbean.com/mf/play/ytd5qw/041317.mp3
Posted in Gaming History 101, podcast, Season 6 (2017)
Tagged with black onyx, dragon quest, dragon warrior, dungeons & dragons, enix, final fantasy, jrpg, square, square enix
Let’s Talk About Game Length
When I was younger and talked to friends about games I was often asked the question that would come up regularly, “how long is it?” If I followed up, “well, not that long bu…” I would usually have lost their interest and they would dismiss the game entirely despite me possibly recommending the game whole heartily. In this article I wanted to explore the topic of game length and give some personal thoughts.
As I’ve grown older I went through a few phases with my perception of game length. When I was very young without a care in the world and I messed around on the Amstrad and the Mega Drive, I didn’t care diddly squat about game length. I was small and just happy to mess around with this fascinating medium. To quote Dylan Moran from a a episode of the hilarious Black Books TV show, “He looks surprised, all children look surprised, the world is new to them.” This was absolutely me as a youngster everything just amazed me. I wasn’t allowed to play games for extensive lengths of time because my dad did accounts on the Amstrad computer and I was interested in other things like rocks and bugs. When I did game I didn’t care about length, I didn’t care about completing the game I was just having fun. I rarely would finish a game because I was young and pretty dumb, this probably pleased my parents as it meant that they didn’t have to buy a whole lot of new games.
Written by jamalais
Tagged with alien isolation, fallout, final fantasy x, jrpg, resident evil 5, shadow dancer, skyrim, unravel
Break Final Fantasy IV (II in US) on SNES With Newest Patch
One of the most fun things to do in the 16-bit era of JRPGs – although not exclusive to this time period – is break the basic system and do all kinds of ridiculous overpowered feats. Of those, Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II in the US on SNES) had a featured known as the “break damage limit” that forced the game to allow you to dole no more than 9999 points of damage (sounds like a lot of you aren’t a consistent re-player of the game) regardless of combos, leveling, and parties. ROM hacker “chillyfeez” found a hexidecimal code in Final Fantasy II (specifically the North American ROM) that allowed the cap to be raised to 16383 damage. While this is probably no big deal to many of us, Final Fantasy hardcore fans are probably overjoyed with the ability to increase damage and possibly even result in faster speedruns of the game. Either way, if you want the ROM hack, which will work on any emulated or flash cart copy of the original untouched ROM, you can download it here. Thank you Retro Collect for the story.
Tagged with 2, 4, break damage limit, chillyfeez, final fantasy, II, IV, jrpg, rom hack, square
Review: Final Fantasy
Console: NES
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square
Price: $13.49 (used, cart only), $48.50 (used, complete), $288.00 (new)
Additional Releases: MSX2 (Japan only), Wonderswan Color (Japan only), Playstation (Final Fantasy Origins, updated graphics), Gameboy Advance (Dawn of Souls, upgraded with additional dungeons, new translation), PSP (original title, includes Dawn of Souls content with updated visuals and soundtrack)
Digital Release? Wii Virtual Console (NES version, $5), PSOne PSN (Playstation version, $10), PSN (PSP version, $10), iOS/Android/Windows Phone (PSP version, $7)
Similar Titles: Dragon Quest (Warrior) franchise, Phantasy Star franchise, Vay, Ys I & II
If you ask most Americans what the first true console RPG was probably one of the most common responses would be Final Fantasy. Not only is Square’s epic tale of four warriors taking on a timeless being that plans to destroy the world memorable, but it stood well above the competition of the time. The Legend of Zelda may have taken around 10 hours to complete, a size and scope only possible with the ability to save that was unheard of prior, but it was nothing compared to the massive world and 30-50 hours you may spend conquering Final Fantasy. Aside from that, the 1986 Famicom title Dragon Quest (changed to Dragon Warrior in the US for its earlier iterations) had just received a slight upgrade and released to North America in 1989, less than a year before Final Fantasy. It was great but couldn’t compete with a game that was made three years later with the lack of classes, a party system, and various other differences. It should be noted that in Japan Dragon Quest II had already released and Dragon Quest III came out in February 1988, a mere two months after Final Fantasy, which had slowly built up most of the game’s staples such as a party system, exploration, turn based battle system, and both games had similar class systems. That doesn’t mean that Final Fantasy doesn’t have its own identity, it’s far superior in terms of graphics, nothing like the airship showed in the first three Dragon Quest games, and instead of sending you back to town when you die like Dragon Quest you would instead get a game over and go back to where you last saved. Final Fantasy also shipped with a map and huge manual that got players more invested in exploring and completing the campaign, not to mention a cheap and huge Nintendo Power strategy guide that released shortly after. For me, it was the near perfect conversion of the Dungeons & Dragons universe – some of the characters are literally stripped from the Monstrous Manual – and converted it into a single player experience.
Posted in Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, NES, Playstation, PSP, Reviews
Tagged with final fantasy, jrpg, sakaguchi, square, uematsu
Genre Study: Japanese RPGs (JRPGs)
Nowadays when people refer to a “JRPG” it’s either associated with a flood of nostalgic love for a handful of long-running series or a groan as modern Japanese companies try to capture the form of evolution that many game players strive for. This is because modern day JRPGs aren’t a whole lot different from the ones that started life and popularity back in the 16-bit era in Japan and the 32-bit era in America. If you’re not too familiar with or have never played any of these games, modern or classic, you may wonder why games that follow a well-known and successful formula may fail. Sure, gamers’ tastes have changed to a certain extent, but there’s still plenty of us that love to play these classic titles and have no problem sinking tens of hundreds of hours into beating them all over again. Unfortunately for modern titles of this ilk, they suffer from a lack of resources and that personal touch that made the older games so charming. Even when they do, like the recent Wii release The Last Story, these titles still can’t hold a candle to the heavy hitters of history. As a result fans of the genre have pretty much independently decided to freeze this genre, and its subsequent games, in time and appreciate that era as exactly that: a specific time of genre-specific gaming bliss. This makes it difficult for modern gamers trying to break into the genre because the amount of time to complete most games is much lower these days, lack of explanation and exploration are things of the past, and the price tags on the “classics” are either sky high or dirt cheap for the “poor ports.” For that reason, we’ve compiled a basic overview of the genre as a whole, it’s roots, and the factors that make a title considered JRPG. At the end we also suggest a handful of very accessible titles that are good for those starting out, especially with many of the classics porting to handhelds with varying results, and will continue coverage throughout this site.
Posted in Genre Study, Lessons
Tagged with akira toriyama, chrono trigger, dragon quest, dragon warrior, dragonball, earthbound, enix, final fantasy, genesis, jrpg, nes, phantasy star, sakaguchi, snes, square, yuji hori
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WinMX World :: Forum | Discussion | WinMx World News | Supreme Court Asked to Review $222K Landmark File-Sharing Case
Author Topic: Supreme Court Asked to Review $222K Landmark File-Sharing Case (Read 622 times)
silicon_toad2000
WMW Team
Supreme Court Asked to Review $222K Landmark File-Sharing Case
Infamous file-sharer Jammie Thomas-Rasset asked the Supreme Court on Monday to review a jury’s conclusion that she pay the recording industry $222,000 for downloading and sharing two dozen copyrighted songs on the now-defunct file-sharing service Kazaa.
Thomas-Rasset, the first person to defend herself against a Recording Industry Association of America file-sharing case, said the damages were unconstitutionally excessive and were not rationally related to the harm she caused to the music labels.
“Put more plainly: In a civil case, Thomas–Rasset cannot be punished for the harm inflicted on the recording industry by file sharing in general; while that would no doubt help accomplish the industry’s and Congress’s goal of deterring copyright infringement, singling out and punishing an individual in a civil case to a degree entirely out of proportion with her individual offense is not a constitutional means of achieving that goal,” the petition said.
The Supreme Court has never heard an RIAA file-sharing case and has previously declined the two other file-sharing cases brought before it.
Thomas-Rasset’s case concerns an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in September that upheld a jury’s award against Thomas-Rasset. (.pdf)
The case dates back to 2007, and has a tortuous history involving a mistrial and three separate verdicts for the same offense — $222,000, $1.92 million and $1.5 million. Under the case’s latest iteration, a jury last year awarded the RIAA the $1.5 million, which the court reduced to $54,000, ruling that the jury’s award for “stealing 24 songs for personal use is appalling.”
The convoluted decision of the appeals court in September, however, found that the original $222,000 verdict from the first case should stand, and that U.S. District Judge Michael Davis of Minnesota should not have declared a mistrial in the first trial over a flawed jury instruction.
In her appeal to the Supreme Court, Thomas-Rasset argues that the Copyright Act, which allows damages of up to $150,000 per infringement, is unconstitutionally excessive. But the Obama administration, which weighed in on the case when it was in the appellate courts, said the large damages award was allowed because it “is reasonably related to furthering the public interest (.pdf) in protecting original works of artistic literary, and musical expression.”
The only other file-sharer to challenge an RIAA lawsuit at trial was Joel Tenenbaum, a Massachusetts college student, whose case followed Thomas-Rasset’s. The Supreme Court declined, without comment, to hear his case in May, however, letting stand a Boston federal jury’s award of $675,000 against him for sharing 30 songs.
In the third RIAA file-sharing case against an individual to go before the Supreme Court’s justices, the high court declined to review a petition that would have tested the so-called “innocent infringer” defense to copyright infringement.
Generally, an innocent infringer is someone who does not know she or he is committing copyright infringement. Such downloaders get a $200 innocent-infringer fine.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/scotus-thomas-rasset-riaa/
Re: Supreme Court Asked to Review $222K Landmark File-Sharing Case
https://torrentfreak.com/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-in-222000-file-sharing-case-130318/
For close on six years the dizzying file-sharing case of the RIAA vs Jammie Thomas-Rasset has been winding its way back and forth through the U.S. legal system. The U.S. government itself got involved last month, submitting a brief to the Supreme Court asking it to uphold the $220,000 verdict. Today the Court granted that wish with an announcement that it will not hear Thomas-Rasset’s appeal.
The historic case of the world’s largest recording labels versus the Minnesota mother is well known for its tortuous and extended path through the U.S. legal system.
The case first went to trial in 2007 and resulted in a $222,000 award after Thomas-Rasset was found to have illegally shared songs using the now defunct file-sharing system KaZaA.
The judge later admitted to an error in instructions given to the jury and in 2009 the case went to a second trial, ending with the jury awarding the music industry $90,000 per song shared, a total of $1.92 million.
Thomas-Rasset appealed again, stating that the damages awarded were excessive. The judge responded by dropping the award to $54,000 ($2,250 per song) and offered yet another trial to deal with the issue of damages.
In 2010 that resulted in an award to the recording labels of $1.5 million. It was later reduced to $54,000 again.
Two years later in September 2012 the appeals court reinstated the $222,000 verdict of 2007, deciding that the amount was not unconstitutional. Refusing to admit defeat, December last year Thomas-Rasset said she would take her case to the Supreme Court in an attempt to get the “excessive” damages overturned.
But in a further setback, last month she discovered that her severe punishment would be backed by none other than the United States government.
In a brief submitted by the Obama administration the government backed the RIAA and asked the Supreme Court to keep the $222,000 intact.
“An award of statutory damages under the Copyright Act does not simply redress a private injury, but also serves to vindicate an important public interest,” the brief read.
“That public interest cannot be realized if the inherent difficulty of proving actual damages leaves the copyright holder without an effective remedy for infringement or precludes an effective means of deterring further copyright violations,” it added.
The Supreme Court went away to consider its options and a few minutes ago delivered its decision. In a government and RIAA-pleasing announcement the Court revealed it will not hear Thomas-Rasset’s appeal.
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HomeShocking Labour ‘Win’ Shakes Up British Jews
Shocking Labour ‘Win’ Shakes Up British Jews
Michael HeckleJune 9, 2017Image by Getty Images
After a tumultuous election night in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party suffered a crushing blow at the hands of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, losing its majority in Parliament. The surprising shift in the British political landscape leaves the country with no clear majority party.
While May expressed plans to stay in power and create a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, her unexpected defeat leaves many Britons wondering what’s next for the country. With accusations of anti-Semitism leveled at the newly rejuvenated Labor Party leader, that question is of particular interest to Britain’s Jewish population.
‘Anti-Semitic’ British Campaign Poster Shows Theresa May With Star Of David Earrings
Aiden PinkJune 6, 2017
Robert Philpot, The Times of Israel, ‘Corbyn surge’ in London faltered in ‘Bagel Belt’ suburbs with strong Jewish vote’
“Given the closeness of the result, Jewish voters, who are concentrated in a small number of highly marginal seats, may potentially have helped preserve May’s premiership.”
Philpot argues that while young Britons widely supported the Labour Party, young Jews seem to be the exception. With less than a quarter of Jews ages 18 to 34 planning to vote Labour just days before the election, according to polls, the party was able to reduce Tory majorities in heavily Jewish North London but failed to win them over. This, along with Corbyn’s difficult relationship with Jewish communities, may have helped a battered May retain her position.
Stephen Pollard, The Jewish Chronicle, ‘Mrs May will be in office but not in power’
“What we know now is that [May] offers precisely nothing as a leader, either to the Tories or the country. It seems as though she will be hanging on as leader, but be clear why: because the timing of the Brexit talks means senior Tories don’t think it wise to plunge the party into another leadership election – for the moment. They do want stability (no, that’s not meant as a joke).”
If there is one thing Pollard urges his Tory readership to show, it’s humility. While Pollard himself expressed confusion and horror as to why so many of his countrymen voted for the “toxic” Corbyn, he places much of the blame on the Conservative’s “rubbish” campaign. Pollard accuses May of gambling the country’s future on the hopes of strengthening her own position. That decision has left her with nothing to offer as a leader.
Does Jeremy Corbyn Deserve Jewish Support In Britain’s Election?
Steven DavidsonJune 5, 2017
Mike Freer, Conservative MP, Tory Mike Freer says Labour’s anti-semitism problem helped get him over the line
“Clearly Labour’s problem with anti-semitism would have weighed heavily on (Jewish people’s) minds. In terms of what we’re feeling the Jewish community have stuck with me and got us over the line.”
Freer, a Conservative MP who was able to retain his seat, told The Jewish Chronicle that it was the Labour’s anti-Semitic reputation that may have helped his return to Parliament. He acknowledged his disappointment, however, as his party failed to win a majority, but he say’s it’s too soon to really tell what went wrong.
Jonathan Arkush, president of Board of Deputies, Jewish leader: Election result a ‘loss’ for community, and Israel
“If the governing party, which is a strong supporter of Israel, loses so much ground, then of course it has to be something of a loss for Israel and the Jewish community.”
Arkush, a leader in Britain’s Jewish communities, told The Times of Israel he believes the results of the election to be a loss for British Jews and for Israel. He argues that the Labour party, while supportive of pro-Israel and a two-state solution policies, contains a far-left faction that is far less sympathetic of Israeli concerns. Arkush also believes that an air of anti-semitism still lingers around the party itself.
British Jews React To Shocking Labour Gains
Britian
Michael Heckle
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Amazon expands IP Accelerator to Europe after US SMBs register 6,000 trademarks
As we head into the biggest shopping period of the year — which this year may well have an even stronger online component than usual because of Covid-19 — Amazon has launched its latest effort to combat the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.
The e-commerce giant today announced that its free IP Accelerator in now live in Europe — specifically France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and the United Kingdom — to help SMBs selling on Amazon obtain trademarks on their intellectual property, protect their brands and tackle the sale of counterfeit goods, connecting companies with recommended legal firms to carry out work. Joining the IP Accelerator is free, while the legal aid is provided as “low-cost assistance”, with those costs coming in the form of “competitive, pre-negotiated rates,” Amazon said.
The European launch — in Amazon’s six biggest markets in Europe, covering more than 150,000 small and medium businesses selling on Amazon’s platform, which account for more than half the products sold in the region — comes just over a year after Amazon kicked off an IP Accelerator in the U.S., in October 2019.
Amazon today said that the U.S. effort has so far yielded 6,000 trademark applications submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office by SMBs working through the program.
Amazon has long struggled with counterfeit and other illicit items sold through its marketplace — which brings in third-party sellers and is built on the very concept of economies of scale, offering a vast array of choices to shoppers, and the IP Accelerator comes on the heels of a lot of other proactive efforts to battle the situation.
They have included Amazon filing a number of lawsuits — both on its own and in partnership with others, and most recently, just this month, being the plaintiff in a case that interestingly extended outside its own platform to target online influencers.
It also has built a lot of technology also to help track and spot illicit goods.
And it’s working with government authorities, most recently in an initiative to halt the import of counterfeit inventory before it gets sold or delivered to buyers.
It’s a Sisyphean task in some regards: Amazon’s growth means more sellers, and more goods to triage, and more chances for dodgy items. But it’s one that is very much in Amazon’s interest to get right: if it can’t protect IP, the best brands will stay away, and consumers will start to lose confidence in the platform, too.
That’s where initiatives like the IP Accelerator come in, where the idea is that it gives sellers who are smaller more direct control over their own brand destinies. The focus on SMBs is very specific and not just because of their collective selling power on Amazon. They are most often not in full possession of their legal options, and perhaps also worried about the costs of getting involved in trademarking, with a recent report from the European Intellectual Property Office finding that just 9% of SMBs have registered IP rights, versus 36% of larger companies.
“We know from our conversations with small business owners that there is often confusion about why IP rights are important and how sellers can secure them,” said Francois Saugier, Vice President for EU Seller Services, Amazon, in a statement. “As part of our broader commitment to supporting small businesses, we have set up IP Accelerator to make the IP registration process as easy and as affordable as possible for entrepreneurs in the early days of their businesses.”
In addition to legal assistance, SMBs in the program can join the Amazon’s Brand Registry, which currently covers some 350,000 brands and gives them ways to manage and track their brands, using automated algorithms built by Amazon to proactively track for potential copycats and other trademark criminals.
The business of providing services to SMBs on the platform is an interesting one.
We’ve seen a number of startups emerge in recent times that are looking to acquire and roll up the best of the SMBs that sell on Amazon with big ambitions of their own.
Their plans are to use economies of scale to run these businesses better, with better supply-chain management, marketing, IP control and more. That strategy is predicated on the fact that those small businesses are finding it a challenge to take their enterprises to the next level on their own.
In that regard, Amazon’s IP Accelerator potentially gives those smaller sellers another helping hand to stay independent.
“Great ideas are the core of every good business. Turning those ideas into a reality relies on IP,” said Pippa Hall, director of Innovation and Chief Economist at the UK’s Intellectual Property Office, said in a statement. “Understanding, protecting and getting the most out of your IP is a crucial ingredient of success. A good IP strategy should sit at the heart of every good business plan.”
Nearshore Outsourcing Is Up During Covid-19. Here’s Why.
How to make the next election even more secure
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Home News Royal Palm Plans Park Improvements
Royal Palm Plans Park Improvements
Ron Bukley
Royal Palm Beach Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio reported on planned recreational capital improvements at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Advisory Board meeting Monday.
He listed the 3-acre Lindsay Ewing Park on Linnet Lane as one of the larger improvements. The $200,000 project is scheduled for next year.
“We’re looking at the perimeter, replacing the fencing and putting in a walkway so folks can walk, and it’ll tie in with the rest of village hall,” he said, noting that the project also puts in a new playscape.
Two other playscapes are also budgeted, at a cost of $200,000.
“I’m going to recommend a change here,” Recchio said. “We’ve been on a replacement schedule where we replace our playscapes as needed. We just did Willows Park. We are getting ready to do Todd Robiner Park, and after that, I think the rest of our playscapes are in pretty good shape.”
In 2013, Recchio said that he would like to add a playscape at Crestwood Park on Pinewood Blvd. “Right now it’s comprised of a dog park, two 32-foot picnic pavilions, two basketball courts, it has a paved walking/jogging trail and it’s like an open field, so if you want to go out and throw a Frisbee, kick a ball around, you can do it with no issues,” he said. “But there’s nothing there for the kids. I think [a playscape] would serve that part of the community well.”
There are also plans to replace the kitchen equipment and bathrooms at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center at a cost of $150,000. “Between the Cultural Center and the Recreation Center, these buildings are quite old,” Recchio said. “We’re looking at upward of 20 years now, and the kitchen has never been renovated or worked on. The bathrooms really need to be retiled and given a good facelift.”
The building is used not only for a rental facility at night, but as a senior center during the day. “There is a lot going on inside the kitchen, and there’s a lot more traffic in there than we’ve had before,” he said. “It really needs it. It’s starting to show its age.”
Also on the plan are improvements to Field 5 at Willows Park at a cost of $350,000. “We’ve applied for a $200,000 grant,” Recchio said. “We should hear a yea or nay on that sometime in July… We should be able to start that just in time for our new budget year.”
There are also plans to buy two trucks for $60,000 and two mowers at a cost of $16,000.
“We visit that every year, and if the trucks seem to be fine, that will not take place this year. Same thing with the mowers, but the mowers are run so much every year that replacing two mowers a year is pretty much the norm,” he said. “They literally get worn out.”
Recchio stressed that because an item is on the capital projects list at a certain time doesn’t always mean it’s going to happen then. “Funding always changes,” he said.
The board also welcomed Councilman Fred Pinto as its new liaison, and Felicia Matula was elected the board’s chair.
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Village Of Wellington Salutes Youth Council Members
Wellington Marks 25th Anniversary
No Municipal Election This Year In RPB
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Australia, Halal Trade, Islamic Economy, Middle East & Africa, Oceania, Research, Trade Events, Trends
Dubai Exports and Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre Lead Islamic Economy Trade Mission to Australia
Posted on 04/10/2017 by salama
In line with its mandate to position Dubai as the global capital of Islamic Economy, the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) in partnership with Dubai Exports, the export promotion agency of Dubai Economy, recently led a multi-sector trade mission to Australia.
The aim of the high level and diverse group was to capitalise on the opportunities that exist in the Islamic Economy sector, which has grown beyond halal food to include a whole spectrum of activities from food and beverage to shari’a compliance and halal tourism, charitable acts and the fashion and design. The diversity of the Islamic Economy was represented in its entirety within the delegation.
Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Exports
Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports, commented: “The modern Muslim consumer is very different from that of just a generation ago. They are educated, well connected to the global marketplace, and rely heavily on the internet and social media. Various surveys have shown that this consumer segment wants the benefits of modernity within an Islamic framework and there has been a huge growth in modest fashion, Islamic design, halal tourism and charitable giving.”
Al Awadi added that the buyers of halal or shari’a compliant goods and services were not only Muslims but also those looking for ethical and wholesome products and services. “This implies that the potential market for Islamic economy is well above the current estimates of over AED 22 trillion (US$6 trillion).”
Speaking on the mission, Abdulla Al Awar, CEO of DIEDC, said such initiatives are extremely important to create an awareness of Dubai and its goal to become the epicentre of the global Islamic Economy as well as to develop linkages between private and public sector entities in Australia with their counterparts in Dubai.
“Farm production in Australia is worth over AED178 billion (US$48.7 billion) and when one adds value-adding processes that food and fibre go through after leaving the farm, it goes up to AED 569 billion. For a country of 24 million people it’s not surprising that two-thirds of agricultural production is exported. The Islamic dollar is becoming important as a consumer and investor and this naturally implies that DIEDC needs to work with producer nations as well as consumer markets,” said Al Awar.
According to Thomson Reuters the halal sector is fast emerging as one of the most profitable and influential areas in the world food business. The halal food market has grown strongly over the past decade and is now worth an estimated US$1 billion (AED 3.67 billion). Australia is the largest supplier of red meat to the UAE from there it is re-exported into the wider region.
Halal tourism has grown by 20% in recent years, expanding beyond haj and umrah. The Islamic dollar now demands that holiday spending should be at its terms and not on conventional basis.
An important part of the trade mission was the Islamic Economy seminar with eminent speakers including the Honourable Bob Carr who was the former Australian Foreign Minister. Carr spoke of the strong and historical relations between the UAE and Australia and how these relations are strengthened through trade. Trade becomes the enabler for many other areas such as creativity and innovation, said Carr.
The aim of the seminar was to showcase the expertise of Dubai’s private and public sector. The seminar also sought to identify megatrends expected to unfurl over the next five to 10 years within the Islamic Economy.
UAE: Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre…
Mohammed bin Rashid issues Decree on Dubai Islamic…
This entry was posted in Australia, Halal Trade, Islamic Economy, Middle East & Africa, Oceania, Research, Trade Events, Trends and tagged DIEDC, Dubai Exports, Halal trade, UAE Australia visit.
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Southern Pines National Register District Survey Update
The Town of Southern Pines, North Carolina was incorporated in 1887 and grew at a phenomenal rate through the early twentieth century. Its moderate climate and recreational opportunities made it a destination of choice for vacationers from the north, many of whom built substantial homes in the town.
In 1981 the town’s architectural assets were surveyed. A subset of the historic resources were more systematically surveyed in 1991 and in 1992, the Southern Pines Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2009, the town hired Hanbury Preservation Consulting to re-survey the National Register historic district. This effort involved
evaluating existing data both at the town and the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO),
re-surveying the entire district, and
preparing new survey data that reflects the changes in the district since 1991.
A key aspect of this project was creating new digital data for the town and the HPO. Previous records had been paper files and conventional photographs. New data included digital photos, GIS based mapping and the compilation of all survey data into a digital database.
The new format will allow for easier access to data and the capacity to generate customized queries and reports to analyze survey data quickly. This updated survey data may support re-evaluation of the existing district’s boundaries and period of significance and could serve as the basis for new or expanded local historic districts.
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Home Filmstars Female Jessica De Gouw Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
Jessica De Gouw Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
Jessica De Gouw Quick Info
Date of Birth February 15, 1988
Jessica De Gouw is an Australian actress and writer who has gained popularity with her roles such as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress in Arrow, Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray in Dracula, Elizabeth Hawkes in Underground, and Meghan in The Secrets She Keeps. In addition to that, she has appeared in many other on-screen projects including The Last Tycoon, The Crown, Gretel & Hansel, Kath & Kimderella, These Final Hours, and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.
Jessica Elise De Gouw
Jessica De Gouw as seen while clicking a selfie in December 2019 (Jessica De Gouw / Instagram)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Jessica De Gouw studied at Lesmurdie Senior High School which is a public co-educational high day school in Perth. Later, she attended Curtin University and majored in performance studies.
Actress, Writer
Sibling – Chelsea de Gouw (Sister)
Jessica De Gouw is represented by RGM Artist Group, Talent Agency, Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia.
Jessica De Gouw (Left) smiling for a picture alongside Chelsea de Gouw (Jessica De Gouw / Instagram)
Jessica De Gouw has dated –
Oliver Jackson-Cohen (2013-Present) – She started dating English actor and model Oliver Jackson-Cohen in 2013 after the duo had co-starred in Dracula.
Jessica De Gouw is of Dutch descent.
Chiseled facial features
Jessica De Gouw as seen while taking a mirror selfie in November 2019 (Jessica De Gouw / Instagram)
Jessica De Gouw Facts
She spent her childhood years growing up in Lesmurdie which is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
She made her first theatrical film appearance by playing the role of Isabella in the 2012 Australian film, Kath & Kimderella, starring Jane Turner, Gina Riley, Richard E. Grant, and others.
Jessica De Gouw served as a writer for the short drama film titled By Shank’s Pony in 2012.
She co-starred as Zoe in the 2013 apocalyptic thriller film, These Final Hours.
From 2013 to 2014, she brought to life the character of Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray, a medical student and the reincarnation of Dracula’s long-dead wife, in the British-American horror drama television series, Dracula, in which she co-starred alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Thomas Kretschmann, Victoria Smurfit, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Nonso Anozie, and Katie McGrath.
Jessica De Gouw co-starred as Elizabeth Hawkes, a socialite with abolitionist ideal, in the American television period drama series, Underground, in 2016. The show’s lead cast also included actors like Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Aldis Hodge.
In the year 2020, she started appearing as Meghan O’Shaughnessy in the psychological thriller drama television series, The Secrets She Keeps.
She has revealed that she has a very real, irrational fear of zombies.
Regarding her acting career, Jessica De Gouw once said, “I think it’s such a beautiful thing about being an actor – you have the opportunity to throw yourself into a different world, a different time and a different place.”
Featured Image by Jessica De Gouw / Instagram
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Ma Qinghua Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
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Andhra Pradesh IT and E-commerce giant Amazon Partnership Program – Minister M Goutham Reddy
by Team - Hello Vizag July 30, 2020, 7:19 pm
Andhra Pradesh IT and Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said that the state government is working towards the aim of keeping the state at the forefront of technology. The minister on Thursday held a videoconference meeting with the representatives of e-commerce giant Amazon. During the meeting, the scope and possibilities of Amazon’s partnership in areas of skills, startup, machine learning, data security, data science, Internet, work from home and sensor-based technologies were discussed.
Speaking on this occasion, the minister said, “we are forging ahead to accomplish our objective to keep the state at the forefront of technology in the next three years. The state government is also moving forward with the aim of ensuring women empowerment. It is our Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dream to transform women into entrepreneurs in the state.”
Stating that women who are involved in making handicrafts, manufacturing dolls and other products would be encouraged, he said that the government would be supportive in all aspects of marketing, training, promotion and sale of goods.
The minister said that the government is committed to implementing innovative ideas in the administration and also expanding services pertaining to the administration through Information Technology (IT). The government is taking steps to reach out to the masses with innovative ideas and new technology, he added.
Stating that there is a chance for an unexpected development with minor reforms, he said that the fundamental rights of the people will be further fulfilled by forging partnerships with ISB and Amazon.
CLICK HERE !! To be found on google search engine.
AmazonAndhra PradeshE-commerceIT MinisterM Goutham ReddyPartnership Program
Top 25 Classic Novels that are a Must Read for everyone
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A few details about Rafale fighter jet
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CD: Early Western Travels, 1748-1846: Volume XXIX, Part II of Farnham’s Travels in the Great Western Prairies, etc., October 21-December 4, 1839; and De Smet’s Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-1846
CD: Early Western Travels, 1748-1846: Volume XXIX, Part II of Farnham’s Travels in the Great Western Prairies, etc., October 21-December 4, 1839; and De Smet’s Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-1846 - Reuben Gold Thwaites. Thomas Jefferson Farnham, the captain of a small band of nineteen adventurers, set forth from Independence, Missouri to seek the Western prairies, to take possession of the territory of Oregon for the American flag, and to aid in resisting the British fur-trade monopoly. The adventurers followed the Santa Fe Trail, which was infinitely more difficult and dangerous, rather than the Oregon Trail. Although all but four of his fellow adventurers had deserted him, Farnham managed to find a competent guide to steer them across the Colorado Mountains and eventually arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters at Fort Vancouver, minus two more of his company. His account of this journey comprises Volume XXVIII. Volume XXIX follows his exploration of the settled portion of the country. After a brief sojourn, he left Oregon on the Hudson's Bay Company's vessel bound for Hawaii, and then took passage for the coast of California, journeyed across Mexico to New Orleans, finally arriving home to Illinois. The value of his writing lies in his detailed descriptions of his journey: his vivid portrayal of the Colorado mountain valleys, streams, and ranges; the fertility of the great parks; and the resources and geography of the area. He made his readers realize the hardy endurance needed for such a journey. Volume XXIX also includes the experiences of Father Pierre Jean de Smet as he made the rounds of his Oregon missions, going to Vancouver and the Willamette, back across the Spokane plains to the Coeur D'Alene mission, and finally to St. Mary's. He also successfully established an alliance between the Flathead and the Blackfeet Indians, and between two warring bands of Blood and Piegan Indians. Even though he never returned as a missionary to the mountain tribes, the United States government requested his assistance in important Indian negotiations.
(1906), 2007, CD, Graphic Images, Searchable, Adobe, v6, PC and Mac, 424 pp.
101-CD4406 ISBN: 0788444069
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A tour of the Scottish Parliament
December 18, 2017 Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter77 Comments
A couple of Saturdays ago I fulfilled an ambition to tour the Scottish Parliament building – it’s been open since 2004, so I’m not really slow, am I? The building has always been controversial – it was late, over-budget and not everyone likes the design – but I felt I understood it much better after listening to our excellent tour guide, Adrienne. The Parliament is at Holyrood at the bottom of Canongate, the lower part of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile which is the medieval heart of the city. According to its website:
Drawing inspiration from the surrounding landscape, the flower paintings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the upturned boats on the seashore, Enric Miralles, one of the world’s premier architects, developed a design that he said was a building “growing out of the land”.
Miralles also alludes to themes of openness and democracy and includes symbols of Scotland. The Main Hall, for example, is modelled on medieval vaults and features the Saltire cross from Scotland’s flag. Here, there is a Visitor Information Centre, exhibition, shop, café and crèche for visitors’ children.
Scottish Parliament Main Hall
Throughout, there are various works of art. Shown below are Contemplace by George Wyllie, the artist’s idea for a Scottish Throne, including the Stone of Destiny and references to Mackintosh, and a head of Robert Burns made of match heads by David Mach.
Contemplace by George Wyllie
Robert Burns by David Mach
Travelling the Distance by Shauna McMullan is a collection of 100 handwritten sentences made of porcelain. The sentences were collected by the artist on a journey around Scotland to meet 100 women. Each of the 100 women was asked to write something about a woman they felt had made a significant contribution to Scotland. The artist asked each woman to refer her to another woman until she reached 100. We saw the parliament’s mace when we were in the Debating Chamber, but no photographs were allowed – the picture from the Visitor Centre, below, replicates the head, though the original, crafted in silver and gold by Michael Lloyd, was much more splendid.
Travelling the Distance by Shauna McMullan
Replica of Mace by Michale Lloyd
It was a great thrill to step into the Debating Chamber having seen it so many times on TV. As I said, no photographs were allowed while on the tour, but we were able to go back to the Visitors’ Gallery later and take pictures from there. The Chamber is built in a semi-circle so that everyone is facing the Presiding Officer (rather than opposing politicians) and has a modern electronic voting system. I feel the archaic UK parliament at Westminster should learn lessons from this!
Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber
Throughout the Chamber, on the light fittings and in the glass, were symbols which we guessed to be whisky bottles, but apparently are stylised people, presumably to remind Members to whom they are responsible – us.
People symbols
Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber lights
The chairs in the Visitors’ Gallery were rather an odd shape, but surprisingly comfortable – and the view behind was terrific.
After our tour, we had lunch in the café before heading back into the cold. On the way out, I picked up a leaflet about Canongate which I’ve walked up and down many times, but following this map took us into some of the closes on either side and we learned some interesting history. That’s for a later post: for now, I’ll finish with some exterior shots of the parliament from Canongate.
Exit onto Horse Wynd
Scottish Parliament exterior
Scottish Parliament from Canongate
The Scottish Parliament website has information on how to book tours. I found this general tour fascinating and I hope to go back to take a more specialised tour soon – maybe literature or art.
Scotland, UKEdinburgh, Scottish Parliament
Gallivanting at home and abroad. Words by me, photos (mainly) by him.
Fife Coastal Path: Cellardyke to Crail
Fife Coastal Path: Cellardyke to St Monans
Glasgow Gallivanting: December 2020
Advent Day 24: Welcome to the party, pal!
Advent Day 23: Silent Night
Categories Select Category Australia (6) New South Wales (2) Queensland (6) Awards and Challenges (70) A to Z Challenge 2014 (30) A to Z Challenge 2015 (28) Belgium (6) Bermuda (7) Books and Libraries (13) Canada (40) Alberta (18) British Columbia (2) Nova Scotia (8) Ontario (8) Prince Edward Island (2) Quebec (2) China (14) Macau (1) Tibet (7) Cuba (1) Ecuador (5) Germany (8) Guest posts (2) Hungary (9) Ireland (5) Italy (4) Laos (2) Malaysia (1) Nepal (2) Netherlands (20) People (19) Bloggers (6) Family history (9) Historic figures (4) Musicians (1) Spain (1) Thailand (1) UK (504) England (51) Scotland (455) USA (86) Alaska (1) Arizona (8) Colorado (8) District of Columbia (1) Georgia (9) Idaho (2) Maine (4) Maryland (1) Massachusetts (2) Montana (5) Nevada (1) New Hampshire (2) New York (1) North Carolina (5) South Carolina (3) Tennessee (1) Utah (9) Vermont (2) Virginia (10) West Virginia (5) Wyoming (16)
Archives Select Month January 2021 (2) December 2020 (25) November 2020 (5) October 2020 (4) September 2020 (5) August 2020 (8) July 2020 (9) June 2020 (9) May 2020 (9) April 2020 (30) March 2020 (5) February 2020 (4) January 2020 (31) December 2019 (3) November 2019 (4) October 2019 (5) September 2019 (5) August 2019 (4) July 2019 (5) June 2019 (4) May 2019 (4) April 2019 (5) March 2019 (5) February 2019 (5) January 2019 (6) December 2018 (4) November 2018 (2) October 2018 (9) September 2018 (9) August 2018 (4) July 2018 (5) June 2018 (7) May 2018 (4) April 2018 (5) March 2018 (5) February 2018 (4) January 2018 (5) December 2017 (5) November 2017 (4) October 2017 (5) September 2017 (4) August 2017 (5) July 2017 (5) June 2017 (4) May 2017 (5) April 2017 (4) March 2017 (5) February 2017 (5) January 2017 (5) December 2016 (5) November 2016 (5) October 2016 (7) September 2016 (5) August 2016 (7) July 2016 (7) June 2016 (6) May 2016 (8) April 2016 (4) March 2016 (9) February 2016 (10) January 2016 (12) December 2015 (6) November 2015 (8) October 2015 (9) September 2015 (10) August 2015 (9) July 2015 (8) June 2015 (6) May 2015 (14) April 2015 (27) March 2015 (15) February 2015 (1) January 2015 (9) November 2014 (2) October 2014 (9) September 2014 (11) August 2014 (7) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (9) April 2014 (29) March 2014 (6) February 2014 (7) January 2014 (5) October 2013 (2) September 2013 (5) August 2013 (2) July 2013 (7) June 2013 (2) May 2013 (2) April 2013 (4) March 2013 (3) February 2013 (1) January 2013 (4) December 2012 (5) November 2012 (2) September 2012 (7) August 2012 (6) July 2012 (8) June 2012 (5) May 2012 (4) April 2012 (4) March 2012 (7) February 2012 (5) January 2012 (2) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (2) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (4) August 2011 (7) July 2011 (16)
Advent Amsterdam Annual Review Art galleries Awards and Challenges Bench Series Berlin Berwickshire Budapest Canadian Rockies Castles Charles Rennie Mackintosh Cornwall Cumbria Dumfries and Galloway Dundee Edinburgh Forth and Clyde Canal Gallivanting Gardens Glasgow Glasgow Botanic Gardens Glasgow Women's Library Hebridean Hop Hebrides Historic Scotland Inner Hebrides Islay JanuaryLight Jo's Monday walk Lake District Leonard Cohen Libraries Lighthouses Maryhill Museums New England Orkney Outer Hebrides Perthshire Restaurants River Clyde Scotstoun Scottish words Sculpture SquareTops Street art Waterfalls Western Isles Women's history
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Tim Shaw was born on December 25, 1959 and has three degrees in glassblowing. After attaining his BA (Hons) from North Staffordshire Polytechnic in the UK in 1983, he went on to study at the avant-garde Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam where he continued to develop and experiment creating a unique style of art glass. In the mid 1980s, he established a glass workshop in the Crystal Palace area of London where he continued his artistic practice. His creative talent was recognized by his peers and he was invited to undertake his second MA at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London, where he further refined and honed his glassmaking skills while pushing the boundaries of his artistic expression. At the moment Tim continues to produce his artwork at his own studio in Adelide.
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Global Women's History
BE INSPIRED. MAKE HISTORY.
Alison Hargreaves becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of Sherpas.
Alison Jane Hargreaves was a British mountain climber. Her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest alone, without supplementary oxygen or support from a Sherpa team, in 1995.
Alison Hargreaves – British Mountaineer – Associated Links:
Alison Hargreaves | Britannica.com: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alison-Hargreaves
Alison Hargreaves Biography | Everest.com: http://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/alisonhargreaves.htm
“Top of the World: When Highlands climber Alison Hargreaves made history on Everest” | BBC Scotland: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1r42F2Sy0M9dPhBrfkfGX0H/top-of-the-world-when-highlands-climber-alison-hargreaves-made-history-on-everest
“Historical Badass: Mountaineer Alison Hargreaves” | Adventure Journal: https://www.adventure-journal.com/2017/01/historical-badass-mountaineer-alison-hargreaves/
“Climbing: The Last Ascent of Alison Hargreaves” | Outside Online: https://www.outsideonline.com/1830051/climbing-last-ascent-alison-hargreaves
“Overlooked No More: Alison Hargreaves, Who Conquered Everest Solo and Without Bottled Oxygen” | The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/overlooked-alison-hargreaves.html
Link to Photo Credit: Alison Hargreaves
By Sophisticate In the Suburbs™
1990s, 20th Century, May, May 13, Women in Sports
Marla Lee Runyan American professional track and field athlete who is legally blind is born.
Stacey Yvonne Abrams American Georgia Democrat politician is born.
Alaska Native civil rights champion Elizabeth Peratrovich, who played an instrumental role in the 1945 passage of the first anti-discrimination law in the United States was born
Cicely Tyson American award winning actress and former fashion model is born.
Mamie Smith the first Black artist to make vocal blues recordings was born.
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey blues singer is born.
Margaret Atwood Canadian poet and novelist is born.
Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink the first Asian American Woman elected to Congress was born.
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Everything you need to live well
Major Events That Shook 2020
By The Guardian Life 27 December 2020 | 6:29 am
2020 is a year many would not forget for a long time to come. The year has been heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic amongst other events which has impacted the lives of millions around the world.
We have curated a list of events that shook 2020 both around the globe and in Nigeria:
Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna | – Getty Images
At the start of the year, death came knocking on the doors of football legend, Kobe Bryant who was killed alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna and other seven victims in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Southern California. Kobe was a generational leader who received his flowers while living and even after his death. Immediately the news filtered through the airwaves, Staples Centre which coincidentally was host to the Grammy Awards on that day, saw an influx of flowers- yellow and purple.
Kobe was not just your regular player. The 41-year-old had in his portfolio: 5 NBA championship titles, was a two-time NBA Finals MVP twice, Olympic gold medalist, an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and a 12-time All-Defense Team member. In an iconical move, he is the only player to have two both jersey numbers retired for the same team.
In 2013, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Nigeria’s Opal Tometi started a movement called the #Black Lives Matter on the shoulders of the death of Trayvon Benjamin Martin. This revolutionary movement will become in 2020, one of the largest movements in US history with an estimated 15 million to 26 million people, taking to the streets to say enough of systemic racism, the illusion of freedom and will also start an active conversation about the equality of races.
In 2020, “I Can’t Breathe”, was the phrase used by African American, George Floyd, before his murder by the police force. A recording revealed that he told the officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes,“I can’t breathe” several times. His phrase, “I Can’t Breathe” will become the anthem for the #blacklivesmatter protest which would also cause a chain reaction around the world with an average of 140 demonstrations per day.
The coronavirus pandemic – which is still ongoing at the time of this writing – is unarguably the biggest happening of 2020.
It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020. As of 22 December 2020, more than 77.3 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 1.7 million deaths attributed to COVID-19
President Muhammadu Buhari wearing face mask | Photo – Bayo Omoboriowo
The pandemic has caused global social and economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression. It has led to the postponement or cancellation of events, widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying, agricultural disruption and food shortages, and decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.
However, the world is seeing for the first time, the health practises of individuals put to test.
Interestingly, in Africa, the case has not been the same. With the least amounts of recorded deaths, not many have taken the pandemic seriously. In Nigeria, for instance, despite the cautionary methods put in place, Nigerians are treating with laxity, the virus.
And just when Nigerians thought that the virus expires on the 31st of December, a new variant that the UK authorities have described as “out of control” is mutating and fast. Sadly, research is still ongoing as to the extent of immunity. On the other hand, countries have begun placing a ban on flight coming in from the UK. Nigeria has since joined in imposing COVID-19 restrictions but the question remains: what are the plans to help cushion the pandemic?
The future of the country may not lie in the hands of the younger generation in Nigerian public tertiary institutions. Why? The older generation is yet to realise that the success and longevity of the country rests in the hands of the younger ones and education is one of the solid foundations upon which this is built.
December officially makes it 51 months out of 11 years that the ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) has gone on strike due to the successive governments’ inability to improve on the educational system and meet their demands for “Funding for Revitalization of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, Visitation panels to universities and renegotiation of 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.”
As the government and ASUU fail to reach a compromise, the union has advised students to acquire skills, travel and have fun. Meanwhile, the government has argued that they have fulfilled and is allotting N70m for the revitalisation of universities.
Hushpuppi’s Arrest
One of Nigeria’s Instagram celebrities, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas aka “Hushpuppi, was arrested alongside 12 others by the Dubai Police Force in a special operation tagged “Fox Hunt 2.” After six raids, the suspects were caught while asleep in a viral video. The police found over $40 million in cash, 13 automobiles worth $6.8 million, 47 smartphones, hard disks and about 2 million emails of victims.
Although the source of his wealth was sometimes questioned by inquisitive Nigerians, the social media celebrity was a source of inspiration to his 2 million influencers. Besides having luxury cars, using private jets, and exclusive designer pieces, he received praises from international football stars and was friends with some Nigerian politicians.
Hushpuppi was identified as one of the brains behind the Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, hacking corporate emails, redirecting financial transfers and stealing bank details.
Before his arrest, the former second-hand clothes trader in Lagos conspired to launder funds worth $14.7 Million cyber-heist from a foreign financial services firm. United States authorities also said an English Premier League club was among the victims he conspired to defraud.
He has since been extradited to the US, where he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years if found guilty.
Chadwick Aaron Boseman
Marvel Studios announced on Thursday that filming had begun on its latest superhero epic which for the first time will feature a black actor, Chadwick Boseman, in the titular role.
The death of Chadwick Boseman, best known for playing the superhero Black Panther, came as a shock to the world.
Boseman’s role as T’Challa / Black Panther earned him a spot on the 2018 Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people.
Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, which eventually progressed to stage IV before 2020. Boseman died at his home as a result of complications related to colon cancer on August 28, 2020, with his wife and family by his side.
On August 29, 2020, the day after Boseman died, the tweet in which his family announced his death on his Twitter account became the most-liked tweet ever, with more than 6 million likes in under 24 hours, and accumulating over 7 million by August 31.
EndSARS protests| Photo. Credit @_thegramboii
Exactly 12 years before the commencement of the #EndSARS protests that culminated into an international cry and movement against police brutality and injustice in Nigeria, Modebayo Awosika was driving home in his SUV in the early hours of October 1, 2008, when he was shot in the head at Lekki first roundabout, Lekki in Lagos. The Police set his car on fire and claimed he died from injuries he sustained when his vehicle hit a stationary police patrol vehicle.
That was just one just one out of numerous cases of extra-judicial killings which saw thousands of young Nigerians take to the street protesting for the disbandment of the notorious police unit, SARS that have been accused of kidnapping, murder, theft, rape, torture, unlawful arrests, humiliation, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings and extortion of Nigerian citizens.
Protests took place in several cities across Nigeria and gained international attention with similar demonstrations organised by the Nigerian diaspora in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and other countries.
The hashtag #EndSARS became the number one trend on social media and also sparked reactions from public figures such as Cardi B, Rihanna, Trey Songz, Big Sean, Jidenna, John Boyega, Kanye West, Victor Osihmen, Drake, Diddy, Lewis Hamilton, Marcus Rashford, Odion Ighalo amongst others.
The protests seemingly came to a climax in what has been tagged “Lekki Massacre” on the night of 20 October 2020, when officers of the Nigerian Army opened fire on peaceful End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 12 protesters were killed during the shooting. The Nigerian Army denied the shooting.
A month after the incident, on Saturday 21st November, in response to the fallout of a CNN documentary on the shooting, the Nigerian Army admitted to the Lagos Judiciary panel of inquiry into the shooting that it had deployed its officers to the toll gate with both live and blank bullets.
Palliatives was one of the most used words this year as countries sought to help quell the impact of the COVID-19. Countries like Canada gave its unemployed citizens CAN$2,000 monthly. In Nigeria, the poverty capital of the world, the reverse was the case. In the past few years, we have had a snake and a monkey interfere in allotted missing finances. This year took a rather unexpected turn. Some Nigerian politicians were seen to be hoarding palliatives for use as birthday hamper packages while others kept them in unexpected places. Like people awakened from slumber, a part of the 86 million Nigerians living in absolute poverty discovered warehouses, where the Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID) palliatives worth N23b were stored and carted away food items include noodles, pasta, and garri. Some of the items, destroyed by the storage.
Whatever 2021 has in store, we’d keep the faith.
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Guardian Arts Interrogating Ehimuan’s 30 Days of Excellence
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Literature Where angels beckon by Femi Fani-Kayode
Guardian Arts Peace, orderliness, welfare from prism of religion
Guardian Arts Helping women find self-worth in She-Spark
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Strange Light
‘A Trace of That Darker History’: An Interview with Amina Cain
By Naomi Skwarna
The author of Indelicacy on elitism, inspiration, and cleaning.
Indelicacy
Written by Amina Cain;
Naomi Skwarna
Naomi Skwarna is a writer and artist. She lives in Toronto.
Follow @awomanskwarned
The Year Inside and Out
The Year in Making Clothes
‘Works of Art Are Made Out of Patterns’: An Interview with Ben Lerner
Photo © Polly Antonia Barrowman
Amina Cain is an artist alive in her senses. What she sees, reads, hears, and touches gently permeates her writing, implying its presence with the subtlety of a loved one’s perfume on the neckband of an old sweater. You know it’s there, but you can’t quite find it.
Her first novel, Indelicacy (Strange Light), is a study of a woman, Vitória, who seems at times to be drawn through the world by her senses and the satisfaction they demand. Vitória, as she transitions from impoverished cleaner to mistress of a grand house, pursues art, and her art, with a solitary but insistent ambition. The conflict is as discreet as the novel’s tone: left alone with her writing, Cain suggests an instability beneath Vitória’s fantasy, a 21st century künstlerroman in miniature that questions the artist’s way while pushing forward on it.
There is a precision to Cain’s first-person voice that invites possession, which in this new period of isolation and distance provides a momentary sense of escape (to those of us with that privilege). Re-reading Indelicacy, I find myself wandering around the house as if in a museum, picking things up and putting them down, reorganizing bookshelves, and—in deference to the various women who populate the novel—cleaning.
Earlier this year, Cain and I met in person to discuss Indelicacy, and the vast world that underpins its aberrantly delicate sentences.
Naomi Skwarna: Indelicacy reads a bit like a meditation on what it takes to live as—or—like, an artist. Sometimes it feels like fantasy, and other times like you’re satirizing that fantasy a little bit. But I was really drawn to Vitória’s peace and solitude! Her access to museums and art and dance and music. Is it a fantasy, or is it a critical perspective on that fantasy?
Amina Cain: I seem to have a tendency in my writing, and especially in Indelicacy, to go towards different things at the same time. Combining time periods and places, in a certain way. I see Indelicacy as taking place in a combination of Chicago, London, and then some imagined place. In order to write it, I had to go into this place of fantasy. The criticalness comes partly from Vitória, the narrator, in terms of how she criticizes others, men and women—often rich women. But then there’s the other layer of me, the writer, where I like to kind of… not, make fun of my characters? But sort of poke fun at them sometimes. I was thinking a lot about the flawed self while writing it, of getting towards her blind spots. It came from me being intensely in my imagination, but also intensely [desiring] a certain place, or some kind of nostalgia. Setting it atmospherically in the late 1800s, but it being more of a fantasy of that time.
When you were writing Indelicacy, did you consciously steep yourself in different kinds of art?
Dance and music and performance and art are all really important for me to experience in my own life. I think that’s how inspiration works, you know? I can’t help but be inspired by so much art and music. There’s a good chance that if I experience something and like it, it’s going to put me in a space where I want to write, too. My favorite books, but also artists or works that I connect to, can send me off into this place. I had a realization at a certain point that it’s because of those works and how much I feel towards them that I may be a writer in the first place. Like, if I had never experienced them maybe I wouldn’t write? I don’t know if that’s true!
Immersion in/intense perception of art certainly seems inseparable from Vitória’s journey as an artist. Thinking about your short story, “Delicately Feeling,” in Creature, as well—there’s this action that stems from being an audience member in both of them. In Indelicacy there are so many instances of Vitória watching performances, observing people, observing art, observing herself observing art. Are there any pieces of art or writing that feel important to this book, or to your writing in general?
When I lived in Chicago, there was a performance group called Goat Island. What they did was like dance—maybe more like strange movements—that to me had this really addictive quality. They would also use text from books, and music, and when I left their performances, I would always feel so excited. They were super formative for me! It’s been maybe fifteen years since I’ve seen them, but I can’t stop thinking about them. They really affected what I’m writing about now, in a way, or what I feel like I want to get close to in writing.
Another artist is Bill Viola. I once saw a retrospective of his work at the Art Institute of Chicago. That too—I just walked around, looking at all these video installations and feeling like I loved experiencing it. But again, it sent me into this place of wanting to write.
I also have a friend, Laida Lertxundi, whose short films I really love, and Indelicacy is partly dedicated to her. She makes short films that are mostly set in the Southern California landscape. Her work is very different than what I do, but seeing them over the last few years and just being very excited by them…I love being the viewer and the one experiencing work, but it’s definitely a kind of thing where if I get too excited by something, I don’t know how to just take it in. I have to somehow respond. It’s not a direct response, but it’s like those works open up the space for me that I wouldn’t have access to otherwise. And then from that space, I want to write.
I’ve always found it kind of funny—getting that good energy from looking at the work of another and then not necessarily wanting to answer it, or react to it critically…it almost makes me want to leave? I’ll feel so excited by something that my instinct is to get out as quickly as I can to go and be private with the feeling.
I know what you mean. I have that experience sometimes where I’ll be reading something that I really love and I won’t know whether to put it down and start writing or keep reading.
Coming back to the sense of timelessness in Indelicacy. Maybe because the novel begins and so often comes back to the context of the museum, where all these different historical periods exist together and you kind of move through them from room to room, Indelicacy’s sense of period seemed like that to me. I kept feeling as if my knowledge of what rooms and clothing looked like changed from section to section in a way that was sort of chromatic.
I like thinking about the museum as holding all these different time periods.
That’s what your book feels like! Okay, on the subject of rooms: I wanted to ask you about the act of cleaning as practiced by the different women in Indelicacy. All of them have very different relationships to cleaning, and it also ties them to their homes and workspaces, all of them cleaning in different ways, with different cleaning styles. I was wondering what drew you to cleaning?
I definitely have a relationship to cleaning! [I also wrote about] cleaning and maids in Creature, and when it emerged in this novel, I thought, okay I’m not done with it. My grandmother cleaned hotel rooms in Daytona Beach when I was little—that’s what she did for work. So some of this comes out of my own relationship to class, my family being more working class. Some of the people in my extended family were super-wealthy and some were very poor, and so I thought about it a lot—the elitism within my own family.
It’s so strange when one family represents different class groups. It’s a different kind of fragmentation.
I don’t carry that with me like I did when I was younger, when I was ready to argue with people I perceived as wealthy—not for no reason, but like, somehow if I had to defend myself.
I spent a summer, about twelve years ago now, at the Sōtō Zen Buddhist monastery in Carmel Valley, California. I was there doing a work practice. The monastery opens itself up to visitors, and the rest of the year it’s just the monks and people practicing quietly. I was put on the cleaning crew, and a lot of the people who came there that summer I perceived to be wealthy, since it’s pretty expensive to stay there. So I was put on the cleaning crew, and I think somehow [I was] there because I had issues to work through, there. I spent the summer just intensely cleaning, every day. So many toilets. I think I was somehow working through class issues while cleaning.
I periodically do a form of silent retreat where the only thing you’re allowed to do beyond meditating is to clean, and that’s your act of service. Before I started doing these retreats, I always associated cleaning with gender; being told by men in my life to clean, do laundry, dust—so I resented it. But then in a space that was all women, where activities are limited and silent, I found pleasure in cleaning and connecting with people through cleaning.
Right, which changes it, when you’re doing it silently. Our work practice was also silent.
Yes. It can actually feel kind of graceful to mop with another person. So when I was reading this, I was really moved by the descriptions of cleaning, which seem so humble within the context of the book.
The people who clean in Indelicacy are women, and I do think about the gender aspect of it too, but for me, I was thinking about class.
Jean Genet’s The Maids also has a significant presence in the book. What’s your relationship to that play?
I actually wrote an essay about The Maids that came out recently in The Paris Review. In a little bit of synchronicity—I don’t really know anyone in Toronto except for one person who I saw last night, an old friend I haven’t seen for many years. Once when she came to visit me in LA, I asked her to record passages from The Maids with me. It’s a play that’s stuck with me for some obvious reasons—maids and cleaning. It’s based loosely on the Papin sisters in France who murdered their employer in 1933. It explores class warfare in the domestic space, which I felt like I was doing a little bit in Indelicacy, but subtly and sort of quietly. I named my four female characters after characters in other books, and Solange comes from The Maids. I wasn’t rewriting any of those characters, but I wanted there to be some trace of each of them in the book in some way. Thinking about a trace of a character, a trace of a certain kind of a violence or oppression; a trace of that darker history.
I liked the specter of feminine violence it brought to the novel. Indelicacy feels very much like it’s from the perspective of someone who has lived as a woman in the world—if there is such a thing. Have you had the experience of discussing the book with people who aren’t women, or don’t identify as women?
I don’t want to set up binaries in the way I talk or think about the feminine and the masculine, like men and women, but I do know that I’ve written a book that’s very grounded in a feminine way, or in female characters. I wasn’t thinking about that a lot when I was writing it, but it’s something I definitely think about now. And I’m not sure how to feel about it, because I don’t know that I want to be writing along those lines. Someone once asked me to write an essay about “female solitude,” and that’s when I started thinking about those binaries.
I don’t want to exclude people who are trans or between genders, so it’s become something that I think about. I didn’t want or need an essay about female solitude, because I don’t want to essentialize women and solitude from too much of a heteronormative perspective.
None of Indelicacy’s characters have to be cisgender women. They are people who live as women, in roles that we identify as feminine. Much like you don’t define a clear time or place, the gender representation also feels shaped by art. These are roles that women can play, and it does feel quite theatrical. I also wonder how a man might feel reading it!
This was the first time I ever wrote something where I thought, will men like this book? It seems like there have been some men who can relate to it, like they could still read it, but Vitória makes fun of men a lot, and the male characters are pretty flat. That’s an interesting thing because there are plenty of men I’m close to who aren’t flat! But what I wanted to write about has often been the relationships between women. I have some close male friends, but I’ve had some beautiful, close female friendships, and I think that’s been something I’ve wanted to write about.
I feel like sometimes there’s an interest in the toxic female friendship, which I’ve never quite understood. I understand the complexity of friendship between women, or distance, or how things can be hard like any relationship. But I was just interested exploring female friendship.
Something that I keep coming back to is the moment where Vitória is describing having Antoinette, her co-cleaner at the museum, over to her house for tea. And when Antoinette does the dishes, that’s when Vitória starts to love her. It makes so much sense, the affection that comes when someone does something small that they didn’t have to do. It was so lovely and unusual to show how women fall in love with each other as friends.
I feel like I’ve been in love with many of my female friends.
Me too! Those little details feel so tender to me.
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The Health News Australia November 3 2017
John Holland, the head contractor of Perth Children’s Hospital, is seeking $300 million in compensation from the State Government for changes to the project. The Health Minister Roger Cook revealed the figure as he fielded questions by the Liberal Party about when the hospital, that is more than two years behind schedule, would open.
Japanese firm Piala wants to compensate its non-smoking workers by giving them an extra six days of leave because they don’t take the breaks to smoke. The initiative known as “Sumokyu” — wordplay using “smoke” and a Japanese word for “break” — was rolled out by the Tokyo-based online marketing consultancy in September.
Calls to ban e- cigarettes in smoke-free areas of NSW, as has already been done in five other states, have now been backed by the State’s Health Minister who is siding with the country’s top health organisations. Several groups like the Cancer Council, Council on Smoking Health, and Heart Foundation urged the NSW Government to legislate the change.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 3rd of November 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-02/john-holland-perth-childrens-hospital-compo-claim/9109950
The head contractor of Perth Children’s Hospital, John Holland, is seeking three hundred million dollars in compensation from the State Government for changes to the project. The Health Minister Roger Cook revealed the figure as he fielded questions by the Liberal Party about when the hospital, that is more than two years behind schedule, would open.
The one point two billion dollar project has run into a string of construction problems, including lead found in the drinking water, and is not expected to open until the first half of two thousand eighteen. An extensive list of additional construction defects, which are yet to be resolved, was also revealed last month. Despite the problems, the Government took practical completion of the project, effectively taking the keys from the contractor, in April. In a statement, John Holland said it had from “the outset” been clear it was negotiating with the Government in relation to compensation.The company said it was committed to achieving a fair outcome for both parties. When asked by the Opposition to provide Parliament with a breakdown of the changes made to the hospital project, Mister Cook said he was unable to do so.
The McGowan Government has promised to give a clear timeframe this month for when the hospital will open.
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/company-rewards-workers-who-quit-smoking-with-an-extra-annual-leave-as-more-people-take-up-cigarettes/news-story/fc4c6c90972d0245eb29c976e740ea50
A company has come up with a novel way of encouraging its workers to quit smoking — an extra week of annual leave. Japanese firm Piala wants to compensate its non-smoking workers by giving them an extra six days of leave because they don’t take the breaks to smoke. The initiative known as “Sumokyu” — wordplay using “smoke” and a Japanese word for “break” — was rolled out by the Tokyo-based online marketing consultancy in September. It was devised after an employee complained about the time lost because colleagues went out for regular cigarette breaks. The office of the company is on the twenty ninth floor and it takes between ten to fifteen minutes to visit the designated smoking area in the lobby and return again.
More than two million Australians smoke cigarettes despite health risks. Some employees smoke several times a day which led to complaints so the company decided it would be better to compensate nonsmokers, instead of taking action against those who smoke. The initiative has led to four of the forty two smokers — from a workforce of one hundred twenty people — to quit smoking. With Australia’s national smoking rate on the rise in recent years, health groups are looking for new ways to get people to quit.
The Daily Telegraph revealed last month that mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest put a proposal to state and federal health ministers to raise the legal smoking age to 21.
Mister Forrest — the sixth richest Australian, worth about $6.84 billion — has put aside $75 million as part his Minderoo Foundation’s “Eliminate Cancer Initiative” for his battle against big tobacco. One in eight Australians smoke and two-thirds will die of tobacco-related illnesses.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-02/fight-to-ban-e-cigarettes-in-smoke-free-areas-of-nsw/9109858
Calls to ban electronic cigarettes in smoke-free areas of New South Wales, as has already been done in five other states, have now been backed by the State’s Health Minister who is siding with the country’s top health organisations. Several groups like the Cancer Council, Council on Smoking Health, and Heart Foundation urged the New South Wales Government to legislate the change. Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have all enacted the ban to date.
“We don’t actually know what’s in the e-cigarette vapour, you could be sitting on a bus and the person sitting next to you using an e-cigarette could actually have nicotine in it and you’re breathing in that vapour,” said Wendy Oakes from the Heart Foundation.
Miss Oakes conceded that the safety of e-cigarettes is still being studied but it is alarming that young people are taking the devices up more than anyone else in New South Wales. She added: “Having this ubiquitous smoking around people then re-normalises it for children and adolescents.”
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Our Story/E. Sebastian Vallejo
By the time E. Sebastian Vallejo graduates he will have seen much of the world. From growing up in Ecuador to attending Penn State, to spending a semester in Australia, Vallejo does not shy away from educational travel experiences.
As a high school student in Cuenca, Ecuador, Vallejo decided to take summer courses at a university in New York, which is where he discovered his love for hospitality management. Soon after, his personal research revealed that Penn State offers one of the best hospitality management programs in the country.
While at Penn State, Vallejo’s courses have included educational visits to Italy, France and Spain. He has completed two internships at hotels in Ecuador and a third at Walt Disney World. Additionally, he is slated to study abroad in Australia for the fall semester of 2016.
“Part of what drew me to Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management is how international the program is,” Vallejo said. “The university is connected around the world, and that caught my attention.”
Vallejo hopes his career will begin in the entertainment business, possibly working for an international music festival
“I love seeing people who are happy and in those environments where nothing else matters, just the music, the people and good food,” Vallejo said. “Those kinds of experiences are some of the greatest memories I have. While working in that environment, you’re having fun while other people are having even more fun than you.”
Penn State courses are preparing Vallejo for his dream career.
“In class, it’s about being prepared for what could happen, and once you’re in the real world, you know you need to be careful in what you do,” he said. “We are learning this is a business where we’re trying to make money and build a legacy, but you need to do it right and happily, otherwise it’s not going to work.”
At the same time, Vallejo’s family has supported him through his experiences. His parents, sister and he share a friendly competitiveness when it comes to achieving personal career goals.
“It’s good competition. It pushes the four of us,” he said. “We are a team.”
More than 4,500 Penn State students are enrolled in the College of Health and Human Development (HHD) studying a wide-array of fields, each committed to the concept of improving the quality of life for others. Vallejo, who found a home in SHM, is one of those HHD students.
In addition to SHM, there are a variety of areas for students to study within HHD through the Departments of Biobehavioral Health, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Policy and Administration, Human Development and Family Studies, Kinesiology, Nutritional Sciences, and Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. Learn more about HHD.
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237. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State1
Saigon, July 12, 1967, 1101Z.
893. For the President from Bunker. Herewith my eleventh weekly telegram.
Secretary McNamara, Under Secretary Katzenbach, and their colleagues left yesterday afternoon after a five-day visit which included an intensive series of briefings and field trips. For me and my colleagues here, both civilian and military, this has proved to be an extremely useful exercise. It gave us an opportunity to review our objectives, to appraise what progress we may have made, where we have gone wrong, and to come up with definite proposals for future action and for accelerating the pace of progress here. It has been valuable to us also in providing a more intimate view of the Washington picture, and the problems you are facing there, for through contacts of this kind one can get a feel for the situation which telegraphic communications do not convey. Finally, meetings such as this help us to crystallize our thinking and force us to come to definite conclusions as to what new and definite steps we should undertake to get on with the job.
As a result of the meetings, I believe that Bob McNamara, Nick Katzenbach, and my senior colleagues and I have come to a meeting of the minds on how we ought to proceed in reinforcing the success we have already had here. They will be reporting to you, of course, in detail on the meetings and of our conclusions. I will therefore only summarize here what I believe are some of the more salient points:2
That we should provide General Westmoreland with the number of maneuver battalions available without calling up the Reserves. Bob McNamara has indicated that he could provide up to 21 battalions.
Maintain our bombing of North Viet-Nam through the remaining months of good weather. We can then decide whether to cut back to the 20th parallel and whether we then think a pause to test out [Page 594]Hanoi’s intentions would be advisable. The onset of unfavorable weather would provide the basis for a rationale for a decision on these points.
That we should intensify our efforts at interdiction of infiltration by the enemy in Laos through application of the measures envisaged in Illinois City and Compatriot. We should also allow brigade size ARVN raids into Laos. As I have mentioned in previous messages, I realize the political sensitivity of operations in Laos but I also feel that if necessary we should go beyond these proposed steps to choke off enemy infiltration, for I believe this is the crux of the military problem here. Since I have covered this in some detail in previous messages I will not repeat here the suggestion I have already made.
Continuing efforts to improve the ARVN/RF/PF. General Westmoreland has already an intensive program underway which I have previously reported in some detail. Considerable improvement in performance is already evident but much remains to be done, especially with the RF/PF forces; and also with ARVN’s role in pacification. Secretary McNamara brought up the matter in our talks with Chairman Thieu, Prime Minister Ky and General Vien yesterday. They recognized the need for improvement. Ky said that the RF/PF especially needed better leadership and better living conditions to improve morale. The military and the civil service have been the chief sufferers from inflation while laborers and farmers have to a degree benefitted from full employment, increased pay and prices for farm products.
The maximum use of manpower and its more effective utilization. We are agreed that after the elections mobilization will be necessary. As I have mentioned previously, Ambassador Locke has this whole problem under intensive study. Secretary McNamara made it clear in our talks yesterday with Thieu and Ky that maximum use of RVN manpower and its more effective utilization was a prerequisite to the deployment of greater U.S. or free world forces.
Speeding up of pacification. Bob Komer will be reporting to you in detail on what is being done here. Although progress to date may have seemed rather slow, I am frankly encouraged, not only by the progress already made, but by the improved prospects which our own reorganization of our advisory and supporting role promise. Through it I am confident that we shall be able to bring greater emphasis and leverage to bear on the Vietnamese role, for no matter how efficient the organization of our role may be, unless the Vietnamese carry the main burden, the program cannot succeed. As Ky said in our talks yesterday, pacification really means nation-building and this is a big job, especially in wartime. But he also expressed confidence that their part in it would become increasingly effective. In this connection, it is encouraging that he mentioned a fact on which Gene Locke, Bob Komer [Page 595]and I are all agreed, that the Province Chief is a vitally important element in the process. He expressed dissatisfaction with the present quality of incumbents and is planning on setting up a training center for Province Chiefs and replacement of those who are unsatisfactory. He also expressed the view that Province Chiefs should have control of the ARVN/RF/PF forces assigned to pacification and should also have direct access to the central government instead of having to go through the Division and Corps Commanders as at present. We here are all in agreement on this also. General Thieu expressed a differing view, feeling that the Division Commander should have more responsibility for pacification.
The necessity that elections should be fair and honest. Secretary McNamara expressed very clearly and explicitly the importance you attach to the holding of fair and honest elections. He emphasized strongly the fact that unless the elections were free and fair public opinion in the U.S. undoubtedly will be adversely affected and this in turn would affect the support which the Vietnamese are receiving from the U.S. and other free world countries. As you know, I also have repeatedly stressed these points to Thieu and Ky. I hope and believe that this repeated emphasis is having some effect, but as I mentioned in last week’s message3 the unfolding electoral process will have to have our close attention until the elections are concluded. One good sign is the general feeling that censorship, police harassment, and the pressures on the civil service to support the military candidate are greatly reduced. There is also general relief that the military have closed ranks and can now concentrate on fighting the Viet Cong instead of one another.
Economic stability and measures to restrain inflation. We are agreed on the need for a study of means for preventing an unacceptable degree of inflation while permitting an increase in military manpower and the initiation of other priority measures.
Some other points which came out of our meetings with Thieu, Ky and General Vien yesterday were:
On ARVN/RF/PF: Ky and General Vien advocated an increase in force levels of 65,000, lowering the draft age to 18 and extending the length of service. Discharges have been stopped. This will mean that 40,000 men who would have been otherwise eligible to discharge will be retained. This has been done administratively on the basis that additional forces will be needed to provide protection during the electoral process.
Ky and Vien believe that the Communists may try for one big victory before elections, that they will increase attacks on the pacification [Page 596]program, and attempt to disrupt the elections at the village and hamlet level.
They believe that the first three months of the new government will be a testing time for the new regime. During this period the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army will continue an intensified series of attacks but it will also be an opportunity to strengthen the government in South Vietnam by broadening its base, and an opportunity to convince the Viet Cong that a military victory is impossible.
On the question of negotiations, Ky emphasized the fact that the Government of Vietnam was willing to talk to Hanoi at any time but that an elected government would be in a stronger position to do so. This should be done at the “proper time” with adequate preparation. Ky mentioned the fact that two years ago the Government of Vietnam was “talking about going North,” a year ago about two Vietnams, and now could talk about how to end the war. Thieu asked whether Secretary McNamara had information as to whether the main military targets in North Vietnam had been destroyed and if therefore a cessation of bombing would be an inducement to negotiations. The Secretary pointed out that we did not yet have enough information on this score and that except for manpower the North Vietnamese war-making potential was really not located in North Vietnam, but came from outside sources. He mentioned the fact that one thing we would not want to do is to get into Korean-type negotiations which continued for two years during which hostilities also continued. He pointed out that our losses were heavier during the negotiating period than preceding it.
Ambassador Locke will have reported to you in very considerable detail on plans and programs underway and contemplated in the military, manpower, pacification, economic and political areas. I concur in his observations and recommendations. I may add that all of us here—Gene Locke, Westy, Bob Komer, and I, together with our senior advisors, General Abrams, Don MacDonald, Barry Zorthian, John Hart and Arch Calhoun—are all working very closely together, keep in the closest contact and are in general agreement on how we ought to proceed. I am really very pleased with the way in which the organization is functioning here.
Political.
After the rather frantic political activity leading up to the filing deadline for both presidential and senatorial candidates, we are now in a bit of a lull. The principal candidates, including Thieu and Ky, are quietly assessing the meaning of the Thieu-Ky merger and the Big Minh bid. They are also looking over the Senate lists, most of which were put together with such haste that the political implications and ramifications are only now beginning to emerge.
Thus at a luncheon I had for the Under Secretary, the principal civilian candidates were in a rather relaxed mood. I gathered from them and from a number of other reports that they are rather more optimistic as a result of the Thieu-Ky merger. Their reaction to Big Minh’s candidacy is cautious, but I believe they are for the most part hoping that the Assembly will decide to disqualify him.
There is considerable skepticism expressed by many of our contacts that Thieu and Ky will be able to work effectively in the future. Although some of these predictions are politically motivated and should be viewed as such, I feel, as I point out later, that we must recognize that the new arrangement places strains on their relationship which could cause us problems in the future.
The candidacy of Big Minh is the major unresolved political question at the moment. On July 6 General Cao Van Vien and all four of the Corps Commanders sent to the Assembly a joint complaint against Minh’s candidacy, referring to the decision of the Armed Forces Council against permitting Minh to return on grounds of national security.4
Also on July 6 a citizen filed a complaint against Minh’s running mate, Tran Ngoc Lieng, on the grounds that Lieng once held both French and Vietnamese citizenship. (The Constitution provides that candidates must have Vietnamese citizenship from birth, but says nothing about dual citizenship.) If Lieng is disqualified, Big Minh would automatically be eliminated from the race.5
The top military leaders appear to be united in their opposition to Big Minh’s candidacy; they are now on public record against it, and their prestige is thus engaged. In the past when the military leadership stood together on important issues, their influence on the Assembly was usually decisive. Assembly Chairman Phan Khac Suu has also told us that he is opposed to Big Minh’s candidacy.
The issue is now before the Central Election Council and we are inclined to believe that it will find against him. If it does, the decision will be reviewed by the Assembly. There is considerable reluctance to take responsibility for the decision, however, and if a plausible legal case can be made against either Big Minh or his running mate, the decision would likely be much easier for both the Council and the Assembly.
If the Council and the Assembly should decide to throw out the complaint against Minh, the military would probably still try to stick to their decision to keep him out of the country. Press reports from Bangkok quote Minh as saying he is determined to “appear” in Saigon soon, one way or another, and there have been hints that he would try to slip back into the country secretly if the military continue to bar his return. This would pose a hard problem for the present military leadership, and the results would be difficult to predict.
I continue to think that Minh’s candidacy could pose a serious threat to military unity. His bid for the presidency might also divide the nation in other ways. The Catholics are strongly opposed to his candidacy and would probably react vigorously if he continued to be a candidate. He has some Buddhist support, and while this strength is difficult to gauge, it could turn out to be enough to threaten a revival of religious tension and even open religious conflict such as that which erupted between Catholics and Buddhists in 1964. Thus, the Minh candidacy appears to me to pose a clear threat to the essential degree of political stability without which we cannot get further progress toward democratic government in this country.
The candidacy of Au Truong Thanh, the former Minister of Economy, is in quite another category.6 We judge that he has very little support. If he is barred from running, there will be no significant popular reaction. If he is allowed to run, he will get few votes. Tran Van Huong has said flatly that he thinks Thanh is working with the Viet Cong and Ha Thuc Ky has also made it clear that he has no use for Thanh. Ha Thuc Ky, in fact, alleges that Thanh filed for the presidency mainly in order to avoid arrest for his leftist connections. The Catholic press has vigorously attacked his “peace-at-any-price” statements.
The complaint against Thanh’s candidacy was filed by an Assembly Deputy, Diep Van Hung, on the grounds that Thanh has had Communist connections in the past. (The electoral law bars those who “have directly or indirectly worked for Communist or pro-Communist neutralism or worked in the interests of Communism.”) Hung claims that Thanh joined the Communist Party in 1952 and notes that he was arrested in 1954 and again in 1959 for activities which aided the Communists.
On July 7 the police held a press conference in connection with the arrest of some intellectuals charged with working with the Viet Cong. According to some press reports, Thanh was linked to those arrested and to the “intellectual proselytizing section of the Saigon Viet Cong organization.”
While we have no hard evidence that Thanh is or was a Communist or “pro-Communist neutralist,” he has certainly had many connections with the far left and near Communist factions in the past. Whatever his motives, he is now clearly trying to exploit the longing for peace in an irresponsible way. His campaign handout sheets (in themselves a violation of the electoral law) are without exception printed in both English and Vietnamese. This indicates to me that one of his targets—if not the main one—is the American press. Unfortunately, he has found a receptive audience in some correspondents.
I believe the precise terms of the Thieu-Ky alliance are still being defined and sorted out. This is likely to continue for some time. If they are elected, it will be a principal and crucial problem at the outset of the new government.
General Thang on July 6 told Lansdale that to the best of his knowledge there is only a vague understanding between Thieu and Ky on their future relationship. Thang said that when this subject came up during the final hours of deciding the Thieu-Ky coalition, Thieu indicated that Ky would have a large say in the Cabinet and Vietnamese armed forces appointments “because we are brothers in a family.” However, we have a CIA report, the source of which is Ky himself, that says that Ky’s future powers were spelled out in a July 6 written agreement between Thieu and Ky. According to this report, Ky must approve all important government decisions, in particular those dealing with major military matters and efforts to end the war. He is also to have the power to name the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. If this report is accurate, knowledge of the agreement is apparently limited to a very small group of officers. I shall be trying to run this down in the next few days. If not already done, I think it important that a definite understanding should be reached between Thieu and Ky on their respective roles, and that we should exert our influence to bring this about.
The Thieu-Ky merger has not pleased some of Ky’s supporters. General Loan is known to be quite unhappy about the arrangement. Some of Ky’s Catholic supporters in the Greater Solidarity Force are now reportedly hesitating to get behind the combined slate. CVT (trade unions) labor leader Tran Quoc Buu yesterday told an Embassy officer that the slate is now “too military,” and it is too early to decide whether or not the CVT should back Thieu-Ky. It is probably not at all surprising that the main civilian candidates should be saying that the Thieu-Ky ticket is weaker than the Ky-Loc slate, but they are saying it with a good deal of conviction.
While most of the major candidates are still organizing their campaigns, some of them have also sketched out some platform ideas. We know that Ky intended to run on the record of his government, with promises of further economic and political progress if elected. Probably this will also be the basic line of the Thieu-Ky platform.
[Here follows discussion of economic and military conditions.]
Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Nodis. Received at 10:35 a.m. The notation “L” on a covering note from Rostow to the President, July 12, 7:45 p.m., indicates that the President saw the telegram. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Vietnam, 8B(1)[A], Bunker’s Weekly Report to the President) This telegram is printed in full in Pike, The Bunker Papers, pp. 78–85.↩
According to a notation on the telegram, paragraphs A and B were deleted from all copies except those sent to the White House, the Under Secretary, and the Secretary of Defense.↩
See footnote 2, Document 232.↩
In telegram 418 from Saigon, July 6, Bunker reported that the Generals’ complaint was based on reasons of “national security.” Minh had been barred from returning to Vietnam after his June 28 announcement in Thailand that he would campaign for the Presidency. Minh’s supporters requested that he be allowed to return by July 15. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 14 VIET S) In telegram 519 from Saigon, July 7, Bunker recommended against any overt American involvement in the Minh issue, since he foresaw “no reason to intervene and many reasons not to get involved.” (Ibid.) The Department demurred, however, arguing that the “denial of Minh’s candidacy in our view so deeply affects the election process that we believe we have a legitimate reason for entering into discussions about it with the [South Vietnamese] leaders.” (Telegram 3374 to Saigon, July 8; ibid.)↩
Telegram 899 from Saigon, July 12, reported that according to a member of the election committee, the case against Minh “was supported by no documentation whatsoever” and that Lieng did in fact qualify as a Vietnamese citizen under the provisions of the Franco-Vietnamese convention of 1955. (Ibid.)↩
Thanh ran on a peace platform calling for an end to military action and immediate negotiations. He was accused by the GVN of Viet Cong sympathies. In telegram 3372 to Saigon, July 8, the Department decried the effort to disqualify Thanh as “exceedingly dubious.” (Ibid.) In a July 11 memorandum to Rusk, Harriman recommended that Bunker “take a firm stand on this issue with Ky, Thieu and members of the National Assembly pointing out that our good name as well as that of the GVN is at stake.” (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Harriman Papers, Subject File, Bundy, William P. 1963–68)↩
Policy Decisions and the McNamara and Clifford-Taylor Missions to South Vietnam June–August (Documents 222-305)
Au Truong ThanhBundy, William P.Bunker, EllsworthCao Van VienHarriman, W. AverellHart, John L.Katzenbach, Nicholas deB.Lansdale, Edward G.Locke, EugeneMcNamara, Robert S.Nguyen Cao KyNguyen Duc ThangNguyen Ngoc LoanPhan Khac SuuRostow, Walt W.Rusk, DeanTran Quoc BuuWestmoreland, General William C.Zorthian, Barry
ARVNGVNNodisPFPOLRFRGRVNS
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Levi the Poet
Levi the Poet's first foray into fiction
By Nate Lake
Photo by Rebecca Harvey
Is this your first experiment with fiction whatsoever, or have you ever done anything with fiction type stuff in the past at all?
No, I think it is the first whatsoever. I haven’t ever really written any fiction. Not every single poem ever released was entirely autobiographical. I think the majority of it was stuff like “Kaleidoscope” from Monologues that wasn’t about anyone in particular. It could be considered fiction, I guess.
For the most part, as far as putting together any sort of narrative or storyline outside of a more topical thing or outside of just a strictly autobiographical part of my life, Correspondence is kind of a first.
I know a lot of your past stuff has been a lot of personal outpouring and putting basically what’s on your heart into a poetic format. What was the difference in this writing process as opposed to other albums?
I still got to pour a lot of myself, my personality and my experience into the album as a fiction, but it stretched me as a writer to do something outside of, “This is something that’s happened to me. This is my angst.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I did three albums that way, and I really enjoyed that. This isn’t like, “I’m going only in the direction of fiction, and I’m never turning back. Never going to do anything but fiction anymore.” The idea to write this story popped into my head. Honestly, it sounded fun to me. It stretched me as a writer for sure. … I think I’m not in the same place. I’m not the same person. That’s life, and people grow. I had this (fiction) idea while I was in the middle of a tour. I was doing a lot of that old stuff and hearing a lot of other poets and writers, (and I realized) they were doing their own “life-woes” type of thing.
I guess that sounds mean, but that’s not the goal. So much of a writer’s stuff comes out of their personal experience, and it’s pretty neat because you have something to sympathize with and other people have something to relate to. But in the middle of this run, I thought, Hey, literally, I got this picture in my mind. What if I wrote a children’s narrative love story that had something to do with a tree house and the ocean? It allowed me to experiment with letting some of my ideas flow through different characters, which I guess every fiction writer probably does. Whether they feel like they have an agenda or not, it all comes out through their art. You’re a person that informs the art that you create. The fiction, I mean; there’s still a whole lot of nonfiction in my fiction. But it was definitely something new, as far as creating a whole world with these people inside of it.
You perfectly lead into something else I wanted to ask. You said something like there was nonfiction in your fiction. If I’m getting the purpose of what you do, those things in the past, at least, you use to inspire somebody who’s going through the same type of stuff. To be vulnerable, to inspire vulnerability so that people might recover from stuff they’re going through. Since this is different, in a big sense, what’s your hope for the impact to the listener?
If I’m going to be honest, regardless of how noble it would sound to say, all of my art, thus far, has been for the purpose of helping other people. That sounds great, and I want it to do that. Sure, you are strategic about the stuff that you put out, and you want it to be helpful. I do. I want it to be of service to other people and want it to inspire and all of that. But definitely when I started doing LTP stuff, it was like, these are journal entries I have I’m now recording and that’s it. I’m just doing it.
I wanted to create good art, and, by the Grace of God, a lot of people were able to relate to it. It has helped a lot of people. I have been allowed to be a part of helping other people, and hopefully inspiring them. I don’t think I necessarily see myself as a forerunner there, or as someone whose every piece of art has to be for the purpose of impacting my audience in a certain way.
But you’re right. Up until now, my goal has definitely been to release something I have tried to pour excellence into, and other people can decide whether or not they agree with that or not. I want to create good art.
One of the hopes I have for Correspondence, for sure, is to be able to give people something they might be able to connect with inasmuch as art goes. That maybe wouldn’t be interested in listening to Levi the Poet’s past stuff.
And it gets kind of tricky because I feel like the majority of the audience I have has been a Christian audience. I don’t know what the deal is, I guess. I feel like whenever Christian artists talk about expanding their audience or doing something to be strategic about engaging culture outside of the culture they’ve always been a part of — because that’s where people followed them or that’s where they’ve been placed by people — there’s a stigma that surrounds that. If you try to do something that’s even a little bit different, then people get mad at Lecrae for — “Oh, he must not be a Christian anymore.” There’s this weirdness about it. I’m no Lecrae or whatever, but I really respect that type of stuff in those artists.
I would like people who would otherwise not listen to anything I have to say (because of the explicit Christianity in the last few records) to be willing to appreciate the art that is there. And, hopefully, more opportunities will come out of that, too.
There’s definitely a place for that explicitness. I’m a firm believer in an explicit Gospel, and that’s great. But I also think it can be implicit in other things and I think good art carries over and is touching to people. It points to a good Creator, and I hope that’s what Correspondence can do. This idea of being loud without making a whole lot of noise. This idea of being able to interact with the people I actually care to interact with or care to grow closer to or care to be able to bring something to that is of value and worth that will hopefully point beyond itself towards the ultimate value and worth.
I really do hope that. And even that, in this interview — there’s a lot of theology stuff here — but even if somebody never comes to believe the things that I believe or whatever, I want them to be able to appreciate it for what it is.
I don’t know. Maybe people will be bummed there’s not a motive they would like to hear in what I’m saying. But ultimately I believe the direction I went was something inspired by the same God that inspired the other records. So I’m comfortable with it.
In regards to the actual content of Correspondence, first of all, do you have a favorite character, and, second, is there a character you think you align with the most?
Favorite character… I think there are aspects of myself in all of the characters. That’s a cop out answer. My favorite is probably the boy who is at home. He’s building this tree house for his love, who is away at sea. There’s a naiveté to him. There’s a maturity in the things he’s gone through, but there’s this childish innocence in him I tried to capture, as well. As we grow older, that’s something we long for.
It’s a nostalgic type of thing to consider and to think about. I really appreciate that aspect of this character. Unfortunately though — maybe this is being hard on myself, but it’s true, nonetheless — I probably relate most to the father. I don’t want to ruin the whole story. It really is a short story. The essence of the father’s character is that he is this idolatrous man who wants to chase this great white whale, almost like a Moby Dick, Captain Ahab character. He’s doing it because he’s fixed on it. He’s doing it to the detriment of everyone else. But this is the thing he longed after. There are these concepts of slavery to something, idolatry and worship of something, of negligence towards the things that truly matter, of indifference towards the way that his goals are affecting his daughter and their relationship. There are all these things… They so closely relate to the idols I know and see and recognize in my own heart. That I know, and a lot of them I don’t, but I’m sure other people see I’m blind in the same way the father figure was in the story of “Blind to his own.”
I feel like, a lot of times, artists and authors aren’t really asked this question, but what’s your favorite chapter in the story?
I’m trying to think of the names of the chapters. Hold on. Let me look it up here really quick (laughs).
I think “Orphan Theism.” “Orphan Theism” is Chapter Seven. If I have it right, it’s a track that talks about beauty that points beyond itself. The boy is writing to the girl and he says, “I have no idea what to believe but beauty points me beyond myself, so I know I don’t believe in nothing.” Then it concludes with the statement that says, “When I don’t know how, help me embrace the mystery.” That’s kind of a theme throughout, too. It’s like, if you can hear me, I would rather have you than all of my answers. In this idea, we don’t really get the answer to our “why” questions. For some people, that leads them to unbelief and despair, and I’d be lying to say that I haven’t gone into those places as well.
Me, too. I’m right there with you.
It’s a C.S. Lewis concept. He talked a lot about how he didn’t know what beauty was. He couldn’t reconcile beauty with his atheistic meaninglessness, because he always knew that it caused him to believe beyond that beauty and beyond what his mind could understand.
I thought that was such a fascinating thing, and that was also one of the thoughts behind doing this album, the idea of art pointing beyond itself to the truest thing. Not to mention, it was probably the most hopeful thing that I’ve written in a really long time. My family always joke about a track from my album Seasons that talks about how I haven’t written one joy-filled song. That finally ended on this album. This time, I’m going to be able to write some things that were truly filled with hope, filled with the joy I feel. Even though this record is somewhat of a tragedy, if you’re going to talk about it in a literary sense, there’s so much hope in it.
Switching gears, we were talking about how this was an album of a first for you. Was this your first experience with crowdfunding, and what was that process like? Also, going along with that, some people see crowdfunding as a cop out. Were you worried about that?
Yeah. I saw it as a cop out. I didn’t want to do it at all. I hated it. I hated the idea of doing it. I was annoyed I had decided to do it, and yet, for a long time, people have been challenging me to let go of some of my preconceived ideas about it. I think it was probably my arrogance just wanting to do it by myself.
The next year was a different kind of a year for my wife and I. We got into a house in Albuquerque; we took a lot of the year off to seek that out and try to get a couple things settled out here. We weren’t on the road as much, which translates into the income was not the same as it might have been otherwise. We had been well overdue for an album, and I had this concept that was written, but it didn’t really look that feasible for us outside of crowdfunding it.
We took a shot, and it was… I don’t have any words other than that it was amazing. I’m so humbled by it. I’m humbled by the people that wrote in almost exasperated, like, “Hey, thanks for finally doing this. We’re excited to have a part in something you could do.”
It caught me off guard. It took me by surprise. Other people had told me that was going to be the result. My own wife said that would be the people’s response, but I didn’t want to do that.
When I did, I finally saw people’s excitement behind it. It was a really cool and special thing. It had been a while since anything new had come out, and, as an artist, everything ebbs and flows, and you get to feeling really great about yourself, and then you get to feeling really bad about yourself.
It was cool, man. I’m really glad we did it. I’m really thankful for it. Honestly, I’ve never really invested in any sort of PR or anything like that, but the word of mouth that came from doing the Kickstarter alone was probably something that money can’t buy.
We tried to brand the entire thing around this idea of a story. I don’t think I ever called it an album. Maybe I did, but for the most part, it was like writing a story upon a story. I really feel we had so many people invested in this.
I did an interview earlier, actually, with a friend of mine at XXX Church, and we were laughing because he was asking me about the crowdfunding thing. There’s this idea behind it that the artist could crowdfund or you could just work really hard. We have never worked so hard on a release, crowdfunding or not. The crowdfunding was the most work. It definitely shattered a decent amount of preconceived notions I had about it. I understand you have to be sparing with that stuff, and I definitely still think there are a lot of artists out there I see abusing it, and that bombs me again.
Now, I don’t ever want anyone to think they’re being taken advantage of. I’m not going to speak for any of those artists that do what they do. Personally, it’s not something I feel like I would do every time or do them all the time, but it was a really special thing, which I’m just so grateful for.
I think your heart speaks for itself, and that’s probably why you got such a great response. Do you feel like you grew closer to fans through it?
Yeah. For sure. I struggle with this, too. A lot of artists are like, “There should be a barrier, there should be a mystery to your product, there should be fans and then there should be the artist.” I’ve never really been that guy. There’s a degree to which I appreciate the mystery in something, and there’s a lot of artists I would never want to meet or talk, or get really close to because it could probably shatter my love for them or for whatever.
I don’t know. Maybe that’s happened to other people now because of me. I hope not, but definitely through that Kickstarter thing, it was constant very personal communication with people. It’s a lot of daily updates. It was interaction with comments and messages, people having questions. It was Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, really shattering that line between myself and anyone else.
For a minute, there was a lot of freedom in that, but there’s been this constant thing in the back of my head saying, “Why did you do that? What does it matter? Wasn’t that the thing people enjoyed?” I don’t know. I gave a lot of good reasons for why I did it, but I could see myself switching sides again. That’s something that was cool about getting to have those personal interactions with people through the making of this record.
This record is 100 percent different than any of the last Levi the Poet albums. There’s music throughout, it’s fiction, there’s no screaming. There’s just so much different, and I wanted to be able to walk people through that rather than just drop some random genre twist into their laps without carrying them through the change and walking through it with them. The crowdfunding thing allowed me to be able to do that, and I’m thankful for it.
Did you try to recreate your influences in your tracks, especially at the end of the album? I thought the music, personally, was awesome on the album. I loved it. I thought it added a whole new level.
Thanks. I can’t really even speak to that. I’m no musician. One of my best friends here in Albuquerque, his name is Alex Sugg, he has a project called Glow House I’ve toured with a few times. He wrote all of the music for Correspondence. He was a freaking genius. I know, of course you’re going to say that about who did your own album, but I love his music. I love the music he writes for other people. I didn’t give him any direction, really. I said, “Hey, I’m writing a fiction album. Here are the lyrics. Read them and write what you feel in it. Then we’ll get together and talk about direction and see if we like where it’s going.”
So he just had as much creative freedom as he wanted, and the soundtrack for Correspondence is what transpired. He just killed it, man. The stuff he wrote is uniquely his, and I’m blown away by it.
I think he did an incredible job. I would agree with you.
Yeah. It’s haunting.
Correspondence also had its own unique album art. Could you speak to that a little? Did you have most of the say in the art direction?
Yes and no. The direction, yeah. There’s a painter in Denver. I don’t know where you are.
I’m in Fort Collins, about an hour north.
Yeah, my aunt and uncle live in Fort Collins.
Oh, sweet.
His name is Timothy Ryan Turner. He’s a painter. He did a show with me a year and a half ago, around Christmas time, so I guess a year ago. But he just read some poems in a show and showed me a couple of pictures of his painting on his iPhone. I was like, “That’s cool, man. Whatever” (laughs). Not “whatever,” like, he was cool. But I didn’t think anything of it, really. Then I started to follow him on Instagram and saw more of the paintings he was doing and fell in love with it. I love his work. It is so good.
Anyway, I called him up and he had mentioned he did some commission work back in the day. So I called him and said, “Hey, this is what I’m doing, I need five” — it was maybe even going to be more characters; we settled on five — “I need five characters for this album. These are the characters in it.” Then I sent him the story. Then he sent me a few old portrait photographs from God knows when that he was going to use as templates for the characters. So he spent his time doing that. They’re all very well done paintings on these wood blocks that he then shipped down to me and we photographed.
We’re printing vinyl for this record, too. I’m really happy with the way stuff is coming out. And we have more coming out, alongside the release in the upcoming months, too, which is exciting.
I’ve seen your live show once before. I know it’s not just an audio thing. It’s an entire — like you said — aesthetic experience. Since it’s Christmas time here in a few weeks, what’s your favorite Christmas memory or favorite gift?
Wow. Favorite Christmas memory. I’m sure I’ve got a decent amount of them. One that I can remember is, we spent the day cutting down our own Christmas tree out in the east mountains, outside of Albuquerque. That was fun but freezing, and it drove us all insane, because you had to cut it down, take it and then do all the stuff. Everything…
It’s work.
We get home and try to put the lights around the tree and a light bulb would be out and then the whole strand would be. Then my dad would get pissed and I’d get frustrated. My mom would be in the kitchen doing something and Brie, my sister, would be…Christmas is funny. I love it.
So we cut down our own tree. Maybe that same Christmas, my sister and I always slept together in the same room and then we’d get up so early and bug my parents. I remember, I had just gotten P.O.D.’s Fundamental Elements of Southtown album. It was my first introduction to any sort of harder music, like anything heavier than Creed.
As P.O.D. is to most people.
Oh, dude. So good. I hope they still are. But that album… We stayed up listening to a lot of P.O.D waiting for Santa to come or whatever.
I just like those memories with my family. We definitely tried to make it a family ordeal, read the Christmas story from Luke, every scene together. I really love Christmas.
If you were to get one album, even if you already have this album, from 2014, as your only Christmas gift this year, what would it be?
’68’s record.
That was quick.
Dude, I love it. Every year, I write a top ten blog post and I post it publicly, but it started with a bunch of friends here in Albuquerque. We would all just share it among ourselves. So we always have so much fun with it. There are probably five or six of us in town that do it. We always ask each other about it, talk through records and stuff. I’ve thought about it all year. I’ve listened to a decent amount of new music this year, which, honestly, I hadn’t in years past. So it was always kind of a struggle even coming up with ten. But I loved the ’68 album. I don’t know why I like it so much, but it’s great. That’s it. That’s the album. That’s going to be my number.
A little sneak peek.
Unless P.O.D. puts out something as good.
Levi the Poet was posted on December 20, 2014 for HM Magazine and authored by Nate Lake.
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MEDI0457 with Anti-PD-1 Therapy Shows Promise in Treating HPV-associated Head and Neck Cancer
by Iqra Mumal, MSc
An investigational cancer vaccine, MedImmune’s MEDI0457, can safely be used in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy to improve outcomes in patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer, a study reports, detailing findings of a proof-of-concept trial in patients.
The study, “Immunotherapy targeting HPV 16/18 generates potent immune responses in HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancer,” was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) — the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States — is known to play a major role in the development of head and neck cancers.
MEDI0457, a DNA-based cancer vaccine, is being developed to treat HPV-associated cancers. It is designed to target the E6 and E7 oncogenes (genes that have the potential to cause cancer), which are expressed by tumor cells that have been infected by HPV types 16 and 18.
The vaccine has two components — VGX-3100 (which contains the DNA sequence for E6 and E7) and INO-9012 (a DNA sequence for immune activator IL-12).
MEDI0457 is injected into the patient’s muscle, and enters the cells after electroporation (application of a small electric pulse).
Once there, E6 and E7 start to become expressed, which triggers the immune system to recognize E6 and E7 proteins as foreign. This leads to the production of “killer” T-cells that identify and destroy cells expressing E6 and E7, including HPV-infected tumor cells.
Physicians often treat tumors with an immunotherapy known as programmed death (PD-1) receptor-directed antibodies. But a clinical response to PD-1 inhibitors are only realized in about 20% of patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer.
For this reason, an open-label Phase 1b/2 trial (NCT02163057) tested if MEDI0457 could be safely given with PD-1 inhibitors to people with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer, and — as a secondary goal — work to make the immune system more responsive to PD-1 immunotherapy.
Twenty-one patients were divided into two groups, each given four doses of MEDI0457. One group was treated with one dose prior to surgery and three afterward; the other was given all doses after chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Of these patients, 18 showed higher E6/E7-specific T-cell activity in blood and tissues after a final dose, with activity lasting for three months. Biopsies on five tumors, taken before and after one vaccine dose, also showed evidence of T-cell infiltration and proteins associated with a cell-killing potential.
Safety was also reasonable, with MEDI0457 being well-tolerated and its use associated with mild injection site reactions but no grade 3-5 adverse events.
“We have not seen that kind of T cell infiltration with just one dose of a vaccine before,” Charu Aggarwal, MD, the study’s principal investigator, said in a press release. “These findings open the door for utilizing targeted immunotherapy approaches against specific cancer-causing targets like HPV.”
One patient in the trial progressed and developed metastatic disease. Of note, the patient was then treated with anti-PD-1 therapy and achieved a rapid and durable complete response — sustained, to date, for more than two years.
“The observation of a sustained complete clinical response after just 4 doses of nivolumab (ongoing for > 18 months) in a patient with progressive metastatic disease is remarkable,” the study said.
The researchers concluded that MEDI0457 may be used “as a complementary strategy to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition in HPV-associated HNSCCa [advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer] to improve therapeutic outcomes.”
Iqra Mumal, MSc
Iqra holds a MSc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada. She also holds a BSc in Life Sciences from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. Currently, she is completing a PhD in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. Her research has ranged from across various disease areas including Alzheimer’s disease, myelodysplastic syndrome, bleeding disorders and rare pediatric brain tumors.
Tagged Anti-PD-1 therapy, E6/E7 specific T-cell activity, head and neck cancer, HPV-associated cancer, human papillomavirus, killer T-cell, MEDI0457, MedImmune.
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ICPCE2019
SPECIAL GUEST INVITATION
DATO' DR ABDUL HALIM BIN MOHD HUSSIN
International Counselling Association of Malaysia (PERKAMA International)
Dato' Dr Abdul Halim Bin Mohd Hussin was the former General Director of the National Drug Agency. His advocacy in mental health and well-being has been dedicated at the forefront of policy making in Malaysia.
DR MARK HOELTERHOFF
Lecturer, University of Edinburgh (UK)
Dr Mark Hoelterhoff has been working in the field of mental health for over 20 years. His clinical experience includes settings within private practice and third sector mental health organisations in the UK and US. He has provided individual and family psychotherapy to clients who have wide-ranging mental health experiences; he promotes developing strengths to enable individuals and communities to thrive. His work is based on positive psychology which is founded in the belief that people want to find meaning, develop their potential and live fulfilling lives.
DR BERNEY WILKINSON
Professor, Webster University (US)
Dr Berney Wilkinson is co-host of Psychreg Podcast. Dr Wilkinson earned his PhD in school psychology from the University of South Florida in 2005, specialising in paediatric psychology. He went on to complete a postgraduate programme and is a Diplomate with the American Board of School Neuropsychology. He is a licensed psychologist in Florida and owns a private practice that includes other psychologists and counsellors. He is Associate Editor of Psychreg Journal of Psychology.
DR WAN MARZUKI
Professor, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Dr Wan Marzuki is the Head of the Department of Counsellor Education and Counselling Psychology at Universiti Putra Malaysia. His areas of specialisation include guidance and counselling; counsellor education; career development and counselling; development of psychological instrument; computer application in education; social science research; and soft skills. He is a registered counsellor in Malaysia and a member of the American Counseling Association.
DENNIS RELOJO-HOWELL
Founder, Psychreg (UK)
Dennis Relojo-Howell, MSc, MBPsS is an international mental health advocate and founder of Psychreg. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Psychreg Journal of Psychology. Aside from PJP, he sits on the editorial boards of international journals. A Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society, Dennis holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Hertfordshire and his research interest lies in the intersection of psychology and blogging.
DR NOOR HASSLINE MOHAMED
Academician, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Dr Noor Hassline Mohamed is an academician at UMS where she teaches psychology and counselling. She has more than 17 years teaching experiences as well as a clinical psychologist consultant who works with adults and children. Dr Noor Hassline was former Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Science at International University Malaya-Wales. Dr Noor Hassline is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and she is also a lifetime member of the International Society of Psychology, Counselling and Education (ISPCE).
DR AMONEETA BECKSTEIN
Counsellor, Webster University (Thailand)
Dr Amoneeta Beckstein completed his PhD in Counselling Psychology with specialisations in multicultural and alcohol and other drugs counselling. As a scientist-practitioner, Dr Beckstein's research and practice mutually inform each other. His research interests include Native American psychology, positive psychology, multiculturalism, life balance, underrepresented groups’ leadership development and educational success, and understanding and augmenting subjective happiness. His research aims to contribute to marginalised groups’ growth, resilience, and life enhancement.
AMIR SINGH
Senior Lecturer,
Management Development Institute of Singapore
Amir Singh teaches psychology, business and statistics at Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). He was the head of the School of Psychology of MDIS from 2008–2013, and also served as the director of the psychology programme at the University of Bradford in 2015. He holds a master's degree in guidance and counselling from James Cook University.
DR BALAN RATHAKRISHAN
Associate Professor, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Dr Balan Rathakrishnan is Associate Professor in Faculty of Psychology and Education at UMS. He specialises in youth and community programmes in UMS. He also won the World Inventor Award in Korea in 2013, in the field of research and education category for social sciences. His research focuses on youth, creativity, innovation and intervention for social problems in youth.
WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
DAVID SLEET
Co-owner, Ayanay (UK)
Dave Sleet’s whole life has been shaped by his own childhood experiences. Being raised in a family that fostered over 90 children and young people between 1979 and 1989. The experience of witnessing the various impacts of so much trauma in children and young people at such a young age, was added to by seeing the flaws and weaknesses in the support and protection systems for those connected to children’s social care.
SIOBHAIN CROSBIE
Co-owner of Ayanay (UK)
Siobhain Crosbie is an experienced therapist practising psychotherapy for almost 20 years in private practice. She's also a qualified Mediator, Family therapist, qualified Supervisor and Author. Vonnie is a writer of articles and stories reflecting understanding from a psychoanalytical viewpoint and her experience is extensive.
DR SAIFUR REHMAN FAROOQI
Assistant Professor, University of Delhi (India)
Dr Saif Farooqi is Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Psychology, Vivekananda College, at the University of Delhi. His areas of interest are interpersonal relationships, individual differences, cyberspace/social media, urbanism, history of psychology, and parapsychology. He has conducted many workshops on SPSS, communication, leadership, and career development. Dr Farooqi has also been involved in writing psychology-based articles on his blogs for more than ten years.
ICPCE 2019 is jointly organised by Psychreg, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and ISPCE.
Psychreg
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
ISPCE
Phone : (+6088) 320000 / 320474
Email : drelojo.howell@gmail.com
Address : Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Copyright 2019. 2nd International Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Education.
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by Rob Williams — Friday, March 29, 2013, 04:30 PM EDT
Activision’s Facial Character Animation Tech Demo Is Freakily Realistic
One of the best things about any Game Developers Conference is that it's where much of the interesting tech soon to hit our video games is first shown off. It's no surprise, then, that it's been the place to be for advanced character rendering and of course, the Holy Grail of them all, facial animation. While facial animation has come a long way over the years (L.A. Noire was an outstanding example), we've hardly seen a perfect example. In our opinion, though, Activision's demo at this week's GDC could be the closest we've ever come to that. It's again not perfect, but at certain points in the demo video, you may just be freaked out by the realistic reactions of the character.
This demo was crafted by Activision's R&D team, which it showed off during its GDC presentation called "Next Generation Character Rendering". "Demo" implies that it was actually shown in real-time, and it was. According to Activision, the entire thing ran at around 180 FPS using a GeForce GTX 680. Impressive, but bear in mind, it's easier to show demos like this off when there's virtually nothing to render around the character. I'd love to see a company someday show off tech demos like this but actually create a scene out of it. I haven't played a game that involved just looking at a face before, and I am not sure I have great interest to.
The face data was acquired from USC Institute for Creative Technologies, and was then converted to a 70 bones rig, with some polish applied with the help of DirectX 11. For even more examples of what's possible with this technology, I'd recommend hitting up this blog. Some of the models are simply mind-blowing - easily mistakable in some cases for a real photo.
Who wants to guess when we'll first see this tech appear in a video game?
Tags: Activision, DirectX 11, GTX 680, NASDAQ: ATVI, Rendering
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“We Messed Up”: Tyra Banks Admits ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Wasn’t Inclusive Enough
rebecahjacobs
Source: Eric McCandless / Getty
America’s Next Top Model has gotten its fair share of slander over the years as people who were once fans realize the show they watched as a child/teenager wasn’t exactly as great as in some areas as they thought it was. One of the things many have pointed out is just how mean Tyra Banks and other judges were to some contestants, reposting old clips in amazement at how normal a lot of us thought it was over a decade ago.
Now, the creator and new host of Dancing With The Stars is admitting that among other things, the series wasn’t as inclusive as it should have been.
“We were still operating in a world—I was still a model at the time, not a retired model yet, and still operating in this world that had so many rules,” she said on the Tamron Hall Show on Wednesday in response to the criticism she’s faced about the series over the years. “It was this awful push and pull that we all had.”
Banks said there were “different categories of things we messed up” and that Top Model had “a whole bunch of things that we did mess up.” She revealed that she sees the show’s missteps as her attempt to avoid hurting the contestants’ careers.
“I was trying to push boundaries but was also torn to try to make sure that these girls could work, so it was a balance,” She admitted. “It was like, ‘Oh, break beauty barriers,’ but yeah, I can break them all I want on the show, but they’ll graduate from the show, and they won’t work.”
She continued, “I had model agents here saying, ‘These three girls could really, really work, but this must change,’ so there was a whole behind-the-scenes thing happening,” Banks said. “Instead of me saying, ‘You must change this,’ on TV, I think what I should have said is, ‘You’re beautiful.’”
Tyra also said that she had whispering agents in her ear, telling her what the models needed to change about their physical appearances if they wanted to win within the industry. Still, Banks has continued to defended the intentions of the series she created.
“America’s Next Top Model was created—I created it—to introduce diversity and inclusion into a world that was pretty much not representing that or representing it in the most minute ways,” Banks said. “So that was the crux of why I created America’s Next Top Model. It’s why my partner Ken Mok and I, who’s Chinese American, got up every single day, and we made so many inroads.”
“We Messed Up”: Tyra Banks Admits ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Wasn’t Inclusive Enough was originally published on globalgrind.com
More By rebecahjacobs
Cardi B to Star in New Comedy Film Assisted Living
Bring On The Nostalgia: Nickelodeon’s “Taina” Turns 20 Today
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Capturing a culture: an audiovisual homage to Brixton.
Immerse yourself in a unique installation by Gestalt this weekend.
In a small corner of Brixton, you might be surprised to find London’s last working windmill. Normally a local community hub, this weekend it is being transformed into an immersive art installation for the public.
It features as part of this year’s London Design Festival and the smaller spin-off, Brixton Design Trail. A free event, it will explore the traditional, contemporary and diverse culture of Brixton by filling the four floors of the windmill with musical compositions, recordings, and visuals.
Ahead of tomorrow’s launch to the public, the project’s composers Joel Wells and Abi Wade, and our audiovisual engineer Kev Luckhurst, sat down to share what it takes to bring such a unique installation together.
Firstly, how did you all meet?
K: Appropriately, Joel and I met through music – we used to go to gigs together during our college days.
J: Yeah, we were the only guys in Maidstone who liked hip-hop!
K: I’m also working with Abi and Joel on some other projects that we’re doing as an Audiovisual team at Hoare Lea. As composers, they can help to create bespoke content for the sound systems we design, and form part of our growing network of creative groups and artists.
Abi and Joel, this Brixton Windmill project is part of a series of installations you’re doing across London that will be produced under the name Gestalt; what’s that all about?
A: Gestalt essentially means “an organised whole that’s more than the sum of its parts”, so it’s about collaborating with other creatives to experiment and incorporate visual arts into our work.
J: We were also really keen to broaden our network to keep things fun and fresh. Adding in new people to the mix takes you in directions you wouldn’t expect. It was about not just engaging other people but also ourselves.
A: We wanted to actually get out to places and take recordings, creating work that’s both inspired by and grounded in a sense of place. New technologies are popping up all the time, so we felt it was important to utilise them in a new environment.
What attracted you to beginning the series with this Brixton Windmill installation?
J: It’s so unusual to see a 200-year-old structure like this in the centre of Brixton, so immediately it was a unique viewpoint to explore Brixton from.
A: Yeah, we interviewed lots of people to ask them what the windmill meant to them. It’s the last working windmill in London, producing its own flour for locals to buy, and acting as a community hub, so it really is viewed as the heart and soul of the area. We were immediately drawn to the idea of using the space.
J: There’s also a lovely symbolism to it in terms of the turning of time that relates to what we were exploring with our installation piece.
So what can people expect from the experience?
J: The four floors of the mill work loosely as a narrative timeline, moving you through the social and cultural ‘moments’ of Brixton. The first floor allows you to experience the history of the building as a working windmill, and then you ascend to the second floor where we’ve tried to capture the hopefulness of the generation who came across during the Windrush era. We move upwards again into Brixton’s more tumultuous times and culture clashes, exploring the pros and cons of the gentrification and evolving nature of the area. And finally the top floor is a total celebration of its youth culture, and its influence on music and the arts in general.
A: The top floor really is a kind of ‘vibrant summit’ of Brixton. Every single person we interviewed mentioned the word colourful when talking about the area – so it was vital we captured that. It’s quite intense to try and curate 200 years of Brixton life in all its forms, but I like the idea that people can move up and down the floors at whatever speed, or even order, they choose.
How did you begin to bring all the elements of such a fluid and, presumably, ever-evolving project together?
A: It was the first time we’d ever curated a multi-channel audiovisual project like this before – and there’s definitely a less glamorous side, in terms of risk assessments and logistics etc!
J: Yes, even something as simple as trying to get everyone in the same place at the same is no small task! We had to get that balance of regularly jumping from being creative to being the pragmatic organisers.
A: But it’s all part of the excitement. I’m actually most looking forward to the day before we open to the public as we’ll essentially be bringing the whole thing together in one day.
K: Yeah, we’ve got one day to make it all work! In my experience of multi-channel systems like those we’ll be using, there’s a lot of scope once you get to the site and see how it actually all works in the space. One of the tricky parts is going from the initial idea of having lots of different audio elements, and then actually deciding on how you route each part to the various channels of the sound system. It can be more of a challenge than expected. So we’ll be helping with the actual physical installation. We’ll get the composition running and then play around with different loudspeaker locations and orientations. It’s about getting the most out of what Abi and Joel and the rest of the team have created, and a lot of that has to be done on site. You can’t go from working on a studio to a four-floor windmill without adapting the soundscape to what works best in the space. It’s still fluid until those final moments.
A: I’m really excited about the way the sound is going to blend together through the floorboard gaps between floors; it’s going to be interesting.
J: It’s one thing making the composition, but getting all the different audio stems and systems to work together harmoniously in an environment requires a whole new set of skills, so having Kev’s experience is going to be a massive help.
What do you hope people take away from the experience?
J: I really want everyone to experience a strong sense of place. Other than that, we understand that people’s emotional responses are always personal to them, so we’ve tried to keep the whole piece reasonably abstract.
A: Yeah, we’ve intentionally left it open to interpretation and personal response. Our main aim was to bring together the area’s incredible wealth and vibrancy, suspending it in a space for just a brief moment in time. There’s been a lot of research into the importance that sound has on our memories, and if we can both evoke old and inspire new memories for people, we’ll hopefully have honoured the rich heritage of Brixton in an honest way.
When: 2pm-5pm, Sat 15 – Sun 16 Sept Where: Windmill Gardens, West end of Blenheim Gardens, Off Brixton Hill, London, SW2 5EU
www.londondesignfestival.com/event/variable-01-audio-visual-architectural-installation
www.composition.com/gestalt
www.brixtonwindmill.org
Collaborators: Hinako Omari – pianist, Jake McGowan – director, Playing Field, Friends of Brixton Windmill, Karl Sadler – Obelisk Music
Supported by: D&B Audio Technik, Shure Microphones, Art Space Brixton, Help Musicians, Brixton Design Trail, London Design Festival
The co-working revolution.
Category: Insights
‘Plan Bee’ at the Eden Project.
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OpinionCommunity Voices
African-American Facts for Week of: April 19, 2015
By Annette Johnson
The Stono Rebellion, also known as Cato's Rebellion, is believed by some historians to be the first slave rebellion ever recorded.
Annette Johnson
African-American Facts for Week of: June 5, 2016
Annette Johnson - Modified date: June 6, 2016 0
Know Your History!Up to the early 20th century, most American knowledge of Black history waslimited to the African American struggle through slavery and emancipation....
African-American Facts for Week of: May 15, 2016
Annette Johnson - Modified date: May 18, 2016 0
Know Your History!Up to the early 20th century, most American knowledge of Black history was limited to the African American struggle through slavery and...
African-American Facts for Week of: May 8, 2016
Annette Johnson - Modified date: May 2, 2016 0
Know Your History!
Up to the early 20th century, most American knowledge of Black history was limited to the African American struggle through slavery and emancipation. The significance of Black history is recognition of the advancements and accomplishments of a group of people once defined by the Constitution as three-fifths of a person. While slavery in America hosts the background of Black history, the African American impact on history reaches beyond the country’s early history, as African Americans have made significant contributions.
National Urban League Formed
The National Urban League was formed in New York City. The league was born out of a merger of the National League for the Protection of Colored Women, National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes and the Niagra Movement.
Network news anchor
Max Robinson is the first African American to anchor network news. The network is ABC.
Harriet Tubman starts the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and during the American Civil War, a Union spy. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made about thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved family and friends,using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.
Volunteer African American Army Units, including the 3rd Alabama, 3rd North Carolina
Volunteer African American army units, including the 3rd Alabama, 3rd North Carolina, 6th Virginia, 9th Ohio, 9th Illinois, 23rd Kansas and 10th Cavalry regiments, some units with African American officers, took part in the Spanish-American War on Cuban soil. Some of these veterans, upon return to the United States, were treated with parades and speeches. Others were assaulted and even lynched.
Stono Rebellion
Slave revolt occurs in Stono, – Charleston, S.C.
Inventor Granville T. Woods born
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Inventor Granville T. Woods. Woods received more than 35 patents including those for a steam boiler furnace, an incubator, and an automatic air brake. He is also the first American of African ancestry to be a mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, he concentrated most of his work on trains and streetcars.
National Medical Association of Black Physicians
National Medical Association of Black Physicians organized in Atlanta, Ga.
The United Negro College Fund
On April 25, 1944, the United Negro College Fund was incorporated. The UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson (then president of what is now Tuskegee University), Mary McLeod Bethune, and others.
Memphis Federal Court Case
Consent judgment in Memphis federal court ended restrictions barring voters in Fayette County, Tennessee. This was the first voting rights case under the Civil Rights Act.
It is important to celebrate the achievements and contributions Black Americans have played in U.S. history.
To me, the omission of any group from history teachings results in a limited understanding of history’s relationship with the present and future. Know your history.
Comments, I can be reached at:
granville t. woods
slavery in the united states
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Getting ThereLocation
do Barrocal
Farmscape Hotel in Alentejo
A 19th-century farm estate retreat in Alentejo set amidst ancient oaks, olive groves and vineyards.
São Lourenço do Barrocal is a boutique hotel in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The estate has been in the same family for over 200 years, and it used to be an ancient farming village, which has been brought carefully back to life as a luxury hotel, with the help of Pritzker prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura and interior designers Anahory Almeida.
Spread over a vast 7.8 million square meters, São Lourenço do Barrocal offers 40 types of accommodation: 22 rooms, 2 suites, a cottage with one-bedroom, 13 cottages with two-bedrooms and 2 cottages with three-bedrooms; all of which have private terraces. There’s also a restaurant, a spa, a winery, and stables, among other experiences.
Sleep cradled by the restfulness of the landscape and open your window in the morning to a breathtaking view of Monsaraz. You will want to go outside, stepping into your very own private terrace to take in the gentle countryside air.
Local gems include Neolithic dolmens.
275 days of sunshine per year and 75 different bird species just on the property itself.
São Lourenço do Barrocal produce their own wine and it’s excellent.
The nearby Alqueva Lake is Europe’s biggest man-made water reservoir.
Kids will love it here.
This is the most family orientated hotel from the JO&SO collection.
We found the pool bar prices a little bit steep.
The service felt overly formal and a bit slow at times, but we visited it shortly after opening. We had no doubts things would keep improving, and we look forward to visiting again.
Local artisans contributed to the interior design in the guest rooms where antique objects and furniture from the estate were used, alongside contemporary Portuguese pieces.
A delicious organic farm breakfast, with artisanal bread from Alentejo and local delicacies.
The entire interior design project has been undertaken by the architecture, interior and furniture design studio Anahory Almeida, who are also responsible for chef José Avillez's restaurants, yet the majority of the objects on display come from the family house in Reguengos de Monsaraz.
São Lourenço do Barrocal’s spa offers a wide range of signature treatments and organic treats by Susanne Kaufmann. It was awarded Best Hotel Spa 2016/17 by Monocle Travel Top 50 Awards.
The restaurant offers local cuisine, infused with Alentejo flavours and subtle contemporary twists.
Bicycle rides
Playroom for the kids
Watersports (lake)
For more memorable things to do and see, check out our handpicked selection of local experiences in the Alentejo.
Local Action
Alentejo’s sense of beauty is found almost everywhere, from whitewashed villages and craggy outcrops to undulating plains peppered with cork oak and olive groves.
Visit the nearby village Monsaraz (4Km), with its hilltop castle with stunning lake views.
Relax on the shores of the biggest man-made lake in Europe, Alqueva (43Km), where water sports and boat rides are available all-year-round. Discover it by walking along its shores and hiking up the gentle hills that border it. The hotel can provide you with the best routes so you uncover its hidden corners.
Dark Sky Alqueva (20Km) is the first starlight tourism destination in the world. The excellent atmospheric conditions and clarity make it one of the best of all to watch the sky and the stars at night.
Go horse-riding around the beautiful estate.
São Lourenço do Barrocal provides bikes for all sizes and fun activities such as treasure hunts for the kids.
Be introduced to the estate's vineyards and winery followed by a wine tasting session.
You'll be charmed by the tiny village of Monsaraz (4km), one of the oldest settlements in southern Portugal. Climb up and awe at the view.
"Sabores de Monsaraz" is a traditional restaurant with incredible views over Alqueva's lake and a very charming owner, Isabel. Its stunning views extend beyond the Spanish border as well as to Mourão Village and the new Aldeia da Luz.
The watercress and cheese salad it's her speciality and it's divine. Other special dishes from the region include a hearty savoury bread pudding – containing asparagus or fish – called migas (we LOVE it).
Visit Évora (51km), a lovely small town and a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Visited by tourists and the Portuguese alike, Restaurant Fialho in Évora has become a world reference by the "Alentejana" Portuguese cuisine.
We interviewed José António Uva, the owner of São Lourenço do Barrocal.
José António Uva is the eighth generation of the same family to have owned São Lourenço do Barrocal, and is the lead creative mind behind the project.
In the 19th century, São Barrocal grew to become a thriving small farming village, providing enough livestock, grain, vegetables and wine to sustain up to 50 resident families year-round. With its own chapel, schoolroom and bullring, it was home to a tight-knit community who dwelled there happily for many years.
His grandfather José above and his grandmother below.
This estate has been in your family for more than 200 years. How did the idea to create a hotel come about?
Restoration of the estate for private use wouldn’t have made any sense at all because this is not and was never a family home; it’s much bigger than a family home. It was originally conceived to accommodate many families and industrial agricultural production.
In 2002, I came to spend some time out here to figure out what I could do; it became clear that unless I dedicated myself to this project, it would lose the sense of sustainability that was always part of it. A 200-year-old place like this needs to be under constant restoration and renovation or it stops making sense and stops being used.
I was more concerned with sustainability, with what you can offer the next generation, with something that is not so intrinsic to its time that it eventually dies. There was a need to understand the estate, what you can convert, what lies within the walls and if it makes sense or not to make a wine cellar, a restaurant, a vegetable garden… and with all of that information you can understand in a much clearer way if the estate, 10 years after the restoration, will continue to make sense.
I spent a year in that house next to the swimming pool, I was quite isolated but the idea was to figure out “if I stay here through 4 seasons, a whole year alone, will this continue to make sense?” “Is this a love story? Wow! Are we going to do this project?”
Were you alone during that year?
Single, alone. I have a friend who is an architect, Manuel, who came to live in one of the houses which was much worse off than mine. The only way to understand this place was to come and live here. As a family, we never spent much time in this “Monte” [name given to estates in Alentejo]. What we did do here was things like having 20 kids over camping out for one week without electricity and water.
The year that I spent here was very important, I was able to understand the different seasons, what could and couldn’t be done, how cold it gets, how hot. Then when faced with all of the decisions regarding the project I was able to sit down with the engineer and ask “so what will we use for climate control?” and when he replies with a romanticised solution “you should do geothermal, it’s the climate control system of the future” – having spent enough time here I was confident to say “forget geothermal, we need straight air conditioning otherwise, it will be unbearable”. I don’t like air conditioners but sometimes there is no other way.
Did you have any experience in the hotel industry?
No, but I forced myself to get some during that time. I thought there were certain points I could take on, and other parts that I couldn’t. We ended up collaborating with a company that helped out in the investment and operations side, the amount of capital that was needed to invest and to maintain the project. I learned a lot of very interesting things with them, most of all, I learned about what I don’t want to do.
"In 2002, I spent a year here, quite isolated… I was able to understand the different seasons, how cold it gets, how hot."
- José António Uva, Owner
The article published in DN in the summer of 1927 which describes the estate in its “production peak”.
The area was originally conceived in 1820 to acommodate a number of families for industrial agricultural production.
What is the history behind the estate and your family?
Alentejo was brushwood from one end to the other and agricultural production was non-existent. These lands were hunting grounds for the king, people lived miserably and the population was scarce. With the problems of the monarchy at the start of the century, a decision was passed which became known as “the 1820 liberalisation of the lands” – selling the lands that were not in use, putting more money into the royal house and creating more productivity in areas of the country which had been completely unused.
In 1820, my ancestor Manuel Mendes Papança, a gentleman from a military order and a lawyer who had studied in Coimbra, was able to buy at the time 9 thousand hectares around Monsaraz. He was Council President for 20 years and he enacted something very rare in the 19th century. He was a man of incredible vision: he gave full ownership of lands to small-scale farmers who undertook to plant vines.
This meant that he was able to create a community centred on wine, enabling him to start a central winery where wine was made under the old co-operative principle. So no money was ever exchanged, only goods. By 1870 there was an agricultural industry in the Alentejo which continued to grow through to the 1950s.
There is a beautiful article which was on the cover of Diario de Noticias in 1927, in which, by then his grandson, explains what mass agricultural production is. The funny thing is that an industry which did not exist was professionalised and then Salazar (Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968) created his own narrative about Alentejo – his own version and no one else’s – in which he claimed that Alentejo would become “Portugal’s granary”.
He said that he would take the southern part of Alentejo, clean it up from one end to the other and industrialise cereal production. It was a disastrous decision as it drastically accelerated land aridness and tree erosion. It really was a bizarre decision which wasn’t even very logical from the competition standpoint because we couldn’t truly compete in the production of cereal harvested in arid Alentejo when other countries have a lot more and much richer lands.
When the regime ended and the plans didn’t work, extreme poverty set in.
Growing up, what was your own relationship with the estate?
Since 1820, this estate has been handed down from generation to generation. Some periods were more productive than others. During the 1975 revolution, the year in which I was born, the estate was occupied against the family’s will. There was a warrant out for my family’s arrest and they fled to Spain. That’s when the estate really entered a state of complete disuse and abandonment.
I was just a young kid at the time and my relationship with Alentejo was mainly about holidays. Growing up, the restoration wasn’t important for me but I did think about it sometimes. Then I went abroad to study and work, and there was a moment when I thought it’s now or never. I can do it now, I don’t have children, I’m not married, I can afford to spend some time there and have a good think about the whole thing.
Before (2002) and after (2016)
Parts of the estate including the winery were reborn under the eye of the Portuguese architect that won the 2011 Pritzker Prize, Eduardo Souto Moura.
The swimming pool, also designed by the Architect Eduardo Souto Moura, is invaded by a stone which is given the name Barrocal.
José’s favourite season at the farm is Spring, when wildflowers change the scenery left by mild winters, abundantly covering the fields.
How did the collaboration with the Architect Eduardo Souto Moura come about?
The planning was made with an architect from Lisbon, João Pedro Falcão de Campos. Later I was introduced to Eduardo (Eduardo Souto de Moura), he came here for lunch and I told him that I’d like him to work on the estate because there is no one in Portugal who knows as much as he does about restoration as he does.
Before I started working with him in 2008, I was getting a little fed up. I had already spent 6 years trying to understand the project and I was 33. It was very intense and very personal. From sunrise to sundown, it was my life. Then things changed quite suddenly, and the project started to work itself out.
You’ve learned a lot…
You just keep growing and growing, learning from the experience every member of the team brings in. We don’t want to be the expected luxury hotel, quite the opposite. We want to be much more personal, intuitive, less signage, less worried about lighting; houses are like that, they have a life of their own. That’s how we like to do things. It’s like the swimming pool issue, I get it; we have to separate the waters (note: they are going to build a separate swimming pool for children).
What is the best time of year for people to come and how long should they stay?
My favourite time of year here is spring. As for the number of nights, there are two different takes on it. One, for people who live in Portugal and come for the weekend, a break, you might say. Although we’ve had some surprising stories, we’ve had people come out from New York to spend the weekend and then go back.
The other is the one where you bring your children out for the week and really live the experience intensely – you get that experience I had when I was a kid. We used to go to the Algarve. I would leave the house at 7 am in the morning and only come back at 8 pm in the evening. They can have that here, they can wake up, get on their bikes, get breakfast… they are free.
"Every week he would sleep in his van all around the Alentejo dealing in roof tiles, then he would come by here and we would buy them."
José’s favorite object are the roof tiles
Acquiring 300,000 original vintage tiles from the region was no easy task but well worth it.
What is your favourite object in the estate and why?
The roof tile. There weren’t enough of the original tiles, so in the specs, it was written: “the tiles that nowadays best imitate the original, which are called the something or other”. I ordered the tiles, looked at them and said: “This is horrible”. The tiles are half the construction works; it’s like someone’s hair. Those roof tiles weren’t what I was looking for. But then someone told me there was a guy who could source old roof tiles in the Alentejo, but I struggled to get a hold of him. I finally found him at the Algarve Football Stadium. He was in a Ford Transit and said: “I can get you those roof tiles” and I said to him “but I need 300.000 roof tiles” he replied, “Yep, yep, I will bring you roof tiles every week”.
We made an agreement, and in fact, every week he would sleep in his van all around the Alentejo dealing in roof tiles, then he would come by here and we would buy them.
São Lourenço do Barrocal
7200-177 Monsaraz
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Lisbon (LIS) – 180km
Faro (FAO) – 235km
Porto (OPO) – 468km
It’s a 2h drive from Lisbon to São Lourenço do Barrocal. Hiring a car is recommended if you want to explore the region. Otherwise, the hotel can arrange a transfer from the airport.
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IslandMP
British Fairways?
British Airways has come in for criticism on the Island for banning an employee from wearing a cross on a necklace at work. Nadia Eweida, a British Airways employee, has lost her fight to openly wear a cross at work at Heathrow Airport after it was described as a ‘religious symbol’ which could give offence. The decision has come after months of unpaid leave Ms Eweida has taken in protest at British Airways’ strict stance on small religious symbols.
Island MP Andrew Turner commented,
“It is completely ludicrous that in a Christian country a small and subtle declaration of Christianity can be banned by an organisation which claims to British. A restrained declaration of one’s faith surely cannot be deemed offensive in a tolerant, multicultural society. This stance is particularly odd considering other workers are allowed to wear headscarves and turbans, which are a clear representation of ones religious beliefs.”
“It is a sad state of affairs when one can no longer wear a modest pendant that symbolises a religion that has been at the heart of this nation for fifteen hundred years. BA should reconsider their policy on uniform to make it easier for people who simply want to confess their faith discreetly to do their job without fear of persecution.
“This kind of behaviour will make many people think twice about flying BA.”
LSC looks again at ‘dodgy facts’ on Sixth Form Proposal
Welcome for Council’s call to save Island Landmarks
Broadlands jobs safe
Island MP Andrew Turner has received confirmation that the future of jobs and services at Broadlands House are secure following press reports that previously announced new jobs would not now be coming to the Island. Mr Turner said that yesterday’s press reports were completely at odds with assurances he had received both from the Minister last summer and the regional manager as recently as November last year. On hearing the reports that plans had changed he contacted the senior management of JobCentre Plus to seek clarification of the position.
Mr Turner said
“I have now received definite confirmation that the plans of Jobcentre Plus have not changed and that they will be keeping a benefit processing centre on the Island as well as establishing one of only two national insurance number processing centres here. I have been told that the additional jobs will arise as their plans are implemented over the coming months.”
Mr Turner went on to say
“During our meeting last November Guy Tompkins Jobcentre Plus’s regional manager was very complimentary about their workforce on the Island and told me that the positive approach of the staff was one of the reasons why they planned to expand on the Island. I am very glad that they see the sense of bringing work to the Island rather than taking it to the mainland and I will continue to press Government to follow their example.
School Reorganization – Where will £70m come from?
Government have denied promising the IW Council £70 million to pay for reorganizing Island schools from a three- to a two-tier system. And the Island’s MP has criticized the ‘optimistic noises’ on funding given at consultation meetings.
In a Parliamentary Answer to Island MP Andrew Turner it was revealed that there have been absolutely no promises from the Government to provide the estimated £70 million needed for the changes being proposed by council officials. In answering Mr Turner, Stephen Twigg MP, the Minister responsible for school funding, made it clear that the Isle of Wight council has received no assurances that extra money will be made available for the proposed changeover. Mr Turner has criticized the impression given to parents and teachers that obtaining the money needed from central government would not present a problem.
Andrew Turner said,
“During the meeting I attended at Sandown High School it was clearly stated that ‘we can get’ the £70 million needed to change the system. I was surprised to hear that because that simply isn’t the way that Government works. I have asked the Government what promises they have given and they have clearly told me that they have given none. I have now asked the Council what led them to give such a misleading impression to those who went to the trouble of attending the meeting. I have been told that there have been informal meetings with government officials who support these proposals – I am afraid that does not represent government spending commitments. Frankly I am shocked that optimistic noises were made which misled people.”
Exam results and education standards on the Island are far below the national average and the recent report costing £100,000 by 4S recommended changing the system but did not provide any evidence that this alone would improve standards. Mr Turner went on to say:
“There may well be arguments for changing the system – but changing the system does not guarantee improving standards; the issues should not be mixed up. Even the advocates of change admit it would cost a fortune. If that money does not come from central government it will have to come from existing council budgets and be topped up by Island council taxpayers.
“It is at very least disingenuous to suggest that finding the money to achieve change is not an important issue that needs to be discussed as part of these proposals. I am worried that the Council seems to believe that informal discussions with civil servants translates into promises of many millions of pounds – sadly that is not the case.
“We need to raise standards but that is best done by the Council accepting that some schools are better than others, publishing that information to parents, governors, teachers and the wider public, and tackling the problems on a school-by-school basis. It is not as glamorous as being the architect of a whole new system, but it is much more likely to give our children the quality schooling they deserve.”
Contact : Andrew Turner 01983 530808
School Building (Isle of Wight)
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) commitments and (b) undertakings she has made to the Isle of Wight Council regarding future capital allocations provided (i) through the Building Schools for the Future programme or (ii) otherwise, whether (A) contingent on or (B) not contingent on school reorganisation. [216280]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: A letter has been sent to all council leaders stating that, for authorities not prioritised in the first three waves of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), including the Isle of Wight, we are determined to make a start on BSF plans between 2005–06 and 2010–11. Our ambition is that in the next full Parliament, subject to future spending decisions, 60 per cent. of all authorities will have started in the BSF programme, or else be given resources to renew at least one secondary school with the greatest need as a school for the future, or as an academy. Each BSF scheme will be judged on its merits, and is not necessarily contingent on school reorganisation. Other capital allocations to the council and its schools were announced on 30 November, and are set out in the following table:
2006–07 14,853
Can we become a Fairtrade Island?
As World Fair Trade Fortnight draws to a close this Sunday the Island’s MP Andrew Turner has praised the work of the IW Fairtrade Forum. The Forum is working towards the accolade of Fairtrade Island by building on existing users and suppliers of Fairtrade products to spread the word about the products and the good they do for their producers in the developing world. There are now more than 250 products bearing the distinctive green and blue logo which guarantees a fair deal to producers of such items as coffee, tea, sugar and bananas.
“The Fairtrade product range has expanded over recent years and whilst once they were seen as an expensive alternative they now offer good value and quality. In order to become a Fairtrade Island we need more suppliers of the products so everybody really can make a difference by asking their local coffee shop or convenience store to stock a few items from the range. As the largest constituency in the country the Island gaining this accolade really would make a difference and give a boost to the national campaign. Fairtrade really makes a difference to those communities that need a helping hand – and I know that on the Island we have a really caring and compassionate community”.
Jim Curtis the co-ordinator of the IW Fairtrade Forum said
“I very much value Andrew’s support for this campaign. In order for the Island to be recognised in this way we need the active support of the Isle of Wight council as well as that of suppliers across the Island. I urge everyone to let their local councillors know that they would be proud to see us become a Fairtrade Island helping less fortunate people to take control of their own lives and build themselves a better future.
Blog5 months ago
MP’s Office during Election
Family Breakdown a Priority, Churchgoers tell MP
MP’s Call on Rural Speeding
Tourist Tax proposal ‘deeply irresponsible’ says MP
Turner backs Fox for Leader
Top Tory coming to Town
Copyright © 2020 islandmp
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Israel Sanchez
Living in a Fresh Prince World
By Israel Sanchez
In Culture
Recently, the actor Will Smith shared a photo on his Instagram account of a 30-year-reunion of the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast. The reunion is the subject of an upcoming HBO special about the show. Notably missing is the great James Avery, who played “Uncle Phil,” and sadly passed away in 2014.
fresh prince reunion credit Warner Media/HBO MAX
It’s hard to put into words what this show meant to me, but I’ll try. When I left Cuba in 1995, I left without both of my parents. That alone was hard enough to deal with as an 11-year-old kid, not to mention the newness of everything; new language, new school, and hopefully new friends.
One of the ways I decided to learn English was to watch TV. Unbeknownst to me, I would catch the last season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air just three months after arriving in South Florida.
The show was about an outsider (Will Smith) coming into a land of opulence (Bel-Air) and wanting to fit in, while at the same time trying to stay true to his roots. If that’s not the immigrant experience, then I don’t know what is. On top of that, Will left his mom behind to be raised by his aunt and uncle. Well, I too was now being raised by my aunt and uncle, along with my two cousins.
To be sure, Miami, or at least my neighborhood wasn’t anything like Bel-Air, but compared to what I left behind in Cuba, it felt like it. Everything was new, shiny and illuminated.
Father Figures
While my father wasn’t exactly like Will’s on the show, my father did in a sense walk out on our family the moment he decided to have an affair. All divorce kids deal with a sense of abandonment that stays with us long after our parents’ sign the official papers. We’re victims caught in the middle, unsure of our loyalties and our safety.
When Will’s father come back into his life, only to later disappoint him, I felt that. I cried with him. His father walks out and Will tries to play it cool at first, as if it doesn’t bother him, only to later embrace his uncle as he cries, “How come he don’t want me, man?” Right then and there Will promises to be a better father, and so did I, even thought I was barely a teenager when I watched that episode.
But it wasn’t only heartbreak that the show taught me. It also taught me how to love Hip-Hop. From the catchy opening song, to several rap artists appearing on the show, Hip-Hop and its culture was front and center. 1995 was also the year that Tupac Shakur released Me Against the World, an album that featured Dear Mama, a song so beautiful and heartbreaking that it still brings me to tears today.
When Tupac released All Eyez on Me in 1996, I remember begging my aunt and uncle to buy me the CD. They did, despite not knowing anything about 2Pac or hip hop. When he was murdered, his popularity soared even more. That same year me and a few of my close friends I made in middle school started our own “rap group”. Our band name was “Apocalypse” and when each one of us had to pick up a stage name, mine was “Prince.”
I grew up listening to Juan Gabriel, Julio Iglesias, Willy Chirino and the like. I had no idea who “Prince” was. I took my cue from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I wanted to honor the show that I identified so much with, that while Will Smith was the “Fresh Prince,” I was just “Prince.” Whenever I engaged in freestyle battles or the like, many-a-jokes were made at the expense of my stage name. I didn’t care. I never changed it.
As a 12-year-old, the show also helped me, or so I thought, how to talk to girls that I liked. In reality, I was more like the shy and introverted Carlton around girls, than the smooth-talking Will. But still, I watched and tried to take notes. And what kid my age didn’t have a crush on Ashley Banks, played by Tatyana Ali?
In high school, I had asked my grandmother to buy me a really expensive and over-sized Nautica jacket. It was a yellow jacket that had the words “Nautica” on the right sleeve. When I got to the school-bus stop , one of the kids there said to me, “It looks like you stepped out of a Hip-Hop music video.” That was high praise, to be sure. By then I had already discovered Nas, Jay-Z and Outkast. I even had joined an online freestyling forum board where I’d won many “battles” and had proven myself as a dope MC. I was reading Neruda and Jay-Z as equals, interpreting both as important parts of my life.
The Fresh Prince World
Also in high school, one of my English teachers prompted us to write about our weekend and I straight up ripped off a plot from the show. I don’t remember the details now, but I remember that “Carlton” became “Carlos” in my story and that something hilarious had happened to us. The teacher gave me an “A” with a suspicious look on his face. Was this skinny immigrant kid really that interesting?
I didn’t know I was watching the last season when it was airing. I only learned that at the final episode, when the entire house was empty and Will goes back to look at it one last time. That scene reminded me of walking the tarmac to the airplane that would take me away from my island and my parents. I looked back one more time at Cuba, a beautiful island filled with so much sadness and potential.
The show much meant so much to me. It still does. Ironically, a lot of the jokes didn’t land at the time because I was still learning English, but I connected with it, with its characters, with its story and with its culture.
I think it’s time for a re-watch.
Close the Camps
Rejecting the Politics of Fear
The Fire this Time
© Copyright 2020 Israel Sanchez
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Chester's Chatter
Page 6 of 15 First ... 3456789 ... Last
Thread: Chester's Chatter
22nd May 2020, 19:37 #76
Originally posted by Chester
In addition, Trump is going after some of the sub-factions (and industries) of the underworld factions which suggest to me "the controllers" are allowing a change "there" and this could mean the "winding down" of the practices used by some factions... practices that involve Satanic Ritual Abuse and Satanic Ritual Sacrifice. This then may result in a more effective eradication of human trafficking, especially child trafficking and pedophilia. And this is where Q comes in (and why, IMO, its is an Operation and not a "larp" and thus certainly not a hoax as "some" so wish.
That's where you're wrong. He's not going after anything specifically, and he's certainly not going after any "Deep State" or "Illuminati". In addition to that, Q has been outed by one of its own insiders. So let me wrap it up for you one more time.
Q is in fact a group of computer geeks who were involved with Trump's 2016 electoral campaign. Being genuine alt-righters, they were also involved with 4Chan, where some of them were moderators. They were already playing out their LARP there earlier, but under a different guise, namely that of an FBI insider/whistleblower. This was still before Donald Trump was elected as president, but they were already rallying support for him by posting as much dirt on Hillary Clinton ─ both genuine dirt and manufactured dirt from the never-ending imagination of the far-right ─ as they could come up with.
Then they were kicked off of 4Chan and they moved to 8Chan, a similar message board, created by other ex-4Chan moderators. The "FBI insider/whistleblower" persona was traded in for a new identity, namely "Q". And not only is that a LARP just like their previous one, but given its (and Trump's) fanatic following, they also now concretely act as a propaganda machine to keep the faith high in Trump the alt-right Messiah, so as to make sure that he gets re-elected, and if he does ─ which is very likely, given who his electoral opponent is ─ so as to make sure that Trump will continue receiving support from the same following as he already had before.
I like that he sleeps three or four hours a night (means he adds somewhere near 20% of time to be productive with regards to consensus reality).
That's just because he has ADHD. It's the hallmark of his presidency, and the reason why he is dubbed Captain Chaos™. And that is also why he appears to be going after certain businesses, while in reality, they merely happen to be what irks him during that particular time of the month. Unless of course he's going after notable US Democrats, because he passionately hates those, and he'll always set some time aside to go after them.
The truth of the matter is that, as president of the United States of America ─ a country with over 300'000'000 inhabitants, the most productive military-industrial complex in the world and the greatest arsenal of nuclear weapons on the face of the planet ─ he doesn't have a single clue about what the hell he is doing. He's just winging it, and his advisors are undoubtedly having a hell of a hard time trying to keep him in check.
Donald Trump is not a man of principles and values. He's an impulsive, opportunistic, racist, misogynist and relentless narcissist who doesn't give a rat's tail end about anything or anyone other than his own ego, and the support from the big corporations that got him into the White House and is still keeping him there in spite of all his blunders.
And you can take that to the bank.
= DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =
Reply With Quote Top
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Aragorn For This Useful Post:
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Dreamtimer (22nd May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), Lord Sidious (23rd May 2020), NotAPretender (22nd May 2020), Wind (23rd May 2020)
Patapsco Valley
You still have a problem with 'we', Chester? It's such a commonly used word with so many meanings depending on context.
I've already explained myself. There's no need to perseverate.
The illegal aliens are here for economic reasons. As in cheap labor.
Blaming the government is using it as a whipping post. If the powers that be, as in the donors and shareholders, didn't want this labor, the government would have stopped it long ago.
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Dreamtimer For This Useful Post:
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Originally posted by Dreamtimer
[...] There's no need to perseverate. [...]
Is that Americanese for "persevere"?
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), NotAPretender (22nd May 2020), Wind (23rd May 2020)
Retired Member
Originally posted by Aragorn
What's a vasectomy got to do with Covid-19?
I don't need a condom anymore
Originally posted by Chris
I did read the letter and the article.
It is propaganda Sam and you should know it. The Tea Party action group is well-known for pressuring people into signing bogus pledges and letters or they withdraw their support. Also, the doctors that signed it (600 out of a million or more ain't a lot) are probably tea party members themselves. They do make some valid points, but the overall narrative and message of the letter and the article is hogwash, it fails on the level of basic logic.
I see that your opinion is that it is propaganda. I hope your opinion serves you well. My opinion agrees with the 600 doctors. I believe my opinion is based on science and common sense. I believe your opinion is based on "that which you wish to be true."
But does it really matter who thinks who is right? All that matters is "what is and what will be." Right?
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Chester For This Useful Post:
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You post indicates you didn't read mine or, if you did, you didn't understand it.
I did not blame the government - in fact, with regards to the US government, it is the people who are "technically" supposed to be in charge. And for that reason, what happens in the US is the responsibility of the people and so, if the people like the results of the actions of the government they empowered and "elected" (haha), or, on the other hand, do not like the results, they only have themselves to pat on the back or blame.
That point was clearly made and I find it odd you interpret I "blamed the government."
As for "the powers that be," I completely agree, but I circle back to whose fault is it (at least here in the good ole USA) that "the powers that be" run the show?
"Well after all, it was (and is) you and me."
Our collective, outer reality is simply a reflection of our collective consciousness anyways... so why not start by taking responsibility for it? That's how I look at it anyways and that's what I do. What others do is what others do and its not my problem.
I want some perseverate with my covfefe, please.
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Aragorn (22nd May 2020), Dreamtimer (25th May 2020), modwiz (23rd May 2020), Wind (23rd May 2020)
Yeah, and then next thing you're going to ask for scrambled eggysamples too.
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Chester (22nd May 2020), Dreamtimer (25th May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), modwiz (23rd May 2020), NotAPretender (23rd May 2020), Wind (23rd May 2020)
It is my opinion, you have so much totally wrong and much of the rest half wrong in this post... and that I only wish to bring it to your attention and provide you the space to figure out which is which. BUT! If you stated it all as 'your opinion' (which much of my posts state about mine), there would be the opportunity to have that "meeting place" where perhaps we could find some common ground... which is my desire. What say you?
And I say this out of love and friendship, Aragorn... posts like the one I quoted are perfect examples of severe authoritarianism. And, maybe I have been wrong, but I never sized you up to be a fan of authoritarianism.
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Aragorn (23rd May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), NotAPretender (23rd May 2020)
23rd May 2020, 00:12 #83
I don't see any authoritarianism in any of what I wrote there. I don't consider pointing out the facts as any kind of authoritarianism.
Also, that which you have stated to be only my opinion (and "wrong") about "Q" was already factual public knowledge more than a year ago ─ in late 2018, as the matter of fact. In addition to that ─ and the following words are only my opinion ─ I think that it's (1) highly unlikely that there truly would be some secret military insider working together with Trump against "the Deep State" because ─ pardon my French ─ Donald Trump is too fucking stupid to even tie his own shoelaces, and (2) that this "insider" would then also be posting cryptic messages about this alleged battle against "the Deep State" on a far-right message board known for its abundance of misinformation and lack of intelligence.
In my not so humble opinion, the credibility of such a scenario in and of itself wouldn't even survive the selection as a plot for a Marvel comic. But ─ and I apologize for once again stepping on sensitive US American toes ─ I guess you have to be an American to believe in that shit. Because that's where all the make-believe and the pseudoscience come from, such as the anti-vaxx movement, the NWO conspiracy theories, the Covid-19 conspiracy theory, the 5G conspiracy theory, and ─ let's not forget, last but not least ─ the Great Commie Scare.
As for my description of Donald Trump's psyche, I stand by everything I said about him, and I'm not going to be debating this subject any longer. There's no point.
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Chester (23rd May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), Lord Sidious (23rd May 2020), NotAPretender (23rd May 2020), Wind (23rd May 2020)
Please, do me a kindness and link me to "the facts" source information so I can educate myself. An authoritarian tells you what to think (tells you "what the facts are" without sourcing "the facts") instead of sharing sources and allowing people to draw their own conclusion.
If you have the sources for what you claim "are facts" and those sources are verifiable/legitimate, then I will agree they are facts and I will edit my post.
So do me a kindness and "link me baby!"
I will add... I see a great deal of deeply embedded anger which, for some folks, can lead to health issues... so, do whatcha gotta do to get past all that, in the end, we are all ONE right?
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Aragorn (23rd May 2020), NotAPretender (23rd May 2020)
I do not have a direct link to the sources of that information, because I myself was never interested in that material, and I had already considered it an implausible hoax from the start. However the (limited) Wikipedia page is credible enough, and it links to several other sources.
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Elen (23rd May 2020), NotAPretender (23rd May 2020)
Thanks to the great governor of California's infinite wisdom -
California doctors say they've seen more deaths from suicide than coronavirus since lockdowns
Doctors in Northern California say they have seen more deaths from suicide than they’ve seen from the coronavirus during the pandemic.
“The numbers are unprecedented,” Dr. Michael deBoisblanc of John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California, told ABC 7 News about the increase of deaths by suicide, adding that he’s seen a “year’s worth of suicides” in the last four weeks alone.
DeBoisblanc said he believes it’s time for California officials to end the stay-at-home order and let people back out into their communities.
"Personally, I think it's time," he said. "I think, originally, this was put in place to flatten the curve and to make sure hospitals have the resources to take care of COVID patients. We have the current resources to do that, and our other community health is suffering."
Kacey Hansen, a trauma center nurse at John Muir Medical Center for more than 30 years, says she’s worried not only about the increased suicide attempts but also about the hospital’s ability to save as many patients as usual.
"What I have seen recently, I have never seen before," Hansen said. "I have never seen so much intentional injury."
Businesses across California have started defying stay-at-home orders imposed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and hundreds of protesters have hit the streets, making the argument that the orders were only meant to flatten the curve of the virus’s spread, which Newsom himself said was achieved in mid-April.
Suicide has been an increasingly significant problem across the country as the coronavirus outbreak caused stay-at-home orders that led to unemployment and stress.
By late March, more people had died in just one Tennessee county from suicide than had died in the entire state directly from the virus.
A study published in early May suggested that the coronavirus could lead to at least 75,000 deaths directly brought on by anxiety from the virus, job losses, and addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Another study conducted by Just Facts around the same time computed a broad array of scientific data showing that stress is one of the deadliest health hazards in the world and estimated that the coronavirus lockdowns will destroy 7 times as many years of human life than strict lockdowns can save.
Earlier this week, more than 600 doctors signed their names on a letter to President Trump, referring to the continued lockdowns as a “mass casualty incident” and urging him to do what he can to ensure they come to an end.
[Reporter Chester obtained this quote from on of the citizens of the great State of California] - "'We' so much love our great leader and all he has done for 'us' - the great job he's done in dealing with this virus scurge."
Last edited by Chester, 23rd May 2020 at 01:53.
Here's something to consider Chester and it is important:
There are approximately 200,000 physicians in the U.S. Apparently ~600 of them hold the same opinions as you do. That factors to about 0.003 of the U.S. physicians 'thinking' the same as you do. I got to tell you those numbers indicate what is termed a statistical 'outlier' and you should know that. Statistical outliers are called outliers because they are unusual. In this particular case, I wouldn't use the term unusual, I would call it just plain weird.
“Chance is perhaps God's pseudonym when He does not want to sign” Anatole France, Le Jardin d'Epicure
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24th May 2020, 01:26 #88
Just watch what happens
Aianawa (24th May 2020), NotAPretender (24th May 2020)
Study of 96,000 Covid-19 Patients Finds Hydroxychloroquine Increased Their Risk of Dying
America's CDC and 11 States Erroneously Conflated Two Kinds of Coronavirus Tests
Lockdown-Ignoring Sweden Now Has Europe's Highest Per-Capita Death Rate
Aianawa (24th May 2020), Elen (25th May 2020), NotAPretender (24th May 2020), Wind (24th May 2020)
Hang in there naysayers, the narrative has already changed as have the timelines, we are the news now , all you n me , nice, what news one shares is important.
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Gerstner, Lou
(born 1942), U.S. business executive. When Lou Gerstner assumed the mantle of chief executive officer (CEO) at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in April 1993, he inherited what was called the toughest job in corporate America. Despite being the world’s largest computer manufacturer and one of the nation’s leading companies, with 60 billion dollars in sales, IBM was reeling from losses of 5 billion dollars in 1992. Gerstner was chosen to succeed John Akers as CEO after several of the nation’s top executives declined the daunting position. Observers were surprised that a company known for its insular and traditional business methods would choose an outsider with little technological experience. But Gerstner also had the reputation of being a tough and decisive manager with a history of rebuilding corporations.
Louis Vincent Gerstner, Jr., was born in Mineola, N.Y., on March 1, 1942. He studied engineering at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1963 and graduated magna cum laude. After attending Harvard University, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration in 1965, he joined McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm in New York City. By 1970 he had become one of the youngest partners in the history of the firm and distinguished himself by overhauling the bankrupt Penn Central Railway. In January 1978 he joined American Express as executive vice-president and head of its travel-related services division. In his first ten years there, the number of currencies in which the American Express credit card was issued doubled, the number of total cardholders quadrupled, and travel-related services became the most profitable division in the company. As president of the company from 1985 through 1989, he increased corporate net income by 66 percent.
In March 1989 he accepted the challenge of becoming the new CEO of RJR Nabisco, which had been acquired the previous November by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company in one of the largest leveraged buyouts in corporate history. As a result of the takeover, the company was saddled with a massive 25-billion-dollar debt, with annual interest costs of 3 billion dollars. During his four-year tenure at RJR Nabisco, Gerstner pared the debt down to 14 billion dollars, sold off 6 billion dollars of peripheral assets, and trimmed general expenses.
In his first six months at the helm of IBM, Gerstner faced criticism that he lacked vision by focusing on immediate cash management. He froze some long-term projects and continued the cost-cutting measures that Akers had begun in the late 1980s by ordering 35,000 additional layoffs and by reducing overhead costs and operating expenses. Gerstner also arranged an 8.9-billion-dollar write-off against company earnings— one of the largest in corporate history. Although a frequent proponent of decentralization, he rejected a proposal to break IBM into smaller divisions.
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Why Using the Word Genocide Matters
Terry Glavin, Maclean's, June 22, 2016
It was a horribly suitable postscript to the spectacle that the House of Commons had been making of itself all week in the matter of Islamic State’s continuing genocide of the minorities within its bloody reach in Iraq and Syria. Or, if you prefer Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion’s way of putting it, Islamic State’s continuing atrocities, which of course we deplore and condemn but which do not constitute genocide unless and until some sort of internationally recognized legal authority says they do.
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect walk towards the Syrian border on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate in this August 11, 2014. (Rodi Said/Reuters)
On Sunday, in the Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli, dozens of Syriac Orthodox Christians were injured and three Syriac militiamen were killed when a suicide bomber detonated himself after failing to get inside a crowded meeting hall where church patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II was presiding at a commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the beginning of the Ottoman Turks’ genocide of Assyrians and Armenians in the city.
What made Sunday’s atrocity an even more cruel denouement to the Parliamentary debate is the fact that the debate about the word for the depth of depravity that ended up being called “genocide” (which is what the arguments in the House of Commons were ostensibly about) began, coincidentally, in Qamishli and in the dozens of towns in the vicinity where Christians were massacred by the tens of thousands in the early years of the 20th century.
Although the term “genocide” was first employed in legal proceedings in the 1945-46 Nuremberg trials, the courageous Polish prosecutor Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term and served the prosecution at Nuremberg, had begun his efforts to codify the crime of attempts to extinguish human societies years earlier, after his study of the massacres of Assyrians and Armenians. At the October 1933 proceedings of the League of Nations in Madrid, Lemkin mounted a valiant effort to persuade the gathered ambassadors to define and agree to punish the crime of what we now call genocide. He failed.
It wasn’t until the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was ratified by the United Nations in 1948 that Lemkin’s proposed law was given at least the appearance of force and effect. Another half-century would pass before the Rome Statute of 1998 established the International Criminal Court to prosecute those guilty of the crime of genocide.
In the case of non-signatory states like Syria and Iraq, the UN Security Council is mandated with enforcement of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdictions in matters of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. So it is up to the Security Council, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, to put in place a legal mechanism to determine whether Islamic State is committing genocide.
“We do not feel that politicians should be weighing in on this first and foremost,” Trudeau said, which contradicts exactly what the genocide convention expects the world’s politicians to do. “Determinations of genocide need to be made in an objective, responsible way. That is exactly what we have formally requested the international authorities weigh in on,” Trudeau said, which is also exactly what France asked the Security Council to do two years ago, in May 2014. It didn’t work. Predictably, China and Russia used their vetoes to prevent the Security Council from referring the myriad crimes against humanity being committed in Syria to the International Criminal Court, lest the French resolution hurt the feelings of Syrian mass murderer Bashar al-Assad.
In the House of Commons, variously misleading and contradictory accounts of Islamic State’s genocide were marshalled by both the Conservatives and the Liberals against each other. In the end, the Liberals voted against a Tory motion calling on the House to admit what everybody except a fool or a liar will know to be true: that Islamic State atrocities constitute genocide.
“There is a need for further independent investigation,” Dion insisted, showing not so much as a blush of embarrassment when the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released an exhaustive report, which confined its investigations to Yazidis in Syria, concluding that Islamic State is indeed committing crimes against humanity that unambiguously meet the threshold of genocide. Dion’s response: Well, okay then, with the Yazidis in Syria, it’s genocide. But it won’t make any difference: Canada will continue doing what it’s doing with the American-led coalition against Islamic State, and our troops are in any case confined to Iraq.
It was commonplace to hear it said, after the Bosnian genocide kicked off in 1992 and the Rwandan genocide erupted in 1994 and the Darfur genocide began in 2003, that the “international community” had learned nothing since the Holocaust. After Islamic State, a more relevant question might be whether Canada or its allies have learned anything since the Ottoman massacres of the Assyrians and Armenians of Qamishli, 101 years ago.
Justice for Canada’s First Nations
Viken L. Attarian, Montreal, 12 July 2015 Five actions I commit to as a citizen. 1. Ensure that…
Կնոջ Կերպարը Գառզուի Արվեստում
Անի Մարգարյան, Արվեստաբան և Լրագրողուհի, Երևան, 22 Հունիս 2011 Գառզուի արվեստում կինն անհամեմատ ավելի նախասիրված է, քան տղամարդը,…
Keghart Writer Wins Saroyan Award
Compiled by Keghart.com staff, Toronto, 23 July 2013 As a literary reviewer for a national newspaper, Keith Garebian…
Raising Sand Radio’s Susan Galleymore interviews writer David Boyajian
Raising Sand Radio host Susan Galleymore interviewed Armenian American freelance writer and activist David Boyajian in a program…
Haigazian University Deserves Your Support
Keghart posted press releases of Haigazian University (former Haigazian College) on several occasions. We are asked by readers…
“A Book That Initiates 100 Years of History”
Tom Vartabedian, Haverhill MA, 7 August 2016 One never knows what the day’s mail will bring. One…
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When The Angels Come
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The story behind this painting is referenced from the Relief Society Magazine ®Pioneer Women® pg. 8 January 1948. See also the devotional address given in the de Jong Concert Hall at Brigham Young University on 11 August, 1981 by Vaughn J. Featherstone, ®Go and Bring In Those People Now on the Plains® (We Are Our Brother's Keepers).
®The Cart Began Pushing Me®
President David O. McKay, in an address given at an annual Relief Society Conference in 1947, the centennial year of the Saints' arrival in the valley, talked of the criticism given by a teacher conducting a class, who commented that it was very unwise to have even permitted the Saints to cross the plains under such circumstances, and they were talking about the Willie and Martin handcart companies who left later then they should have. President McKay said:
Some sharp criticism of the Church and its leaders was being indulged in for permitting any company of converts to venture across the plains with no more supplies of protection than a handcart caravan afforded. An old man in the corner [and this was written by President William Palmer, who was present] sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet he spike calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.
In substance the father above mentioned said, ®I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized of left the Church, because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.®
®I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it.® [And a wife with a baby in her arms by his side]. ®I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.®
®Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then no any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.®
Tags: Clark Kelley Price POS
It's True Sir - All Present And Accounted For
Finding Peace Through Art - Rescue at Sweetwater
Rescue At The Sweetwater
Ephraim Hanks - Obeying The Spirit
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244 Network Engineering Technology Jobs at Verizon
Be the face of the digital world. Working with the latest technologies to create solutions for the future and transform customer experience.
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This following document sets forth the Privacy Policy for the Josh Hart Team website, https://joshhart.com.au
Josh Hart Team is committed to providing you with the best possible customer service experience.
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City Temporarily Shuts Down Hotel Due to Bed Bugs
City of Texarkana
The City of Texarkana, Texas has taken code enforcement action which resulted in the temporary closure of the Wyndham Garden at 5301 N. State Line Avenue due to bug infestation.
Enforcement action was taken around noon on Tuesday. City officials say violations were documented last week after inspections were conducted based on complaints received. Property owners were asked to discontinue use of infested rooms until a re-inspection could occur, but over the weekend the infested rooms were allegedly rented out, prompting the building official to require the owner to cease operations at this time. Guests were asked to relocate from the property.
“The health and safety of our residents and visitors to Texarkana is of paramount importance to us,” said Lisa Thompson, Public Information Officer for the City. “We want to ensure that all our businesses are operating to the health and safety standards outlined in our code and expected by our Code Enforcement officers. While this may be inconvenient for customers, the public’s wellbeing is our priority.”
City inspectors will work with the property owners to ensure code compliance before the business is re-opened.
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Six myths about the mask
Home Techno
in Techno
June 12, 2020 13h12
Rabéa Kabbaj
Detector rumour – Agency Science Press
DETECTOR RUMORS / alternately praised or vilified, the wearing of the mask seems, in recent weeks, having finally won its letters of nobility in the majority of countries that have launched their déconfinement. But the exact content of its effectiveness remains difficult to establish. The Detector of rumors flew over the six myths on the mask.
1) The mask is used to protect oneself ? False
The mask protects first of all the entourage of the person wearing it, rather than the person who wears it. It blocks the majority of the particles that this person emits by coughing and sneezing, but also in speaking or breathing. However, this is where the main mode of transmission of the virus, as recalled in particular the Royal Society in Great Britain or the Centre for disease control (CDC) in the United States.
2) The N95 masks are the most effective ? True
Some masks are better than others. As well, the only ones that block at least 95 % of the particles carried by the droplets that we are projecting are the famous N95 masks, which are equipped with a device for filtration of very small particles. This is why these are the ones that should be used in priority by the nursing staff.
The surgical masks — that meet specific standards depending on the country — are also recognized for their effectiveness, in particular by the american Agency of food and drugs (FDA) and the CDC.
For all that, this is not to say that the wearing of masks other than surgical is unnecessary, but rather that their effectiveness requires a common effort and mutual. As the authors write of a review of the scientific literature prépubliée in April and titled Face Masks Against COVID-19 : An Evidence Review : “If each person wears a mask to reduce the risk that it would be, without knowing it, in the process of infecting someone, then everyone is protected,”.
It has been shown in recent months that people can be contagious even if they do not show symptoms : the existence of these “asymptomatic” has become an additional argument for the wearing of masks, including masks for non-medical, say the authors of Face Masks. Even the sound of a bell in a review of the literature published in early may by the Royal Society, and in a forum of researchers, published at the end of may in Annals of Internal Medicine. It concludes that, although it is not completely sure that the cloth mask is actually protecting the surroundings or even the person wearing it, a profit even if minimal in terms of reducing the transmission community, in a context of a pandemic, is not to be overlooked.
3) Wear a mask secures too ? Rather fake
An argument often advanced by the health authorities, and that may explain their reluctance to recommend the wearing of masks, lies in the difficulty to predict changes in the behaviour of people, once the mask is widespread. The fear is that, animated by a false sense of security, citizens began to ill use the mask or to the neglect of important measures of prevention against the COVID-19, such as social distancing and hand washing. The authors of the review of the scientific literature Face Masks Against COVID-19 : An Evidence Review concluded that it was unlikely that this risk compensation eliminates the benefits brought by the widespread use of the mask.
They recalled that similar concerns had been voiced during the implementation of HIV prevention strategies, when the introduction of laws on crash helmets, on the port of the seat belt in the car or on the subject of helmets in alpine skiing. According to the scientific literature that they have consulted, the implementation of each of these measures would not have led to a resurgence of risky behaviour, but it would have led to an overall greater level of security. The Royal Society advance the same argument in his paper.
(4) The authorities have changed your mind ? Yes and no
At the end of February, Jerome Adams, the federal administrator u.s. public health service, had urged the american people to stop buying masks. A position shared by the Center of disease control (CDC). It was, however, at the beginning of April, changed its guide of recommendations, Americans are being called now to wear the mask where the measures of social distancing may not be met. The leaders of canadian and quebec also started in April and may to show hidden.
However, as suggested by Face Masks Against COVID-19 : An Evidence Review, one of the reasons explaining the reluctance first of several countries has been the fear of running out of stock, particularly in the N95 masks and surgical. Such a situation would have been catastrophic for the health care staff. “The strategies to manage these reserves, critics have been to appeal to the public to reduce its use of masks for medical care,” the authors write.
It is also possible that another argument has played. In the past, the mask was not unanimous and some studies had indeed found that wearing a mask does not protect, in particular, in the case of influenza and the common cold. In comparison, the scientific literature on the coronavirus, which are viruses bigger, is much more recent.
5) We can assess the reduction of risk ? False
On the one hand, the research refers more to the fact that the majority of people contaminated have been by direct exposure to a person who is already contaminated and often without symptoms — therefore, by droplets that this person emits while speaking. On the other hand, we are able to better the percentage of droplets as a mask can block. Therefore, can we put a figure, such as memes, have suggested, on the reduction of risk of transmission of the virus when you wear a mask ?
As argued in the topic of verification of the facts set-top boxes, the search is not made here : the transmission from person to person depends on too many factors, ranging from the place where these two people are to be found (open or closed space, air conditioning, etc) to the time during which these people have been in contact via the viral load of the infected person.
6) This is what has made the difference from one country to the other ? Not clear
Many of the countries that have flattened quickly their “curve” are those where the wearing of the mask is in common use : Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea… “Multiple official sources cite it as the reason to this is the implementation of policies of masks, because of the transmission asymptomatic,” writes the Royal Society.
However, these good results cannot be attributed solely to the masks : the fact that these countries have been in the front line during the SARS outbreak in 2003 has made sure that they were already better prepared to put in place policies to severe (mass screening, containment, isolation, etc). South Korea, for example, has a policy of tracking systematic of all the people with whom has been in contact with an infected person, since the transactions of credit cards of this latter up to the GPS data from his phone. “No single factor can explain the differences between nations or regions,” concludes a report recently of The Atlantic.
It should also be noted the case of New Zealand and Iceland : they have flattened their curve quite quickly, without that wearing a mask is not a recommended practice. Conversely, Morocco has imposed the wearing of the mask very soon, but also a policy of containment is very strict. In Europe, the Czech Republic is cited for having imposed very early in the port of the mask and have a number of deaths less than its neighbors.
“When used in conjunction with a generalization of the tests, tracing contacts, quarantine of any person who might be infected, washing hands and distancing physical, the masks are a valuable tool in reducing the transmission of community”, in abundance, for their part, the authors of the literature review Face Masks.
In its guidelines from the beginning of April, the world health Organization (WHO) returns the ball to the leaders, considering that there was not sufficient scientific evidence “to advise or discourage the use of masks (medical or other) by the people in good health within the community”. New Zealand continues not to invite its people to wear the mask, while warning that it will update this recommendation, “in the event of new evidence or guidelines of the WHO, or if we see a change in the evolution of the COVID-19 in New Zealand”, we read on the website of the ministry of health in new zealand. In new guidelines released on 5 June, WHO invites governments to encourage the wearing of the mask in the places “popular” of the “regions most affected” by the pandemic, or when the detachment physics is difficult.
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Six Quotes from “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment”
November 23, 2018 Justin Dillehay Leave a comment
I just finished reading Ryan T. Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. In this book, he deals with transgender claims from medical, psychological, philosophical, political, and biographical viewpoints (for a theological angle, see Andrew Walker’s God and the Transgender Debate).
If you read no other chapter, read the one entitled “Detransitioners Tell Their Stories,” in which Anderson lets us listen to the voices of those who tried transitioning to the opposite sex only to find greater misery. Hearing these accounts is largely what led Anderson to write the book: “I just couldn’t shake from my mind the stories of people who had detransitioned” (205). Read them and see if you can.
Anyone who wants to know more without reading the entire book can listen to Anderson’s conversation with Al Mohler on the Thinking in Public podcast here.
Meanwhile, here are your six quotes, two of which are autobiographical quotes from detransitioners:
At the core of the [transgender] ideology is the radical claim that feelings determine reality. From this idea come extreme demands for society to play along with subjective reality claims. Trans ideologues ignore contrary evidence and competing interests; they disparage alternative practices; and they aim to muffle skeptical voices and shut down any disagreement. The movement has to keep patching and shoring up its beliefs, policing the faithful, coercing the heretics and punishing apostates, because as soon as its furious efforts flag for a moment or someone successfully stands up to it, the whole charade is exposed. That’s what happens when your dogmas are so contrary to obvious, basic, everyday truths. (48)
“I wanted to make a video previously…so that folks can see that I’m a real live person, but didn’t out of fear of showing my face. But I think it’s important when we talk about these issues to really undersand that women like us aren’t just statistics, not just some dry data some gatekeeping doctor might throw at you, we’re real people. This is a real outcome of transition. I’m a real live twenty-two year old woman with a scarred chest and a broken voice and 5 o’clock shadow because I couldn’t face the idea of growing up to be a woman. That’s my reality.”
-Cari, a female detransitioner
“We transitioned for a lot of different reasons. Many of us transitioned due to trauma. We lived through events terrible enough that it damaged our sense of self and so we created a new self to cope and survive. That self was our trans or male or genderqueer identity. We transitioned because we got raped, because we’re incest survivors, because we faced violence for being lesbians, because we were locked up in psych wards, because one of our parents killed themselves…Sometimes bad things happened to us just for being female in a culture where women are violated every day and sometimes bad things happened because we’re the wrong kind of woman, maybe too butch or “masculine” or loud or unemotional. One way or another, we didn’t fit in with what other people and our culture expected women to be. Sometimes our bodies themselves were deemed not female enough and treated as if they were freakish. That happened to me because I had traits like an adam’s apple, body hair, an angular face, and so on, leading many to speculate on what sex I was. Eventually, other people’s judgments got inside my head and infected how I saw myself until I started questioning whether I was really female too.
Trauma and misogyny led us to disassociate from being female and then to transition. Transitioning was itself further trauma. First others attacked and wounded our bodies and distorted our self-perception and then we hurt ourselves in response. Transitioning was an act of self-destruction, enabled by medical professionals who were supposedly ‘helping’ us to be our ‘true selves.’ It is truly horrifying to come out of that dissociated state and realize that not only were you suppressing and trying to destroy yourself but that other people were there encouraging and assisting you in doing so.” (73-74)
-Crash, a female detransitioner
This raises metaphysical questions concerning what it could mean to “be” a man in a woman’s body, and epistemological questions concerning how a man could know what it is to “feel” like a woman. As the philosopher Thomas Nagel argued back in 1974, no one (other than a bat) can answer the question “What is it like to be a bat?” So, can a man know what it feels like to be a woman? Or vice-versa? It is impossible to know experientially what it is like to be something one is not. The claim of a biological male that he is “a woman stuck in a man’s body” presupposes that someone who has a man’s body, a man’s brain, a man’s sexual capacities, and a man’s DNA can know what it’s like to be a woman. As many feminists have pointed out, no biological male can really experience what it is like to be a woman, for males can have no embodied female experiences. Many of the claims made by transgender activists seem therefore to rely on stereotypes of what “real” men and women are like… (104)
“The current findings of medical science provide arguments against sex reassignment therapies, but we also need to look deeper for philosophical wisdom, starting with some basic truths about human well-being and healthy functioning. Our minds and senses function properly when they reveal reality to us and lead us to knowledge of truth. And we flourish as human beings when we embrace the truth and live in accordance with it. A person might find some subjective satisfaction in believing and living out a falsehood, but that person would not be objectively well off. Someone could make it through life believing and living out a falsehood without experiencing psychiatric distress, but that person would not fully flourish.
This philosophical view of human well-being is the foundation of a sound medical practice. Dr. [Michelle] Cretella emphasizes that mental health care should be guided by norms grounded in reality, including the reality of the bodily self. “The norm for human development is for one’s thoughts to align with physical reality, and for one’s gender to align with one’s biologic sex,” she says. For human beings to flourish, they need to feel comfortable in their own bodies, really identify with their sex, and believe they are who they actually are…Unfortunately, many professionals now view health care in general, and mental health care in particular, as primarily a matter of fulfilling a patient’s desires. (114)
What’s at stake in the transgender moment is the human person. If trans activists succeed in their political agenda, our nation’s children will be indoctrinated in a harmful ideology, and some will live by its lies about their own bodies, at great cost to themselves physically, psychologically, and socially. Lives will be ruined, but pointing out the damage will be forbidden. Dissent from transgender worldview will be punished in schools, workplaces, and medical clinics. Trying to live in accordance with the truth will be made harder.
This doesn’t have to happen. Everyone can play a role in bearing witness to the truth and ministering compassionately to people in pain. For anyone who takes part in this important work, Dr. [Paul] McHugh offers some advice: “Gird your loins if you would confront this matter. Hell hath no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral principle.”” (203)
← Worshiping the God of the Exodus: 5 Quotes from Roberts and Wilson
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Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › District Courts › Mississippi › Northern District of Mississippi › 2017 › Nolley v. Littlejohn et al › Filing 33
Nolley v. Littlejohn et al, No. 3:2016cv00122 - Document 33 (N.D. Miss. 2017)
Court Description: ORDER denying 19 Motion to Remand to State Court. Signed by District Judge Michael P. Mills on 1/9/2017. (lpm)
Nolley v. Littlejohn et al Doc. 33 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI OXFORD DIVISION KENNY NOLLEY PLAINTIFF v. Civil Action No.: 3:16-cv-00122-MPM-JMV ROBIN C. LITTLEJOHN, et al. DEFENDANTS ORDER This cause comes before the Court on plaintiff Kenny Nolley’s (“Nolley”) Motion to Remand [19]. This case began as a simple negligence action arising from an automobile accident between Nolley and Robin Littlejohn (“Littlejohn”). However, the scope of the litigation has since grown, and the parties have succeeded in making the action much more complicated through procedural maneuvers in both state and federal court. Nevertheless, the Court has considered the parties’ submissions, along with relevant case law and evidence, and is now prepared to rule. I. Factual and Procedural Background On March 6, 2013, Kenny Nolley and Robin Littlejohn were involved in an automobile accident on Highway 15 in Union County, Mississippi, when Littlejohn “slammed into the rear of [Nolley’s] vehicle.” At the time of the accident, Littlejohn was insured by Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin (“Viking”), and Nolley was insured by GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company (“GuideOne”). On September 11, 2015, Nolley filed suit against Littlejohn in the Circuit Court of Union County, Mississippi, asserting causes of action for negligence and negligence per se. Importantly, at the time he initially filed the case, Nolley did not name Viking or GuideOne as defendants in the action. Upon Littlejohn’s failure to appear or respond in that action, an entry 1 Dockets.Justia.com of default was entered against her. Thereafter, on November 19, 2015, the circuit court held a hearing as to the proper amount of damages to be assessed. Although Littlejohn was provided notice of the hearing, she failed to appear. After the hearing, the circuit court issued a default judgment against Littlejohn “for the principal and prejudgment interest, in the sum of $150,000.00, plus interest at the rate of 8% annually from the entering of this judgment, plus attorney’s fees of $150,000.00, and all costs of this cause expended.” Shortly thereafter, Littlejohn obtained counsel who immediately entered an appearance and filed a motion to set aside the entry of default and default judgment. In that motion, Littlejohn argues that the judgment should be set aside because it is not supported by credible evidence. Littlejohn emphasizes that Nolley’s damage evaluation sheet, which was introduced at the hearing, shows “that he only incurred approximately $4,200.00 in medical expenses and a vast majority of that amount was chiropractic care.” Littlejohn also highlights that “[Nolley’s] Motion for Default Judgment only sought damages in the amount of $33,493.00 plus interest.” Littlejohn additionally asserts that the circuit court’s award of $150,000.00 for attorney’s fees is grossly excessive, as Nolley only sought $8,333.00 in attorney’s fees and the transcript from the hearing lacks any testimony whatsoever as to the fees actually incurred. Littlejohn also highlights the fact that, prior to filing suit, Nolley’s counsel had been in contact with Viking— Littlejohn’s insurer—concerning the claim. Littlejohn avers that since Nolley’s counsel had been in contact with Viking, he should have provided the company with a “courtesy copy of the Complaint” instead of obtaining a default judgment against Littlejohn without Viking’s knowledge of the suit. While Littlejohn’s motion was pending, Viking filed a separate action against Littlejohn and Nolley in the Chancery Court of Union County, Mississippi, on January 11, 2016. In that 2 action, Viking sought a declaratory judgment regarding its rights and obligations in regard to the default judgment “due to [Littlejohn’s] material breach of the insurance policy’s provision requiring the immediate notification of suit and any notification of subsequent relevant pleadings.” Viking also sought a declaration relieving it of any obligation to pay Nolley under the judgment “as a consequence of his failure to notify [Viking] of his efforts and attempt to secure a Default Judgment against Littlejohn . . .” Returning to the original circuit court action, a hearing on Littlejohn’s motion to set aside the default judgment was held on April 18, 2016. According to Nolley, Judge Kelly Luther—the circuit court judge— orally “den[ied] the motion in part and allow[ed] liability to stand, while granting the motion in part and requiring a trial on damages.” However, an order to that effect was not entered on the circuit court’s docket. In fact, an order was never entered on the court’s docket reflecting Judge Luther’s purported oral ruling. On May 25, 2016, Nolley filed an amended complaint, adding Viking and GuideOne— his insurer—as parties to the action. In the amended complaint, he requests a “declaration of rights and coverage as to Defendants Viking Insurance Company and GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company[.]” He asserts that Viking should be forced to pay the limit of its policy with Littlejohn and that GuideOne should be held liable for the remaining amount of the judgment under the underinsured motorist portion of his policy. Nolley also repeated verbatim his claims against Littlejohn.1 1 The Court notes that Viking has filed a separate motion to dismiss, arguing that, in filing his amended complaint, Nolley incorrectly referred to it as “Sentry Insurance Group d/b/a Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin.” Specifically, in its motion, Viking asserts that it “is not a ‘d/b/a’ of Sentry Insurance Group.” Rather, it states that “Viking is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sentry Insurance, a Mutual company.” The Court will take up the motion concerning that issue in due course; however, for the purposes of this motion, the Court will simply refer to the company as “Viking.” 3 Thereafter, on June 23, 2016, GuideOne removed the action to this Court, asserting diversity jurisdiction as the basis for this Court’s jurisdiction over the case. It is undisputed that both Nolley and Littlejohn are Mississippi citizens and that both Viking and GuideOne are foreign citizens for jurisdictional purposes. Due to the appearance that complete diversity was clearly lacking because both Nolley and Littlejohn are Mississippi citizens, this Court issued a show cause order, instructing GuideOne to explain why the case should not be remanded due to lack of complete diversity. In its response to the Court’s order, GuideOne asserted that “[p]er Fifth Circuit legal authority, Robin Littlejohn, as [an] in-state tortfeasor, does not defeat diversity jurisdiction where Kenny Nolley has already obtained a $300,000 default judgment against Littlejohn. Therefore the Mississippi citizenship of Littlejohn should be disregarded for [diversity of citizenship analysis purposes].” Thus, GuideOne’s argument hinges on the fact that the default judgment Nolley obtained against Littlejohn is still binding due to the fact that the circuit court never entered an order on its docket setting aside the judgment as to damages. In response to GuideOne’s arguments, Nolley asserts that an order setting aside the default as to damages “was circulating but had not yet been forwarded to Judge Luther for his signature. The reason for this was a discussion taking place amongst counsel concerning the possibility of allowing the entire default to be set aside in exchange for Viking agreeing to provide coverage for any liability that was determined through a hearing of this matter.” However, he argues that the oral ruling setting aside the judgment was nevertheless binding and that the default judgment is thus no longer valid. On July 20, 2016, Nolley filed the present motion to remand. In his motion, he makes largely the same assertions—namely, that the default judgment is no longer valid because Judge Luther orally ordered that the default judgment be set aside as to damages and simply failed to 4 enter an order to that effect due to a potential agreement between the parties to set aside the entire judgment. Therefore, Nolley asserts that the default judgment was set aside and his citizenship should therefore be considered in this Court’s jurisdictional analysis, destroying complete diversity and making remand proper. GuideOne responded in opposition, asserting that the state court default judgment remains valid due to the fact that no order setting it aside was entered on the docket and, thus, that Nolley’s citizenship should be disregarded according to Fifth Circuit precedent. Upon due consideration of the submissions of the parties, relevant authorities, and evidence, the Court finds that Nolley’s motion should be denied. II. Remand Standard “[F]ederal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, having ‘only the authority endowed by the Constitution and that conferred by Congress.’” Halmekangas v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 603 F.3d 290, 292 (5th Cir. 2010) (quoting Epps v. Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties Water Improvement Dist. No. 1, 665 F.2d 594, 595 (5th Cir. 1982)). The Judiciary Act of 1789 provides that “any civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). Upon removal, a plaintiff may move to remand the action to state court, and “[i]f it appears that the district courts lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.” 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The Fifth Circuit has held that “removal statutes are to be construed strictly against removal and for remand.” Eastus v. Blue Bell Creameries, L.P., 97 F.3d 100, 106 (5th Cir. 1996) (citing Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 108-09, 61 S.Ct. 868, 872, 5 85 L.Ed. 1214 (1941)). Moreover, “[a]ny ambiguities are construed against removal.” Manguno v. Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 276 F.3d 720, 723 (5th Cir. 2002) (citing Acuna v. Brown & Root, Inc., 200 F.3d 335, 339 (5th Cir. 2000)). Furthermore, “[t]he removing party bears the burden of establishing that federal jurisdiction exists.” De Aguilar v. Boeing Co., 47 F.3d 1404, 1408 (5th Cir. 1995) (citing Gaitor v. Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co., 287 F.2d 252, 253-54 (5th Cir. 1961)). III. Discussion Applying this standard, as the removing party, GuideOne bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction. In its notice of removal, GuideOne stated that diversity jurisdiction provides the basis for this Court’s jurisdiction. Thus, the Court begins its analysis with 28 U.S.C. § 1332—the diversity jurisdiction statute. In pertinent part, it provides: The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between-- citizens of different states . . .” 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (a)(1). Moreover, “[d]efendants may remove an action on the basis of diversity of citizenship if there is complete diversity between all named plaintiffs and all named defendants[.]” Lincoln Prop. Co. v. Roche, 546 U.S. 81, 84, 126 S.Ct. 606, 163 L.Ed.2d 415 (2005). In the case at bar, because the amount in controversy requirement is undoubtedly satisfied, the critical inquiry is whether complete diversity exists. As previously stated, it is undisputed that while Viking and GuideOne are both foreign citizens, both Nolley and Littlejohn are Mississippi citizens. Therefore, upon first glance, it appears that complete diversity is lacking. However, GuideOne argues that because Nolley secured a default judgment against Littlejohn in state court—and that judgment is still binding—Fifth Circuit precedent requires that 6 the Court disregard Littlejohn’s citizenship for diversity purposes. In opposition, Nolley argues that the default judgment was set aside by Judge Luther, making his citizenship relevant to the diversity jurisdiction analysis and destroying complete diversity. In this Court’s view, there are two crucial questions that it must decide: (1) the effect of Judge Luther’s purported oral ruling which has never been reduced to a written order and (2) if the Court finds that the default judgment remains valid, the effect of a default judgment on the improper joinder analysis. Regarding the effect of the purported oral ruling, the Court notes that although Nolley’s amended state court complaint alleged that Judge Luther orally “den[ied] the motion [to set aside the default judgment] in part and allow[ed] liability to stand, while granting the motion in part and requiring a trial on damages[,]” Nolley has failed to provide the Court with a copy of the transcript from the hearing. Moreover, it is undisputed that a written order setting aside the default judgment was never entered on the circuit court docket. The Court notes that “[a] case removed from state court simply comes into the federal system in the same condition in which it left the state system.” Matter of Meyerland Co., 960 F.2d 512, 520 (5th Cir. 1992) (citing Granny Goose Foods, Inc. v. Brotherhood of Teamsters, Etc., 415 U.S. 423, 435-36, 94 S.Ct. 1113, 39 L.Ed.2d 435 (1974)). “For instance, if the notice of appeal was adequate in the state court system, it should be deemed adequate when it enters the federal courts, regardless of whether the state technical requirements for notice of appeal differ from the federal.” Id. In the case at bar, the Court finds that, at the time the case was removed from state court, the default judgment was still valid and binding because Judge Luther’s oral ruling alone, without a written order, was not a final judgment. Rule 58 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil 7 Procedure provides that “[a] judgment shall be effective only when entered as provided in M.R.C.P. 79(a).” MISS. R. CIV. P. 58 (emphasis added). And Rule 79(a) provides: The clerk shall keep a book known as the “general docket” of such form and style as is required by law and shall enter therein each civil action to which these rules are made applicable. The file number of each action shall be noted on each page of the docket whereon an entry of the action is made. All papers filed with the clerk, all process issued and returns made thereon, all appearances, order, verdicts, and judgment shall be noted in this general docket on the page assigned to the action and shall be marked with its file number. MISS. R. CIV. P. 79(a). Thus, reading these rules together, a judgment becomes effective only when it is entered in the general docket. Moreover, the Court notes that the Mississippi Supreme Court has held that “[t]hough previously a circuit judge could render a binding oral judgment at a trial conclusion, the Court later made the rule uniform, finding that the ‘date of rendition of the judgment of the circuit court in term time, as well as in vacation, is the date when the judgment is signed by the judge and filed with the clerk for entry on the minutes.’” Banks v. Banks, 511 So.2d 933, 934-35 (Miss. 1987) (quoting Jackson v. Schwartz, 240 So.2d 60, 61-62 (Miss. 1970)) (emphasis added) (additional internal citations omitted); see also Cleveland Nursing Rehab., LLC v. Estate of Gully, __ So.3d __, 2016 WL 6125438, at *4 (Miss. 2016) (holding that circuit court did not err in finding that there was no final judgment when judgment had not been entered in compliance with Rule 79(a)). Here, it is undisputed that a written order setting aside the default judgment was never entered, as shown by the absence of such an entry on the copy of the circuit court docket provided to the Court. Therefore, relying on the aforementioned precedent, the Court finds that Judge Luther’s purported oral ruling partially setting aside the 8 default judgment was not a final judgment. Thus, the default judgment was not set aside and remains in effect.2 Having held that the default judgment remains valid, the Court now turns to the effect of that judgment on the diversity jurisdiction analysis. Again, GuideOne asserts that because Nolley has secured a default judgment against Littlejohn, her citizenship should be disregarded due to improper joinder. The Fifth Circuit has held that a removing party can establish improper joinder—making it appropriate to disregard the improperly joined party’s citizenship for diversity purposes—in two ways: “(1) actual fraud in the pleading of jurisdictional facts, or (2) inability of the plaintiff to establish a cause of action against the non-diverse party in state court.” Smallwood v. Ill. Cent. R.R. Co., 385 F.3d 568, 573 (5th Cir. 2004) (quoting Travis v. Irby, 326 F.2d 644, 646-47 (5th Cir. 2003)). Here, GuideOne argues that the second option is satisfied because Nolley cannot establish a cause of action against Littlejohn because he has already secured a default judgment against her for the same claims. Under the second method of establishing fraudulent joinder, “we must determine whether there is any reasonable basis for predicting that [Nolley] might be able to establish [Littlejohn’s] liability on the pleaded claims in state court.” Travis, 326 F.3d 644, 647 (5th Cir. 2003) (quoting Griggs v. State Farm Lloyds, 181 F.3d 694, 698 (5th Cir. 1999)) (emphasis previously added). The Fifth Circuit considered the fraudulent joinder issue in the default judgment context in Bolden v. Brooks, 138 F. App’x 601 (5th Cir. 2005). There, the plaintiffs, Artis and Marilyn Bolden (“the Boldens”) and Frank Brooks (“Brooks”) were involved in an automobile accident, 2 The Court notes that the result would be the same under Rule 58 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that a judgment’s time of entry is “when the judgment is entered in the civil docket[.]” FED. R. CIV. P. 58(c). 9 which was allegedly caused by Brooks’ negligence. Id. at 602. It was undisputed that the Boldens and Brooks were Mississippi citizens. Id. Because Brooks was an uninsured motorist, the Boldens attempted to recover from their insurance company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (“Nationwide”), under the uninsured motorist coverage portion of their policy. Id. Unable to reach an agreement with Nationwide, the Boldens sued Brooks in state court for negligence and loss of consortium. Id. After Brooks failed to respond, the state court entered a default judgment against him, awarding $500,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages to the Boldens. Id. After Nationwide still refused to pay the Boldens, arguing that it was not bound by the judgment, the Boldens “filed an amended complaint in Mississippi court, repeating the negligence claim against Brooks verbatim and adding as defendants Nationwide and several Nationwide agents, all of whom were Mississippi residents.” Id. at 603. Nationwide then removed the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, arguing that Brooks and the Nationwide agents were fraudulently joined and, thus, diversity jurisdiction was proper. Id. Ruling upon the Boldens’ motion to remand, the district court held that Brooks was fraudulently joined and denied their request, finding that “no reasonable basis existed to predict the Boldens might recover against Brooks because they had previously stated the same claim against him and recovered an award of damages, and a valid, final judgment was entered on that claim.” Id.3 The case was later dismissed on summary judgment and the Boldens appealed, among other things, the district court’s denial of their remand motion. Id. On review, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the remand motion, holding that because the Boldens had already obtained a default judgment against Brooks on the 3 The district court also held that the Nationwide agents were fraudulently joined; however, that analysis is not relevant to the motion presently before this Court. 10 same claims, there was no reasonable basis upon which the Boldens would be able to establish a claim against Brooks. Id. Specifically, the Fifth Circuit held that “we agreed with the district court’s determination that the Boldens cannot state cognizable claims against Brooks. . . The judgment against Brooks was a valid, final judgment under Mississippi law, and is thus res judicata against the amended complaint that is not altered as to Brooks.” Id. Due to the strikingly similar facts of the case at bar and Bolden, the Court finds that the Bolden court’s reasoning should be applied here. That is, because Nolley has already obtained a default judgment against Littlejohn, which currently remains in effect, and his amended complaint recites the exact same claims against Littlejohn, the Court finds that there is no reasonable basis to predict that Nolley could recover against Littlejohn, as the claims are subject to res judicata. The Court thus finds that Littlejohn was improperly joined in this matter and that her citizenship should be disregarded for diversity jurisdiction purposes. Accordingly, the complete diversity requirement is satisfied and, as a result, Nolley’s motion to remand should be denied. IV. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that Nolley’s motion is not well taken. Accordingly, it is hereby, ORDERED that Nolley’s Motion to Remand [19] is DENIED. SO ORDERED, this the 9th day of January, 2017. /s/ MICHAEL P. MILLS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI 11
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How will you protect your e-mail address from being spoofed? What is Sender Policy Framework?
SPF, which is an abbreviation for Sender Policy Framework, is an authentication system that is aimed at blocking the so-called email counterfeiting. Basically, this means sending some message from one e-mail address and making it look like it’s sent from another with the purpose to scam in some way the person opening it. When the SPF protection is active for a domain, a record which includes all mail servers authorized to email messages with addresses within the domain is created. The record is kept on all DNS servers that route the Internet traffic all over the world, therefore they all can identify whether an e-mail message comes from an authentic server or not. The verification is done at the first server where the email goes through and in the first case the email message is forwarded, and in the second it's removed and it never reaches the supposed recipient. Using SPF records for your domain names will prevent any unwanted people from making use of your email addresses for harmful purposes.
SPF Protection in Website Hosting
The SPF protection option is provided by default with every single website hosting plan that we supply and you are able to use it without difficulty so that you can secure the e-mails for each domain name hosted within your account. The service is handled from the Emails section of the hi-tech, albeit easy-to-navigate Hepsia Control Panel. What is needed to activate the protection is to type in the IP of the e-mail server as well as its hostname - mail.server.com, for instance. When the protection is active, only this server will be able to send e-mail messages from e-mails created under the domain name that you've picked. Your e-mails can be managed by a different company, but in case that we manage them along with your site, you may also enable the option for e-mail messages to be sent only when the domain features our MX records. This feature provides you with better protection as only our server will be authorized to send messages from your mailboxes and you'll have improved control. When you have any questions or if you experience any kind of troubles with this particular service, you can contact our tech support crew anytime and they'll help you immediately.
SPF Protection in Semi-dedicated Hosting
The SPF protection feature is available with all the Linux semi-dedicated hosting, so if you host your domains in an account on our cloud website hosting platform, you'll be able to use this service with ease for any of your domain names. The Hepsia Control Panel, which is included with the semi-dedicated accounts, features a quite user-friendly interface, which means that you don't have to be proficient in the use of computers in order to protected your e-mails. You will simply need to type the hostname and the IP of each mail server that you would like to be authorized to send out emails from your addresses and shortly after that the updated record will be active for the domain name that you've picked. As a further option, we will also allow you to limit your outgoing emails and protect your mailboxes even better by permitting email messages to be sent only when the domain involved features our MX records i.e. the email messages for the domain name should be managed by us and not by some other company. In this way you'll have even better control and there will not be any chances for anybody to fake your email addresses for harmful objectives.
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Last edited by Muran
2 edition of Sea-power and Empire. found in the catalog.
Sea-power and Empire.
F. J. C. Hearnshaw
by F. J. C. Hearnshaw
Published 1940 by Harrap in London .
Sea power,
Great Britain -- Colonies -- History.
Shows the Mediterranean as a majestic and bloody theatre of war. Opening with the Ottoman victory in , this title tells the story of military crusading, Barbary pirates, white slavery and the Ottoman Empire - and the larger picture of the struggle between Islam and Christianity/5(). In , he authored his first book, The Gulf and Inland Waters, a study of naval engagements in the Civil War. It was his second book, The Influence of .
The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, Both Volumes - the Complete and Unabridged Naval History of France before the Napoleonic Wars, with Map Illustrations Alfred Thayer MahanReviews: In his second book, The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, – (), Mahan stressed the interdependence of the military and commercial control of the sea and asserted that the control of seaborne commerce can determine the outcome of wars.
The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, Two volumes. Octavo, early 20th-century full tan polished calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, raised bands, green morocco . In Alfred Thayer Mahan. In his second book, The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, – (), Mahan stressed the interdependence of the military and commercial control of the sea and asserted that the control of seaborne commerce can determine the outcome of wars. Both books were avidly read in Read More.
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Sea-power and Empire by F. J. C. Hearnshaw Download PDF EPUB FB2
Empire undoubtedly rested on sea-power, but after the American War that sea-power was only dispersed into distant waters in a limited and subsidiary form. The first and chiefest duty of the Royal Navy was always the defence of Britain against invasion, followed by the protection of trade, with colonies a poor third in the order of priority.
Sea-power and Empire. book quote, meaning that the Rome grain fleets had to get through for the survival of the Republic even though many seamen had to die in the effort, epitomizes Clark's take on Roman sea power.
His book is one of the best short surveys I have read on the topic. Well worth anyone interested in the maritime component of the rise of the Roman Empire.5/5(1). His book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, – () won immediate recognition, especially in Europe, and with its successor, The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, – (), made him world-famous and perhaps the most influential American author of the nineteenth was born on Septemat West Point, Author: Alfred Thayer Mahan.
This item: The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, Both Volumes - the by Alfred Thayer Mahan Paperback $ Ships from and sold by FREE Shipping on orders over $Reviews: 1. Power and Empire (stylized as Tom Clancy Power and Empire, Tom Clancy: Power and Empire or Tom Clancy's Power and Empire in the United Kingdom) is a political thriller novel, written by Marc Cameron and released on Novem Set in the Tom Clancy universe, President Jack Ryan and The Campus must prevent a secret cabal heightening the tensions between the United States and China Author: Marc Cameron.
The Sea-power and Empire. book features detailed explanations of how Athens, Carthage, Venice, the Dutch Republic, and England/the United Kingdom became focused on naval force and built political and economic systems closely tied to the sea and why they became different than Persia, Rome, medieval Europe, and s: The book includes contributions on Mycenaean sea power, Classical Athens, the ancient Thebans, Ptolemaic Egypt, The Genoese Empire, power networks of the Vikings, the medieval Danish Empire, the Baltic empire of Ancien Régime Sweden, the early modern Indian Ocean, the Melaka Empire, the (non-European aspects of the) Portuguese Empire and Dutch.
The Influence Of Sea Power Upon The French Revolution And Empire, Volume 1. This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a edition by Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Limited, London.
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a edition by Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Limited, London/5. This book examines how the expansion of a steam-powered Royal Navy from the second half of the nineteenth century had wider ramifications across the British Empire.
In particular, it considers how steam propulsion made vessels utterly dependent on a particular resource – coal – and its distribution. The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, (Classic Reprint) Paperback – J by Alfred Thayer Mahan (Author) out of 5 stars 1 ratingReviews: 1.
In Power at Sea, Lisle A. Rose gives us an unprecedented narrative assessment of modern sea power, how it emerged from the Age of Fighting Sail, how it was employed in war and peace, and how it has shaped the life of the human community over the past century and a quarter.
In this first volume, Rose recalls the early twentieth-century world of emerging, predatory industrial Reviews: 7. The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, Both Volumes - the Complete and Unabridged Naval History of France before the Napoleonic Wars, with Map Illustrations.
by Alfred Thayer Mahan | Apr 7, Paperback. $$ Admiral Stavridis's book, "Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans", is a book well crafted piece of work. It is excellent in its delivery of understanding the role the sea in shaping world affairs from beginnings of men voyaging on open waters to today with naval forces able to project power across the s: This book will bring to life what very little was learned in school about sea power.
The power of the sea did not just cover the Atlantic, no mate, there was the Caribbean, The Baltic, The North Sea to add to t An extremely well written account by Sam Willis/5(27). Buy Seapower States: Maritime Culture, Continental Empires, and the Conflict That Made the Modern World by Andrew Lambert (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible s: Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, – won immediate recognition, especially in Europe, and with its successor, The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, –, made him world.
8 Sea-Power and Empire, –; 9 World-Wide War and British Expansion, –; 10 Empire and Identity from the Glorious Revolution to the American Revolution; 11 Knowledge and Empire; 12 ‘This famous island set in a Virginian sea’: Ireland in the British Empire, –; 13 Growth and Mastery: British North America, – Sea Power is clear-eyed about the dangers of the modern nautical realities, but it doggedly retains this tone of hope throughout.
And hope or danger, on one point the book compels agreement: the oceans are still the crucial theaters of this water world.”. The Influence Of Sea Power Upon The French Revolution And Empire, Volume 1 by Alfred Thayer Mahan avg rating — 22 ratings — published — 41 editions.
The main premise of the book is that there is a difference between "sea power" and "seapower". The former being a state which has a powerful navy (e.g. USA, Ancient Rome), and the latter being a state which has consciously looked to the sea to build its fortune, power and cultural identity/5(17).
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: – is a history of naval warfare published in by Alfred Thayer Mahan. It details the role of sea power during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and discussed the various factors needed to support and achieve sea power, with emphasis on having the largest and most powerful fleet.Stavridis mostly gives a somewhat superficial and cliched review of all the world's oceans (the books is organized ocean by ocean) and ends with some cliched remarks about the importance of sea power and that is about it.
If you are interested in a history of sea power, this is not really the book for you/5().In Alfred Thayer Mahan published a book that transformed naval theory—and unleashed the world’s great fleets. Democracies are good at war for many of the same reasons they are good at capitalism and at the enhancement of the human spirit.
solstemcell.com - Sea-power and Empire. book © 2020
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Human Geography--LDC
Human Geography--LDC: Home
World Relief Organization
We believe God has equipped the church - the most diverse social network on the planet - to be at the center of these stories, leveraging time, energy and resources to join the vulnerable in their time of need.
CARE--Aid Organization
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of disease, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
Develops and runs emergency programs in nutrition, health, water and food security for countries in need. Also provides disaster preparedness programs with the goal of anticipating and preventing humanitarian crises.
Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and disadvantaged outside the country. Working through local offices and an extensive network of partners, CRS operates on 5 continents and in over 90 countries. They aid the poor by first providing direct assistance where needed, then encouraging these people to help with their own development. Together, this fosters secure, productive, just communities that
enable people to realize their potential.
Doctors Without Borders delivers medical help to populations endangered by war, civil strife, epidemics or natural disasters. Each year over 2,000 volunteer doctors representing 45 nationalities work worldwide in front-line hospitals, refugee camps, disaster sites, towns and villages providing primary health care, performing surgery, vaccinating children, operating emergency nutrition and sanitation programs and training local medical staff.
Emergency Nutrition Network
Independently funded organization based in Dublin, Ireland UK. Works to improve the
effectiveness of emergency food and nutrition interventions by providing a means of information exchange between field staff, humanitarian institutions, academics and researchers.
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is the voluntary organization involved in resettlement assistance, global emergency relief, rehabilitation, and advocacy for refugees. The IRC delivers lifesaving aid in emergencies, rebuilds shattered communities, cares for war traumatized children, rehabilitates health care, water and sanitation systems, reunites separated families, restores lost livelihoods, establishes schools, trains teachers, strengthens the capacity of local organizations and supports civil society and good-governance initiatives. For refugees afforded sanctuary in the United States, IRC offices across the country provide a range of assistance aimed at helping new arrivals get settled, adjust and acquire the skills to become self sufficient. Committed to restoring dignity and self-reliance, the IRC is a global symbol of hope and renewal for those who have taken flight in search of freedom.
Oxfam is a development and relief agency working to end poverty. Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice.
Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating real and lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. It is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, comprising 27 national Save the Children organizations working in more than 100 countries to ensure the well-being of children. Save the Children responds to any emergency that puts at great risk the survival, protection, and well-being of significant numbers of children, where addressing the needs and well-being of those children is beyond the indigenous coping capacity, and where Save the Children is able to mobilize the financial and human resources to take urgent action on their behalf.
The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
OFDA is the office within USAID responsible for providing non-food humanitarian assistance in response to international crises and disasters. Responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government emergency assistance overseas and to provide humanitarian assistance to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the social and economic impact of natural and man-made disasters worldwide.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
While working to ensure the survival, protection and development of children and advocating a high priority for them in the allocation of resources at all times, UNICEF continues to give relief and rehabilitation assistance in emergencies. The agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
The UNHCR provides protection and assistance to the world's refugees. Today, the UNHCR is one of the world's principal humanitarian agencies, with headquarters in Geneva, and offices in some 115 countries. More than 80 percent of UNHCR's 5,000-member staff work in the field, often in isolated, dangerous and difficult conditions. The UNHCR has twice been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
OCHA is mandated to mobilize and coordinate the collective efforts of the international community, in particular those of the UN system, to meet in a coherent and timely manner the needs of those exposed to human suffering and material destruction in disasters and emergencies.
US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
http://www.refugees.org/
British Broadcasting Corp.
Students will be able to identify a research focus question, locate information related to their focus question, and produce a product that shares the results of their research in both written and verbal formats.
World Book Encyclopedia
Assignment Worksheet
LDC Project Checklist
URL: https://libguides.ops.org/burkehumangeographyldc
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Dr. Carl Sagan
Home » Persons » Dr. Carl Sagan
Born on 9 November 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, Carl Sagan received a Bachelor’s degree in 1955 and a Master’s degree in 1956, both in Physics, and a Doctorate in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1960, all from the University of Chicago. Sagan played a major role in NASA’s Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo expeditions and received NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and for Distinguished Public Service and the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. He was the chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, president of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union and chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Carl Sagan died from pneumonia on 20 December 1996 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center after a two-year battle against myelodysplasia, a pre-leukemic syndrome.
Relevance to Majestic Documents
Sagan’s name appears in a November 1998 Top Secret message that concerns the SDI “Star Wars” program, Majestic 12, Dreamland, Joshua, Edward Teller, assassination programs, and liaison with the Russians on MJ-related operations.
Carl Sagan’s FBI File (2.7 MB)
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Home / Entertainment / Movies
'Black Lightning' star Cress Williams to play the role of Steel in DC's 'Reign of the Supermen'
Williams' return to the Superman universe will see him play Steel, who wants to claim the title of Man of Steel for himself.
By Barnana Sarkar
'Black Lightning's Cress Williams is set to join the star-studded cast of the upcoming DC movie, 'Reign of the Supermen'. This will certainly not be Williams' first appearance in a DC movie, specifically one featuring Superman. The actor, who is now starring as the Black Lightning aka Jefferson Pierce in the CW's comic-book show of the same name, had previously played the role of the vengeful magician Baron Sunday in the third season of the 1996 TNT drama, 'Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'.
Now he is making his way back to DC with his role as Steel in the upcoming Sam Liu-produced-movie, 'Reign of the Supermen'. As a sequel to 'The Death of Superman', the movie picks up from the aftermath of the death of the world's strongest man. In a world without Superman, are several who want to claim the title for themselves. However, the subsequent disappearance of Superman's body leaves the title vulnerable and also open to the hopeful probability of the Man of Steel being alive. Things get complicated when four super-powered men swoop down, claiming themselves to be heirs to Superman.
Following the traces of 'The Death of Superman', 'Reign of the Supermen' finds the world without its hero. (IMDb)
In the end, only one of them will be able to claim the title. With Steel (to be played by Williams), Cyborg (to be played by Shemar Moore), Superboy (to be played by Cameron Monaghan), and the Eradicator (to be played by Charles Halford), the Justice League finds itself in a fix as they, too, try to solve the case of Superman's missing body. 'Reign of the Supermen' serves as the second half of the two-part DC Universe Movies experience. Along with its predecessor, 'The Death of Superman', the movie is set to tell a more fitting and suitable version of the 1992-93 epic comic phenomenon. It will probably fill up the gaps that were left by 'Superman Doomsday'.
Cress Williams will star as Steel in the movie. (IMDb)
Along with Williams, the movie has newly cast Patrick Fabian as Hank Henshaw and Tony Todd as Darkseid. The additional cast includes Rocky Carroll as Perry White, Toks Olahundoye as Cat Grant, Max Mittleman as Jimmy Olsen, Paul Eiding as Jonathan Kent, Jennifer Hale as Martha Kent, Trevor Devall as Dabney Donovan and Erica Luttrell as Mercy. Written by Jim Krieg ('Batman: Gotham by Gaslight') and Tim Sheridan ('Scooby-Doo and the Gourmet Ghost'), the movie is being produced and directed by Sam Liu, along with Amy McKenna and Alan Burnett. Sam Register and James Tucker serve as executive producers.
Watch the trailer below:
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Andy Fairweather Low Pop Rock 1974 UK
album Andy Fairweather Low - Reggae Tune mp3 download
Performer: Andy Fairweather Low
Album: Reggae Tune
Other Formats: RA AAC ASF VQF MOD MMF AHX
Andy’s first solo success was another Top 10 hit with Reggae Tune in September 1974 when after two albums with Fairweather and a brief spell off for good behaviour Andy had signed a Solo deal with A&M Records and recorded Spider Jiving which was produced by Neil Young producer Elliott Mazer and included major players such as The Memphis Horns & Nashville. legend Charlie McCoy. Andy was also a regular player with George Harrison, appearing on his ‘Live in Japan’ album and, in 2002, playing several of the lead guitar parts for the Harrison tribute, ‘The Concert for George’. One of Fairweather Low’s longest musical relationships, however, has been as musical director with Roger Waters. The two have worked together since Waters’ ‘Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking’ tour of America in 1985.
Andy Fairweather Low 1974 - Spider Jiving 01 - Spider Jiving. mp3 02 - Drowning On Dry Land. mp3 03 - Keep On Rocking. mp3 04 - Same Old Story 08 - Mellow Down. 09 - The Light Is Within. 11 - Dancing In The Dark. Andy Fairweather Lo. pg. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50.
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Andy Fairweather-Low. Perfil: Born : Aug 2, 1948 in Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, Wales.
Andrew "Andy" Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter, producer and vocalist. He was a founder member of 1960s British pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. chart success with "Reggae Tune" (1974), and "Wide Eyed and Legless", a No. 6 Christmas time hit in 1975. Welsh group Budgie covered "I Ain't No Mountain" off Fairweather Low's 1974 album Spider Jiving on their 1975 release Bandolier. In the late 1970s and 1980s he worked for numerous artists, as a session musician, performing as a backing vocalist and guitarist on albums by Roy Wood, Leo Sayer, Albion Band, Gerry Rafferty, Helen Watson, and Richard and Linda Thompson.
A Reggae Tune
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Andy Fairweather Low - Be Bop 'N' Holla album mp3
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The Dramatics - Don't Make Me No Promises / Tune Up album mp3
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U.S. MEDIA CENTER
Subaru.com
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June 2, 2013 , Cherry Hill, N.J., -
SUBARU MAY SALES ARE BEST IN COMPANY HISTORY
• May sales of 39,892 shatter previous monthly records
• Forester monthly sales increased 38 percent over May 2012
• Subaru year-to-date sales are up 21 percent
Subaru of America, Inc. today reported historic-high vehicle sales of 39,892 for May 2013, shattering previous monthly sales records. May 2013 sales represent a 34 percent increase over May 2012 and the best sales month in company history. Year-to-date sales for Subaru total 165,362 – a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2012.
May sales for the all-new 2014 Forester increased 38 percent over May 2012 sales. The 2014 Forester was recently named a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Forester is the first vehicle to ace every aspect of the challenging small overlap front crash test conducted by the IIHS. Forester is also the only small SUV to earn an overall rating of “good” in the test.
Outback sales increased 34 percent in May, with a 10 percent year-to-date increase over 2012. XV Crosstrek sales reached 5,295 for the month of May, a record high for the world’s most fuel efficient all-wheel drive crossover. Subaru announced that a hybrid version of the popular XV Crosstrek will go on sale later this year.
“Subaru continues to receive great accolades from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the automotive press which is increasing the positive image and awareness of our products among the American buying public,” said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “The strength of our product and increased brand awareness are driving the demand for our vehicles to record levels.”
“We continue to see growing demand for Subaru vehicles in the U.S., and our retailers continue to do an excellent job supporting our growth, said Bill Cyphers, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. “It will definitely be another record year for Subaru here in the U.S.”
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit media.subaru.com.
Engineering & Safety
® Subaru of America, Inc.
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Challenges – and controversy – swirl around marijuana social equity programs in California
Published November 29, 2018 | By Celene Adams
In a bid to reverse the fallout from the war on drugs, California is hoping to bring more minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals into the state’s cannabis industry through so-called social equity programs.
The new initiatives are generating high hopes among supporters – and harsh criticism from marijuana industry insiders who believe the programs have unleashed more problems than remedies.
At least four California cities have established social equity programs: Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco.
And earlier this year, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation – the California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018 – intended to help municipalities increase participation in the programs. Lawmakers have allocated $10 million toward the effort.
California state Sen. Steven Bradford, the bill’s author, said that “if people of color with financial capital and high business acumen are having difficulty gaining licenses, one can only imagine the struggles individuals with zero capital and previous convictions are faced with.
“Although California isn’t the first state to legalize the adult use and sale of cannabis, we can be the first state to do it right – by including those who were once punished but can now contribute.”
However, despite the best intentions, some in the marijuana industry charge the execution of social equity programs has been less than perfect. Difficulties reportedly include:
Staffing and funding shortfalls for the programs.
Long waits related to business licensing for applicants who do qualify.
Limited oversight of business partnership arrangements among social equity applicants and outside investors. The situation has led to what some see as a potential for social equity applicants to possibly lose their fair share in their businesses.
“I don’t think we’ve passed the point where the social equity program can’t satisfy its intent,” said Donnie Anderson, co-founder of the California Minority Alliance. “But (Los Angeles’ program) looks like it was set up to fail.”
Anderson’s top criticisms of the L.A. program include staffing shortages at the Department of Cannabis Regulation and lack of funding.
Social equity’s place in MJ’s new ‘Wild West’
Others are even more critical of the programs.
“I’ve heard some social equity applicants who are like, ‘This is just a joke,’” said Felicia Carbajal, an activist with California Cannabis Advocates.
Carbajal is voicing a dismay that’s being expressed about both the recent state-level social equity initiative and those pioneered by L.A., Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco.
In San Francisco, Reese Benton, the owner of dispensary Posh Green Collective, is equally concerned about business licensing delays.
And Oakland social equity licensee Michael Manning said a dearth of contractual oversight with regard to partnerships between applicants and investors has created a new “Wild West.”
“Investors are using the equity program as a leg up into the industry, and they’re not giving the minority groups that are enabling that a stake in the operation,” he said.
Social equity applicants and investor challenges
Many social equity applicants typically lack access to bank loans or venture capital and/or have no knowledge of how to apply for them to get their cannabis companies off the ground. So, partnerships between applicants and investors are often necessary.
Investors who want to qualify for priority application processing must comply with specific local ordinances mandating such liaisons.
While partnerships are intended to financially benefit both parties, critics contend the practice can give rise to opportunities for investors to divest social equity applicants of their share in the business.
“There are no checks and balances,” said Carbajal, adding that some investors have become predatory and made the partnerships fraudulent. “I’ve been offered jobs to go round them up.”
“I’m like, ‘You want me to identify social equity applicants for you to partner with? The partnership opportunity is just fraud,’” she added.
However, Greg Minor, assistant to Oakland’s city administrator, pointed out that investors who don’t comply with the social equity ordinance will have their licenses revoked.
Some critics contend that even when conducted in good faith, partnerships ultimately could undermine social equity program objectives.
Benton, for example, refuses to share partnership of Posh Green, even though she’s paying $2,500 a month to rent a space she can’t yet use because the application she filed with San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis for a retail license has yet to be approved.
Partnering would hasten the process. But Benton, who reported she is not yet turning a profit, is $6,000 in debt because she resorted to buying product on consignment and now must pay $14,000 in order to hold on to a storefront.
She said partnering would be an injustice to the African-American community she grew up in.
“The war on drugs took so much away from my life. My two grandparents died from crack. My mother died from crack,” Benton said. “So me giving up this easy for a quick dollar – I’m not doing it.”
Program funding shortfalls
The California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018 provided for $10 million in loans, grants and other supportive services to help social equity applicants, and an L.A. City Council committee met in mid-November to discuss allocating an additional $3 million.
Oakland also recently launched a no-interest, four-year loan program that’s available to social equity marijuana license applicants.
Yet, while such financial assistance is a step toward helping social equity applicants operate independently, some say the funds won’t go far enough.
“In L.A., I believe we get a third of (the $10 million allocated by the state),” said Fanny Guzman, co-founder of Latinos for Cannabis.
“So we’re going to get $3 million, (which) for the amount of people that we have and the size of the (marijuana) market that (L.A.) is projected to be is nothing when you’re thinking about technical assistance, incubators – all these things.”
Celene Adams is a freelance writer and can be reached at [email protected]
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10 comments on “Challenges – and controversy – swirl around marijuana social equity programs in California”
AL salgado on November 29th, 2018 - 7:51am
Thanks for shining the light on the enquity
In cailf, My eyes are now less dreamy.
Orlando on November 29th, 2018 - 9:11pm
I am in the same position and Felicia Carbajal. I have dedicated my life to cannabis and now have almost no chance against large corporations. City politics and real estate investors have tried to count my chance out even a a local city level. Bribes and special interest are controlling California and something should be done
Pat on November 30th, 2018 - 10:53am
Vote for and elect officials that don’t take any special interest money for their election/re-election campaigns. Taking money/donations only from citizens in their districts. Then you have a fighting chance for fairness in this and in on areas important/relevant to the public’s best interests, as it was meant to be. Not the way it is now and has been for a loong time. That’s what “should be done”, Orlando. It’ll be a new “Dawn.” Don’t forget to “knock three times…”
Andre on November 30th, 2018 - 4:07am
In review of the above statement
“There are no checks and balances,” said Carbajal, adding that some investors have become predatory and made the partnerships fraudulent.
Though I’m not a person with a past arrest record. I’ve experienced first hand what Carbajal stated. Though I’m a So Cal resident I had to go to Pueblo Colorado 2 1/2 years ago to partner with a licensed business owner who basically hijacked with the locals Pueblo jurisdictional System everything I own to Manufacture that which only I could do which was create a medical cannabis Inhaler. No one came to my defense…I could not even get attorneys to represent me or my business in the civil suite filed 2 years ago there as I was not a local. Now I’m embroiled in Civil criminal charges against me about to go to trial April 2019 … It’s like the greed that’s happening is unbelievable. The level of organized corruption goes all the way to the Local District Attorneys..The Police Department and more…Now being back home in Los Angeles I’ve been approached by many well financed individuals who only want my knowledge as a leg up also..
Walter Edwards on November 30th, 2018 - 10:34am
I am in Los Angeles City ? in South Central and l have seen the Devastation of the felt war on drugs in my community. I’ve seen many of my friends die, go to prison for life, the women doing things with their body that they wouldn’t do if the man was in the house, children in foster care coming out of that homeless but there’s a light there’s a light in the tunnel we can get it together we have to learn how to Crowd fund. We don’t have the 40 acres and a mule, but we got the seed we have to learn how to be farmers start growing are Crop and turn this all around for good. God bless what you put in our hands that we learn how to work it.
Steve Stark on December 4th, 2018 - 10:32am
CA’s legalization path has had poor foresight. These problems should have been ruminated upon during the 22 year period where medical pot was in a gray zone. I don’t think cannabis is a good industry long term. If governments wanted to help minorities in the industry it should have done so 20 years ago. When Federal legalization happens in 5-10 years, the general market is going to crash as capital and supply really floods the new national (if not international) market and it will be a very low margin industry on the production and retail side. The only place when a cannabis business will boom will be in the distribution arena if alcohol is used as the model.
Kris Etemadi on December 3rd, 2018 - 3:34pm
We should not expect the State to provide anything except for a clear direction, common sense regulations and a faster processing time. Cannabis operations should be treated as any other business operations, for which you’ll need to have the proper planning, knowledge and of course funding.
Pat on December 4th, 2018 - 8:29pm
Don’t you think the state had the time to figure out all that you said? ( Enough of the creten creep… please. ). For over 50+ yrs? Of course they did. This is the manner in which they ( the state ) want it to go. To please their special interest oligarch’s and to fatten the state general fund. And the growing re-election campaign fund that very likely has been established by the big licensees that were granted unlimited “Pass Go,Collect $200…” And “Get out of Jail” cards.
Ron Smith on December 24th, 2018 - 3:47pm
No kidding. This effort to somehow force the cannabis industry, via the licensing process, into some sort of quasi social welfare program is absurd. It’s a business like any other. California already has enough regulations and taxes. And a lot of additional taxes will come from cannabis. If the state wants to divert some cannabis taxes to targeted social programs, fine. But don’t intertwine the SJ with the actual business operations. California, please stop meddling in every single aspect of people’s lives and business. Enough is enough.
Ava on April 2nd, 2019 - 2:41pm
There’s entirely too much red tape on the entire process. It’s ridic.
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Military schools and military academies for teenage boys or girls from Medford, Massachusetts – homes for troubled boys and boarding schools with therapy.
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Information About Military Schools in Medford, Massachusetts
As a parent, you’ve probably heard a lot of things about military schools and don’t know what to believe. Are they boot camps? Are they punishments for troubled children? Are they just a front for military recruitment? Let’s go ahead and set the record straight.
Militaryschoolusa.com is a resource which provides information on all the military schools in the USA, including, of course, military schools that might be near Medford, Massachusetts. Before you learn about each program individually, let’s get an understanding of what military schools can provide for your son or daughter.
Military schools in Medford, Massachusetts are basically boarding schools with a history of military tradition. The significance of this is that, although a lot of of these programs are not directly affiliated with the US military in any way, they do use military style in the way they are organized and work with students. Most of these military schools have ranking systems which are rooted in military drills and traditions. As students progress in the program, they move up in rank and earn more privileges and responsibilities. Students live on these campuses and are encouraged to develop meaningful relationships with their peers, something they don’t the chance to do at traditional high schools.
Although these programs tightly structured and discipline-oriented, they are not usually the best solution for teenagers who are struggling. Students are held to high academic standards and the end goal is to prepare students for the rigors of high level universities. For most high-achieving students, military schools provide the advantage they need to get ahead in life, and you won’t find a more comprehensive listing of military school than here at MilitarySchoolUSA.com!
My teenager wants to get into a really competitive university, can a military school near Medford, Massachusetts help him/her with that?
Most military schools in Medford, Massachusetts are known for their rigorous academic standards. These are not typically programs designed for students who are struggling with their schoolwork. Instead, the goal is to challenge your son or daughter and prepare them to meet the entrance requirements of the top universities in the country. Additionally, classes are taught in military fashion which places extra emphasis discipline and organization. This is vital, because it creates practice for study habits which will not only get your teenager accepted to a good college, but enable them to really excel once enrolled there. Take a look through the complete listing of military schools at MilitarySchoolUSA.com to find the one that best suits for your teenager.
My son or daughter is very clever and has a great deal of potential, but sometimes I am concerned that they’re getting lazy or unmotivated. Will a military school in or near Medford, MA accept them?
Although military schools near Medford, Massachusetts are not set up for troubled teenagers, they do provide a highly structured and supervised atmosphere that can really benefit all students. If your son or daughter tends to occasionally lose focus or, at times, can fall into to laziness or procrastination, military schools can straighten that out quickly and easily. At a military academy, students receive assistance in setting up their priorities. They will begin to take a more planned-out approach to each day, ensuring that they are being productive and making positive choices for their future. Even the brightest teenagers can sometimes be absent-minded and unfocused. Teaching teenagers the importance of their future and the way their decisions, even now, can change their entire life is an essential aspect of what military academies are all about. You won’t find a more comprehensive list than the directory found at MilitarySchoolUSA.com!
My son or daughter in Medford, Massachusetts isn’t considering joining the military, is that a problem? Do military schools accept teenagers who have interests in other fields of study and work?
Although many military schools began by being closely associated with the military, that isn’t always how it works anymore. Although joining the military after graduation was an initial goal of military schools, today over 90% of graduates go on to regular colleges and careers. It’s been proven over time that the sort of discipline and training that is provided in such a military setting can be very useful in many fields. From business to politics to entrepreneurship, graduates from military schoolsusually do better than graduates from more traditional high schools. Military schools focus on discipline, integrity, communication, teamwork, and leadership, and it turns out that these are much sought-after traits in just about any area of study or employment.
Find the military school that will help your son or daughter in Medford, Massachusetts thrive by searching the complete military school listing by city and state at MilitarySchoolUSA.com.
More about military schools in Medford, Massachusetts:
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford’s population was 56,173. It is the home of Tufts University.
Excerpt about military schools in Medford, Massachusetts, used with permission from Wikipedia.
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ABOUT MILITARY SCHOOL USA
This directory is designed to help families understand the ins and outs of military school education. It is a new day for military schools — they are not for troubled kids, but instead they are for those who wish to get ahead in life and career. This directory of military schools and military academies will help you explore the available options and select the best military school.
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In addition to information about military schools and academies for boys and girls, we can also help you in your search for best boarding schools, military high schools, special education, low cost boarding schools. The term military school primarily refers to secondary-school-level (junior high and high school military institutions). The term military academy commonly refers to a collegiate institution. Learn all about both military-type programs here.
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Home | Wire | The Problem with "Fraud": Fraud, Threat, and Contract Breach as Types of Aggression
The Problem with "Fraud": Fraud, Threat, and Contract Breach as Types of Aggression
Legal SystemPhilosophy and Methodology
07/17/2006Stephan Kinsella
Recently I pointed out something that has irked me for years: the misuse by libertarians of the term "coercion" as a synonym for aggression. Coercion is not necessarily aggression; and aggression does not necessarily employ coercion.
I have also noticed several times over the past few years that libertarians often use the term "fraud" imprecisely, with no definition—as if it's some kind of obvious concept that needs no definition; and as if it's obvious that is a type of coercion. Er, I mean, aggression. Rand, e.g., wrote: "The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence... The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, and to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law."
So you have this linking of aggression, fraud, and breach of contract as the exhaustive ways that crime can be committed, with sort of the assumption that the latter two are variants of aggression. It is also assumed that the threat of aggression is a type of aggression. Sadowsky, e.g., defines rights this way: "When we say that one has the right to do certain things we mean this and only this, that it would be immoral for another, alone or in combination, to stop him from doing this by the use of physical force or the threat thereof."
Now it was never immediately obvious to me why fraud, or threat, or contract breach, are species of, or imply, aggression. To my simple mind, perhaps, I needed to look further into each of these, to see just why. So let's look at each in turn. First, in my view, a coherent understanding of contract shows how it basically transfers title to property; and crime occurs when property rights—including those allocated by contracts—are violated (see my A Theory of Contracts: Binding Promises, Title Transfer, and Inalienability). (A promise-based theory of contract would be harder to square with the standard theory of aggression, which is why, I believe, Rothbard views contract only as title transfer, not as enforceable promises.)
And I tried to show, in Punishment and Proportionality: The Estoppel Approach (pp. 68-69), why threats can be a form of aggression (see also this version of the Punishment article, p. 639, section "Why Assault and Threats Are Aggression").
The case of fraud is tricky too. I believe the failure to carefully define what fraud is, and to specify exactly when and why it is a type of aggression, leads to confusion. For example, some of my esteemed Austrian colleagues seem to think fractional reserve banking is "inherently fraudulent," and therefore, not merely uneconomic, but also one that should be legally prohibited (I believe Hülsmann, Hoppe, Block hold this view: see, e.g. Hoppe, Hülsmann, and Block, Against Fiduciary Media; see also Rothbard, What Has Government Done To Our Money?; and George Reisman, Capitalism, pp. 514-, and 594-), as does Reisman—I don't have the links at hand, if someone can post them I can update this). In my view, fractional reserve banking is economic nonsense, but not necessarily fraudulent. Likewise, it is sometimes said that plagiarism (2, 3), or even just reprinting someone else's writing, is a "type of fraud," so that copyright law is justified. Others claim that establishing a corporation is "a fraud" and therefore corporations are not justified. Frank Van Dun, in Against Libertarian Legalism, criticized my "legalistic" theory of trademark (see my Against Intellectual Property, p. 43-44), arguing that my attempt to base trademark on a type of fraud or contract-breach theory fails because, under my contract/IP theory, one cannot say that the consumer has a fraud or breach of contract claim. (I replied to this as noted below.) Libertarain critics use it against us too: See James W. Child, "Can Libertarianism Sustain a Fraud Standard?", 104 Ethics 722 (1994).
The problem is in most people's minds "fraud" basically means misrepresenting the truth—i.e., lying. But clearly merely lying is not a rights violation. I think imprecise use of "fraud" permits it to be used to arrive at unlibertarian conclusions. It is imperative to understand it properly and to integrate it into libertarian theory in a way that is compatible with our notions of property and rights and aggression.
I tried to to explain what fraud is, if it is to be considered a species of aggression (and to briefly debunk Child), in A Theory of Contracts (p. 34). As I wrote there,
The theory of contract espoused here demonstrates that fraud is properly viewed as a type of theft. Suppose Karen buys a bucket of apples from Ethan for $20. Ethan represents the things in the bucket as being apples, in fact, as apples of a certain nature, that is, as being fit for their normal purpose of being eaten. Karen conditions the transfer of title to her $20 on Ethan's not knowingly engaging in 'fraudulent' activities, like pawning off rotten apples. If the apples are indeed rotten and Ethan knows this, then he knows that he does not receive ownership of or permission to use the $20, because the condition 'no fraud' is not satisfied. He is knowingly in possession of Karen's $20 without her consent, and is, therefore, a thief.
In other words, for the libertarian, fraud is a type of aggression (namely, theft), just because it is a means by which one party receives or uses or takes the property of someone else without their consent—and there is failure of consent because the first party's misrepresentation meant that one of the conditions to transfer of title was not satisfied. (I have elaborated on this in various articles and posts: see, e.g.: Reply to Van Dun: Non-Aggression and Title Transfer, pp. 60-61, where I tried to explain how a coherent theory of contract and fraud does, in fact, support a type of fraud claim compatible with the non-aggression principle; my exchange with David Heinrich in Comments: debt and the trade against risk; my comments in Objectivists on IP; my exchange with Heinrich regarding "limited liability" and corporations in this thread (2); my exchange, again, w/ Heinrich, regarding fractional reserve banking, in the comments section of Randians go from Mises to supply-side economics)
Looking at fraud this way, it is clear that for there to be fraud—at least of the type that counts as aggression—there must be some victim who did not give genuine consent for the defrauder to use or take his property. There must be a victim of the fraud, and the victimization must be of a type in which there is an ostensible title transfer but which fails because of lack of true consent.
Now in informal language you could use "fraud" more broadly and loosely to refer to any case where someone deceives someone else, but if it is merely sneaky, or shady, or untruthful, there is no fraud. If I put up a website claiming I wrote The Da Vinci code, this is a lie, but who is defrauded? You can call me "a fraud" but there is really no fraud committed. If I place a singles ad saying, "handsome and looks 10 years younger than he is", to try to get some single women to give me a chance, is this really fraud?
Stephan Kinsella
Stephan Kinsella is an attorney in Houston, director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom, and editor of Libertarian Papers.
Stephan Kinsella is an attorney in Houston, director of the Center for the Study...
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Marquis Who's Who Top Health Care Professionals
The leading source for prominent health care professionals in the Marquis community
Featured Health Care Professionals
Maureen Finnerty Turner
by Marquis Who's Who ModeratorPosted on October 9, 2020 December 23, 2020
Company: Motivation Hypnosis
Location: Isle La Motte, Vermont, United States
Maureen Finnerty Turner, President at Motivation Hypnosis, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Health Care Professionals for dedication, achievements, and leadership in hypnotherapy and education.
Interested in becoming a nurse from a young age, particularly within the realm of psychology, Ms. Turner graduated from the Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing and became a Registered Nurse in 1966. Shortly thereafter, in 1972, she received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and psychology at Emmanuel College. One decade later, she earned a Master of Education in counseling from Northeastern University. In addition, she has an MEd in counseling and is a BCRN (American Board of Nursing, Certified Psychiatric Nurse).
Certified in psychiatric and mental health nursing, Licensed and Certified in Counseling, trained in mental health disaster psychological first aid training, trauma and post-traumatic stress, clinical hypnosis, dissociative identity disorder psychotherapy, social work, and group therapy, Ms. Turner commenced her career in 1972 as the founder and executive director of Coping with the Overall Pregnancy/Parenting Experience (COPE) in Boston, where she was the first woman to become a founder and director of the first women’s mental health clinic to specialize in pregnancy and parenting. Maintaining the role until 1992, she also served as a partner of Shearer/Finnerty Turner, president of M.F. Turner Associates, consultant and director of mental health and social services with International Health Specialists, and executive director and chief operating officer of Specialized Health Management/Specialized Home Care.
Following these appointments, Ms. Turner excelled as executive vice president of AmeriCare Health Services, Inc., and AmeriCare at Home Headquarters. She has also been working as a hypnotherapist since 1995 and in private practice in psychotherapy since 1992.
In 2001, Ms. Turner founded Motivation Hypnosis in Boston and in 2007 moved to Burlington, Vermont, where she now serves as president, consultant, lecturer and full-time clinician. Acclaimed worldwide, she continues to lecture in internationally attended virtual conferences in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. She intends to continue bringing light to the field of clinical hypnosis as well as develop and spread awareness of mental health issues. She attributes her considerable success to her ability to continually improve herself from a child through her adult years after struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, as well as from the support of her parents and family.
Alongside her primary duties, Ms. Turner has been a member of the outreach committee for the Laura Mann Integrative Health Program at the University of Vermont Medical Center and a founding member of the board of directors of the Isle La Motte Community Organization of Vermont. A past president and co-founder of the Northeastern Mountain Society of Clinical Hypnosis, she also contributed significantly to Pathways to Wellbeing, Inc., the Alzheimer’s Association of Eastern Massachusetts, the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Massachusetts Council on Family Relations, where she served as a founding member of the board of directors in 1980, among other prestigious organizations.
Additionally, Ms. Turner remains abreast of developments in her field through her affiliation with the International Society of Hypnosis, the American Psychological Association, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and the Vermont Mental Health Counselors Association. Demonstrating versatility in her field, she has also authored chapters in books, published many training manuals, is preparing to submit research articles to professional journals, has been featured in myriad magazines and conferences, and has presented at seminars across the U.S. and at the World Congress of Medical & Clinical Hypnosis 2018, Montreal, Canada.
In light of her contributions to health and wellness, Ms. Turner received the Most Distinguished New Business Award for Motivation Hypnosis from the Wellesley Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the Distinguished Leadership Award from the COPE Board of Directors in 1992, and the Leadership Recognition Award from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay in 1992. Previously, she earned a Certificate of Recognition from the board of directors of the Massachusetts Child Abuse Prevention Commission in 1990 and a Distinguished Woman Award from Women in Philanthropy in 1989. Furthermore, Ms. Turner is a noteworthy recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from the Comprehensive School-Age Parent Program at the Boston School Department and a Community Service Award from the Childbirth Education Association, both in 1986. Although her career has been abound with highlights, she finds meeting new individuals to be rewarding moments of her career.
Motivation Hypnosis
Contact Ms. Turner:
Posted in Education, Mental Health, NursingTagged Coping with the Overall Pregnancy/Parenting Experience (COPE), Emmanuel College, Motivation Hypnosis, Northeastern University, Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing, Private Practice
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Trafficking, sexual slavery, child prostitution ... all are gross violations of human dignity and demand urgent attention.
If you are a resident of the U.S., urge your senators to support the End Slavery Initiative of 2015.
Learn more about the annual National Weekend of Prayer to End Slavery and Trafficking (held every January).
For many years, Maryknoll missioners have worked with people who have been trafficked ... for example, today Sr. Helene O'Sullivan works with women who endured sexual slavery in Phnom Penh.
It is time for a new abolitionist movement -- a movement to raise awareness of and work to stop the illegal and inhuman trafficking of people. Tens of millions of people are enslaved around the world today, working in factories, private homes, farms, and as sex workers. We must work together to end the use of humans as commodities.
Check out a Maryknoll-produced film on the connections between migration and human trafficking: Lives for Sale
Listen to Sr. Helene O'Sullivan describe the anti-trafficking work in Cambodia in a story entitled "Shackled" on Maryknoll's radio program, Voices of our world. In two parts, each 14 minutes. (28 minutes total)
President Obama spoke forcefully about modern slavery during his September 25, 2012 remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative: "... Modern anti-trafficking laws must be passed and enforced and justice systems must be strengthened. Victims must be cared for. So here in the United States, Congress should renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. ... And more broadly, as nations, let’s recommit to addressing the underlying forces that push so many into bondage in the first place. With development and economic growth that creates legitimate jobs, there’s less likelihood of indentured servitude around the globe. A sense of justice that says no child should ever be exploited, that has to be burned into the cultures of every country. ... [Our] global economy companies have a responsibility to make sure that their supply chains, stretching into the far corners of the globe, are free of forced labor. ... Every faith community can take action as well, by educating their congregations, by joining in coalitions that are bound by a love of God and a concern for the oppressed. And like that Good Samaritan on the road to Jericho, we can’t just pass by, indifferent. We’ve got to be moved by compassion. We’ve got to bind up the wounds. Let’s come together around a simple truth -- that we are our brother’s keepers and we are our sister’s keepers."
Read the entire transcript of the president's remarks here.
Read this fact sheet on the administration's efforts to combat human trafficking.
U.S. laws on trafficking in persons: The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (PL 106-386), the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (HR 2620), the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (HR 972), and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (HR 7311) provide the tools to combat trafficking in persons both worldwide and domestically.
Latest UN report on human trafficking exposes modern form of slavery: "... According to the report, the most common form of human trafficking (79 percent) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls. ... The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18 percent), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. Worldwide, almost 20 percent of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100 percent in parts of West Africa)."
Polaris Project
Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking
Prostitution Research and Education
Prostitution’s Hierarchy of Coercion
End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) USA
Hiding in plain sight: A practical guide to identifying victims of trafficking in the U.S.
Not for Sale campaign
Human Trafficking.org
UN Office on Drugs and Crime human trafficking and migrant smuggling
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Anti-Trafficking Program
Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): "The (human) cost of doing business"
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Reflections from a female solo traveler
Emily Hansen
Should women travel alone? Emily Hansen addresses the most common concerns and lays the fears to rest.
EVER SINCE I BEGAN traveling solo at age 19, I’ve been told the same thing over and over: traveling alone as a woman is dangerous.
Many people speak as if I’m inviting violence upon myself, as if it would be my fault if something happened, as if we live in a world that is populated only by creeps and muggers.
I always explain that danger is a fact of everyday life wherever we live, and that an autonomous woman is safer than one who depends on others for protection, because she is self-assured.
Traveling has given me a take-charge attitude that makes anyone with bad intentions less likely to mess with me. Furthermore, it has enriched me, taught me how to support myself in difficult situations and cope with things on my own.
Traveling solo I suppose, is one of the ultimate challenges for a woman, and that is part of the reason why I enjoy it so much.
Growing up, some of my greatest role models were fictional traveling men. I became a traveler in spirit during the days of The Littlest Hobo, a movie and TV show about a traveling dog. When my grade six teacher read us Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, I was surprised to learn that there were not just traveling canines, but traveling people as well.
While I did not experience any latent colonial longings, I wanted to ride an elephant, not just My Little Pony. I loved Indiana Jones movies, and as a teenager, Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation inspired a yearning within me that could not be stifled by one read through On the Road.
Then Easyrider arrived, with all its hippie kitsch – that movie was my inspiration to go to New Orleans, although sadly I didn’t travel by motorcycle.
It was a while before I learned about women who traveled, because in my conservative town in Canada, I didn’t know any.
Women Travel Too?
People in my neighborhood took trips because they had money and could afford a cruise, not because they were hungry for a big adventure. Recently, I read about Dar Robertson, in 2006’s The Best Travel Writing: True Stories From Around the World, and she has since become my hero.
Women are so used to being told what to do, and being led around, that they sometimes forget it’s their own voice that counts.
In her story, “Sahara Unveiled”, she recounts her trip to Morocco and Algeria in which, dressed as a man, on her fifth week of solo backpacking across Africa, she drives illegally across the border into Algeria, gets caught in a sandstorm, and is later saved by strangers, a group of gentle Tuareg men.
She recounts her story with the voice of a woman in touch with her instincts, moved by the thrill of discovery and the kindness of her fellow human beings. She writes, “I was here…I was not afraid…I was ready for the next challenge”.
While some people might think what Robertson did was foolish (and it’s true she took risks), she is a role model for traveling women everywhere, simply because she had faith in her own instincts and capabilities.
Instinct is our center. It functions as a personal alarm system that tells us when we are safe, and when we are in danger. Women are so used to being told what to do, and being led around, that they sometimes forget it’s their own voice that counts. Women with a taste for adventure do themselves well to get in touch with that inner instinct.
While our fears of being hurt, raped or even killed are real, we are never safe all the time, anywhere in the world. A woman who stays in her house with all the lights on might cut her risk of violence on the street, but as well, she will block herself off from the great fountain of experiences that awaits her.
How can women stay safe when traveling abroad?
Just remember that it’s a lot more fun to take a small risk than it is to stay at home.
Firstly, I believe we should do what our parents and the Lonely Planet both advise. We all know that it’s a bad idea to walk alone at night, to flash our jewelry and large sums of money, to show off our underwear in conservative countries (or even North America, with the exception of New Orleans), or reach for more than a couple of bottles of beer, especially when we’re hanging out with “strange boys”, as my mother likes to call them.
While doing any of these things would never justify a mugging, rape or worse, a murder, it’s plain to see that using common sense is no different from wearing sunscreen – if you don’t want to get burned, take basic precautions. Just remember that it’s a lot more fun to take a small risk than it is to stay at home.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, we should simply do what we want.
With our heads up and our eyes wide open, grounding ourselves in our natural ability to make decisions and lead ourselves, we will become wiser, stronger, and better able to protect ourselves as we navigate the globe.
The potential for violence that surrounds us will begin to disappear when we nurture our own independence in the same way we care for our families and loved ones. By staying true to ourselves, we will find adventure on the road and get home safe and sound.
While women who choose not to travel deserve their own applause, so do the courageous women who reach out for the grand and sometimes uncertain joys of travel. The world is our oyster, and we deserve support and encouragement for taking the bold steps we do.
What are your most memorable experiences as a female solo traveler? Share your thoughts below!
Emily Hansen is a travel writer and teacher based in Shimla, India, where she is working on a book about her experiences as an expat. Her native land is Canada, and she has traveled to over 30 countries, and has lived in six, including Germany, China, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, and now, India.
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5. Banks as Credit Agents
For Households and Nation States
This is just a brief look at how the relationship between the financial sector and individuals or their governments should properly be. Inherently, it involves a consideration of the deep and far-reaching conflict between money as a tool for socioeconomic progress and money as a tool for often ruthless domination and extraction.
From almost any angle we might view it, money appears to be one of the most effective tools ever devised. From a 'politically neutral' perspective, merely as a tool for mediating exchange, money's power appears evident in almost every corner of the world today, and also at almost any point in history we might care to look.
But we know that money isn't polically neutral. In fact, one of the great testaments to money's irreplacable power lies in the fact that, despite being arguably the most corrupt medium to exist in our world and our history, it's hard for most of us to imagine life without it.
The hiearchical relations that dominate the world's economies today (and obviously trace far into our history) are built with money at their core. And it's hard to imagine them being able to build such structures without it. But we might equally believe, by contrast, that money can be just as effective in providng a foundation for democratic and human rights.
As already stressed, the debt/credit-based systems of money we have today are not only an inevitable development of money (because they are the most efficient way to mediate exchange, to occupy the space between giving and receiving), but they are also society's greatest opportunity for justice, for decency, for democracy, for human rights.
In the conventional view, banks 'lend' money from an already-existing stock; money that (rightly or wrongly), belongs to other people. Thus there is established a lender-borrower relationship and debtors are expected to pay interest, often in considerable sums. To this day, the idea that debts are facilitated by the lending and borrowing of already-existing money is the fundamental justification for interest taking. (Indeed there can surely be no other.)
Yet it's also clear that lender-borrower relations hold the potential to be among the most corrosive that can exist in society. There's no shortage of stories one can read about the many horrific injustices faced by debtors - not just in history, but continuing in the world today. These are tales of the wealthy extracting ruthlessly from those far worse off than themselves. But let's not fall into the trap of treating this subject with undue superficiality; the lender-borrower relation isn't something that pockmarks an otherwise honest, legitimate financial economy. The lender-borrower relation is of such profound effectiveness in creating and sustaining hierarchy that, for perhaps as long as we have written records, it's been employed systematically, to the very foundational architecture of economic society. Lender-borrower relations today continue to allow those architects to dominate and extract through both the private and public sectors of the world's economies.
Consider the tyrant who, merely by professing his own self-importance, lays claim to the major institutions of economic society, declaring to run them for his own private profit and returning a wage to those willing to serve him. Such behavior, being conspicuous, is likely to invite the anger and resentment of many of his now disenfranchised economic subjects. While it's true that some may continue to feel enfranchised, for having the opportunity to serve and earn a wage, many will recognize both the injustice of the tyrant's claims and the loss of their own rights and opportunity. The victims of colonial rule, of other forms of imperial domination and of slavery were contemptuous of those schemes and those behind them. Many dedicated themselves to rebellion and revolt. That isn't to say such methods didn't work, just that they're not the most stressless methods by which to conquer and extract from large numbers of people.
Now consider the tyrant who fashions an economy to be in debt to him. In all but the most gratuitous examples, what we expect to see are people quietly, obediently, handing up their own wealth and opportunity, along with national/public wealth, in order to satisfy the tyrant's supposed claims. Both tyrants deliver as much injustice, but they invite starkly contrasting reactions. The reason for that is surely that claims made about finances are disarming for people who are often ill-equipped to make sense of them, let alone enough sense to raise objections.
The extreme social inequalities and the great 'unpayable' volumes of debt that plague the world today are not new. Ancient rulers, understanding that such debts were so corrosive that they made the life of society unsustainable, periodically renounced them, initiating a kind of 'reset', albeit for a cycle of abuse that would begin all over again.
The kinds of highly exploitative financial relations that are the backdrop for these stories were of such notoriety to have been labelled and condemned by history as 'usury'. And it might even be one of the most important messages earlier civilizations sought to pass down.
The advantage we have today is that we know the foundation for these hierarchical relations is false. We know that the 'loanable funds' model of bank 'lending', the foundation for interest taking, is just not an accurate description of how we facilitate debts. We know that banks create the money we need, when we express demand for it. We know that none of us, nor our governments, are actually 'borrowing' anyone else's money. We know that every unit of currency created in the global economy should be created democratically. But we also know that, by the telling of one small story about 'lending' and 'borrowing', in fact all that money is created anti-democratically, hierarchically.
We can say, then, that we understand both the injustices committed by powerful financial actors, as well as how to stop them.
Household Mortgage Debt
Almost any discussion of real world economics could begin with the observation that the household is the foundation of economic life. The ability of people in every corner of the world to have a home and the opportunity to work, to pay for that home and the lives lived within it, is the very bedrock of any functional modern economy.
And if the truth is that we don't have to rely on banks 'lending' us other people's money when we seek out things like a mortgage, then it's clear that:
Anyone, everyone, can have unexploited, interest-free access to credit.
Banks participate in a relationship with their customers that should fit a horizontal rather than a hierarchical description.
Banks are the recorders or monetizers of our debts, they stand side-by-side with us in a relationship that debtors ultimately have with society. When money is created for our use, it is society that must accommodate that money and honor it whenever and wherever it is presented. Banks are facilitators of that process, agents through which these fundamental relations can take place.
I discussed in a previous article how, when the debts of ordinary people create money, for example to buy homes, that there is a real, outstanding debt which debtors have to pay; not because it was "someone else's money", but because the system can only work if the process is reversed again, if the debt/money is paid down. If that didn't happen, the system would be unfair and couldn't be sustained.
It's clearly first the debtor's responsibility to pay her/his debts. But it's also clear that in some circumstances debtors may not be able to do that. An important part of what the bank does, then, is to stand next in line, backing-up or underwriting the debtor in that responsibility. Where debts are secured, as they naturally are with household mortgage debts, the bank can seize and sell the securing property to settle the account. Only when the debt is un- or insufficiently secured are banks at risk of losing money. Banks, then, do face risks and costs in making their services available to us. That is what we should be paying them for. What we should not be doing is compensating them or anyone else for the "foregone use" or the "time value" of money. Banks can and should charge transparent, competitive fees for the services they provide; they have no need and no right to mislead customers in order to make supernormal profits at their expense.
Let's have a quick closer look at risk, in part because, when confronted with the fact that banks don't actually 'lend' other people's money, some will quickly switch to claiming that it is risk, rather than the 'foregone use' of money that is the basis for taking interest.
Well, in order to be exposed to risk, the bank must face an uninsured loss in the value of securing assets, such that their sale can no longer cover any outstanding sums against them (plus any costs of administration). Falling house prices, uninsured properties burning to the ground or being washed away in floods would indeed present such risks. But even at today's historically low interest rates (~5%), a homeowner will pay twice for their home over 30 years. If these payments were tied to risk, it would mean that, over each 30 year period, approx. 50% of the entire nominal value of mortgaged housing stock would be lost or destroyed without insurance, before any sums were paid against them. Such a belief or claim is obviously absurd.
So banks' interest taking isn't tied to risk. Banks take interest simply because they can, because bank customers don't understand the basic terms of the relations between them. The competitive market fees for originating, maintaining and settling a mortgage account would be a small fraction of their current level. If expressed as an interest rate, it would be surely a small fraction of 1%. Banks are taking tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, many years of life and a great deal of opportunity away from working families (and then often taking their home as well) simply because they have us believing we're "borrowing" other people's money.
From Households to Banks: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
In what is surely an inevitable travesty once interest on household mortgage debt has been accepted, the front-loaded mortgage allows banks to keep cashing in. Here, banks not only take huge sums of interest which they have no right to take, front-loading that interest simultaneously keeps the outstanding principal, on which interest is charged, as high as possible and delays its payment for as long as possible, pushing back as far as possible any claim a homeowner might have to her/his own home; something which will pay yet again when the bank gets to take the home itself, in the next routine collapse of the capitalist economy.
Over the 35 year period 1973 to 2007 (up to the crash), mortgage interest rates averaged around 9.3%,[1] almost exactly the rate required to make households pay three times for their homes; once for their home, twice as a gift to the already rich. And this will be repeated for each property, every time time a mortgage is channeled through it. Can we really understand the vast economic consequences of making the great majority pay so much extra for a home and sending it all to a few at the top?
And this says nothing of the much wider catastrophe of allowing such ruthless exploitation of people's need for a home. We are basically saying that people must pay three times for a home (or as much to rent), twice as a gift to the rich, or go without. Under these circumstances, it's impossible to believe that the neofeudal economy can provide housing security to many, let alone to all. Many millions of families globally face extreme economic disadvantage and the fact that they will never enjoy secure or adequate housing. All for the benefit of a small financial elite.
National Sovereign Debt
I've already covered how money created by governments for domestic spending cannot be conceived as a 'debt' in any conventional sense - that any obligation associated with this kind of public money creation is an obligation only to maintain the fairness and stability of the system. There is absolutely no legitimate requirement on nation states to 'collect back' all the money they issue. In fact they appear to have a quite counter obligation to provide a national currency base that is immune from such demands for repayment. This is true even though today money is created for governments as 'loans', thus as debts, in exactly the same way money is created for households and the wider private sector.
So there's a very important class of public debt - that associated with national currency creation - that should not be a debt at all.
But there are other areas worthy of brief consideration. For example, in the case that a government might have, or be perceived to have, debts to foreign entities denominated in any currency. Well, the reason we have money and banks exactly as they are is so that access to money - access to legitimat debt - can be facilitated on demand without the need for any actual lending or borrowing. Governments are not excluded from that. Banks create money through the process of recording into being our (or our governments') outstanding debts; no lending or borrowing is actually taking place and no interest should be asked for or given.
So, throughout finance, debts work by the endogenous creation of money as records of outstanding debt; it is not 'loans' and it is not 'borrowing'. To the extent these processes produce real debts, they should be interest free.
Finally, there's the idea that governments can provide savings instruments in the form of interest bearing bonds. Governments can sell bonds, not because they need to raise money, but to allow savers to make savings in a way that is safe and offers some protection against inflation (the decline in the value of our money over time).
The problem that exists here is the potential for wealthy investors to be in the market, not to protect the value of modest savings, but to enjoy a healthy, ongoing income at the taxpayer's expense. In a democracy, it's natural that people will ask "Who should be entitled to a rate of interest courtesy of the state and at taxpayers' expense?"
I've only touched very lightly on the main points of public debt here, but it's enough for good thought and action. Public debt is an important domain through which economic power is expressed over countries all over the world.
Help us fight to end that global injustice and replace it with basic economic literacy and real rights for all:
Basic economic literacy as an educational right.
Teach children where money comes from and why, how banks and debts basically work.
A democratic, debt and interest free national currency base.
Nations are currently required to "borrow" their currencies into existence from capitalist banks.
Interest free access to credit for households and all governments.
Banks create and destroy money as we go into and out of debt; interest beyond fees is unwarranted and unnecessary.
1. https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm. ↩
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Share this Story: Legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda dies at 93
Legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda dies at 93
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda is pictured at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill., in this Oct. 17, 2017 file photo. Photo by Jamie Squire /Getty Images
Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has died at the age of 93, the team announced Friday.
Per the Dodgers, Lasorda suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home at 10:09 p.m. on Thursday night and was transported to the hospital. He was pronounced dead at 10:57 p.m.
Legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda dies at 93 Back to video
The Hall of Fame manager had just been released from the hospital on Wednesday after being admitted on Nov. 8.
Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers from 1976-96, attended the team’s decisive Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Oct. 27 in Arlington, Texas. That win clinched the franchise’s first World Series title since 1988.
“I am extremely fortunate to have developed a wonderful friendship with Tommy and will miss him,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “It feels appropriate that in his final months, he saw his beloved Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since his 1988 team.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest sympathy to his wife of 70 years, Jo, and their entire family, the Dodger organization and their generations of loyal fans.”
We mourn the passing of Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda. He was 93. pic.twitter.com/fkPf67iH7h
Lasorda compiled a 1,599-1,439-2 record in 3,040 games over 20-plus seasons as the Dodgers’ manager.
“My family, my partners and I were blessed to have spent a lot of time with Tommy,” said Mark Walter, Dodgers owner and chairman.
“He was a great ambassador for the team and baseball, a mentor to players and coaches, he always had time for an autograph and a story for his many fans and he was a good friend. He will be dearly missed.”
The big Dodger in the sky gave Tommy Lasorda a call yesterday. It was his time to go and see all the former Dodgers
The player he's most excited to reunite with is Don Drysdale
R.I.P. to one of the greatest Dodgers of ALL-TIME 💙 pic.twitter.com/jCvzfaxhK3
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) January 8, 2021
Lasorda’s Dodgers won the National League pennants in 1977 and 1978 in his first two full seasons but lost both World Series to the New York Yankees. Lasorda’s teams won the World Series in 1981 and 1988, and won eight division titles.
He was the National League Manager of the Year twice (1983, 1988) and managed four All-Star teams.
“In a franchise that has celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda,” Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his teams to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly. Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable.”
Lasorda was enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
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King Mohammed VI’s Speech on King and People’s Revolution Day
Updated August 22, 2014 10:58 AM EST
King Mohammed VI delivered the following speech on August 20, 2014, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the King and People’s Revolution Day:
Praise be to God, May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin.
Dear Citizens,
Today, we are celebrating the sixty-first anniversary of the glorious Revolution of the King and the People. This event not only commemorates an epic national struggle for freedom and independence, but it also reflects our commitment to make it an ongoing revolution aimed at fulfilling your legitimate aspirations and enhancing Morocco’s status as an influential player, both regionally and internationally.
Since my accession to the throne, I have been keen for the spontaneous interaction between you and me to be the main pillar on which to build an advanced, cohesive society for all Moroccans, which makes everyone proud to belong to this community.
The homeland is for all Moroccans and it is their duty, as individuals and groups, to join forces, with determination and steadfastness, to safeguard the unity of the nation and work for its development.
Moroccans are ambitious people who have always aspired to rank high and catch up with developed countries. This ambition is not just a dream, nor is it unfounded. It is based on facts and on tangible achievements that have been made on the road to democracy and development.
So, where does Morocco stand today? What is our national economy’s global ranking? Is Morocco competitive? Can it be classified among emerging nations?
Needless to say, there is no single model of an emerging nation. Each country has its own development process, which based on its human, economic and natural resources, as well as on its cultural heritage. It is also contingent on the obstacles and difficulties each nation has to face.
However, there are standards and requirements to meet in order to join this category of nations, particularly in terms of democratic and institutional development, social and economic progress, and regional and international openness.
Of course, no country can move from one category to another overnight. It has to take advantage of all the positive changes that have been operated during its history.
In this regard, Morocco stands out as a model. Over the last 15 years, our country has managed to consolidate its democratic process and lay the foundations for a comprehensive, sustainable development model based on a combination of structural projects and sustainable human development.
Our national economy has witnessed profound structural changes, together with large-scale diversification in all areas of production. It has consistently achieved high growth rates and managed to maintain balance, despite the impact of the world economic crisis.
In this regard, sectoral strategies have made it possible to achieve tangible results and have a clear vision as to how to reposition the national economy at the regional and international levels.
The “Green Morocco Plan” and the “Halieutis Plan”, for instance, helped Morocco to obtain a Food and Agricultural Organization award for meeting the Millennium Goal on poverty and the fight against hunger two years ahead of the deadline.
This was possible thanks to the balance both plans achieve between major high-yield projects on the one hand and subsistence, cooperative farming and traditional fishing on the other hand, because of the role they play in improving people’s income.
The “Industrial Acceleration Plan”, which is based on an integrated approach that includes adequate vocational training, has contributed to consolidating the place of the national economy at the continental level. This plan has been boosted by a quantum leap made in the trade and finance sectors, as well as in digital economy.
Infrastructure is also one of the main pillars of emerging economies and Morocco’s achievements in this specific field have contributed to sharpening the competitive edge of both businesses and national products.
The attractiveness of the national economy has also benefited from continuous efforts to improve the business environment and create competitive economic hubs, such as the Melloussa-Tangier Industrial Zone.
In this regard, I would like to say how satisfied I am with the contribution made by a number of private companies and public institutions to promote the national economy, at home and abroad.
In this respect, the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) is a model, thanks to its effective national and international strategy, clear vision and sound, efficient management, which have consolidated Morocco’s position in the global phosphate market. The latter has become a universal focus because of its close link to food security.
Another pillar of emerging economies is sustainable development and the opportunities offered by a green economy.
In this context, the renewable energy industry has witnessed significant development thanks to major projects launched under my patronage, as well as to the energy efficiency strategy and the ambitious water resources mobilization scheme.
The Moroccan solar and wind power scheme is a further illustration of our capacity to rise to the challenge, thanks to an early clear vision, as well as precise priority planning to meet our country’s needs and reduce foreign energy dependence by relying on our own renewable resources.
Morocco needs to take a few more steps to confidently move forward and join emerging nations. The country has already become an international trade hub, thanks to its economic openness policy.
This is corroborated by fruitful partnerships concluded with Arab countries, particularly Gulf Cooperation Council Member States and with sub-Saharan African countries (Morocco being the second investor in the African continent), the Advanced Status granted to the Kingdom by the European Union, the free trade agreements signed with a number of countries, in particular the one with the United States of America, the strategic partnership with Russia that we are seeking to deepen, and the partnership with China that we are working on.
Morocco is also an essential link in multiparty and triangular cooperation, particularly when it comes to ensuring Africa’s security, stability and development.
The gains achieved should not, however, be a motive for self-satisfaction, but a strong catalyst for further efforts and continued mobilization.
As a matter of fact, if the Moroccan economy is to emerge, it should rely on its potential and the joint efforts of all actors; otherwise it is bound to miss a historic opportunity.
Our development model has reached maturity and deserves to join the group of emerging nations once and for all. The coming years will nonetheless be crucial for safeguarding achievements, addressing malfunctions and boosting development and investment.
So, can this model move forward, rise to challenges and tackle potential obstacles?
In fact, nations rely primarily on the competitiveness of their corporate sector, mainly export companies. Unfortunately, Morocco is clearly lagging behind in this respect because of a weak, disorganized industrial sector and competition from the informal sector.
In such a situation, strong corporations and businesses have to be set up to boost the immunity of the national economy, both to enhance international competitiveness and develop partnerships with small businesses in order to stimulate growth at home.
The key to enhancing competitiveness and meeting development and job market needs is to have qualified human resources. The latter are also necessary to be in tune with the evolution and diversification of the national economy.
As everyone knows, good governance is essential for the success of any reform. It is also a basic means for achieving the goals of any strategy.
To what extent can a good governance system in the Moroccan production sector contribute to developing and upgrading the national economy?
It is a fact that to catch up with emerging nations, we have to continue improving the business environment. This can be achieved especially by pressing ahead with administrative and judicial reforms, combating corruption and moralizing public life, which is not exclusively the State’s responsibility, but that of society as a whole, individuals and associations.
The State’s strategic role as a regulator should also be enhanced and major reforms, namely of the retirement and tax systems, should be initiated. The State should also commit to upholding the principles of good governance in all sectors.
The development process undertaken in many emerging countries has shown a series of negative symptoms, such as a widening gap between social classes.
Accordingly, I am keen to see economic development go hand in hand with the improvement of citizens’ living conditions.
I do not want a two-speed system in which the rich reap the benefits of growth, thus becoming richer, while the poor are excluded from the development process, thus getting poorer and suffering more deprivation.
The National Initiative for Human Development is part of this vision and many countries have expressed the wish to take advantage of the experience that has been gained. The social components of sectoral schemes are also part of the same vision and are particularly focused on local and human development.
The aim has been to confirm the reputation of Moroccans, who are known for their seriousness and devotion to work. They have indeed confirmed their ability to produce and create, when the necessary tools are available and conditions are favorable. They can perform any task, whatever it is, big or small, intellectual or manual, despite the bane of unemployment.
The human element remains Morocco’s genuine wealth and a basic component of the intangible capital which, in my State of the Nation address, I asked to be measured and assessed, given the role it plays in the development of all projects and reforms and in the access to the knowledge economy.
The progress made by Morocco is not accidental. It is the result of a clear vision and a precise strategy, as well as the fruit of efforts and sacrifices made by all Moroccans.
In this context, I would like to pay tribute to the successive governments for the genuine patriotism and high sense of responsibility they showed during the time they were in charge of public affairs.
I would also like to pay homage to national businesses for their role in promoting the country’s social and economic development.
I also hail the growing role of civil society organizations and the active part they play in the development process.
I would particularly like to commend the action of political parties and serious trade unions, described in the Constitution as essential political players, given their militant record and the true patriotism and sense of responsibility they display when it comes to dealing with the nation’s major issues.
I would also like to thank trade unions for the major role they have played during the last 15 years in achieving comprehensive social peace, without giving up their immutable principles when championing economic and social interests and upholding the rights of the working class.
I have responded favorably to their request regarding representation in the Upper House, which, in the early draft of the fundamental law, was only open to representatives of local communities.
I am keen to see these organizations continue to play their social and development role, while remaining committed to fulfilling their national duty in terms of construction, reform and social peace, just as they take advantage of the legal rights they have been granted.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the members of the teaching profession, men and women, particularly in rural areas, for their efforts in educating generations of qualified executives, who have done their share in promoting development projects, as well as for the sacrifices they make for the education of future generations.
Catching up with emerging nations is not an impossible challenge, despite the difficulties and obstacles it involves.
Morocco – thanks be to God – has the potential to rise to the challenge, namely its responsible and clear-sighted youth.
Thanks to their patriotism and creative genius, I am confident that our young people can achieve their country’s development and ensure its access to the club of emerging nations.
This is the way to continue bearing the torch of a renewed Revolution of the King and the People, in perfect symbiosis between all components of the nation, and remain faithful to the hero of this revolution, His Majesty King Mohammed V, and his companion in the struggle, my revered father His Majesty King Hassan II – may they rest in peace -, as well as to the valiant martyrs of the liberation and independence.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.
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Frost School of Music University of Miami
Frost School of Music University of Miami Established in 1925 during the region’s famous real estate boom, UM is a major research university engaged in $324 million in research and sponsored program expenditures annually. While the majority of this work is housed at the Miller School of Medicine, investigators conduct hundreds of studies in other …
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USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music Founded in 1884, and today the oldest continually operating cultural institution in Los Angeles, the Thornton School consistently ranks among the top one percent of the nation’s music schools and conservatories. Graduates of the school attain positions with major orchestras, ensembles, recording studios and music industry firms and perform on stages …
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Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design The Department of Music offers students a cross-disciplinary approach to the study and practice of music, underscored by real-world experiential learning, cutting-edge technology, and a wide-angle focus on music’s impact on cultures throughout the globe. Music students at Northeastern are multi-talented, creative, entrepreneurial, and committed to finding …
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mdigital » Rock » Yelps - P.E.O.P.L.E
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White People is the second studio album by Handsome Boy Modeling School. It was released on Elektra Records on November 9, 2004. John Murphy of MusicOMH called it "the most innovative, original and enjoyable hip-hop album since Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
20/20 is the fourth album from West Coast hip hop group Dilated Peoples. The album's lead single, "Back Again", was not able to make a strong impact, partly due to MTV refusing to play the video, due to a scene in which Rakaa wears a bulletproof vest
People Are People is a Depeche Mode compilation album released in North America by Sire Records on 2 July 1984. Sire sensed it needed a new approach in its release policy since the band's 1983 effort Construction Time Again had failed to chart in the US. Two of the nine tracks were new to the American audience: the latest single "People Are People" and "Now, This Is Fun", the B-side of the non-American 7" "See You"
WMG, Believe Music, NDA Sound, Cat Music, UMG, Digital Minds Ltd-srav, e-Muzyka (от лица компании "X-Energy"); CMRRA, Kobalt Music Publishing, LatinAutor, Abramus Digital, UMPI, BMG Rights Management, ARESA, AMRA" и другие авторские общества (12).
We the People is the debut album by alternative hip-hop group Flipsyde, released by Interscope Records subsidiary Cherrytree on July 12, 2005. Flipsyde toured Europe with Snoop Dogg and The Black Eyed Peas in support of the album, and sales were spurred by the single "Someday" being played in advertising for NBC's broadcast of the 2006 Winter Olympics. We the People peaked at on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart in 2006, and sold 62,000 copies.
Puzzle People is the eleventh studio album released by American soul quintet The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label in 1969. Produced entirely by Norman Whitfield, Puzzle People takes the next step along the path that Cloud Nine started, and takes the Temptations further away from a classic soul sound, and more towards the realm of psychedelic soul.
Ellen & Portia's Wedding Album. From the cake to the rings to the reception, take a look inside the couple's romantic big day. By People Staff. August 22, 2008 11:00 AM. FB. Twitter. Says de Rossi, The love we felt from the people surrounding us, and the love we have for each other, made it the most beautiful and emotional day. Advertisement. Continued on next slide. 4 of 10.
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Black.Panther
Review of: Black.Panther
Gibt Katrin mit der Grundlage dieser Stufe zur Feststellung des Panthers Bagheera lernt ihr Fast 100 Jahren vor allem kann man das Verwenden von Gerner, John vom Ende nehmen wird. Mit der Online-Videothek von Geist handelt.
T'Challa alias Black Panther ist ein Krieger und König der afrikanischen Hochkultur Wakanda, einem technologischen und wirtschaftlichen Utopia. Bis seine. Black Panther war die Rolle seines Lebens: Als schwarzer Superheld in der Marvel-Comic-Verfilmung wurde Chadwick Boseman einem. Black Panther ist ein US-amerikanischer Science-Fiction-Actionfilm, der von den Marvel Studios produziert wurde. Regie führte Ryan Coogler, der gemeinsam.
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T'Challa begibt sich zurück in seine afrikanische Heimat Wakanda, wo er sich darauf vorbereitet, der rechtmäßige König zu werden. Doch der Söldner Erik Killmonger hat vor, ihm seine Regentschaft streitig zu machen und sucht nach Komplizen. Also. Black Panther ist ein US-amerikanischer Science-Fiction-Actionfilm, der von den Marvel Studios produziert wurde. Regie führte Ryan Coogler, der gemeinsam. Black Panther (englisch für Schwarzer Panther) steht für: Black Panther Party, revolutionäre Bewegung in den Vereinigten Staaten; Black Panther (Album). Black Panther war die Rolle seines Lebens: Als schwarzer Superheld in der Marvel-Comic-Verfilmung wurde Chadwick Boseman einem. T'Challa alias Black Panther ist ein Krieger und König der afrikanischen Hochkultur Wakanda, einem technologischen und wirtschaftlichen Utopia. Bis seine. Black Panther [dt./OV]. ()2 Std. 9 MinX-Ray Der junge König T'Challa gerät in einen Konflikt mit einem alten Feind, der seine Heimat Wakanda. mediation-eirene.eu - Kaufen Sie Black Panther günstig ein. Qualifizierte Bestellungen werden kostenlos geliefert. Sie finden Rezensionen und Details zu einer.
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Marvel Studios' Black Panther - Official Trailer
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Avengers: Infinity War. Phase 2.
The majority of Beachler's sets were constructed on sound stages in Atlanta, including the Tribal Council, Shuri's design space, and the Hall of Kings.
The Tribal Council set was built with a glass floor through which an old ruin can be seen. The exterior set for Warrior Falls was built on a backlot north of Atlanta, and was inspired by the Oribi Gorge.
A framework for the cliffs was hand-sculpted from industrial styrofoam, with a system of tunnels built-in to the design to allow extras to climb up to different areas of the cliffs.
The pool was filled using six large pumps, so as to create a waterfall above the ledge at the bottom. The base of the pool was made from padding so stunts could safely be carried out on the set, but designed to look like rocks and to have enough grip that the actors would not fall over in the water.
The set was completed in four months, and was used for two weeks of filming. Costume designer Ruth E. The Dora Milaje costumes primarily used red to reflect different African cultures, and included beaded tabards that feature talismans that would be passed down from mother to daughter.
Carter wanted to avoid the "girls in the bathing suits" look, and instead have the Dora Milaje wear full armor that they would practically need for battle.
She also had to take actors' stunt work into consideration. The arm band and neck rings were a reference to the Southern Ndebele people and denote stature.
As such, General Okoye has gold bands and rings while the other Dora Milaje wear silver. The costumes for T'Challa combined his role as king and as the head of the military, including combining a kente cloth cloak with military boots.
The Wakandans wear "normal" clothes outside of the country, with the colors of their costumes kept consistent. Hair department head Camille Friend referenced traditional African art, fabrics, hair, and textures, and the current-day natural hair movement in her designs.
Friend strived to keep the actors' hair natural, using "braids, locs and twists", and when necessary, extensions and wigs. As with Carter, Friend designed each tribe to have their own identifiable aesthetic, such as the Jabari Tribe having hair styled with "very straight, clean lines" and war-paint detail, inspired by Senegalese warriors.
She wanted to "push" that language and feature more contrast in color. Visual effects supervisor Geoff Baumann provided Morrison with before-and-after shots of scenes from Civil War so she could understand what elements are captured on set and what is created digitally.
Morrison said that lighting was her biggest challenge, the magnitude of which "was much bigger than I'd experienced before", and made extensive use of Arri SkyPanel LED light fixtures, which she could preprogram from an iPad.
Some sets were completely surrounded by SkyPanels. Shortly after filming started, Atandwa Kani stated that he would appear in the film alongside his father, the latter reprising the role of T'Chaka, [45] while on-set photographs revealed that Martin Freeman would reprise his role as Everett K.
Dialect coach Beth McGuire worked to ensure there was continuity between the various actors who had to use "Wakandan accents".
He felt that this aided his performance, since his character is separate from and in conflict with the other characters. Because of this, Jordan kept to himself while he was on set.
Additional filming took place in South Korea, [] with the city of Busan serving as the setting of a car chase scene that involved cars and over people.
Black Panther was edited by Michael Shawver and Debbie Berman , with Shawver spending time on set during filming as well as at an editing suite near the Atlanta production base.
For instance, Shawver felt that initial versions of the first Warrior Falls fight fell "flat" and used techniques he learned working with Coogler on Creed to have the editing move back-and-forth to mimic the back-and-forth of the fighters.
He also felt that adding more reaction shots to the crowd during the fight gave more weight to T'Challa's victory at the end. Coogler agreed, and subsequently added female Jabari fighters to the scene through additional photography, including the first onscreen Jabari fighter in the scene.
Berman felt that this was an important change that would not have been made if only men were editing the film. As first hinted by Coogler in January , [] the film includes two post-credit scenes : one showing T'Challa address the United Nations; and one featuring Sebastian Stan reprising his role as Bucky Barnes.
Coogler felt having this symmetry was important. His intention with the scene was to inspire the audience by making T'Challa seem like a real person in a familiar, real-world environment, similar to how Tony Stark was treated in Iron Man He did not feel the character fit in the body of the film, but felt that an end-credits scene was appropriate.
Comparing Black Panther to other MCU films, Baumann noted that the visual effects department often have free rein when creating otherworldly science fiction designs, but had to be more specific with this film due to the need to be authentic to African culture and geography.
For the Warrior Falls environment, the amphitheater-like cliff walls had to be populated with digital spectators that could not simply be copy-and-pasted around the set due to the precise costume designs created by Carter for each tribe and character.
Instead, the visual effects department had to work with the costumers to individually model each digital extra for the sequence.
Additionally, visual effects were also used to adjust the opening sequence after test audiences were confusing the characters of T'Chaka and T'Challa, both dressed as the Black Panther.
Artists digitally added some grey to T'Chaka's beard and gold trimmings to his suit to help differentiate the characters.
ILM was primarily responsible for creating the digital urban environments of Wakanda. ILM VFX supervisor Craig Hammack compared this work to his time on Tomorrowland , but noted the additional challenge of not just building a futuristic city, but also one that was culturally appropriate.
He explained that African culture has a "certain amount of earthy material qualities that make things difficult to design as a futuristic city," which would typically use much steel and glass.
ILM looked to real life examples that blend modern architecture with natural environments like One Central Park in Sydney and The Pearl of Africa Hotel in Kampala , but also had to "depart from a strict understanding of physics and go into a movie cheat world" at times to produce the desired look.
Hammack was also inspired by the architecture of Uganda, where he spent time while aerial footage for the film was being shot. Other things that ILM worked on during the production included set extensions and blue-screen replacements for interior sets, and the first rhinoceros shown in the film.
For T'Challa's ancestral plane scenes, ILM replaced the basic set that was used with a full CG environment including an acacia tree and animated panthers.
The sky was based on the Northern Lights , with this first designed for nighttime scenes before being replicated for daytime scenes in which the animators had to work hard to keep the effects visible.
ILM also added additional sand for the burial sequences so Boseman could breathe during filming, and additional flames when Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herb.
Method Studios created many of the natural environments of Wakanda. Method was also responsible for creating Black Panther's and Killmonger's digital suits, including developing the look of the nanotechnology they use.
They created many of the film's digital characters, vehicles, and weapons, with some of those digital creatures being rhinoceroses for the final battle, a sequence that Method did the majority of the work for.
Because these rhinoceroses did not have to be seen on screen with the one designed by ILM, only basic structures, scale, and details of the character models had to be shared between the two companies.
Much of the work for the final fight included crowd simulation, with Method working alongside the stunt coordinators in motion capture sessions to give each fighter a unique style.
In addition to randomizing the height and weight of each digital fighter, the models had to incorporate specific design elements from the costumers.
Method also worked on the vibranium mine and Shuri's laboratory, including animating the gadgets seen in the latter. Luma Pictures worked on the Busan car chase sequence, digitally creating the cars featured in the sequence based on CAD models and on-set reference.
Multiple digital versions of the same car were created, so the production could have the actual cars crash and do various stunts with them, with Luma then inserting the digital versions to augment these moments.
Luma also created the sonic forces from Klaue's cannon, while Scanline VFX worked on digitally removing Serkis' left arm for the London museum heist sequence.
Their designs for the vibranium sand were based on research being done with ultrasonic transducers for the purpose of mid-air haptics and acoustic levitation.
They integrated this research into the kimoyo beads worn by Wakandans and as a working interface on the royal talon fighter.
Perception also created the traditional displays on the talon fighter and in Shuri's lab. For the talon fighter, the company "experimented with parallax, depth, and volume in the information being displayed, as well as developing a unique color palette to brand the Wakandan tech".
In Shuri's lab, Perception adjusted the hues on the wall to match her attire, and for her healing room "proposed that the hexagonal pattern seen on the wall actually reveal itself to be articulating panels" that "pulse and ripple".
The company also created the function of Black Panther's suit with nano technology and "layering the suit with different patterns as well as adding 'sub-dermal' luminescent tattoos", the virtual car chase with Shuri and T'Challa, and designed the opening prologue, with the final version created by Storm VFX.
Perception also created the main-on-end title sequence. After reading the script, composer Ludwig Göransson decided to go to Africa to do research for the film.
Kendrick Lamar produced the film's curated soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album , along with Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith, after Coogler wanted to include original songs from Lamar in the film because his "artistic themes align with those we explore in the film".
Göransson worked with several other artists to create the remixes. Marvel debuted early footage and concept art from the film at a press event in April Kyle Buchanan at Vulture.
If this is what the future of superhero movies looks like, deal me in. Costumes from the film were on display at D23 Expo and the San Diego Comic-Con, [] [] with Coogler, Boseman, and other members of the cast presenting exclusive footage of the film at the latter event, to a standing ovation from the audience.
Dave Trumbore for Collider praised the trailer for showing an "unmistakable sense of style" unique to the character, [] while BamSmackPow's Brendan Day felt the trailer "does everything right".
Overall, Black Panther had the most expansive advertising budget and biggest line of merchandise of any Marvel non-sequel.
This was the same for Asian territories. A special trailer created for China had Boseman explain the character's connection to other MCU films.
Weibo attended the Los Angeles premiere to take pictures and videos with the cast and crew in real time for China, the first time the company has partnered with a foreign studio for this type of engagement.
In addition, Black Panther was the first MCU film to be converted to ScreenX, a degree wraparound format, that played in over locations in eight countries.
When Black Panther premiered in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia on April 18, , it was the first public film viewing after a nearlyyear-old ban on cinemas was rescinded in December Black Panther returned to AMC Theatres in the United States from February 1 until February 7, , for free, with two showings of the film occurring at each theater for the week.
The digital and Blu-ray releases included several bonus features: behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, a blooper reel, an exclusive look at Ant-Man and the Wasp , and a featurette on the first ten years of the MCU.
The film had the fourth-highest pre-sale tickets sold on Fandango , and became the top pre-seller for a superhero film and for a film released in February as well as the first quarter of a year.
Overall, this was the second-largest opening weekend ever for the chain with 4. Atom Tickets sold more tickets for Black Panther than any other superhero film.
The week after its opening weekend was also strong, with a record-setting Tuesday and Thursday earnings, [] [] becoming the MCU film with the highest first-week gross.
Black Panther was the first film to hold the number one spot at the box office for at least five weekends since Avatar , [] and the first February release to hold the top box office spot for five weekends since Wayne's World in D'Alessandro noted the gross from that number of locations indicated people were continuing to see Black Panther in conjunction with Infinity War.
It became the top February opening in many countries, [] [] including in the African market and the Middle East, while taking the top spot across Latin America.
In its third weekend, the film remained number one across many of its 56 territories, including the entire Latin America region, [] while its opening in Japan was the top Western film for the weekend, the second overall.
The film also remained at number one in the United Kingdom and the Latin America region except Argentina for the fourth straight weekend, as well as number one in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The website's critical consensus reads, " Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories—and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.
Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the actors in the film, feeling that Boseman "certainly holds his own, but there are quite a few charismatic supporting players" including Jordan, Nyong'o, and Wright.
Truitt also praised the "superb cast" and stated, "While the themes are deep, Black Panther is at the same time a visual joy to behold, with confident quirkiness, insane action sequences and special effects, and the glorious reveal of Wakanda".
Also giving the film four stars, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it unlike any other Marvel film, "an exhilarating triumph on every level from writing, directing, acting, production design, costumes, music, special effects to you name it".
It's everything I've ever desired in a live-action version of this popular superhero and yet so much more. Bouie concluded, " Black Panther could have been just another Marvel romp [but] Coogler and company had the power, and perhaps the responsibility, to do much more.
And they did. Hardawar felt two "particularly disappointing" CGI shots were when T'Challa flips over a car during the Korea chase, and when T'Challa and Killmonger punch each other as they fall within the vibranium mines.
Writing for Time , Jamil Smith felt Black Panther would "prove to Hollywood that African-American narratives have the power to generate profits from all audiences", and described it as a resistance to "a regressive cultural and political moment fueled in part by the white-nativist movement Its themes challenge institutional bias, its characters take unsubtle digs at oppressors, and its narrative includes prismatic perspectives on black life and tradition.
He felt Wakanda would become a "promised land" for future generations of black Americans, "untroubled by the criminal horrors of our [current] American existence.
Connolly said Black Panther was "a powerful fictional analogy for real-life struggles" that taps into a "year history of African-descended people imagining freedom, land and national autonomy.
By contrast, James Wilt, writing for Canadian Dimension , stated that "at its core, Black Panther contains a fundamentally reactionary understanding of black liberation that blatantly advocates respectability politics over revolution" allowing "white folks such as myself to feel extremely comfortable watching it".
Wilt found the scene where Ross is portrayed as "the hero" for shooting down the Wakandan ships to be the film's way of approving the vanquishing of armed resistance against oppression.
Wilt also felt that Killmonger was given the "most hideous traits imaginable [making] the only major African-American character and agitator for revolution a manic killer consumed by rage and violence".
Gil Robertson, co-founder and president of the African American Film Critics Association, called the film "critically important" and "a gate-opener opportunity for other black-centered projects".
Allen felt the saying "if you can see it, you can be it" applied to the film, especially with the female characters in the film. Allen felt the women of Wakanda "are the very definition of ' Black Girl Magic ', a term coined by CaShawn Thompson in 'to celebrate the beauty, power, and resilience of Black women.
In June , the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of African American History and Culture announced they had acquired several items from the film for their collection, including Boseman's Black Panther costume and a shooting script for the film signed by Coogler, Feige, Moore, and Cole.
The museum said that the collection provides a "fuller story of black culture and identity" by showing the progression of black Americans in film, "an industry that [once] regulated them to flat, one-dimensional and marginalized figures.
Boseman, Nyong'o, and Gurira presented the scholarship to its first recipient at The Hollywood Reporter ' s Women in Entertainment event in early December Dwayne Wong Omowale writing in HuffPost saw the film and its comic origins as addressing "serious political issues concerning Africa's relationship to the West that is very rarely given the serious attention that it deserves", with Wakandans portrayed as suspicious towards outsiders.
He concluded that while the country is fictional, the politics "are very real. The end of colonialism did not end Western tampering in Africa's politics".
In this view, Wakanda represents Africa without Western colonialism, and Killmonger shows us that "we can sometimes inevitably become what we seek to destroy," concluding that Killmonger wants to use Wakanda's resources to become a colonizer of the West while "Wakanda's conservative ways created the very problem that sought to destroy them, Erik Killmonger".
He felt T'Challa and Killmonger represented "dueling responses to five centuries of African exploitation at the hands of the West. The villain, to the extent that the term applies, is history itself".
Cobb added that Black Panther is political in a way previous MCU films were not because in those "we were at least clear about where the lines of fantasy departed from reality [while this film is set in] in an invented nation in Africa, a continent that has been grappling with invented versions of itself ever since white men first declared it the 'dark continent' and set about plundering its people and its resources.
He felt that this was emphasized through his actions, as Killmonger's attempts to take over several of the world's major cities notably include Hong Kong.
Since China does not have a white Western hegemony in need of overthrowing, Killmonger's desire to conquer China was purely for the sake of power.
Ultimately, he argues that " Black Panther does not render a verdict that violence is an unacceptable tool of black liberation—to the contrary, that is precisely how Wakanda is liberated.
It renders a verdict on imperialism as a tool of black liberation, to say that the master's tools cannot dismantle the master's house. Patrick Gathara , writing in The Washington Post , described the film as offering a "regressive, neocolonial vision of Africa", which—rather than a "redemptive counter-mythology"—offers "the same destructive myths".
Gathara highlighted the Africa that is portrayed, still essentially a European creation, as being divided and tribalized, with Wakanda run by a wealthy and feuding elite that despite its advanced technical abilities does not have a means of succession beyond lethal combat.
The Wakandans "still cleanly fit into the Western molds [of] a dark people in a dark continent" according to Gathara, and they "remain so remarkably unsophisticated that a 'returning' American can basically stroll in and take over Quite the opposite.
Its 'redemptive counter-mythology' entrenches the tropes that have been used to dehumanize Africans for centuries. Lebron felt that T'Challa could have shown himself a good person by understanding how Killmonger was affected by American racism and T'Chaka's "cruelty", and could have agreed that justice sometimes requires violence as a last resort against oppression.
He summed up by commenting that "In , a world home to both the Movement for Black Lives and a president [ Donald Trump ] who identifies white supremacists as fine people, we are given a movie about black empowerment where the only redeemed blacks are African nobles [who] safeguard virtue and goodness against the threat not of white Americans or Europeans, but a black American".
By late August , Disney hired Academy Award campaign strategist Cynthia Swartz to create a nomination campaign on behalf of the film for the 91st Academy Awards , with Feige and Marvel Studios said to have given the film a noteworthy budget for the awards season, an obligation which Marvel didn't consider for previous films.
The campaign was focused to highlight "the film's creative accomplishments and the global impact it made" in the hopes of receiving a Best Picture nomination; the campaign was not altered with the announcement of the new Best Popular Film award, which appeared to be "designed to reward blockbusters like Black Panther " in the event they did not receive a best picture nomination.
Another said voters "want to reward good movies and they also want to reward movies that say something significant and make the industry look good.
It means breaking down walls With the release of Black Panther , Feige said "there are many, many stories to tell" about the character, and that he wanted Coogler to return for any potential sequel.
Boseman, who had become thinner from his illness in the weeks prior to his death, had been prepared to begin gaining the weight back for the film in September Prior to Boseman's death, filming was expected to begin in March From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the superhero film. For other films with the same name, see Black panther disambiguation. Theatrical release poster.
Ryan Coogler Joe Robert Cole. Chadwick Boseman Michael B. Michael P. Shawver Debbie Berman. Marvel Studios. Release date. Running time.
We've yet to have a major black comic book hero on the screen. Especially the Black Panther, which is such a rich, interesting life.
It's a dream come true to originate something [like] that. What's so great about Panther is he's a superhero who It just so happens that the country is a warrior-based nation where the leaders have to be warriors, as well, so sometimes he has to go fight.
Main article: Black Panther soundtrack. The performances of Chadwick Boseman , Michael B. Jordan , and Letitia Wright L to R were widely praised by critics.
Many have wondered why Black Panther means so much to the black community and why schools, churches and organizations have come to the theaters with so much excitement.
The answer is that the movie brings a moment of positivity to a group of people often not the centerpiece of Hollywood movies Main article: List of accolades received by Black Panther film.
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As for the film itself, 'It's a big geo-political action adventure that focuses on the family and royal struggle of T'Challa in Wakanda, and what it means to be a king.
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Here's why you need to see it for yourself". For other uses, see Black panther disambiguation. A melanistic Indian leopard in Nagarhole National Park.
A melanistic jaguar at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Black cat Black dog syndrome Black squirrel Black tiger White panther.
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Tolkree sagt:
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Diet and lifestyle guidelines can greatly reduce gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms
by Massachusetts General Hospital
Findings from the Nurses' Health Study, one of the longest running studies of women's health, show that five diet and lifestyle factors, including regular exercise, can make a significant impact on gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) or heartburn symptoms. GERD is a common condition, affecting about a third of the U.S. population; the main symptom is heartburn and it is often managed with medications. This new study suggests, however, that following diet and lifestyle guidelines may reduce symptoms substantially and could make medication unnecessary for some patients. It was published as a letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The five factors include normal weight, never smoking, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes daily, restricting coffee, tea and sodas to two cups daily, and a 'prudent' diet.
"This study provides evidence that common and debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms could be well controlled in many cases with diet and lifestyle modifications alone," says Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, the study's senior author. "Given that there are long-term health effects of GERD and lingering concerns about the side effects of medications used to treat it, lifestyle should be considered the best option for controlling symptoms." Chan is a gastroenterologist, chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at MGH, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The lead author of the research letter is Raaj S. Mehta, MD, gastroenterology fellow at MGH and Harvard Medical School.
The Nurses' Health Study II is a nationwide study established in 1989 whose participants return a detailed health questionnaire twice a year. It began with 116,671 participants and has had follow-up that exceeds 90%. This study included data from almost 43,000 women aged 42 to 62 who were questioned about GERD or heartburn symptoms from 2005 to 2017—which represents approximately 390,000 person-years.
The researchers created a statistical model that allowed them to calculate the "population-attributable risk" for GERD symptoms associated with each of the five anti-reflux lifestyle factors—in other words, they estimated how likely it was that each lifestyle factor lowered risk of experiencing symptoms. They found that following all these guidelines could reduce GERD symptoms overall by 37%. The more of the specific guidelines a woman followed, the lower her risk of symptoms. Among women using common heartburn treatments (proton pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists), adhering to the guidelines also reduced symptoms.
"We were particularly interested in the effectiveness of physical activity," says Chan. "This is one of the first studies that has demonstrated its effectiveness in controlling GERD." This effect, he suggests, could be due in part to exercise's effect on the motility of the digestive tract. "Being physically active may help with the clearance of stomach acid which causes heartburn symptoms," he says.
Could your indigestion be GERD?
More information: Raaj S. Mehta et al, Association of Diet and Lifestyle With the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptoms in US Women, JAMA Internal Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7238
Journal information: JAMA Internal Medicine
Provided by Massachusetts General Hospital
Citation: Diet and lifestyle guidelines can greatly reduce gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms (2021, January 5) retrieved 15 January 2021 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-diet-lifestyle-guidelines-greatly-gastroesophageal.html
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Bob Carter of Dignity
Posted by Censor Librorum on Mar 21, 2010 | Categories: Dissent, Faith, History, Lesbians & Gays
Jesuit priest Bob Carter’s obituary appeared in the New York Times on March 15, 2010. He was 82 when he died. I hadn’t heard about him in years, even through grapevine gossip from old Dignity friends.
Probably the last time I saw him was in the early ’90s at a Dignity event. I was part of a panel for Dignity New York’s 20th or 25th anniversary. They invited all the “outlaws” and other colorful characters from the past to bring their remembrances. Andy Humm was there and a member of the panel with me. I remember I sat next to John McNeill. I dressed up. It was probably the first and only time I was in a skirt at Dignity.
Bob Carter must have been on the panel, too. He was very much in the same mold as McNeill. He was a strong voice for gays in the Church, but “gay” meant “gay men.” McNeill didn’t have much use for women, and neither did Bob Carter.
McNeill had, as I recall, had one tiny section dedicated to the issues facing lesbians in the Catholic church in his famous and seminal book, The Church and the Homosexual. McNeill said, “I don’t know very much about lesbians, so I can’t write about them.” Unfortunately, he didn’t try to learn either. Mainly, I think, because women weren’t part of his life and he wasn’t particularly interested in them or struggles relevant to them, namely inclusive language and priesthood.
A lot had changed since those heady and turbulent days of the ’80s. Many Dignity members from that time had died from AIDS. Dignity had changed a lot of its language and attitudes to be more inclusive and welcoming of lesbian Catholics. Being thrown out of St. Francis Xavier Church had an impact. Not being able to congregate in a Catholic church with other priests, ex-seminarians and gay Catholic men helped to torpedo the homophile aspect of Dignity and bring them out into the wider world of outsiders. Once that happened it became a friendlier place to women, although it’s still mostly men. However, that’s not Dignity’s fault. By the late ’80s and 1990s most Catholic lesbians had given up on organized religion as too sexist and homophobic.
The Times obituary was a very good article on Carter and there is little I can add to it. You can read it here.
A picture of him marching in a gay pride day parade in full Roman collar with three other priests was used in the obituary. I would guess that photo was taken in 1981 or 1982. I remember it well — I was marching with them as part of Dignity New York. Besides Bob Carter and Fr. McNeill, Fr. Bernie Lynch marched in his collar, and another priest from Dignity who I recognize, but can’t member his name. I recall that he was a nice guy.
I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly brave it was for those four men to march at the head of the Dignity chapter in full Roman collars. It was a deliberate statement: we are Catholic priests. We are ministering to and members of an organization dedicated to full inclusion of gays in the Church. That active clergy expressed solidarity with gay and lesbian Catholics (just as Sr. Jeannine Gramick and Fr. Bob Nugent did with New Ways Ministry), gave heart to a generation of gay Catholic activists, their families and friends, and lent a certain credibility and sanction to efforts to change the church.
I will always remember that march, and the applause and roars of approval as the Dignity banner was proudly carried down Fifth Avenue to the Village. The four priests and Dignity group were applauded the entire line of the march. We applauded back at demonstrations of support.
Bob, (it was never Father Bob) saw no contradiction in being Christian and homosexual: “Since Jesus had table fellowship with social outcasts and sinners, those rejected by the religious establishment of his time, I consider myself to have been most fully a Jesuit, a ‘companion of Jesus,’ when I came out publicly as a gay man, one of the social rejects of my time. It was only by our coming out that society’s negative stereotypes would be overcome and we would gain social acceptance.”
That statement was vintage Bob Carter: the bravery and the homophile self-centeredness. That is what the men Bob Carter ministered to in the ’70s and ’80 wanted more than anything–a church that would accept them totally for who they were. For the most part, they were faithful, devout, traditionalist Catholics in every way – except for the fact that they were gay.
So I applaud Bob Carter for the work he did. I just wish he would have taken his gay activism up a notch to address the injustices lesbian Catholics had to face – the lack of access to power, and the lack of visibility in liturgical language.
As a Dignity New York board member, Bob Carter approved women speaking from the pulpit, so long as their sermons were called “non-homilies.” The homily was only reserved for priests. Gay or not.
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Sep 16, 2004 9:00 am by Inside Illinois | 217-333-1085Honors
IN THIS ISSUE: ACES | Alumni Association | Engineering | FAA | International Programs & Studies | LAS |
agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
Sonya Salamon, professor of community studies, has received the 2004 Robert E. Park Best Book Award for her work “Newcomers to Old Towns: Suburbanization of the Heartland.” The award was given by the Community and Urban Sociology section of the American Sociological Association.
“John L. O’Sullivan and His Times,” by Bob Sampson, an Extension communications specialist, was named the best biography published in 2003 by the Society of Midland Authors. The society, founded in 1915 by Carl Sandberg and Vachel Lindsay, annually honors authors from the 12 Midwestern states. Sampson also contributed two articles, “The Staley Lockout” and “Robert Dale Owen,” to a new two-volume “Historical Encyclopedia on American Labor,” published this spring.
Robert L. Thompson, professor of agriculture and consumer economics, has been appointed the first Leonard and Lila Gardner/Illinois Farm Bureau Family of Companies Chair in Agricultural Policy. The position was created to increase the UI’s national and international impact on policy decisions of agricultural economics and trade.
Five UI animal scientists received major awards for teaching research and outreach. Janice Bahr, professor of reproductive physiology, was made a fellow of the Poultry Science Association in recognition of her distinguished services to poultry science. Her research, which began in the late 1970s, has contributed to understanding egg production and also examining the causes for decreased fertility in roosters.
Geoff Dahl, a professor of dairy science, received the Merial Dairy Management Research Award from the American Dairy Science Association. His work on the role lighting plays in enhancing or inhibiting milk production has been widely accepted in the dairy industry.
Walter Hurley, a professor of lactation, has received the Land-O-Lakes/Purina Teaching Award from the American Dairy Science Association. He has taught in the department for 22 years and teaches one of the department’s most popular classes.
Floyd McKeith, professor of meat science, has received the American Association of Animal Science’s Meat Science Research Award for the significance of his research on the influence of various environmental effects and the use of growth modifiers on quality of meat produced from swine and cattle.
James Pettigrew, professor of animal nutrition, was presented the Animal Industry Service Award for his research in swine nutrition that also has been honored in the past by the American Association of Animal Science.
Loren R. Taylor, president and CEO of the UI Alumni Association since 1998, was elected president of the Council of Alumni Association Executives at its annual meeting in July. The CAAE represents the interests of top alumni associations from around the country and provides executive directors with the tools to better serve their respective associations.
Andrew Alleyne, professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, was one of 86 young engineers selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s 10th annual Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. The Sept. 9-11 event at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, Calif., explored topics in multi-scale modeling, designer materials, engineering for extreme environments, and engineering and entertainment. The participants, ages 30 to 45, were from industry, academia and government.
AnHai Doan, professor of computer science, has received the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award for 2003, which is presented to the best doctoral dissertation in computer science and engineering. His dissertation, “Learning to Map Between Structured Representations of Data,” applies machine learning techniques to data mapping that manipulate data from different formats.
Jiawei Han, professor of computer science, has won the 2004 SIGKDD Innovations Award for his significant contributions to data mining and knowledge discovery. Han was also selected, along with professors Kevin Chang and Yuanyuan Zhou, as an IMB Faculty Award winner. Han also was named a fellow by the Association for Computing Machinery.
Josep Torrellas, professor of computer science, was named an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to shared-memory multiprocessors.
fine and applied arts
Mir Ali, professor of architecture, is the editor of “Catalyst for Skyscraper Revolution: Lynn S. Beedle – A Legend in his Lifetime,” a book published by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat to honor the achievements of Beedle. Beedle was the council’s founder and a leading exponent of tall building research.
international programs and studies
Rajmohan Ghandi, a visiting professor of South Asian and Middle Eastern studies, was one of two people to receive the 2004 C-U International Humanitarian Award. The award honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in the areas of international human rights and humanitarian relief. Recipients are chosen by the city of Champaign and the C-U International Humanitarian Awards Steering Committee.
Scott Althaus, professor of political science, has won the David Easton Award for his book “Collective Preferences in Democratic Politics: Opinions and Surveys and the Will of the People.” The award, established by anonymous donors, is given to books published in the last five years that broaden the horizon of contemporary political science.
Paul W. Bohn, professor of chemistry, has won the Coblentz Society’s 2004 Bomem-Michelson Award, a prize given annually to scientists who have advanced the techniques of vibrational, molecular, Raman or electronic spectroscopy. Bohn’s recent research includes study of molecular transport on the nanometer length scale and inventing new optoelectronic materials and devices.
Cara Finnegan, professor of speech communication, has received the 2004 Diamond Anniversary Book Award from the National Communication Association for her book “Picturing Poverty: Print Culture and FSA Photographs.” The award recognizes the most outstanding scholarly book published in the last two years that is critical to the discipline of communications.
Benjamin McCall, professor of chemistry, will receive the 2004 Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award for his research in the areas of structure, dynamics and astrochemistry of carbocations. He is one of nine new professors nationwide to receive this honor.
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Leading voice on health policy joins Northeastern law center
Dr. Gregory Curfman, a cardiologist and medical researcher who served as an editor at the New England Journal of Medicine for nearly three decades, has…
by Greg St. Martin August 9, 2017
3Qs: What’s next for ‘Obamacare’ under President Trump?
Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. But it’s unclear what his plan would entail. We asked Wendy Parmet, a leading expert in public health law, to weigh in on what healthcare might look like under President Trump, who on Monday appointed an outspoken ‘Obamacare’ critic to be his secretary of health and human services.
by Jason Kornwitz November 30, 2016
Meet the graduates: Jonathan Culpepper
Culpepper, who is graduating from the School of Law this year, says working on co-op and serving as president of the university’s chapter of the Black Law Students Association shaped his skill set and career outlook. He will take the bar this summer and plans to pursue a career in health law.
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Why Does The Navy Have So Few Black Admirals? Some Blame A Culture Of Discrimination
By Steve Walsh • 21 hours ago
Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey (left) speaks with Ensign Dimitri Foster in the pilothouse aboard guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain in 2018.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Rodarte / U.S. Navy
Only 10 of the Navy's 268 admirals are African-American, most are rear admirals and none holds the two highest ranks, according to data from a task force that's examining the history of discrimination in the Navy. Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey, who heads the One Navy Task Force for the Chief of Naval Operations, concedes that those numbers are small.
Building an admiral is a 20- to 30-year commitment, he said, and someone has to be willing to guide that young officer. "As a Black officer in the U.S. Navy, I will tell you I've mentored more people who don't look like me than do look like me," Holsey said. "Somebody who doesn't look like me had to reach out and engage in my career."
African Americans comprise about 13% of the U.S. population, but roughly 8.1% of naval officers are Black, according to a 2019 report by the Congressional Research Service. So the pipeline is small, and many Black officers just become exhausted as they work their way up the chain of command, said Keith Green, a retired lieutenant commander. He recently wrote the book Black Officer/White Navy.
"It is not simply just unconscious bias," Green said. Some in the Navy "don't like working for a Black person or a minority, and they don't like having one be their supervisor," he said. Not everyone who African American officers encounter is a problem, but Green said the extra effort to work around troublesome colleagues takes its toll on Black sailors' careers.
"Not only do you have to do all the other stressful things that any military person has do to," Green said, "you have to play that double game of trying to figure out why you're being treated differently or what's happening to you. Why is something happening to you that isn't happening to other people?"
Rear Adm. Sinclair M. Harris speaks about the importance the Battle of Midway and turning point of World War II in the Pacific aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS The Sullivans in 2013.
Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker / U.S. Navy
Retired Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris heads the National Naval Officers Association, which has worked for 50 years to promote diversity in the sea services. He said it takes hundreds of ensigns to eventually make one admiral — or what the Navy calls a flag officer.
The Navy has to bring in more young officers of color, he said, so when it's time to promote people to flag officer, "you have enough people in the pot."
Harris referred to the point where junior officers decide to end their careers as "Death Valley."
Graduating from the Naval Academy is the most well worn path to admiral, but fewer than 6% of the current class at the Naval Academy is Black. Harris, who was rejected when he applied to the academy at the beginning of his career, said one solution is mentoring officers coming through less traditional paths.
"When you have one out of 20 diverse candidates going up for flag officer in a community and they decide, you know what, I just got this high-paying job at IBM...now you're down to zero and you have to look at that pipeline, and that pipeline is anemic," Harris said.
Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic Force Master Chief Huben Phillips (right) speaks to Sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford after a Carrier-Advanced Reconfigurable Training Systems presentation in 2018.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Alan Lewis / U.S. Navy
The Navy is more diverse at the lower ranks. Nearly 20% of enlisted sailors are African American. But Force Master Chief Huben Phillips, who is part of the One Navy Task Force, said sailors can face discrimination in the ranks.
"Throughout my 31 years, when I've seen racial discrimination against me, I knew what the policy was; I knew it was wrong," Phillips said. "But when you're in the minority, you just kind of put your head down. You think about self preservation. You think about your family. You think about the bigger picture."
Right now, the One Navy Task Force, which was formed after the death of George Floyd and the racial justice protests that followed, is holding focus groups throughout the service to encourage enlisted sailors and officers alike to speak up. The task force is scheduled to issue its report in December.
Copyright 2020 KPBS Radio. To see more, visit KPBS Radio.
A recent executive order by the Trump administration calls a halt to unconscious bias training within the military's ranks. Now, this comes at a time when a Navy task force is looking at long-standing discrimination. Despite the White House edict, that work continues. Steve Walsh with KPBS in San Diego has the story.
STEVE WALSH, BYLINE: Force Master Chief Huben Phillips puts it this way.
HUBEN PHILLIPS: Throughout my 31 years, where I've seen racism or discrimination personally against me, I knew what the policy was, right? I knew that it was wrong. But when you're in a minority, you just kind of put your head down, right? You kind of figure out - you think about self-preservation. You think about your family. You think about the bigger picture.
WALSH: Phillips is part of the One Navy task force which is looking at how to end discrimination in the ranks. The problem starts at the top. Out of 268 admirals in the U.S. Navy, only 10 are African American. Most of them are rear admirals, like Alvin Holsey, who is heading the task force.
That's pretty small.
ALVIN HOLSEY: Yes, it is. Yes.
WALSH: Right now there are no African American admirals at the two highest ranks. Building an admiral is a 20- to 30-year commitment, Holsey says. It's not just about test scores and performance reviews; someone has to be willing to guide that young officer.
HOLSEY: As a Black officer in the Navy, I'll tell you that I mentor more people that don't look like me than look like me - sheer mathematics, right? But I'll tell you also - because there are very few guys who've come before me, in smaller numbers (ph) - someone who don't look like me had to reach out, engage and make a difference in my career.
WALSH: African Americans make up 13% of the population, but less than 9% are naval officers. So the pipeline starts off small, then somewhere along the way, many people just become exhausted, says Keith Green, a lieutenant commander who retired in the 1990s. He recently wrote the book "Black Officer, White Navy."
KEITH GREEN: It is not simply just unconscious bias; there are active behaviors that are happening to people because they don't like working for a Black person or a minority, and they don't like having, you know, one be their supervisor.
WALSH: Green says the extra effort to work around racism takes its toll.
GREEN: Not only do you have to do all the other stressful things that any military person has to do; you have to play that double game of trying to figure out why you're being treated differently or what's happening to you - why is something happening to you that isn't happening to other people.
WALSH: Retired Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris heads the National Naval Officers Association, which has worked for over 50 years to promote diversity in the sea services. He says it takes hundreds of incidents to eventually make one admiral or what the Navy calls a flag officer.
SINCLAIR HARRIS: You got to bring more people in in the beginning so that the quality cut that you're going to have, especially when you get to senior officer and get to flag officer, you have enough people in the pot.
WALSH: Harris calls it Death Valley, that point where junior officers opt to end their careers. Graduating from the Naval Academy is the most well-worn path to admiral, but less than 6% of the current class at the Naval Academy is African American.
HARRIS: When you only have one out of 20 diverse candidates going up for flag officer in a certain community, and they decide, hey, you know what? I just got this high-paying job at IBM. Guess what? Now you've been to zero, and you've got to look to that pipeline, and that pipeline is anemic.
WALSH: One Navy task force is scheduled to issue its report in December. It's unclear what concrete steps the Navy would then take to address decades of systemic racism.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh.
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FedEx Announces Goals and Reports on Progress to Reduce Aircraft Emissions and Increase Vehicle Fuel Efficiency 20 Percent by 2020
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 12, 2008 – FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced that by 2020 it plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its FedEx Express aircraft fleet by 20 percent and improve the fuel efficiency of its FedEx Express vehicle fleet by 20 percent. The ambitious new goals were outlined in the FedEx 2008 Global Citizenship Report released today. Since 2005, FedEx has reduced aircraft carbon dioxide emissions by 3.7 percent per available ton mile and improved FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency by 13.7 percent, reducing vehicle carbon emissions by almost one billion pounds.
“FedEx recognizes that one of the most responsible steps we and the industrial sector can take for our businesses, society and the environment is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Our role is to connect the world in responsible and resourceful ways. The world faces big challenges, and we believe that collective, sustained efforts can create greater possibilities for people, businesses and nations worldwide.”
FedEx continues to make significant progress toward achieving its fuel efficiency goals by investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, vehicles and facilities including:
FedEx operates the largest fleet of commercial hybrid electric trucks in North America and the transportation industry with more than 170 vehicles. The fleet recently celebrated a major milestone: more than two million miles of revenue service.
FedEx E700 hybrid electric trucks, the most common hybrid in the FedEx fleet, improve fuel economy by 42 percent, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 25 percent and cut particulate pollution by 96 percent compared with conventional vehicles.
Just as important, other companies have referenced FedEx’s more than two million miles of revenue service milestone to justify testing and purchasing hybrid electric technology.
FedEx Express has worked to optimize its delivery routes to ensure that the most efficiently-sized vehicle is used on each route. As a result of these efforts, more than one-fourth of the FedEx Express fleet has been converted to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, saving more than 45 million gallons of fuel in the past three years.
FedEx has begun upgrading its aircraft fleet by replacing narrow-body Boeing 727 aircraft with Boeing 757 planes that lessen the environmental impact — reducing fuel consumption up to 36 percent while providing 20 percent more payload capacity.
The company will also acquire Boeing 777 aircraft that provide greater payload capacity and use 18 percent less fuel on average than the MD-11 aircraft currently in operation. These aircraft replacements will also significantly reduce carbon emissions.
FedEx Express employees are increasing jet fuel efficiency and reducing jet fuel emissions during operations with more than 30 initiatives that range from improvements in flight planning to aircraft operation efficiencies.
FedEx is also reducing the amount of fuel we use when a plane is at the gate by using ground power instead of aircraft power, saving almost one million gallons of fuel per month.
FedEx Express and FedEx Freight operate three solar-powered facilities in California—in Oakland, Whittier and Fontana—eliminating almost three million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year. FedEx Express recently broke ground for its largest solar-powered hub to date. The Cologne, Germany hub installation, which is expected to be completed in 2010, will include a 1.4-megawatt (MW) solar power system and is expected to generate approximately 1.3 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 370 households.
These efficiency and emission reduction goals and results were only one component of the FedEx 2008 Global Citizenship Report, which outlines the FedEx commitment to its team members, customers, shareowners and the communities we serve. In concert with the release of the report, FedEx launched The FedEx Citizenship Blog today at blog.fedex.com. The blog will help give a transparent view behind the scenes at FedEx, featuring FedEx executives and team members describing how they carry out FedEx’s 35-year pledge to be a good corporate citizen and allow stakeholders to engage in a dialogue with FedEx on these important issues.
The FedEx Global Citizenship Report and blog highlight fiscal year 2008 milestones and fiscal year 2009 objectives in five key areas: Economics and Access, Environment and Efficiency, Community and Disaster Relief, People and Workplace, and Governance. Highlights from the report include:
Economics and Access
FedEx strives to connect the world in responsible and sustainable ways, helping meet consumers’ needs and promote business opportunities in more than 220 countries and territories. In the Global Citizenship Report, FedEx reiterates its long-term financial performance goals that support the company’s core financial strategies.
Environment and Efficiency
FedEx has pioneered innovations that are helping the entire transportation industry to reduce its environmental footprint. Notably, working with the Environmental Defense Fund, FedEx pioneered the development of commercial hybrid electric vehicles for use by FedEx and others in the transportation sector. On the solar-powered front, the FedEx 350,000-square-foot solar-powered facility in Oakland, Calif., was the largest commercial solar-electric rooftop system at the time it was built in 2005. Since then, FedEx has installed two more solar-powered facilities in California, with another scheduled to open in Cologne, Germany, in the spring of 2010.
FedEx has made progress toward the following long-term environmental goals:
Reduce its aircraft carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent by 2020 on a pounds- per-available-ton-mile basis. Such emissions have decreased by 3.7 percent in the past three years.
Improve FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency 20 percent by 2020, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Such fuel economy has improved by 13.7 percent in the past three years.
Expand on-site renewable energy generation and maintain our goal of 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) through procurement of renewable energy credits. To date, FedEx has exceeded its goal of 25,000 MWh of renewable energy credits procured and has generated more than 1,000 MWh of on-site solar energy.
Community and Disaster Relief
FedEx’s ability to respond quickly, efficiently and on a global scale makes disaster relief the cornerstone of its philanthropic efforts. FedEx also extends its resources and networks in the areas of safety, health and education. In fiscal 2008, FedEx cash and in-kind donations totaled more than 1.1 percent of pretax profits.
People and Workplace
FedEx understands that the success of its business depends on the ability of our people to deliver, and takes responsibility to help its people develop their talents so they can succeed. In fiscal 2008, our full-time retention rate was 93.1 percent, women and minorities occupied 38.6 percent of management roles and participation rates for employee feedback surveys was 93.4 percent. Currently, FedEx holds the distinction of being named by Fortune magazine as a great place to work in more than 22 countries. FedEx has also been named to Fortune Magazine’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for 10 out of 11 years, including in 2008.
FedEx has a long-standing commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance. FedEx and its independent Board of Directors work to exceed the minimum compliance standards set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance listing standards.
The FedEx Citizenship Blog will be updated regularly. FedEx plans to release its Global Citizenship Report annually. FedEx encourages stakeholder dialogue about its corporate social responsibility efforts. Comments, questions and feedback may be sent to citizenship@fedex.com.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $39 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 290,000 employees and contractors to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements, such as statements relating to management’s views with respect to future events and financial performance. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by the statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions in the global markets in which we operate, new U.S. domestic or international government regulation, the impact from any terrorist activities or international conflicts and other factors that can be found in FedEx Corp.’s and its subsidiaries’ press releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Ten minute test could provide more accurate detection of Autism
By Grant Banks
Ten minute test could provide ...
MRI is used to measure deviations in brain circuitry to detect Autism in under 10 minutes with 94 percent success rate
A fast and accurate test for Autism has been developed by researchers at McLean Hospital and the University of Utah. It is hoped that the biologically based test, which uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to measure brain activity, can replace the subjective test currently used for diagnosis of the condition.
MRI is used in the test to detect deviations in brain circuitry in a process called "diffusion tensor imaging."
“It provides pictures and measurements of the microscopic fiber structures of the brain that enable language, social, and emotional functioning, which can reveal deviations that are not found in those without autism,” Nicholas Lange, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Neurostatistics Laboratory at McLean Hospital, said. “This is not yet ready for prime time use in the clinic yet, but the findings are the most promising thus far.”
In the so-named Lange-Lainhart test, subjects were put in an MRI scanner that was programmed to be sensitive to water diffusion along the axons of the brain to measure microscopic features of the brain’s circuitry. The test was able to detect the disorder in individuals with high-functioning autism with 94 percent accuracy.
“Indeed, we have new ways to discover more about the biological basis of autism and how to improve the lives of individuals with the disorder,” said senior author Janet Lainhart, principal investigator of the research at the University of Utah. “The differences picked up on the study correlate with clinical symptoms that are part of the features of autism.”
Future studies will also investigate other brain disorders such as developmental language disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The study was published in Autism Research. Co-authors included Molly DuBray, Alyson Froehlich, Brad Wright, and P. Thomas Fletcher of the University of Utah; Erin Bigler of Brigham Young University; Nagesh Adluru, Alexander Alexander, and Jee Eun Lee of the University of Wisconsin; and Michael Froimowitz and Caitlin Ravichandran at Harvard and McLean.
Health & WellbeingAutismBrigham Young University
Grant Banks
Metastudy affirms low-carb diets can reverse type 2 diabetes
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New insights into how COVID-19 can impact the brain and CNS
COVID-19 blood plasma therapy ineffective in severely ill patients
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Jeet Heer/ March 9, 2017
The Case for Taking Trump’s Tweets Seriously
Ignoring the president's Twitter tantrums won't make them go away. His words have real-life consequences, no matter how he delivers them.
David Becker/Getty Images/Photo Illustration
Shortly after winning the election last November, President-elect Donald Trump appeared on 60 Minutes and promised to be more careful in his Twitter use than he was as a candidate. “I’m going to be very restrained, if I use it at all, I’m going to be very restrained,” Trump swore. Given the important role tweeting played in his political success, this seemed like a pledge doomed to broken. And it was. As president, Trump has not only kept up tweeting, he’s done so with a new level of venom and destructiveness, amplified beyond measure by the fact that he’s now the most powerful man in the world. Since assuming the presidency, Trump has used Twitter to go after a former president (Barack Obama is a “Bad (or sick) guy” on par with “Nixon/Watergate”), companies that irk him (Nordstrom was “very unfair” and “terrible” when it stopped carrying Ivanka Trump’s wares) and the media (with the “failing” New York Times spreading “FAKE NEWS”).
What’s the best way to respond to these Twitter tantrums? There’s an emerging consensus that Trump’s tweets should be ignored. NBC News’ Peter Alexander reports that Obama himself thinks that the focus should be on Trump’s actions, not his words. According to a source close to the former president, Obama “is much more concerned by President Trump kicking people off their health insurance, not staffing the government, not being prepared for a crisis, rolling back regulations so that corporations can pollute the air and water and letting mentally unstable people buy guys with no problem whatsoever.” By contrast, tweets are a lesser concern. Obama “cares about all those things much more than what President Trump tweets at the TV each morning.”
Vox’s Matthew Yglesias argued recently that Trump’s tweets are part of a circus that’s “irrelevant” compared to his governance. “The real-world consequences of Trump’s governance matters enormously, and so does the pushback Trump is getting,” Ygelesias contended. “But the Trump Show itself— the series of tweets, speeches, interviews, and provocations undertaken by the president of the United States in lieu of governing—is tedious and irrelevant. It’s time to start learning how to tune it out.”
Writing from a very different ideological perspective, conservative Ben Shapiro came to the same conclusion in National Review. “Instead of treating Trump’s rhetoric seriously, wouldn’t America be better off if we did ignore it?” Shapiro asked. “What if instead of going nuts over a half-baked Trump tweet for a week, we all just recognized that the tweet is what it is: a half-baked Trump tweet? What if we returned to the notion of the president as a constitutional officer with prescribed duties?” Shapiro framed his proposal nostalgically, calling for a return to the practices of the early republic, when what a U.S. president said carried little weight. “Sure, Americans knew about President Washington’s Farewell Address,” Shapiro acknowledges. “They heard about inaugural speeches. But nobody much cared about the day-to-day verbiage uttered by the occupant of the White House.”
By evoking the distant past, Shapiro makes apparent the limits not only of his argument, but those of Yglesias and Obama. For the very nature of our modern world, and the United States’ supremacy, makes it impossible to dismiss an American president’s word. The U.S. is a nuclear-armed superpower, with a commander in chief who presides over the world’s largest economy. Millions of people all over the world pay careful attention to what a president says, making their own plans based on the words coming out of the White House—and they will continue to do so whether or not the press corps and political class in Washington somehow agree en masse to ignore Trump’s tweets.
“Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY!” Trump tweeted in January. “Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax.” Toyota’s stock promptly fell, as has the stock of other companies caught in Trump’s Twitter crosshairs. Because his tweets move markets, businesses are developing strategies for how to handle a presidential social media attack. There’s even an app that lets you know when Trump has tweeted negatively about a publicly traded company, so you can sell quickly if needed. Another company created a lightning-fast Twitter bot that automatically short sells such stocks. It’s called “Trump and Dump.”
Something similar is happening in foreign policy: South Korea has a military officer tasked with the responsibility of monitoring Trump’s tweets and assessing what they mean for Asia. Meanwhile, in China, state media has criticized Trump’s “Twitter foreign policy.” And when Trump used Twitter to criticize a “so-called judge” who blocked his Muslim travel ban, a judge on the Supreme People’s Court of China penned a blog post admonishing him for not respecting judicial independence. “Even if you control the armed forces and have nuclear weapons,” He Fan wrote, “your dignity has been swept away and you are no different than a villain.” Little by little, Trump’s reckless tweeting is costing America the moral high ground in international affairs.
Trump’s wild accusations against Obama weren’t just words that flickered across Twitter. They had real consequences in the White House and on Capitol Hill. Trump’s staff was caught off guard and had to scramble to prepare a response, thus furthering the sense of chaos in the administration. “Mr. Trump’s Twitter posts, viewed with amazement outside the West Wing bubble, often create crises on the inside,” the Times reported. “That was never truer than when Mr. Trump began posting from his weekend retreat at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida shortly after sunrise on Saturday. His groggy staff realized quickly that this was no typical Trump broadside, but an allegation with potentially far-reaching implications that threatened to derail a coming week that included the rollout of his redrafted travel ban and the unveiling of the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.”
Trump’s tweets also have a ripple effect in Washington. Trump’s staff has had to walk a tightrope of standing by their boss without quite saying that they believe him. Republicans on Capitol Hill have been walking a similar tightrope. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, a staunch Trump supporter and member of his transition team, told reporters on Tuesday, “A lot of the things he says, you guys take literally,” but then later said the president had raised “valid questions.”
The idea that Trump’s tweets can be ignored is based on a facile distinction between words and action. But a president’s words are themselves a form of action, because words spoken in high office carry great weight. This is perhaps even more true of an unconventional leader like Trump, whose words set his agenda because he’s not driven by party orthodoxy or a coherent ideology. As Trump’s former campaign manger, Corey Lewandowski, told The Washington Post, “Donald Trump’s Twitter account is the greatest bully pulpit that has ever existed. In 140 characters, he can change the direction of a Fortune 100 company, he can notify world leaders and he can also notify government agencies that business as usual is over.”
Like them or not, Trump’s tweets are consequential. Ignoring them won’t change that. “The medium is the message,” Marshall McLuhan argued a half-century ago. Today, we can take this further by saying the man and medium have merged: Trump’s presidency and his tweets are one.
Jeet Heer @HeerJeet
Jeet Heer is a contributing editor at the The New Republic.
Donald Trump, Politics, South Korea, China, Twitter, Media, Business, Devin Nunes, Barack Obama
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In 1984, Jean-Marie De Koninck was a mathematics professor and, in his free time, the head coach of the swim club at Laval University. Wanting to provide bursaries for student athletes, he was looking for an original way to raise funds for his team.
One day, at the end of September 1984, as he was driving, he was listening to a radio show about the serious problems caused by impaired driving. At the time, statistics showed that more than 50 % of fatal crashes were caused by motorists who had consumed alcohol.
Next, a bartender came on to talk about a disturbing trend he’d noticed at the bar where he worked. At closing time, many customers didn’t want to leave their vehicle behind and take a cab home not because the cab fare was too expensive, but because every good Quebecker likes to have his car in his driveway and have access to it at all times.
That’s when De Koninck came up with an idea: he’d get his 25 swimmers to offer motorists who had had a few drinks to drive them home in their own vehicle. With the collaboration of the Quebec City municipal police and CHRC radio station, the very first Operation Red Nose campaign was thus launched from December 13th to the 23rd, 1984.
Needless the say, that first campaign was a success, and the Operation Red Nose campaign has been held during every holiday season since 1984. From a mere fundraising idea, De Koninck has developed a road safety campaign which benefits the population all year long.
Today, more than 100 organizations across Canada benefit from the proceeds of the Operation Red Nose campaign. Each year, between $1,200,000 and $1,300,000 are redistributed to non-profit youth organizations and/or amateur sports organizations.
From the very beginning, Operation Red Nose adopted a philosophy that enabled it to gain the trust and respect of the population. The organization does not encourage nor condone those who choose to have a drink. Instead, the message « DON’T DRIVE IF YOU ARE IMPAIRED» is conveyed in a humorous and non-judgemental way. Operation Red Nose’s preventive approach is a wonderful complement to the more repressive measures of the law.
Since 1984, Operation Red Nose hasn’t stopped growing and welcoming new communities, reinforcing the effects of its road safety campaign. In 1989, Operation Red Nose entered into a partnership with Éduc’alcool in order to create Tournée Party sans Déraper, a program that brings awareness to young people ages 16 to 24 about the importance of acting responsibly when it comes to alcohol consumption and impaired driving.
In 2006, the program C’est notre tournée! was launched with, once again, the collaboration of Éduc’alcool. This time, the program is an interactive conference offered for free in work places, and the objective is to promote moderation in the consumption of alcohol and to prevent impaired driving with workers, consumers and parents.
The last program to make its appearance in the Red Nose family, in 2008, is the Bouclez-la! conference which helps bring awareness to young people and the public in general about the dangers of excessive speed and the importance of wearing a seat belt. During this conference, participants take part in a crash simulation done through a simulator.
Tweets by ORNose
© 2021 Operation Red Nose
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World Food Prize
World Food Prize Foundation
The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing specific, exceptionally significant, individual achievement at any point along the full range of the food production and distribution chain. Fields of achievement include, but are not limited to: soil and land; plant and animal science; food science and technology; nutrition; rural development; marketing; food processing and packaging; water and the environment; natural resource conservation; physical infrastructure; transportation and distribution; special or extraordinary feeding programs; social organization and poverty elimination; economics and finance; policy analysis; and public advocacy. It carries a cash award of $250,000 USD.
Eligibility: The nominee must be able to give an acceptance speech and participate in media events during the Award Ceremony. See agency website for details.
Note: This is an institutional nomination. Contact Institutional Strategic Awards at awards@sfu.ca for assistance.
Agency Website : https://www.worldfoodprize.org/
May 01, 2021May 01, 2021 ✓ Verified Date
February 01, 2021 Feb. 01, 2021 February 01, 2021 16:00:00 February 01, 2021 16:00:00 America/Vancouver Application Deadline: World Food Prize Recognizes a specific, exceptionally significant, individual achievement at any point along the full range of the food production and distribution chain. .
Earth Sciences | Environmental Sciences | Agricultural and Vet Science | Human Society
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White Professor that argued that whites were genetically smarter than blacks in 1960's, dies
U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Education
Arthur Jensen in about 1980.
By MARGALIT FOX
Arthur R. Jensen, an educational psychologist who ignited an international firestorm with a 1969 article suggesting that the gap in intelligence-test scores between black and white students might be rooted in genetic differences between the races, died on Oct. 22 at his home in Kelseyville, Calif. He was 89.
His death was confirmed by the University of California, Berkeley, where he was an emeritus professor in the Graduate School of Education.
Professor Jensen was deeply interested in differential psychology, a field whose central question — What makes people behave and think differently from one another? — strikes at the heart of the age-old nature-nurture debate.
Because of his empirical work in the field on the quantification of general intelligence (a subject that had long invited a more diffuse, impressionistic approach), he was regarded by many colleagues as one of the most important psychologists of his day.
But a wider public remembered him almost exclusively for his 1969 article “How Much Can We Boost I.Q. and Achievement?” Published in The Harvard Educational Review, a scholarly journal, the article quickly became — and remains even now — one of the most controversial in psychology.
In the article, Professor Jensen posited two types of learning ability. Level I, associative ability, entailed the rote retention of facts. Level II, conceptual ability, involved abstract thinking and problem-solving. This type, he argued, was roughly equivalent to general intelligence, denoted in psychology by the letter “g.”
In administering I.Q. tests to diverse groups of students, Professor Jensen found Level I ability to be fairly consistent across races. When he examined Level II ability, by contrast, he found it more prevalent among whites than blacks, and still more prevalent among Asians than whites.
Drawing on these findings, Professor Jensen argued that general intelligence is largely genetically determined, with cultural forces shaping it only to a small extent. For this reason, he wrote in 1969, compensatory education programs like Head Start are doomed to fail.
While some observers praised Professor Jensen as a scientist unafraid to go where the data led him, others called him a racist. He continued to be heckled at speaking engagements throughout his career. He was burned in effigy on some college campuses and received death threats; for a time, he was accompanied by bodyguards.
The idea that intelligence cleaved along racial lines quickly became known as Jensenism, and its merits were the subject of heated public discussion for years afterward. The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, for instance, devoted much of his 1981 book, “The Mismeasure of Man,” to criticizing Professor Jensen’s claims.
More recently, Professor Jensen’s ideas about race and the heritability of intelligence were cited approvingly in “The Bell Curve,” the 1994 book by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray that engendered renewed debate on the subject.
Today, some psychologists say that Professor Jensen’s work has been misunderstood. In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Douglas Detterman, a psychologist at Case Western Reserve University who edits the journal Intelligence, said: “If you look at the Harvard Educational Review paper, he discusses race very little in that paper, but he did say that it’s a possibility that there are genetic differences among racial groups. And that was not a very popular idea when that paper came out.”
Professor Detterman, who in 1998 devoted a special issue of Intelligence to Professor Jensen’s work, added: “When he wrote that paper, probably a large portion of psychologists wouldn’t have believed that there was a hereditary basis for intellectual ability. Now, there’s very little argument about that in the field. Whether there are differences between races is another thing altogether.”
Arthur Robert Jensen was born in San Diego on Aug. 24, 1923. An accomplished clarinetist, he considered pursuing a career as an orchestra conductor before taking a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Berkeley, followed by a master’s in the field from San Diego State College and a Ph.D. from Columbia. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1958.
Professor Jensen’s wife, Barbara, died before him. Survivors include a daughter, Bobbi Morey.
Among his books are “Genetics and Education” (1972), “Educability and Group Differences” (1973), “The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability” (1998) and “Clocking the Mind: Mental Chronometry and Individual Differences” (2006).
Even psychologists who disagree with Professor Jensen’s conclusions defend him against charges of racism.
“Arthur Jensen’s life is emblematic of the extent to which American scholarship is inhibited by political orthodoxy,” James R. Flynn, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said on Wednesday.
“Jensen was a true scientist, and he was without racial bias,” Professor Flynn added. “It never occurred to Arthur Jensen that people would use his data to argue for racial supremacy. Now, to be fair to his critics, over time he became more and more convinced that the evidence did show a genetic component.”
A noted authority on intelligence, Professor Flynn has long opposed Professor Jensen’s views on the subject. “Take it from me, the evidence is highly complicated,” he said. “The best we can say is that it is more probable that the I.Q. gap between black and white is entirely environmental in origin.”
It is precisely such environmental factors, some scholars maintain, that Professor Jensen’s work did not sufficiently take into account.
“Socioeconomic status turns out to be the best predictor of your I.Q. score,” Sonja C. Grover, an educational psychologist at Lakehead University in Ontario, said on Wednesday. “Socioeconomic status has to do with your quality of schooling, the quality of the teachers that you’re exposed to. Many people who do poorly on an I.Q. test have a very poor fund of general knowledge, but it doesn’t mean that they’re not intelligent.”
A 1981 book by Professor Grover, “The Cognitive Basis of the Intellect,” was written as a response to Professor Jensen’s book “Bias in Mental Testing” (1980). In that book, he argued that it is possible to construct tests of general intelligence that are free of cultural bias, which in turn makes it possible to isolate heredity as a wellspring of intellect.
But in focusing on the link between genetics and intellectual ability, Professor Grover said on Wednesday, Professor Jensen’s work has sweeping, and potentially grave, implications.
“It was irrelevant and not particularly useful to suggest, as those who endorse Jensen have, that Jensen was just holding a politically incorrect point of view and that’s why he was being criticized,” she said. “His studies and his influence would have a dramatic effect on the perception that people have about minority groups and their potential, and even their right to a quality education.”
She added: “In no way am I suggesting that he wasn’t completely well intentioned. But I would make the point that you cannot separate social science from human rights, regardless of what side of the fence you’re on.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/science/arthur-r-jensen-who-set-off-debate-on-iq-dies.html?ref=race
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Oldest general store in America closes its doors after 224 years
Oregon middle schools failed to help black students catch up in reading or math by 2012
Fire chief in Pennsylvania calls Steelers coach Mike Tomlin a ‘no-good nigger’ over NFL protests
September 26, 2017 Ro Ho 0
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Mycroft: A Startup is Focusing on Open Source AI for the Home
by Ostatic Staff - Jun. 21, 2016
Microsoft Open Sources Project Malmo, Another AI Milestone
Google's Custom Chip Can Accelerate Machine Learning Jobs
Amazon Joins Tech Giants in Open Sourcing a Key Machine Learning Tool
Google's Popular TensorFlow Project Gets a Major Upgrade
Google Opens Up Collection of Vendor Security Assessment Questionnaires
Ask many people to name the technology categories that are creating sweeping change right now, and cloud computing and Big Data analytics will probably be top of mind for a lot of them. However, there is an absolute renaissance happening right now in the field of artifical intelligence and the closely related field of machine learning. And, open source tools are making a difference in this space.
Now, a startup company is focusing on voice-controlled artificial intelligence applications for the home. Mycroft is billed as the world’s first open-source, open-hardware home AI platform.
Mycroft Core, the software-driven brains behind the effort has just arrived in a new version. According to its developers, it is focused on "responsive listening":
"Today marks the release of a new version of Mycroft....This is a significant update because it contains a large rethinking of the listener that Mycroft uses. The result is our new “Responsive Listening” mode.
When we began experimenting with the Mycroft Core listener, the part of the code that listens for a command, we embarked on creating a concept of passive listening. Passive listening processed an audio buffer, looked for the wake word, and then processed the query. We found in practice that this allowed us to say things in a very unstructured way and they could still be processed, such as:
“What’s the weather Mycroft?”
“Hey there Mr. Mycroft, I’d like to know what time it is.”
This was an interesting paradigm in interacting with the device. But in practice passive listening resulted in long processing time, false positives, and parts of sentences getting processed that weren’t the intended query. The best intentions never go unpunished. As a result, we took it upon ourselves this past week to provide a more consistent experience, stable experience...."
The new experience that Mycroft offers is represented in a Kickstarter video. Currently, Mycroft responds to basic voice commands. It will play a song you request from YouTube, or report weather conditions for you.
This is just one of the interesting open source AI technologies arriving. Google has open sourced a program called TensorFlow. It’s based on the same internal toolset that Google has spent years developing to support its AI software and other predictive and analytics programs. You can find out more about TensorFlow at its site, and you might be surprised to learn that it is the engine behind several Google tools you may already use, including Google Photos and the speech recognition found in the Google app.
Meanwhile, Facebook is open sourcing its machine learning system designed for artificial intelligence (AI) computing at a large scale.
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Bicycle ‘pump’: Pedal-share firm pushes for quick $$
By David Seifman
Dan Brinzac
The city’s stalled bike-sharing program is asking for financial help even before it begins, The Post has learned.
Alta, the company that was supposed to have put 10,000 bicycles on the street starting today, has asked the lead sponsor to accelerate payments of $3.5 million in case the program is delayed until next spring and runs out of cash, sources said.
“They want the money earlier than they would’ve gotten it,” one source said.
The sponsor, Citibank, is considering the request, a source said.
The bank is shelling out $41 million over five years to attach its name to the program, which would be one of the largest of its kind in the world.
But the payments are timed to targets that Alta might not be able to reach because of delays caused by a software problem.
Citibank paid its first $1.4 million installment when it signed the contract with Alta. A second $1.4 million comes due on the launch date, and $2.1 million more is supposed to be paid when at least 7,000 bikes hit the road.
The source said Alta, fearful it might take a while to resolve the software issue, has asked the bank to pay the second $1.4 million in September and the $2.1 million in January even if the targets aren’t met.
One insider said the program might be shelved until next spring if the delay reaches late October.
“No one wants to do this in November,” the insider said. “You’d be looking at spring [2013].”
The city has been secretive, and a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the program, didn’t provide much information yesterday.
“That is inaccurate,” spokesman Seth Solomonow said when asked about the possible delay until 2013 and Alta’s request for a bailout.
“While we can’t get into details, we are working on a plan to launch the system.”
Beyond the embarrassment, the city has no exposure with the program because Mayor Bloomberg insisted taxpayers have no direct financial role.
Bx. teen shot believed to be hit by stray bullet while esc...
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Jade The Moon debut new single “The Tide”
Jade the Moon "The Tide"
Toronto’s Jade The Moon has released a brand new single, “The Tide” as the second feature track from their upcoming new album, 11:11. The band describe the track as “An unapologetic break up track”, which sounds depressing, but it’s a song you will wanna listen to all summer, on repeat. Furthermore, the collection of tracks on the upcoming release are best described as “musical photographs”. A moment in time turned dance party, true story turned love song, a daydream turned eerie alt-pop lullaby. Real world inspiration. This is the follow up to the group’s self-produced 2015 debut release ‘Habits and Hindrance’.
Jade the Moon on “The Tide”:
An unapologetic break up track … sometimes it’s just easier to let things go. No one wants to give up on someone they care about but Jade The Moon look at the situation differently … if it’s it’s meant to be, it will be. Absence only makes the heart grow fonder. “You can’t change people. We are who we are. It’s tough but leaving people to figure themselves out is often the only way to help.”
Jade The Moon release single “U Take Care”
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Nelson Mills
She Wouldn't Jump
Chief engineer Ephraim J. Moore and his wife, Melissa, of Port Huron, were enjoying their last meal together on the steamer Nelson Mills.
The boat was churning its way up the busy St. Clair River, following a trip to Cleveland and back, and Melissa was expecting to get off when the Mills docked at Port Huron.
The date was Sept. 6, 1906, and while she didn't realize it at the time, it was going to be the last day of Melissa's life. She was one of two people on that vessel who died in a collision three miles below the town of St. Clair.
The Mills, under the command of Capt. Daniel Warwick, had the barge Alex Anderson in tow. Both vessels were laden with coal and bound for Algoma Mills on Georgian Bay. The stop-over at Port Huron was probably going to be a courtesy call just to put Melissa Moore ashore. It was customary for wives of the officers of the boats to accompany their men on brief trips on the lakes.
As the boats slowly worked their way against the river current, they met the Western Steamship liner Milwaukee steaming down stream.
Witnesses said the Milwaukee's whistle sounded twice and the Mills answered with one blast as the two vessels approached each other. Then something appeared to go wrong with the Mills steering apparatus.
The wooden hulled boat veered unexpectedly across the Milwaukee's bow and there was nothing anybody could do to avoid the collision. They hit with a loud crunch, the Milwaukee's steel bow cutting deep into the side of the ill-fated Mills.
The collision happened at 12:10 p.m.
Moore saw that the Mills was sinking fast by the bow and he made a frantic effort to save his beloved Melissa. He put a life jacket on her and told her to jump with the other members of the crew in the river.
Melissa was apparently afraid of the water. She refused to jump and was last seen still clinging to the ship as it sunk under her feet in about 40 feet of water. Her body later was recovered in the wreckage of the ship's cabin, which broke away from the wreck and floated to Marine City.
Also killed was wheelman James Barber of Port Sanilac, Mich. Details about his death were not recorded.
The Milwaukee dropped anchor and helped rescue survivors. They included Second Engineer Gib Edmondson, Fireman D. Moore and wheelsman Joseph Baird, all of Marysville, and cook Charles Nicholi of Port Huron.
The Mills was abandoned where it sank.
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Tag Archives: publisher
Roberta Martin and her Singers
Roberta Martin proved that singing was not the only role open to women in gospel music. Her work has inspired many of the gospel genre and always instilled joy and encouragement to her listeners. Let this song play as you read!
In 1933, Roberta Martin and Theodore Frye organised a male quartet with Martin as the accompanist and occasional soloist. By 1936, the group was renamed The Roberta Martin Singers. The group was one of the first featuring male and female singers and soon developed a certain style that was called ‘The Roberta Martin Sound.’ The gospel songs are composed songs but within a clearly discernable gospel performance tradition. Generally, that tradition is more reflective of folk music stylistic traits than distinct compositional techniques, but Roberta Martin’s style of arranging and performing was unique and recognizable. “‘The Roberta Martin sound’ that boasted musical accompaniment of rich harmonies and fluid runs and arpeggios along with falling melodic lines and innovative use of dissonance.” 1
Thoughts from Theodore C. Stone’s “Personality Spotlight” on Roberta Martin’s work. (Citation 2)
(Citation 2)
During the 1940’s and 1950’s music, The Roberta Martin Singers were among the best in the country and the group toured the United States and Europe. By 1947, the Roberta Martin Singers had begun their recording career and received multiple Gold Record Awards. 3
One thing that followed through the entire process was Roberta’s drive to give meaning and joy to the music. Consequently, the music the Roberta Martin created influenced many and became a staple for the Afro-American Gospel genre.
What is undoubtedly true is that Roberta and her Singers made a huge contribution to gospel music history. The Gospel sound that Roberta Martin began is everywhere. In the Anthony Heilbut book, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times, he gives Roberta the credit to the feel of the rock genre. 4
After her death on January 18, 1989, the huge turnout for her funeral was just a small sign of gospel’s hold on its followers. 6 On 15th July 1998 the United States Postal Service issued four 32 cent commemorative stamps honoring four of the queens of gospel music – Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Roberta Martin. 7 The Smithsonian was recognizing a woman who was majorly influential as a singer, pianist, composer, choral organizer, arranger, music publisher, and overall advocate for the Gospel tradition.
1 McNeil, William K., ed. Encyclopedia of American gospel music. Routledge, 2013. p. 242.
2 Stone, T. C. (1960, Jan 23). Personality spotlight. The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/492935100?accountid=351.
4 Heilbut, Anthony. The gospel sound: Good news and bad times. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1975. p, x.
5 Ibid, p, x.
8 Stone, T. C. (1960, Jan 23). Personality spotlight. The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/492935100?accountid=35.
Posted in Chloe Elzey | Tagged 1940's, Afro-American Gospel genre, choral music, Gospel Tradition, Joy, pianist, publisher, Roberta Martin, singer, The Gospel Sound, US Postal Service | 2 Replies
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MKI PhD Thesis Defense
''Effects Of Resonances And Spin-Curvature Coupling In Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals'' (presented By Uchopol Ruangsri)
Tuesday May 3, 2016 10:00 am
Marlar Lounge 37-252
Thesis Committee: Professors Scott Hughes (Chair), Nevin Weinberg, and Washington Taylor IV
Since Einstein proposed the theory of general relativity (GR) as a theory of gravity, it has passed all experimental checks and tests. Until recently, all of these tests have been done in the weak gravity limit. The first test of strong-field GR came just a few months ago, when the LIGO collaboration directly detected gravitational waves for the first time.
Using gravitational waves as a tool to test the validity of GR requires us to know the waveforms that GR predicts from various sources. The ultimate goal of the research described in this thesis is to compute the waveform generated by a stellar mass Kerr black hole as it inspirals into a much more massive black hole (SMBH). To compute this waveform, we must first compute the inspiral trajectory of the stellar mass black hole.
The trajectory of the smaller black hole differs from the geodesic structure taught in GR textbooks due to the influence of this body’s mass and spin. In this thesis, I examine these two effects separately. Later work will need to consider the two effects simultaneously, but the separate impact of these effects provides insight which helps us to understand how to model these sources.
The small body’s mass perturbs the spacetime and pushes its trajectory away from textbook geodesic motion. I show how to compute the dissipative part of this “self force,” whose average impact is equivalent to the loss of energy and angular momentum due to gravitational wave emission. I study in particular how the self force’s averaged behavior changes near orbital resonances, quantifying the impact that such resonances will have on the small body’s inspiral. The small body’s spin couples to spacetime curvature. This coupling leads to a force which also pushes the small body’s trajectory away from the geodesic. This force is comparable in magnitude to the self force associated with the small body’s mass, indicating that future work will need to assess the impact of these effects together in a self consistent way in order to make accurate inspiral waveforms.
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New African Woman Celebrates African Women of the Year 2015, as South African singer Lira dazzles on the cover
Lira on the cover of New African Woman’s December/January edition
LONDON, United Kingdom, 1 December 2015,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- While South African music sensation Lira graces the cover of New African Woman’s December/January edition, this issue is also brimming with several incredible women in the magazine’s first ever collation of African Women of the Year – a celebration of game-changing women who have helped to shape the continent in 2015 in different fields.
The list, which is by no means exhaustive and only scratches the surface as it highlights some of Africa’s women of influence, recognises women who are transcending all spheres. The broad list includes public office holders such as the African Union Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Uganda’s comedy genius Anne Kansiime, as well as rising Hollywood actress Nigeria’s Uzo Aduba, and the “iron lady” of African politics, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia who has been selected for winning her country’s battle against Ebola.
Following a recently published study by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), this issue of NAW also highlights the report’s findings, which query where the women in Africa’s boardrooms are.
By popular demand from our Nigerian readers, the magazine has a 16-page Special Focus, highlighting some of the women who are making groundbreaking moves in their chosen fields in Nigeria. The special report also takes a tour of various African fashion destinations in Lagos and explores what the commercial capital and the rest of the country has to offer to the intrepid traveller.
Amy Jadesimi, Managing Director of LADOL, Osayi Alile Oruene of WIMBIZ, and Chioma Ude of AFRIFF are just some of the influencers recognised in this issue, while red carpet regulars Toke Makinwa, Michelle Dede, Waje and Dakore Akande are celebrated for their style.
In a candid interview with editor reGina Jane Jere, the celebrated songstress and favourite South African cover girl, Lira, opens about her plans for 2016. These include the release of a new album; a no-holds-barred documentary entitled Dream Chaser which explores her ‘behind the scenes’ life; her new role as a judge on the South African version of the hit TV talent show The Voice; and she also gives us a glimpse into her lesser-known private life, where she speaks about her husband and her other passions.
“We are living in a world that we as Africans did not create, unfortunately. But this is modern life and education is our only bridge to getting back [to where we should be]. I invest heavily in education because I really feel that this is a long-term solution to a lot of our problems as Africans,” Lira reveals.
It is that joyous time of seasonal festivities and this issue is teeming with Christmas and New Year gifts, as well as expert advice on the do’s and don’ts of health and wellbeing in 2016.
Read the new issue here.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of New African Woman.
About New African Woman
The award-winning bi-monthly magazine New African Woman is the only women’s publication covering the entire African continent and its Diaspora. Founded in 2009 with reGina Jane Jere at the helm, NAW Provides in-depth coverage on a diverse range of issues that truly speak to and resonate with the modern African woman worldwide.
Facebook: New African Woman magazine
Twitter: @newafricanwoman
Instagram: @newafricanwomanmagazine
The post New African Woman Celebrates African Women of the Year 2015, as South African singer Lira dazzles on the cover appeared first on African Media Agency.
Source:: http://amediaagency.com/new-african-woman-celebrates-african-women-of-the-year-2015-as-south-african-singer-lira-dazzles-on-the-cover/
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Living with Lung and Colon Endometriosis: Catamenial Pneumothorax
Glynis D. Wallace D.M.D.Sep 2005
Author House
In 1958 100 women were written up in the literature with endometriosis on the lung causing it to fill up with fluid and collapse. Catamenial pneumothorax was considered extremely rare, but actually an under-recognized manifestation of catamenial ectopic endometriosis. 2016 record numbers of women have been diagnosed globally with menstrual lung collapse and other presentations referred to as Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome.
A plainspoken chronicle of living with a dreadful case of a difficult-to-diagnosis disease.
What started as a minor pain just below her ribs would soon begin to impact the authors breathing, and she was eventually diagnosed with pulmonary endometriosis. Endometriosis usually affects the mucous membrane of the uterus, but it can also be a traveler, with endometrial implants attaching themselves to the colon and the lungs. The tissue of the implants sheds, causing a monthly flow of blood that can lead to lung collapse. Desiring to call attention to the little-known disease, the author vibrantly recalls her 13-year struggle with the illness, the three major surgeries she underwent (in Army, Navy and Air Force hospitals) and the seven chest-tube procedures. She charts her progress and backslides, the expression of her symptoms and her close brushes with death. She also includes the surgeons narrative summaries of her operations. During her protracted battle with the disease, she faced countless debilitating procedures, including colonic resections and an abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Though it may be expected that a military officer address each piece of new bad news with dignity and resolve, readers will still be impressed by Wallaces fortitude, as well as the thoughtful, caring impulse that prompted her to write this book: to alert other women to this obscure, diagnostic nightmare of an illness.
A slim but sharp and valuable little book that will go a long way toward helping those who suffer from pulmonary endometriosis. Kirkus Discoveries August 31, 2006
First book published on Pulmonary Endometriosis/Catamenial Pneumothorax
Dr. Glynis D. Wallace, a graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, former Major in the USAF, and internationally known author. The centerpiece of all public relations efforts for Dr. Wallace is her amazing book "Living With Lung and Colon Endometriosis: Catamenial Pneumothorax", the first known published book on Catamenial Pneumothorax (menstrual lung collapse) now sold in many different countries. The book underscores her passion and provides the legitimacy of her credentials for writing the book. It is a tribute to her plight, and enormous ability to story tell with honesty her maze-like healthcare journey. With authority and fortitude, she initiated awareness and diagnosis to peak during her lung endometriosis advocacy. Dr. Wallace created the Wikipedia page for Catamenial Pneumothorax in 2006 which stimulated a move to action with undetermined numbers of women being diagnosed globally with Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome.
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Biography Jackie MacMullan
Jackie MacMullan
by John Max 28 Aug,2017
Curt Gowdy Media Award winner, Jackie MacMullan is an American freelance newspaper sportswriter and NBA columnist for the sports website ESPN.com. She is a former Division I basketball player for the Wildcats. MacMullan has published several books in collaboration with some basketball players.
In February 2019 MacMullan won the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing. Jackie MacMullan is married to her husband Michael Boyle and has two children with him.
Jackie MacMullan Net Worth & Salary In 2020
MacMullan is the highly demanded sportswriter and columnist for the media world. With her true dedication and devotion, she has earned a huge amount of wealth from her professional career. As of 2020, her net worth is approximately $0.3 million.
Currently working as a freelance newspaper sportswriter and NBA columnist for the sports website ESPN.com., her salary flows from $250k-450k annually, excluding bonuses, gratuity, and provident funds.
Jackie MacMullan Personal Life & Affair
MacMullan is a married woman. She tied a knot with her boyfriend Michael Boyle, who currently works as a Technological executive for New York Life. She has not mentioned the romantic parts of her personal life, how she met Boyle, their first date, and the marriage celebration, are still a mystery for her fans.
Jackie MacMullan is married SOURCE: MIT Sloan Sports Analytics
Together they have a son and a daughter named Douglas and Alyson respectively. She is proud of her daughter, who is a basketball player. She is not only accountable for her job but also a responsible mother and a loving wife.
Normally people in the media world were surrounded by several gossips and rumors regarding their affair and relationship. However, she maintained a clean image. In addition, there is no rumor about her previous affair.
On May 4, 2013, in an article for ESPN, MacMullan took a controversial stand against the members of Boston media when she advised that the Boston Celtics should pull out the team captain Paul Pierce.
She has huge followers on her Twitter and Instagram.
Jackie MacMullan Bio and Early Life
Jackie MacMullan was born as Jackie “Mac” MacMullan on October 7, 1960, in Manhasset, New York, United States. This versatile columnist holds an American nationality, and her ethnicity is white. Born in the early of October, her zodiac sign is Libra.
MacMullan started her career of basketball when she joined Westwood High School. Upon high school graduation, MacMullan attended the University of New Hampshire, where she played basketball for the Wildcats
Jackie MacMullan Professional Career
MacMullan started her writing career working with the Boston Globe in 1982. From 1995 to 2000, she made coverage of the NBA as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. She successfully worked as a correspondent for several cable television networks including CNSSI, ESPN, and NESN, as well as for WHDH-TV in Boston.
She appears as a regular panelist on the ESPN program Around the Horn. Moreover, she also co-hosted the episodes of the network’s Pardon the Interruption. In 1999, she collaborated with Larry Bird on his autobiography, and released a book named Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love.
Jackie MacMullan previews 2018-19 NBA season
Later in 2006, she released Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection with Geno Auriemma. In 2011 MacMullan teamed up with NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal to write his autobiography entitled Shaq Uncut: My Story.
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