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ivanishin
Jeffrey Williams, Aleksey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka transferred from Expedition 47. Expedition 48 began upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-19M in 7 July 2016 01:36 UTC and concluded upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-20M on September 6, 2016. The crew of Soyuz MS-01 are transferred to Expedition 49.
This version was produced by the artist Tim Gagnon and features more colors than the common version from A-B emblem.
iss-48
rubins
skripochka
ovchinin
Read more about Expedition 48 - Tim Gagnon re-release
This version was limited to VIPs only and has a mis-spelled Rubins as "Rubin"
Read more about Expedition 48 - TsENKI- 4" - "Rubin"
Expedition 49 - A-B Emblem - 4"
Anatoli Ivanishin, Kathleen Rubins and Takuya Onishi transferred from Expedition 48. Expedition 49 began upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-20M on September 6, 2016 and concluded upon the departure of Soyuz MS-01 in October 2016. The crew of Soyuz MS-02 then transferred to Expedition 50.
borisenko
Ryzhikov
Read more about Expedition 49 - A-B Emblem - 4"
Expedition 48 - A-B Emblem - 4" - Light names
This version was embroidered with lighter names than the official version.
Read more about Expedition 48 - A-B Emblem - 4" - Light names
ISS Expedition 29 - 4" - Cape Kennedy Medals
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on 4 April 2011, and were joined on 9 June 2011 by the three other crew members, who arrived aboard Soyuz TMA-02M. The expedition saw a number of significant events, including the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, which took place in July 2011. Expedition 28 was superseded by Expedition 29 on 16 September 2011.
The Cape Kennedy Medals version has a more "dashed" embroidery appearance to the ship and "29".
ISS Expeditions
tma-21
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shkaplerov
Read more about ISS Expedition 29 - 4" - Cape Kennedy Medals
ISS Expedition 30 - A-B Emblem
Expedition 30 was the 30th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition's first three crew members – Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin – arrived on the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-22 on 16 November 2011, during the last phase of Expedition 29. Expedition 30 formally began on 21 November 2011, with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft. The expedition ended on 27 April 2012, as Burbank, Shkaplerov and Ivanishin departed from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-22, marking the beginning of Expedition 31.
kononenko
bubank
Read more about ISS Expedition 30 - A-B Emblem
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on 4 April 2011, and were joined on 9 June 2011 by the three other crew members, who arrived aboard Soyuz TMA-02M. The expedition saw a number of significant events, including the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, which took place in July 2011. Expedition 28 was superseded by Expedition 29 on 16 September 2011
Apollo 17 - 3" - A-B Emblem souvenir
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From a tourist’s view point, one of the most interesting sights in Mersin is Silifke Caddesi, where the people from surrounding villages come to shop. The people themselves, with their healthy good looks, and gay, brightly colored costumes, are .a pleasure to see. Some shops ore filled with materials of the most dazzlingly brilliant colors; others contain gleaming copper utensils. On display are goat hair rugs, beautiful handmade village rugs called kilim, scarfs, butter churns, and ox yokes. The charm of the street is Its complete naturalness and authenticity. The highway from Mersin to Silifke is a trip through an open air museum In a setting of natural beauty.
Yumuktepe: On the outskirts of the city there is a well known mound where archeological excavation was carried out by Prof. Garstand, and an expedition from Liverpool University. The chief interest in this site are the number of building levels discovered. At the top of the mound were Islamic and Byzantine findings. Below in fascinating layers of civilizations were Hittite remains; building levels of Greek, Roman, Sumerian, and Chalcoiithic periods descen- ^ ding backward in time to the Neolithic Ape. Some of the flint implements found compare with those in the most ancient Mesopotamian settlements. Many of the artifacts can be seen in the Adana Museum,
Pompeiopolis :At the Turkish village of Viran Şehir there Is a turn off toward the sea that leads to the site of an ancient city. Historians place the date of the origin of the city at about 700 B.C. it is thought to have been built by people from Rhodes and was called Soli. In the 4th. Century B.C. Alexander the Great visited Soli and exacted a huge amount In tribute which proves that it was a very rich city.
During the time of Julius Caesar, Soli and the surrounding country had become a nest of pirates whose activities threatened to disrupt Roman sea trade along the Mediterranean shore. Caescr sent his most able genera!, Pompei, to quell the pirates, and bring Cilicia under the domination of Rome. Pompei defeated the pirates, destroyed the city; rebuilt It, and renamed it Pompeiopolis. An earthquake in the 6th. century A.D. destroyed the vast city which extended from ths sea back into the foothills of the mountains.
Silent sentinels of past grandeur are the columns which once lined the Sacred Way from the port to a temple no longer. In existence. The outlines of the port can easily be seen. All that remains of a city of 250,000 people are a few unidentified ruins, but the site has never been scientifically excavated and who knows what treasures await the archaeologist’s probing tools?
Kanytelleis: Theodosius II, Is supposed to have built this .city in the 5th century, but it is undoubtedly built upon the site of a much older settlement. It is particularly interesting because It is constructed around the lip of a natural geological sink. The early Greeks built around depressions and caves for superstitious reasons. The fortress built by the Romans would indicate that the depression offered a splendid natural defense area. Near the entrance over a stone portal can be seen the symbol of the Triskelis meaning that the city was ot some time affiliated with, or under the protection of Olba, a much older city. The ruined churches are from the Byzantines, and such buildings that remain are in a good state of preservation. The depression, is one fourth of a mile In circumference and two hundred feet deep. There are several bas-reliefs cut into the walls. One is that of draped figures on a dais-possibly a mother and father-and below, is another carving of four children. Somewhat lower on another wall is a figure in armor.
It is interesting to walk around the streets among the ruins and 294 conjecture on the city’s plan. Behind the city is an extensive burial grqund containing a temple-tomb in good condition, and over some of the rock tombs there ore carved figures of men in armor with iances and battle-axes; figures reclining on couches, and some ladies in gracefully draped robes. From the crest of the hill on which the city is built there is c magnificent view of the Mediterranean,
Korikos : Along both sides of the highway west of Ayns are the ruins of Korygos with its fine castle on the shore, and the legendary Maiden’s Castie in the sea. After the suppression of the pirates by Pornpei, Korygos became a Roman and later □ Byzantine city.. At one time threatened by the Arab Invasion, Korygos was heavily fortified. In 1200 it became a part of Little Armenia and the island castle wos renewed and rebuilt by several Armenian kings. During the 13th century,the port flourished with trade provided by the Crusaders, and the trading vessels of the Venetians and the Genoese.
There is evidence that the sea castle was buift on the site of a very early Rhodian fortification. It takes its name. Maiden’s Castle from a legend. A king was told by an oracle, that his daughter would die from the bite of a snake. He therefore, in an effort to thwart fate, had the girl imprisoned In the castle in the sea. Someone took a basket of figs to the princess; there was a viper concealed in the fruit, and so the prophesy was fulfilled.
The land castle shows strong Crusader influence. The Armenians strengthened the walls which were later damaged by the invasion of the Mamelukes from Egypt, The last restoration was made by Sultan Selahaddin, who fought the Crusaders in the 12th. century. It is very interesting to see building stones, markings and writings inside the fortress.
The chalk-white cliffs and formations of Pamukk...
Heraclea under Latmos
The site of ancient Heraclea, at the foot of th...
Topography of Istanbul
İstanbul, one of the world's most ancient citie...
Ruins of Asclepieum
The Sacred Way, which is one kilometer long, be...
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“Diplomatic Ukraine” (ISSN 2707-7683) is a periodical scientific publication, which systematically and qualitatively highlights topical issues in Ukraine’s foreign as well as international affairs.
The scientific yearbook was established in 2000 by the State Enterprise “Directorate-General for Rendering Services to Diplomatic Missions”, Institute of World History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and NGO “Planeta Historical Club”.
The purpose of the publication is to provide a communication platform for diplomats, representatives of international organizations, political analysts, scientists, and historians; develop a positive international image of Ukraine; ensure the continuity of diplomatic practice; establish a national diplomatic school.
The objectives are as follows: to cover the activities of Ukrainian and foreign diplomatic corps; analyse the current trends and topical issues of international relations and international law; assess achievements and problems of the Ukrainian diplomatic service; study the history of Ukrainian diplomacy; spread the word about prominent diplomats and unique cases in the diplomatic practice of Ukraine and foreign countries; contribute to the formation of the Ukrainian scientific diplomatic school and assist academia in the promotion and practical implementation of the scientific findings in the field of diplomacy and foreign policy.
Language: Ukrainian and English.
Publication frequency: annual.
Specialty: History and Archaeology (032).
Subject area: publication of scientific materials on the history of Ukrainian diplomacy; coverage of concepts and realities of modern diplomacy; remembrance of diplomatic history; analysis of the Ukrainian geopolitics; promulgation of diplomats’ professional views and up-to-date information about Ukrainian and foreign diplomatic corps; study of public diplomacy trends.
Sections: History of Diplomacy; Institutional History of Ukrainian Diplomacy through the Eyes of Those Involved; Diplomat’s Professional Opinion; Diplomatic Corps of Ukraine; Modern Diplomacy: Concepts and Realities; Geopolitics in the Modern World; Public Diplomacy; Figures and Events; Bibliography.
Starting from 2018, the articles in the yearbook are assigned a unique digital object identifier (DOI).
The publication is indexed in Google Scholar.
Electronic copies of “Diplomatic Ukraine” are available in the catalogue of periodicals of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.
Publication in the scientific yearbook is free of charge. Every scientific article is subject to a double-blind peer review.
The editorial board does not accept publications that contain discrimination in any form and / or incite religious, racial, ethnic hatred. Such materials will be returned to authors without review.
Reviewing is performed by members of the editorial board or scientists authorized thereto by the editorial board.
If an author does not agree with the reviewer’s comments and refuses to edit the article, the editorial board reserves the right to refuse the publication of submitted materials.
If a conflict of interest situation arises (a selected reviewer is not confident that his scientific qualification corresponds to the level of the research presented in the manuscript, or the topic of the article is closely related to the reviewer’s own research interests), the reviewer returns the manuscript and the editorial board selects a new reviewer.
The yearbook conforms to the principle of open access to scientific research results as outlined in the Budapest Open Access Initiative. All users have the right to freely read, copy, download, print, or link to the full texts of the articles published in the yearbook without the prior consent of the author or publisher.
If there is any evidence of plagiarism (references to sources used to write the article are insufficient or otherwise unavailable; there was a violation of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”), self-plagiarism (publication of one’s own previously published scientific results as new scientific results) or any other indication of a breach of academic integrity (fabrication, falsification, misrepresentation of results or research methodology, etc.), the editorial board will return the manuscript to the author without the possibility of resubmission.
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In response to health and safety concerns, RY X at the Fox Theater originally scheduled for October 8, 2020 is postponed.
We are actively working to reschedule this show to 2021, and will have more details to you soon. If you have purchased tickets for the original date, your tickets will be honored at the rescheduled date. Should you be unable to attend the new date, please return to place of purchase within 30 days of rescheduled date announcement. Please check back on our website, APEConcerts.com, for the latest information and status of the show.
As harsh weather froze Britain during the build-up to his concert in London earlier this year, RY X tweeted a message of robust reassurance to ticket-holders. “London… in case anyone is wondering… with the snow and the weather… everything is smooth and going ahead. We will all be warm and loved together in this space…”
The power of quietly intense, passionate music to pull audiences in to an intimate space is something this Australia-born, LA-based singer excels at. After the break-out success of his uncommonly minimalist beauty “Berlin” in 2013, Ry notched up a string of sold-out shows across Europe, US and Australia. From Shepards Bush Empire in London, to Tempodrom of Berlin, to Being the first to play unique and powerful venues such as Notre Dam and to thousands of fans on uninhabited islands in the mouth of caves in the fjords of Norway. In addition to these shows he has joined premier festivals around the world to connect with his growing fanbase outside of these beautifully curated shows.
Ry’s debut album was nurtured into shape over months of – Ry says – “hibernation” and “emotional sweat” in the mountains north of LA, Dawn (2016) was a sublime study in devotional songcraft from a singer who seemed both awed by and in command of its elemental emotions.
Ry honours and expands on his vision with his second album. Between its rippling beats, mellifluous guitars, poised piano and questing vocals, Unfurl does what its title suggests: develops as if organically from Ry’s previous work, blossoming in delicate new directions while holding firm to its roots. “I think my mission statement was simply to remain vulnerable and to capture that within this album,” says Ry. “The inspirations change each time, and I always want to allow that process to be free, to draw on new ideas and sounds and instrumentation. But what feels consistently important to me is keeping a sense of rawness and honesty in the work.”
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British company still exporting dangerous lead in petrol
A British company made millions this year selling a dangerous chemical linked to brain damage and premature death to a developing country, despite repeatedly stating it would stop.
Innospec claims to be the only company in the world that manufactures a fuel additive called tetraethyl lead (TEL) — which is the lead in leaded petrol.
TEL can be added to fuel to improve performance, but the chemical has been phased out across the developed world due to health concerns, with the UK banning it in 1999.
Only Iraq, Yemen and Algeria still use it, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Cheshire-based company confirmed to Energydesk that it continues to sell TEL to Algeria, despite pledging to stop exporting the chemical by the end of 2012, then the end of 2013, then 2014.
The firm states that Iraq and Yemen are both phasing out the use of the chemical.
The UK government has been under pressure to ban sales of TEL to the developing world for years and campaigners now fear that chemicals regulations could be weakened during Brexit negotiations.
Michael Warhurst, executive director of the Chem Trust, told Energydesk: “Chem Trust is very worried that the Government will end up further weakening the regulation of chemical companies in the UK after Brexit, as Ministers repeatedly say that the UK will be taken out of the EU’s environmental regulations, which are the most sophisticated in the world.”
Health effects include disease and death
Lead can be absorbed into the bones and blood and has long been linked to brain damage and premature death, as well as kidney damage and abdominal pain.
In 2002, the World Health Organisation said “the use of lead as a petrol additive has been a catastrophe for public health.” But recent studies have gone one step further, linking TEL to violent crime.
According to research in the United States and elsewhere, the chemical can harm parts of the brain linked to impulse control and cause violent behaviour.
But company accounts show that Innospec sold $30.9million worth of TEL in the first six months of 2017, making a profit of $16.2million. It made $34.7m for the same period the previous year, with a profit of $22.4m.
The company’s senior vice president Brian R. Watt told Energydesk it is “committed to phasing out the product, in line with the downstream users conversion to unleaded motor gasoline, and there is now only a single user of leaded motor gasoline left to convert.”
This isn’t the first time the firm, which has its headquarters in Ellesmere Port, has made news.
Back in 2014, three Innospec staff were jailed for bribing state officials in Indonesia and Iraq to use TEL. That same year, the company’s customer care manager, Stephen Buckridge, was named an “export champion” by the north west of England branch of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
“Although personally unconnected to any charges relating to Innospec, Stephen Buckridge stepped down as a North West Export Champion as soon as UKTI became aware of the case,” a Department for International Trade spokesperson said.
Government data not freely available
Today, a look through official trade data provided by HMRC shows that information about where TEL is exported to is “suppressed”, meaning that it is not publicly available.
According to HMRC policy states: “A suppression is the concealing of potentially disclosive information from the public. OTS data published by HMRC is potentially disclosive.
“Disclosive data is any data that can reveal the commercial activities of a business, or if published be against the national interest. It may therefore be necessary to withhold the publication of such statistics. This data would then be aggregated to a higher level of detail so that such inferences could not be made.”
Warhurst said this story raises questions about the way the chemicals industry was regulated in the UK.
“It is shocking that a British company is still exporting toxic tetraethyl lead, many years after it was banned in the UK for the damage it was doing to kids’ brains. It beggars belief that the UK Government still permits this, and is even giving them awards for export performance. This case raises serious questions on how the Government regulates chemical companies.”
Innospec’s ultimate parent company is Innospec Inc, which is based in the US.
By Joe Sandler Clarke. Source: Greenpeace
Narrow minded short term thinking. Nature does not work like that and we are part of Nature so we should give up that type of thinking, especially governments.
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Home Anderson County Pelzer Expanding police coverage topic of joint West Pelzer, Pelzer council meeting
Expanding police coverage topic of joint West Pelzer, Pelzer council meeting
An emerging spirit of cooperation between the towns of Pelzer and West Pelzer continued Monday night, as the West Pelzer town council approved a resolution authorizing a joint application for a hometown economic development grant.
The grant, which is administered by the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC), would require a local match of up to twelve hundred fifty dollars, to be split between the two towns. Mayor Blake Sanders explained that the twenty five thousand dollar grant would be used to hire an economic development consultant, to study the towns’ situation and recommend what types of businesses they should pursue.
“We would work together to locate businesses in the most suitable places. For example, when the Bi-Lo was still pending, West Pelzer simply didn’t have a site where a fifty thousand square foot store could be built, so they built where they did. If a business were to be interested in either of the two towns, we will work together to make the deal happen.”
Another example of the cooperative attitude may face a bit stiffer test Wednesday, when the two towns meet together in a special called meeting to discuss the possible terms of an agreement that would see the West Pelzer Police Department provide patrol and investigative services to Pelzer.
The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday evening, will be conducted in executive session, without public attendance, since it will involve negotiations on a contractual matter. Under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, no items can be added to the agenda of a special called meeting. Also under the SCFOIA, no votes can be taken during an executive session. The mayors, the councils and both town clerks will be on hand. It is likely that one or both town attorneys will also be available.
Some of the issues to be addressed in relation to the proposed three year contract are the costs of providing the services, the source of the revenues for paying those costs, and a division of the revenues generated by any fines collected.
(See related Pelzer story)
Mayor Sanders, in conversation with The Journal, stated that the annual cost of providing the police protection will be approximately $50,000 a year, a cost which will be borne entirely by the town of Pelzer..
The department currently has three full time officers, six part time officers, and two reserve officers undergoing training at the reserve academy.
An additional full time officer will be hired, while Officer Brewer, who is currently on the staff at WPPD, will be promoted to the role of investigator. Sanders said that the towns will establish a baseline amount of fines routinely collected by WPPD now, and then agree on a split of the additional revenues generated.
“The trick is deciding how we want to divide that money. For example, do we want to give it all to Pelzer the first year, and then use a sliding scale the last two years of the agreement? That might help them get a start on funding their own department. The town of West Pelzer, nor Chief Clardy, wants this arrangement to become permanent. We want to help Pelzer get their own department up and running.”
He added that he has concerns about what assurances there may be that Pelzer can fulfill the three year contract. “I don’t really want to get six months or a year into this arrangement and find out that Pelzer can’t afford it. So we’ll be looking at a number of issues. We won’t take any action on the contract at this time, but will consider it at our regular Council meeting in September.”
In other business at Monday’s meeting, Sanders announced that the police department had received a grant for eighteen thousand dollars to establish a body camera program for the department.
He also reported that the purchase of the old NAPA store at 30 Main Street is expected to close by the end of September. The building is slated for remodeling and conversion to a municipal center which will hold the town hall, the water department and the police department.
He also announced that the town’s Fall Festival will take place on October 29, and the Christmas Parade on December 3.
Prior to the special called meeting with Pelzer officials, another special called meeting will be held Wednesday at 4 p.m. For the purpose of employee evaluations. That meeting too will be conducted exclusively in executive session, without public attendance or participation.
expanding police coverage topic of joint council meeting
west pelzer police department
west pelzer town council
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Home » Encyclopedia » Index » Multi-fluid_model
Multi-fluid model
If spatial averaging is performed for each individual phase within a multiphase control volume, the multi-fluid model is obtained. Additional source terms are needed in these equations to account for the interaction between phases.
The volume average of the continuity equation for the kth phase is obtained by taking extrinsic phase averaging from the local instantaneous continuity equation:
where the two terms on the left-hand side can be obtained by using
from averaging approaches, i.e.,
Substituting the above expressions into eq. (1), the volume-averaged continuity equation becomes
The right-hand side of eq. (2) represents mass transfer per unit volume from all other phases to the kth phase due to phase change; it can be rewritten as
where represents mass transfer per unit volume from the jth to the kth phase due to phase change. The value of depends on the phase change process that takes place in the multiphase system, and the conservation of mass requires that .
The extrinsic phase-averaged density, , is related to the intrinsic phase-averaged density, , by
Furthermore, the intrinsic phase-averaged density is equal to the density ρk.
Substituting eqs. (3) and (4) into eq. (2), and considering eq. from Averaging approaches, the continuity equation for the kth phase becomes
The dispersive term in eq. (5), , is generally small compared with ; it is assumed that it can be neglected. The continuity equation for the kth phase becomes
The extrinsic phase-averaged momentum equation for the kth phase can be obtained by performing extrinsic phase-averaging on the momentum equation:
where the body force per unit mass is assumed to be the same for different species for sake of simplicity. After evaluating each term in eq. (7), the multi-fluid volume-averaged momentum equation becomes(Faghri and Zhang, 2006)
where is intrinsic phase-averaged velocity of the kth phase at the interface. The difference between two adjacent phases results solely from the density difference between the two phases. is an interactive force between the jth and the kth phase, and depends on the friction, pressure, and cohesion between different phases. Newton’s third law requires that the interactive forces satisfy
The interactive force can be determined by
where Kjk is the momentum exchange coefficient between phases j and k. Determining the momentum exchange coefficient is a very challenging task because interphase momentum exchange depends on the structure of the interfaces. If a secondary phase j is dispersed in the primary phase k, as is the case with the dispersed phase system summarized in Table 1.8, one can assume that the secondary phase is spherical in shape and an appropriate empirical correlation can be used to obtain the momentum exchange coefficient.
Since liquid-vapor flow is widely used in various applications, we will use liquid-vapor flow as an example to explain the determination of the momentum exchange coefficient. If liquid is the primary phase and vapor is the secondary phase, the vapor phase is dispersed in the liquid as vapor bubbles. If vapor is the primary phase and liquid is the secondary phase, the liquid phase is dispersed in the vapor as liquid droplets. Boysan (1990) suggested that the momentum exchange coefficient could be estimated by
where phase k is the primary phase, and phase j is the secondary phase, and dj is the diameter of vapor bubbles or liquid droplets of the secondary phase j. CD is the drag coefficient based on the relative Reynolds number, which obtained by the following empirical correlations:
The extrinsic phase-average of the energy equation is
which can be used to obtain the volume-averaged energy equation and the result is (Faghri and Zhang, 2006)
where is the intensity of heat exchange between phase j and k. It can be obtained by using Newton’s law of cooling:
where hc is the convective heat transfer coefficient, ΔAj is the area of the interface between phases j and k, and ΔVj is the volume of the secondary phase in the volume element. Like the momentum exchange coefficient, the interphase heat transfer also depends on the structure of the interfaces. If a secondary phase j is dispersed in the primary phase k – as in the dispersed phase summarized in Table 1.8– the following empirical correlation recommended is widely used:
where the Reynolds number, Re, is obtained by eq. (13), the Nusselt number is defined as
and all thermal properties of the primary phase are evaluated at Tk except μk,s, which is evaluated at Tj. Equation (17) is valid for and , which covers a wide variety of problems.
If the secondary phase is liquid and the primary phase is vapor (gas), eq. (17) can be simplified to
If the fluid undergoing phase change involves multiple components, it is also necessary to write the equation for conservation of the species mass in the kth phase. The extrinsic phase-average of conservation of species mass can be obtained by
where each term can be obtained by
Substituting the above expression into eq. (20), one obtains
where the third and fourth terms in the right-hand side of eq. (21) represent mass source (or sink) of the ith component in the kth phase due to phase change from other phases to the kth phase, as well as mass transfer at the interface due to diffusion, respectively, i.e.,
where represents the mass source (or sink) of the ith component in phase k due to phase change from phase j to phase k, as well as diffusive mass transfer at the interface between phases j and k.
Substituting eq. (22) into eq. (21) and considering eq. from Averaging approaches, the volume-averaged species equation becomes
where the three terms on the right-hand side represent the effects of mass diffusion, species source/sink due to chemical reaction, and phase change at the interfaces.
Boysan, F., 1990, A Two-Fluid Model for Fluent, Flow Simulation Consultants, Ltd., Sheffield, England.
Retrieved from "http://thermalfluidscentral.org/encyclopedia/index.php/Multi-fluid_model"
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[Journalism Essay Contest] Winners in environment category
Following are the winners of the 2019 Herald Journalism Essay Contest organized by Herald Edu in May. -- Ed.[Part 1]First Step to Clearer Air: A Common Scientific LanguageBy Shin Jae-imHankuk Academy of Foreign StudiesAs fine dust particle levels in South Korea reach over double the OECD average, many Koreans have pointed to China as a significant source of the lethal pollutant. China, for its part, has repeatedly di...
Published : May 31, 2019 - 15:00
Updated : May 31, 2019 - 15:00
Following are the winners of the 2019 Herald Journalism Essay Contest organized by Herald Edu in May. -- Ed.
First Step to Clearer Air: A Common Scientific Language
By Shin Jae-im
Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies
As fine dust particle levels in South Korea reach over double the OECD average, many Koreans have pointed to China as a significant source of the lethal pollutant. China, for its part, has repeatedly dismissed such charges as groundless. Throughout this endless back-and-forth, it has become clear that discussion of the scientific research regarding the matter is haphazard and piecemeal. If left unremedied, such arbitrariness will impede consensus-building, not only internationally, but also domestically.
The first issue is with the scientific discourse and figures produced by South Korea. According to the Korea Herald, “A joint study by the Environment Ministry here with NASA in 2016 showed that about 34 percent of fine dust in Korea comes from the neighboring country.” More recently, however, Seoul mayor Park Won Soon cited a figure closer to 50 to 60 percent. Even when the passage of time is accounted for, the difference between these figures is significant. Such instances of internal contradiction have not been lost on Chinese observers, who understandably find it difficult to take South Korea’s claims seriously. Without reconciling this hodgepodge of findings by an array of institutions, Koreans should not expect to make progress on the issue.
An equally important issue emerges when South Korean and Chinese research are juxtaposed. Scientific evidence supporting either side of the debate floats around in cyberspace, but there is no comprehensive platform that forces the two stances to reckon with each other. As a result, the two countries have often ended up talking at, rather than with, each other.
South Korea, for example, has largely focused on the percentage of domestic fine dust pollution originating in China, as the figures quoted above show. China, on the other hand, has responded with a comparison of its own rate of air quality improvement versus South Korea’s over the same period. An official from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently said, “Air quality in China has improved 40 percent, while that of South Korea remains the same or has worsened slightly (in the same period).” In this and other instances, each side assumes an angle that suits its own position without meeting the other’s argument head on with direct counter-evidence.
It’s time to put an end to this fragmented dialogue and establish a common scientific language about fine dust. The most feasible first step may be to establish an online database that aggregates all research results on both sides. Doing so will require each country not only to organize its own data, but also to consider the other’s data. Only on this common ground will the two countries be able to work together. For, where there is a shared problem, there must be a shared solution.
Fine Dust Particles: A Here-and-Now Matter
By Kim Ye-rin
It’s been two years since South Korea became one of the world’s most polluted countries, and it looks like the dubious distinction is here to stay. The concentration of fine particulate matter in the air has become a particular concern for South Koreans, who are well aware of its deleterious (read: carcinogenic) effects. Alas, the South Korean government’s efforts have focused disproportionately on reducing the air pollution itself, with insufficient concern for how people should cope.
For example, when it was found that coal-fired power plants contribute, not only to the long-term trend of climate change, but also to the more immediate problem of fine dust, the government recently shut down ten such outdated plants. This measure was welcomed by environmentalists and politicians alike, who expected a significant improvement in air quality. The optimism, however, was brutally shattered by a scientific study showing that closing down coal power plants would only shave 1~2% off of total fine dust levels. Indeed, given the complexity of ultrafine dust, it is unlikely that a silver bullet will appear to decrease it to desired levels overnight. This is why the government should start focusing more on helping people minimize the damage done to their health by the pollutant.
So far, the government’s few efforts to keep citizens informed about pollution levels and coping methods have been inadequate, at best. Most notably, there are the constant disaster-alert messages, sent to individuals’ cell-phones. “Measures to lessen fine dust will take effect in the Seoul area tomorrow. Citizens should take health precautions, like wearing masks, etc,” reads a standard message. In its original Korean-language version, the word choice appears needlessly esoteric, exact figures are absent, and the advice given to citizens goes no further than general measures anyone can come up with. All this vagueness is worsened by the fact that citizens are given no idea about what exactly those “measures to lessen fine dust” are. A further problem is that messages are sent much too frequently, diluting the sense of urgency about both fine dust pollution and government-issued disaster warnings.
Of course, there are private-sector services one can turn to -- most notably, websites and apps -- for information of a slightly better quality. But such information should be a public good made readily available to all citizens, not products in the marketplace that they have a choice to pursue or not. A good starting place would be to introduce a curriculum in public schools about fine dust pollution, composed of fundamental knowledge grounded in science. That way, even when people are confronted with partial information, they will be able to fill in gaping holes in their ability to steer clear of dirty air’s most detrimental effects.
Lost Home, Lost Hope
By Park Dong-han
Sangmoon High School
A crisis, where you wake up every morning, and gasp in horror to see your home one step closer to the ocean. A crisis, where you fear ‘tomorrow,’ as you are lost without directions on where to go. This surreal “climate crisis” is genuinely dreaded by more than 10% of the global population. Due to egoistic human exploitation of the Earth, it has resulted in catastrophic climate change, along with perilous rise of sea level. Since 1880, global sea level has already gone up 20 centimeters, which will be further elevated up to 7,000 centimeters if all icebergs melt. This scenario does not merely indicate changes in a new world map, but denotes the emergence of acute environmental refugee chaos, resulting in two dire problems: first, impending threat upon human life through loss of habitat and second, upon the environment through resource depletion.
First, the elevation of sea level has become the harbinger of “environmental refugee crisis,” threatening millions of lives. The Environment and Urbanization analyzed that 224 nations are currently placed less than 30 feet above sea level, where 634 million people inhabit, the 10% of the world’s population. The areas that are placed in low-lying areas are 2% of the entire Earth’s territory, including 66% of the world’s largest cities. These statistics all present a unified problem: an international political disaster. Submergence of land will create international climate exile, making formidable number of citizens flee and seek asylum in foreign nations. Yet, colossal number of citizens simultaneously coming in will be rejected by inland nations, due to citizens’ dissent and financial burden. This will make millions of people to become ‘ghost citizens’ without a national identity, which will deprive them of the fundamental “right to life” protection.
Second, environmental refugee crisis will entail another dilemma: “resource scarcity.” This is supported in the traditional Malthusian Theory of Population, which highlights how population growth inevitably entails shortages of all finite resources. If fleeing refugees cram into limited inland regions, the rate of resource consumption will outstrip humans’ ability to find and produce new resource, leading to complete chaos. Anthropologist, Thomas Homer-Dixon, argues that such chaos will unavoidably entail aggressive warfare. This is proven in various global case studies, most notably in Sudan. Having been the hotspot of civil unrest for more than half a century, Sudan is currently one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Increasing demographic pressure, yet lack of resources have all pushed the region into a spiral of lawlessness, which resulted in 300,000 deaths as well as displacement of two million people since 2003. As illustrated, resource scarcity problem will further facilitate clashes among countries in the next 20 years, involving extreme violence. Such conflicts will pose a bigger threat upon human lives and the environment, as a war will devastate everything.
Humankind is poised at the brink of climate cataclysm, which will drastically transform human habitat and lifestyle. Humans will be heading toward upper regions, supposedly mountains, which will have become islands by then. Once reached, however, they will be already compact with billions of population engaging in violent massacre to obtain food. Anarchy will arouse brutal instinct of humans, resulting in their most aggressive actions to survive. Is this the future that our children should live in? Something must be immediately done about this disaster, if we wish to change the next chapter of climate change. Our children deserve to live in a world, without worrying about their homes sinking every night.
By Lee Seung-hyung
Seoul High School
Much of the environmental issues today have stemmed from destruction of wildlife, say, ‘the natural state’ of nature: deforestation, unregulated hunting, pollution, etc. Toxic pollutants released due to human activities sabotaged the ecosystem by disrupting most plants and other organisms along the food chain. Deforestation from expansion of human territory not only took away the natural habitat from many wild animals, but also aggravated pollution by eradicating trees and plants that provide us with oxygen and clean atmosphere. Unregulated hunting may also bring extinction of several species. Proceeding from the facts listed above, a method to protect nature seems to be urgently needed before the total destruction of environment becomes a reality.
Wildlife conservation is an effort to protect wild plant, animal species, and their habitat, with the main goal of protecting the nature for the future generations to enjoy and recognize the unwavering value of wild nature. By conserving wildlife, it is possible to prevent any unforeseeable environmental hazards, ultimately restoring a healthy ecosystem ideal for human survival. To fuel the wildlife conservation, several government organizations are actively putting in effort to promote conservation of wild nature in different ways.
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in the United States is a representative case. The NWF’s focus is based upon what they call ‘Common Agenda for Wildlife’, which includes a commitment to: active restoration and reconnection of wildlife habitat, transforming wildlife conservation to confront emerging stressors like climate changes, and connecting Americans with wildlife to inspire the next generation. The most prominent campaign is called Adopt-A-Wildlife Acre program, in which conservationists work to restore wild, free-ranging bison population and many other species like gray wolves and grizzly bears. Such wildlife populations are likely to get hunted down as they often leave protected boundaries to occupy a new habitat or seek for food, creating conflict with the local livestock. The NWF addresses this issue by convening meetings with local ranchers and tribal members to negotiate an economic incentive for their agreement to cooperate.
More direct government involvement in wildlife conservation is observable at the national park services, prominently the Yellowstone National Park, which is also a focal area for the NWF’s campaign of Adopt-A-Wildlife Acre program. Significant results have been made within this national park, including a remarkable success on the restoration of the gray wolf population. The gray wolves were almost entirely eradicated by humans from the 48 states in the mid-1900s, due to their tendency to prey on domestic stock once their prey bases were removed. In 1991, the congress appropriated money for wolf recovery and as a result, the reintroduction of wolves was completed in Yellowstone and central Idaho in 1994. Within a year, their population recovered, and is now delisted from the endangered species in Montana and Idaho. This restoration of the gray wolves led to greater biodiversity throughout Yellowstone ecosystem through their preying on elks, whose carcasses provided food for various scavengers.
Never in the course of history have we experienced the state-of-the-art conveniences that we luxuriate ourselves in, but we have long forgotten something. Our entire civilization is built upon nature and we need to remember the beauty of being part of the spontaneous interplay of the natural world. There is progress to be seen, but more work awaits us.
Direction of growth—where shall we go?
By Hong You-bin
George Eliot once said, “The direction of growth lies in the human choice.” Her words cannot be agreed more. Depending upon every choice, the color of the path we choose to take becomes different. For centuries, humans’ choice to prioritize economy over environment did guide us to drastic growth—the one that has colored our society “red.” Today, humans cough out blood with suffocating respiratory illnesses created by environmental contamination. Despite terrifying consequences, humans are still caught up in a delusion that capitalistic wealth is the ultimate objective in life. But really? Without sustaining the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves. This is exactly why “green” is the color we must aim for. In this essay, distinguished policies of “green growth” will be suggested, which can be pursued through both individual and governmental level.
First, green economy must be pursued on an individual level, through the participation in “Green Crowd Funding Projects,” which raise money from common people. For instance, “Root Energy” is a green crowd funding project in Korea, which constructs solar power plants with citizens’ investments. The company then produces solar energy which is directly sold to the local community. Through such trade of clean energy, investors reap high revenue, which incentivizes individuals to become steady contributors in pursuing green growth. Like this, everyone must not blindly wait and depend upon the government to take action. Rather, we must proactively partake in launching or supporting green crowd funding projects, which can snowball into a huge awareness campaign that can make others to also be involved. Spreading the norm that “everyone” can create a green society—this is the pivotal key that can alleviate the environmental disaster.
Second, efforts on governmental level must be done through the creation of “Northeast Asia Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS),” involving Korea, China and Japan. ETS is an environmental system that allocates “credits” to every nation, prohibiting them from freely emitting, once designated credits are already used. As leftover credits can be sold, this positively motivates nations to invest in green technologies to decrease emissions. Such system has already been launched in Korea domestically since 2015. Yet, Korea’s struggle to handle pollution alone is a vain attempt, as China, the world’s biggest polluter, is next door. According to a research, China’s fine dust directly affects 69% of Korea’s air quality, signifying the importance of global collaboration. With all Asian nations participating in forming a regional bloc that aims for a common environmental goal, it will undeniably pursue not only regional peace, but also “life security” of all citizens in Asia.
The Earth has been abused enough as if humans had another one to go to. But we don’t. The world is already compact with global population of 7.6 billion, which will reach 10 billion by 2055. Formidable increase in population will merely result in deepened exploitation. Without green projects to recover the Earth, trillions will starve, flee and die. We must remember that the fate of the Earth is the most important issue facing mankind. Everything that humans have achieved will become valueless, if the Earth no longer exists. Pursuit of green economy is the only solution that is left. As what Henry David Thoreau said, “The proper use of intelligence is not to conquer nature, but to live in it.”
Revealing the Faults
By Cho Yu-jin
Korea International School, Jeju Campus
Trees fall, rivers blacken, and the sky chokes on ash. It has become an undisputed fact that global warming and the surrounding environmental problems threaten food security, livelihoods, and the health of millions of people. Climate changes have led to rising temperatures and sea levels, melting the icecaps and staining the white artic red with the blood of polar bears. The escalating numbers of carbon emissions skyrocket to the glaring sun and stab our backs, yet people walk around unfazed.
We have been bombarded by news reports and information that global warming is indeed an immediate issue. It has become a powerful message as a “wake-up call” for nations, companies, and especially for individuals to make daily actions and environmentally sustainable changes to empower the future for the next generations and save the planet. We have been practically brainwashed to throw away trash in the right place, turn off lights when necessary, and use our feet instead of cars, but those pamphlets and education seem to lead us to a dead end. We recycle, reuse, reduce, but what’s the point of us doing so if companies dump poison into the rivers by the ton?
And yes, the problematic increasing carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industries have catalyzed the global community to collaborate to introduce an “efficient, meaningful plan” to reduce carbon emissions rates. A notable example is the Paris Accord, an agreement built upon the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to bring all nations together to combat climate change and increase their abilities to deal with the impacts as well. Nations set a clear goal of reducing the global temperature by 2 degrees, but what purpose do those fancy conferences and laws actually serve?
Despite such global response with ambitions of combating the threat of global warming, criticisms have arisen. James Hansen, a former NASA scientist, notes that “there is no action, just promises” in the Paris Accord. The text is full of verbs such as recognize, encourage, and may, which give limited power to the international body to legally bind countries and discourage them from producing carbon emissions. The flexible language explains Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord: the commitments mentioned in the accord are not mandatory. In short, the policy lacks binding enforcements to control CO2 emissions in nations, defeating the purpose of "[bringing] all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change”.
From the eye of a callow high school girl, those fancy laws and policies seem to be in a straightforward manner, political posturing. A group of powerful delegates sipping tea, creating those “promising” policies for the sake of perfunctory gestures, their reputations, and for the news flashes. Certainly, the Paris Accord has set the path for nations to altogether mitigate the carbon emission rates, yet we still see smoke rising out of factories, companies dumping trash on the barren lands, and trees being cut to make new products.
The current impotence of international laws reflects the uncertainty and ineffectiveness present in regulating countries, and ultimately tackling the problem of global warming. In short, countries need to take practical, proactive stances on their own to step closer to achieve success in covering up those ozone layers.
Disappearing Snow on Mt. Hood
By Shin Hyo-im
I am a ski racer. Since 3 years old, skiing has been a big part of my life. To enjoy my favorite activity, I travelled all around the world, including Mt. Hood in the US and Hintertux in Austria. But questions to my skiing career became dubious in 2015. My visit to Mt. Hood was quite different from past years. The peak beautifully decorated with white snow was unseen—rather, muddy grounds with rocks were clearly visible, making it utterly impossible for skiing. This was when I started to ask questions to myself: what is happening to winter? Is “heat” really something that we should worry about?
If we closely take a look at the Earth, global warming is not merely warning the humanity on melting mountains. In fact, increasing Earth temperatures have resulted in frequent “heat waves,” which are prolonged periods of abnormally hot weather. Such weather transformations directly pose a dire threat upon human health. A human body’s internal temperature is normally between 36° to 37° Celsius. However, if internal temperature becomes close to 40° Celsius, which can be resulted by heat, all-important cellular machinery starts to break down, even injuring brain, heart, kidneys, muscles and other organ functions. This means that “heat” is not a trivial factor that causes simple dizziness and fainting. It is responsible for threatening lives, especially those of elders, babies, patients, outdoor workers and those living without air conditions. This severe situation is proven in dozens of devastating “heat waves” that had struck the world. The combination of high humidity and high night-time temperature was responsible for 70,000 deaths in Europe (2003) and 55,000 deaths in Russia (2010). In India, casualties from heat waves have increased 2.5 times between 1960 and 2009, despite the fact that India has only seen 0.5° Celsius rising in the past 50 years. Besides these examples, there are numerous more cities that annually suffer from “heat waves” that are occurring more often than ever.
Moreover, extreme heat is quickening the spreading of various deadly diseases as warm climate facilitates the activities of viruses. Among infectious diseases, there are two kinds that are the most worrisome. First, vector-borne diseases, caused by pathogens usually transmitted by mosquitoes, are currently on the rise as warm weather increases pathogens’ survival rate and accelerates its production through reduction of incubation period. Consequently, mosquitoes thrive by increasing various diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis, which all contribute to fatal deaths. For instance, malaria alone threatened 216 million people in 2016, killing 445,000, mostly children in Africa. Second, extended heat also raises possibility of water and food-borne diseases through increasing microorganisms, fungi and bacteria. Heat will activate their activities, which will increase the prevalence of salmonella and cholera. Such infectious diseases are already on the rise in especially poor nations where they do not have solid social infrastructure that promotes education on sanitation. Thus, mere rise in heat will further devastate poor and uneducated people’s lives through various illnesses resulted from water and food that they eat every day.
The only one home that we live is definitely becoming hotter, even at this moment. Without actions done, this “heat” will not only destroy specific winter-related industries, but rather cause much further devastation—a direct threat upon the existence of the humanity. With every global citizen taking a part in rescuing the Earth, we all must stop this “heat” from rising, through every measure that we can possibly take.
A New Attitude Toward Plastic Waste
By Chung Seok-woo
Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus
The discovery of plastic in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt and its versatility, resilience, and cost-effectiveness have led to its wide industrial and commercial applications, but these same attractive features have also led to its indiscriminate use in the last century, causing what could soon be irreparable damage to nature as well as to human health and life.
The core problem with plastic is ironically related to one of its strengths: resilience. Plastic takes up to a thousand years to decompose naturally, so plastic waste is typically buried or incinerated, resulting in the ground seepage or air dispersion of harmful chemicals that threaten fragile ecosystems as well as human health and well-being. Perhaps worse, vast mountains of untreated plastic waste are discarded directly into the environment through littering and illegal waste disposal, and one devastating manifestation of this irresponsible action is what is now called “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” the single largest accumulation of ocean plastic waste located in the north central Pacific Ocean, covering more than a million square kilometers and undoubtedly causing horrific and often irreversible damage to marine life. One kind of plastic waste that is especially worrisome takes the familiar form of plastic bottles. Plastic water and soda bottles are a ubiquitous part of everyday life, and this has in turn become a ubiquitous catastrophe across the globe. According to Business Research Company, more than $250 billion a year is spent on bottled water worldwide, and this is growing at 9% per year. At about $1 per bottle, this amounts to 250 billion plastic bottles (1.5 million tons of plastic) per year. Sadly, the Voyage of the Odyssey reports that only about 25% of these bottles get recycled. Korea is not an exception. According to Taurus Investment and Securities, Korea generates 700 million plastic bottles a year, and the country currently faces growing amounts of unprocessed plastic waste.
The problem of plastic waste mandates viable and sustainable solutions, and thankfully there have been some efforts offering real hope in recent years. For example, researchers are working on bioplastics composed of natural materials such as corn starch. Looking virtually indistinguishable from synthetic plastics, bioplastics can break down much more quickly and easily (sometimes within weeks). However, the responsibility for solving the problem of plastic waste should not rest solely on technology; it rests ultimately on users of plastic. In this light, some companies are trying to change how we consume water. Tap Projects offers an app that allows people with tumblers to find free water-refilling stations nearby so that they don’t have to buy bottled water. Starbucks offers discounts to customers who buy coffee using their own mugs or tumblers.
Noteworthy in many such promising solutions is the required involvement of multiple parties and a fundamental change in their attitudes toward plastic waste. Technological innovation for more environment-friendly plastic should be fostered through more favorable regulation and funding by the government instead of being relegated solely to capitalistic motivation. Tap requires convincing retail establishments and public facilities to provide additional service for free for the good of the environment and people to carry the extra weight of tumblers. Café discounts necessitate cafes to do something counter to their interests (e.g., no more Starbucks logo on disposable cups that acts as free advertising) and customers to accept the inconvenience of washing their own containers. All this suggests that much more must be done to combat plastic waste and more importantly that optimal solutions require everyone, not just some, to become a vested stakeholder in the desired process, solution, and outcome. This may indeed be the only way for solutions to be truly viable and sustainable.
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[Clara Ferreira Marques] Poverty hasn’t gone away in China
China has all but met President Xi Jinping’s pledge to eradicate extreme poverty by 2020. More than 800 counties considered severely impoverished just under a decade ago have now cleared a government-defined line of 4,000 yuan, or roughly $600, in annual per capita income. The last nine, in the province of Guizhou in China’s southwest, were removed from the list this past week. The sheer scale of China&r...
China has all but met President Xi Jinping’s pledge to eradicate extreme poverty by 2020. More than 800 counties considered severely impoverished just under a decade ago have now cleared a government-defined line of 4,000 yuan, or roughly $600, in annual per capita income. The last nine, in the province of Guizhou in China’s southwest, were removed from the list this past week.
The sheer scale of China’s overall achievements when it comes to poverty alleviation is remarkable. More than 850 million people have been lifted out of extreme penury in under four decades. Almost 90 percent of the population was below the international poverty threshold in 1981, according to the World Bank; by 2019, that was under 1 percent. It’s true the world as a whole has seen a dramatic improvement in poverty rates, but more than three-quarters of that is due to China. And the amelioration to individuals’ lives under the latest campaign -- which involved tracking down remote villages and the very poorest families, one by one -- is real and visible.
The milestone, a year before the Communist Party’s 100-year anniversary, is a huge propaganda win. It delivers a timely boost for Xi, who made this a very personal campaign, and likely will eventually officially mark the achievement with fanfare. It’s a morally laudable, and very public, demonstration of what government machinery can achieve with its unique ability to mobilize resources.
It isn’t, though, the categorical success that Beijing officials, and Xi himself, will portray when it is officially celebrated. It’s as much about semantics as it is about reality on the ground. Extreme poverty is officially gone and millions of villagers have been moved off mountaintops, but many more continue to live with significant privation. The uneducated and elderly will struggle to move up further, and there’s plenty of penury in urban areas and among migrants, often excluded from official discourse that has focused on rural poverty. Inequality is rising too.
As Matthew Chitwood, a researcher who has just returned from two years in rural Yunnan, told me, most of those once living in hardscrabble hill settlements see themselves as better off now, with new homes and tarmac roads. But that doesn’t mean they have stopped being poor, or that their status -- and that of millions of others -- will continue to improve.
The government is quite aware of this. Premier Li Keqiang stirred up a storm earlier this year when he pointed out that 600 million people -- more than two-fifths of the total -- still had an income per person of barely 1,000 yuan, or about $150, a month. Hardly enough, he said, to rent a room in a medium-sized city. That’s possibly a pessimistic reading of the statistics. But Li highlighted a very real problem. China still has a vast, low-earning population, a problem far trickier to fix. For one, many are insufficiently educated: Scott Rozelle of Stanford University has pointed out that in fact China has one of the least-educated labor forces in the middle-income world, with only 3 in 10 having ever attended high school, according to the 2015 national census.
Many of those in the bottom cohort are also rural workers who have migrated to towns but, thanks to the hukou system of household registration, have little access to local benefits -- another prickly problem.
One of China’s great advantages is that the bottom half of its population has benefited from its economic growth over the last decades. A study by economist Thomas Piketty and others last year found that average incomes for that cohort multiplied by more than five times in real terms between 1978 and 2015, compared to a 1 percent drop for the same group in the United States. But that may not continue.
Worse, there’s the fact that lifting people out of poverty with lump sums and zero-interest loans doesn’t necessarily stick. It isn’t impossible to slide backward and find that gains reverse, as many discovered during the COVID-19 outbreak. China has done better in the pandemic than many others, but laborers still suffer when external demand collapses. Welfare provision is sparse.
Encouragingly, Beijing is not deaf to the question of what happens next, as Li’s comments suggested. To go further, it could do worse than to reconsider how poverty is measured and targeted. That doesn’t mean a fruitless debate over whether China’s absolute poverty line is marginally higher or lower than the international standard once all factors are considered. The fact is that having cleared a modest county-level hurdle and dealt with the destitute, to adequately deal with the wider problem of a huge low-income class in a still-expanding economy, it would be better served with a more dynamic definition that also considers poverty as relative, and even subjective. Not least because how China’s citizens feel will determine how they see their leaders.
Hong Kong, not usually an example in dealing with questions of income distribution, uses relative poverty, setting the line at 50 percent of the median household income, before government intervention, adjusted for household size. The European Union uses an at-risk-of-poverty threshold of 60 percent of the national median disposable income, after social transfers. China’s “two no worries and three guarantees” that cover food, clothing, housing, health care and education show that it too can think more broadly. No province is rich if children are underfed and ill-educated. It could do worse than to now take a wider view of measurement and targets, perhaps even considering social mobility. That should result in more holistic approaches to combatting the problem too.
The party that completes its century next year has thrived as incomes have risen. It needs to keep everyone moving on up.
By Clara Ferreira Marques
Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. -- Ed.
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Kent and Renee Miller
Kent was working as deputy fire marshal and Renee as a registered nurse, when a multitude of strange coincidences began. Edie, a friend, announced one day that Kent had an ability, through meditation, to reach a high-level “Source” and would be receiving both ancient and new information. Speechless and confused, Kent replied, “I don’t know how to meditate.” A month later, our curiosity overcame us and we attempted to teach Kent how to meditate.
It wasn’t long before he was hearing dictation and seeing visions while in a deep meditation, dictating to Edie and Renee the changes coming for the earth and humanity and divinely taught lessons about our purpose and the purpose of creation. Several years later, Kent and Renee would be asked to compile these lessons into a series of books and to begin teaching.
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Tomgram: Engelhardt, Donald J. Trump, or Osama bin Laden’s Revenge
“The Bleeding Wound”
Osama bin Laden Won (Twice)
It’s July 2020 and I’m about to turn 76, which, as far as I’m concerned, officially makes me an old man. So put up with my aging, wandering brain here, since (I swear) I wasn’t going to start this piece with Donald J. Trump, no matter his latest wild claims or bizarre statements, increasingly white nationalist and pro-Confederate positions (right down to the saving of the rebel stars and bars), not to speak of the Covid-19 slaughter of Americans he’s helped facilitate. But then I read about his demand for a “National Garden of American Heroes,” described as “a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live” and, honestly, though this piece is officially about something else, I just can’t help myself. I had to start there.
Yes, everyone undoubtedly understands why General George Patton (a Trump obsession) is to be in that garden, not to speak — given the president’s reelection politics — of evangelist Billy Graham, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and former president Ronald Reagan. Still, my guess is that most of you won’t have the faintest idea why Davy Crockett is included. I’m talking about the frontiersman and Indian killer who died at the Alamo. Given my age, though, I get Donald Trump on this one and it gave me a rare laugh in a distinctly grim moment. That’s why I can’t resist explaining it, even though I guarantee you that the real subject of this piece is Osama bin Laden’s revenge.
After all, The Donald and I grew up in the 1950s in different parts of the same bustling city, New York. We both had TVs, just then flooding into homes nationwide, and I guarantee you that we both were riveted by the same hit show, TV’s first mini-series, Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, starring the actor Fess Parker. Its pop theme song swept the country. (“Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greenest state in the land of the free… Kilt him a b’ar when he was only three… Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier.”) The show also launched a kids’ craze for coonskin caps. (Who among us didn’t have, or at least yearn, for one?) So how could a statue of Fess Parker not be in the Garden of American Heroes?
And since Donald Trump is himself the essence of a bad novel (though he’s also become our reality), I just wonder: What about the Lone Ranger and Tonto, especially since there are no plans for Native Americans in his garden-to-be? They were a crew obviously put on Earth to be wiped out by white colonists, cowboys, and the cavalry in the kinds of Westerns both of us trooped to local movie theaters to see back then.
Or how about Hopalong Cassidy (Hoppy!), that other TV cowboy hero of our childhood? Doesn’t he deserve to ride in that garden next to another Trump military fixation, General Douglas MacArthur? After all, I know that Hoppy was real and this is how: When I was seven or eight, my father had a friend who worked for Pathé News and I rode in front of the tripod of his camera on the roof of that company’s station wagon in a Macy’s Day Parade in my hometown. (I still have the photos.) Somewhere along the route, Hoppy himself — I kid you not! — rode by on his white horse Topper and, since I was atop that station wagon and we were at about the same height, he shook my hand!
And here’s what makes Cassidy especially appropriate for The Donald’s garden landscape: in the 1950s, he was the only cowboy hero who dressed all in black right up to his hat (normally, a sign of the bad guy) and, in the process, created a kid’s craze for black shirts (his version of a coonskin cap), breaking its past association with either Italian fascism or mourning and bringing it back into the culture big time. Tell me honestly, then, don’t you think a garden of “heroes” in the age of Trump should have a few black shirts and an increasingly Mussolini-ish look to it?
An American Garden of Blood
So Donald Trump and I both lived through the same TV world in our childhoods and youth. We also lived through 9/11, still in the same city, although unlike him, I wasn’t practically a “first responder” at the site of those two downed towers, nor did I see all the Muslims celebrating across the river in Jersey City (as he claimed he did). Still, of one thing I’m convinced: Donald Trump is Osama bin Laden’s revenge.
Of course, that was all so long ago. The new century had barely begun. I was only 57 and The Donald 55 when those two hijacked planes suddenly slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in our hometown, a third one plunged into the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth (probably heading for the White House or the Capitol) crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers fought back. Ever since, all you have to do is write “9/11” and everyone knows (or thinks they know) what it stands for. But on 9/11, there was, of course, no 9/11.
It was a breathtakingly unexpected event (although, to be fair, the CIA had previously briefed President George W. Bush on Osama bin Laden’s desire to hijack commercial planes for possible terror operations… oh, and there was that FBI agent in Phoenix who urged headquarters “to investigate Middle Eastern men enrolled in American flight schools”). Still, the downing of those towers and part of the headquarters of the singularly victorious military of the ultimate superpower of the Cold War, the one already being called “indispensable” and “exceptional” in 2001, was beyond shocking.
Admittedly, there’s history to be remembered here. After all, it wasn’t actually that military or that Pentagon that downed the Soviet Union. In fact, when the American military fought the Soviets in major proxy wars on a planet where nuclear catastrophe was always just around the corner, it found itself remarkably stalemated in Korea and dismally on the losing side in Vietnam.
No, if you want to give credit where it’s due, offer it to the CIA and Washington’s Saudi allies, who invested staggering effort from 1979 to 1989 in funding, supporting, and training the Taliban’s predecessors, groups of Afghan Islamic extremists, to take down the Red Army in their country. Supporting them as well (though, as far as is known, probably not actually funded by the U.S.) was a rich young Saudi militant named, believe it or not, Osama bin Laden who, before that war even ended, had founded a group called “the Base” or al-Qaeda, and would, in 1996, declare “war” on the United States. Oh yes, and though it’s seldom mentioned now, when charges are flying fast and furious about the possible recent Russian funding of Taliban militants to kill at most a few Americans in Afghanistan, in those years the U.S. poured billions of dollars into… well, not to put it too subtly, empowering Islamic extremists to kill the soldiers of that other superpower by the thousands in… yes, Afghanistan. How’s that for shocking?
In 1989, the defeated Red Army finally limped home from what the Soviet Union’s leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, had taken to calling “the bleeding wound.” Only two years later, his country imploded and the U.S. was left alone, officially victorious, on Planet Earth (despite future fantasies of a horrific “axis of evil” to be faced), the first country in endless centuries of imperial rivalry to find itself so.
And what exactly did that triumphantly indispensable, exceptional superpower do but, a decade later, get dive-bombed by 19 — just 19! — largely Saudi hijackers in the service of tiny al-Qaeda and that wizard of terror Osama bin Laden, whose urge was then to provoke Washington into a genuine war in the Muslim world and so create yet more Islamic extremists. And did he succeed? You bet — and in a fashion even he undoubtedly hadn’t conceived of in his wildest dreams. Think of 9/11, in fact, as the greatest example of “shock and awe” in this century.
Here’s a feeling I still remember from the weeks after the 9/11 attacks when I saw where the administration of President George W. Bush was heading toward the invasion of Afghanistan and then, god save us, Iraq; when I watched our mainstream media narrow its focus to this country as the most victimized yet dominating and exceptional place on Earth and Osama bin Laden as the ultimate evil on this planet; when I watched the never-ending memorial ceremonies begin and what soon came to be called “the war on terror” be launched with up to 60 (count ‘em: 60!) countries in its gun sights, even if I didn’t yet know that, on 9/11 in the damaged Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had turned to an aide and said, “Go Massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not,” with a future invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq clearly in mind, though the Iraqi autocrat had no relation whatsoever to al-Qaeda (something you wouldn’t have known from the top officials in that administration in those years) — when, in short (though I didn’t yet think of it that way), I watched my own country become a “bleeding wound” that has never stopped flowing and, in Donald Trump’s Covid-19 moment, has turned into an American Garden of Blood.
Back in late September 2001, despite having been deeply involved decades earlier in the nightmare of the Vietnam War (and opposition to it), I could already sense war coming and it occurred to me that this was going to be the worst period I had ever experienced. Now that we’re in Donald Trump’s America, with hundreds of Americans dying daily of a disease that a reasonably responsible president and administration could have brought under control, the 3,000 deaths of 9/11 are beginning to look like a drop in the casualty bucket. (By the beginning of April 2020, Covid-19 deaths in New York City alone had already surpassed those of 9/11 by 1,000.)
And I wasn’t wrong in that hunch about this being the worst period, was I? Mind you, it was just a gut feeling then, no more — even though it would soon enough lead, almost inexorably, to the creation of my website, TomDispatch, and its focus on what turned out to be America’s never-ending wars of this century.
A Passport to Nowhere
Let’s get one thing straight, though. If, at that moment, you had told me that this country was going to launch a series of forever wars across what would turn out to be a significant part of the planet and fight them hopelessly for almost two decades or that, the more success proved absent in those same years, the more one administration after another would pour taxpayer dollars into the U.S. military, the 17 “intelligence” agencies, and the rest of the national security state; that what’s still known, with no accuracy whatsoever, as the “defense budget” would years ago have become larger than those of the next seven best-funded military powers on the planet combined and, by 2020, the next 10, and would still be rising; that domestic investment, from infrastructure to pandemic preparedness, would be starved for money in those same years, and that just about no one would protest any of this in the halls of Congress or the streets of America, I would have thought you a madman — or rather, the world’s best writer of dystopian fiction.
If you had told me that, in those very years, of the two great powers of this century, China and the United States — one rising, the other ever more clearly falling — the latter would lose approximately 7,000 military personnel (and at least another 8,000 military contractors) and many more wounded, not to speak of those who came home with PTSD or, under the pressure of repeated deployments to the sorriest of conflicts, committed suicide, while the former, as the New York Times reported recently in the wake of a bloody (but not weaponized) clash on China’s disputed Himalayan border with India, would have lost next to none, I wouldn’t have believed you. (“In four decades,” as the Times wrote, “the People’s Liberation Army had lost just three soldiers to fighting abroad — troops who were killed in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Mali and South Sudan in 2016.”)
If you had told me that, facing a devastating virus, the leader of one would largely suppress it — admittedly using the most authoritarian of methods — while, in his search for reelection, the leader of the other, officially still the greatest power on the planet, would ignore it, open the economy, churches, schools, and institutions of every sort and watch it run wild without a plan in sight; if you had told me that fewer than 5,000 people would die in the first of those countries and more than 134,000 (and still counting) in the other, leaving the American dead of 9/11 and the bloody wars of this century in the shade, and that it was all only getting worse, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not for a second.
And if, above all, you had told me that, deep into those years of bleeding abroad and increasingly at home, a near majority of Americans would vote to (as I wrote during election campaign 2016) send a suicide bomber into the White House, I would have told you that, though Osama bin Laden had been killed by SEAL Team Six in Pakistan and buried in the briny deep in 2011, Donald Trump was his living revenge, and that bin Laden had won twice — once thanks to those ludicrous, murderous forever wars across much of the Muslim world and the second time thanks to the pandemic from hell and the president from the same place.
Imagine if, in 1991 when the Soviet Union imploded, I had told you that, in 2020, not quite three decades distant, an American passport would be, more or less literally, a document for a trip to nowhere. Talk about a bleeding, or even hemorrhaging, wound! In the years to come, I think it will be ever more obvious that Donald Trump was, in fact, proof of Osama bin Laden’s success, of the fact that 9/11 and those 19 hijackers were all that was needed to produce the world of his dreams and the wounds that went with it.
And if, by the way, you wondered why I wrote this piece with the longest sentences I could possibly create, the answer is simple enough: two decades into the twenty-first century, I think it should be obvious that Americans have been given an exceptionally, perhaps even indispensably long sentence without parole on a planet already heating to the boiling point, 94,000,000 miles from the sun.
No, this truly won’t be “the American century,” but I doubt it will be the Chinese one either. By the time this crew is done, it may be nobody’s century. Thanks a heap, Osama! This is your bleeding wound, too.
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Conflict of Laws in a Globalized World by Eckart Gottschalk, Ralf Michaels, Giesela Ruhl, Jan von Hein
By Eckart Gottschalk, Ralf Michaels, Giesela Ruhl, Jan von Hein
This booklet includes ten contributions that learn present themes within the evolving transatlantic discussion at the clash of legislation. the 1st 5 contributions care for the layout of judgments conventions often, the lately followed Hague conference on collection of courtroom Agreements, difficulties concerning destructive declaratory activities in foreign disputes, and up to date transatlantic advancements in terms of carrier of strategy and collective lawsuits. the remainder 5 contributions concentrate on comparative and fiscal dimensions of celebration autonomy, selection of legislation in relation to highbrow estate rights, the appropriate legislations in antitrust legislations litigation, overseas arbitration, and activities for punitive damages.
Read or Download Conflict of Laws in a Globalized World PDF
Federalism continues to be a hugely contentious factor within the united kingdom. a great deal of devolution has already develop into a part of the neighborhood panorama and extra might stick to. With the competence for a couple of rules therefore transferring from Westminster to Scotland, Wales, Northern eire, and in destiny maybe even inside England itself, overseas event with federal and neighborhood constructions turns into a important resource of principles.
Animals are an important hyperlink among the water column (pelagic) and the ground (benthic) habitats in so much shallow structures. This coupling is ruled through energetic approaches similar to suspension-feeding within which the organism actively makes use of power to pump water that's then filtered to take away suspended debris which are ate up whereas undigested is still are deposited at the backside.
This e-book provides the result of a two-year foreign examine venture performed for the United countries place of work on medicinal drugs and Crime (UNDOC) to enquire and supply suggestions for lowering bribery and corruption in businesses and associations. It starts off with an empirical case examine at the effectiveness of a suite of self-regulation ideas followed by way of multinational businesses within the power zone.
Booklet via Daintith, Terence, Williams, Stephen F.
Additional resources for Conflict of Laws in a Globalized World
He basically devoted his entire life to Harvard. Despite his comfortable position at the world’s foremost institution for legal learning, von Mehren seized nearly every opportunity to further his knowledge of foreign legal systems by spending time abroad. He was a Visiting Professor, inter alia, in Tokyo (1956–1957), New Delhi (1962–1963), Frankfurt (1967), Rome (1968–1969), Paris (1977), Cambridge (1983–1984), Berlin (1990–1991), and Hong Kong (1995). In July 1996, he gave the General Course on Private International Law at the Hague Academy of International Law.
Rev. 94 (2000). , inter alia, the volume Law in Japan: The Legal Order in a Changing Society (Arthur T. , 1963). The book was translated into Japanese and published in Japan (1965). 19:15 P1: KAE 9780521871303c03 CUFX138/Gottschalk 978 0 521 87130 3 Building Bridges between Legal Systems August 22, 2007 21 a 1-year stay as a Fulbright Research Professor at the University of Tokyo in 1956–1957. At a time when the astonishing rise of the Japanese economy had not yet begun, Arthur von Mehren put Japanese law on the map.
Php. Robert von Mehren went on to become a preeminent Wall Street lawyer. He is also the author of various publications. Cf. Arthur E. Sutherland, The Law at Harvard: A History of Ideas and Men 1817–1967, 332–37 (1967). , at 336 note 6. 10 In the fall of 1948, von Mehren went to Paris for a year at the Sorbonne where he studied French law. When von Mehren returned to Harvard in 1949 to start teaching comparative law, he was able to draw on a profound knowledge of the French, the German, and the Swiss legal systems.
Database Error Books > Comparative > Conflict of Laws in a Globalized World by Eckart Gottschalk, Ralf Michaels, Giesela Ruhl, Jan von Hein
Numerische Mathematik: Gewöhnliche Differentialgleichungen by Peter Deuflhard, Folkmar Bornemann
Elliptic Boundary Value Problems on Corner Domain by Monique Dauge
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‘Legend of Georgia McBride’ navigates struggles of self-discovery
Erica Clare
Imani Lee Williams
Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Imani Lee Williams began her career as a member of Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YE.A). She received classical training while attending DeKalb School of the Arts. Her recent credits include Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, Jo in Lab Theater’s Southwest Florida premiere of The Legend of Georgia McBride. Other credits include Penny Pennywise in TheatreZone’s production of Urinetown and the Vagina Monologues (“My Angry Vagina”). She also has more than a decade of improvisational experience, with the most recent being her membership in Florida State University’s No Bears Allowed.
A consummate professional ever looking for opportunities to improve her already-formidable acting skills, Imani Lee was a member of the Alliance for the Arts’ inaugural CHANGE project, a 9-week acting course that culminated last August in a production of George Wolfe’s edgy The Colored Museum where she brilliantly performed the closing monologue. In the role of fun-loving Topsy Washington, she poignantly encapsulated the raw emotion and generational angst associated with trying to jettison the millstone of slavery and fit into white American society and culture.
“Participating in CHANGE taught me about finding the love in every scene [and] helped me to be more invested, as well as finding the fight,” said Imani Lee at the time. “I have turned from acting to living through the scene.”
Having graduated last fall with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, she’s now seeking to make a name for herself within the Southwest Florida theater community. She’s a very welcome addition.
Imani will appear next as The Succubus in Charles Busch’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.
Imani Lee Williams sparkles as Jo in ‘Legend of Georgia McBride
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May 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in Assam, Bihar, Honeymoon, Pilgrimage Places /by bestplaces
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May 17, 2017 /0 Comments/in Bihar /by admin
Bodhi Tree is located about 100 km from Patna. Buddha achieved enlightenment under this tree and hence it is a pilgrim center for Buddhists who hail from all parts of the world. The place where it is situated has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. On your visit to Bodhi Tree, you will find Maha Bodhi Temple, which is sacred to those who follow Buddhism. The architecture of the temple goes to show the richness and grace of Indian architecture.
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Nalanda Univercity
Nalanda University was established during the 5th century A.D. The university is considered the first residential university ever in the world. The university stands proof for the prominent role played by India in imparting knowledge. The university had 2000 teachers who taught over 10000 students from all parts of the world. The uniqueness of the place could be gauged by the fact that Buddha himself was a teacher here and Hieun-Tsang, Chinese traveler and a great scholar, was a student of this university. Red rocks were used in the construction, which is built in Kushana style of architecture. The remains excavated from the university ruins include stupas, ornamented panels, lecture halls and stairway.
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NazB: “When We Were Young” – a nostalgic trip down memory lane
As a child growing up in Nigeria, NazB was surrounded by the music of his native West African homeland. With members of his immediate and extended family playing instruments and singing, music was a part of his upbringing. His persistence and perseverance eventually gained him the nickname Nazodobas, which eventually evolved into NazB and became his rapper alias. Now based in Zurich, Switzerland, NazB has been performing, recording and releasing hit songs, almost at will, since his debut album “Money In Da Game”, dropped in 2006. His brand of music blends hard-hitting urban beats, funky bass driven rhythms, and African flavors, which he carefully translates via R&B and Rap tunes. Currently riding the crest of the wave with his latest, nineteen track album, “Lion”, NazB has also released two singles and supporting videos, “When We Were Young” and “Gimme Some More”, taken off the aforementioned album.
The track “When We Were Young” is as welcoming as it is laid back, you feel obliged to unwind and relax with the rapper-singer himself, obviously the intended reaction with its warm keys and lifting vibes, and the nostalgic lyrics about lost youth.
The bass, piano lines and strings are appealing as the melody is deep, slow-burning and reflective. It has a feel good hook and an uplifting vibe, as NazB has a knack for delivering tracks with memorable choruses.
Urban music always has prized larger-than-life icons whose alchemy of skills, style and swagger enabled them to scale the charts. And with rap and R&B finally submerged in the waters of the mainstream, it’s only inevitable that many new potential hit-makers would make their way through from the underground into the brighter shining light.
NazB is clearly on that list. He boasts an impeccable flow, but his greatest achievement is his understanding of how to stay within the music, never overwhelming his tracks. And this is never more evident than on “When We Were Young”.
“Gimme Some More” is swathed in mammoth R&B hooks, baying hip-hop adlibs, and an excellent drum beat. There’s an almost geometric symmetry to its pop precision, one that lends it an unrelenting efficacy and anoints NasB as the premier Swiss, urban music, underground superstar, on the rise.
This one is a party song, so there is no time for sitting down and looking back, as on “When We Were Young”. If you want some music to motivate you and to push you a little harder across the dance floor, then “Gimme Some More” will get the job done.
NazB follows his usual recipe on these tracks, smart verses and soaring choruses, with well-thought out beats. He makes a groovy kind of catchy urban music that stays in its lane, and does what it’s supposed to do.
And that’s a whole lot more than many other artists are capable of doing. Just the sheer fact that he doesn’t gurgle or mumble makes his music ten times better than the average Hip-hop or R&B out there at the moment. NazB’s place in the music scene is well deserved.
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM – YOUTUBE – TWITTER
Tags: Gimme Some MoreHip-hopNazBNazodobasPopR&BSwitzerlandWhen We Were YoungZurich
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Romford /
Historic BuildingsRomford
The Constable's Hall
A domestic Norman dwelling, known as the Constable's House, which was built within the original castle bailey in 1160. Much of the stonework survives, including a rare example of a Norman Chimney one of only five in the country. The once luxurious Constable's House, now in ruins, has…
Breamore House
The magnificent Manor House is set above the picturesque village of Breamore, overlooking the avon Valley on the edge of the New Forest just north of Fordingbridge. Visitors can see full size replicas of a farm worker's cottage before the advent of electricity, a blacksmith's shop, a dairy,…
Breamore
Stapehill Abbey
19th Century Stapehill Abbey boasts beautiful award winning gardens, both formal and informal, a Japanese garden, cloister garden, nuns' chapel, Victorian parlour and displays the history of the Cistercian order who lived there. A notable museum and farmyard depict life in rural England in Victorian times.Today you can…
One of England's most romantic castles, in a secluded lakeside setting Built in the late 14th century for John, fifth Lord Lovel, this unusual six‐sided castle was unique in medieval English architecture. An audio tour brings the long history of this fascinating castle to life. There…
Compton Acres Gardens
Compton Acres invites you to escape to a different world. The new Compton Acres has more features than ever before. As well as its beautiful ten acres of gardens, there are exciting shopping opportunities, restaurants, a delicatessen, regular events, and, with further all‐weather facilities planned for…
Furzey Gardens
Set in the heart of The New Forest at Minstead in Hampshire this delightful, informal garden was established in 1922 and is renowned for its all year round beauty.This delightful, informal garden was established in 1922 and is renowned for its all year round beauty. There is ample…
Planting of the gardens began a little over thirty years ago with a collection of rhododendrons and Australasian plants. It was not long before the 'Wimborne Botanic', as the garden was originally known, had a wide collection of trees and plants from around the world, and was featured…
Moors Valley Country Park
In case you have yet to discover Moors Valley Country Park let us take you on a quick tour. Moors Valley covers 750 acres in the Valley of the Moors River.Throughout Moors Valley there are miles of footpaths to enjoy including waymarked walks and cycle trails cycle…
Priests House Wimborne
The Priests House museum and garden is an award winning museum set in a historic 16th Century town house. There are nine rooms, costume and textile gallery and a magnificent three hundred foot walled garden. A variety of fascinating displays and exhibitions, working Victorian Kitchen and…
Unwrap over 460 years of history at Wilton House, where you will experience living history at its very best. Take time to uncover its secrets as you wander through its magnificent rooms, marvel at its architecture, soak in its fine paintings or be swept off your feet by…
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March 24, 1948: County Judge Earl Sharp met with Harrison County officials regarding plans for a four-lane superhighway linking Gregg and Harrison counties. The proposed divided roadway would replace the outdated portion of U.S. 80 that linked the two counties.
March 24, 1973: Ground was broken at LeTourneau College for the R.G. LeTourneau Memorial & Student Center. It was financed by a $650,000 grant from the LeTourneau Foundation and a $100,000 pledge from alumni. The three-story structure was to house mementos of college founder R.G. LeTourneau, student functions and offices.March 24, 1999: Area university presidents addressed what Kilgore College President Bill Holda called the “misplaced expectations” that the UT Tyler Longview University Center would be a shared university center. That was despite a City Council resolution in 1997 that said it would be exactly that.
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Calicut New Media » City Talk » IUML’S plea against privatisation of the Indian Railways
Prof K.M. Kader Mohideen, National President of the Indian Union Muslim League has issued the following statement making a fervent plea against the policy of privatisation in the Indian Railways.
The Indian Railway Board Chairman Mr. Yadav has stated that the policy of privatisation is about to be introduced in the Railways.
This policy of privatisation in the railways in its very conception is not only wrong but most destructive in the long run.
The Indian Railways with its vast network of strong and stable structure which is the largest in the world is well-known for its integrity, efficiency and its administrative exemplariness from the British times and it prevails as the pride of the country.
Privatisation of the Road Transport is a welcome policy and good for the people and for the government. This same policy in the Railways will certainly become the worst for the public and for the government.
Can we imagine the privatisation of the Army or the Navy or the Air Force? The Indian Railways too should be put in that category!
The Railway board chairman speaks about the speedy trains, better service to the travellers and more satisfaction for those who earn modern facilities. In order to extend these facilities he talks of privatisation. What prevents the Board from extending these facilities to the public? Instead of privatising, why don’t the board itself think of setting up a special separate department within the control of the board for giving the facilities to the people? It is our earnest plea that the Railways Board should think one thousand times before introducing the policy of privatisation in the Indian Railways-he asks.
This News was posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2020 at 9:44 am and is filed under City Talk.
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Far East Movement flies like a G6
Editorial Staff March 18, 2011, 19:32 November 12, 2019
College News spoke with Far East Movement’s Kev Nish
CN: “Like a G6” just went platinum-congratulations! Your schedule must be hectic. You finished touring with Mike Posner and went on the road with La Roux. What do you miss most about being home in L.A.?
FEM: Ah, that has to be tacos. In L.A., we live over one of the best taco houses. Mexican food exists everywhere, but there’s something about the Mexican food in L.A, it’s in our blood.
CN: Your first hit, “Round Round,” from the “Fast and Furious” soundtrack, cemented you to the music business in 2006. How did you come up with the idea for the song and who in the group gets “round round” the most?
FEM: The song was actually inspired by a Beck record. We’re huge fans of Beck, and listening to Beck we heard the song “Girl.” There’s a guitar riff in there that was catchy. It was “Whoa!” So we sampled it hip hop-style, threw some Outkast-style drums, and the song was born. “Round Round” has many meanings. More than being the obvious, it’s also about spreading love around the world, you know what I mean? It’s about getting out there, seeing new places, reaching people, so [it has] two meanings!
CN: So you wouldn’t say that it’s about getting… around around necessarily?
FEM: It is, too. It’s one part of it.
CN: You’ve coined two popular terms: “slizzard” and “like a G6.” What does each of these mean? Were they invented for the sake of the song?
FEM: Well “slizzard,” I would say that’s five drinks away, as in wasted. That’s when you’re stumbling out the first club in a wheelchair or a gurney. Actually, we can’t take credit for that word. That’s a word used by Outkast, Three Six Mafia, many Southern rappers. We’re just fans of it. We grew up saying it, so it all makes sense.
“Like a G6,” that came from when we go out, like to three or four different clubs. We’ll pop bottles, we’ll feel fly, the DJs will be pumping that hot music in the club and that feeling that you get, when it’s peak time, maybe 1 a.m., the Moet is flowing, you know the girls and everyone is just having a good time. We were always saying, “yo, what would be the word for that?” Fly like a presidential airplane? Fly like a 30? Then it came up, you know, that you got Drake and you got Jay-Z talking about a G4 pilot, the G4 jet is a family of a private jet. So we were, “what’s that next model?” That next model would be the G6 and it ended up sticking.
CN: What is your favorite song on “Free Wired” and why?
FEM: That’s hard, because we put our blood, sweat and all of our creativity into each song. But I will say for sentimental reasons, “Girls on the Dance Floor,” because “Girls on the Dance Floor” was the song that got us recognized by Martin Kierzenbaum of Cherrytree/Interscope Records, who brought us into his office and got us our first ever major mainstream record deal. That’s why we made it song number one on the CD.
CN: Your latest single is “Rocketeer.” I would call it more of a pop ballad because it’s a different sound from what Far East Movement is known for, so what’s the story behind that song?
FEM: You know, we always say that a genre doesn’t really define who we are. Music defines you as a person, it defines us as people, but one genre doesn’t. So it’s about a playlist. We have Beastie Boys, we have Outkast, we have alternative rock, electro, you name it and what we wanted to do with this album was fuse all that. We wanted to put together each element of the hip-hop style drum and the pop-style electric synth with an alternative sound, with West Coast style. We like to call that a “free wired” sound.
“Rocketeer” is the best example representing how we live in downtown L.A. We’re just dreamers from downtown L.A. The album sound itself was actually co-written by Bruno Mars and we wanted to push our limits. We’re inspired by the club but we’re also inspired by everyday dreaming. We’re inspired by the ones we love, those girls that change our lives. We’re inspired by all types of genres of music, and this song accurately depicts how we’re living “Free Wired.”
CN: You guys have great style-I’m not just saying that. You’re always wearing something eye-catching. What do you like to wear and what are some of your favorite trends right now?
FEM: With us, it’s not about a trend, because every time we look for stuff we want, we can’t find it. It’s more about necessity, we always say. You know, it’s a functionality style, a gentleman party style. We remember going to clubs back in the day. We know what it’s like to stand in line for an hour and then be told after we’ve waited that we can’t get in. We love ladies, so we keep it classy. We started wearing rocking ties, button-downs, nice jackets, but we related it to the street wear lifestyle. Right now, we’re rocking Joyrich, people we’ve grown up with in the community that are doing incredible things in the fashion game. At the same time, they’re making stuff that actually represents how we live. Whether it falls out of trend or it doesn’t, we’ll still be rocking the same thing because it’s functionality to us. We can wake up in the morning, go do a TV interview, maybe go to a music-publishing meeting or whatever it is, and look presentable. We stay working, we stay partying, and we don’t have the fortune to wear the mascara, and all the stuff that can cover the bags under our eyes, so the shades do the trick. The shades also hide how we’re thinking, how “slizzard” we really are at 3 a.m.
CN: You can sleep when you’re dead, right?
FEM: Exactly!
CN: Partying is a big theme in many of your songs. Tell us about the craziest party you’ve ever attended.
FEM: One of the craziest parties we’ve ever been to was for sure in Brazil. We were taken out of our element, and it was a farmer party. It was such a refreshing vibe from the downtown L.A, Hollywood clubs. We were literally on a farm and there was hay on the floor. There were people walking around with backpacks full of a thing that’s kind of like Tequila, called Tequiza in Brazil. You open your mouth and they just start pouring it in. And the girls are just so friendly, they walk up to you, dance with you, and give you a little kiss for no reason, when they don’t even know you. The hospitality was incredible. The music was awesome: folk and a country-dance called Forro. That party was nuts.
CN: Being Asian-American myself, I know you guys have your favorite Asian foods. What are they?
FEM: Well, every time anyone comes to town, maybe Baby Bash from Houston, maybe a DJ comes in from wherever, we always take them to eat Korean BBQ, and we show that in our music video for “Like a G6.” That’s the place where we have meetings. We have meetings with Billboard Magazine; we have meetings with L.A. Times. For some reason, that’s our office – Korean BBQ. It’s a chance for us to eat some incredible, marinated skirt steak, and you drink a little what we call Soju, which is like sake, three levels weaker than vodka. So it’s just good conversation, good barbeque and good times. That’s one of our favorites.
CN: And you get like ten appetizers with Korean BBQ, right?
FEM: Exactly. It’s all you can eat style. They don’t skimp.
CN: On a more serious note, you guys identify yourselves as a hip-hop group, a genre in which there aren’t many Asian-Americans. What difficulties, if any, have you faced in this business due to your race? Why do you think it’s important for young people to identify with Asians in the entertainment industry?
FEM: We never set out to use race in any of what we do. We’re proud of our heritage, proud of the people that recognize it and maybe even proud of the fact that maybe they share the same ethnic background as us, but when it comes to music, we grew up as L.A. kids first. We grew up as kids in L.A who were just dreamers, who were just struggling musicians. There are billions of us; there are billions of us in maybe any city. We’re just kids who are out there trying to make it, living on a dream. So, when it came to music, we never really felt any problems with being our race because we had friends who were Caucasian, friends who were African-American, all doing the same thing. We were just a community of struggling artists, so it was never [segregated] by the Asian table and the African-American table. We did shows together. We helped each other online. When you’re in that environment, in L.A., you can see authentic cultures from 30 different parts of the world all in one city. Race never really played an obstacle, maybe in other cities, but not where we’re from, and we’re very fortunate in that aspect.
CN: You’re on tour right now, so you’re on the road a lot. What’s it like living in a small space with all guys? Do they have any gross habits?
FEM: It’s not that, because we’re all brothers, we grew up together. We were homies from the time we were trying to get the same girls in high school. It’s easy actually. A lot of it is about having respect, respect for each other’s space, respect for community space, and we all have that so everybody’s cool. Everybody cleans up. These are the people with whom we share buses; it’s all about respect and everybody has been so respectful. There were no encounters yet. Maybe after the tenth or eleventh bus tour, we’ll start seeing some gross stuff. But if we start seeing it, right away we’ll kick them off the bus.
CN: Since you guys have been touring a lot lately, mistakes are bound to happen on stage. What was your most embarrassing experience and how did you recover?
FEM: Oh man, one of the most embarrassing was the one with J-Splif. We were in Houston, and the crowd was crazy, energy was nuts and he was feeling it. He walks up in front of a monitor speaker, the crowd had its hands in the air; everybody was going crazy. At that moment, he was the man. But as he walked backwards, not seeing the monitor speaker in front of him, he fell, straight on his back, like a tree. Timber! You could see his face go from cool to like, fly-less in the matter of a few seconds. The rest of the show, you could see this humbling, embarrassed smile, like “Aw… I ain’t got no game right now.” It was one of those moments that we’ll never let him live past. It was funny, and you could see the kids in the front row just laughing.
CN: Can I find that on YouTube or what?
FEM: There might be a clip on YouTube. On the FM satellite, there might be… I’ll have to look it up.
CN: What female star would you love to go on a date with and where would you take her?
FEM: After seeing “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” I have to say Mila Kunis, a.k.a. Meg from “Family Guy.” Meg from “Family Guy” needs love, you know, she’s always hated. Her personality in that movie, it’s about confidence, outgoingness and adventure. The second would be Natalia Kills. We all have the hugest crush on her. Every time she walks into “Cherry Tree” we just want to take her out. Where would we take her? Natalia’s crazy and super artistic, so we’d probably take her to an art gallery downtown, maybe a little bit of wine, cheese and some taco truck afterwards.
CN: You have many female fans. Have you ever hooked up with someone you met on tour or at an appearance?
FEM: We’re at a point right now where we’re growing. We’ve met some incredible women on tour; we’ve met some incredible women at home. We’re at a point right now where we need to build the brand. If they want to roll with us and kick it with us that’s cool, but we try to keep what we do professional and our personal lives very separate. I mean you never know; it may happen. She might say that she doesn’t know the music and just wants to get to know you as a person. Three months later, you might realize she knew who you were the whole time, and you never knew. We try to keep it as separate as possible.
CN: Do you guys have girlfriends right now?
FEM: Nah, we’re all single.
CN: Since this is College News magazine, I have to ask. What were you guys like as college students? Were you studious, slackers, partiers…?
FEM: Well, we have Prohgress; he was a party animal, though he studied hard. He was the guy who skipped through class, slizzard, you know what I mean? And he would get through it. We have J-Splif on the other hand, who was out there at the end of class, knocked out, straight sleeping, drooling, trying to copy off Proh. And there’s me: I dreaded it. I hated going to class. I never graduated. I wish I did though. I regret that now so I want to go back to school. We also have Virman, who had his iPod in the back of the class listening to music. He was on his laptop in the back of the class downloading music. Those are our different spectrums.
CN: What’s the best memory you have from your personal college days?
FEM: The best was always the day of finals. The last day, when I turn in that final and I know I didn’t do good, but hey, I don’t have to worry about this. Let’s go!
CN: Did you go to any parties?
FEM: Yeah, we partied so much, but that was so regular. I’m trying to think of the extracurricular. You know, we were so busy making music during that time. Like everyday, we were writing lyrics in class. I would write books and books of them. We were all spending late, late nights – until 5 a.m., 6 a.m. – where we all knew someone had to be in class, someone had a test, someone had to go to work. We would stay up all night and make music. That was our life.
CN: Well, it got you somewhere, right? So it was worth it.
FEM: Hope so. We’ll see.
CN: What advice do you have for young people looking to break into the music industry?
FEM: Just be yourself. Work hard being you. Make sure you create opportunities for yourself. Stay online, stay interactive, stay humble and always think big picture. Never talk trash online, never burn bridges.
CN: What are your music plans for 2011?
FEM: For 2011, we’re releasing our music video for “Rocketeer”. We have our album out, “Free Wired.” We’ll be touring and working hard getting it into people’s iPods, into people’s ears, you know what I mean?
CN: Last question. How can you advise the readers of College News to be fly like a G6?
FEM: First, you have to play “Like a G6” while you’re getting ready to go out. Then, staying fly like a G6 is wiling out. Wiling out means being yourself. You notice how we say, “when sober girls around me they be acting like they drunk?” Because it’s not about getting completely wasted. It’s all about having that confidence to go out there, creating that time of your life. Don’t let the party dictate you, you dictate the party. You stay fly. Don’t let the people around you make you feel a certain way, don’t even let the DJ – sometimes there are whack DJs. You make the party, you feel fly, and everyone around you will feel the same way.
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R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur was released on this day in 1983. The stellar album followed the release of their debut EP Chronic Town and is one of the albums that helped launch and define the college rock genre. The flawless Murmur is an impressive non-stop barrage of classics from the golden era of R.E.M. including the re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe," "Talk About The Passion," "Catapult," "Perfect Circle," and perhaps the best R.E.M. song of all time, "Shaking Through." Thirty five years later Murmur still sounds as vital, important, and remarkable as ever. A true masterpiece. SWOON CITY.
Here's to you, Murmur!
Stream in full on Spotify.
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David Tennant stars as Richard II - Royal Shakespeare Company Production at Cleveland Cinemas
[Press release from Cleveland Cinemas.]
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in collaboration with Picturehouse Entertainment is pleased to announce that Gregory Doran’s production of William Shakespeare’s RICHARD II with David Tennant will be the first broadcast of “Live from Stratford-upon-Avon,” a program that will screen the RSC’s productions from Shakespeare’s home town around the world.
In Cleveland, RICHARD II will screen exclusively at the Capitol Theatre (1390 W. 65th St., Cleveland) and the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Hts.) on Sunday, December 8th at 11:00 AM and Wednesday, December 11th at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $20 and are on sale at the theatre box office and online at clevelandcinemas.com.
RICHARD II is directed by RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran with David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) in the title role; the production opens at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon this October and was captured live during the November 13 performance. The RSC is also opening up its work behind the scenes through a series of short films available online during the run-up to the screening as well as live footage on the night, before the show, and during the interval. The first film can be seen here: http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/richard-ii/video-production-diary.aspx.
Gregory Doran, RSC Artistic Director, said today; “We are thrilled to be bringing the work we make in Stratford-upon-Avon to the widest possible audience. Through a brand new partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment, who have a great track record in screening the arts live, we can share the RSC’s contemporary interpretations of our house playwright across the UK and around the world, direct from Shakespeare’s home town.”
RICHARD II plays in Stratford-upon-Avon from October 10 - November 16, before it transfers to London’s Barbican Theatre until January 25 2014.
The cast includes Elliot Barnes-Worrell (Groom), Antony Byrne (Mowbray), Sean Chapman (Northumberland), Marty Cruickshank (Duchess of York), Oliver Ford Davies (Duke of York), Gracy Goldman (Lady in Waiting), Marcus Griffiths (Greene), Emma Hamilton (The Queen), Jim Hooper (Bishop of Carlisle), Youssef Kerkour (Willoughby), Jane Lapotaire (Duchess of Gloucester), Nigel Lindsay (Bolingbroke), Jake Mann (Bagot), Sam Marks (Bushy), Miranda Nolan (Lady in Waiting), Keith Osborn (Scroop), Michael Pennington (John of Gaunt), Joshua Richards (Ross/Lord Marshall), Oliver Rix (Aumerle), David Tennant (Richard II), Simon Thorp (Salisbury) and Edmund Wiseman (Harry Percy). The production is designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis with lighting by Tim Mitchell and sound by Martin Slavin. The movement director is Mike Ashcroft and the fight director is Terry King. The production’s music is composed by Paul Englishby.
The broadcast of RICHARD II will be the first of four RSC Shakespeare plays to be filmed live during the next year, and is the start of an on-going program to make the Company’s work more available to a nationwide and global audience.
Live from Stratford-upon-Avon is generously supported by the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
About the Royal Shakespeare Company
Made in Stratford-upon-Avon - Seen around the world
Everyone at the Royal Shakespeare Company, from actors to technicians, milliners to musicians, plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. Our work begins its life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we share it with audiences across the world through our touring, residencies and online activity. So, wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work that is made in Shakespeare’s home town in the UK. Shakespeare has been performed and celebrated in Stratford for centuries and the RSC has trained generations of the very best theatre makers since the Company was founded in 1961. We pioneer contemporary approaches to Shakespeare’s plays, as well as staging the work of those who inspired him and the work of today’s playwrights. www.rsc.org.uk
Picturehouse Entertainment is the distribution arm of Picturehouse Cinemas, the owner and operator of 21 Picturehouse Cinemas and programming agent for a further 49 venues across the UK.
Since its launch in 2010, Picturehouse Entertainment has distributed a diverse range of alternative content to cinemas throughout the UK and internationally. This includes live satellite broadcasts of seasons from world-class arts organizations, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bolshoi Ballet and the National Theatre, and special one-off events such as Stephen Fry’s talk, The Fry Chronicles, and David Bowie is happening now transmitted from the V&A’s sell-out exhibition.
Picturehouse Entertainment’s feature film releases include BAFTA winner The Imposter, Shane Meadows’ The Stone Roses: Made of Stone, Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England and the forthcoming The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology featuring Slavoj Žižek, in cinemas from 4 October 2013.
Labels: Capitol Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre, Cleveland Cinemas, Cleveland Heights OH, David Tenant, news, Richard II, Royal Shakespeare Company
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Home Everything New Wes Anderson Film Just Three Hours of Adrien Brody’s Nose
New Wes Anderson Film Just Three Hours of Adrien Brody’s Nose
Mikey Weil
Hollywood, CA – It was announced this week that Wes Anderson is well underway on his newest film, Isle of Dogs This will be the ninth film for the Houston native and hipsters across the country couldn’t be more excited. Anderson is known for deadpan delivery in his writing and directing and using a recurring cast like Ed Norton, Frances McDormand and Bill Murray. The Pianist’s Adrien Brody will also be co-starring in this film, teaming back up with Anderson after their H&M short film they made this past Christmas.
The upcoming movie, shot in Japan, already has a poster and a release date. Out of the norm, the synopsis of the movie was detailed only a day after the previous were released. We now know that the black comedy is going to be a three hour zoom-in on Brody’s nose.
“This is shaping up to be my best film yet,” Anderson told us. “I’ve honestly been happy with all my films in the past, but I’ve been working on this one since college.” Brody is just as excited as his collaborator and told us that the film might even be released in IMAX 3D. And, of course, it will be released in black and white.
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iDeals™ Solutions Attends the Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum 2014
iDeals™ Solutions representatives, Anna Volfman, Business Development Director, and Vladimir Letunovsky, head of the iDeals™ Solutions’ division for the Baltic countries, have attended the Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum. The purpose of this annual event in the Baltic region is to discuss and provide latest insights and trends of the Baltic M&A and PE markets.
Organized by Verslo Žinios, the leading business publication of Lithuania, in cooperation with the law firm SORAINEN, the Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum gathered over 200 leading representatives of the financial industry, as well as law professionals and business owners from the Baltic states and neighboring countries.
The program of the two-day event was designed to provide specific information about the current conditions and perspectives on the Baltic M&A market. International and local speakers shared their thoughts on how geopolitical fluctuations in the world could affect the Baltic Region economies and the local M&A landscape. Both guests and speakers provided their insightful opinions on how to mitigate risks and discussed successful mergers & acquisitions transactions.
The first Annual Achievement Award Ceremony for the Baltic Private Equity & Venture Capital Industry, which was established by the European Investment Fund (EIF), was held to highlight the most significant deals contributing to the development of the Baltic M&A industry last year.[1,2]
While attending the forum, Anna and Vladimir held a series of business meetings presenting the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room and iDeals.Net, a communication platform for M&A professionals.
[1] http://www.sorainen.com/en/Seminars&nID=610
[2] http://www.sorainen.com/en/News/4303/first-baltic-ma-and-private-equity-awards-go-to-pzu-grabcad-and-swedbank-investiciju-valdymas
iDeals™ Solutions a Co-Sponsor in the BioPharm Insight Healthcare Forum
On October 28th, 2014, iDeals™ Solutions, alongside RHO and SVC, co-sponsored first annual BioPharm Insight Forum, organized by Remark and hosted at the Alexandria Center of Life science in New York. With over 200 attendees, it was certainly an event not to miss.
Remark, part of MergerMarket group, a premium producer of financial sector conferences around the world, hosted its first healthcare forum focusing on financial activity in the life sciences sector including discussions on M&A, innovative financing trends and most interesting, shareholder activism. With Allergan & Valeant being the hottest topic of the news today, it was very exciting to hear panelists like Keith Meister (CIO of Corvex Management LP) and Alexander Denner (CFO of Sarissa Capital Management LP) share their thoughts on the hot topic. Top executives from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), GE Healthcare (GE), UBS (UBS) AND Goldman Sachs (GS) all participated on the panels at the BioPharm Forum in New York.
”BioPharm Insight is the ideal co-host for our first healthcare forum,” said Erik Wickman, managing director at Remark. “This forum combines Remark’s expertise at hosting thought-provoking, compelling forums – with BioPharm Insight’s keen understanding of the events impacting key drug developments – as well as the deals and financing that will make them possible.”
iDeals™ Solutions enters into a Strategic Partnership with Elit Capital
iDeals™ Solutions, a global provider of secure online file management services, is excited to announce strategic partnership with Elit Capital, a leader in Financial Advisory in Mergers and Acquisitions.
Elit Capital is specialized on providing financial advisory services in Corporate Transactions, acting with independence in execution of Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures, Carve-outs, searching for new Investors and Joint Venture operations. The main office is located in the heart of Latin America, in Brazil. This partnership between the two emerging companies brings extra value and services to all our clients.
iDeals™ is used by financial and legal professionals around the globe for multiple services, such as due diligence, fundraising, M&A deals, post-merger integration, and secure document collaboration purposes. Comparatively, Elit Capital has been providing financial advisory services for Investment Banks, Law Firms, and Private Equity Firms.
The partnership between iDeals™ and Elit Capital creates the one stop shop for clients which require a trustworthy partner that they can rely on to deliver a high quality product and personal service in a timely manner.
“We are very excited about the strategic partnership with Elit Capital,” says Elena Frolova, Director of Business Development for iDeals™. “This arrangement creates a very strong platform that will bring tremendous value to our clients on a global level, both on the VDR and the financial advisory of the businesses.”
“iDeals™ virtual data room technology will be offered to all our clients”, says Daniel Rivera, Founder and President of Elit Capital. “We are proud to have partnered with iDeals™, and look forward to the future growing for both our businesses.”
LUKOIL used the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room in the sale of 138 filling stations
OJSC LUKOIL has signed agreements with the Hungarian companies MOL Plc. and Norm Benzinkut Kft to sell them 138 filling stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The iDeals™ Virtual Data Room was used for the secure exchange of documents related to the agreement.
Pursuant to the signed agreement, Slovnaft Ceska Republica (a subsidiary of MOL Plc.) will acquire a network of 44 LUKOIL filling stations located in the Czech Republic. Norm Benzinkut will buy 75 LUKOIL filling stations in Hungary and 19 LUKOIL filling stations in Slovakia. The total amount of the agreement has not been made public. The decision to sell the assets was made as part of the effort to optimize LUKOIL’s business in petroleum-products marketing.
"Rosneft" and North Atlantic Drilling sign asset swap agreement
OJSC "Rosneft" and Norwegian drilling company, North Atlantic Drilling Limited (NADL) specialized in operations in harsh environments, and its primary shareholder, Seadrill Limited, signed a framework agreement for long-term cooperation in the implementation of projects for the provision of oilfield services. According to this agreement, "Rosneft" will acquire NADL shares through an exchange of assets as well as investments in the share capital of the company.
The final terms of the transaction, including the amount of the monetary contribution to the charter capital of NADL, will be determined after the closing of necessary corporate and accounting procedures, which is expected by late 2014.
After the signing of the agreement, the CEO of NADL, Alf Ragnar Lovdal, said, "We are very pleased to have achieved this important transaction and welcome ’Rosneft’ as a new equity partner and a member of the Board of Directors." [1]
As a tool for the secure exchange of documents in the implementation of this transaction, the parties used the iDeals™ virtual data room.
[1] http://www.rosneft.com/news/pressrelease/21082014.html
The Corporate Group "Mother and Child" acquires the Novosibirsk Medical Center "Avicenna" for $45M
CG "Mother and Child", a leading company in the provision of private healthcare in the field of women's health and pediatrics in Russia, announces the upcoming acquisition of 100% of the shares of Ivicend Holding Ltd, the owner of Medical Center "Avicenna". According to "Mother and Child", the value of the transaction was $45.5 million.
Medical Center "Avicenna" is located in Novosibirsk where CG "Mother and Child" does not operate yet.. The company "Avicenna" includes three multiprofile medical diagnostics clinics with their own laboratory as well as a hospital with a maternity ward.
As a tool for secure document exchange during this transaction the parties used iDeals™ virtual data room.
August 14, 2014
Sino-Science Netherlands Energy Group B.V. acquired 95% of shares of JSC “Maten Petroleum” amounting to $525,8 m
The Sino-Science Netherlands Energy Group B.V. company acquired 7,600 pieces or 95% of the total amount of JSC Maten Petroleum’s offered common shares. The carve-out share deal for the Sino-Science Netherlands Energy Group B.V’s benefit was performed on June 25, 2014 by company shareholders Dinmukhamet Idrissov, Baharadin Ablazimov, and Erzhan Dostybayev. The sum of the transaction amounted to $525.8M.
When executing this deal, the parties used the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room secure document exchange tool.
JSC “Matin Petroleum” is a private oil company owning subsoil use contracts at three oilfields in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Kara-Arna, Eastern Kokarna, and Matin. The total volume of 2P reserves as of June 30, 2012 is 58.1 m barrels (as estimated by the auditing company Gaffney Cline & Associates).
iDeals™ was involved in the deal between Turkish companies Tat Gida & SöktaS
Tat Gida, a division of the Koc Group, has purchased Moova, one of Turkey’s largest milk and cheese producers. All parties involved in the purchase used iDeals™ Virtual Data Room platform to securely exchange deal-related documents throughout the deal process.
Turkey’s food sector is currently seeing a rapid succession of new partnerships and buying and selling. In December 2013, Muharrem Kayhan, former Head of the Turkish Industry & Business Association began the search for a buyer for Moova, which his brother Kilmi Kayhan owned. However, by May 2014 ongoing negotiations with various interested parties had not generated an agreement, so Moova made the decision to suspended production on 20 May to minimize losses.
According to Soktas, the parent company of Moova, on July 1, 2014 after negotiations with a number of investors the Board of Directors resolved to sign a transfer agreement of 99.99% of its shares to Tat Gida for TRY 32.27 million.
Recently, Tat Gida sold Maret, its meat processing division, to Namet, as part of a plan to exit meat processing and strengthen its position in dairy products.
Abbott $495M acquisition of Veropharm using iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
iDeals™ Virtual Data Room platform is being used to securely exchange deal-related documents by all parties involved in Abbot’s $495M acquisition of Russia-based Veropharm
US-based Abbott Laboratories announced a definitive agreement to acquire Russian drugmaker Veropharm. Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will buy Garden Hills, a holding company that currently owns a controlling interest in Veropharm, for between RUB13.6 billion and RUB17 billion (or approximately $395 million to $495 million) depending on Garden Hills' share ownership of Veropharm at time of close.
Abbott said that with the acquisition it will acquire a portfolio of more than 100 products and expects the acquisition to add approximately $150 million in sales in 2015.
The US company, which has been operating in Russia since 1978, said the deal would allow it to establish a manufacturing presence in the country. Veropharm has three pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in Pokrov, Belgorod and Voronezh.
Qiwi opts to use the iDeals™ virtual data room to conduct its SPO
Qiwi, the Russian payment system that enables payments either in person, online, or via cell phone, concluded a secondary public offering (SPO) of 7.97 million shares, representing 14.7% of its total holdings. 1.99 million shares were sold by the company itself, and the rest – by shareholders. The price per share offered in the SPO was $40.
Qiwi selected iDeals™ Solutions, Russia’s top provider of VDR services, to manage interactions and security during the document exchange between the bookrunners and the co-organizers.
The total value of the share packet issued by the SPO was estimated at $318.9 million. This resulted in earnings of $79.7 million for the company, and $239.2 million for shareholders. The SPO took place on June 20, 2014.
Qiwi is planning to use its proceeds for general corporate purposes.
Turk Telekom sells $1.0 bn in Eurobonds using iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
The sales process of the bond issuances of USD 500 million with 5 year maturity, 19.06.2019 as redemption date, and 3.75% coupon rate based on 3.836% reoffer yield; and USD 500 million with 10 year maturity, 19.06.2024 as redemption date, and 4.875% coupon rate based on 4.982% reoffer yield was completed on June 19th, 2014. The bonds are now quoted at the Irish Stock Exchange. The proceeds were transferred to Turk Telekom’s accounts. [1] Support of the transaction was carried out using the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room service.
[1] http://www.ttinvestorrelations.com/
Yandex uses iDeals™ in its acquisition of Auto.Ru for $175M
Yandex, a Russian search engine company, recently announced it has acquired Auto.ru, an online auto classifieds company, for $175 million. During the acquisition process all parties involved in the deal used the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room platform for the secure exchange of deal-related documents.
Yandex acquired Auto.ru's catalogue which includes more than 400,000 listings for all types of new and used motor vehicles. The listings are placed by both auto dealers and private individuals. Auto.ru also has listings for tyres and spare parts and offers users' reviews, news and forums.
Yandex has more than 60% of the Internet search traffic market in Russia, which is more than twice that of Google. Often referred to as the “Google of Russia,” Yandex is the largest Russian Internet company based on revenue, which was $1.2 billion in 2013. Yandex generates most of its revenue from contextual display ads. [1]
According to Yandex, the acquisition of Auto.ru will enable it to provide more comprehensive answers to users' questions and expand its capabilities in auto classifieds.
VTB Capital was Yandex’s financial adviser for the purchase, according to a company statement about the deal. [2]
[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2014/06/17/yandex-acquires-online-auto-classifieds-company-auto-ru-for-175m/
[2] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-16/yandex-agrees-to-buy-russian-car-portal-auto-ru-for-175-million.html
Cyril Fung joins iDeals™ Solutions as a Senior Advisor
iDeals™ Solutions is pleased to announce that Mr. Cyril Fung, who is one of most experienced and reputable investment professionals in Hong Kong, has joined the iDeals™ Solutions team as a Senior Advisor. We are looking forward to a mutually rewarding partnership.
He is a successful and resourceful entrepreneur, venture capitalist and financier dating back to 1972 and was a pioneer in the development of Asia’s venture capital sector. He has advised many multi-national companies and industry leaders about doing business in Asia. Mr. Fung was responsible for structuring a joint venture for McDonald's to successfully enter the Hong Kong market in 1975 which subsequently led to the company’s rapid expansion in other parts of Asia. Over the years, he has helped many companies execute successful Asian market entry strategies.
Mr. Fung has served on numerous boards of directors and advisory boards of many prominent companies covering a wide range of business sectors. Mr. Fung is frequently consulted on doing business in Asia.
He is a member of a prominent Hong Kong banking family. His grandfathers were among the founders of The Bank of East Asia and his late father, Sir Kenneth Fung, was at one time the bank's chief manager. In the 1960s, Mr. Fung worked for The Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong. In 1968 he moved to the United States, where he worked for Morgan Guaranty Trust of New York and was one of the first Chinese to be employed by the company. Mr. Fung is highly regarded as a strong strategist with extensive deal structuring experience. He casts a wide net worldwide and is known as someone who is very effective in connecting the dots.
Mr. Fung is has a B.A. Degree from Harvard (1961) majoring in architectural science and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1965) majoring in finance.
May 19, 2014
iDeals™ Solutions enters into a Strategic Partnership with Network Financial Printing
iDeals™ Solutions Group, which offers robust and intuitive deal management solutions for secure document exchange, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with Network Financial Printing, a leader in the Leveraged Buyout (LBO) and M&A business. NFP is a Digital Financial Printing boutique based in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, New York, and has established the trust and confidence of Investment Bankers since 1996. This partnership between the two emerging companies brings added value and service to all of our clients.
iDeals™ is used by financial and legal professionals around the globe for multiple services, such as due diligence, fundraising, M&A deals, post-merger integration, and secure document collaboration purposes. Comparatively, NFP has been providing financial printing for Investment Banks, Law Firms, and Private Equity Firms by producing annual reports, bank books (CIM’s), lender presentations, offering memorandums, pitch books, private placements, prospectuses, and roadshows. Additionally, they also electronically produce XBRL & HTML EDGAR filings, 10-K’s, 10-Q’s & XML 13F-NT’s, which are then submitted and filed with the SEC.
The partnership between iDeals™ and NFP creates a one stop shop for finance and legal professionals who require a trustworthy partner that they can rely on to deliver a high quality product and personal service in a timely manner. Furthermore, this arrangement provides iDeals™ with an added value service component: financial printing capabilities in a state of the art 8,000 ft2 manufacturing facility in New York City. NFP is well known for their service, quality, and experience in the financial printing business, as well as their ability to accurately produce confidential documents in a four to twelve hour period. iDeals™ is proud to have partnered with NFP.
iDeals™ offers secure file sharing capabilities between deal parties and is able to support top level control on data forwarding, printing/sharing of files, and unauthorized downloading – a critical security component necessary to compete in today’s fast faced deal environment. With iDeals™ VDR capabilities, NFP’s clientele will now be able to securely share and store sensitive financial/legal documentation from anywhere in the world.
“We are very excited about the strategic partnership we’ve just inked with NFP,” says Elena Frolova, Director of Business Development for iDeals™. “This arrangement creates a very strong platform that will bring tremendous value to our clients on a global level, both on the VDR and the printing side of the businesses.”
“iDeals™ virtual data room technology will be offered to all of our clients to further expand on our strong financial printing capabilities, track record, and reputation of being the best in the business,” says Chris T. Concannon, Founder and President of NFP. “We are proud to have partnered with iDeals™, and look forward to the future and growing both of our businesses.”
iDeals™ chosen as data exchange for JV partners & investors for the next financial hub in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia: Wholly government-owned development agency, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), is seeking investors to co-develop a large part of the 70-acre Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project, the upcoming business & financial hub in Kuala Lumpur.
Stage one of the TRX includes four office towers, up to five residential towers, up to two 5-star hotels and a shopping mall. 1MDB appointed property advisers CBRE Malaysia (part of CBRE Group [NYSE: CBG]) and CH Williams Talhar & Wong respectively to look for potential JV partners and plot sales. 1MDB has chosen iDeals™ to provide for secure data exchange between potential partners and investors for TRX. We are pleased to be a provider of choice for the strategic project of gross development value (GDV) of RM26 billion (or USD 8 billion).
iDeals™ VDR Used by Sistema JSFC and Fresenius Kabi’s New Pharma Joint Venture
On April 25, 2014, binding agreements between Sistema JSFC, the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS; Fresenius Kabi, a global healthcare company; and, Zenitco Finance Management, a minority shareholder of CJSC Binnopharm, were signed to create a joint venture to expand within the Russian and CIS pharmaceuticals market. [1]
Fresenius Kabi, Sistema JSFC and Zenitco’ stakes in the newly created venture, which will include 100% of Binnopharm and all of Fresinius Kabi’s business in Russia and CIS, will be 51%, 37% and 12%, respectively. The deal will allow Fresenius Kabi to use and develop Binnopharm’s existing production facilities and distribution network. Pre-merger processes and document exchanges were efficiently and securely transacted via an iDeals™ Virtual Data Room.
The deal is still subject to approvals of the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investments of the Russian Federation, and is expected to be finalised by the end of 2014. Financial details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.
[1] http://www.sistema.com/press/press-releases/2014/04/pharmaceuticals-jv-with-fresenius-kabi.aspx
iDeals™ Solutions is a Strategic Partner of the Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum 2014
iDeals™ Solutions, which recently opened a regional office in Istanbul and successfully provided and continues to provide VDR services for several major capital market deals in the Middle East, is pleased to announce its participation as a Strategic Partner in the Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum 2014[1] to be held in Dubai on May 5, 2014.
This annual event is traditionally a gathering of leading industry experts and professionals for panel discussions and to share experiences. We are looking forward to meeting our partners and customers, as well as anyone interested in our services, soon to be available in Dubai.
[1] For more information on the event please click on the link:http://mergermarketgroup.com/event/middle-east2014/
iDeals™ Solutions Group a sponsor at the Israeli Forum of Chief Financial Officers
The annual Israeli Forum of Chief Financial Officers was held in the city of Eilat (Israel) on January 7-9, 2014. iDeals™ Solutions Group participated as a sponsor and presented its innovative iDeals ™ VDR product, which is a Virtual Data Room with expanded technical user options.
iDeals ™ VDR provides users with an essential, convenient platform for conducting all types of financial transactions. It also allows users to securely share sensitive internal documents.
The Israeli Forum of Chief Financial Officers (www.cfo-forum.org) was established in September 1997. The main purpose of the forum is to provide financial officers of Israel’s leading companies with networking opportunities, discussions of topical professional issues, and information about trends in information technology development for the financial sector.
Rostelecom and Tele2 merge Russian mobile assets using iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
The Board of Directors of Rostelecom OJSC (Moscow Exchange: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), Russia's national telecommunications operator, has approved the merger of its assets with Tele2Russia AB (Tele2 Russia), which is equally owned by VTB Capital, the private equity arm of VTB, one of Russia’s largest banks, and a consortium of investors, to create T2 RTK Holding.
The joint venture, T2 RTK Holding, will become a leading player in the Russian mobile market and will have strong positions in regions currently served by Rostelecom and Tele2 Russia, and access to spectrum for next generation mobile services across all of Russia’s federal regions. T2 RTK Holding will have a subscriber base of approximately 38 million (Q3 2013), with revenues of approximately $2.97 billion.
The parties and their consultants implemented the merger using iDeals™ Virtual Data Room platform, which allowed for the secure exchange of deal-related documents throughout the deal-making process.
Rostelecom (www.rostelecom.ru) is a nationwide telecommunications enterprise and the largest universal communications operator in Russia, serving more than 100 million subscribers in 80 regions. Rostelecom offers cutting-edge fixed and mobile telephony, broadband access, pay television and cloud solutions to consumers and businesses.
iDeals™ releases iOS secure document app for executives on the go
iDeals™ Solutions Group has released an iPhone and iPad app for its flagship Virtual Data Room (VDR) product, a fully-serviced secure document exchange application running on the web and now on iOS devices. The iDeals™ iOS app fills the need of executives who have to review time-sensitive deal information while on the go or those wanting the ability and convenience of doing so on their iOS device.
iDeals™ Virtual Data Room app is a simple and lightweight application that functions well without compromising any of its security features. Documents, no matter what the format, are viewable on the mobile device and are protected by watermarks. No footprint is left on the mobile device when accessing the file.
Users can be assured that if the device is stolen or lost, no one can recover confidential deal data from the iDeals app thanks to its zero-footprint feature and a pass code lock screen that appears after a short period of inactivity.
iDeals™ Solution Group Successfully Completes ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Standard Certification Audit
We are glad to announce that iDeals™ Solution complies with the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 international standard as it pertains to information security and has successfully completed the certification and external audit procedure. The audit was performed by the BSI Company (the British Standards Institution).
Since February 2013 iDeals™ Solution Group has implemented organizational and technical measures aimed at bringing the company’s information system into conformity with the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 international standard and preparing existing business processes, particularly, client data processing and storage, for certification.
Receiving the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Compliance Certificate marks the company’s next step towards enhancing its information safety systems and providing clients with a service of the highest quality.
iDeals™ opens new offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China
In view of the growing business, iDeals™ Solutions Group relocates its Hong Kong office to the address below with effect from 15 Dec, 2013 in order to better serve its customers in the Asia Pacific. With a strengthened sales team and customer support team, iDeals™ will continue to provide the best-of-class service to its clients in Asia. iDeals™ also opens a new liaison office in Shenzhen to support the growing customer base in China. Please do not hesitate to contact our new offices for any sales and service inquiries.
Level 43, AIA Tower,
183 Electric Road, North Point,
Shenzhen Liaison Office
Level 15, Tower 2, Kerry Plaza,
#1 Zhong Xin Si Road, Futian,
Australia: iDeals™ provides deal platform to Corporate Travel Management for US$50m stake purchase of Hong-Kong-based Westminster Travel
iDeals™ Virtual Data Room (VDR) has been chosen as the deal platform by the Australian travel company Corporate Travel Management (ASX: CTD) to facilitate the acquisition of a 75.1% stake of Westminister Travel. iDeals™ VDR provides a secure platform for sharing the deal’s due diligence documents. Supporting dozens of executives and advisors for both the buy- and sell-sides of the deal, iDeals™ attaches paramount importance to high speed access and security when delivering VDR service. Capital raising is underway and iDeals™ will continue to provide support until the deal is completed.
Hong Kong: Dragon Law launches its legal document site using iDeals™ VDR
Dragon Law (http://www.dragonlaw.com.hk) will launch its legal service site today, the first of its kind in Asia. Dragon Law provides high quality legal document templates, legal know-how and referral service to leading legal experts with an online document customization facility for the individual and corporate markets. The technology is provided by iDeals™ Solutions Group and is based on its flagship virtual data room product which is a tool typically used to exchange confidential information for M&A and IPO deals. Consumers and small businesses can now enjoy corporate-grade security of their documents created on the fly by Dragon Law without paying otherwise prohibitive legal costs.
iDeals™ is proud to be the technology partner of choice for Dragon Law in this exciting venture and will continue to develop the product for a wider market.
About Dragon Law
Dragon Law was founded by lawyers and attorneys from leading US, European and Asian law schools and the world’s pre-eminent law firms. The Dragon Law network of experts spans three continents and includes expertise from the world’s top law firms.
Turkey: Emlak Konut REIC SPO banks used iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
The Emlak Konut REIC SPO marked the first time Halkbank (http://www.halkbank.com.tr) used iDeals™ Virtual Data Room (VDR). Halkbank used iDeals™ VDR to securely distribute analytic presentations to consortium members during the Emlak Konut REIC SPO. The iDeals™ team provided Halkbank with outstanding and prompt service.
Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş. (“Emlak Konut REIC”) successfully floated an additional 25.66 % of its capital, a total of 1,300,000,000 nominal shares, through a secondary public offering in November 2013. Emlak Konut shares began trading on Wednesday, 13 November 2013."
Priced at TRY2.50 per share, Emlak Konut REIC’s Post-SPO market paid-in capital is TRY3,8 billion. 80% of the offering was allocated to international investors while the remaining 20% was split between domestic individual and domestic institutional investors. Halk Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş. (“Halk Invest”) acted as the domestic coordinator and lead book runner of this transaction. This is not only the largest share offering in Turkey during 2013, it is also the largest primary offering of shares across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa region this year. It is also the largest share offering in the real estate sector in Europe in more than five years.
KinoPoisk Uses iDeals™ Virtual Data Room to Sell Their Web-Service to Yandex
On 15 October 2013, Yandex announced the acquisition of KinoPoisk Company [1], often referred to as “Russia’s IMDb”, which is ranked as one of the top 20 Russian websites. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, clearly it is one of the major deals of 2013 in Russia’s internet sector. The parties and their consultants used iDeals™ Virtual Data Room platform for the secure exchange of deal-related documents throughout the deal-making process.
[1] http://company.yandex.com/press_center/press_releases/2013/2013-10-15.xml
Dragonite (HKSE: 00329) seals a US$75 million deal with Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT), using iDeals™ VDR
Europe’s second-largest tobacco company, and the world’s fifth, Imperial Tobacco has acquired Dragonite International’s e-cigarette unit for US$75 million as it seeks to close the gap with competitors in new products.
According to Bloomberg, Imperial Tobacco, maker of Davidoff, is lagging behind its competitors British American Tobacco and Philip Morris in developing smoke-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes. The acquisition will put Imperial Tobacco into the race with its contenders in the e-cigarette business.
Dragonite chose iDeals™ as their virtual data room provider to provide sell-side information to multiple potential buyers including Imperial Tobacco.
Rosneft Acquires ALROSA Oil and Gas Assets for 1.38 bln USD through iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
OJSC ALROSA and Rosneft Oil Company have signed an agreement for the sale of ALROSA’s gas assets. The deal consists of companies operating in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), including 100 percent holdings in CJSC Geotransgaz, Urengoi Gas Company LLC, CJSC Irelyakhneft and the 99.9995 percent stake in OJSC ALROSA-Gas. The transaction is valued at 1.38 bln USD.
A year ago Alrosa chose iDeals™ Virtual Data Room to facilitate the sale of these assets. The iDeals™ team provided participants with high quality support throughout the due diligence process.
http://www.rosneft.com/news/pressrelease/270920132.html
http://www.eng.alrosa.ru/press_center/releases/2013/09/release270913/
iDeals™ was used by Hutchison Whampoa in China
iDeals Solutions Group has completed a project early August for Hutchison Whampoa (SEHK: 0013), a Fortune 500 company, for one of its China operations in real estate business.
iDeals Solutions Group is a provider of scanning and secure data room services, catering to multiple sectors, including financial, legal, accounting, investment and real estate sectors in M&A, IPO and other transactions. Its flagship product, iDeals VDR, has been used by major corporations in the finance and professional services sectors.
“Veropharm” controlling interest was sold for US$160 mln through iDeals™ Virtual Data Room
iDeals™ Virtual Data Room was selected by Pharmacy Chain 36.6 for the sale “Veropharm” which is one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. According to the ITAR TASS NEWS AGENCY (www.itar-tass.com) Pharmacy Chain 36.6 sold 52% of Veropharm shares to the company “Garden Hills” and the estimated value of the deal is US$160 mln.
iDeals™ Solutions arranges assets sales for one of the oil and gas market leader in Russia
Deals™ Solutions group has been working closely with the Oil and Gas company Payakha for almost 3 years now. Payakha is a major client and regularly uses iDeals Virtual Data Room for their internal and external projects. They recently collaborated to facilitate the sale of one of Payakha’s assets in the Krasnoyarsk region to Independent Oil and Gas Company.
http://www.forbes.ru/news/243645-khudainatov-pokupaet-chastnye-neftegazovye-aktivy-na-500-mln
iDeals™ Solutions provided the prospectus printing for 4Finance Group’s Bond Issue on the Irish Stock Exchange
iDeals™ Solutions Group has been selected as the financial prospectus printer by the 4Finance Group on their Eurobonds issue. It is one of the leaders in the payday loans sector in Northern and Eastern Europe (1). The bonds amounted to 170m USD and were placed by 4Finance with the support of Standard Bank on the Irish Stock Exchange at the end of July 2013 (2). iDeals Solutions Group prepared, printed, and Internationally distributed the prospectus in compliance with the Irish Stock Exchange .
[1] http://www.4financegroup.com
[2] http://em.cbonds.com/news/item/664577
iDeals™ Solutions Group announces localization into Turkish of VDR Interface & Openning of Turkish Office
Deals™ Solutions Group, one of the leading providers of Virtual Data Room services (VDR) for business communication and information management, has announced the opening of its new office in Istanbul and the availability of a local language interface of its Virtual Data Room (VDR) in Turkey."
iDeals™ has been a provider of secure document management services to the investment, legal, life science and other sectors since 2008. Company’s flagship products - the iDeals™ VDR and iDeals™ Finance Communications services – represent the new generation technologies and are highly estimated by large companies and leading advisors all over the world.
iDeals™ Solutions Group has been actively involved in the Turkish market for some time now and anticipates that need for Virtual Data Room (VDR) services will grow significantly in this market in coming years. iDeals™ Solutions Group has completed the full localization of its virtual data room interface into Turkish, as well as its powerful Search functionality, meaning all documents loaded into its VDR are 100% searchable in Turkish.
“With the launch of the office and a local version of our award-winning VDR service, I am confident that iDeals™ Solutions Group can more effectively serve our clientele in this region and we know these product enhancements will help us grow even further” said Roddy Show, Business Development Manager, iDeals™ Solutions Group.
iDeals™ is already represented in three global regions: North America (New York office), Europe (London, Moscow, Kyiv) and Pacific Rim (Hong Kong). The launch of a new office in Istanbul will allow the company to secure a strong competitive position on both the Turkish and the Middle East markets and to promptly provide the region with iDeals™ VDR and Finance Communication services of superb quality and high security level.
For more information or to request iDeals™ Solutions Group products demo, please contact Barkan Baybogan, the company’s Regional Director for Turkey by phone +90 507 872 3229 or via email at barkan.baybogan@iDeals™corp.com.
The largest privatization deal of 2013: iDeals™ Solution Group mandated as regulatory documentation filing agent
In May 2013 iDeals™ was chosen to be an e-filing service provider in one of the biggest and unprecedented deals: VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest state-controlled bank group, has initiated and completed its secondary public offering (SPO) of 102,5 billion rubles (3,26 billion USD) worth shares.
iDeals™ has provided VTB with high quality support throughout the SPO process, successfully executing the project on filing the VTB regulatory documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All the documents to be considered by the SEC were converted and filed by iDeals™. We were glad to contribute to the procedure of corporate disclosure of all the important information to the investing public – crucial to an investor's decision on whether to buy, sell or hold the security.
The deal closed successfully on May 21 with three sovereign wealth funds becoming the largest investors: Norges Bank Investment Management (Norway), State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) and Qatar Holding LLC. Each of the funds purchased VTB’s shares worth 15 - 20 billion rubles, thus jointly accounting for more than a half of the additional share issue. A lesser part of VTB’s shares was purchased by several institutional investors from the BRIC countries. As a result of the SPO, state share has reduced from 75,5% to 60,9%.
Sale of SibGazOil for Rusneft through iDeals™ VDR
One of the biggest Russian oil companies "RussNeft" (owner Mikhail Gutseriev) acquired CJSC "Uralnefteservis" and LLC "Standard - Nafta". These companies specialize on oil production in the area of Kungur Perm region and were the part of “Sibgasoil” (owner ex-deputy of the State Duma Maxim Korobov). iDeals™ provided a virtual data room to all participants of this deal. The total assets price was estimated by experts of the $80-100 million.
New big deal with iDeals™ VDR in Asia
iDeals™ Solutions Group proudly announces our partnership with a leading legal services firm in Asia. The firm will leverage iDeals™’ cloud based services and technology in an effort to facilitate a secure exchange of legal documents and information for small, medium sized enterprises and individuals. iDeals™ provides secure and robust virtual data room solutions to protect valuable and confidential information for clients who depend on an efficient and proven technology partner like iDeals™ Solutions Group. Stay tuned and be the first to leverage on accessible and affordable legal service in Asia.
More and more companies use iDeals™ VDR In-house
iDeals™ Solutions Group is pleased to announce the successful execution of several projects involving data storage on the customer’s corporate file servers, or the so-called iDeals™ Virtual Data Room In-House service. The In-House solution for VDR is often preferred by companies whose corporate policy restricts any external data centers storage. The process of installment of the iDeals™ VDR on your company’s servers takes less than 5 days. After it’s completed, you will be able to support an unlimited number of VDRs on your servers.
OJSC RITEK Explored a New Oilfield in iDeals™ VDR
The Virtual Data Room for successful M&A deal of the OJSC RITEK (Russian Innovation Fuel and Energy Company) [1] was maintained by iDeals™ Solutions. In the course of it, the RITEK, a subsidiary of the LUKOIL Group – one of the Top 20 Oil&Gas companies in the world, has acquired 100% of the capital stock of OOO Mushakneft’ (Udmurtia, Russia).
By this acquisition the RITEK also became the owner of Mushakskoe oilfield, which was explored in 1993 and has a flow rate of 5 cu. m. per day. The RITEK is mainly focusing on increase of oil output by applying innovative extraction techniques, which enable them to resume operations on abandoned and hard-to-recover oilfields.
iDeals™ Solutions, in turn, has added one more commodity market Project into their rich portfolio.
[1] http://www.ritek.ru/node/1219
iDeals™ Solutions Provided Virtual Data Room for Another Major Acquisition Deal of Globaltrans – MMK-Trans
Almost on New Year’s Eve, Globaltrans Investment PLC [1] and MMK-Trans Holding [2], as a result of bidding procedure and subsequent negotiations, agreed about acquisition of 100% shares of the captive freight rail operator MMK-Trans by Globaltrans – one of the top private freight rail transportation groups with operations in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic countries.
iDeals™ Solutions’ Virtual Data Room was selected for quick and secure sharing of the deal documents to the bidders.
By this deal, Globaltrans continued consolidation of the freight rail business in Russia, preceded by successful acquisition of Metalloinvesttrans earlier this year, which was also supported by iDeals™. The total net amount of the deal is USD 225 million. In addition, Globaltrans has gained a five-years shipping contract to transport at least 70% of the MMK Group cargoes.
iDeals™ Solutions successfully fulfilled their mission in this transaction and reaffirmed their leading position in the Regional M&A Market.
[1] http://www.globaltrans.com/investors/news
[2] http://eng.mmk.ru/press_center/56862
Majority Stake Sale of Karo-film
In November 2012 iDeals™ Solutions provided Virtual Data Room for the largest deal in Russian entertainment sector. “Karo-film” cofounders Leonid Ohorodnikov and Oleg Andreev sold the controlling block of shares of the network to several direct investment funds and the founder of Kinostar de Lux - Paul Heth. According to the official press release for the consortium of buyers, they have pledged to invest in the development of a network about a hundred million dollars over three years. The consortium in particular includes Baring Vostok Private Equity, UFG Private Equity and Russian Direct Investment Fund.
According to various sources, the deal was worth about $ 450 million for the entire company or $ 200 million for the controlling block of shares.
Sale of LLC «EvrazTrans» JSC «OilTransService»
Evraz plc. has signed an agreement of selling its affiliated company LLC «EvrazTrans» JSC «OilTransService» for 9.45 million rubles. Deal was closed in November 2012 due to obtaining of corporate approvals and necessary approvals of authorities by «OilTransService». In such document workflow it is necessary to operate in a secure virtual environment which was provided by iDeals™ Solutions.
As a result Evraz will direct deal’s founds to general corporate purposes including partial repayment of the debt.
iDeals™ Solutions has successfully completed its mandate as the online virtual data room provider for selling LLC Zhivoi Istok
Moscow – iDeals™ Solutions has successfully completed its mandate as the online virtual data room provider for selling LLC Zhivoi Istok,which holds licenses to explore and produce oil at the Baleykinsky field and to survey the Uranskaya acreage both in the Orenburg Region, The new owner became Gazprom Neft [1].
[1] http://www.gazprom-neft.ru/press-center/news/735062/
MDMG Group (IPO)
In London iDeals™ Solutions took direct participation in IPO of Marc Curser’s company - MD Medical Group Investments (MDMG), an owner of “Mother and Child” medical clinics network in Russia. In such a way medical company entered stock market for the first time in history of Russian business. All participants of this grand and promising event were provided with secure and premium-quality document management. As a result capitalization of the company was estimated at $900 million.
Virtual Data Room presented by iDeals™ Solutions proved again its reliability and company confirmed its own status as a reliable and successful partner.
iDeals™ Solutions Completes Second Major Regional Transport Deal of 2012
iDeals™ Virtual Data Room (VDR) was mandated to act as a secure corporate documents exchange system to support the acquisition of LLC Metalloinvesttrans by Globaltrans Investment PLC. Metalloinvesttrans - was the captive freight rail transportation operator of Metalloinvest, a leading global extractor of iron ore and producer of hot briquetted iron. Globaltrans is a leading private freight rail transportation group and the first Russian freight company to have an international listing (2008, GDRs, London Stock Exchange).
The iDeals™ VDR platform was used to securely share the target's corporate data with potential buyers. The subsequent bidding ultimately culminated in Globaltrans' successful offer of $540m in cash for 100% of Mettaloinvesttrans.
iDeals™ involvement in the Metalloinvesttrans deal showcases the advantages of using a state-of-the art virtual data room for a major M&A transaction.
This successful transaction means that iDeals™ has been used to support over $1bn in regional transport sector M&A. Over $400m in investment was raised earlier this year by Kurumoch Airport using iDeals™ VDR as a document repository.
About LLC Metalloinvesttrans
Metalloinvesttrans operated 9,202 railcars of which 8,256, including 7,851 gondola cars, were owned as at 31 December 2011. Metalloinvesttrans manages rail logistics of Metalloinvest cargo volumes using its owned and leased-in railcar fleet as well as engaged fleet from third-party operators. Metalloinvesttrans, including the engaged third-party fleet, handled 44.2 million tons in 2011 with a focus on metallurgical cargoes (83%) as well as coal (10%) and other cargoes (7%).
About Globaltrans Investment PLC
Globaltrans is a leading private freight rail transportation group in Russia and the first such group to have an international listing. Globaltrans Investment PLC provides freight rail transportation, railcar leasing, and certain ancillary services to clients in Russia, the CIS countries and the Baltics.
Successful Management of KURuMOCH Transaction Puts iDeals™ Solutions on the Transport Sector map
iDeals™ Solutions has successfully completed its mandate as the online virtual data room provider for Kurumoch International Airport’s competitive investor selection process. Kurumoch International (KIA) is the main air transport hub of Samara Oblast, Russia located approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of the city. It is one of the largest airports in the central Volga region, handling around 1.5 million passengers and 5,000 metric tonnes of cargo annually.
The investor selection process used iDeals™ Virtual Data Room as a platform to solicit and accept proposals from six potential investors. iDeals™ locally based servers and live 24/7 customer service department allowed the deal advisors to securely share approximately 5 GB of sensitive information over a period of three months. Advisors involved with the process used iDeals™ integrated audit and Q&A capabilities to adhere to local regulatory statutes during the highly competitive process.
Anna Volfman, the iDeals™ account manager for the project, has witnessed iDeals™ steadily become the platform of choice for high-profile Russian investment projects. “In 2010/2011 iDeals™ was already considered to be the leading VDR provider for CIS-based natural resources, energy and utilities projects. Now, with the successful completion of the KIA investment project, we have staked an important claim in the region’s transport and infrastructure space as well”.
Koltsovo-Invest, part of the Renova Group, one of Russia’s largest private business groups and a major investor in infrastructure was the successful bidder in the investment selection process. Koltsovo-Invest will invest a reported rubles 12.3bn (approximately $400m) in and around KIA as part of the agreement.
iDeals Solutions™ Releases Next-Generation Document Viewer
New proprietary viewer allows users to view secure text, spreadsheets and images without installing a plug-in.
LONDON – iDeals Solutions™, the electronic data room provider, announces the release of iDeals™ Viewer 1.0. The new software allows most users and administrators to view sensitive documents in a secure environment without the need for any additional plug-ins or downloads. iDeals™ has already upgraded around 30% of production data rooms with the new viewer technology.
Removing the need for a plug-in means that users employed by large organizations can now view shared documents in iDeals™ VDR without having to first seek admin approval from their IT staff. The new viewer also improves the usability and security of the iDeals™ Virtual Data Room (VDR). iDeals™ Viewer 1.0 features include:
Secure automatic conversion and encryption of files from most native formats (acceptable formats include pdf, txt, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, vsd, pub, rtf, htm, html, mht, jpg, jpeg, jpe, gif, bmp, png, tif, tiff, wmf abd dwf);
Guaranteed plug-in free viewing for all users with Adobe Flash installed (this accounts for over 98% of world-wide PC and Mac users);
Assurance that decrypted text and imagery within a document will not be captured by a user’s browser cache (leaving no footprint on hard drive);
Faster screen changes during online document scrolling;
Full document search functionality in all languages;
Optional watermarking.
Elena Frolova, Director of Business Development based in iDeals™ Moscow office, welcomed the announcement, “iDeals™ Viewer 1.0 makes it easier for corporate and banking clients to adopt iDeals™ VDR since there is now no need to install additional software or plug-ins. It just works.”
If you would like to try out the new viewer in the latest version of iDeals™ Virtual Data Room contact iDeals™ at newviewer@idealscorp.com
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One part reality, one part mystery, one part love.
The One I Love stars Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss as a married couple desperately trying to recapture the spark, magic and love of their marriage. Their therapist suggests a weekend away is all they need. A house, a gardened backyard, a pool and a guest house is theirs to make use of as they will. While both are willing to try, I would venture that both are looking too far outside themselves. 2014
Directed by: Charlie McDowell
Screenplay by: Justin Lader
Starring: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss
The film is like a romantic drama or romantic comedy with a very light feel as it questions what is a relationship? What is love? What makes up the person that you love? But these questions are all in the background at the beginning because first Ethan and Sophie (and especially the viewer) have to figure out what is going on. The genre is actually more like a science fiction mystery but keeps one foot grounded in their reality.
Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass.
The two actors were great because with every twist in the movie the characters had to examine who they are and if they were staying true to themselves. The viewer always knew when a character was acting like they should and when they weren’t. But please be aware that you are unlikely to form any emotional connection to these characters. The viewer is on the outside of the glass, spying on this social experiment. Sometimes it seems wrong, but if it saves a marriage, is it worth it?
The poster gives me a Stepford Wives type vibe, and I think that’s a reasonable headspace to be in when the twist takes place. It’s not a horror twist but a simple psychological mystery. But it’s also not a romance, it’s about the essence of love but when it removes the emotional connection, the romance is gone too. There’s an upbeat score that insists it’s a comedy, but if you’re too busy trying to figure out what’s going on, you might forget to laugh. Either way, it is a light-hearted, mysterious look at love.
Confused? You’re supposed to be, but don’t worry the film will explain everything and in a timely fashion.
The film carries a comedic edge to it the whole way through, but if you’re actually thinking about the marital implications and the consequences to the individuals involved, it’s not really funny at all. It can be a relief that The One I Love is not reality, and real-life love is probably much simpler.
Certified Copy (2010) - "Certified Copy" is an original work of art.
TiMER (2009) - A romantic comedy that is actually well written, good, romantic and funny.
Juko's Time Machine (2011) - Creating rules of time travel that are clever and hilarious.
Labels: 400 Word Reviews, 8 Star Movies, Comedy, Drama, IndieVOD, Marriage, Romance
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« A victory for gun rights advocates
Ohioans For Concealed Carry files lawsuit against City of Campbell Ohio »
Survey Shows Police Support General Recognition of State Issued CCW Permits, reports Gun Law Expert
“One of the legislative items most sought by America’s 100 million law-abiding firearm owners is universal acceptance of permits to carry concealed firearms issued by a state,” says gun rights expert John M. Snyder.
“Gun owners believe that if a citizen has a permit to carry a concealed firearm issued by a state he or she should be able to carry that gun in any state,” adds Snyder, Public Affairs Director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
“Now we know that police, too, support this concept,” he adds.
Snyder says that, “national reciprocity for holders of permits to carry concealed firearms issued by states enjoys the support of over three-quarters of law enforcement command officers in the United States.
“This is evident from a recent survey of opinions of American chiefs of police and sheriffs.”
A former National Rifle Association magazine editor, Snyder states “the finding supports the program in Washington, D.C. of Senators and Representatives who promote national concealed carry reciprocity legislation.
“It undercuts the agenda of Senators and Representatives who work to undermine such legislation.”
The 2010 postal opinion survey is the 22nd such annual survey conducted by the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP). Snyder serves on the NACOP board.
When the officers were asked if general recognition throughout the states of ccw permits issued by a state, in the way drivers’ licenses are recognized throughout the country, would facilitate the violent crime-fighting potential of the professional law enforcement community, 77 percent said yes.
“The survey upends the propaganda of anti-gun organizations and individuals that gun rights and police interests are not compatible,” says Snyder, also a board member of the American Federation of Police and Concerned Citizens.
“In fact,” he believes, “the very opposite is the case. The survey shows that over 70 percent of the chiefs and sheriffs think that qualified, law-abiding armed citizens can be of assistance to the professional law enforcement community in promoting justice and reducing the incidence of violent criminal activity.-[source]
April 16th, 2010 | Tags: America, CCW, concealed carry, firearms, gun owners, justice, legislation, Police, RKBA, Second Amendment | Category: In America, Right to keep and bear arms
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Wednesday Briefs #8: Growth, Part 6: Adel, Part 1
January 21, 2014Written by Grace Duncan
Adel, Part 1
And we have the next Wednesday Brief in which we finally get into Adel’s head. He proved a little stubborn, but I’m pretty happy with where he’s going.
Adel couldn’t decide if he was amused, annoyed or… impressed. Ghalib had managed to evade him for more than a week. His room had still been cleaned, but Ghalib had done so when he’d been out of the room. So, despite doing his best to be there, he’d managed to miss Ghalib every time.
The one time he’d been in the room when Ghalib came in, he’d been in the bathing room and hadn’t heard anything until the door closing. He’d nearly leaped out of the tub, snatched up his towel and hurried out to the main room only to find that the fire was lit, the wine tray was on his table… and Ghalib had gone.
It was, in a word, ridiculous.
Adel hadn’t brought himself to directly request Ghalib yet. He would, if it came down to it, but he saw that as borderline abuse of his rank and didn’t like to do that. Because what he would be requesting Ghalib for had nothing to do with actual duties. And everything to do with the attraction he felt for Ghalib. But he was getting closer and closer to that point with every new day that Ghalib managed to avoid him.
Because that attraction irritated him by its simple existence.
Adel didn’t want to be attracted to a servant. It had nothing to do with their station –except for the fact that they most often felt they couldn’t say no. And he refused to put someone in that situation.
Adel’s father had had no such reticence. He’d slept with nearly every servant he came across. He’d had no compunction over using his maids and kitchen help as much for sex as he had for cleaning or cooking. As such, Adel now dealt with more of his father’s bastards than he knew what to do with.
And though Adel much preferred men to women and, thus, wasn’t about to father bastards, he didn’t want to follow in the man’s footsteps anymore than he already had. Which was to say, none. Thus, he’d refused to touch any of the servants—male or female.
So his attraction to Ghalib annoyed him to begin with. The fact that Adel couldn’t stop thinking about him only made things worse. And then there was the fact that Ghalib didn’t seem even remotely interested in returning that attraction, which made Adel even more determined to see and talk to him. Because despite the avoidance Ghalib was doing, Adel could have sworn something had passed between them the night of the Midwinter feast. And with the reaction Ghalib had had to his touch, he was sure he hadn’t been the only one to feel something when he’d grabbed Ghalib’s arm.
As if being a servant wasn’t bad enough, Adel was fairly certain Ghalib was still too young to get involved with. He had a very youthful face, and though Ghalib was plenty tall—as tall as Adel himself—something in the round cheeks made Adel question Ghalib’s age.
And yet, all of that aside, the thing he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the most hadn’t been the deep, dark eyes or the lean body Adel could tell was under the tunic nor had it been the strength he’d felt in the arm he’d grabbed. No, it’d been… the sigh.
He’d called it “forlorn” to Ghalib. And that was true, but there was more to it, too. He’d heard so much in that single sigh; it said so much about Ghalib.
And yet, not enough.
Adel picked up on the fact that something was wrong. But what exactly it was, he couldn’t know and until he could pin Ghalib down and ask—again—there was no way to find out.
He’d tried. He’d spoken to the lady from the kitchen, four of the other footmen, two pages and several maids. And though they knew who he was, none of them seemed to know much about him. The lady in the kitchen, Safiya, seemed to know the most, but even she didn’t have much to tell him. Ghalib had come to the palace young with a baby sister who had been adopted by another couple. He’d been there ever since, did what he was assigned to do and mostly just kept to himself.
Which had been very… unhelpful.
Adel paced his rooms, trying to puzzle the whole thing out. He wanted to help Ghalib. He was a qadi, he had wealth at his command, lands, people. Whatever it was, he was sure he could do something. But not until he knew what was wrong.
He liked to help people. Ever since he was a small boy, he tried to help people. His mother often found him in the kitchen “helping” to cook or carrying an injured animal into the villa to help it get better. He’d taken more than a little bit of teasing over it through his life.
But he didn’t care. He didn’t care then and he didn’t care now. Because more than liking to help, he felt that, since he was in the position to do so, it was his duty to use what he had to help others.
He stopped next to the window and looked out over the rooftops of Behekam. Lights twinkled on as the sun sank behind the horizon and Adel lost track of time.
Raine O’Tierney
Michael Mandrake
Andrew Q. Gordon
Lily Velden
Free Reads, Wednesday Briefs BDSM, fiction, free fiction, gay, GLBT, GLBT BDSM, GLBT historical, GLBT historical romance, Grace R. Duncan, historical, lgbt, m/m, middle east, romance, Wednesday Briefs, writing
In defense of Insta-love, or How long should it be before my MC’s can believably say “I Love you”…
Wednesday Briefs #7: Growth, Part 5: Ghalib & Adel’s First Meeting
Liking it. Ready for more.
Thanks! 😀 Glad you do!
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You are here : Fashion and Art Underground | Gutter Magazine » Uncategorized » MTV EMAs : 10 Greatest Performances
MTV EMAs : 10 Greatest Performances
by Siobhanne Beattie / November 9th 2014 / No Comment
Are you ready Glasgow?
The MTV EMAs 2014 kick off tonight at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro for the very first time with rap-diva, Nicki Minaj at the helm. 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the awards ceremony and will feature live performances from Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Royal Blood, Alicia Keys and U2.
Celebrate with us as we look back at some of the most memorable live EMA performances to date; keep it here for giant disco balls, a homage to Rocky, motorcycles and giant cherry chapsticks!
Queen Of Pop, Madonna brought disco fever to Lisbon in 2005 when she performed the ABBA-infused, lead single of her album, “Confessions On A Dancefloor” live for the first time, complete with thigh high boots and purple disco pants!
The late, great Amy Winehouse reminded us why we fell in love with her sultry, sassy style when she performed her signature song, “Back To Black” in 2007 when The EMAs hit Munich, Germany.
U2 “Mofo”
U2 paid tribute to Rocky with their MTV EMA performance in 1997 in Rotterdam. Introduced by actor, Dennis Hopper, Bono donned a boxing gown to open the show with single, “Mofo” from their album, “Pop”.
Christina Aguilera “Dirrty”
Stripper-esque songstress, Christina Aguilera got down ‘n’ dirrty when she performed at the 2002 EMAs in Barcelona. Clad in black leather, Aguilera roared onto the stage on a motorcycle. The singer went on to host the awards the following year in Edinburgh.
Beyonce “Sweet Dreams”
Queen Bey put in one of the most memorable EMA performance in 2009 in Berlin. Her live performance of hit single, “Sweet Dreams” from her “I Am . . . Sasha Fierce” album was sizzling, but not as sizzling as her red-hot outfit!
Eminem “Like Toy Soldiers”/”Just Lose It”
Rap bad-boy, Eminem stole the 2004 show in Rome with a mash-up of his hits, “Like Toy Soldiers” and “Just Lose It”.
Spice Girls “Spice Up Your Life”
In 1997, the pop-world belonged to five girls. “Spice Up Your Life” brought the house down in Rotterdam when Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Posh took to the stage and proved the Girl Power ruled the world (in the 90s, at least).
Rihanna “Only Girl In The World”
Pop princess, Rihanna may not be the only girl in the world, but at the 2010 EMAs in Madrid, she WAS the only girl we were all watching when she performed her smash-hit, taken from the album, “Loud”. With her fiery red hair, tiara and floral skirt, she was a treat for the eyes and the ears.
The Killers put on a big-budget production of signature song, “Human” in 2008 in Liverpool. The Las Vegas band brought a little razzle dazzle to the EMA stage when they performed in individual boxes and ad-libbed a little Echo & The Bunnymen.
California girl and then-new chick on the block, Katy Perry had just recently shot to international fame thanks to her pop anthem, “I Kissed A Girl” when she hosted The MTV EMAs in 2008. Never one to do things half-heartedly, Perry appeared on-stage wearing American football get-up “riding”a giant cherry chapstick, surrounded by zesty, teen cheerleaders . . .
What is the Matr… I mean... The Source Code?
in Uncategorized tags: MTV EMAs 2014 Glasgow SSE Hydro Nicki Minaj
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Home » TV » New Tesla Model S World Record single charge distance 425.8 miles [VIDEO]
New Tesla Model S World Record single charge distance 425.8 miles [VIDEO]
Tesla Model S owner Bruno Bowden recently set a new world record for the longest distance driven on a single charge, 425.8 miles (681.28 km). The record was announced at the TED2013 conference in Long Beach by Elon Musk.
At this stage, it's not known what route was taken but we do know that in order to reduce aero drag an average speed of 18 mph (29 km/h) was maintained throughout the 24 hour trip.
The world record for a Tesla Roadster on a single charge was 347.2 miles or 555.5 kms set in 2011 on a on a closed circuit in California, again achieved using a low average speed of only 25 mph (40 km/h)
Both these Tesla records actually beat the Guinness World Record from 2009 of 345 miles (552 km) but this distance was far surpassed by the same Japanese team in 2010 at 626.00 miles (1,003.184 km) using an EV converted Daihatsu Mira microcar.
Labels: Battery Electric Car, EV World Record, Tesla, TV
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Rep. Bera hears appeals, criticism for impeachment, single-payer healthcare in spirited town hall meeting
http://www.elkgrovenews.net/2019/06/rep-beras-hears-appeals-criticism-for.html
Rep. Ami Bera (D - Elk Grove, Calif.) displays redacted
pages from the Mueller report during the Elk Grove
town hall meeting. |
During a spirited session last night in Elk Grove, Rep. Ami Bera held a town hall meeting that drew over 200 constituents.
The meeting at Laguna Creek High School, which was scheduled to an hour and 15 minutes lasted over 90 minutes with Bera staying for a lengthy period after the meeting concluded. There were two primary topics constituents focused on - the possible impeachment of President Donald Trump, and healthcare, with the impeachment discussion taking over half of the session.
Acknowledging a high volume of calls has been received by his office urging him to support impeachment proceedings, Bera's opening remarks focused on that issue. Democratic Bera, who is now in his fourth term representing California's 7th Congressional district asked how many people in attendance supported impeachment saw over half of the participants raised their hands in agreement.
"It is a really important topic that needs to be discussed," Bera told the audience during his opening comments.
Part of the Bera's discussion focused on the findings of the Mueller report and its implications. Bera noted substantial pages of information were redacted by U.S. Attorney General William Barr and that he supports holding him in contempt for failing to respond to Congressional subpoenas.
Bera said Congress needs to find out what Barr hid from the report and it verifies Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"Anyone who doesn't acknowledge Russian interference is in denial," he stated.
Bera also said after reading the Mueller reports, he believes Trump has committed impeachable acts including obstruction of justice, However, he stopped short of voicing support for impeachment at this time.
"The President did commit impeachable offenses" but added, "a vote of impeachment hurts us."
Bera said a strong case against Trump must be built on several fronts. Until then, he said given the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, impeachment proceedings would fail there.
"The way we take down Donald Trump is to defeat him in 2020," he said. Bera added that if Trump ignores any of the possible subpoenas from Congress or the judicial system, the country could find itself in a constitutional crisis.
During his talk, Bera heard several comments urging him to support impeachment and condemning him for not taking a bold stance on the issue.
"I am asking you to have the courage of your convictions," Regina Banks, a 7th District constituent said to Bera. "Do your job, that is all we are asking."
Later in the meeting Banks told Bera that although she has worked his campaigns and donated money, if he had a primary challenger in 2020 who was supportive of impeachment and issue like single-payer healthcare, she would support that candidate.
While the impeachment question dominated the meeting, the topic of healthcare was also passionately discussed. Several audience members displayed "Medicare for all" signs in support of a single-payer health care system.
Bera did not commit to supporting single-payer healthcare in spite of many impassioned pleas and various proposal floated from audience members. Noting that there are still 20 to 30 million uninsured people nationally, Bera said that programs such as automatic enrollment in the Affordable Healthcare Act program are under consideration.
Toward the end of the meeting, Bera also faced criticism for not supporting House Joint Resolution 48. That proposal seeks a constitutional amendment that extends rights only to people and not corporations.
That discussion was wrapped in questions about recent legislation in states like Alabama that eliminate women's reproductive rights and the Citizen United Supreme Court ruling. Bera noted he supports reversing Citizens United and has a 100 rating from Planned Parenthood on women's reproductive issues but still faced criticism.
"Corporations have more rights than women," Elk Grove resident Nancy Castignetti said in her comments criticizing the congressman for not supporting HJR48.
Bera also briefly touched on homelessness, affordable housing, and the proposed Green New Deal. Elk Grove Planning Commissioner Mackenzie Weiser, who said she has personally visited his field office advocating for its support, asked why he has not taken a stance.
"Why is it you don't support the Green New Deal," she asked.
In response, Bera said he supports the ideals of the plan forwarded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) but has not carefully examined the proposal. Bera said he would look into the details of the program.
Even though Bera was frequently challenged and criticized during the meeting, he promised to hold another meeting next month within the district. He also thanked the audience for their participation.
"Thank you for showing up, thank you for bringing your passion, and thank you for expressing your displeasure," Bera said. "That is democracy."
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Qatar urged to set up global infrastructure bank with $300 billion balance sheet
in Infrastructure
Resource-rich Qatar should establish an international infrastructure investment bank with a balance sheet capacity of $300bn in view of $50tn funding required for the sector globally, according to the Institute for Infrastructure Studies (IIS).
The concept is to establish by 2015 a new specialist institution located in Doha and London with initial capital of not less than $5bn increasing over five years to $15bn thereby giving a balance sheet capacity of about $300bn, IIS director Anthony Holmes told the Qatar Banking Summit, organized by Meed, in association with the Qatar Central Bank, the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.
The IIS will be based in Doha with offices in London and in due course in the US.
The mandate of the proposed bank will be to finance the development phase (i.e. construction through to the commencement of operation) of major complex infrastructure projects globally, he said, explaining how global infrastructure bubble provides a significant opportunity for Qatar's financial sector.
It will become the global center of expertise in this substantial asset class and utilize its knowledge base and balance sheet to command a leading position in the syndicated financing of these major assets, he said.
"Qatar finds itself in the unique position of being able to use its considerable investment in domestic infrastructure to dominate this asset class and to profit from constraints and impediments likely to be experienced by established financial institutions," he said.
Stressing that it (the proposal to set up an international infrastructure investment bank) is an opportunity that should not be overlooked or discarded without detailed evaluation, Holmes said the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) estimates that the global demand for infrastructure investment until 2030 is expected to be around $50tn, which approximates to global gross domestic product (GDP) of 2012.
"There is a deeper issue confronting this large global asset class. In the new era of greater risk intolerance, Basel III and higher liquidity ratios, an aggregate investment of $50tn probably cannot be funded (through public private partnership model)," it said.
He said China, Brazil, India and the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) states have embarked on ambitious programs to expand their infrastructure frameworks to support economic transformation and greater urbanization.
Other nations have turned to investment in large scale infrastructure projects as the stimulant to accelerate the anaemic growth that has followed the deep global financial recession of the post 2008 period. These factors combine to distort the distribution of proposed infrastructure investment skewing it towards the near term, Holmes said, adding "on average, we expect this asset class to represent around 3% to 4% of global GDP but we estimate that over the period to 2018, demand equals around 6% of GDP."
In those countries that have embarked on large scale programs to transform their economic position – for example China, Qatar, India and Brazil – the figure is closer to 9% of GDP.
The current difficulty is that many states are now so burdened by the combination of high levels of sovereign debt low growth economies that they are reluctant or unable to finance their infrastructure programs through public purse, it said, adding instead they turn to public private partnership (PPP).
Holmes said PPP model – which is practiced widely in the UK, Canada and Australia – was designed to access private capital and transfer development risk to the private sector but is not a panacea as many thought and recent history indicates that PPP is only marginally fit for purpose.
Abu Dhabi explores waste recycling options
UAE to invest $5 billion in Russia
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Alan Henderson
Jasper Ave.
Tony Scherman
Local and international artists share the spotlight within this subtle gallery that aligns 124th Street
WITH the brand new Art Gallery of Alberta now open to the enthused public, Edmonton's arts community has leaped forward in a big way.
It means that our humble city will be taken seriously when it comes to opportunities to stage global exhibits and that outsider art enthusiasts won't disregard Edmonton as a potential tourist destination.
The AGA has at least raised awareness of the arts community in Edmonton, which explains why I found myself strolling down 124th Street last week with my winter coat and my Canon. The strip is well-known among locals as a hub of galleries that showcase mostly local or provincial artists of various mediums.
Stretching from the tail end of Jasper Avenue and down to about 111th Ave. is the "Gallery Walk," a cluster of modest galleries that share 124th with seasoned eateries, upscale boutiques and the 72-year-old Roxy Theatre.
Although not officially a member of the Gallery Walk Association of Edmonton, the Douglas Udell Gallery takes up residence among its art house colleagues. Situated somewhere between the area's beauty salons and coffee shops, I walked past the snow-covered cattle statue just outide the Udell's doors. I headed up the stairway and into the box-like building that almost resembles any of the family dwellings just off the main strip.
I wiped my wet sneakers on the welcome mat as much as I could, before roaming the mostly-carpeted gallery floor. There was a bronze calf that greeted my entrance, a statue similar to the one on the "front lawn." The farm animal seemed far outta place surrounded by elegant paintings and chic photography, but at the same time it appeared right at home.
There was a woman behind a desk who said "hello" and who assured me that I was permitted to snap pictures of the scenery, all price-tagged beyond my means.
The airy gallery was broken up into four or five "rooms" that exposed contemporary visual art from local, national and international artists, including Joe Fafard, Alan Henderson and Tony Scherman. The Udell gallery has been doing such for more than 40 years and has expanded to include affiliate showrooms in Vancouver (est. 1986) and more recently Calgary (est. 2006).
"With a mission to challenge and educate art collectors," Edmonton's branch was born in 1967, when it began exhibiting works from both well-known names and emerging artists, in the form of paintings, photography, ceramics, drawings, sculptures, folk arts & crafts, and mixed media. During the summer season the Udell opens up its garden--on the building's south side--to display even more sculptures. They also offer framing services.
"Travelling to the major art centres in North America with contacts throughout the world, we remain current, enabling us to offer collectors in Edmonton the opportunity to be a part of a much broader focus in contemporary art."
Owner and operator Doug Udell has noticed that there has been an uprising of provincial interest, both young and old, in the arts. "There's probably more galleries showing art...than ever before," he said. "The audience is bigger, the money is more available, so there's just more demand and interest.
"We've seen a big introduction of young people who want to collect, and I think it's because they're a lot more educated visually, the younger people, than they used to be."
Young or old, new or familiar to the gallery scene, the Udell welcomes anyone to come and see what they've got in stock, by walk-in or appointment. For more information on the Udell's current or upcoming exhibitions, or services they offer, visit their official website or check out their Facebook page.
For a complete list of the artists who's work is available through any of the trio of Douglas Udell Galleries click here.
Location: 10332-124th Street
Hours: 10AM-5:30PM (Tuesday-Saturday)
(closed on Monday & Sunday)
Labels: 124th Street Alan Henderson Art Gallery of Alberta Douglas Udell Gallery Gallery Walk Jasper Ave. Joe Fafard Roxy Theatre Tony Scherman
That's definitely not a bison.
Emil Tiedemann February 6, 2010 at 4:30 PM
You're right...I have no idea what I was thinking...consider it corrected!
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Protecting Magic Tricks - Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
Protecting Magic Tricks
April 14, 2014 In Blog, Copyright By Peter Menchini
In a decision a few days ago, Judge James C. Mahan of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, found for a magician by the name of Teller in a copyright infringement lawsuit. The copyright in question was a trick Teller has been performing trick since 1976, which he calls shadows. Gerard Dogge, the defendant in the case, posted a video on Youtube called The Rose & Her Shadow, the caption of the video being “I’ve seen the great Penn & Teller performing a similar trick, and now I’m very happy to share my version in a different and more impossible way for you.” The case will likely continue to trial on the question of what damages are to be paid by Dogge.
Peter Menchini
Pete Menchini is a second year student at Fordham Law. His interest in IP started years ago, from a misguided belief that every single idea his group of friends came up with could be patented and sold for millions of dollars. While his expectations of quick fortune diminished proportionally with the more he learned about the actual requirements of a patent, he did develop an interest in patent law itself. In his spare time he enjoys watching sports, snowboarding, and scrolling endlessly through reddit.
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CENTRE FOR BIOMEDICAL LAW
FACULTY OF LAW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA
www.lexmedicinae.org
A - Background
The Centre for Biomedical Law (CDB) was created by a decision of the Academic Board of the Faculty of Law, at the suggestion of Prof. Guilherme de Oliveira, in May 1988. In November 1997, the Centre was constituted as a private, non profit-making Association.
For the first few years, it was directed by Prof. Francisco Pereira Coelho, and its current director is Prof. Guilherme de Oliveira.
At first, the members of the Centre were lecturers from the Faculty of Law, from various specialities - Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Labour Law. After it became a non profit-making organization, and under its articles of association, the CDB opened its doors to other members. It is now proud to number among its membership some distinguished professionals from the fields of Law and Health.
The CDB is concerned with organizing public debate on topics of Biomedical Law, with improving the bibliographical resources of the Faculty of Law, and with promoting education in Health Law.
B - Education
1 - Postgraduate studies in Medical Law
Co-ordinator: Prof. Guilherme de Oliveira
This course aims to provide its students with specialist legal training in Medical Law. The first part of the course - a general introduction - is composed of modules that are designed to set Medical Law in the framework of the major doctrinal areas of Law: Constitutional; Administrative, Civil, Criminal, Labour, Confidentiality and Data Protection, and Ethics Committees. Special attention has been given to patients' rights and to the civil, criminal and disciplinary liability of doctors.
The second - specific - part will deal in detail with the multiple domains in this branch of law: Treatment and arbitrary Medical-surgical Interventions; HIV and AIDS; Drug Addiction; elective Abortion, Assisted Procreation, Surrogate Mothers, Cloning, Mental Health, Clinical Experimentation, Prenatal Diagnostics, Organ and Tissue Harvesting and Transplantation, Transsexualism, the Medical expert, Understanding the Human Genome, and Biotechnological Patents.
2 - Postgraduate studies in Pharmacy and Medicinal Products Law
Co-ordinator: Prof. Guilherme de Oliveira (Faculty of Law) and Prof. João Rui Pita (Faculty of Pharmacy)
The CDB is starting its 1st Postgraduate Course in Pharmacy and Medicinal Products Law.
Regarding the law on medicinal products, the first part of the course includes an introduction to the History, Sociology, Economics and Management of Medicinal Products. At the level of drug creation, attention is paid to Clinical Trials on Human Beings and animals, and Pharmacogenetics. With respect to drug dynamics, national and Community Institutions for regulating drugs are studied, along with International and Community Law on Medicinal Products, Biotechnological Patents, Advertising of Medicinal Products, and the Civil Liability of the Pharmaceutical Industry.
With respect to Pharmacy Law, issues related to the ownership of Pharmacies, the leasing of Pharmacies, Pharmaceutical Deontology, Personal Databases in Pharmacies and the Pharmacist's Civil, Criminal and Disciplinary Liability will be examined.
3 - Collaboration with other Centres
Members of the CDB collaborate with other organizations, namely, with the Faculties of Medicine, Psychology and Education Sciences and Economics, in the University of Coimbra, and with the Coimbra Centre for Bioethical Studies and the Ordem dos Médicos (Medical Association).
Internationally, academic and scientific links are maintained with a number of European institutions, including: the Institut fuer Medizin- und Arzteimittelrecht (Goettingen, Germany); the Institut fuer Deutsches, Europaeisches und Internationales Medizinrecht, Gesundheitsrecht und Bioethik, of Heidelberg and Mannheim (Germany); the Center for Etik og Ret (Copenhagen, Denmark); the Sheffield Institute of Biotechnological Law and Ethics (England), the Interfacultair Centrum voor Biomedische Ethiek en Recht Leuven (Belgium), and the Catedra Interuniversitaria Genoma y Derecho (Bilbao, Spain).
4 - Colloquiums and Short Courses
The CDB has organized public discussion on the major topics of advances in medical science at interdisciplinary colloquiums on Assisted Reproduction, Transplant, Analysis of the Human Genome, HIV and AIDS, Mental Health Law and Clinical Trials. Its members are also regularly invited to take part in debates organized by other institutions interested in Biomedical subjects.
Quite recently (September 2001), it held an Intensive Course on Medical Law / Cours Intensif de Droit Médical, bringing some of the most distinguished Professors from the finest Universities and Biomedical Law Research Centres to Coimbra. The course was attended by a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students from Europe, Brazil and Africa. It comprised about 50 hours of classes and was designed to explore the various branches of Medical Law in depth.
Two seminars are being prepared, on 'Biology and Genetics for Jurists', and 'Intra-family communication of genetic data'.
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Legal Rules - Practical Application
Coimbra, Almedina 1994
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Hedley, Carly Rae Jepsen, & Francesco Yates at Barrie Molson Centre
If you were a Canadian teenager in 2005 who loved listening to Pop Rock, chances are you definitely grew up listening to Hedley. Over the years, the band has gone from playing venues like the Kool Haus and opening for bands such as Simple Plan; to headlining and selling out the Air Canada Centre. With each tour, the band has brought in unique themes to enhance their live performances. Whether it was transforming the arena into an outdoor campsite, or getting shipwrecked in the middle of the stage, the band has always found a way to keep the fans on their toes. Needless to say, I was excited to see what they had in store for their Hello World Tour when it came to the Barrie Molson Centre on Monday night.
The band played in my opinion, a perfect set list. With 5 albums under their belt, they have a pretty extensive discography to choose from. While most bands tend to get rid of older songs, Hedley managed to include a bit from each album. To the delight of many of the older fans, song such as Villain, Saturday, and On My Own had worked its way back onto the set list in the form of a medley. Front man, Jacob Hoggard, has a very strong stage presence as he hyped up the crowd throughout the night while the band held down the fort on stage. Hoggard never really stood still and emitted energy from the stage that made you want to sing along and dance the night away, no matter where you were in the venue. Along with playing a great mix of songs, Hedley also did a really cool medley during their performance of Never Too Late, which consisted of Justin Bieber’s Sorry, and Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk.
From a production stand point, I feel like they fell a bit short compared to their previous tours, as they seemed to have cut doing a set change in the middle of the show. The only real memorable thing was the band’s intro, which consisted of a short film parody of what looked like Full House. I’m not going to lie though; when I first saw it, I was kind of disappointed they didn’t try to incorporate Carly Rae Jepsen into the intro as she sang the official theme song for the Full House reboot, Fuller House.
During the evening, Hoggard reminded the crowd to live in the moment and just put their phones down to enjoy the show. This didn’t work out so well for one lady in the crowd near the front, who decided to continually text from her seat. Hoggard stopped to ask her who she was texting, and then asked her to toss her phone up to the stage so he could see. To his surprise, she actually tossed her phone up! This lead to a couple of hilarious prank calls made to random people on the lady’s contact list – including one to Tim Horton’s. When all of the fun and games were done, Hoggard invited her up on stage to take a selfie with the band and get her phone back. Shortly after, they performed their hit Cha-Ching, and Hoggard briefly left the stage and asked the crowd who wanted a Hedley t-shirt. When he re-appeared, he was wearing a Hedley flag and had a t-shirt gun in hand as he began to launch shirts into the crowd.
As the night came to a close, Hedley ended the night with a 4 song encore which consisted of Trip, Kiss You Inside Out, Crazy For You, and Anything. The neat thing about Hedley’s encore was that when the lights came back on, Hoggard was nowhere to be found on stage. Instead he had reappeared in the crowd to serenade them with his acoustic guitar for the beginning of Trip, before heading back up to the stage when the whole band kicked back in.
CarlyRaeJepsenHelloWorldTourBarrieApril182016-1
FrancescoYatesHelloWorldTourBarrieApril182016-1
HedleyHelloWorldTourBarrieApril182016-1
HedleyHelloWorldTourBarrieApril182016-10
2016 Barrie Molson Centre Carly Rae Jepsen concert reviews Francesco Yates Hedley Hello World Tour
22: From Wings To Birdman 1958-1967 Part 1
Peter Murphy at The Mod Club
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Price $90,00 /day
Child Toddler Seat $35,00
Ski Rack $40,00
Infant Child Seat $35,00
GPS Satellite $100,00
Show Chains $120,00
Price Per Day $90,00
Equipment $0,00
Number (Day)
1 Package 1 20 - 50 $90,00 $80,00
2 Package 2 60 - 100 $90,00 $80,00
3 Package 3 110 - 199 $90,00 $70,00
The company continued to work at its regular pace. In 1972, the P250 Urraco, the 400 GT Jarama, the 400 GT Espada and the P400 Miura SV were in full production. That year, in an attempt to improve sales that were frankly quite disappointing until then, the Jarama hand a 365-hp engine and was dubbed the Jarama S.
In 1972, the Urraco, which had experienced several initial slowdowns, was finally put into production. Almost inevitably, the S version also arrived in October of that year. In this case, the goal was not to enhance the car’s performance but to improve its overall quality, which had been neglected in the haste to start production.
The following year, while waiting for the Countach prototype to be developed to a stage that would enable its production, the Espada was further modified and perfected, and the new series was presented in October 1972. New wheels as well as perfected detailing of the entire body, the dashboard, the central instrument panel and various components characterised this well-made Series III. This last series essentially represented the decisive peak in the evolution of this outstanding four-seater, which is still in great demand among Lamborghini fans around the world. Its production would reach the respectable figure of 1226 units, quite a large number for a carmaker of this size selling at top-level list prices.
The production model of the Countach was codenamed LP 400 because its V12 – positioned longitudinally behind the cockpit – was increased to an ideal displacement of 4 litres (3929 cc). This model debuted at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show.
2 Pieces of Laggage
Gas Vehicle
abc@domain.com
Book rating: 5 out of 5 with 1 ratings
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Material Detail: Decision Making
The case begins by outlining the problems of the Latin American Debt Crisis of the 1980s. The student, adopting the role of the president of a fictional Latin American nation during the crisis, must analyse the situation in several other countries as part of a defined decision-making process. The two-fold aims of the case are to familiarise the students with South America’s “Lost Decade”, as well as demonstrate the steps involved in making...
Decision Making, Decision Making Process
Decision Making is categorized in the following disciplines:
Business/Management/Org Behavior and Development
Laura Tedesco, IE Business School
Tara Wernsing, IE Business School
Martin Rodriguez
This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain
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M1 Patients and Populations: Medical Decision-Making- Uncertainty
The case begins by outlining the problems of the Latin American Debt Crisis of the 1980s. The student, adopting the role of the president of a fictional Latin American nation during the crisis, must analyse the situation in several other countries as part of a defined decision-making process. The two-fold aims of the case are to familiarise the students with South America’s “Lost Decade”, as well as demonstrate the steps involved in making informed, well-reasoned decisions by avoiding typical biases that affect decision making. The case includes a narrated animation explaining the causes of the Latin American Debt Crisis and an interactive stakeholder map. The situation in Latin America is explained for several countries, making this case suitable also for teaching about the crisis generally. The decision making aspect highlights common cognitive biases that can lead to poorer decisions.
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SOUNDGARDEN: New Video Interview With KIM THAYIL, BEN SHEPHERD
June 15, 2012 0 Comment Soundgarden
Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Ben Shepherd of reformed grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN at this year’s edition of the Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
When asked about what SOUNDGARDEN‘s forthcoming album sounds like, singer Chris Cornell told NME TV, “It’s kind of hard to describe. It’s sort of like picking up where we left off. There’s a lot of different feels on the album. We’re a band where every single member contributes music. So that creates diversity and a lot of different songwriter partnerships and things that we only do as a group. I think it’s a very rich album with a lot of different moods to it.”
“Live To Rise”, the first SOUNDGARDEN song in almost 16 years, was made available as a free download on iTunes beginning April 17 as part of the promotion of “Marvel’s The Avengers”. The seven-day promotion included an exclusive clip, “The Face Off”, from the superhero team-up movie, which came out on May 4.
“Live To Rise” was written specifically for “Marvel’s The Avengers” after SOUNDGARDEN was approached about contributing a song to the film.
“The hard part of writing a song for a film is it has to act as a SOUNDGARDEN song, first and foremost, then obviously, it has to coexist with the film,” Cornell told Billboard.com.
Cornell told Seattle radio station KISW that fans should not think of “Live To Rise” as an indication of what the rest of the group’s new record will sound like. Chris explained, “Some of the songs on our new album are pretty far left of center, and sort of zero in on more of a hardcore SOUNDGARDEN fan and not necessarily a family that goes to see a film like that. Although [‘Live To Rise’ is] not really what I think of as a necessarily family-friendly song, but it’s as close as we’ve ever come.”
The singer added that the tune wasn’t specifically based on the movie, saying, “I think a film like this appeals to little kids all the way to old people because it’s an action film, it’s comic book characters, but it’s also pretty witty dialog and accomplished actors doing it. So it had to be somewhat open to all of that. But also first and foremost it has to be a SOUNDGARDEN song.”
SOUNDGARDEN officially reunited in early 2010 after disbanding in 1997. Since then, the group has played one full-length North American tour, a batch of festival and club gigs, and some overseas shows.
The group also released a career retrospective called “Telephantasm” as well as a concert album titled “Live On I5”, which was recorded on its last tour before breaking up.
A release date and title for the new SOUNDGARDEN album have yet to be announced.
← HALESTORM: Video Interview With LZZY HALE
SCORPIONS Guitarist Interviewed On Washington D.C.’s 100.3 →
SOUNDGARDEN Has 15 Early Songs In The Vault, Says CHRIS CORNELL
SOUNDGARDEN’s CHRIS CORNELL On ‘Live To Rise’, Next Album And Illegal Music Downloading
New SOUNDGARDEN Album Is ‘Mostly Done,’ Says Singer
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Manufacturing could start in Myanmar's Thilawa zone in mid-2015
About 40 foreign manufacturers are interested in setting up in the Thilawa economic zone being developed with Japanese help outside Myanmar's main city, Yangon, and commercial operations could start in mid-2015, a Myanmar official said.
Myanmar has opened up since a quasi-civilian government took office in 2011 after decades of military dictatorship and foreign firms are looking to benefit from cheap labour and a virgin market in thriving Southeast Asia.
Set Aung, vice-governor of Myanmar's central bank and chairman of the committee overseeing the economic zone, said the potential investors were producers of clothing, foodstuff, electronic appliances, toiletries and car parts.
The first phase of the zone involves an industrial park covering 400 hectares (988 acres) out of the total 2,400 hectares earmarked for the project.
"The first phase is estimated to cost about $180 million and about $50 million has already been invested for inside infrastructure projects," Set Aung said.
Myanmar and Japan are jointly developing the special economic zone on the southwest outskirts of Yangon. It will eventually have a deep-sea port, roads, bridges, a power plant and waste water treatment plants.
Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Public Ltd. Co., a consortium set up by nine Myanmar companies, owns 41 per cent of the shares in the zone and the Thilawa SEZ Management Committee, a state entity chaired by Set Aung, has the remaining 10 per cent held on the Myanmar side.
On the Japanese side, the MMS Thilawa Development Co. Ltd., a consortium grouping Mitsubishi Corp, Marubeni Corp and Sumitomo Corp, has 39 per cent and the Japan International Cooperation Agency 10 per cent.
Set Aung said shares in Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings, the local consortium, would be offered to the public in the first week of March.
They will be sold through five private banks as well as at outlets near the project area so that residents there will be able to participate easily.
It was unclear if there would be any way to trade in the shares and full details of the offer were not available.
Myanmar has a stock exchange set up with the help of Japan's Daiwa Securities in 1996 but it has only two listed companies and trading is minimal.
Daiwa is working with the government on a more modern bourse that is supposed to open in 2015.
Source: AsiaOne
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"No honour left for PDP to insult President Buhari" - Information Minister
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed has taken a swipe on the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) over its criticism of the All Progressive Party’s (APC) led government for the poor state of the country’s economy and depreciation of naira, saying that the PDP lacks the temerity to insult President Buhari and the citizens for their failure in managing the economy in a transparent manner.
The Minister was reacting to the comments credited to Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, that businesses may collapse in the next six months because the Buhari Administration has mismanaged the economy, which he said was the clearest indication yet that the PDP and its leaders are still in denial about the massive body blows they inflicted on the Nigerian economy.
Mohammed, who spoke in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on media, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, insisted that the poor state of the country’s economy, especially the depreciation in the Naira exchange rate, is the direct consequence of the incomprehensible mismanagement of the economy and the mindless looting of the national treasury under the immediate past Administration, rather than pushing the blame on the Buhari’s Administration.
”If there was still any honour left among thieves, there is no way the leaders of a party under whose watch the nation’s economy suffered a monumental mismanagement and the Central Bank was turned to the ATM or piggy bank of a few people will have the temerity to insult a government that is working hard to turn things around or the citizens who are bearing the brunt of such mismanagement,” the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement on Sunday.
”It is now clear to all Nigerians that if the PDP had won the last general elections, Nigeria’s economy would not have survived one more month, considering the battering it received under the immediate past Administration. It is therefore unconscionable that those who should show contrition and hunker down to avoid public opprobrium are the same ones pointing an accusing finger at the Buhari Administration,” he said.
”Senator Ekweremadu complained about the depreciation of the Naira without telling Nigerians who ‘dollarized’ the Nigerian economy by bribing many individuals and groups with dollars during the last elections, thus inflicting a knock-out punch on the local currency. He also failed to tell Nigerians which government presided over the frenzied mop-up of dollars, either for ‘armsgate’ or for slush fund purposes, from the CBN to a point where it almost ran out of the hard currency,” he added.
The Minister said even though the Buhari Administration met an economy that was in coma, it had refused to use that as an excuse for inaction, hence has been working hard on measures that will turn the economy around and greatly offer relief to Nigerians by lifting millions, not thousands, of people out of poverty through a massive social intervention policy.
”The outcome of the months of hard work will manifest soon in the 2016 national budget that will give succour to millions of Nigerians who are reeling from fallout of the solecism of the immediate past Administration that turned the country into a cash bazaar,” said Minister
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Total eclipse over Svalbard islands in Arctic
Sky-gazers in the Arctic were treated to a perfect view of a total solar eclipse yesterday as the moon completely blocked out the sun in a clear sky, casting a shadow over Norway’s remote archipelago of Svalbard. People shouted, cheered and applauded as Longyearbyen, the main town in Svalbard, plunged into darkness. The skies were clear, offering a full view of the sun’s corona — a faint ring of rays surrounding the moon — that is only visible during a total solar eclipse.Earlier, a blanket of clouds in the Faeroe Islands blocked thousands of people there from experiencing the full effect of the total eclipse.
The Faeroes and Svalbard were the only two places on land where the eclipse was total.
Despite the clouds in the Faeroes, tourists and residents in Torshavn alike hooted and applauded as the daylight dimmed for about two minutes and 45 seconds.
“It was a pretty big disappointment not to be able to see the sun,” said Janaki Lund Jensen, who had sailed from Copenhagen with 884 others to see the eclipse.
Hotel rooms have been booked for years as thousands came to the Faeroe Islands to try to see the eclipse.
Sigrun Skalagard, in the northern parts of the Faeroes, said birds there went silent and dogs started howling.
“Some people were surprised to see how fast it became dark,” she said.
A partial solar eclipse could be seen yesterday across Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.
Britain’s Met Office said 95 percent of the sun was covered in the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetland Islands, and 1 percent less further south in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
In Copenhagen, the sun was 85 percent covered up, while 80 percent was hidden in southern Sweden.
← New Arctic research projects start Norway Prioritizes High North Equipment →
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Power DJ's:
MC Boogie D-The Houseparty
Horoscopes with Marion Rosenthal
Leroy & Skillet's Movie Reviews
Brett The Man's Wacky Weather Fact
Rap Masterpiece Theater ...........4MORE
Brett The Man-The Houseparty
Rap Masterpiece Theatre ...........4MORE
The Power Flashback at 12Noon
.............................................4MORE
Bruce St. James
Smash or Trash at 4:30PM
The 5 O'Clock Scream at 5PM
The Traffic Jam with DJ Blade at 5PM
Tucson's Top 30 3PM Fridays .4MORE
Killer Keith
The Power 7 at 7 at 7PM
Kiss or Diss at 9PM
...............................4MORE
R Dub
Rap It Up at 11PM
Slow Jam at 12M
........................4MORE
.................................4MORE
Hilly Holiday
Rick on the Radio
Power 1490 Alumni:
Barbie Greene The Request Machine
Bob O'Dell
Chris Kerr "Super Freak"
Cool DJ Johnny Mack
Gary The Sandman
Joseph "JB" Blair
Kid Marconi
Lisa McDaniel
Lorna Foxx
Moe Pacheco
Ronnie Z "The Z-Man"
The Saturday Night Hot Mix at 8PM
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The Onion Solution to the Government Shutdown
Here we go. Again.
In October of 2013 the satirical news site, The Onion, ran a piece entitled “Heroic Broken Sewage Pipe Floods Congress With Human Waste.” [1] “Calling the busted cylinder a national hero,” the article read, “sources confirmed Wednesday that a sewer pipe in the U.S. Capitol building valiantly burst open, pouring more than 1.5 million gallons of raw sewage into Congress and flooding the Senate and House of Representatives with human excrement, sludge, and wastewater.” A picture ran with the article depicting members of Congress covered with filth.
Where the fault should lie for the inability of Congress to pass a budget by the deadline, thus causing much of the federal government to officially shut down [2], will be answered only in a partisan manner. But the new age abhorrence of compromise has made it impossible for the national legislature to function properly, and that should be perfectly clear to all.
Political parties too have once again revealed themselves as the public nuisances they truly are. Instead of going about the business of governance, congressional partisans engage each other in a game of chicken, planning in advance how they will blame the other party in the event that no one swerves out of the way in time. With their usual uncharitable assessment of the intelligence of the average American, they hope no one will notice that interparty mudslinging takes priority over all other concerns. (Why we are surprised when politicians continue to behave like politicians once they are in office is a subject we should take up sometime.)
Many changes can be contemplated above and beyond pleading with politicians to change their behavior, but until such visions are instantiated we have to play in the ballpark we’re in. So we ask ourselves what we can do, within the framework of the Constitution, about the fact that Congress seems to find it overly difficult to pass a budget. And the answer might be that they should stop trying.
The president didn’t have to submit an annual budget for the whole federal government before the enactment of the Budgeting and Accounting Act of 1921. [3] The Constitution doesn’t require it. All it does require is that all “Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills,” (Article I, Sec. 7) and that no “Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.” (Article I, Sec. 9)
Getting rid of the budgeting process as it is now practiced, while it may seem to be irresponsible at first blush, would actually force Congress to look at line items on a more individualized basis. Since we could expect that appropriations would accompany these line items, a process of the kind being suggested here might even engender a heightened awareness of expenditures not derived from the treasury. This is not to say that deficits necessarily portend the disaster advertised, but it could not be harmful to enhance the consciousness of our senators and representatives.
But the greatest benefit to such an approach would be to eliminate all of the deadlines and government shutdowns. A dispute over one or two items wouldn’t require the federal government to close for business.
Or perhaps we’ll just have to call upon the intrepid sewage pipe.
There's No Gerrymandering for an At-Large Election
It has by now been widely reported by The New York Times and others that a “panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s congressional map on Tuesday, condemning it as unconstitutional because Republicans had drawn the map seeking a political advantage.” [1] Let it be clearly understood that this is not simply the court’s interpretation of the goings on in North Carolina, but an indisputable fact. As the court pointed out,
“Legislative Defendants do not dispute that the General Assembly intended for the 2016 Plan to favor supporters of Republican candidates and disfavor supporters of non-Republican candidates. Nor could they. The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly expressly directed the legislators and consultant responsible for drawing the 2016 Plan to rely on ‘political data’—past election results specifying whether, and to what extent, particular voting districts had favored Republican or Democratic candidates, and therefore were likely to do so in the future—to draw a districting plan that would ensure Republican candidates would prevail in the vast majority of the state’s congressional districts.” [2]
You read that correctly. The state’s district map was drawn with the specific and open intention of favoring Republican candidates for Congress. In fact, “the state legislator responsible for drawing the 2016 Plan said he drew the map to advantage Republican candidates because he ‘think[s] electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats.’”
“But,” the court said, “that is not a choice the Constitution allows legislative mapdrawers to make. Rather, ‘the core principle of [our] republican government [is] that the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.’”
Given such blatant behavior, it would have been odd if the three-judge district court panel had not stricken down North Carolina’s gerrymandered congressional map. And since this case is doubtlessly headed for the Supreme Court, it will be just as odd if the high Court doesn’t deal with the case in the same way. It is hard to conceive of how the Court could uphold a scheme that is designed to discriminate against a group on the basis of beliefs protected by the First Amendment.
But, sometimes we are surprised. Aren’t we?
But it is worthy of note in this connection that gerrymandering only works for the House of Representatives. The voting area for Senate seats can’t be gerrymandered, because senators are elected by the entire state. The same would be true if there were no congressional districts and members of the House were elected at-large. By this is meant that a state-wide election would be held in which all of the candidates would compete for the seats of a given state. In a state with three representatives, the top three candidates in terms of votes would go to Congress to represent the state. In a state with fifty-three representatives, the top fifty-three would win congressional seats.
No, the Constitution doesn’t require that members of the House be elected by district. [3] Electing representatives on an at-large basis would be perfectly permissible under the Constitution. Indeed it was not until 1842 that Congress enacted legislation requiring House members to be elected by single-member districts, and six states were electing their representatives on an at-large basis at the time. [4]
Would this give members of more marginal parties a chance to gain congressional seats that the current system doesn’t afford them? That could be bad or good, depending on your perspective, and depending on what sorts of parties increased their access. Nonetheless, we could expect the major parties to put forth enough candidates to make sure that all of the seats are covered, and there is no reason to suspect that people would be, because of this proposed change in this system, more inclined to vote for third parties than they are now. Besides, it is not at all clear that enhancing the electoral chances of third parties is a bad thing. A Green or Libertarian here or there would hardly be the end of the world. It is true that there are small parties that dream of visiting some ghastliness on us all someday, such as Nazis or full-blown Communists. But there is no reason to think that an at-large system will make them any more popular than they are at present.
Another possible concern is that in large states it will be difficult for people to keep track of all the candidates. That would be a problem if the idea was that people would be casting multiple votes. But they wouldn’t be doing that. They would only cast one vote, for the candidate they like the best. Finding the candidate one likes best shouldn’t be too onerous. And it will once and for all rid us of the superstition that geographic proximity equals similar political interests. It is quite possible for a candidate who resides on the other side of the state to represent your interests better than one who lives next door to you.
In any event, if gerrymandering is a problem to be gotten rid of, a good way to do that is to switch to at-large voting for members of the House.
But Are They Serious?
The decision of the Trump administration to commence the vigorous enforcement of federal marijuana laws has resulted in bipartisan opposition, it seems. [1] “Attorney General Jeff Sessions, long a vocal opponent of the legalization of marijuana,” has “rescinded an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors in most cases from bringing charges wherever the drug is legal under state laws,” [2] and both Republicans and Democrats have “reacted with dismay and howls of betrayal….”
Marijuana has been legal in Colorado since January of 2014, and has developed into an established industry in the state. [3] Naturally, “Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, a conservative member of the Republican leadership who has rarely broken with the Trump White House,” is none too pleased. He has declined to participate in “a federal assault on the expanding $1 billion legal pot business approved by voters in Colorado, and” has “threatened to try to block all Justice Department nominees until Mr. Sessions” backs off. “’I am obligated to the people of Colorado to take all steps necessary to protect the state of Colorado and their rights,’” he says, pointing out that “he had been assured by both President Trump and Mr. Sessions before voting for the attorney general’s confirmation that backtracking on marijuana would not be a focus of the administration.”
Mr. Gardner is “not the only unhappy Republican. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska” where marijuana is also legal [4], “said in a statement that she had repeatedly discouraged Mr. Sessions from taking action on marijuana, a move that she called regrettable and disruptive.”
Medical marijuana is legal in Florida [5], and, as The New York Times reports,
“Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, a leading Trump ally in the House, said the decision would deny relief to suffering cancer patients, including children. He said the move by Mr. Sessions was ‘heartless and cold, and shows his desire to pursue an antiquated, disproven dogma instead of the will of the American people. He should focus his energies on prosecuting criminals, not patients.’”
Of course, Democrats haven’t been silent either:
“Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader whose state began allowing the sale of recreational marijuana this week, also pointed to the strong national sentiment for legalization shown in votes around the country in recent years.
“’Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision bulldozes over the will of the American people and insults the democratic process under which majorities of voters in California and in states across the nation supported decriminalization at the ballot box,’ she said. ‘Yet again, Republicans expose their utter hypocrisy in paying lip service to states’ rights while trampling over laws they personally dislike.’
“She and Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said they would try to use a pending spending package to prevent Mr. Sessions from following through on the plan to overturn an Obama-era policy that made marijuana prohibition a low priority for law enforcement. Mr. Leahy noted that such a provision had previously passed the Senate Appropriations Committee with support from both parties.”
But two pertinent facts are being concealed, whether willfully or not, by all of this rhetoric. The first is that the president, as the chief executive, is constitutionally mandated to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…,” [6] and there remains a federal prohibition of marijuana. When it comes to enforcement of federal marijuana laws, it doesn’t matter if Donald Trump or Jeff Sessions oppose or support marijuana legalization. It doesn’t matter if they have an earnest personal desire to smoke pot. Their job is to enforce the law, and if they refuse to do so it is an abrogation of their constitutional duty.
The second is that Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. The laws that are enforced by the executive branch don’t come from the sky. Federal marijuana prohibition didn’t emerge from the ground. It is there because Congress passed a law saying it should be there. And it could pass legislation saying that it should no longer be there. But with all of this rhetoric we are hearing from members of Congress, none of them are saying that they will introduce legislation to repeal federal marijuana laws and leave the question to the states. Instead they are trying to put the blame on the administration, which is only saying that it will enforce the legislation that Congress has passed. Now if Congress passes such legislation, and the president responds with a veto, then the blame can be placed with him. But not before.
Until then one should be forgiven for thinking that the outrage being expressed isn’t serious.
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Three Forks is a thriving town that retains its Old-West charm. Centrally located just off Interstate 90 between Bozeman, Helena, and Butte, Three Forks is just 6 miles from the Missouri Headwaters State Park and a short drive to the Madison Buffalo Jump State Monument which archaeologists date back as 4,000 years old.
Easily accessible off I-90, US-287, and Montana Highway 2, which is a back road en route between Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park, Three Forks is home to spectacular outdoor sports. Always an adventure is the Lewis and Clark Caverns where stalactites and stalagmites create breathtaking scenes. You may also want to check out nearby ghost towns and authentic tipi rings.
Area industries include the Holcim Cement Plant in Trident, Luzenac Talc Mills in Three Forks and Sappington, and Kanta Block Products in Three Forks. Business owners provide groceries, motels, prescriptions, restaurants, gasoline and automotive needs, a variety of professional services, western wear and tack, a greenhouse, a florist, a hardware store, and book, gift, and tackle shops. Three Forks has local Internet providers, overnight shipping services, and a weekly newspaper. There are excellent medical and dental facilities, schools, a golf course, an airport (5,000 feet long, paved and lighted), a library, a museum, a volunteer fire department, and a volunteer ambulance service.
Nearby towns are: Willow Creek (6 miles), Manhattan (11 miles), Amsterdam-Churchill (19 miles), Belgrade (21 miles), Four Corners (28 miles), Townsend (37 miles), Whitehall (31 miles), and Bozeman (31 miles).
Three Forks's elevation is 4,130 feet. Most summers have seven or fewer days with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees. The average high temperatures for summer are in the 70s and 80s and the average lows are in the mid 40s and low 50s.
Early in autumn, high daily temperatures average 70 degrees. Indian summer can linger until the middle of October. During the months of October and November, the temperatures generally reach highs in the 40s and 50s and lows in the 20s or 30s.
Winters in Three Forks are characterized by fluctuating temperatures. Mild winter weather is not unusual and a week or more of consistently cold weather is rare. For the winter sports enthusiast, the relatively low humidity (average around 58.9) and light winds provide an ideal climate for outdoor winter activities. Downhill ski season usually extends from mid-December to the beginning of April.
The town of Three Forks derived its name from the headwaters of the Missouri which is the confluence of the three rivers that are the source of the longest river system on the continent, the Missouri-Mississippi drainage. In 1805, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery camped at the headwaters of the Missouri River. They named the southern fork Gallatin in honor of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury; the middle fork, Madison, in honor of James Madison, Secretary of State; and the northern fork, Jefferson, in honor of President Thomas Jefferson.
Located in the renowned Gallatin Valley, the headwaters area includes the towns of Three Forks, Willow Creek, Trident, and Logan, up the Jefferson toward Whitehall, up the Madison toward Harrison, and down the Missouri toward Townsend. A tributary of the Jefferson River, Willow Creek, was named "Philosophy River" by Lewis and Clark.
The area of the headwaters and surrounding the town of Three Forks has some of the most colorful legends and early day history of any region in Montana. The headwaters area was a natural crossroads and hunting ground for various Native American tribes, such as the Blackfeet, Shoshone, Flathead, and Crow, many years before Lewis and Clark arrived. Nearby is the Madison Buffalo Jump State Park where buffalo were hunted until about 200 years ago.
Sacajawea, the Indian woman who was interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was captured as a child near the headwaters in 1800. She was taken by the Mennetaree tribe to the Mandan Village in the Dakota Territory. Upon returning with the Corps of Discovery, she recognized this area and knew she was nearing her homeland.
John Colter, a member of the Expedition, came back here to trap beaver. This is where he made his famous "naked" run for his life in 1808. He was the first white man to visit Yellowstone Park.
A trading post was established by thirty-two men representing the Missouri Fur Company in 1810, among them Colter and George Drouillard who was also on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The post was unsuccessful due to hostile Indians and grizzly bear attacks.
Other famous fur trappers and traders such as Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger, William Sublette, and Kit Carson also explored here. In 1832, Kit Carson was ambushed below the cliffs north of Trident and wounded in a skirmish with Blackfoot Indians. In 1840, Father DeSmet spent his first summer in Montana in at the headwaters doing missionary work with the Crow and Flathead Nations.
In 1862, Gallatin City was founded at the headwaters by a group of Missourians who believed it would be the head of navigation on the Missouri. They thought the gold discoveries in Virginia City, Helena, and elsewhere in Montana, would turn this area into a crossroads for miners, settlers, and freighters traveling between the gold fields. When it was determined that would not be the case, due to the "great falls" above Fort Benton, the town was moved across the river in 1865 to catch the stagecoach trade. It was named Gallatin City II and became the first county seat. When the county seat was moved to Bozeman and the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Gallatin City II, the town began to decline.
In 1867, "Initial Point"undefinedwhere the land survey of the entire state of Montana had its start and radiated out to the state's bordersundefinedwas located near the town of Willow Creek, a few miles from Three Forks.
"Old Town" is the original Three Forks and was described as a Gallatin City suburb in 1885. It was known at one time as an "English Colony" because it was a place where British first families sent their wayward sons to "sow their wild oats." Other Englishmen embarked in the horse and cattle business. Neither venture profited. Old Town was at one time owned by the Anaconda Copper Company.
The Three Forks of today owes its existence to the establishment of the Milwaukee Railroad in 1908. The location was chosen by J. Q. Adams, Milwaukee Railroad Land Agent. The railroad era lasted until March 25, 1980, when the last Milwaukee Train pulled out of Three Forks.
Information and photos courtesy of the Three Forks Chamber of Commerce.
Information provided by Big Sky Country MLS.
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"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941
May we never forget.
Labels: December 7, Pearl Harbor, Remembrance
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Writing an article about a store visit isn’t something that we normally do around these here parts, but once in a while there is a reason to make an exception. Case in point? The guys that run Vinegar Syndrome have opened up a brick and mortar retail store called The Archive in Bridgeport, CT. Why does that matter to readers of this site? Because in an age where online sales seem to be killing physical stores (R.I.P. Mondo Kim’s of NYC!), doing something like this is kind of a ballsy move. On top of that, it’s the type of store that caters to cult film fans and record junkies!
The first thing you notice when you walk in? Lots of movies on display, all killer, no filler. There’s pretty much a complete offering of Vinegar Syndrome titles, as you’d expect, but also plenty of titles from equally cool labels like Mondo Macabro, Synapse, Severin Films, Mondo Vision, Cult Epics, Raro Video, Arrow and more. This isn’t the type of stuff you’re going to find if you walk into Walmart of Best Buy, which makes browsing a store like this a serious treat for fans of psychotronic cinema.
And then there’s the vinyl. This store isn’t huge and on the day we visited, well, it was a soft opening, so these guys are just getting started but this is a really nicely curated section. It’s worth the trip to the store just for the soundtrack selection alone, made up of plenty of original pressing and vintage releases as well as new issues from labels like Death Waltz, Mondo, Ship To Shore, One Way Static and more. On top of that there’s a decent selection of metal, punk/new wave and general rock and roll. Another thing worth noting? The pricing here is very fair. A lot of shops around NYC, where we hail from, seem to look up a title on discogs and put it out at the highest price it’s sold for on that site with little regard to commonality or condition. The vinyl here is priced fairly. It’s also graded well and displayed nicely.
If you head to the back of the store, however, there’s more! Proving that everything old is new again, there’s a wall of vintage VHS releases! Anyone who rented from their local mom and pop shop during the rental boom years, particularly those of us who went through every damn title in the horror section, will get a serious nostalgia wave – and again, what’s here is good. No Jerry Maguire or Titanic tapes to be found!
Also in the back room, which has some seating for hanging out and some reading material scattered around, is a selection of vintage posters and memorabilia, a few arcade machines and a nice selection of cult movie t-shirts.
All in all, it’s a very cool store. If you find yourself in the Bridgeport CT area, The Archive is currently open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am until 7pm and is located at 118 Congress Street. Pay this place and spend a few bucks, not just because they carry great stuff but because there’s still a lot of fun to be had physically browsing movies and music in a store like this, no matter how convenient online shopping has become.
Tags : connecticut, movie store, record store, the archive, vhs store, vinegar syndrome, vinyl store
Mark Tolch - 06-13-2017, 08:27 AM
Looks like a cool store, glad to see that keeping it real is still a thing.
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Ford Agrees Volvo Sale To China Geely Holding
at 3:31 AM . Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Labels: Ford, Geely, Volvo
Ford has agreed the terms of the sale of its Swedish business, Volvo Cars, to China's Geely.
In a statement Ford said "while some work still remains to be completed...[they] anticipate a definitive sale agreement in the first quarter".
Ford put Volvo up for sale a year ago to help pay off its debt and make its business more focused.
Geely was named preferred bidder in November. If completed, it will be the largest purchase by a Chinese car firm.
Ford said that while the "substantive commercial terms" had been settled, financing still needed to be completed and government approval was also necessary.
It is thought that this update on the sale will help Geely to secure the financial backing it needs.
No details were given of how much the deal is worth, but it is widely rumoured that Geely is paying Ford $2bn (£1.2bn; 1.4bn euros). That is considerably less than the $6.45bn Ford paid in 1999.
Ford said it expects to continue co-operating with Volvo Cars, but did not intend to retain a shareholding in the business after the sale.
Nomura's auto specialist Michael Tyndall said: "In theory, the Chinese market could be an opportunity for Volvo. It's a well-known brand, has a good heritage and a range of products that should appeal to the Chinese consumer."
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SBI Holdings History
Formed a capital and business alliance with The Shimizu Bank, Ltd. to endeavor towards contribution in regional revitalization, through reinvigoration of regional financial institutions and regional economy
Formed a capital and business alliance with THE CHIKUHO BANK Ltd. to endeavor towards contribution in regional revitalization, through reinvigoration of regional financial institutions and regional economy
Jointly established SBI OneConnect Japan Co., Ltd. with An ke technology Co., Ltd. and OneConnect Financial Technology Co., Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary and subsidiary of one of the largest private financial institutions, Ping An Insurance Group, and commenced domestic service
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. announces to free commission for part of its services
Formed a capital and business alliance with FUKUSHIMA-BANK, Ltd. to endeavor towards contribution in regional revitalization, through reinvigoration of regional financial institutions and regional economy
SBI NEO FINANCIAL SERVICES Co., Ltd. has signed an agreement to establish SBI LendingHome Asia Co., Ltd. as a joint venture with LendingHome Corporation, a provider of a mortgage loan platform in the U.S.
Established SBI PayKey Asia Co., Ltd., a joint venture with Israel's Decentralized Mobile Applications Ltd. to support distribution and adoption of “PayKey”, a social banking solution that seamlessly delivers financial services from various media applications
Approval from the Central Bank of Cambodia for the acquisition of shares in Ly Hour Microfinance Institution PLC., which operates microfinance business in Cambodia
SBI Security Solutions Co., Ltd. and NEC Corporation jointly established SBI DigiTrust Co., Ltd. to provide solutions for financial institutions, etc., such as personal identification (KYC), AML/CFT and next-generation authentication using distributed ledger technology
SBI Holdings, Inc. and Z Holdings Corporation formed an alliance amongst their group companies.
SBI Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. has been granted the Capital Markets Services Licence under the Securities and Futures Act (CAP. 289) (THE SFA) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as of Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
SBI Regional Business Investment Co., Ltd. established the SBI Business Succession Fund (SBI Regional Business Succession Investment No. 1 LPS), in order to support business succession for SMEs nationwide
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. and 5 other securities companies jointly established the Japan STO Association, a self-regulatory organization for security token offerings (STO), in order to promote the healthy development of the industry
Formed a capital and business alliance with Shimane Bank to endeavor towards contribution in regional revitalization, through reinvigoration of regional financial institutions and regional economy
Established of SBI Africa Co., Ltd. that engage in export of Japanese used cars towards Africa-centric emerging markets
SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd. (formerly SBI Virtual Currencies Co., Ltd.) launched cryptocurrency spot transaction service “VC TRADE Pro”
Established a representative office in Manila, Philippines
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Ltd.'s total mortgage loan and deposit balance exceeds 5 trillion yen
SBI NEO MOBILE SECURITIES Co., Ltd. was registered as a Type I Financial Instruments operator and commenced service on Wednesday, Apr. 10, 2019
Established a representative office in Berlin, Germany, as the first representative office in Europe
Established SBI Mining Chip Co., Ltd. that manufacture mining chips and develop mining systems for cryptocurrencies
Established Money Tap Co., Ltd., the provider of next-generation financial infrastructure
*SBI SSI Holdings Co., Ltd. acquires shares of JAPAN ANIMAL CLUB CO. LTD. and makes it a subsidiary
Established SBI Regional Business Investment Co., Ltd., a company that manages and operates the business succession fund
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. and CCC Marketing Co., Ltd., concluded a capital and business alliance, establishing SBI NEOMOBILE SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
SBI Regional Revitalization Asset Management Co., Ltd. completes registration as a Type 2 Financial Business Operator, and Investment Management Business Operator
SBI Holdings, Inc., Orb Inc. and GLORY LTD. began a PoC in Oct. 2018 for the settlement token “S-Coin,” which is issued by SBI Holdings, Inc. through the S-Coin Platform, that utilize blockchain/distributed ledger technology
SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd. completes registration as an electronic payment agency
Morningstar Japan K.K. acquires a 67% stake in Carret Holdings, Inc., the holding company of Carret Asset Management, a U.S. asset management company, to make it a subsidiary, subject to approval from the local authorities
SBI Virtual Currencies Co., Ltd. launched cryptocurrency spot transaction service “VC TRADE”
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. jointly established the “Securities Consortium” with 35 companies, mostly brokerage firms.
After completing registration as a Type 1 Financial Business Operator on Mar. 6, 2018, starting from Apr. 2, 2018, SBI PRIME SECURITIES Co., Ltd. begins to offer a new domestic stock spots trading service SBBO-X in collaboration with SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
Established a representative office in Jakarta, Indonesia
Establishment of the SBI AI&Blockchain LPS (SBI AI&Blockchain Fund), a venture capital fund targeting the AI and blockchain sphere
SBI Holdings, Inc. and SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd. established the “Japan Payment Card Consortium”
Establishment of SBI CapitalBase Co., Ltd. that offers a fintech-driven platform to support financing of SMEs
SBI Holdings, Inc. and SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd., together with other participating companies, jointly inaugurated the “Beyond Blockchain Technical Program” to endeavor towards training engineers related to advanced technology such as blockchain, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and cryptocurrency
Morningstar Japan K.K. commenced rating business for cryptocurrencies and ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings)
SBI Japannext Co., Ltd. begins management of B-Market, a Japanese government bond private transaction system.
SBI Holdings, Inc. and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. established JAL SBI FinTech Co., Ltd. as a shared holding company. The first joint action was the establishment of the joint venture JAL Payment Port Co., Ltd. between Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., JAL SBI FinTech Co., Ltd., and SBI Sumishin Net Bank Ltd, and entered global brand prepaid card business in 2018
SBI Holdings, Inc. begins project for constructing the “S-Coin Platform” as a new settlement platform for reduced settlement cost and transition to a cashless society, utilizing the S-Coin for settlement
SBI Holdings, Inc. acquires 20% shares of Sri Lankan Wealth Trust Securities Limited and agreed to provide investment products, mainly Sri Lankan bonds, through SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
Capital contribution in SBI FinTech Incubation Co., Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. and Toppan Printing CO., LTD.
The Russian commercial bank SBI Bank LLC (previously YAR Bank LLC) was converted as a wholly owned subsidiary
SBI Holdings, Inc. agreed to acquire a part of the equity of SBI Thai Online Securities Co., Ltd. from Finansia Syrus Securities Pcl. to make it a consolidated subsidiary of the Company
SBI FinTech Solutions Co., Ltd. and Coinplug of South Korea established SBI Cosmoney Co., Ltd. as a joint venture focusing on international remittance between South Korea and the world
SBI AXES Co., Ltd. changed its name to SBI FinTech Solutions Co., Ltd.
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd acquired all shares of SBI MONEY PLAZA Co., Ltd. from SBI FINANCIAL SERVICES Co., Ltd., an intermediate holding company
SBI Holdings, Inc. and ReNet Japan Group, Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly establish a joint venture company to develop a leasing business in Cambodia for automobiles, motorcycles, auto tricycles and agricultural equipment, utilizing fintech
Established SBI Leasing Services Co., Ltd. for operating leases arrangement
SBI Holdings, Inc. and SFC Laboratory of Keio University begin collaborative research into improvement of aging-related diseases via 5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)
The Japan Bank Consortium, for which SBI Holdings, Inc. and SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd. serve as the secretariat, has conducted a PoC on the “RC Cloud,” a payment and settlement platform that uses blockchain-related technology (distributed ledger technology) to unitarily handle domestic and foreign exchange
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. signs licensing contract allowing sole distribution rights in Japan of “ALAGLIO® Divided Granules 1.5g” with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
SBI Insurance Holding Company Planning Co., Ltd. (prep company for an insurance holding company to unify insurance business) receives authorization from relevant authorities and commences operations after completing a corporate name change to SBI Insurance Group Co., Ltd. on Mar. 31, 2017
SBI AXES Co., Ltd. makes fintech-related companies, including SBI Social Lending Co., Ltd, SBI Remit Co., Ltd. and SBI Business Solutions Co., Ltd., into its subsidiaries as the result of a restructuring. Corporate name changed to SBI FinTech Solutions Co., Ltd. on July 1, 2017
Start of local over-the-counter foreign exchange (FX) services under the BYFX brand name in Hong Kong by BYFX HK Co., Ltd.
Establishment of SBI FinTech Incubation Co., Ltd. as a joint venture between SBI Holdings, Inc. and IBM Japan Ltd. for the development of fintech service adoption support for regional financial institutions
SBI Biotech Co., Ltd. signed an exclusive license agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd for SBI Biotech's “SBI-9674” (non-clinical stage) for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
SBI ALA Hong Kong and Neopharma, a pharmaceutical manufacturing and sales company in the United Arab Emirates, agree to establish a joint venture company to strengthen sales of 5-ALA-related products overseas
SBI Islamic Fund II established by SBI(B) SDN BHD, a joint venture between SBI Holdings, Inc. and the Treasury of Brunei that conducts fund managements, for investment into suitable Islamic industries
Establishment of SBI Virtual Currencies Co., Ltd. (currently SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd.) for providing transaction and exchange services for cryptocurrencies
SBI Bond Investment Management Co., Ltd. begins setup and adoption of the first-in-Japan domestic fund at a foreign currency rate (private offering for eligible institutional investors)
“Japan Bank Consortium” inaugurated with 42 banks including regional financial institutions and Internet pure-play banks. SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd. acts as secretariat
Nihon SSI Co., Ltd. (now SBI Nihon SSI Co., Ltd.) was made 100% subsidiary by acquisition of shares
The company and SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd. launched the “The Japan Bank Consortium”
Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to acquire a 25% stake in First Guardian Equities (Pvt) Limited, a Sri Lankan brokerage firm, and to provide investment products, mainly Sri Lankan government bonds, through SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
Agreed to co-manage an investment fund with Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP). Acquired 35% of the ICCP Venture Partners (Hong Kong), the venture capital arm of ICCP. Ltd., and made it an equity-method affiliate
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Ltd. obtained a patent for a “two-path authentication function” for the “smart authentication” system that prevents unauthorized transfers.
Obtained a reinsurance license from the Financial Services Authority of the British Cayman Islands under the Insurance Act for the purpose of establishing an overseas reinsurance subsidiary
Participation in establishing the Japan Blockchain Association for the development of blockchain policy proposals
Participation to the blockchain consortium led by U.S. fintech company R3 CEV
Contract signed to transfer all shares under the equity method of Phnom Penh Commercial Bank Ltd. to a consortium revolving around South Korea's Jeonbuk Bank
Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ripple Labs Inc., which develops the blockchain technology based next-generation settlement platform “Ripple Connect,” regarding investment into Ripple Labs Inc. and the establishment of a joint venture
Invested in the U.S. company Fundbox Ltd., which provides online finance services towards SMEs
SBI Investment Co., Ltd. established the Fintech Fund to invest in promising ventures in the fintech sphere
SBI ALAPromo Co., Ltd. receives clearance from Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency for “ALAPLUS Tou (Sugar) Down” under the “Foods with Function Claims” classification. Sales begin in Dec.
Established SBI Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. as an intermediary holding company for asset management-related services
SBI Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, a HK local subsidiary of SBI SECURITIES established in June 2015 to create a structure for composition of structured bonds, acquired license by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to engage in securities trading
SBI Energy Co., Ltd. established for renewable electric energy generation business
PCA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. changed its name to SBI Life Insurance Co., Ltd
SBI China, the management company for business in China, obtained a business license from the Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone for INESA-SBI Leasing (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a joint venture with INESA (Group) Co., Ltd.
SBI BITS Co., Ltd. established as a system development company, endeavoring to internalize system tasks of the SBI Group
SBI Thai Online Securities receives basic approval for the issuance of securities business license from the Thailand Securities Exchange committee
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. made Book Field Capital Co., Ltd. a 100% subsidiary via stock acquisition
SBI MONEY PLAZA Co., Ltd. receives bank agency authorization from the Director-General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau on Feb. 19, 2015, having SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Ltd. as the principle bank
PCA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (currently SBI Life Insurance Co., Ltd.) made a consolidated subsidiary via stock acquisition
Entered into Vietnam marketplace business with econtext Asia Limited and BEENOS Inc., by jointly making investments in Sendo, a joint venture formed with Vietnam's largest IT company, FPT Group.
SBI SAVINGS BANK merges its affiliated banks
Agreement over strategic alliance with Vertex Venture Capital, an Israeli major venture capital
Commenced the first online individual banking service in Russia by a Japanese company
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. begins sales of its first medical device, bicolor LED light source “Aladuck LS-DLED,” a medical use light source
A preparation company was established for joint development of online finance business in China
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., received the patent for mechanism of a diagnostic agent for bladder cancer through the oral administration of 5-ALA.
Reached a basic agreement with the Lujiazui Group and the New Hope Group to form a strategic alliance for joint development of an online financial services business in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. launched ALAGLIO®, an orally administered in vivo diagnostic agent for malignant glioma, as the first pharmaceutical agent.
SBI Mortgage Co., Ltd. acquired shares of SBI Lease Co., Ltd. from SBI Holdings, Inc. and converted it into a subsidiary.
Hyundai Swiss SAVINGS BANK changed its corporate name to SBI SAVINGS BANK.
Concluded a basic agreement with King Hamad University Hospital in Bahrain on clinical study of 5-aminolevulinic acid
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Ltd. became the first Internet bank with a balance of deposits exceeding 3 trillion yen.
Acquired all shares of IKIIKI SEDAI Inc.(currently SBI IKIIKI SSI Inc.)
Conducted procedures for the acquisition of shares in Hyundai Swiss SAVINGS BANK (currently SBI SAVINGS BANK) and converted it into a consolidated subsidiary
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, to cooperate in the 5-ALA business in Bahrain focusing on the pharmaceuticals industry.
SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. reached a basic agreement to establish a joint venture company with Dawani Group Holding, Bahrain's major corporate group, for sales of 5-ALA products in Bahrain.
SBI Biotech Co., Ltd. converted Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
SBI AXES Co., Ltd. listed on the KOSDAQ Market of the Korea Exchange.
SBI Searchina Co., Ltd. and SBI Asset Management Co., Ltd. were made subsidiaries of Morningstar Japan K.K.
Established SBI Capital Management Co., Ltd. as an intermediate holding company with subsidiaries engaged in the asset management business; and SBI FINANCAL SERVICES Co., Ltd., as an intermediate holding company bringing together Group companies engaged in financial services
Implemented reorganization of face-to-face sales businesses centering on SBI MONEY PLAZA Co., Ltd., and transferred the face-to-face division of SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. to SBI MONEY PLAZA Co., Ltd.
SBI FXTRADE Co., Ltd., a foreign exchange trading company commenced business.
SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and newly established a sales company SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd.
The China business management company, SBI (China) Co., Ltd., commenced business in Dalian.
Acquired shares of Nihon Shinsai Partners Inc. (currently SBI SSI Co., Ltd.).
Established SBI Pay For All Co., Ltd., which offers a new smartphone-based payment system
Introduced “Stock Benefit Trust (Employee Stockholding Association Purchase-type)”
Morningstar Japan K.K. merged its subsidiary Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd.
Established CSJ-SBI Financial Media Co., Ltd., a joint venture with China Securities Journal
Established a representative office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hong Kong Depositary Receipts of SBIH’s common shares listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (Delisted in June 2014)
SBI Social Lending Co., Ltd. commenced business to provide a peer-to-peer lending service in Japan.
Established a joint venture, SBI-LG Systems Co., Ltd., with LG CNS Co., Ltd. of Korea that offer comprehensive system-related services
SBI Remit Co., Ltd. was registered as a money transfer agent and opened for business as Japan’s first Internet-based international money transfer service.
An in vivo diagnostic agent for use during the surgical resection of malignant glioma (active pharmaceutical ingredient: 5-aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride) which was developed by SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd. and Nobelpharma Co., Ltd. was designated as an orphan drug by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. acquired a 20% stake in FPT Securities Joint Stock Company, one of the largest securities company in Vietnam, through subscription to a third-party allocation of new shares.
SBI Phnom Penh Securities Co., Ltd. becomes the first Japanese financial institution to acquire a “full license” for securities business in Cambodia from the Cambodian Securities and Exchange Commission.
Established a representative office in Hanoi, Vietnam
Reached a basic agreement with Fudan University in Shanghai to jointly establish a fund to invest in promising unlisted companies in China
Established a representative office in Moscow, Russia
Jointly established investment funds targeting U.S. and Asian companies with Jefferies Group, Inc. of the U.S.
Accepted the capital increase of Korea Technology Investment Corporation, a South Korean company listed on KOSDAQ, through a public offering, and converted this company into a subsidiary
Acquired a 7.65% stake in Tianan Insurance Co., Ltd., a major nonlife insurance company in China, from existing shareholders
Reached a basic agreement with Jefferies Group, a U.S securities company, to establish investment funds targeting U.S. and Asian promising companies
Established a representative office in Shanghai, China
SBI Futures Co., Ltd. was merged with SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
Acquired shares of Searchina Co., Ltd., which operates a top category Japanese site on Chinese information, and made it a subsidiary
Sold all shares of SBI AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. to AXA Japan Holding Co., Ltd.
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. became the first online securities company with the number of comprehensive securities accounts exceeding two million.
A part of the VC business of HIKARI Private Equity, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of HIKARI TSUSHIN Inc., was trans-ferred to SBIH with its operating authority of funds.
SBI Group acquired a 20% equity share of TIEN PHONG COMMERCIAL JOINT STOCK BANK, a commercial bank in Vietnam
The SBI Group celebrated its 10th anniversary.
SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. and Nippon Investors Securities Co., Ltd. concluded a business transfer agreement.
Established SBI Hong Kong Co., Limited as a registered investment base in Hong Kong
Established SBI PRIVATE EQUITY Co., Ltd., which operates debtor-in-prossession (DIP) financing funds in South Korea
“Japannext PTS” operated by SBI Japannext Co., Ltd., started the daytime trading
Phnon Penh Commercial Bank Limited, which is jointly established with Hyundai Swiss Group (Korea) in Cambodia, received approval from the finance authority, and started its operation on September 1.
Made SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary through a share exchange
Established SBI Liquidity Market Co., Ltd., which offers market infrastructures with guaranteed liquidity of FX trading and high convenience to financial commodity brokers
Established SBI AutoSupport Co., Ltd., which provides financing for buyers of used cars, as a joint venture with JAPAN AUTOMOBILE AUCTION INC.(JAA)
SBI E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd., changes its name to SBI SECURITIES Co., Ltd.
Established SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd. as a research company to conduct product design, development and marketing of medicine, health foods and cosmetic products that include "5-aminolaevulinic acid (5-ALA)" as active element
SBI AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. obtained the life insurance license from Financial Services Agency and commenced its business on April 7.
SBI Insurance Co., Ltd. obtained non-life insurance license from Financial Services Agency and commenced its business on Jan 16, 2008.
Increased equity investment in Autobytel Japan Co., Ltd. (currently Autoc one K.K.), making this company a consolidated subsidary
SBI Graduate School obtained approval of the establishment from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Merged with SBI Technology Co., Ltd.
SBI Securities Co., Ltd and SBI E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd merged, with SBI E*TRADE SECURITIES as the surviving company.
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Ltd. obtained the banking business license and commenced its business.
SBI Japannext Co., Ltd., starts operation of PTS (Proprietary Trading System) started operations.
Opened the first SBI MONEY PLAZA in Tokyo's Aoyama district, a "bricks-and-mortar" shop that sells a full line of financial products
Signed an agreement with the Goldman Sachs Group to establish an equity and business alliance, and transferred 40% stake of SBI CAPITAL Co., Ltd, a consolidated subsidiary, to the Goldman Sachs Group
Established SBI Wellness Bank Co., Ltd. which endeavors to provide comprehensive healthcare services including anti-aging treatments
Reached a final agreement with Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd. to jointly establish an asset management company in Mainland China
Transferred 50% stake of SBI Japannext Securities Preparations Co., Ltd. to The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., for the joint operation of a neutral proprietary trading system (After completing the registration as the Securities Business, changed its name to SBI Japannext Co., Ltd.)
Acquired shares of Kyobo Life Insurance Co.,Ltd.
Established SBI VEN CAPITAL PTE. LTD. as a registered investment base in Singapore
Acquired shares of CEM Corporation Co., Ltd., which provides real estate-secured loans
Established SBI Japannext Securities Preparations Co., Ltd. for the launch of a new Proprietary Trading System(PTS)
A subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. (majority shareholder) sold its shares in the Company, thereby the Company is no longer an equity-method affiliate of SoftBank Corp.
Merged with FINANCE ALL CORPORATION and SBI Partners Co., Ltd., and converted SBI Securities Co., Ltd. into a wholly-owned subsidiary
SBI Guarantee Co., Ltd. was established to engage in commercial transaction guarantee operations.
JCNLAND, Inc. and SBI Accounting Co., Ltd. merged, and changed its corporate name to SBI Business Solutions Co.,Ltd.
The stock of JCNLAND was acquired to become a subsidiary.
SBI Life Partner was established to provide lifestyle information services.
SBI Business Support was established to engage in outsourcing (general affairs, personnel, call center) for SBI Group companies.
SBI Children's Hope Foundation was established to improve child welfare and to help children grow into self-reliant adults.
Converted SBI CAPITAL Co., Ltd. into a wholly-owned subsidiary a share exchange
Established a representative office in Beijing, China
Changed corporate name to SBI Holdings, Inc
Transferred asset management business to SOFTBANK INVESTMENT CORPORATION, and moved to a holding company system
Established SBI Card Co., Ltd., a credit card business subsidiary
Established NEW HORIZON FUND jointly with a Singapore investment company to invest in promising Chinese companies
Established SBI BB Media Investment Corporation Limited Liability Fund (SBI BB Media Fund) with Fuji Television Network, Inc. and Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. to invest in content and media businesses, with SBI VENTURES K.K. (currently SBI Investment Co., Ltd.) as the management company
Established SBI Child Welfare Limited Liability Intermediate Corporation to help improve child welfare
Listed subsidiary E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd.(currently SBI E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd.) on JASDAQ
Made Morningstar Japan K.K. a subsidiary
Acquired Nissho Iwai Securities Co., Ltd. (changed name to Fides Securities Corporation, and then merged with E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd.), and converted to a subsidiary
Acquired WORLD NICHIEI Securities Co., Ltd. and converted to subsidiary
Merged with E*TRADE Japan K.K., and converted E*TRADE SECURITIES Co., Ltd. to subsidiary
Listed on First Section of Osaka Securities Exchange
Listed on First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange
Acquired AOZORA ASSET MANAGEMENT CO., LTD. (currently SBI Asset Management Co., LTD.) to bolster asset management business
Acquired SOFTBANK ASSET MANAGEMENT Co., Ltd. (currently SBI Asset Management Co., LTD.) to expand investment advisory business
Established SBI CAPITAL Co., Ltd. to operate and manage LBO funds
Listed on NASDAQ Japan (currently JASDAQ)
Absorbed SoftVenture Capital Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary
Converted SoftVenture Capital Co., Ltd., Softbank Ventures, Inc., SOFTBANK CONTENTS PARTNERS CORPORATION and SOFT TREND CAPITAL Corp. into wholly owned subsidiaries through stock swap
SOFTBANK INVESTMENT CORPORATION established in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo to undertake venture capital and incubation business.
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Why We Need an Inheritance Tax
We don't want money to just sit around.
By Will Offensicht | September 6, 2007
It's easy to run an extremely poor nation. People are so busy worrying about getting enough to eat that they don't have time to think about politics. That's why Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man who unified Japan, used to say that his most important policy was to tax the peasants so that they lived just above starvation and couldn't even think of rebelling.
It's more difficult to run a nation as people become wealthier. Experience in Asia shows that when the national economy increases to somewhere between US $1,500 - 2,500 per person per year, people stop worrying about getting enough to eat and become interested in politics. This has sometimes been called the "revolution of rising expectations" - as people start to become better off, their wants grow very fast and become hard to satisfy.
This is where a common national vision and national institutions become important. For many years, the American dream has been that anyone can become rich if he's smart enough and works hard enough. It helps to be lucky, of course. Mr. Gates is a very intelligent man who has worked very hard, but he got his start selling an operating system to IBM. Having his mother on the board of IBM was a stroke of luck. But the American Dream is realistic enough that people don't get jealous of Mr. Gates. They want to imitate him by earning fortunes of their own, they don't want to tax him out of existence. This attitude of wanting to earn your own money leads to economic growth which benefits us all.
Unfortunately, brains and hard work are not enough to fulfill the American dream, we also need court systems which force powerful people to treat weaker people fairly. Powerful businesses don't like smaller businesses taking away their customers. In countries which don't have good justice systems, powerful people squash competitors through government connections instead of by competing on quality or price. This hurts consumers, but the people who're already established in business don't care when their actions keep other people poor.
Our court system isn't perfect, and our legal system favors those who have the most money, of course, but a new business can compete with an established business without the owner getting beat up or put in jail.
Most African and Latin American countries lack reliable court systems, so businesses rely on government connections for protection. This makes it hard for new businesses to compete, so prices stay high.
Weak courts hold back economic development, but inheritance tax is another institution which is extremely important for economic development. Without a inheritance tax to recycle money, there's no reason for heirs to work hard. They can sit on their trust funds, cash the checks, and never invest in anything that will lead to economic growth.
Over time, this leads to a concentrated economy which doesn't grow much. In Guatemala, for example, 1% of the population owns maybe 90% of the economy. The people on top are doing fine, there's no reason to try anything new. Without inheritance taxes, their kids won't have to work either. We see the same thing in Mexico. The richest man in Mexico bought the telephone company years ago and has used government connections and court proceedings to maintain a telephone monopoly. This has kept prices high, which cuts economic growth. There are so few opportunities in Mexico that Mexicans with initiative leave for the US where it's easier to make money.
Until now, the US has been different. With inheritance tax to recycle the money, the only way a family could stay powerful over a long time was for each generation to find a new way to make more money. Take the du Pont family as an example. Eleuthère Irénée founded the DuPont company in 1800. According to the Wikipedia, the family managed the company well into the 20th century and still owns major parts of the company. There are around 2,000 family members, but they aren't regarded as highly wealthy. What would have happened if there had been no inheritance tax? Without the family having to earn money to keep up their lifestyle, Du Pont would probably not have grown as much as it did and would not have contributed to the US economy as it has - yet the du Pont family members would still be hugely rich, far more so than they actually are.
If you need additional evidence that people sit on money when they can, consider charitable foundations. Partly to avoid inheritance taxes, rich men like Andrew Carnegie and JD Rockefeller started a tradition of giving money to foundations who were supposed to make society better in various ways. Over time, foundations sat on so much wealth that the government found it necessary to pass laws insisting that foundations spend a certain percentage of their endowment each year. In order for the foundation to keep going, each generation of foundation leadership must make enough money to cover the spending requirements laid out in the law.
This law has the same effect as inheritance taxes, it makes it impossible to just sit on money.
People claim that inheritance taxes tax money which has already been taxed once. That's true, but so what? If charitable foundations can't be trusted to recycle money to benefit society without a law requiring them to spend a certain percentage every year, how can we trust rich families to recycle their wealth? The answer's simple - we can't. We need an inheritance tax to periodically level the playing field so that new businesses can continue to grow our economy.
Without inheritance taxes, we'll eventually end up like Guatemala, with a few families owning everything.
Will Offensicht is a staff writer for Scragged.com and an internationally published author by a different name. Read other Scragged.com articles by Will Offensicht or other articles on Economics.
Von Hayek said:
I don't think any tax is needed to keep competition running. Big, dumb legacies tend to cannibalize themselves over time if they don't innovate. And the Japan model is an unfair analogy because their justice system OVERTLY favors the wealthy - so much so that the bureaucrats' salaries are calculated with bribes figured in. It is assumed that the rich will buy whatever justice they need. The US does not have that problem. Also, unless you have a monstrous inheritance tax (well over 95%) and cover all your bases, the rich will still be rich and buy what they want no matter. In order to clean house when people die, the government would have to steal it all.
Particularly in the last 30 years, you can see an abundance of small companies springing up NOT because of the elimination of big companies, but because old, rich companies are stagnant and the little guys are cashing in with new gizmos. Plus, there are very few old, rich companies that are run by any single family or person past two generation cycles. And there is no inheritance tax on businesses.
There are other problems... If not taxed, where would all that inheritance money go? Back into the economy. Even sitting in banks and collecting interest, it is better for the US economy than if Uncle Sam steals it. Sitting inheritance money greases the banking skids for loans which creates jobs.
As long as the courts stay out corporations' pockets, there is no harm in wealth piling up. Maybe for specific youngsters that grow up dumb and privileged, but they tend to weed themselves out of the system pretty fast.
"And the Japan model is an unfair analogy because their justice system OVERTLY favors the wealthy - so much so that the bureaucrats' salaries are calculated with bribes figured in."
I doubt this very much. According to Transparency International, in 2006 Japan ranked #18 in the world for least corrupt, above (that is, less corrupt than) France, Belgium, and the United States.
Of course. Oriental countries do not see that as corruption. For awhile in Hongkong, there were paper manuals published that explained the bribe levels to the people. You go to the DMV, what does the clerk expect if you want to get out in 15 minutes or less.
Does the average Japanese person view bribes as corruption?
Chimpy said:
"Without a inheritance tax to recycle money, there's no reason for heirs to work hard. They can sit on their trust funds, cash the checks, and never invest in anything that will lead to economic growth."
Aren't trust funds investments? Those *do* lead to economic growth...So what if a few rich kids are too dumb to work? Using taxes to get things done isn't exactly the best way to go about things. The government doesn't need any more money than it already steals.
Except for Lobbyists and Politicians, few people would dispute that special interests channel large sums of money to high profile candidates, in exchange for favorable legislation. Often the legislation special interests paid for are voted into law but overturned by the courts. As a result, corporate donations to judicial candidates are growing rapidly. Although it is not widely reported, purchasing judicial loyalty through corporate campaign donations is as big a problem as corporate influence in higher profile elections.
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US Open 2011 Sidelights
One of the things I like about tennis majors are the surprises and historical significance they always bring. Like this year's US Open. It's just Day 3 and look what we've got.
Seemed like hurricane Irene just didn't come to New York. For 3 days now, the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis National Center at Flushing Meadows are enjoying fine weather. To think that the day before that, subways were closed and the Big City were grappling with a rare hurricane of Category 4 level. The crowds kept coming, during day and night matches. Somebody else were affected by floods and devastation. The fans just love the US Open.
Day 1 saw upsets not seen before since 1971. Last year's ladies major champions were eliminated or were just out of it...And so it kept the ladies draw wide open. First to go was last year's Australian Open champion, Kim Clijsters who withdrew because of injury. Then Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova got the boot to 48th ranked Romanian named Alexandra Dulgheru. Finally, it's French Open champion, the Chinese hero, Li Na who succumbed to another Romanian, 53rd ranked tenager Simona Halep in straight sets at that. The other Willliams, Venus, also is out of it after succumbing to a viral infection.What does that make? Well, top seed Caroline Wozniacki, the world's No.1 who haven't won a tennis major yet might do it this year. Then there's Serena Williams, always a contender when she plays and when injury free. But my bet is still with my idol, Maria Sharapova. Oh, if only she plays consistently, less unforced errors, and with confidence in serving, not the double faults I always dread everytime she does it. Remember, she lost her semis match to Li Na at the French Open due to these. She's tennis glamor girl. How I wish the other glamor girl and also my idol, Ana Ivanovic, who won her first round match, could go on and reach just even the quarter finals. And there's one more. Sergie Bubka, Jr., the son and namesake of one of the world's greatest athletes and perhaps the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Sergy Bubka of Ukraine, is playing in this tourney, and won his first round match.
And for a bit of history. Just about this time 23 years ago, August 30, 1988, two young Americans, one 17 years old and the other 18 years, made their opening debut in the US Open. The 18 year old won his match in straight sets. His name was Jim Courier. The 17 year old lost his in 5 sets. But after that, his name became synonymous with tennis. His name: Pete Sampras. Do they need more introductions?
Labels: Caroline Wozniackie, Jim Courier, Kim Clijsters, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Pete Samoras, Petra Kvitova, Serena and Venus Williams, Sergie Bubka, US Open 2011
US Open 2011: Hurting on Federer's Semis Loss
Remembering Ground Zero While Watching US Open 201...
Love Matches of Tennis Superstars
Good Riddance, Tim Cone
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Home > Cameras > News > Samsung Launches Wi-Fi Version of Samsung Galaxy Camera
Samsung Launches Wi-Fi Version of Samsung Galaxy Camera
February 20, 2013 by Hannah Becker Reads (141)
Samsung has launched a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Camera that adds Wi-Fi connectivity to the camera’s many features.
The new model, the Samsung Galaxy Camera (Wi-Fi) has all the features from the original version, including a 21x Super Long Zoom lens, 16M BSI CMOS sensor, the Android 4.1 Jellybean operating system and preloaded photo and video editing tools, but replaces the 3G/4G connectivity with Wi-Fi capability.
The Wi-Fi capability allows users to knock the data charge for the 3G/4G connectivity off their monthly bill. The Samsung Galaxy Camera (Wi-Fi) is available in white, black and pink.
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New Details in Alabama Excessive Force Case
New details are emerging in the case of an apparent use of excessive force by police in Madison, Alabama. We shared some details of the incident earlier, which resulted in 57-year-old Sureshbhai Patel hospitalized and temporarily paralyzed after an encounter with police. The officer involved has reportedly turned himself in to face charges of assault in the third degree.
Photo by Chirag Patel showing his father’s injuries after a brief encounter with the Madison, Alabama police
Madison police have released dashboard video of the incident:
Madison Police Department released dashboard camera footage of a police officer throwing a 57-year-old man to the ground in Alabama. The officer, Eric Parker, turned himself in on charges of assault in the third degree.
(City of Madison Police Department)
According to The Washington Post,
Sureshbhai Patel said he tried to tell the officers that he doesn’t speak English by saying “No English. Indian. Walking,” according to the lawsuit. He says he repeated his son’s house number and pointed toward the residence.
In the police video, an officer then tells Patel, “Do not jerk away from me again. If you do, I’m gonna put you on the ground.” The officer asks, “Do you understand?” and tells Patel to “relax.”
That’s when an officer twisted his arm behind his back, Patel said, and forced him to the ground, face-first. His face was bloodied, but worse, he also injured his neck and was left paralyzed in his arms and legs, the lawsuit alleges.
Reports are also now saying that Mr. Patel is partially paralyzed, and are no longer claiming that the paralysis is “temporary.”
See additional coverage in The Daily Mail and Yahoo! News.
Filed Under: Current Events, Videos
Grandfather hospitalized, temporarily paralyzed, after encounter with Alabama police
February 12, 2015 By Robert Goodis 1 Comment
Photo by Chirag Patel showing his father’s injuries after a brief encounter with police in Madison, Alabama
Sureshbhai Patel, 57, flew from India to the suburbs of Madison, Alabama about two weeks ago to visit his son, Chirag, and his son’s wife and 17-month-old son. Sureshbhai planned to stay and help his daughter-in-law care for his grandson while Chirag was pursuing a master’s degree at University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Last Friday, Sureshbhai went for a walk around his son’s neighborhood, and never came home. Reports indicate that a neighbor called the police to report a suspicious person walking through the neighborhood. Police arrived and confronted Sureshbhai, quickly escalating the situation after what they said may have been a “communication barrier” (Sureshbhai speaks Hindi).
AL.com coverage states:
“He was just walking on the sidewalk as he does all the time,” said his son, Chirag Patel, this morning. “They put him to the ground.”
No crime had been committed. Madison Police on Monday issued a statement saying the department had suspended the officer and were investigating the use of force in this case. The police statement wished the man a “speedy recovery.”
Sureshbhai Patel is still hospitalized with serious injuries and temporary paralysis.
This story only highlights the great need for language access, cultural communication, and extensive use of force training among U.S. police agencies.
View further coverage on NBC, AL.com, and Times of India.
Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: accountability, Excessive Force, language access, law enforce, police, Police Brutality
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The LA Times and California High-Speed Rail – Please Check Your Logic At The Door
The Los Angeles Times penned a particularly (and there is no other way to say this) stupid editorial yesterday, called “Keep California’s bullet train on track,” in which the Times argues that despite all of the evidence to the contrary, the proposed California bullet train is really a blessing and an excellent value. When you go to the webpage where the editorial is located, the header is entitled “Keeping faith with California’s bullet train,” which is particularly apt if you take Merriam-Webster’s definition of faith as a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.”
What is remarkable about the editorial is that is manages to fairly definitively lay out the case for precisely why the high-speed rail project will be a huge waste of time, money and manpower, but then goes on to conclude precisely the opposite. Apparently, the concepts of causation and logic appear to have entirely escaped the collective notice of the Times’ editorial department.
First, the Times acknowledges the recent finding of the independent review panel that concluded what everyone already knew: the project isn’t financially viable. Everyone already knew it because it was obvious from the get-go that the rosy projections of the planners were ridiculous on their face, a fact which was confirmed by the state auditor, inspector general, the legislative analyst and the UC Berkley Institute of Transportation Studies. The paper then acknowledges that no funding source has been identified, the location of the first segment is doomed to fail and running the Fresno to Bakersfield spur will be immensely costly.
The Times then goes on to say that the problem with these problems, is that they are political (i.e., the decisions that led to this point were political and would have been different in other circumstances). Thus, the Times argues, if only the reality were different there wouldn’t be a problem. It is a remarkable concept. The Times is trying to make the case that a fundamentally political decision (whether to build a railroad and where to place it) would succeed if only politics weren’t taken into account. The only way this makes any sense is if one assumes, as the Times apparently does, that the railroad is an absolute necessity and unequivocally beneficial project that nobody in their right mind would object to, and thus the only decisions left to make are technical (where to place the track for maximum efficiency, etc.). Such questions as whether it is a good idea to have a high-speed rail at all, how much it costs to build, how many people it displaces and how much it costs to operate are, apparently, irrelevant to the Times, which has already concluded the complete desirability of the railroad.
This makes the next paragraph of the editorial all the more strange, since here the paper acknowledges that the project is highly risky, is far more costly than people were led to believe when it was proposed, has no source for funding its further development and will arrive years beyond its deadline, if ever. Of course, after listing these negatives, which basically cover every major issue involved with the development of high-speed rail, the Times declares that there isn’t anything new in analysis and thus it is still backing the development of the train. Talk about faith.
So, rather than admit that even if these concerns aren’t new, they are a significant indictment of high-speed rail, the paper instead tries to bring in some outside examples to show how, eventually, high-speed rail will be a wonderful addition to California’s transportation network. First, they compare the project to L.A.’s subway, and claim that if voters hadn’t blocked the development of the subway because of all of the construction mismanagement and cost overruns, they would be enjoying wonderful public transportation. Leaving aside that one has to question, given just how big and sprawling L.A. is, just how much use this mythical subway to the sea would have gotten, and just how much traffic really would have been alleviated by its construction, the Times seems to be relatively untroubled by waste and mismanagement. Apparently, concerns about such things are not legitimate barriers to erecting (perceived) wonderful public-works projects.
The second example the Times digs up is the Big Dig in Boston. According to the Times, Bostonians are now reveling (well, according to the Boston Globe) in the parts of the Big Dig that used to be a highway but which is now a greenway. Also according to the paper, in a few years Bostonians will have forgotten all about the years of traffic jams caused by the construction and the $22 billion spent to put a few miles of above ground road below ground (up from the $2.8 billion it was estimated to have cost at the time it was proposed in the 1980s). To the Times, this is the long-term view of things. After all of the waste, mismanagement, blown out budgets and other disasters associated with the project, if you get some modicum of enjoyment out of it then it was worth it. It is, without a doubt, the stupidest way to judge the success and value of a public-works project ever conceived by man or editorial board.
Of course the people of Boston will enjoy their greenway (paid for, by the way, thank to Tip O’Neil, with money from other states). The issue is not whether people will enjoy the benefits of the Big Dig after all is said and done, the question is whether it was a worthy project on balance. If you come to my small town of 5,000 people and put in the finest amenities (new streets, street lamps, park, gold-plated fountain, light-rail, local airport, new school building, new city hall building, etc.) at exorbitant costs and cause years of construction misery, I will certainly enjoy those amenities at the end of the day, but the question must be asked, should the money have been spent on other, more productive and beneficial activities then, say, a solid gold fountain placed in my local park?
Apparently, the Times is incapable of asking that question, for the editorial then points to, of all things, the Egyptian pyramids as examples of worthwhile endeavors that “seldom come without cost or sacrifice.” According to the editorial, the pharaoh Sneferu had to try to build the first pyramid three times before he finally got it right, with the first two collapsing under their own weight. Then, the Times goes on to say “but who remembers that now?”, and, approvingly, says that the pyramids are now “wonders of the world.” So, to be clear, the Times judges the pyramids – crypts dedicated to kings that serve no functional purpose and which exist only to glorify dead tyrants, built at enormous public expense, using slave or near-slave labor, which probably killed thousands during construction, as wonderfully successful, beneficial and laudable projects because people alive 4,000 years later get to enjoy them as historical artifacts.
There’s no arguing with that logic.
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AKA: けいおん！ (Japanese)
Genre: High school comedy (with some musical elements)
Content Rating: 13+ (suggestive themes, fan service)
Related Series: K-On! OAV, K-On!!, K-On!! OAV, Eiga K-ON! (movie)
Also Recommended: Beck (for a better show about music), Clannad, Kanon, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (for better Kyoto Animation shows)
Notes: Based on the 4-panel gag manga by kakifly.
The name of the show comes from a clipped form of the term keiongaku meaning "light music".
Yui Hirasawa is starting her first year of high school, but she doesn't know what club to join! Meanwhile, drummer Ritsu Tainaka wants to start up the light music club once more, "persuading" her friend Mio, a bass player, to join her. They are soon joined by Tsumugi Kotobuki, as the band's keyboard player.
Unfortunately, they need four people to save the club from disbandment. As luck would have it, Yui soon finds Ritsu and the others and joins them as their guitar player, even though she's never played a guitar in her life and has never played any musical instrument except the castanets.
High school comedy starring a bunch of wacky, cute girls anime #983245233, or K-On!, stood out to the both of us back in March 2009 as a series that could've had some potential. While it was certain that the show was going to be another high school comedy with a cast of cute, quirky girls, there was something about the promo picture of the series' heroine holding a guitar that got both of our curiosities piqued, one that made us willing to dismiss any potential criticism we might have had.
You see, K-On! isn't so much about music playing as it about a girls who goof off, hang out, and have summer vacation trips with the occassional bit of band practice. You know...club business, which would have been fine and dandy if Kyoto Animation gave us the same kind of compelling and interesting writing found in their other series, but they don't. So if you liked AIR, Kanon and Clannad, don't expect K-On! to scratch that same itch. Lucky Star fans might be convinced to be a bit more lenient on this show, as both shows revolve around four cute girls hanging out during and after school, but at least Lucky Star never lost track of what it was, which we will get into further on in the review.
The music club members, although generally cute and likable, are also fairly shallow and can be summarized individually in a few words:
Yui is the lazy, slow and kind of dumb one.
Ritsu is energetic and a goof.
Mio is a worrywart who gets frightened or embarrassed extremely easy.
Tsumugi is the rich, nice, and sensible girl.
They have one thing in common, though; they're all airheads. In fact, only two characters in this show seem to have working brains: Ui, Yui's little sister, and Nodoka, Yui's best friend. Mileages varying (as they tend to do), you'll be wishing they were the main characters. We know we did.
There's also Sawako, the advisor of the music club. When you first meet her, you learn that she's seen as the pinnacle of gentle femininity among her students and even her colleagues. Her past is actually one of the very few genuinely funny jokes the show has to its credit. You see, a long time ago, she confessed her love to a guy she liked, only to be rejected for being too timid and shy. So what did she do? She joined the light music club... as a punk metal rock player, roaring, snarling, and playing the guitar with her teeth as often as her hands. Naturally, upon confessing her love once again, she was told that she was taking the whole thing too far, and the whole flashback comedy stint is left at that, with the girls using her past to pressure her into becoming the club's advisor. Unfortunately, that's not the humor Sawako provides in this series after all is said and done. Instead, when she's not spending her days sipping tea at the music club, she's harassing the girls (mostly Mio) against their will and subjecting them to her costume fetishes! Hilarious. No, really. I mean...at least Kimura kept his hands to himself for the most part. Sawako's actions would get her fired in real life fairly quickly, lawsuits and/or restraining orders following close behind.
Some episodes past the halftime break (aka the second year), we get another member of the light music club - Azusa Nanako. We don't really get to know why she chose the light music club, other than that she saw the girls' concert and that the jazz club she originally wanted to join apparently didn't play jazz the way she liked it. Naturally, she didn't take too well to the lax atmosphere of the club...for about an episode, where the whole subject is dropped through a short segment that almost rivals Beck's view on music and bands for sheer pretentiousness. She's mostly treated like a pet or a little kid by most of the other club members, Yui in particular. (Maybe she just didn't get to play the big sister as often as she liked, what with Ui being the responsible one of the two.)
The bottom line here is that K-On! doesn't have much to do about music, and you'll never really learn a whole lot about the girls past their initial traits. Instead it tries - and fails - to keep us hooked with its comedy. There are only so many times you can see Sawako showing off her costume fetishes, Mio being scared by any and everything, and Ritsu blackmailing people or forgetting to turn in club applications before it gets old. In fact, K-On! itself pretty much visualized pretty well what kind of mindset you'd have to be in to enjoy this show.
So yeah, how about the art and animation? The art is just fine, which has always been one of the staples of Kyoto Animation. Character designs are quite pleasant for the most part, with the girls' features being a bit lessened compared to AIR or Kanon, and with a fairly simple normalcy to it. The background art isn't quite up to scratch, which might be limited due to the whole show taking place at school or at someone's home. (With a few exceptions, like the beach episode.) The animation's not too shabby, but there's certainly some priority issues to sort out. See, most of the slower scenes are animated fairly well, with the girls being downright freakishly adorable. The numerous tea drinking sequences and general moments of fooling around are drawn and animated as gently and expressive as they should be, given that it's the main draw of the show.
But, despite the show being about music (in theory, at least), if you're hoping for the same kind of animation during the actual music sessions like in that one episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, you're out of luck. The animation during those segments is lazy. (And yes, we're definitely saying it.) For some unbeknownst reason, K-On!, with very rare exceptions, refuses to show the girls play their instruments until the very last episode. (One of the things Beck REALLY did correctly ALL the time.) Whenever the girls play their instruments, they almost always cut away to something else: a statue, the floor, outside, crowds of people, a table, a picture of a rock-and-roll player -- or, best of all, the water faucets outside of school, because oh yeah, we're REALLY hankering for some of that right about now. Anything BUT them playing their instruments. And if you do get to see them "in concert", it's either from the neck up or from a great distance. They can't even have them animated in a repetitive cycle of animation, which is inexcusable for a show about music! It's like watching Aria and the show cutting away to the sky every time someone got on a gondola, or Dragon Ball Z animating frightened bystanders during all the fights. Only at the last episode (not counting the bonus story) do we get to see the band, up close and personal WHILE they're playing. As symbolics go, it's not the worst thing ever, but it's definitely too little, too late. This is the sort of attitude the show should have had towards their characters from the beginning, or at the very least leading up to -- and after -- the first concert they played.
The actual music itself isn't really doing the show any favors either. The background music is dull and forgettable, and the opening/closing themes are banal at best, and downright horrible at worst - especially the ending theme, a mishmash of punk chords and horrible, horrible Engrish interspersed with the Japanese lyrics. (Stig's note: One of my biggest pet peeves in Japanese music.) The actual insert songs, aside from being amusingly named ("My Love Is a Paper Clip"), are rather asinine. As in "decently played, but with lyrics that kind of gets the eyes rolling" - although in all fairness, that's at least somewhat realistic in light of the girls starting out as amateurs and all. The voice acting is serviceable, which might have something to do with the VA's being mostly new talent (save Asami Sanada as Sawako).
If watching K-On! was the equivalent of going to an actual concert, then it would be one of the most disappointing concerts you'd ever go to. You'd start off with a large amount of anticipation, until you realize that you paid a lot of money for a place at the back of the stadium. And before you know it, it's over. All you got to see were the people in front of you, all of who were taller than you (and most of them carrying their girlfriends on their shoulders). And just to add insult to injury, the music wasn't much to get excited about anyway. The first half of K-On! is okay, but it's in the middle of the show that the warning signs become too loud to ignore, and your only hope is pretty much going to hinge on whether you at least meet some cute girls there.
It just goes further downhill from there, selling out to otaku pandering in a way that makes Haruhi's look subtle. And that's too bad, because if the characters were fleshed out more, and the musical segments actually had animation in them (or that they had more to do with actual music, or playing at all), K-On! could've been another winner for Kyoto Animation. Unfortunately, the only parts we even remotely enjoyed were the small moments inbetween all the boring craziness, mainly in the way of Yui's charming relationship with her younger sister, which is delightfully similar to Tenma and Yakumo's sisterly love in School Rumble. (Or, if we're sticking to KyoAni shows, the various family relationships in Kanon or Clannad.) These are the moments when K-On! manages to raise smiles, if not necessarily laughter. But as a whole, it just doesn't work as a music show of the "ganbatte" type, and as a comedy even less so.
...well, okay. That was fairly amusing, too.
Yet another by-the-numbers high school slice-of-life comedy with a gimmick they barely care about using. Add one or two stars if you're hankering for some moe-blobs. — Stig Høgset and Tim Jones
Recommended Audience: Teenagers and up, due to Sawako's antics and some (pointless) scenes of fan service.
Version(s) Viewed: Pre-license digital source
K-On! © 2009 Kakifly / Hobunsha / Light Music Club Production Committe
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A SCHOOL IN CAGAYAN DE ORO LAUNCHED AN ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMMED FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH
Little Me Academy launched the Academe Philippine Online High School (APOHS), the first online open high school designed for Filipino students in grades 7 through 10 last October 23, held at the activity Center of Centrio Mall in Cagayan De Oro. Artist/education advocate TJ Monterde graced the launch.
The online high school is an effort to provide high school education to the thousands of out-of-school, high-school age Filipinos who lack access because of location, disability, age, finances, and other factors.
As of last year, it was confirmed by the Philippine Statistics Authority that one in every ten Filipinos aged 6 to 24 is an out-of-school youth, which translates to around 3.9 million kids. The APOHS aims to address a large portion of this number that lacks a high school education through its 100% online, accessible, affordable, and highly flexible online learning platform.
This is made possible through a partnership with QUIPPER and a supportive faculty consisting of Little Me Academy's instructors. QUIPPER, a Japan-based e-learning platform, ensures the highest quality digital curriculum that is rigorous, engaging and aligned to Philippine's K-12 Basic Education Curriculum. Meanwhile, Little Me's community of specially trained instructors and counsellors help keep students on track with daily reminders, check-ins, tutoring, live instruction and corrective feedback.
TJ Monterde performs at the launch of AcadeME Philippine Online High School
Aside from out-of-school youth, the APOHS aims to serve as the ideal flexible learning option for Filipinos from various other backgrounds, too. "These include local talents engaged in outside pursuits, children who frequently travel with their families, housebound or working students, and so much more," said Little Me Academy's Chief Education Officer, Teacher Ram Olandesca. "It is difficult or nearly impossible for the traditional, brick-and-mortar classroom to accommodate these learners. But in an online learning environment, these limitations - from location to physical ability, from availability to age - are overcome."
Posted by Jaimie Felix at Sunday, October 28, 2018
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Manipulation and Misinformation about genetically engineered seeds: Monsanto’s operation in India illustrates monopolization and manipulation of the market economy, tradition, technology, and misgovernance.
The world’s largest producer of genetically engineered seeds has been selling genetically modified (GM) in India for the last decade to benefit the Indian farmers – or so the company claims.
In a country of more than 550 million farmers who are largely poor and uneducated and the agriculture market rife with inefficient business practices, the Indian government sought to reform the market by eliminating subsidies and loans to the farmers.
The government reform did not help the farmers. With pressure from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian government has “forced market liberalization on India which means the elimination of government subsidies and government-backed loans to farmers.”
Enter Monsanto with its “magic” GM seeds to transform the lives of the poor Indian farmers.
The U.S. agri-business giant took full advantage of its entry into the Indian market. It entered into an agreement with state governments including Rajasthan and Andhara Pradesh to introduce a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that dictated the terms of disseminating the GM technology in Indian market.
For Monsanto, it is one thing to convince farmers to use artificial seeds for the purposes of enriching their lives, it is quite another to manipulate nature and technology to profit from them.
Killer Seeds
The irony is GM seeds have not been effective in India and the consequences are not as rosy as what Monsanto had promised to deliver. Scathing reports of mass suicides of Indian farmers broke out as recently as three years ago when scores of farmers took their own lives in order to escape the burden of high prices and failure of Monsanto’s GM seeds.
Monsanto offered its GM seeds to the farmers of India with hopes of reaping plentiful crops. Plain and mostly uneducated farmers thought Monsanto had come to provide a “magic” formula that would transform their lives. They had no idea what was coming.
Monsanto’s seeds in India did not produce what the company had promised and farmers hoped. The expensive seeds piled up debts and destroyed farming fields. In many instances, the crops simply failed to materialize. The farmers were not aware that the GM seeds required more water than the traditional seeds. And lack of rain in many parts of India exacerbated the crop failure.
With no harvest, the farmers could not pay back the lenders. Burdened with debts and humiliation, the farmers simply took their own lives, some by swallowing poisonous pesticides in front of their families. To date, an estimated 200,000 farmers have committed suicide all over India.
To add to the misery, wives inherited the debts along with the fear of losing their homes and lands. With no money coming in, they also had to pull their kids from the schools. The mass suicide among the Indian farmers is known as the “GM genocide.”
In its company website Monsanto declares that its pledge is “our commitment to how we do business.” And then there are the business philosophies with virtuous words like “integrity” and “transparency.”
Monsanto’s business practices in India quite remarkably live up to the company’s motto. It purposefully leverages its power and influence in government to penetrate farming markets with motive but without morale.
Market Power
Using its colossal market power, Monsanto craftily penetrated into the Indian markets.
Monsanto convinced the Indian government that its GM seeds would produce better crops. According to a report by Farm Wars, one former Managing Director of Monsanto claimed that Monsanto manipulated research data “to get commercial approvals for its products in India.”
Indian regulatory agencies, instead of verifying the data, simply remained compliant with the findings of what Monsanto presented. “They did not even have a test tube to validate the data and, at times, the data itself was faked,” the Farm Wars report says.
Government regulations worked in favor of Monsanto to monopolize the Indian seed market. For example, “Prime Minsiter’s Office” in India pressured various state governments to sign MOUs with Monsanto to privatize the seed market.
Through these “vested interests” with the Indian government, Monsanto eventually has monopolized the GM seed market for more than a decade.
Unable to purchase traditional seeds, the farmers had to pay a hefty price for the expensive GM seeds. Many farmers had to borrow money from the local lenders to buy Monsanto’s seeds. To cite an example of how expensive the GM seeds are, 100 grams of GM cost $15 to the farmers compared with $15 for 1000 grams of traditional seeds.
Vandana Shiva, a renowned scientist and activist in India, wrote that Monsanto had also planned to control water in India. Its aim was to control water supply through privatization. In other words, Monsanto sought to profit from water, a lifeline of Indian livelihood. By seeking control of water, Monsanto also seized the opportunity to benefit from the scarce water supply that plagues communities throughout India.
Manipulation and Misinformation
The failure of Monsanto’s GM seeds was palpable. The farmers held onto their hopes for better crops after they had planted the “magic” seeds. Their crops never came. Throughout the villages in India the harvest from the GM seeds failed. The parasites destroyed the so-called “pest-proof” GM seeds.
Monsanto uses methods of manipulation and misinformation to reap their own benefits and profits at the cost of the farmers who rely on organic methods to grow their crops and animals, a tradition that existed in India for centuries.
By a contractual clause, the farmers could not save Monsanto’s GM seeds for reuse after the first season.
Whether or not the farmers understood this legal binding would merit an examination to underscore the extent of Monsanto’s market power and conniving business practices. Misleading and forcing farmers to buy the GM seeds through government policy and market monopoly must be purged as part of reforming the Indian agricultural market.
Action Against GM seeds
Prince Charles does not like what Monsanto is doing or causing to the lives of farmers in India. He has expressed his contempt for the “bio-tech leaders” and “politicians” who have caused suicides among Indian farmers. His charity organization promotes “long-term benefits of sustainable agriculture” that would provide “decent returns” to the farmers.
Facing pressure from the anti-GM seed activists, NGOs, and local communities, the Indian government gave in. In 2010, Indian Environment Minister issued a temporary “moratorium” on Monsanto to introduce genetically engineered egg plant seeds in India. Only time will tell how long this policy effects will last.
In a country where money, politics, and business often go hand in hand, the farmers are at the mercy of their own fate.
Source: globalresearch.ca - Author: Iqbal Ahmed; he is a public policy graduate student at George Mason University, Arlington, VA. He completed a study abroad program at Oxford University, UK in summer 2011 on European Union (EU) policies. He has written for Foreign Policy Journal, Journal of Foreign Relations, Foreign Policy in Focus, Global Politician, Eurasia Review, and NPR’s “This I believe.”
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Michigan Hockey Preview Part 3: Goalie and Special Teams
By: Alex Drain
Our preview continues today with a look at goaltenders and special teams. Last week covered forwards and defense.
WHO RETURNS? Just one dude! But he’s the only dude that matters! Hayden Lavigne seizing the #1 goaltending job away from Jack LaFontaine was the first moment that led to Michigan hockey becoming an elite team last season. It happened around late November, when the two sophomores were still duking it out during a capital G GOALTENDING CONTROVERSY. Lavigne got steadily better as the year went on once he settled into his starting role, occasionally ascending to the point of a guy who could steal a game for you. The late February home game against Notre Dame comes to mind, with Lavigne pitching a shutout that helped seal Michigan’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament basically by himself. He was not quite on the level of Sean Romeo of Ohio State or Cale Morris of Notre Dame, but he has the potential to get there this season.
Lavigne’s numbers were inflated by the dreadful penalty kill (more on that later) which gave him 0 help at any point in the season. In regulation, he was mostly very steady. The season-ending goal against Notre Dame was not great, but he was also hurt by a defensive breakdown in front of him. That was generally the story of last season for him. When the defense was steady in front of him, Lavigne was fine. But when there were breakdowns, he made mistakes, which is understandable. It was also his first season as a starter, going from 13 games played in 2016-17 to 33 games a year ago. It’s reasonable to expect growth from Lavigne and hopefully, he’ll get more help from his special teams and the defense in front of him.
SO UH………. WHO’S THE BACKUP? Jack LaFontaine is taking a one year sabbatical, headed to the BCHL for a season. That’s almost expected, given that LaFontaine is a guy who still has NHL aspirations and he wasn’t going to have a shot to develop to an NHL level if he’s not the guy in Ann Arbor. Michigan responded by bringing in two goalies, since the rarely played third stringer Chad Catt graduated. The first one is Strauss Mann, an older guy (a ‘98 kid) who had good stats in the USHL. He’s probably not going to be a starter for Michigan at any point in his career here, but he will probably be the backup right away.
The other name is Jack Leavy, a big dude (6’5”) that no one knows anything about. There is very little on him, so it’s kind of a stab in the dark. Expect him to be the Chad Catt of this season, not seeing the ice all that much. With Lavigne being the guy, there aren’t going to be that many opportunities for backups, save for injuries, and so Michigan doesn’t need a star backup.
OH THOSE SPECIAL TEAMS The great Scotty Bowman always used to say that to be a great team, you need your power play % and your penalty kill % to add up to at least 100. That was not the case for Michigan last year. Michigan’s power play was middling (36th out of 60) at 18.0% conversion, while their penalty kill was an appalling 75.00% (57th out of 60). Add it up, and that’s 93, not the 100 you’d like. The penalty kill was the definitive achilles heel a year ago and it was the turning point of the Frozen Four. Michigan had just gone up 2-0 in the 2nd period and then they took a penalty and within 30 seconds of the PK beginning, the Wolverines had let the Irish back in the game by giving up a goal. Momentum had swung and the game went on a different trajectory. It was also what kept Michigan from a Big Ten Tournament Title, giving up a pair of goals while on the PK to Ohio State in the B1G Semifinals.
The theory that I, and other people, had is that Mel Pearson spent all of his time improving Michigan’s possession at 5-on-5 that they didn’t have time to work on special teams. If that’s the case, it’s excusable for one season, but it won’t be excusable if it happens again this year. It’s not like Mel Pearson doesn’t know how to coach special teams either, with Michigan Tech ranking 22nd, 21st, and 7th in PK his last three years there at 85.0%, 83.9%, and 86.11% conversion. It’s very much possible that Michigan’s PK could get drastically better very quickly, with Michigan’s most hated rival being the blueprint. Ohio State improved significantly between 2016-17 and 2017-18, going from 57th in the country (74.53%) two years ago to 1st in the country (89.44%) last season. It’s also the reason OSU went from the last team in 2 years ago to a #1 seed/Frozen Four team.
If Michigan were to make that level of improvement on their PK, and assuming they take the same number of penalties, it would drop their goals-per-game allowed from 3.02 to 2.50 and would take their defense from #36 in GPG allowed to #15. That kind of change alone could both make up for any step back on offense, but also take the team from elite to national title favorite. Yes, it’s unfair to expect Michigan to get that much better at something they were so bad at a year ago, but just getting to where Mel’s Tech teams were (85% conversion) is not at all an unrealistic expectation and would also be a difference maker if it were to occur.
As for the power play, an uptick to about 20% conversion or so would be optimal and would help Michigan maintain their gaudy scoring clip from a year ago (3.4 PPG, 6th in the nation), even if they lose some talent on the frontline. It was not a bad unit last year, but if the power play can just make a slight step forward, it would also help things drastically. I have to believe that special teams was a significant point of emphasis for Pearson in the preseason and we have to see what transpires this season
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Home SPORTS Daniella Anglin
Daniella Anglin
Like an eagle gliding through the clouds with elegance, grace and ease, Daniella Anglin is one day hoping to soar onto the local and international stage, fulfilling her bid of becoming a professional athlete.
The lanky High Jumper, also known as ‘DUMPLIN’, after fighting a boy in Primary school over a dumpling, is the Western Mirror’s latest featured athlete as the entity continues its light-sided look at those who delight us in our sporting entertainments throughout each year.
Daniella was born on November 15, 2001, in the rural area of John’s Hall district in St. James.
Soft-spoken Daniella, who has four siblings, three sisters (including a twin) and a brother, and is the second in the pack, attends the Herbert Morrison Technical High School and is now a resident of Spring Mount district.
Daniella started her sporting activities as a Netballer, travelling often to the Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club to participate in the annual Burger King Under-12 Competition as a key component of the John’s Hall Primary School.
She then gained a place at Rusea’s High School in Hanover following her sitting of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), but was recruited by then Physical Education teacher at the institution, Rita Spence.
The now Grade 12 student, who aspires to gain a scholarship to study overseas, began her education at the Salters Hill Basic School.
Anglin is preparing to sit CAPE subjects Biology, Advanced Food, Communication Studies and Physical Education.
She says she admires and would like to one day hold the accolades of Mutaz Barshim, the Qatari athlete, and national record holder who won bronze at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio.
Almost always displaying a quiet and shy demeanor, Daniella revealed to the Western Mirror that though picking up the sport late, she has decided on pursuing a career as a professional High Jumper, one who will capture the hearts of the nation and the world.
“I started out playing Netball and it was my favourite sport at the time until I got introduced to High Jump by Mr. Grant while at ‘Compre’”.
Anglin, a National Youth representative, says her selection to the CARIFTA team was even more inspirational as “it made me realize I can do anything I put my mind to. But, overall, it has helped me to become a better person”.
She looks back at her start at the Bogue-based school as “welcoming”, , revealing that her arrival is filled with fond memories. Daniella also revealed that under the watch of coach Spence, no longer at the institution, her netball capabilities significantly improved and her love and passion were even greater. “She made me feel confident in the sport. She taught me things I didn’t know”.
For her coach, Claude Grant, “The world is at her feet. She has won medals at every National Girls’ Championships since 2014 ,and there are a lot of universities eyeing her.Daniella is an incentivedriven student-athlete. She comes to training with the willingness to learn and make adjustments to her technique. She wants to maximize her potential.”
Filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment, the highly thought of coach Grant reminded the Western Mirror that Daniella, under his watch, has won every single High Jump competition she has participated in, and is the record holder for the western Championships Class 1, with a mark of 1.75 metres.
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Wimbledon Synagogue has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that, when given responsibility for children and young people, staff and volunteers provide them with the highest possible standard of care.
Wimbledon Synagogue believes that children and young people have the right to be completely secure from both the fear and the reality of all forms of abuse and we are committed to safeguarding and protecting all children and young people in our care from harm.
Through the implementation of policy and procedures we seek to maintain the professionalism and safeguard of good practice which is associated with our work. Wimbledon Synagogue is committed to reviewing its child protection policy and procedures at regular intervals.
We acknowledge that the welfare of children and young people is paramount.
We recognise our responsibility to safeguard and promote the interests and wellbeing of children and young people with whom we are working.
We value working closely with parents and carers, staff and volunteers to protect children and young people from harm and discrimination.
We acknowledge that abuse does occur and that we need to raise awareness and understanding of the main forms of abuse and establish communication and reporting of abuse, where suspected, to safeguard children and young people whom we are working with.
It is the responsibility of Wimbledon Synagogue to ensure that all children and young people can enjoy a safe and enjoyable environment. Wimbledon Synagogue is committed to ensuring that it meets its responsibilities in respect of child protection through the provision of support and training its staff and volunteers. We do this by:
Ensuring all staff and volunteers are carefully recruited and have full up to date DBS (CRB) checks.
Ensuring that all staff and volunteers are aware of their roles and responsibilities and that training is made available to them.
Ensuring that all staff and volunteers respect the rights and reasonable wishes and feelings of children and young people.
Ensuring that when recruiting our stance on child protection is clear.
Ensuring that the appropriate authorities are informed about any concerns or allegations
Definition of abuse: (further details are given in appendix 1)
There are five types of child abuse. They are defined in the UK Government guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) as follows:
Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child or failing to protect a child from that harm. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child.
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.
It may feature age- or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of Child protection fact sheet Definitions and signs of child abuse © NSPCC 2009 2 another. It may involve serious bullying causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact including both penetrative or non-penetrative acts such as kissing, touching or fondling the child’s genitals or breasts, vaginal or anal intercourse or oral sex .
They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food and clothing; shelter, including exclusion from home or abandonment; failing to protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; failure to ensure adequate supervision including the use of inadequate care-takers; or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
Bullying (see Wimbledon Cheder Anti-Bullying policy)
Bullying may be defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. It can take many forms, but the three main types are physical (e.g. hitting, kicking, theft), verbal (e.g. racist or homophobic remarks, threats, name calling) and emotional (e.g. isolating an individual from the activities and social acceptance of their peer group). Child protection fact sheet Definitions and signs of child abuse © NSPCC 2009 3
Bullying may be defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. It can take many forms, but the three main types are physical (e.g. hitting, kicking, theft), verbal (e.g. racist or homophobic remarks, threats, name calling) and emotional (e.g. isolating an individual from the activities and social acceptance of their peer group). © NSPCC 2009 3
Dealing with disclosure – the 4 Rs
Receive-Reassure-Record-Refer (refer to appendix 2)
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Home Breaking Minarets Bella Ciao play
Minarets Bella Ciao play
Uproar in Turkey – minarets Bella Ciao play “” After a hacker attack is sounded from the loudspeakers of the various mosques in Izmir, the Italian partisan song from the Second world war. The Turkish authorities have begun an investigation. 6 Kommentare6″Bella Ciao” instead of the Muezzin From the various mosques in Izmir, in the image of the Konak mosque, is heard on Wednesday afternoon, the Italian partisan song. Photo: Halil Fidan, Anadolu Agency/
It unfamiliar sounds that invaded on Wednesday afternoon, two days before the end of Ramadan, from the loudspeakers in the streets of Izmir were. Instead of the muezzin, the Islamic call to prayer, sounded the anti-fascist Italian partisan song “Bella Ciao”. The reason for the musical reorientation seems to be a hacker of several prayer houses was an attack on the audio system in the stronghold of the opposition party, the CHP.
The Turkish authority for religious Affairs, Diyanet, has filed a complaint with the police. The Prosecutor’s office has since launched an investigation – even against users of the social networks that divided the action. A woman had been arrested on Thursday, told the state news Agency Anadolu. You will be accused of “denigrating religious values” – whether in connection with the hacker attack or because of their activities on the Internet, is unclear. A further Person was arrested on early Thursday morning, but shortly after been released.
Strange sounds from religious houses: the sound on Wednesday afternoon in Izmir. Video: Tamedia
Normally, a Muezzin – calls mostly over the loud speakers five times a day to Pray in the mosque. Now in Ramadan, in addition, night long prayers will be sung, the mosques are closed due to the Corona pandemic, however. The speakers are only meant for religious messages and calls to Prayer are improper application can be perceived by the Devout in a Muslim country such as Turkey quickly as blasphemy.
According to the reactions of some political representatives and government-related media were sharp. Ömer çelik, the spokesman of the government party, the AKP, the Islamic-conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the incident. The perpetrators of this “heinous crime” would be found, he said on Twitter. The daily newspaper “Sabah daily” described the action as a “scandal,” the Istanbul newspaper “Yeni Safak” spoke of a “heinous attack” on mosques.
It is not the first Time that the audio systems of mosques to be alienated in the Turkey purpose. Three years ago, at the end of March 2017, were torn by the inhabitants of the Northern Turkish city of Kastamonu by the sound of a porno strip out of the bedroom. Local security officials claimed that Hooligans had taken over the speakers. Some newspaper reports speculated, however, employees of the mosque would forget to switch of the plant, while they devoted themselves to the movie.
(sho)
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'Pure Evil:' Why Lawrence T. Horn Hired An Assassin On Hit Man
Hand holding gun, close-up, b&w
Hit Man, a true crime podcast hosted by Jasmine Morris, is dedicated to a heartbreaking case of triple murder: Millie Horn, a loving mother, her severely disabled eight-year-old son Trevor, and Trevor’s nurse Janice Saunders, who were all killed in Millie’s home one evening in 1993. “It took 18 months for detectives to complete their investigation...But it only took one day for police to establish a prime suspect and a motive,” Jasmine tells us. Even though he was in a different state at the time of the murders, with a solid alibi, the authorities immediately took an interest in Millie’s estranged husband, Motown producer Lawrence T. Horn. In this episode, Jasmine takes an unflinching look at Lawrence’s motives, as well as the book that taught a street preacher how to become an assassin.
Trevor was born with underdeveloped lungs, but his health had been steadily improving beyond all his doctors’ expectations, until he was taken to Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC for a routine treatment. Due to some accident, Trevor was without oxygen for several minutes, leaving him severely brain damaged. His mother was advised to take him off life support, but as Millie’s sister Marilyn tells us, “Millie went into his room. And Trevor opened his eyes, looked at her, and smiled, and that was the answer.” She refused to put him a care facility, either; she decided he would be raised at home, and that she would give him the most normal life she could manage. “They had a pool party, he's in the pool,” Marilyn remembers. “Halloween, he had his costume.” Lawrence, on the other hand, never showed any interest in Trevor.
Until three years later, when Millie decided to pursue a lawsuit against Children’s Hospital in order to get the money she’d need to take care of her son. Her lawyers, John Marshall and Howard Siegel, remember Lawrence being much greedier. He rejected the first offer, saying it wasn’t enough, that he expected to get at least $100,000 just for himself. “It was the first time he had revealed himself, and we were floored. It had just never been discussed that the parents were going to get any money at all,” John says, and Howard agrees: "I went out in the hall with John and I said, 'I have just looked into the eyes of pure evil.'...Lawrence Horn's only concern was what he was going to get out of it."
Trevor was awarded $2 million in 1990, with $125,000 going to Lawrence and Millie receiving $525,000, which she used to buy a bigger house with “an entire wing dedicated to Trevor’s care,” Jasmine says. While Lawrence was still employed by Motown, Trevor’s medical bills were covered by his health insurance, and most of the money went into a trust fund. “But then Lawrence lost his job, and by 1993 Trevor had exhausted the lifetime maximum benefits on Millie's insurance. Which meant that every month now, $26,000, the cost of Trevor's care, was going to come out of Trevor's $1.7 million trust fund.”
That’s when Lawrence set his plan in motion. “There is no accident about this timing," John says. "This was all done to maximize the return to Lawrence.” Millie was very nervous, John remembers, after the court allowed her to start dipping into the trust fund; Marilyn recounts that Millie told her that if anything ever happened to her, it was Lawrence’s doing. “And of course she was 100% right,” John says. “A month later, she was killed.”
Doorway leading into bedroom
Lawrence hired James Perry, a street preacher with a criminal record, to kill his wife and son so he could inherit all the money. James had shot someone before, but in order to do it right, Lawrence had him order the book Hit Man: A Technical Manual For Independent Contractors from Paladin Press, which detailed exactly how to assassinate someone and not get caught. “The similarities between Rex Feral's manual and the murders of Millie Horn, her son Trevor, and Janice Saunders, are difficult to ignore,” Jasmine says, from the weapon used and the homemade silencer employed, to the murder method and disposing of evidence. James followed the manual nearly to the letter, and they almost got away with it. A few chance mistakes were all it took to expose Lawrence for who he truly was.
Find out more about the 22-second answering machine recording Lawrence didn’t intend to make, the chilling, step-by-step assassination instructions, and the cold-blooded ways Lawrence helped his employee prepare for murder, on this episode of Hit Man.
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Fiat Shows off 2015 500 Abarth Automatic
August 22nd, 2014 by Kenny Hoeschen
Fiat USA is looking to broaden the appeal of the Fiat 500 Abarth sports hatchback/cabrio with the addition of an optional automatic transmission. The 500 Abarth was first brought to the U.S. with only the manual transmission available, something that might not suit all drivers, many of whom are either not comfortable driving a stick or have never even learned to drive one.
In this video, Fiat USA Vehicle Integration Engineer, Allison Singer, takes us for a spin around the track in a 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth Automatic and explains what the team’s goals were in creating a real performance-built automatic version of the car. The 500 Abarth’s six-speed automatic is a re-engineered version of the auto available in the standard 500, but reworked and retuned to match the car’s 1.4-liter turbocharged engine with reinforced gears and extra clutch plates.
The automatic version of the car comes in at 157 horsepower, which is 3 hp less than the manual version, although it does produce an extra 13 lb-ft. of torque. As Singer describes, the new transmission brings with it a sport mode that provides rev-matched downshifts, fuel-cut upshifts, gear-holding through corners and “fast off” scenarios.
The 500 Abarth Auto lacks paddle shifters, although the driver can choose to manually shift through the use of the shift lever on the center console. Fiat hasn’t released final performance specs for the new version of the 500 Abarth, so we’ll have to wait to see if it can match the manual’s numbers.
Carspotting Japan: Classic Fiat Nuova 500
Concepts from Future Past: 1969 Fiat Abarth 2000 Scorpione
Concepts from Future Past: Autobianchi Runabout
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The Case For Ending the Supreme Court As We Know It
People line up at the Supreme Court to hear arguments in Brown v. Board of Education. Although the decision was celebrated, it merely undid policies and practices that the Court had set in motion earlier. Photograph from Bettmann / Getty
Last week, Donald Trump was confronted with a new accusation of sexual assault (Trump, as always, denied it), and then delivered a bizarre speech at the National Archives, demanding ideological conformity in public-school curricula through what he described as “patriotic education” that “celebrates the truth about our nation’s great history.” Instead of facing scrutiny or scorn for these latest outrages, he has been awarded yet another opportunity to select a Justice to serve on the Supreme Court. Trump barely concealed his delight at the chance to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tweeting at the Republican Party, the morning after Ginsburg’s death, “We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!”
It is simply unconscionable that Trump—who lost the popular election by millions of votes; who was impeached last December, for abuse of power; and who has openly espoused racist, xenophobic, and sexist ideas, while also encouraging political violence against his perceived opponents—will, with voting in the Presidential election already under way, select a third candidate for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Of course, no one has forgotten that, after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, 2016, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, refused to hold a Senate hearing for President Obama’s nominee to the Court, Merrick Garland, effectively blocking Obama from choosing Scalia’s replacement. Now, with McConnell still in power, there is little doubt that the Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for Trump’s candidate. Not only does the likelihood of another Trump appointment shred the illusion that the Supreme Court stands above the political rancor of the executive and legislative branches; it weaponizes the Court, by gifting Trump one more opportunity to limit the political rights of the minority populations that he disparages and despises.
Trump’s influence on American jurisprudence has been the quietest and most successful part of his destructive Presidency. He has appointed more than two hundred judges to federal courts, surpassing almost any other recent President at this point in their tenure. He has also made sure that the judges he has selected for these lifetime appointments are among the youngest ever—on average, forty-eight years old—insuring the longevity of their impact. And, with eighty-five per cent of his appointees being white, he has cemented the gross mismatch between the federal judiciary and the public. This latest development should certainly call into question the haphazard rules and procedural tricks that allot Trump the power to decisively tip the scales of justice in his favor. Pressed further, one might also ask: Why should the Supreme Court, an unelected body that is richer, whiter, and more male than the United States is, continue to have such outsized power in the lives of ordinary people?
The insistence that the Supreme Court is not a political body is a principle of high folly in American politics. Just last fall, Chief Justice John Roberts lamented the perception that the Court was politicized, saying, “When you live in a polarized political environment, people tend to see everything in those terms. That’s not how we at the Court function, and the results in our cases do not suggest otherwise.” In reality, appointments to the nation’s highest court reflect the current balance or imbalance of political power, making it impossible to neatly untie them from the political bodies that determine who sits on the Court and who does not. Anyone who doubts this need look no further than the partisan ragedisplayed by Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing, in late 2018. From blaming an inquiry into his personal history on “revenge on behalf of the Clintons” to proclaiming “What goes around, comes around” to Senate Democrats, the future Justice arrogantly flexed raw Republican power.
Moreover, as the branch of government that is least accountable to the American public, the Supreme Court has tended, for most of its history, toward a fundamental conservatism, siding with tradition over more expansive visions of human rights. Indeed, at the most significant moments in African-American history, the Court reflected the most reactionary elements of the culture in its efforts to abridge, degrade, or simply eliminate the rights of African-Americans. In 1857, it famously ruled, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, that African-Americans were not and could not be citizens of the United States; Chief Justice Roger Taney concluded that African-Americans were “so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” It took a civil war and its revolutionary upending of American society to reverse the Supreme Court’s damaging ruling, leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which guaranteed to all, including the formerly enslaved, the same rights that are “enjoyed by white citizens.” The Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing birthright citizenship to all and creating the legal principle of equal protection before the law, was built on the foundation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. In combination with the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibited racial discrimination as an obstacle to voting, these acts of Congress were intended to elevate African-Americans into the role of citizens, equal before the law and empowered by the ballot to shape the world in which they lived.
But, within a generation of the passage of this historic legislation, the Supreme Court slowly and assuredly denuded that legislation’s most potent power: constructing the personhood of those who were once property. The Court’s decisions in the aftermath of Reconstruction reduced the amendments to their most literal meanings, ignoring their expansive conceptions as means to protect the rights of newly freed people and guarantee them—indeed, all people born in the United States—the privileges and protections of U.S. citizenship. In 1883, the Supreme Court heard a group of cases that had been bound together to test the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which prohibited discrimination in hotels, trains, and other public accommodations and “places of public amusement.” In an 8–1 decision, the Court ruled that it was legally permissible to ban African-Americans from public accommodations and decried African-American demands to participate in the public sphere as “special” rights to which they were not entitled. Though the stench of slavery still polluted the air, the Court offered willfully ignorant proclamations of color blindness. In response to African-Americans’ demands for equality, the majority opined, “There must be some stage in the progress of his elevation when he takes the rank of a mere citizen, and ceases to be the special favorite of the laws, and when his rights as a citizen or a man are to be protected in the ordinary modes by which other men’s rights are protected.” Of course, “other men” had not been enslaved, nor subjected to savage acts of violence and harassment, nor banished from public life as an affront to their claims of citizenship.
On the eve of the twentieth century, the Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson transformed the regional injustice of Jim Crow into the national lie that separate could be equal, codifying the racial apartheid of the South as the law of the land. For decades, freed African-Americans had worked arduously to define the meaning of Black citizenship; the retrograde Court worked quickly to foreclose it. In doing so, it eviscerated, for millions of African-Americans, any notion that justice is blind, compelling one observer to describe the Court as the “grave of liberty.”
The accomplishments of the Court while led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, from 1953 to 1969, stand out as exceptions in the body’s long history of regression. But even the decisions from this period that we now laud for upholding or defending freedom were made within a larger climate of social unrest or revolt, and were often aimed at reversing damage that the Court had done in the first place. The Court is celebrated for its historic decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954, which banned segregation in public education, but it was merely undoing policies and practices that it had set in motion with Plessy. It was also responding to the broader dynamics of the emerging civil-rights movement, which threatened to embarrass the United States on the global stage just as the country was attempting to project itself, during the Cold War, as a beacon of democracy. In 1952, the Truman Administration submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court encouraging it to rule against segregation. As the brief noted, “The United States is trying to prove to the people of the world of every nationality, race and color, that a free democracy is the most civilized and most secure form of government yet devised by man. . . . The existence of discrimination against minority groups in the United States has an adverse effect upon our relations with other countries. Racial discrimination furnishes grist for the Communist propaganda mills.” The Brown decision was a public indicator of progress, but its decree was quickly undermined when, the following year, the Court prescribed that school desegregation be undertaken with “all deliberate speed.” Without a directive that the ruling should take effect immediately, the South was provided legal cover to drag its feet, as the racist “massive resistance” to school integration began to take hold.
At other moments, the coercive power of a mass social movement compelled the Court to act in proactive, even radical, ways. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., a landmark case addressing housing discrimination, was decided in June of 1968, just months after a series of uprisings catalyzed by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The decision surpassed the Fair Housing Act, which was signed that April and set to be phased in over a two-year period, by making racial discrimination in the buying, selling, renting, or financing of housing illegal, effective immediately. The majority’s ruling looked to the Thirteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and declared that housing discrimination, regardless of whether the source was public or private, was a “badge and incident” of slavery. Justice Potter Stewart, writing for the majority, compared racial discrimination in housing to the “Black Codes” enacted at the end of the Civil War, saying that “when racial discrimination herds men into ghettos and makes their ability to buy property turn on the color of their skin, then it too is a relic of slavery.”
But, just six years after the Jones decision, the Court, led by a new Chief Justice, Warren Burger, stymied the progress of civil rights. In Milliken v. Bradley, the Court was asked to decide if Detroit suburbs were required to include Black children from the city in a metropolitan-area-wide school-desegregation plan. With the Black movement in retreat, and the political winds moving decidedly to the right—characterized by then President Richard Nixon’s description, in 1971, of “fair housing” as “forced integration”—the Court came to a remarkably different conclusion than it did in 1968. Burger, writing for the majority, claimed that racial segregation in Detroit was “caused by unknown and perhaps unknowable factors,” and concluded that there was no evidence that “governmental activity” had played any role in the “residential patterns within Detroit.” The Court had not forgotten its Jones ruling, in which it plainly described the existence of segregation and linked its origins to state action and private discrimination. Instead, the changing political climate cast similar facts in a different light. It was also a different Court. By the end of his disgraced Presidency, Nixon had appointed four Justices, conjuring a conservative majority that stemmed the momentum from the “rights revolution” for decades.
The Court retains this penchant to shape politics, even with issues seemingly settled by law. Take voting rights. African-Americans in the South finally secured unobstructed access to the ballot box with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was intended to end the shameful legacy of race-based voter suppression in the region. But, in fact, the question was not settled. In 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the landmark reversal in Shelby County v. Holder, which ended the act’s key enforcement provisions. Just three weeks before George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin, compelling Alicia Garza to utter the phrase “Black lives matter” for the first time, Roberts argued that these civil-rights protections were no longer necessary because “our country has changed.” Predictably, states across the South began to implement new voting restrictions that overwhelmingly affected African-Americans. Alabama announcedthat it would require voters to present photo identification, and then, in Black-majority counties, proceeded to close Department of Motor Vehicles offices.
Even when the Court has ruled in ways that appear to be in the interest of minorities or socially and economically marginalized populations, its decisions can be ephemeral, susceptible to partisan shifts, while creating the dangerous illusion of permanence. The Roe v. Wade decision, in 1973, was made in the midst of the women’s-liberation movement, in which reproductive freedom and access to abortion were central demands. In subsequent decades, the changing political climate, including the strategic decisions of liberal feminist organizations to focus their resources and organizing on electoral politics, and not on the street-level mobilizations that won the right to abortion in the first place, has contributed to the erosion of support for abortion rights. The idea that sympathetic politicians were the key to maintaining access to abortion missed the historical lesson that pressure generated by social movements has the greatest potential to overcome the inherently conservative bent of the Court. We now live with the reality that a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women will have the power to make life-altering decisions about our lives, including whether we will retain the right to a legal abortion. The fluidity with which rights can be bequeathed and taken away, in fact, reduces rights to privileges. In a truly democratic society, civil rights should not be contingent on a fortuitous combination of Supreme Court Justices.
The events of this tumultuous and tragic year, from the ravagesof the coronavirus pandemic to the fresh uprisings against racist police violence, have compelled a national reckoning like no other, opening new public, mainstream conversations about how we might remake this country more equitably. Those discussions have been most pointed when trained on the destructive role of police in Black and brown communities. Activists have advanced an unpopular but compelling argument to “defund the police” and redistribute law-enforcement budgets to programs that might more effectively respond to social and economic crises in poor and working-class communities. We have also seen a growing demand for some form of universal or guaranteed health care, reflecting deepening frustrations with a health-care system in which access is largely contingent on employment and, even then, is deeply constrained by costs. For-profit health care was unpopular before, but now, as millions have lost their jobs because of the contracting pandemic-era economy, it seems as cruel as it is unjust. One measure of the mounting discontent with the rapacious inequality that defines American society is the number of people who have warmed to the ideas of socialism and the redistributive economics at their core. In a Pew Research poll conducted last year, forty-two per cent of Americans had a positive view of socialism. Months later, Gallup found that young adults’ attitude toward socialism is even rosier, with nearly half viewing it positively. In moments of acute crisis, people question the norms and institutions of a social order that gestated the problems in the first place.
Trump’s constitutional power to manipulate the Court in his favor has compelled mainstream elected officials to make dramatic demands that the Supreme Court change. The former Attorney General Eric Holder recently described the conservative majority as “illegitimate,” because of the Senate’s refusal to confirm Merrick Garland, and said that, if Republicans move forward with confirming Ginsburg’s replacement, and Democrats win the Presidency, “we need to think about court reform. And, at a minimum, as part of that reform package, I think additional Justices need to be placed on the Supreme Court.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have not ruled out Court-packing, should the Republicans succeed at filling Ginsburg’s seat before the election. They have also said, in Pelosi’s words, that they will “use every arrow in our quiver” to block Trump’s nominee. But neither Schumer nor Pelosi has said what exactly that means. Joe Biden, for his part, called on Republicans in the Senate to “follow your conscience” as regards the Court. “Don’t vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created,” he continued. “Don’t go there.” But, sure enough, Mitt Romney—the lone Republican who voted to remove Trump from office, for corruption, during the Senate impeachment trial—pledged to vote to hold a Senate hearing for the President’s nominee, all but assuring the candidate’s ascension to the Supreme Court. Clearly, there is no honor among thieves, and the most troubling part is that Biden thought there was.
The Republican Party’s provocation to rapidly replace Ginsburg has already been met with thousands of people assembling at the steps of the Supreme Court. In a sharp rebuke to Trump, at least one Times and Siena poll—of residents in North Carolina, Arizona, and Maine, taken before Ginsburg’s death—found that fifty-three per cent of those asked think that Biden should pick the next Justice. A nationwide Reuters and Ipsos poll conducted after Ginsburg’s death found that sixty-two per cent of those asked think the winner of the November election should pick the new Justice. There is popular recognition that Republicans are attempting to preserve the political influences of a disgraced President. But, for those who oppose a Trump nominee, the equivocating and fractured Democratic Party is an unreliable ally in what will be a bitter struggle. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that Democrats in Congress must “commit to using every procedural tool available to us” to insure that the vacancy is filled by the next President, including impeaching Trump or Attorney General William Barr, but many of her colleagues would likely oppose such tactics. Senator Tim Kaine, of Virginia, argued that it would be “foolish” to consider impeaching Trump or Barr, and went on to say that he was asking “Republicans to be true to their word,” apparently holding out hope that they would relinquish the opportunity to reshape the Court in their own image.
Those with the most to lose from a reactionary Trump Court have the least access to the levers of power that could slow this fast-moving process. But they can still attempt to interrupt it with popular protest and resistance. Even if popular resistance is not successful in stopping Trump’s nominee, it will be crucial in the long, ongoing struggle to expand the rights of the people of the United States. As the historian and writer Howard Zinn, whom Donald Trump disparaged in his speech at the National Archives, once wrote,
Knowing the nature of the political and judicial system of this country, its inherent bias against the poor, against people of color, against dissidents, we cannot become dependent on the courts, or on our political leadership. Our culture—the media, the educational system—tries to crowd out of our political consciousness everything except who will be elected President and who will be on the Supreme Court, as if these are the most important decisions we make. They are not. They deflect us from the most important job citizens have, which is to bring democracy alive by organizing, protesting, engaging in acts of civil disobedience that shake up the system.
This doesn’t mean that it is unimportant who wins the Presidency or who is appointed to the Supreme Court. What it does mean is that ordinary people are not powerless to challenge the political and economic élite who have such disproportionate authority over our lives. But our power is often located outside of the institutions of tradition and influence. It is through acts of solidarity and struggle that we have been able to secure our rights and liberties in the United States, and, from the shape of things to come, that is how those rights and liberties will have to be defended. This means building movements to pressure an increasingly right-wing Supreme Court, making it more difficult for that body to further usurp the rights of regular people. It also means calling into question the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the Court. If Trump is successful in adding another right-wing Justice, he will only continue to erode the Court’s legitimacy, adding further evidence that it can be brazenly used to achieve what could not be accomplished through legislative means. The multiplying failures of our existing society have led many of us to reconsider institutions, policies, and practices that have continued to reproduce racial and economic inequalities. In this moment of exalting uprisings and reëmergent social movements, we cannot overlook the disturbing history of the Supreme Court and its regressive role in American society.
What do we do about the Court? There is an obvious and pressing need now to do whatever is politically permissible in stopping Trump from further distorting its composition. But, beyond that, there is also a need to make it part of our national reckoning with the history and traditions of racism in the United States. It is long overdue to end the Court’s undemocratic role in U.S. society.
[Originally published on September 25, 2020 via The New Yorker]
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CAI Zaragoza 76
Local time: 20:30 PABELLON PRINCIPE FELIPE
Undefeated Valencia Basket wins in Zaragoza
Valencia Basket kept its perfect record intact by beating CAI Zaragoza 76-84 on the road Tuesday. Valencia, which had already clinched a Last 32 berth, became the first team in the Eurocup this season to seven wins and is closing in on clinching first place in Group C. The loss dropped CAI to 4-3. Valencia led most of the game, but CAI rallied early in the fourth quarter to get to within 4. Valencia responded with aa unanswered points- 7 of which came from Justin Hamilton, to lock the game up. Hamilton starred with 20 points and 9 rebounds, Antoine Diot added 15 points, Rafa Martinez scored 13 and Jon Stefansson 12. Valencia made 13 of 25 three-pointers in the game. Henk Norel and Halil Kanacevic scored 13 each for CAI, Nate Linhart added 11 points and Sek Henry had 10 in defeat.
CAI got off to an ideal start as Norel, Toma Bellas and Linhart made it 6-0. Justin Hamilton helped get Valencia going and a Luke Sikma triple gave the visitors their first lead, 8-9. Linhart and Diot traded threes after which Martinez connected from downtown to put Valencia in front again. Martinez sandwiched two more triples around another by Stevan Jelovac for a 17-22 Valencia edge. Stefansson free throws put the visitors up 7 before Jelovac drew CAI within 22-26 after 10 minutes. Henry tied it at 26-26 early in the second quarter, but Stefansson and Hamilton rebuilt a small Valencia cushion. Kanacevic tied it for the hosts again only to run into Stefansson and Hamilton again. John Shurna and Martinez each hit threes on a 0-11 Valencia march that put the visitors in control. After an Isaac Fotu three-pointer, Diot made it 40-50 at halftime.
Fernando San Emeterio and Diot added to the Valencia lead, but Fotu and Henry managed to keep CAI in the picture. Drake Diener hit a three and then drew a foul shooting a three. His 3 free throws closed the deficit to 55-60. Stefansson’s first three-pointer as the center of a 0-7 spurt that pushed the difference to 12. Kanacevic made it 60-70 through three quarters. Kanacevic scored twice as the hosts closed to within 4 early in the fourth quarter. However Valencia silenced the CAI attack for nearly five minutes while scored 11 straight points to put the game away. Hamilton capped the run with a triple to make it 66-81 as the visitors chalked up their seventh straight win.
Referees: TRAWICKI, TOMASZ; MITROVSKI, IGOR; BARDERA, REGIS
CAI Zaragoza 22 18 20 16
Valencia Basket 26 24 20 14
CAI Zaragoza
4 LINHART, NATE 21:47 11 2/4 2/3 1/1 3 3 3 3 4 2 9
5 HENRY, SEK 17:02 10 3/6 0/3 4/4 1 1 4 3 3 9
10 GARCIA, SERGI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 BELLAS, TOMAS 22:58 2 0/4 0/1 2/2 1 1 7 3 2 3 9
15 SASTRE, JOAN 18:47 2 1/4 0/1 3 3 1 1 1 2
16 DIENER, DRAKE 25:31 6 0/1 1/5 3/3 1 1 2 1 1 2 4
19 TOMAS, PERE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 BENZING, ROBIN 13:55 2 1/2 0/2 1 2 3 1 4 1 -2
25 NOREL, HENK 20:58 13 5/8 3/5 4 2 6 1 1 3 4 17
42 FOTU, ISAAC 23:15 8 1/1 2/2 2 2 1 1 1 1 10
45 KANACEVIC, HALIL 19:02 13 5/5 0/2 3/4 2 2 4 1 2 3 16
89 JELOVAC, STEVAN 16:45 9 2/6 1/3 2/2 1 1 1 2 2 3
Head coach: CARGOL, PEP
1 STEFANSSON, JON 17:15 12 2/2 2/2 2/2 3 3 2 2 1 2 16
4 TRIAS, JORDI 12:10 2 0/1 2/2 2 2 1 2 4 2
8 DIOT, ANTOINE 19:58 15 2/3 3/4 2/2 1 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 19
10 SATO, ROMAIN 4:02 0/1 1 -2
13 LUCIC, VLADIMIR 15:32 1 0/2 1/2 1 3 4 1 1 3 3
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 20:02 1 0/2 0/1 1/2 1 1 5 1 2 2 2 2
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 23:31 13 1/2 3/6 2/3 3 3 3 2 3 15
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 19:40 8 1/1 2/5 1 1 4 2 1 2 9
24 SHURNA, JOHN 17:59 5 1/3 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 -1
41 HAMILTON, JUSTIN 27:50 20 7/10 1/2 3/4 2 7 9 2 1 1 3 4 27
43 SIKMA, LUKE 22:01 7 1/2 1/2 2/2 1 4 5 3 2 2 1 10
Head coach: MARTINEZ, PEDRO
CARGOL, PEP
"Valencia had great success in the first half. Our defense was able to adjust, raise theintensity and be more aggressive.Then we had the opportunity to get closer on the scoreboard,but they found answers and came right back in the end of the game. They were able to move the ball very quickly and well and get open shots. We also got open shots, but we must continue working to improve our shooting percentage. "
"It was a very physical game and we had problems with our defensive rebounding. But we played well on offense, we moved the ball well most of the time, made good shots and were accurate with our three-point shooting. I would say that in offense we have played a complete game and our defense was acceptable. "
KANACEVIC, HALIL
"We lost again; it’s hard to continue like this. Pep has done a great job coaching us these days in a very difficult situation and I think he’s been perfect.We wanted to win this game, be as competitive as the last game, but we did not wantthe same outcome. Today we were together, we played strong and we have to keep our heads. In the morning and we will practice with the new coachand we have to move forward because we are still early in the season.We must focus on what lies ahead. "
JSF Nanterre 65
EWE Baskets Oldenburg 80
Dominion Bilbao Basket 95
Telekom Baskets Bonn 80
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 92
Enel Basket Brindisi 45
Proximus Spirou Charleroi 77
Umana Reyer Venice 71
Trabzonspor Medical Park 82
Steaua CSM EximBank Bucharest 67
Avtodor Saratov 93
Besiktas Sompo Japan Istanbul 83
Szolnoki Olaj 99
Neptunas Klaipeda 87
Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd 74
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The IP scan service may help SMEs decide what IP rights to apply for, how to develop their IP portfolios if they already have registered rights, and how to plan their strategies for the future.
Trademarks and designs can be applied for at one of the national intellectual property offices of the EU (national level), in the Benelux Office of Intellectual Property (covering Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg; regional level), or with the EUIPO (covering all the Member States of the EU).
More information about the deadlines and general guidelines can be found here https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/grants-sme-fund#call-for-proposals.
You are welcome to contact us for further advice on what service(s) to apply for.
Meet European Patent Attorney Marianne Johansen – celebrating her first year with aera
Since Marianne Johansen in 1989, when working in a research group at the University of Copenhagen, came across the world of patents, she has been hooked on IP:
“After my Ph.D., I worked as an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, Department of Pharmaceutics. During my research, I was part of a research group working with drug delivery systems, and we invented a drug delivery system based on dextrans. We wrote and filed a patent application and contacted companies that could have an interest in taking the project further. During this work, I experienced the contrast between scientific papers and legal documents like patent applications – a difference that I had not previously been aware of. Moreover, the huge amount of knowledge hidden in patent documents was a big surprise to me.
It created my curiosity for IP, and one of my friends held a position at an IPR firm and talked with passion about her work – thus, when a position became available, I applied for it – and I was caught with the same passion. The work is highly interesting, you work with highly skilled people and it never becomes routine. Your work is in front of the technology, and the IP regulation and practice change. All in all, you need to be alert” she explains.
With more than 30 years of IP work on her back, Marianne is one of aera’s most experienced attorneys, and looking back on that period, she enjoys the development of the focus on the business aspect within IPR:
“When I started working with IP, it was more or less only engineers who became patent attorneys, and the work was based primarily on relationships between foreign associates and the IP firm. Incoming work from local companies was sparse. In general, IP firms were not oriented towards the businesses of their clients.
At that time, I believe that the only IP firm that employed people with another scientific background and where local clients and their businesses were important was the firm where I was employed. In that firm, the innovative aspects of the IP business were top priorities and I believe that today, most of the IP firms in Denmark have more or less realised the importance of bringing business and IP together.”
This is in Marianne’s opinion central if you aim to become a good attorney:
“I believe the most important skills lie in the interface of business skills, technology skills, language skills, legal skills, and communication skills. Working in this interface is challenging and always exciting. I also believe that my background as an associate professor, working with research projects and researchers, gives me an excellent basis for discussions with inventors and for applying legal framework to technologies. Moreover, in my mind a patent application is not just a piece of technology put into a legal frame – it is an important business opportunity that must be seen as a tool for obtaining a desired business strategy.”
Marianne works for all kinds and all sizes of companies within the Life Science field. Naturally, her main focus is on patents, but synergies within all areas of IPR and strategy also play a big role in her work:
“My main interest has always been patents, but I value the importance of the synergies between all kinds of IPR in order to obtain the best possible IP protection. Thus, my interest is in the interface between IPR and exclusivity, and in the advantages obtainable using patents, designs, trademarks, etc. in combination.”
Another area is the strategic aspect – it concerns every aspect of IP and any time period within the development process. Due diligences, e.g. in connection with mergers, acquisitions or IPO’s, and freedom to operate evaluations are also important and enjoyable tasks.
“When a client’s IP is turned into a business success and the client realises the value of its IP, I find my work both meaningful and satisfying.”
During her career, Marianne has held several CEO positions, so we were extremely happy that she chose to continue her IP career at aera when she joined our company last January.
Here she explains why:
“aera is a relatively new IP firm established by a highly innovative and business-oriented team of European patent attorneys. I have worked with several of them in my previous positions and know that they have the right spirit and the talent to make aera an important player on the international scene of IP. I believe that aera has the ability and the will to be more than a traditional IP firm. My colleagues fully understand the importance of providing our clients with the best possible service, irrespective of whether it relates to IP in Denmark, Europe, the USA or other countries.”
Visit Marianne Johansen’s profile to learn more or get in touch.
Season’s Greetings Video 2020
https://aera-ip.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Aera-“Dreaming-of-Christmas”-6.mp4
Season’s greetings from aera
It is now almost 3 years ago since this firm was founded by a few like-minded people who had a “one for all, all for one” vision on how a modern European firm should position itself within this crazy business we call IP. Back then, we only had a few days to conceive our vision that is now the bedrock of our company. Since then, we have grown from 4 to 24 headcounts [SIXFOLD!], included a fifth partner, a whole new domestic territory [Sweden], and a new business area [Legal services].
Like everywhere else, our 2020 will always go down as ‘the year of the COVID-19’, but we have luckily enough not yet seen a negative business effect of that. Naturally, some of our clients have been affected, and we have not been able to host our beloved Open events since March, but we have instead filed multiple applications on ingenious solutions to battle or diagnose COVID-19, and we only hope that our small contribution will help fight this virus and get things back to a “new normal”, because honestly, things are never going to be exactly the same again.
However, we are not only proud of assisting our beloved new clients, conquering new market shares, and the simplified complexity we have delivered – it was always our expectation to deliver on those parameters.
What is really our biggest achievement in 2020 is the newcomers to the aera team, in particular Monika Colak (SE), Dan Fischer (US) and Siddardha Koneti (IN) who came from far away to join us here in Copenhagen.
Three people from three very different parts of the world, all joined to help expand the skillset of the company; Monika with decades of dedication to trademarks and domain names, Dan leaving behind a partnership in New York to learn from the top of the pops in Europe, and Sid bringing that vivid new young knowledge from research and development from his 12 scientific journal publications.
It’s growing with competences like this that really thrills us.
We can’t wait to invite you back to our rooftop for those aera-branded beers that were shelved since the cancellation of our “Oktoberfest”. And as you can see from this year’s season’s greetings video, we are no fun without YOU visiting us…in fact, you might even say that we are bored stiff…https://aera-ip.com/season-greetings-video-2020/
With all this in mind, we wish you all happy holidays and a happy new year – we look so much forward to seeing you all in 2021.
the aera team
The CRISPR priority decision is out
ALL the applicants of a priority application must be named in a subsequent EP application
As discussed in a previous post, there were oral proceedings before EPO Board 3.3.08 on 13-17 January 2020 in appeal number T 844/18 in one of the so-called “CRISPR cases”. The written decision, which concluded that the patentee did not claim a valid priority, is now online. In the decision, the board confirmed the EPO’s use of the so-called “all-applicants approach” (in a simplified version):
A and B are applicants on the priority application.
A filed the subsequent application claiming priority from the priority application.
The priority is invalid because not all the applicants of the priority application were named on the subsequent application.
The board discusses in detail the meaning of the term “any person” in Article 87(1) of the European Patent Convention (EPC)/Article 4 of the Paris Convention (PC). The conclusion is that the term is not clear, but that it is established practice to require all applicants on the priority application to also be named on the subsequent application. Hence, abandoning the “all-applicants approach” would disrupt current practice, which in turn means (according to the board) that the patentee was faced with a heavy burden of proving the current practice wrong. The board found this burden not to have been lifted.
The board also considered the purpose and spirit of the Paris Convention as discussed in T 15/01:
The right of priority is generally regarded as one of the cornerstones of the Paris Convention and was already incorporated in the original text of 1883 (cf Bodenhausen, Guide to the Application of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property as Revised at Stockholm in 1967, 1969, Article 4, Section A(1), point (a); Ladas, Patents, Trademarks, and Related Rights, Vol. I, 1975, p. 456). Its basic purpose is to safeguard, for a limited period, the interests of a patent applicant in his endeavour to obtain international protection for his invention, thereby alleviating the negative consequences of the principle of territoriality in patent law.
In the course of the revisions of the Paris Convention, several amendments were made to its priority provisions in order to enhance their flexibility and thereby ameliorate the legal position of patent applicants. It was considered that overly strict solutions would hardly be in accord with the spirit of the Union treaty which is aimed at fostering and encouraging inventive genius (cf Actes de la Conférence réunie à Washington du 15 mai au 2 juin 1911, Berne 1911, p. 45). In particular, the Paris Convention in its present version (Stockholm Act) explicitly recognises the possibility of claiming multiple and partial priorities (cf Article 4F) and guarantees the right to divide patent applications while preserving the benefit of the right of priority also for the divisional application (cf Article 4G Paris Convention). The same principles are reflected in the corresponding provisions of the EPC, ie Articles 76(1), second sentence, and 88(2) and (3).
In the light of the above, the board disagrees with the view expressed in decision T 998/99 (point 3.1), according to which the international priority provisions contained in the Paris Convention have to be regarded as a body of exceptional rules which should be interpreted strictly. Rather, they have to be construed in a manner which ensures that the general purpose they serve, namely to assist the applicant in obtaining international protection for his invention, is fulfilled as far as possible.
The board agreed with these remarks but found that the Paris Convention does not aim to help others than the correctly determined “any person” and that it therefore did not help the patentee’s case.
The board also addressed whether it was competent to assess whether it was the correct (legal) person who had filed the subsequent application claiming priority. The board distinguished between the formal naming of applicants on the priority application and whether these applicants were in fact entitled to be named as priority applicants. The board found the EPO to be competent to assess the former and that the latter was not relevant for their decision.
Article 87 EPC also refers to a “successor in title” of the priority applicant. The board stated that the EPO requires evidence of succession in title, but that since no succession in title was alleged by the patentee, they did not have to review it. What remains unclear is what would constitute sufficient evidence (and what succession is in fact meant since the EPO is not required to assess entitlement to the priority application per se).
The board did not address the so-called “co-applicants approach” in their decision since it was not relevant for reaching the decision. Hence, the decision still leaves open a number of issues concerning the right to claim priority.
Further appeal cases that may clarify the EPO’s position on the right to claim priority are T 2749/18, T 1837/19, and T 477/19 (Aera is representing the patentee in the latter appeal). A decision in any of these cases is unlikely to be available for at least another couple of years.
Use of “A Swedish Tiger” by Aron Flam is not a copyright infringement
The Patent and Market Court at Stockholm District Court writes in its judgement published last week, that the comedian and author Aron Flam’s illustrated tiger on the cover of the book “This is a Swedish Tiger” was a parodic element and not a copyright infringement. The reworked version by Aron Flam of “A Swedish Tiger” showed a tiger with a swastika on one paw and the other paw raised in a Nazi salute.
The iconic image created in 1941 by the cartoonist and author Bertil Almqvist was launched during World War II by the State Information Board with double message. The campaign called on the citizen to respect Sweden’s neutrality policy during the war and its relations to Nazi Germany and the Allies but also presented a picture of Sweden as being strong and dangerous as a tiger. In the published book by Aron Flam with the cover of the discussed tiger, the Swedish neutrality during World War II is questioned and criticised.
The Emergency Management Museum, which owns the copyright to the image created by Bertil Almqvist, sued Flam for allegedly violating its copyright and requested him to delete the image from the cover page or destroy the book.
The central question in this case was whether Flam’s tiger was sufficiently independent or whether it constituted a violation of copyright law.
The copyright legislation provides an exhaustive list of exceptions to the right of reproduction of works protected by copyright. Among the exceptions, which are grounded in the freedom of expression is the “use for the purpose of caricature, parody or pastiche”.
According to the Patent and Market Court at Stockholm District Court, Aron Flam’s use of the tiger falls under the parody exception and doesn’t constitute a violation of copyright.
Contact us if you have any questions about copyright.
Eddie was considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time and is known for popularising the tapping-guitar solo technique. This technique allowed Eddie to play rapid arpeggios with two hands on the fretboard of his guitar.
However, did you know that his passion for music also made him an inventor? In order to refine his tapping technique, Eddie invented and filed US Patent No. 4,656,917 for a supporting device for stringed musical instruments. The patent was granted in 1987 and was upheld throughout its lifetime.
In the patent, the supporting device was described as “providing total freedom for the musician’s hands to play the instrument in a completely new way, thus allowing the musician to create new techniques and sounds previously unknown to any musician”.
This sounds like the perfect product for any aspiring guitarist wanting to improve their game. However, has any one of you actually seen this product in use? We thought as much, and neither have we. So why didn’t Eddie Van Halen use his exclusive right to sell his product? Maybe the strategic value of the patent for Eddie van Halen was to keep his guitar playing skills to himself.
How do you use your intellectual property rights?
Contact us if you want to discuss the strategic value of your inventions and intellectual property portfolio.
Meet US Patent Attorney Dan Fischer – our new colleague from New York
Last week Dan Fischer joined the aera team, bringing the total number of employees up to 24. Dan comes from his position as Partner at the IP firm Knobbe Martens, and is now settling in at his new home in Vesterbro, Copenhagen.
Dan grew up in Naperville, Illinois, close to Chicago, before he moved to California for law school where he finished his education and began working for Knobbe Martens. In 2017 he moved to New York City where he helped open and build Knobbe Martens’ new office near Time Square. This year showed another big change for Dan, moving to Europe and joining aera:
“I love to take on new challenges and opportunities and coming to aera just felt like the right type of opportunity. While I have great memories of the States, I am excited to get to know a completely new continent! I think it is important to experience new places to gain a fuller perspective of the world” he says, and continues:
“I first took a Scandinavian trip when I was in law school, where I visited Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. In fact, when I moved out here in September, I stumbled past the same bar I vividly remember from my law school trip! Outside of that one trip, I admit I probably do not know Scandinavia too well… outside of IKEA of course.”
His interest in IP began after he graduated with an engineering degree: “I really enjoy learning all sorts of new technology and being a patent attorney allows me to see so much of that! IP also allows me to use the many technical skills I developed in college, especially allowing me to understand the complex technology that these brilliant inventors come up with. I have worked in a number of different IP areas in my career, but I think medical devices are fascinating. I relish being involved in such cutting-edge technology, especially when it comes to improving people’s lives. In fact, at one point I thought about becoming a doctor before deciding on the law” he explains.
His best IP experience was also connected to his high interest in medical devises: “I found out that someone I knew had undergone a medical procedure using technology that I had helped do patent work on. I thought that was a crazy coincidence and made me feel like I was truly helping to make a difference!”
Overlooking his new city through the window from the aera office at the 18th floor, which of course is a big change from his former office in Manhattan: “Copenhagen is a beautiful city and quite a change from NYC. Everything feels a bit slower, in the best possible way. I have already purchased a bicycle and I love how bike friendly everything is with the dedicated bike lanes. O, and I cannot wait to check out Tivoli” Dan says with a big smile on his face.
Can you patent the medical use of an inactive ingredient?
Patenting of a second (or further) medical use of an already known pharmaceutically active ingredient has been possible at the EPO since decision G 5/83. The Enlarged Board of Appeal introduced the so-called “Swiss type” claims, which have since been replaced by the format of Article 54(5) EPC of the updated convention (EPC 2000). Decision G 2/08 from the Enlarged Board of Appeal confirmed the body of case law developed for the Swiss type format for the new Article 54(5) EPC and further put an “expiration date” on the Swiss type claims.
Article 54(5) EPC refers to “substances or compositions” and it is well-established that medical devices do not benefit from the additional patentability afforded by this article (see decisions T 1069/11, T 2369/10, and T 1099/09). It is also well-established that “active ingredients” in the classic sense, i.e. a molecule interacting with some receptor in the body to cause a beneficial effect against a disease does benefit from Article 54(5) EPC.
Recent decision T 264/17 answers the question of whether a “chemical” that is not an active ingredient in the classic sense can nonetheless benefit from Article 54(5) EPC. The application concerned the use of a perfluorinated polyether as a replacement for synovial fluid in a damaged joint. According to the description, the perfluorinated polyether exerted its effect by not interacting chemically with the body. The application was refused by the Examining Division for lack of novelty over a document describing the same perfluorinated polyether for a different use since, in the opinion of the Examining Division, the perfluorinated polyether was not an “active ingredient” and therefore did not qualify for the exception in Article 54(5) EPC.
The Board disagreed. The Board referred to T 2003/08, which was based on the former version of the EPC and G 5/83, and the criteria established therein for determining whether something could be considered a “substance or composition”:
It is decisive for determining whether or not a “substance” or “composition” is used in a treatment to establish (a) the means by which the therapeutic effect is achieved and (b) whether that which achieves the therapeutic effect is a chemical entity or composition of chemical entities.
The Board answered that in the case at hand, (a) the perfluorinated polyether achieved its effect by not interacting with the surrounding tissue rather than by assuming a particular three-dimensional shape (as would be the case for a medical device), and that this (b) was caused by its chemical properties. The Board further concluded that it was less important whether the substance could be considered an “active ingredient”. The decisive criterion was whether it was the chemical nature of the substance that caused the beneficial medical effect.
This decision is encouraging for applicants who wish to rely on new medical uses of chemical substances, but who may have doubts whether these chemical substances could be considered “active ingredients” or “devices”.
Is compulsory licensing the answer to the US’ buying of all Remdesivir?
Tuesday this week, it was revealed that Gilead, the producer of Remdesivir, which is currently known as the best drug against COVID-19, had sold nearly almost all of the next three months’ production of its medication to the US health department, leaving the rest of the world without access to buy more of the drug.
Tests of Remdesivir suggest that the recovery time is cut by using the drug, and the drug is therefore crucial in order to keep countries’ health systems from collapsing. The deal between Gilead and the US health department covers 500.000 doses to be used in US hospitals.
Even though Gilead in May signed a licensing deal with nine companies covering 127 primarily poorer countries, the situation could become critical. In many European countries, the supply might get short if the stocks are not filled or if the demand for the medication increases, for example in case of a second wave.
This situation, in combination with a price of more than 3,000 USD per treatment, has initiated a debate in which for example the Danish politician Pelle Dragsted yesterday has argued that hospital pharmacies should initiate their own production.
The question is whether this scenario is actually realistic?
Indeed, governments may use a backdoor to compulsory licensing as agreed in the Doha declaration on the WHO-based TRIPS agreement, stating that governments should not be prevented from protecting public health.
Compulsory licensing enables a government to license the use of a patented invention to a third party or government agency without the consent of the patent-holder, and it could arguably be the answer to the deal made by Gilead and the US.
There is to some extend existing examples in related areas, including HIV/AIDS drugs, but the process is not simple and there are also other factors to be taken into account, including:
There has to be an imminent catastrophic event
A negotiation with Gilead has to have taken place without success
There are several serious legal challenges in this approach:
The current infections numbers for Europe are much lower than for the US, which argues in favor of using the initial production for US hospitals
The legal process of compulsory licensing is complex and will most likely be longer than three months
There has, to our knowledge, not been a negotiation with Gilead about long-term production and delivery of Remdesivir in Europe, and license deals for 127 poorer countries had already been made. This argues against the idea that Gilead does not want to solve the problem.
There are also economic and practical factors that have to be taken into account:
Gilead would have to be compensated for the compulsory license, and there would as such not be an economic benefit to making Remdesivir
The process for making Remdesivir is highly complex and requires approximately 70 raw materials, reagents, and catalysts and approximately 25 individual chemical steps. Such process requires highly specialised production facilities and skilled scientists, which is a long process that certainly cannot be used by the local pharmacy.
Remdesivir is given to very sick COVID-19 patients, which means that the quality of the potentially alternatively-produced Remdesivir is important, and ensuring that the drug does not lead to unwanted harmful side effects will be essential. This requires testing and approval from the authorities, which again takes time.
Therefore, there are currently legal, practical, and regulatory arguments against a compulsory license for Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19.
On top of this, there is right now a significant initiative to produce as much Remdesivir as fast as possible, especially considering that there are ongoing merger discussions between Gilead and AstraZeneca.
The questions that remain are therefore: what type of dialogue is the European politicians having with Gilead? are they having a dialogue at all?
There are factories across Europe that could assist with the production of Remdesivir, under Gileads supervision and instructions. Why not discuss a license with Gilead to have them produce Remdesivir at a quality and quantity that could solve these issues? Or maybe Gilead already has an answer to these issues and no Europeans have bothered to ask them?
Based on the above, it would in our opinion make sense to test many alternative strategies before simply arguing that a compulsory license is the solution.
No to Peppers – but you can keep Tomatoes and Broccoli
Yesterday, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued opinion G 3/19 (Pepper) and in conclusion, plants and animals exclusively obtained by essentially biological processes are no longer patentable.
In a much-awaited decision, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office yesterday settled several issues concerning both lawmaking and interpretation of the law. It adopted a dynamic interpretation of the exception to patentability under Article 53(b) of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and held that the non-patentability of essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals also extends to plant or animal products that are exclusively obtained by means of an essentially biological process, thus closing a short-lived and highly controversial window of opportunity for patenting these products. A decision that will be applauded by most in the Plant-Breeders’ Community.
The Enlarged Board held the referral by the President of the European Patent Office to be admissible. The referral was made under Article 112(1)(b) EPC and concerned the interpretation of Article 53(b) EPC in view of legal and other developments occurring after decisions G 2/12 (Tomatoes II) and G 2/13 (Broccoli II), and in particular in view of new Rule 28(2) EPC in light of decision T 1063/18 which held that new Rule 28(2) EPC had no impact on the interpretation of Article 53(b) EPC.
It found that a particular interpretation which has been given to a legal provision can never be taken as carved in stone, because the meaning of the provision may change or evolve over time. Thus, decisions G 2/12 and G 2/13 did not settle the meaning of Article 53(b) EPC once and for all.
In summary, after the introduction of new Rule 28(2) EPC, Article 53(b) EPC is to be interpreted to exclude from patentability plants, plant material or animals, if the claimed product is exclusively obtained by means of an essentially biological process or if the claimed process features define an essentially biological process.
Still, in order to ensure legal certainty and to protect the legitimate interests of patent proprietors and applicants, the Enlarged Board further ruled that the new interpretation of Article 53(b) EPC given in G 3/19 had no retroactive effect on European patents containing such claims which were granted before 1 July 2017, or on pending European patent applications seeking protection for such claims which were filed before that date. In practical terms, if priority was claimed, the priority date is the date deciding if a pending application is exempt from Rule 28(2) EPC (point XXIX of G 3/19).
The opinion
The non-legally binding press-release
One (US) size does not always fit all
Most applicants seeking patent protection do not wish to limit themselves to obtaining a patent in just one country or region. It is therefore necessary to be aware of the practice not just in your own country or region, but also in other countries around the world. Even though many of the overall principles behind the patent laws around the world are the same, they can be implemented very differently.
A prominent example is added matter. The principle behind it is simple: the applicant should not be allowed to patent something that was not already disclosed to the public when the application was filed. However, the European Patent Office (EPO) is notoriously strict in applying this principle. When the EPO makes the assessment of whether subject-matter has been added to the original application, it uses the so-called “Gold standard” of direct and unambiguous disclosure.
This standard is much stricter than the standard applied at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). American applicants at the EPO can therefore be caught by surprise when amending their patent claims. One example of this is recent decision T 1362/15.
In this decision, a board of appeal of the EPO found added matter in claim 10. Claim 10 combined the features of the original claims 13, 14, 15, and 17. However, the problem was that the claims were drafted with a claim dependency where claims 14 and 15 depended from claim 13, and claim 17 depended from claim 15. This would, even under the EPO approach, without a doubt have been considered a direct and unambiguous disclosure of the combination of features from claims 13 and 14 on the one hand and the combination of features from claims 13, 15, and 17 on the other hand. But not, regrettably for the applicant, of the combination of all the features of claims 13, 14, 15, and 17.
This approach may be considered harsh, but it is one that applicants need to be prepared for. Ironically, the claim dependency of the original application was drafted in what might be called “US style” in that American practitioners tend not to draft claims with multiple dependencies (which results in higher fees at the USPTO), whereas European practitioners tend to draft dependent claims as depending from “any one of the preceding claims” (which does not result in higher fees at the EPO). Had the original claims in T 1362/15 been drafted in the “European style”, they would have complied with the strict EPO criterion.
The point here is that when we draft patent applications, we need to be aware of practice not only in our own jurisdiction, but also of practice in other jurisdictions where we may eventually file our application. Added matter is the most prominent example of when US applicants may be caught by surprise, but not the only one (priority, which was covered in this article, is another one).
It is of course not one-way traffic. European applicants often find that inventions already granted in Europe are found obvious at the USPTO by combining a high number of prior art documents (which is not done at the EPO). Another example is patent applications for inventions in the field of diagnostics. Patenting of these inventions in the US is tricky, to say the least. The advantage for Europeans, though, is that these problems do not necessarily have to be addressed already at the time of filing the original application.
Is your priority a priority?
Most of the people who have been in contact with the patent system will be familiar with the concept of claiming priority from a previously filed application. Most of them will also be aware that it is the subsequent application that claims priority (and therefore an effective filing date) from the first application. However, claiming priority can be much more complicated than that. This is illustrated by one of the so-called “CRISPR” cases that over the past few years have drawn headlines in the world of IP.
The IPKat recently warmed up to the oral proceedings before EPO Board 3.3.08 on 13-17 January 2020 in appeal number T 844/18 by discussing the need for clarity on the so-called “co-applicants approach” when claiming priority at the EPO. The “co-applicants approach” is briefly explained by the following situation:
A is applicant on the priority application.
A and B file a subsequent application claiming priority from the priority application.
Since A and B are co-applicants on the subsequent application, they are allowed to claim (together) the priority right belonging to A.
This is, however, not the only issue surrounding priority that could use more clarity from the Boards of Appeal of the EPO. Indeed, the issue at hand in T 844/18 is actually the opposite of the “co-applicants approach” (in a simplified version):
The patentee in T 844/18 (The Broad Institute et al. – “Broad”) argues that “any person” in Article 87(1) EPC should be interpreted to mean that any of A and B may claim the subsequent priority.
Decision T 788/05 and some subsequent decisions contradict Broad’s position. This is acknowledged in the preliminary opinion issued by the Board in T 844/18 (paragraph 38). However, the Board also acknowledges (paragraph 39) that allowing A to claim priority may actually leave B in a better position, since a lack of priority potentially leads to revocation (and hence nothing for B to reclaim), whereas a valid priority (and therefore, potentially, a valid patent) would let B recover his/her part in the patent. The preliminary opinion further seems to acknowledge that a strict formal approach to claiming priority could go against the spirit of the Paris Convention (on which the EPC’s priority system is based), which is supposed to make it easier to file patent applications worldwide.
A and B together file a priority application covering aspects X and Y of the invention.
A and B have a mutual (non-written) understanding that A owns X and B owns Y.
A year later, they therefore file two different applications, both of which claim priority from the priority application: A files an application directed to X, and B files an application directed to Y.
Under the approach of T 788/05, the priority could be considered invalid for both the subsequent applications.
Evidently, if A and B had done their homework and signed an assignment document, they would relatively easily be able to provide the necessary proof under the approach of T 788/05 that they are each other’s “successors in title” for X and Y, respectively. Another issue concerning the transfer of priority is that the transfer must be done before claiming priority (T 1201/14). Hence, A and B cannot assign retroactively. If, for whatever reason, A and B did not have time to complete the assignment before filing the subsequent application, another possible “fix” would be to file the two subsequent applications together and then assign each of the two subsequent applications according to their (non-written) understanding.
Bottom line is that under existing case law, it is a guide in “100 ways of getting priority wrong”. In that sense, claiming priority is a lot more unforgiving than other formal acts that must be completed in order to obtain a European patent. As an example, most missed deadlines under the current EPC can be cured by filing a request for further processing (Article 121 EPC) with payment of the appropriate fee. If the 12-month deadline for claiming priority is missed, only Re-establishment under Article 122 EPC is available, and it must be proven to the satisfaction of the EPO that the deadline was missed despite all due care under the circumstances (which is interpreted strictly).
Some even argue that the “co-applicants’ approach” is too lenient on applicants and that only A and B (or their successors in title) may claim priority from a priority application filed by A and B. Hence, if A, B, and C were to claim the priority, they would argue that priority is invalid. Derk Visser (of Annotated European Patent Convention textbook fame) argues that T 1933/12, which introduced the “co-applicants approach” in case law, is poorly substantiated and that following T 788/05 would result in only A and B being able to claim the priority (since A and B are considered a legal unit for the priority right).
This is in our opinion in stark contrast to the realities facing patent applicants, as well as the purpose and spirit of the Paris Convention. T 15/01 concerned the issue of exhaustion of priority, but also contained remarks on the purpose of the priority right under the Paris Convention:
This decision was cited by Broad in T 844/18 and acknowledged in paragraph 39 of the preliminary opinion of the Board. It seems difficult to reconcile with the more formalistic approach in T 788/05, and it will be interesting to see which balance is struck by the Board in T 844/18. After January 17, more clarity is hopefully achieved, but there is no guarantee. In the meantime, it is important for applicants to be aware of and comply with the formalistic approach as much as possible.
A further issue raised by Broad, but not addressed explicitly in the preliminary opinion by the Board in T 844/18 is whether the EPO is competent at all to assess the entitlement to priority. When a European patent application is filed, the EPO does not require proof of entitlement to priority from the applicant under Article 88 and Rule 52 EPC, not even if the European application is filed in a different name than the priority application. Indeed, the legislator explicitly rejected this possibility when the EPC was prepared.
Therefore, from a strict fairness perspective (which is not a legal standard per se), it begs the question why the EPO should assess priority 10-15 years later when a third party with no real interest in the priority right (other than to see the patent revoked) could oblige the EPO to make that same assessment that it was not allowed to make at the point in time (i.e. upon filing) when the applicant most easily would be able to provide the necessary proof.
It is unclear whether the Board will actually address this fundamental issue, which was not dealt with directly by a board before. Since, in the existing case law, nobody asked whether the EPO (of which the boards are a part – Article 15(f) EPC) was in fact competent, the boards dealt with issues for which they may not be competent. A parallel is Article 60 EPC, which concerns the right to the European patent application. The EPO is very explicitly not competent to deal with the issue of right to the European patent application, which issue is a matter left for national courts under the Protocol on Recognition.
Possible changes in recovery of costs in Danish patent litigation
On 29 August 2019, the Danish Eastern High Court issued a decision that partially relates to the recovery of costs of a winning party in the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court.
In its decision, the Court reversed a decision on the recovery of costs in a patent litigation case relating to a preliminary injunction and an invalidation suit, the Court increasing the recovery from 8% to approximately 50% of the documented costs of the winning party. What is interesting about this decision is that the Court decided that the winning party would recover 100% of the costs incurred for a European Patent Attorney assisting the winning party.
The decision further recognized that the “standard” hourly rate of a specialized Intellectual Property Attorney is higher than that of a general Attorney-at-law. This is in line with recent decisions made by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The decision of the Danish Eastern High Court may be seen as a precedence-setting decision as the Court is a higher instance than the Maritime and Commercial High Court.
The decision on cost recovery will hopefully encourage companies to look again towards the use of the Danish courts for future patent litigation after a long period of significant reduction in patent litigation within the Danish legal system.
New EPO decision on personalized medicine
Decision G 2/08 firmly established the patentability of new medical uses at the EPO under the revised European Patent Convention. Among other things, it was also established that this applies to treatment of a new patient group even if the same compound was previously known for treatment of the same disease in a different patient group.
What was still missing was clarity on the situation where the only difference resides in the presence (or absence) of biomarkers in the treated patients. In such cases, the patient group defined by certain biomarkers (e.g. presence of a certain genetic mutation, elevated blood levels of a certain compound etc.) typically overlaps with the patient group known to be treated with the same compound. In fact, the compound would typically already be known for treatment of the general patient population, which overlaps with all patient subgroups.
A recent decision from technical board of appeal 3.3.09 addresses this issue. The Headnote of T 694/16 states:
If a claim is directed to a known compound or composition for use in a therapeutic method of treatment or prevention of a disease, and the claim specifies that the subject to be treated displays a clearly defined and detectable marker, which is not displayed by all subjects affected by or likely to develop that disease, then the purposive selection of the patients displaying the marker for the specified treatment is a functional feature characterizing the claim.
We would highlight the terms “clearly defined and detectable” and “purposive selection”. The purposive selection is further highlighted in point 5.14 of the Reasons:
For this reason, the issue of whether patients displaying the markers of claim 1 were present among a population of previously treated patients and were already “inevitably” or “inherently” treated is irrelevant for assessing novelty in the present case. The only thing which counts is that D1 and D3 do not disclose a method whereby a patient or a group of patients displaying the relevant CSF markers, but not affected by dementia, was purposively and selectively targeted for carrying out the preventive treatment defined in claim 1. (emphasis in the original)
This decision provides a very welcome clarification for innovative companies working on personalized medicine. It means that it is possible for the innovative companies to be rewarded by the patent system for targeting treatments to the needs of specific individual patients, based on the characteristics of each patient.
A Guide to Foundations for SME’s and Start-up’s
We have made a list of some of the foundations and programs that we believe are interesting for many of our clients and people working in the start-up environment.
These types of applications usually contain a mandatory part concerning IP and patents – we have experience in scoping and adding value here. Contact any of our attorneys directly or at
for an informal discussion about the options.
The deadlines for applying for these innovation and research programs and foundations are approaching fast – so get started and good luck!
EC Horizon 2020: SME instrument
To Whom: One of more European SMEs
How much: 50.000 – 2.5 M € in two phases over 6 – 24 months.
When: Next deadline is 3 April 2019.
Read more her:
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/sme-instrument
EC Horizon 2020: Fast Track to Innovation (FTI)
To Whom: 3-5 European entities.
How much: up to 3 M €, close-to-market innovation.
When: Next deadline is 28 February 2019.
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fast-track-innovation-pilot
EC Horizon 2020: Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Open
To Whom: at least 3 entities
How much: 0.5 – 3 M € for radically new technologies.
When: Next deadline is 28 September 2019.
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fet-open
You can find an overview of some of the EC programs her: http://ec.europa.eu/research/eic/pdf/eic_instruments_table.pdf
The EU has also initiated Eurostars for the development of research projects with high-tech SMEs in international partnerships.
Eurostars SME
To Whom: The funding options are different from country to country. In Denmark is the focus up to 75% of actual costs to salary, travel and material. Other costs must be defined and approved.
How much: 300.000 € if one Danish partner participates, 500.000 € if there are two or more Danish partners.
https://www.eurostars-eureka.eu/countries/denmark
For Denmark there are also more focused foundations in 2019. These include:
Innovationsfondens “InnoBooster”
To Whom: Innovative SMEs and startups.
How much: 50.000 – 5 M DKK.
https://innovationsfonden.dk/da/programmer/innobooster
Innovationsfondens “Grand Solutions”
To Whom: Larger projects with focus on research, development and/or commercialization in a wide variety of technological areas.
How much: 5 – 30 M DKK
When: Ongoing evaluations from 1 February 2019.
https://innovationsfonden.dk/da/programmer/grand-solutions
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April 9, 2018 by Aesthetics for Birds 20 Comments
One of the great legends of heavy metal music history goes like this: In the early 1990s, a little known three-piece band from San Jose, California named Sleep worked out a deal with London Records to produce their third album, Jerusalem, which included the rare luxury of maintaining full creative control. Instead, they blew most of the $75,000 advance on custom guitars, high-end amplifiers, and lots of marijuana. During two month-long recording sessions, they recorded a single, hour-long song filled with slow, churning guitars and monotonic chants having something to do with a new race of “Weedians.” Throughout the recording process, the song (which in various forms the band had played live for several years) evolved: it got longer; and, in the words of bassist Matt Pike “It got weird.”
When the recording was complete, London Records dubbed the track “unlistenable” and refused to put it out. The band, in turn, refused the studio’s efforts to carve up and master the original track. The deal fell apart, the band broke up, and Jerusalem circulated the metal underground in various bootleg forms for years until its officially licensed release in 1998. Now, nearly two decades later, the album has been re-released under its original album title, Dopesmoker, to much acclaim. As one reviewer put it, the album “is now recognized as a masterpiece of the stoner-metal genre and one of the most formidable recordings of the past 20 years is regarded as one of the most important albums of heavy metal history.”
But what exactly makes Jerusalem so “heavy”? What is “heaviness” in music? It is surprising that no one has taken up the question in any seriously philosophical way, given that aesthetic theory has in recent years begun to take an interest in rock music, and given that heavy metal makes up a fairly sizable sub-section of the rock music genre. As far as I can see, there are two ways to approach the question of heaviness in music. One is the quasi-empirical approach familiar to musicologists, musical historians, and lay people alike: survey the broad spectrum of musical examples that might reasonably be included in the genre of heavy metal and try to extract a set of common aesthetic properties. But this approach is not likely to tell us what makes Jerusalem heavy.
This is because Sleep’s music, and the doom metal genre it exemplifies, doesn’t sound much like the heavy metal we are familiar with—it is much heavier. In contrast to both the mainstream commercial developments of metal as well as its “extreme metal” counterparts (death metal, thrash metal), all of which develop stylistically toward increasing speed and intensity, doom metal seizes on the lower and slower sounds of metal’s origins, namely, Zeppelin and early Sabbath. The genre is marked by lethargic riffing and lyrical focus on everything otherworldly and underworldly heard in the proto-doom bands of the mid-1980s (such as Sweden’s Candlemass, England’s My Dying Bride and Witchfinder General, and in the U.S. bands such as Pentagram and Saint Vitus). These bands explicitly reject hair metal’s flashy sounds and outfits and the guitar wizardry of MTV-ready acts like Van Halen and Slash. They did so in the name of preserving and purifying the sound of heaviness, codifying it as its highest aesthetic principle. And they did so with a sound that is far more simplified, more restrained, and much slower than the heavy metal we all know. But if we take heaviness to be that property (or set of properties) found among all heavy metal bands, we could end up with the conclusion that bands like Aerosmith or Guns n’ Roses are heavier than Sleep, which is absurd.
Alternatively, we can approach heaviness as an ideal, an essential quality or set of qualities that any kind of music can share to greater and lesser degrees. This is, I take it, what we hear in Sleep’s Jerusalem: the pinnacle of a musical genre that takes heaviness as its principal aesthetic ideal. Jerusalem, an album that Sleep explicitly intended to be “the heaviest thing ever recorded,” is a paradigm case of musical heaviness that challenges both the way most of us think and talk about heavy metal as well as the way that philosophers talk philosophically about rock music. In his 1993 essay, “Prolegomena to Any Aesthetics of Rock Music,” for example, Bruce Baugh asks: “Can there be an aesthetics of rock music?” By this he means: Can there be an aesthetics of rock music as distinct from an aesthetics of classical music? His answer is yes, provided we can dispense with Kantian formalism and embrace the “material” (that is, the visceral, rather than intellectual) elements of rock music—rhythm, notational expressivity, and loudness—as the appropriate evaluative criteria.
Along these lines, we might think of heaviness as a material element of rock, something to be felt rather than cognized. But this view has its critics. For one, we need not think that visceral, non-formal features of music are exclusive to rock. (James Young argues, for example, that any of the features of rock music that seem to require a distinct aesthetics of rock music can also be found in classical music.) And second, the formal features of classical music can also be expressive qualities of rock. (Davies rightly points out that Baugh “underestimates the extent to which the visceral response he describes depends … on a song’s melodic and harmonic shape, its words, its overall structure, and so on,” in other words, its formal qualities.)
In contrast to this approach, it seems to me that heaviness is situated somewhere between the material and formal elements of music. What we find in Sleep’s Jerusalem is not a singular heavy-making property, but a combination of at least two properties: sonic weight and sonic density.
Sonic weight is materially similar to rhythm (not the formal, measurable quality of tempo but the perceptive quality of timing) in that its quality is literally felt in the body. Unlike rock music, however, the rhythm of doom metal does not inspire much movement or dancing. Clocking in at a lumbering 96 beats per minute (as compared with the average metal range of 250 to 500), the rhythm of Jerusalem is the perception of slowness. But heaviness is perceived not so much as a physical stimulation as an emotional or psychological weight pressing down on us—that is, as sonic weight. The music tends toward stasis rather than movement, and this resistance is amplified by the simplicity and repetition of the riff.
Get ready for a little music theory. The typical riff in doom metal comprises a simple melodic structure of minor tritonic scales, down-tuned (see video below) anywhere from a half-step to a step and a half, in which the bass line doubles the guitar. The idea is depth rather than breadth, to explore different textures and minor variations of the riff through repetition. Typical of doom metal, Jerusalem is an in-depth exploration of a single riff (a C-based pentatonic scale with a diminished fifth), repeated with subtle variations and minor changes in pitch, designed to create the musical equivalent of a séance or spiritual quest. (If you’re hungry for more, here‘s an in-depth musicological analysis of Jerusalem.) The rationale of Jerusalem, as rock journalist J. Bennett explains, is that “sometimes the riff is just so fucking good that you just want to hear it over and over and over again…sometimes for fifty two minutes.”
Heaviness is also heard in sonic density, or thickness of sound. Certainly one aspect of sonic density is loudness, the sensation of being physically overwhelmed by the music. And Baugh is right to argue that loudness is not just a matter of decibels but, when used properly, “can add to expressivity” in music. But the sound of Sleep’s Jerusalem is heavy not just because the guitars are loud, but because they are thick, creating a dense, atmospheric “wall of sound” effect through distortion, low frequencies and textured sounds. The perception of sonic density, then, is to some extent contingent on its formal properties. Distortion is ultimately a matter of guitar timbre, a coupling of tone with acoustic noise. (Some musicologists have even argued that heaviness consists primarily in distorted guitar timbres.) Likewise, the low frequencies of doom metal’s downtuned guitars—a vestige of Black Sabbath—is ultimately is a matter of pitch, which, like timbre, is a tonal attribute. The guitars in Jerusalem are tuned down entire step, giving the sound a rich, dense quality. The sound is also thickened by the monophonic texture created by doubling the bass line with the guitar riff. This effect can be further manipulated in the recording studio, where multiple tracks can be layered, or “quad-tracked” with minor tonal variations, yielding “an even stronger, denser and heavier guitar tone than would be the case with four rhythm performances using the same sound” [source].
So even if we concede the general point that rock music calls for a different set of aesthetic standards by which it is judged, it’s not quite right to say that the quality of heaviness is reducible to the kind material qualities that Baugh identifies as basic to rock. The musical elements of sonic weight and sonic density that make Jerusalem heavy are indeed felt viscerally, but that response is intimately bound up with the formal features such as timbre, melody, tone, harmony, structure, and so on. Thinking about heaviness this way allows us to identify heaviness with something other than the common denominator of heavy metal music.
This allows us to confirm what is intuitive and obvious: that Sleep’s sound is heavier than pretty much any heavy metal band ever. But it also allows us to find heaviness in interesting and sometimes surprising places well beyond heavy metal. For example, we can find it in classical music (think Prokofiev) or in Dolly Parton’s Jolene slowed down 25% to 33 rpm.
Less obvious, however, is the status of lyrics with respect to heaviness. On the one hand, one could think that lyrics might bring added heaviness to the music in the form of heavy content. Doom metal, as the name suggests, trucks in melancholy and despair. With its thematic fixation on death, existential dread, Middle Earth fantasies of druids, dragons and wizards, allusions to witchcraft and Nordic paganism, and near religious devotion to weed, one could think that doom metal is made heavy, in part, by the gravity of lyrical content. (To its credit, doom metal has managed to avoid much of the controversies surrounding both the explicit Satanism of black metal as well as the implicit racism, nationalism, and violence that have tainted its musical legacy.) Take the same doom metal sound—the slow churn of oceanic riffs—and add either lyrics about apocalyptic visions and the suffering of humanity or lyrics about Old McDonald who had a farm. I guarantee you’ll hear the former as the heavier. On the other hand, one might think, along with the nineteenth century music critic Eduard Hanslick, that the lyrics render the music impure. They can only dilute its heaviness. This admittedly happens when the vocals are simply bad, as unfortunately in metal music they sometimes are. But it seems to me that this isn’t always the case. But the best I can say for now is that lyrics, done right, can add a layer of heaviness in the form of lyrical gravity; done wrong, they have a corruptive influence on an otherwise satisfactory heaviness. What exactly gives that rightness or wrongness, I’m not quite sure yet.
Jay Miller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Warren Wilson College.
20 thoughts on “WHAT MAKES HEAVY METAL HEAVY?”
B Mayo
This was a great read. I think deafheaven-not doom metal- comes close to matching that thick sound. It also feels muted which I believe is to make room for the vocals. Thoughts?
Totally agree. Deafheaven is amazing, and a great example of the heaviness I’m talking about. They also illustrate the sense in which the music can be played really fast (guitar strumming, etc), but they still sound slow, which is how they can so nicely transition into the clean, pretty parts. But the sound is really thick, and really heavy. And in this case I would definitely say that the vocals come out on top and make the music even heavier.
Thanks for this. Some thoughts:
What’s the heaviness of Wagner? Some lyrical affinities with metal, but far heavier than the music’s mean frequency would suggest. I think the lyrics (or libretto, I should say), contribute massively. And so wonder if there is a sui generis heaviness here. I also wonder this because of how abstract the heaviness of e.g. Dopesmoker is. Sure, it wouldn’t work with nursery rhymes; but it’s not like it suggests Teutonic mythology either. It’s, as you say, a heaviness of a certain sort of chanting. (Almost the heaviness of some Gregorian chant!)
Oh, and er no mention of Boris? ‘Absolutego,’ all sixty-five minutes of it, could give these guys a run for their money. Especially the special low-frequency version!
Good question. I think probably the darker Wagner for sure, especially the more epic stuff like the Ring cycle. But I suppose the theatrics of it (at least if you buy Nietzche’s criticism of it) doesn’t quite jive with doom. As for the lyrical content of Sleep, I think Gregorian chant is spot on, especially in Volume 1. And I think that vocals of this kind are super heavy, I just can’t explain why exactly. And yes, of course, Boris! Mega-heavy but also just so weird and avant-gardy they pretty much have their own thing going on. Saw them play last year and realized that (in contrast to Sleep, for example) it’s the DRUMS that make Boris so heavy.
This is a great post, and the analysis of “heaviness” seems pretty spot on. I was surprised to learn that others (like brand cage) have also done close listenings of Sleep. Do you know of additional good sources for the aesthetics of heavy metal, whether it’s about an individual song or the genre in general?
Thank you for this outstanding post. At risk of stating the obvious- THC is helpful to fully appreciate the sublime genius of Sleep’s Dopesmoker.
No, there’s actually a serious question here about whether and to what extent the effects of pot (which most certainly is central to the sound, the image, and the lyrics of “stoner” metal) is a factor in the heaviness equation. It’s interesting because, if that’s the case, then we’re saying heaviness is not just a property or set of properties belonging to the music, but to some degree the internal state of the listener. I have NO doubt that Matt Pike would agree.
Gym Gazebo
Yeoman’s work here. I guess I’m not convinced about the rhythmic claim—or maybe I’m not understanding it. Personally when I think of “heaviness” two acts jump to mind. Lightning Bolt for one. Feels like just about the heaviest thing out there, despite being quite fast—and loose! Personally I think that’s an important part, something like looseness. Like, some of the heaviest doom seems slowww because of its rhythmic looseness which (crosses himself) Sleep doesn’t have as much of. The other thing that comes to mind is Hate Eternal’s Born by Fire, just for what it’s worth. Quite fast. Again, maybe I’m not understanding the claim, or my heaviness sensors are miscalibrated.
Heavymetalparrkinglot
Sleep was from San Jose (not “Southern California”), no?
Ian Jensen
Good read. You (Jay) might be interested in my discussion of death metal, available here: https://www.academia.edu/25008348/_I_Watched_Jane_Die_Theorizing_Breaking_Bad_s_Aesthetic_of_Brutality
Yes! Thank you for sharing. Looks awesome.
Surely Sleep and other doom bands relying on the slow chugging sound are only one flavor of heaviness? I suspect there’s a broader property at work of which Sleep’s style is one flavor. What about Meshuggah’s “Bleed”? It’s not the fastest song in the universe, although it’s surely faster than a Sleep track, and some of the heaviest parts of the song occur when it speeds up! What about the ending riff to Immortal’s “Pure Holocaust”? That riff will make you bang your head like no other, and it feels super heavy (heaviest moment on the album.) In Black Metal no less (or see 1349)! It would seem odd to not call Slayer super heavy when their riffs are frenetic, but heavy they are. What about “Raining Blood”? Or for a lesser appreciated song example, how about Strapping Young Lad’s “Critic”? That song is heavy as heck, and it’s wildly frenetic. Godflesh, considered to be one of the heaviest bands of all time, would be a better fit for your model, but even one of their heaviest feeling tracks like “Streetcleaner” is on the faster side relative to doom bands. Slowness is one tool for heaviness, but only one. Syncopation is another. Odd disjointed riff structures might be another (which you find a lot in death metal.) I’m convinced it’s something more like a formal or structural property of riffs (or stretches of music so we can fit in classical stuff), and it may have several species.
I’m not sure these observations run counter to your theory, but it was a worry I had, especially since you want to engage in something closer to ideal theorizing, but are doing so by using a single band/single genre style as the representative.
Yeah, I think that’s right. All of those are heavy (and great examples of heaviness). But I guess I want to say that those are more “intense” than “heavy.” Part of my concern is that heaviness has been too readily equated with intensity, even if those two often go hand in hand. But I think I would say that if you took, say, “Raining Blood,” and slowed it way down, downtuned the guitars, and then layered the tracks, you’d end up with something heavier.
Good post. I just (re)listened to Fiona Apple’s “Tidal” and it came across as super heavy: nice and slow, hits its spots, and even thick at times.
For me Neil Young had one of the “heaviest” guitar sounds around especially on tracks like “don’t cry” from Freedom, blue eden from sleeps with angels and of course hey, hey, my,my, (into the black) from rust never sleeps. This was largely down to Young’s down tuning which was his signature sound but chiefly it was visceral and drew it’s heaviness from the impression the sound was being drawn from the depths of his soul.
Opinions…..
When We don’t look at the Target,
We hit what We aim at.
When We look at the Target,
What are we aiming at?
If We don’t change the way We are going, We are going to end up where We’re headed
Earth and Sunn ((O)) play in this realm too.
Good read, and I especially found the bit where heaviness is said to be situated somewhere between formal and material elements interesting. With that being said, my only worry is what if Sleep is not ‘felt’ heavy to someone? I do generally find doom/sludge/stoner heavy, but not so sure with Sleep to be honest. At least I find Gojira’s “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” and Cannibal Corpse’s “Scourge of Iron” heavier (the first two examples that came up in my head), both of which are definitely faster than Sleep.
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Home › Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection - PS3 (Pre-owned)
Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection - PS3 (Pre-owned)
Action & Adventure / Playstation 3 / Complete - $ 24.99 CAD Platformer / Playstation 3 / Complete Not Mint - Sold Out Platformer / Playstation 3 / Missing Manual - $ 19.99 CAD
10+ Complete available online.
The core game and story for both Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2005) remains unchanged with the remastered versions. For the remastering, both games have had a graphics overhaul to allow them to support modern high-definition displays up to 1080p. With the more powerful PlayStation 3, both games feature a fixed frame rate of 30 frames per second; the original PlayStation 2 version of Shadow was noted for pushing the limits of the older console and often suffered from framerate losses.[6] Both games support stereoscopic 3D, taking advantage of the original design of the games with considerations towards depth-of-field viewing as evidenced by the large landscapes.[7] Both games in the collection support 7.1 surround sound.[8] Ico's remastering is based on the European version, which features additional content that did not make it into the North America release of the original game, as well as some altered puzzles from these original releases. Specifically, upon completing of the game, the player can restart the game to see the English translations of the mysterious language that Yorda, the player-character's companion, uses, and a two-player mode with the second player in control of Yorda.[9] Though there was consideration for inclusion of PlayStation Move motion control support,[10] the final game does not ship with it. The collection includes bonus content, including two XMB Dynamic Themes and exclusive video content for Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and Team Ico's upcoming game The Last Guardian.
ESRB Rating: T - Teen
Genre(s): Adventure |
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Home Entertainment The Make-up mogul Kylie Jenner tops Forbes’ list of world’s highest-paid celebrities...
EntertainmentNEWSNews
The Make-up mogul Kylie Jenner tops Forbes’ list of world’s highest-paid celebrities in 2020
Kylie Jenner has topped Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities for the year 2020, followed by her brother-in-law, rapper Kanye West.
The Make-up mogul, 23, earned $590 million following the massive earnings from the sale of 51 percent of her Kylie Cosmetics line to Coty, according to Forbes.
Kylie Jenner brother-in-law, rapper Kanye West, raked in $170 million in large part due to his Yeezy clothing and sneaker deal with Adidas.
From the list it shows that world’s highest-paid celebrities earned a combined $6.1 billion before taxes and fees, a $200 million drop from 2019.
The rest of the top 10 on the Forbes list is comprised largely of athletes, with five of the eight earning their riches through sports salaries.
Tennis legend, Roger Federer takes the third spot overall with $106.3 million in earnings, largely from endorsement deals, including a 10-year $300 million deal with Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo.
Superstar footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo took fourth place with $105 million, most of which comes from his $64 million annual salary with Juventus.
His arch rival, Lionel Messi, came in fifth with $104 million, earning $80 million a year from Barcelona along with other endorsement deals.
Filmmaker, Tyler Perry took sixth place on the list with $97 million, most of his earnings came from his “Madea” film franchise. He also opened the 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta last year and struck a deal with Viacom to own 25% of streaming service BET+.
Perry is followed by another soccer star Neymar in seventh place with $95.5 million, who has a five-year contract worth $350 million.
Here are the top 25 highest-paid celebs of 2020, according to Forbes:
1. Kylie Jenner — $590 million
2. Kanye West — $170 million
3. Roger Federer — $106.3 million
4. Cristiano Ronaldo — $105 million
5. Lionel Messi — $104 million
6. Tyler Perry — $97 million
7. Neymar — $95.5 million
8. Howard Stern — $90 million
9. LeBron James — $88.2 million
10. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — $87.5 million
11. Rush Limbaugh — $85 million
12. Ellen DeGeneres — $84 million
13. Bill Simmons — $82.5 million
14. Elton John — $81 million
15. James Patterson — $80 million
16. Stephen Curry — $74.5 million
17. Ariana Grande — $72 million
18. Ryan Reynolds — $71.5 million
19. Gordon Ramsay — $70 million
20. The Jonas Brothers — $68.5 million
21. The Chainsmokers — $68 million
22. Dr. Phil McGraw — $65.5 million
23. Ed Sheeran — $64 million
24. Kevin Durant — $63.9 million
25. Taylor Swift — $63.5 million
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Meet the Authors: Maya Phillips
Interview conducted by American Literary Review Editors
Maya Phillips is the author of the poetry collection Erou, out from Four Way Books. Her poem “Poem Ending With a Scene of a Woman Alone” appeared in our Fall 2018 issue. Maya will be signing her poetry collection, Erou, at AWP at the ALR table (T1353) on Saturday from 1-2pm. We asked Maya a few questions in anticipation of meeting her in person at AWP.
ALR: What was the last book you read, in any genre, that taught you something new about your craft as a poet?
Maya Phillips: Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic. I had read bits and pieces of it but finally sat down to read it in full a few weeks ago. I was intrigued by the form—this is a poetry collection, but it comes with a dramatis personae, like in a play, and is illustrated with figures depicting sign language. And the narrative itself is highly controlled and reads as a fable. But what strikes me in Kaminsky’s work on a more micro level is the sense of romance and existential largeness with which he treats his metaphors. There’s a sense of searching for meaning, questioning our most human impulses, in his work. Even as he relishes in the small, quiet moments of someone bathing or combing her hair in his poems, there’s something larger, almost celestial in each small act of existence. Like he says, “What is silence? Something of the sky in us.”
ALR: What kinds of research feed your creative process—music, movies, non-literary texts, archival work, etc?
MP: Most of my inspirations do tend to come from other literary texts, and also visual art. As a theater critic, I’m also inspired by plays, I think in the way I think about character and voice. Wikipedia wormholes are helpful too, but sometimes I need to drag myself back out, because I’ll have gotten too far away from my original intention.
ALR: Could you talk about what you’re currently working on?
MP: Lately I’ve mostly been focusing on my journalism work, but I have been very slowly working toward what will be my next manuscript, which will have poems about absence and disappearance and my own anxieties. In a sense it will recall some of the work I did in my first book, thinking about loss, but here I hope to consider the idea of absence not in the context of a personal grief but as something that, even when it causes pain or confusion, is alluring, mysterious, almost magic. I’m speaking in pretty vague terms here, but I have this idea in my head that if I speak too much about a project in progress that I’ll jinx it, so I’ll just stop there!
ALR: What’s your ‘elevator pitch’ for Erou?
MP: Erou is about family and grief but also about the mythologies that we create in our lives, about ourselves, and about the ones we love. It’s for anyone who has experienced loss or just a complicated relationship with a close one and understands the complicated work of resolving the whole of a person—all the good and the bad—in one’s mind. And of course it’s for anyone who loves mythology and stories. At its root, Erou is also about the stories we tell—it’s the story I’m telling about my father and my family and how I’ve chosen to re-create them, and I think that can be relatable to a lot of people.
Maya Phillips was born and raised in New York. Maya received her BFA in writing, literature, and publishing with a concentration in poetry from Emerson College and her MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. Her poetry has appeared in American Literary Review, At Length, BOAAT, Ghost Proposal, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Rumpus, Vinyl, The Gettysburg Review, The Missouri Review, and The New York Times Magazine, among others, and her arts & entertainment journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vulture, Mashable, Slate, The Week, American Theatre, and more. She is the author of the poetry collection Erou (Four Way Books, 2019), which is a finalist for the PEN Open Book Award. A former content editor & producer at the Academy of American Poets, Maya currently works as a web producer at The New Yorker and as a freelance writer. Starting in June 2020, she will be the inaugural arts critic fellow at the New York Times. She lives in Brooklyn.
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Exploring Trinity Site legends (some are true!) on 75th anniversary
Jim Eckles | For the Sun-News
Trinity Site is a National Historic Landmark just 96 miles northeast of Las Cruces. At 5:30 a.m. Mountain War Time, the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated there on Monday, July 16, 1945. The explosion was equal to 44 million pounds of TNT and thrust us into the Nuclear Age in the blink of an eye.
Trinity is on the north end of White Sands Missile Range which normally opens the site to the public twice a year, the first Saturdays of April and October. I worked my first Trinity open house in 1977 and have been continuously associated with it for 43 years. I have coordinated the open houses, conducted many VIP tours, designed the signs at the site and currently act as a “subject matter expect” now that I’m retired from the missile range. Some people think I’ve been to Trinity Site more than any other human being.
Community: LCPS and FYI summer meal programs begin May 27
In talking to visitors, I hear many myths and legends — some are true and some are not. For instance, the military police providing security did indeed play polo at base camp.
First Lieutenant Howard Bush was the head of security at the site. His police unit patrolled Los Alamos on horseback before being assigned to Trinity. When they moved south in December 1944, they took their horses, assuming they would patrol with them.
The horses turned out to be totally impractical given the distances the men needed to cover each day. A jeep or truck was much more useful.
Bush, always interested in providing recreational opportunities for his men, managed to get polo equipment shipped to New Mexico. They had horses so polo made some sort of sense. However, none of them had ever played and the soft, sandy ground was no good for the standard wooden balls and mallets. But, being clever folks, the men improvised. They substituted brooms for the mallets and used a volleyball in place of the three-inch regulation ball.
In 2000, Polo: Players Edition Magazine got wind of the story and requested information from the missile range. The March 2001 issue came out with a full-page story about the players. The only problem was the lead sentence that said, “About 40 miles outside of San Antonio, Texas, the U.S. Army had a top secret site …” It was another fine example of “One of our 50 is missing.”
For the test, Bush, as head of security was at the South 10,000-yard bunker where the bomb was triggered — the control bunker. This is where Dr. Robert Oppenheimer watched from. Bush elected to be outside the bunker for the test. In his report, he said he was looking away from Ground Zero and was crouched down with his arms over his head. Like many others, he reported the incredible intense white light during the first moments of the explosion. Depending on cloud conditions, the skies over southern New Mexico were lit up for over a hundred miles. Bush said the light was so bright, he touched his eyelids with his finger to make sure his eyes were closed.
Business: WSMR partnership restores Trinity Site ranch house
The crème brulee effect
On the other hand, some stories are so absurd they never gain any traction. A few years ago a seller on eBay was peddling a nice old color postcard of the dunes at White Sands National Monument. In the description, the seller claimed the sand was bleached white by the explosion at Trinity Site. Since the park existed before 1945, that one made no sense at all.
Sometimes, even knowledgeable people accept a story with a nod of the head because it appeals to their common sense. For decades everyone, including the folks at Los Alamos, offered the explanation that the glass on the Trinity Site crater, dubbed Trinitite, was formed by the explosion’s fireball bouncing off the ground and melting the surface. When you hear that temperatures in the fireball reached thousands of degrees Fahrenheit, it seems like a reasonable explanation. In the missile range Public Affairs Office, we called it the crème brulee effect.
In 2003, Los Alamos scientists Robb Hermes and Bill Strickfaden nuked that myth. As part of their Trinitite analysis they determined the fireball was not in the vicinity of the crater surface long enough to create glass approaching a half-inch thick.
The two decided they needed a different mechanism to account for the glass on the ground. It didn’t take long for them to see that the 100-foot steel tower and a great deal of sand on the crater floor were sucked up into the fireball that was a 14,000-degree blast furnace. In such conditions, the material would have turned to a gas, soon to condense back to a liquid form.
More: Photographer documents Trinity Site for Nobel Peace Center
In other words, the fireball was filled with a mist of liquid steel and rock, all mixing together. The rest of the story is just raindrop physics. As droplets bumped into each other in the cloud, they got bigger and heavier. Just like rain, this liquid dropped to the ground to form pools of melted glass that grew and intermingled. However, some of the tiny drops hardened enough to keep their shape when they hit the ground which explains the spheres found on site. The theory nicely explains how glass ended up on fence posts and rocks.
The Trinity test
Hermes and Strickfaden published an article about their findings in the Fall 2005 issue of Nuclear Weapons Journal. As part of the their work, the researchers confirmed the green color of Trinitite is from iron, both from the steel tower and the sand. Also, pieces of rare red Trinitite were examined at Los Alamos and the red color is from copper, probably the large coaxial cables coming off the north side of the 100-foot tower.
One myth has disappeared simply because of the changes in technology. Before digital cameras, we used to sometimes hear from visitors fearing the residual radiation at Trinity Site would fog the film in their cameras. We proved that was false by putting a roll of film next to a bag of Trinitite for a day and then developing the film. There was no effect.
It is true that Ground Zero is still radioactive. The level is very low, only about 10 times higher than the background levels in Las Cruces. In fact, it is roughly the same per hour as a flight in a jet airliner at 35,000 feet. The bottom line is that a visit during one of the open houses exposes a visitor to less radiation than a flight from Albuquerque to New York City.
After the Trinity test, all efforts shifted to the Pacific and preparing bombs to use against Japan. On Aug. 6, a uranium-fueled bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and on Aug. 9, another plutonium-fueled bomb, identical to the Trinity bomb, was exploded over Nagasaki. The war suddenly ended when Japan announced its surrender on Aug. 15, just under a month after the Trinity Site test.
Jim Eckles is a member of the White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame and is the author of "Trinity: The History Of An Atomic Bomb National Historic Landmark."
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11 Best Autotune Apps for Android
Do you dream of becoming a famous singer or try yourself as a hip-hop singer? Don’t be afraid to create new songs, because you have all the possibilities to do so.
Special applications will help you improve your voice and create an incredible masterpiece. In this review, we’ve collected the best autotune apps for Android, which will help you to create your own music tracks.
It’s a cute audio editor with a dark interface and minimal features.
Microphone recording and hotkey combinations are supported.
Voloco allows you to record your performances in audio or video so you can easily share them. Create your own music video selfie. Post it to Instagram.
Here it is easy to highlight the audio pieces to be removed: it can help to clean the pauses and breaths.
There are quite a few effects. For example, you can apply a smooth rise and fall of the audio to a certain area, turn it backward or replace it with silence.
Downloads: 10 000 000+
You may also like: 21 Android apps to make your own music
Tune Me
It’s a simple and fast audio editor that doesn’t need anything extra. There is one track available for processing.
It means that you can’t mix the podcast here, but it’s easy to process the take, cut out the silence, and apply effects.
The interface doesn’t need careful study, and all you need to remember is key combinations. This way you can process the track faster.
To edit, simply drag and drop the audio into the workspace. You can also record audio from the microphone and process it.
This application is distinguished from the previous audio editor by a set of effects. There are 18 of them, including frequency filters, compressors, signal amplifiers, overload, and others.
Auto Tuner Voice Recorder
This is a more advanced audio editor that supports importing many tracks at once. It’s in single-track mode, though.
It means that you can glue several fragments of different audio files, but not mix them so that they sound at the same time.
You can also record the sound from the microphone.
There are several special modes. In one of the modes, which is called Talk Mode, developers will offer users to just say the right text.
Thus, this application will create a ready-made song based on it.
Downloads: 100 000+
Rap Fame
In this app, you can import and export files, select a sound source and audio interface, add markers to the track, change the tone and speed of the track.
There is also a VST tab in effects. The application will offer its list of possible superstructures for processing.
This application will be suitable for more advanced performers.
Here you can rap for the selected bit, and the application will fix your deficiencies in rhythm by itself.
At the same time, the user is free to choose the desired style of performance, and bits from an extensive list of available options.
Downloads: 5 000 000+
Super Voice Editor
In this app, you can set markers, perform FFT analysis, include a spectrogram view to detect amplitude and frequency problems on the track, and twist external VST plug-ins for processing.
There is a solid set of built-in effects, including noise reduction and a 31-band EQ.
In the library of this application, you will find songs of famous artists such as Eminem, BOB, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, and many others.
When you’re done recording, you can share your song with friends by posting it on Facebook and Twitter.
WaveEditor
The program is popular with podcasters because of its simplicity and the ability to record up to 16 tracks at once.
It’s handy if there are many speakers and each speaks into their own microphone.
You can also output sound to your headphones when recording.
It has all the features you may need for post-processing: warping (changing the length of a segment without changing the tone), spectral analysis to identify problem areas, standard effects, and support for external VST.
The free version of WaveEditor contains many features and is quite useful. However, if you like this app, buy the upgraded version to fully utilize its potential.
Customers rating: (4 / 5)
It is one of the best applications for professional sound correction, recovery, and precise editing.
It offers one of the most complete sets of features.
Multi-track recording, mixing, external VST installation, built-in effects, convenient track automation. These features are all available.
In a running application, you need to press the record button to continue creating a new track.
When recording, you need to speak the right text. And then, after saving, the program itself synchronizes your voice and its tone according to the minuscule.
This is a multifunctional app that has everything you need to know about podcasts, audiobooks, and commercials.
Three stereo tracks are open for processing, where you can place your voice, lining, and sound effects.
The main advantages are an intuitive interface and a powerful set of standard plug-ins.
For example, Master Rig for mastering with five effects, allowing you to get a solid and elaborate mix of many tracks.
Rap Maker
It’s a specific tool for creating long-lasting mixes.
This application is designed to record finished tracks to optical discs.
But, you can always export the finished project to a track in the format you want.
Adding tracks to the interface is a simple choice.
If you “dig” into the program settings, you can even find a synthesizer, drum control, and mixer in its menu.
This app is your real pro studio, it gives you total control of the voice effects.
Rapchat
It’s an application from a famous developer.
This is a classic audio editor with support for compression in various formats and a set of 20 built-in effects.
EQ, noise gateway, and karaoke filter are integrated into this utility.
Note that there are special algorithms to optimize the sound of certain instruments.
This app is quite simple, you won’t have to have any questions when navigating in the application, everything is quite clear.
While recording the playback of songs you have recorded, you will see a shimmering picture on the screen. It will be done in a style that fits the theme of the app.
You may also like: 11 Best boost music apps for Android
Best Tuner
At first glance, this app may look like it’s no different from the basic editors, but it’s far from it.
Minimalism in the interface and powerful functionality is the merit of a famous developer.
This is a powerful audio editor based on a modern engine.
It allows you to qualitatively impose your own or external effects, can be used to clean tracks from noise.
This application supports all modern formats, including multi-track blanks. Note that there is an interesting function of downloading information about a song from the Internet.
The program is often used for voice processing when preparing IVR-menu.
5 Best Android Apps to Get Free Rides
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Home » Blog » Tour de France’s younger brother comes to Tignes…
Anyone having cycling withdrawals since the Tour de France finished?
If so then fear not, the Tour de L’Avenir, a cycling race created and sustained by the Tour de France arrives in Tignes on Thursday 25th of August 2016.
The Tour de L’Avenir got underway last Saturday
Brief History of the Tour
The Tour de l’Avenir was created in 1961 by Jacques Marchand, editor of the french sport newspaper L’Équipe.
Since 2007, the competition has been entirely dedicated to young riders between 19 and 22 years old. The Tour is part of the UCI Europe Tour and the U23 Nations Cup. Therefore, it brings together international teams with riders aged less than 23.
The race, similar to the Tour de France takes place over much of the same course but is for amateurs and semi-professionals known as ‘independents’. Until 1967, it took place earlier the same day as some of the stages of the Tour de France and shared the latter part of each stage’s route, but moved to September and a separate course from 1968 onwards. After 1992, the race was restricted to riders under the age of 25 and is now only for riders age 23 or younger. Many racers have started their career taking part in the Tour de L’Avenir and have gone on to win the Tour de France.
Links to the Tour de France
Winning Jerseys, photo courtesy of www.tourdelavenir.com
The Tour de l’Avenir is now considered the Tour de France for young riders. Since 1996, the competition draws its inspiration from the Tour de France with a one-week race in the same locations. Thus, it features stages on the flat, in the mountains, as well as a time-trial.
The leaders’ distinct jerseys (yellow, green, white with red polka dots) are the same as on the Tour de France. Many winners of the Tour de France also appear on the list of winners of the Tour de l’Avenir. Among them: Felice Gimondi, Joop Zoetemelk, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain and Laurent Fignon who have all together won a total of 12 Tour de France.
Stage 6 of the race finishes in Tignes on Thursday 25th August
Route map of Stage 6 which finshes in Tignes
The race which lasts eight days started on the Saturday 20th of August in Le Puy en Velay and ends on the 27th of August at the Col de La Croix-de-Fer. Stage six of the race takes place on the 25th of August, starting in Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc passing through the Cormet de Roselan, Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Villaroger before ending here in Tignes. If you’re in Tignes and fancy cheering the racers on head to the promenade de Toviere from 2.30pm where there will be cycling exhibitors and events with the arrival of stage six expected at 4.15pm.
Traffic disruption info for road users
If you’re worried that the arrival of the tour may affect your travel plans for the day then please read the information below provided by Tignes.net:
Bourg-Saint-Maurice > Tignes
The traffic will be disrupted on August 25th approximately from 3pm to 5pm.
On the way up: cars will have to follow the cyclists (therefore slowdowns are likely to happen)
On the way down: the road might close for 15 to 30 minutes.
Tignes le Lac
The Tovière promenade will be closed on August 25th from 6.30am to 7pm.
No traffic in the Rosset area from noon on.
The traffic will be disrupted at the entrance of Tignes le Lac when the peloton arrives (around 4pm).
Arriving at:
---Geneva - AirportLyon - AirportGrenoble - AirportChambery - AirportBourg St Maurice - StationTignes - ResortVal d'Isere - ResortSt. Foye - ResortLa Rosiere - ResortLes Arcs - ResortLa Plagne - Resort
Destination Resort:
Type of journey:
Flight arrives: Flight Departs:
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Housenka
Housenka asked in Social ScienceGender Studies · 8 years ago
Here's some food for thought...?
Now, say you have a high school, and in that high school, an unknown person writes a playbook on how to get girls to sleep with you, and it is SO DETAILED that it works to the point that 50% of the girls in the school get pregnant, the playbook gets found, and millions of copies are sent to millions of students around the country, the result being teen pregnancy rising 100 by the second.
If the school of the original author were to catch the person who wrote the original playbook, would they be allowed to suspend/expel/arrest that person?
or, more realistically, Because I will admit the whole "Pregnancy around the country" was a little bit too much, just around the one school and another local school, pregnant teens increase and the playbook is in suspicion.
If you had the power to, what punishment would you give to the person who wrote the original playbook?
It's not so much the person that creates it, but those who use it, that is the problem. We don't blame McDonalds for rising levels of obesity, for example. We blame those who don't have the self control to not buy their fast food. I think the original creator was naive and arrogant for not thinking about the consequences of his actions, but as far as I'm concerned he did nothing really wrong. I would do whatever I could to remove the spreading of the book, but punishing him would seem rather pointless. I would blame the very nature of males and the fact that they are so obsessed with getting girls, and nothing more.
♫Grappler's Crossing ♂ ♪
"From the KRUD Network - live coverage of the triumphal parade for the writer of "How to Get 100 girls Pregnant in Five Seconds".....
"Cammera Lenz - Raving Eye Reporter for KRUD...the torchlit parade is turning onto Main Street right now, and close behind the first phalanx of muscular men in tight jeans is the carriage transporting the now famous writer Ivor Biggun, who created the Harry Potter of the school sex trade with his insightful and penetrating views on teen procreation without protection.
Close behind Ivor is the host of young women he has impregnated - all carrying children and also accompanied by lawyers bent on pursuing Ivor for some percentage of his book earnings for Child Support, something that HIS lawyers - Cagey, Craft and Snakeoil - say will never happen! Ivor's money is all tied up in a web of trusts - a greater and more complex web of trust than any The Great Man has shown to the young ladies in question... We leave you now as the parade comes to a halt in front of the Eternal Flame for The Unknown Missing Father, a site for annual pilgrimage for thousands and even millions from around the world....Cammera Lenz - for the KRUD Network!"....
SILENT SAINT
I wouldn't punish them. Unless it was rape those women still CHOSE to have sex. The only thing that book could teach young men is how to make themselves attractive enough towards those women to have sex with them. But it is still the woman's choice to have sex or not. They are not some infant to be coddled and told it isn't their fault when they suffer consequences that come with sex.
To punish the boy would be an insult to every woman this book worked on...to me it would be like saying: "what's wrong with you. women are too stupid to say no to sex. you should have known better than to teach young men to be the kind of men women want to have sex with. shame on you"
Rusty Plastic
Since sex doesn't have to result in pregnancy, then it isn't the author's fault or responsibility if those teens get pregnant.
None. Although I'd have to see the playbook's content if it existed.
A high five
Is pregnancy a scam? ?
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This pub is the former Regent cinema, and also the Essoldo bingo hall.
Kingsway, Diamond Avenue, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 7BQ
This is an unmissable local landmark, still known to many locals as ‘The Regent’ from its days as the town’s leading cinema. The Regent Cinema opened on 6 October 1930. The auditorium was decorated in a ‘modern French’ style, with seating for 650 in the stalls and 500 in the circle. Renamed the Essoldo, in 1961, it was converted into a bingo hall four years later. Part of the old building reopened as The Regent in 1988 and as the Cineplex in 2004.
A plaque documenting the history of The Regent.
The plaque reads: This Wetherspoon freehouse is the former Regent cinema, which opened on 6 October 1930 and was converted into a bingo hall in the mid-1960s. the modern French style auditorium, seated 650 in the stalls and 500 in the circle. The Regent was designed by Alfred J Graves, who designed several other eye-catching cinemas in the area. The entrance to the former Regent stands on the site of the once well-known Wightman’s butcher shop.
These premises were refurbished by J D Wetherspoon in January 2013.
An original seat plan for the Regent cinema.
This photo shows the balcony known as the circle, that could seat up to 500 people during its days as the town’s leading cinema.
A copy of the contract that allowed the Regent to screen The Dam Busters.
A photograph of the staff of the Regent cinema, 1934.
A copy of the contract that allowed the Regent to screen Moulin Rouge and The Stranger Left No Card.
A photograph of the Regent cinema, 1933.
This photo shows the interior of the Regent in 1986 after its transformation from a cinema into a bingo hall named The Essoldo.
An original poster for Madame Lupino’s dance classes held at the Regent.
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The King’s Singers: 'The Library' Live
St. Pancras Clocktower, London.
The King’s Singers return to the Global Concert Hall for the first of four concerts they present this season. The first three concerts will contain never-before-performed programmes, each containing brand new music.
The first concert coincides with the release of The King’s Singers’ brand new EP, The Library, Vol. 2. This is the second instalment in a series of brand-new recordings that celebrate the richness of their ever-growing library of close-harmony arrangements, from 1968 right through to the present day. Tonight’s concert features many of their favourite songs from their library, as well as looking to the future with some of their most recent arrangements of pop songs. This is a feel-good concert that's not to be missed.
The King's Singers's series: purchase tickets for the first three concerts of the King's Singers's series in the Global Concert Hall and we will automatically give you FREE access for Christmas with the King's Singers on 22 December, as a thank-you from The King's Singers and IDAGIO.
Beth Orton (arr. Bruerton) - Call me the breeze
Kacey Musgraves (arr. Dunachie) - Rainbow
Paul Simon (arr. Jackman) - Fifty ways to leave your lover
Lennon/McCartney (arr. Chilcott) - Yesterday
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (arr. Runswick) - Flight of the Bumblebee
Laura Mvula (arr. Whitacre/Bruerton) - Father Father
Donald Swann (arr. Langford) - Slow Train
Traditional Japanese (arr. Ives) - Takeda Lullaby
David, Hoffmann & Livingstone - A dream is a wish your heart makes
James Blake - Meet you in the maze
Traditional English (arr. Chilcott) - Greensleeves
Traditional English (arr. Langford) - Blow away the morning dew
Traditional Irish (arr. Knight) - Danny Boy
George & Ira Gershwin (arr. Rodney Bennett) - Love is here to stay
George & Ira Gershwin (arr. Chilcott) - Oh! I can’t sit down
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Lee Walp Family Juvenile Book Collection in Mirlyn
See all posts by Anne Elias
Lee Walp's copy of If I Ran the Zoo features an original drawing and inscription by Dr. Seuss on the flyleaf.
Yes, that’s an original drawing by Dr. Seuss—and you can view it in the Special Collections Library, where it is held in the Lee Walp Family Juvenile Book Collection!
The Walp Juvenile Book Collection is a trove of children’s literature, representing authors and illustrators throughout the 20th century both through published works and through correspondence, clippings, and original artwork. Lee Walp, a University of Michigan alumnus and a professor of botany at Marietta College, OH, began collecting children’s books in the 1940s and continued to expand his collection until the early 21st century. Walp sought out signatures and artwork from the authors and illustrators he especially admired and maintained correspondence with notables including Ed Emberley, Robert Andrew Parker, and Robert Lawson.
The Special Collections Library acquired the collection in 2002, and the archival material was processed and described in 2004. As of 2014, we are excited to announce that the extensive book collection is now also processed and can be searched and requested in Mirlyn. The bulk of this cataloging project was accomplished from 2010-2012, while the material requiring original cataloging and more detailed description was completed in 2013 and early 2014, resulting in more than 6,000 records. To identify these records in Mirlyn Advanced Search, limit Location to Special Collections and Collection to Walp Juvenile Book Collection.
Original drawing and inscription by Edward Gorey:
"For Lee Walp"
The Walp Collection is of particular value to researchers and enthusiasts interested in illustration. While the archive is a rich source of original sketches and paintings, many charming drawings and inscriptions can be found in the books as well. It is thrilling to crack open a book and find not only the printed illustrations, but a manuscript sketch, such as the creatures pictured here drawn by Dr. Seuss in If I Ran the Zoo and by Edward Gorey in The Lavender Leotard. All drawings and inscriptions are described in the Mirlyn records in the Copy-Specific Note under the Description tab; this note can be searched using the All Fields selection in Mirlyn.
Written by Rosa Moore.
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Home › The Birds Of America, Havell Edition › John James Audubon (1785-1851), Little Screech Owl
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Little Screech Owl
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
Little Screech Owl
from Birds of America
Engraved by Robert Havell (1793-1878)
Published: London, 1827-1838
Aquatint engraving with original hand coloring
Paper size: 38 3/8" x 25 1/2"
Provenance: John Vickers Painter Collection, Cleveland, Ohio.
A world famous stamp collector and banker from Cleveland circa 1880, Painter’s discerning eye for quality was unparalleled. The gradations of color, especially the greens and yellows, offer evidence of what Robert Havell and John James Audubon intended. All images have full margins (38 3/8 inches by 25 inches) and the color is rich and vivid. From the first edition “double elephant folio” engraved and printed on Whatman Turkey Mill paper by Robert Havell Jr in London from 1827-1838, the images are exceedingly fine.
John James Audubon is without rival as the most celebrated American natural history artist. Audubon devoted his life to realizing his dream of identifying and depicting the birds of North America, and his work has had profound cultural and historical significance. In the second decade of the 19th century, he set out to travel throughout the wilderness of the United States, drawing every notable species of native bird. His remarkable ambition and artistic talent culminated in the publication of the monumental Birds of America in 1827-38, a series of 435 aquatints that have only grown in fame since the time of their first appearance. This work established Audubon as an early American artist who could attract European attention, and for many, he personified New World culture and its emerging independent existence.
Audubon was born in Haiti, the illegitimate Creole son of a French sea merchant and a local chambermaid. He was raised in France until 1803, when his father sent him to the United States to avoid being drafted into the Napoleonic wars. There he started what proved to be a long run of unsuccessful schemes. He tried to run a lead mine in Pennsylvania. It folded. After marrying, he opened up a store in Louisville and it, too, went under. He started a steamboat line, and it led him into bankruptcy. By then he was 35 and, he admitted to his wife, a failure.
But throughout his life he nourished a passion for the study and illustration of bird life. At the time, marketing was not as unlikely an endeavor for Audubon as it might seem today. It was a respectable, if somewhat chancy, business, and natural history was a popular subject; in fact, Audubon faced considerable competition. He had little formal training in art and even less in ornithology, but what he lacked in experience he made up for in braggadocio. He pursued his birds with an unusual passion for accuracy and painterly beauty, a fervor caused as much by desperation as by scientific and aesthetic high-mindedness. For years he tracked his subjects to the known edges of the country; the journals he kept along the way are a literary achievement in themselves. By his death in 1851, he had completed 584 individual studies, 435 of which appeared in The Birds of America.
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Plate CC Shore Lark
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Plate CCXIV Razor Bill
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Plate CLXXXIV Mangrove Humming Bird
Sale price Regular price $ 16,00000 $ 16,000.00
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Plate CXVII Mississippi Kite
John James Audubon (1785-1851), Plate CCXLI Black Backed Gull
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Fonds GB 0210 WELRAC - Welsh Committee Against Racialism Papers
GB 0210 WELRAC
Welsh Committee Against Racialism Papers
0.027 cubic metres (3 boxes)
Welsh Committee Against Racialism
The Welsh Committee Against Racialism was inaugurated at a meeting convened by the Wales Trades Union Congress at Transport House, Cardiff, on 26 July 1976. The idea of establishing a broad-based representative body to co-ordinate the movement against racism in Wales arose from an initiative to place an advertisement in the South Wales Echo, signed by prominent public figures, declaring outright opposition and condemnation of 'racial antagonism, prejudice and discrimination'. George Wright, General Secretary of Wales T.U.C., had been instrumental in organising this declaration and was largely responsible for the subsequent formation of the Committee. General members of the Committee were drawn from various political, labour and cultural movements and organisations in Wales. The Committee also operated a system of affiliation by which many more organisations and individuals allied themselves to the Committee and its work.
The Committee eventually established two local branches, the West Wales Committee Against Racialism, based in Swansea, in 1977, and, after an earlier failed attempt, the Cardiff Committee Against Racialism in 1978. It also established links with other like-minded organisations, particularly the Newport Anti-Racist Group, the South Glamorgan Committee for Community Relations and the Commission for Racial Equality. The Committee organised several local public meetings on issues of racism, primarily in South Wales, which were addressed by prominent figures and politicians involved in race relations. The first one-day all-Wales conference on racialism, under the auspices of the Committee, was held on 25 June 1977 at the Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff, with eighty delegates attending. A second one-day conference was held on 15 April 1978, also in Cardiff. The Committee was also joint organiser, with the Cardiff Anti-Nazi League, of a highly successful Carnival Against Racialism on 15 July 1978 at Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff. This was the first such event of its scale and nature to have been staged in Cardiff.
Donated by Mr John Davies, Talsarnau, Secretary of the Welsh Committee Against Racialism, May 2002.; 0200208025
The fonds comprises the administrative papers of the Welsh Committee Against Racialism and mainly consists of letters, 1976-1980; declarations and affiliation slips, 1976-1978; circulars, newsletters and leaflets, 1976-1979; together with a small amount of press cuttings, 1977-1979.
Action: The fonds has been appraised: duplicate records have been destroyed..
Accruals are unlikely.
Arranged at NLW into four files: correspondence, declarations and affiliations, ephemera and press cuttings.
Usual copyright laws apply.
English, unless otherwise specified. See individual file descriptions.
A hard copy of this list is available at NLW.
welsh-committee-against-racialism-papers.pdf
A poster for the Carnival Against Racism, July 1978, may be found in NLW, Special Collections.
Fonds title supplied from provenance, file titles supplied from contents.
Race discrimination -- Wales
Racism -- Wales
Wales -- Race relations
Welsh Committee Against Racialism (Creator)
Welsh Committee Against Racialism -- Records and correspondence. (Subject)
This description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) Second Edition; AACR2; and LCSH.
Compiled by Martin Robson Riley.
The following source was used in the compilation of this description: Welsh Committee Against Racialism Papers.
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Future U: The stubborn persistence of textbooks
E-readers are ascendant, but they'll have to fight to gain ubiquity.
Curt Hopkins - May 13, 2012 9:30 pm UTC
Future U is a multipart series on the university of the 21st century. We will be investigating the possible future of the textbook, the technological development of libraries, how tech may change the role of the professor, and the future role of technology in museums, research parks, and university-allied institutions of all kinds.
Future U
Future U: Rise of the digital humanities
Future U: fear and loathing in academia
Future U: Read all about it! College newspaper heralds future of journalism!
Future U: Library 3.0 has more resources, greater challenges
Textbooks are a thing of the past, says the common wisdom. Well, the common wisdom of the Technorati maybe. The problem with that thinking is that the number one publisher in the world is Pearson, a textbook publisher, who brought in $7.75 billion in 2009.
Pearson, as Tim Carmody noted in a January Wired article, owns 50 percent of the Financial Times, as well as the number two trade house: Penguin. The second largest textbook publisher, McGraw-Hill, owns Standard and Poor’s. To say textbooks are big business is like saying bullets are ouchie.
So writing the obituary for textbooks would be putting the cart before the horse. But pretending like they are not changing their shape, if not their nature, is to proclaim, from one's buggy, that automobiles are a passing fad.
Once upon a time, and a very good time it was
Once upon a time, teachers imparted their knowledge through talking. Socrates famously used dialogue to inspire proprietary conclusions and correct misapprehension in his students. Socrates' student Plato taught in the Akadameia, an erstwhile olive grove outside Athens. An entire school of philosophers grew up around the walk-and-talk, the peripatetics.
Even as texts grew in importance, with the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Hebrews, talking still took precedence. Writing became more important but was restricted to a stick and some sand. With the Romans, it was a stylus on a wax tablet.
However, when printing took off in the 17th century—and was then followed by compulsory education in the nation states of the 18th—the textbook as we knew it was born.
Fast on the heels of that birth, the herd of educational cranks, publishing pimps, and politicians thundered into the room, and they’ve yet to leave. Textbooks became an industry, sometimes connected, often utterly unrelated, to education and to that waste product of education, the student.
The ecstasy of technophilia
A visit to a college classroom showed me the disconnect between the ecstasy of technophilia and what life actually looks like for students.
In Prof. Frances Cogan's freshman and sophomore research methodologies class at the University of Oregon's Clark Honors College, the most prominent tech was the spiral notebook. This was partially due to Cogan's resistance to the distraction of the technology.
"If I bring a laptop to class, I tend to get lost in Facebook," admitted Becky Hatch. But that's not the only issue.
"It's really hard to set up your laptop on those little tables," said Maggie Whitt, talking about the tablet chairs that still make up most university seating.
Some students, like Naomi Wright, still value the tactility of writing.
"I'm synthesizing a thing when I write it down," she said. "When I type it's like, in one ear, out the fingers."
Certainly there are students that bring technology to today's college classes, but there are fewer of them—and less tech—than you might think.
For one thing, the devices that would be easier to use both in class and out are expensive.
"An iPad would be good," said Megan Mandell, "but I can't afford one." And those who do use either e-readers or e-reading programs on tablets to carry the texts for a class often find them to be less than optimal, despite all the advertising to the contrary. Among other faults, the students said they find the ability to highlight and to make margin notes, acts they feel essential to their process of absorbing the information in the texts, is insufficient. Online texts are often difficult to navigate and have poor search functions.
So the purchase of old-fashioned physical textbooks continues apace—and at a high cost. One student spent $600 on her first term's books before she realized she could buy them, copy and make notes, read the assignments before the course had even started, and then return them for full price.
Navigating a changing environment while avoiding getting stung is part and parcel of how today's students relate to textbooks. Not just students, but instructors as well. "Professors have become much more sensitive to the cost of textbooks," said Whitt. "One professor went on a 20-minute rant on textbook expenses. He scanned all the texts for his class and put them all online."
Isn't that illegal?
"Yes!" the students chorused emphatically. But one insulation against possible lawsuits when copying, whether electronically or on paper, is to be scrupulous in including the citation page. Who wrote it, when, who published it, where.
What is illegal, Cogan clarified, "depends on what you consider 'scholarly use.'"
Another way some students avoid the debilitating cost of required textbooks? Torrents. By general acclamation, you can find any basic lower division textbook via unofficial, and illegal, online download services. (Torrenting is not just for music and movies anymore!) The more specialized texts, they said, probably not, but all the basics, certainly. "Our generation is kind of in flux with the tangible stuff of electronics," said Kaela Thomas.
"Children starting out learning on electronic sources may utilize it better," agreed Hatch, "but for people now, they grew up with pen and paper and book."
This generational flux is not thought of by these students as a revolution or a revelation, but as a development.
Cole Lendrum sees the textbooks of the future as being "more and more personalized." The textbooks that will be available to their kids will offer "more personalized formats."
Dr. Tim Clark, instructional technology specialist for the Forsyth County school district in Georgia, oversees one of the few primary school districts in the country that runs a BYOT program—bring your own tech.
This program turns students' smuggling various electronic devices into their classrooms inside out. Instead of being policed and suppressed, it is required, or at least encouraged openly. The proliferation of these devices has resulted in Forsyth's primary schools operating more like a university's upper division classes. Instead of required texts from a central source, pedagogical materials are assembled and formed around the needs of the specific classroom and its students.
"In most of our classes," Clark told Ars, "the textbooks we do have are left on the shelves, and we have reduced our spending on textbooks. The teachers are mainly bringing in content from materials available on the Internet, the teachers and students are producing their own content, and we provide some district-wide subscriptions to additional online content. Students and teachers are wanting relevant materials that are provided just in time rather than static textbooks."
The future Clark sees growing out of the experiences and expectations of his students is one of contribution, community, and collaboration.
"Student engagement and collaboration have increased in classrooms. The students work more in groups to participate in projects and activities. Even in our high schools, teachers are beginning to incorporate more group assignments and projects because either not everyone brings a device, or the devices are so different. This differentiation encourages collaboration. There is a stronger sense of community in the classroom."
"I think that the students [in the future] will be more accustomed to contributing to the body of knowledge within their classes rather than just being consumers of information."
When we think about anything technologically, we tend to default to our own area and our own experience. So when we think about the future of higher education, we tend to center on North America and Europe. It is far from the whole story.
Founded by former Amazon VP David Risher, Worldreader is a non-profit group that has spent several years testing the idea that e-readers can create a quantifiable improvement in literacy in the developing world. Starting with a pilot project in a Ghanan village, they expanded to a large project in Ghana's capital, Accra, then to Kenya, and, most recently, to Uganda. The e-reader projects have resulted in a verifiable increase in literacy in the communities targeted. Above all, this is a result of access.
Brian Schartz, who taught mathematics in a Botswanan village for several years, recalled the difficulty of getting books delivered to what stood for his school's library. You had to buy the books in the capital, then take the time and suffer the expense of having them delivered by truck through rugged territory.
What Worldreader's e-readers have proven is that you can deliver one box of e-readers and you've delivered an entire library to each student. Given the deals the organization has struck with both Western and African publishers to provide the texts free of cost to the students, the plan is cost-effective. Whether it is scalable is another question.
"I see a huge demand in the developing world for textbooks to be delivered electronically," Elizabeth Wood, director of digital publishing for Worldreader, told Ars. "We're working with our partner BinU to deliver the entire CK-12 series of textbooks on our app to meet the enormous need. We're also working with all our African publishers to digitize local textbooks as well. The fact that leisure books don't make it to the developing world is an awful problem that we're trying to solve, but textbooks? They're essential."
Wood believes the potential for e-textbooks to make a difference in the developing world's higher education landscape is enormous. The organization is currently working to develop partnerships with open source textbook developers, including OpenStax College, "to be able to make relevant materials available electronically to students all over the world."
In much the same way that the classroom of the future is evolving away from the unidirectional transmission of knowledge via lecture and toward dialogue and project-based learning, the textbook is responding to the same strains. Like the classroom, the textbook is likely to become more collaborative and customizable.
The notion of the bound text being replaced by the e-book is not one that many people seem to be excited about. The limitations of the e-readers outweigh many of their benefits in the industrialized world, at least for now. In the developing world, however, the benefits may outweigh the drawbacks sooner than in the West.
It's not so much that the textbook is transmogrifying from lines of text on paper to lines of pixels on screens as it is undergoing a change of definition. A more exacting way to put it might be to say that textbooks are being replaced not by e-textbooks, but by curated collections of course-specific materials, some online, some on paper. In some cases, such as the Forsyth schools, the students themselves are building them.
The key overall, however—what makes the future of the textbook exciting—is someone, somehow, seems to have kicked the door off the hinges. We're on the verge of "anything goes." There is likely to be a lot of dross as a result, but the joy of discovery has energized something that is so often apprehended with a dull dread—the "textbook."
Curt Hopkins Curt writes for Ars Technica about the intersection of culture and technology, including the democratization of information, spaceships, robots, the theatre, archaeology, achives and free speech.
Twitter @curthopkins
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The term "neorealism" in the history of contemporary art arose to unite several art movements that appeared and developed throughout the 20th century, and there is something to be said about each of them. For the first time, they spoke of neorealism in 1914 in Great Britain. The next trend to receive this name, was Italian neorealism
The term «neorealism» in the history of contemporary art arose to unite several art movements that appeared and developed throughout the 20th century, and there is something to be said about each of them. For the first time, they spoke of neorealism in 1914 in Great Britain. The next trend to receive this name, was Italian neorealism (1946-1955), which influenced cinema and fine art. Finally, a practically similar name New Realism (Nouveau Réalisme) was given to an innovative movement that arose in France in the 1960s. Let us examine each of these movements in detail and find out how much “new” was the concept of realism at different periods of the contemporary European art. Read more
(1946−1955), which influenced cinema and fine art. Finally, a practically similar name New Realism
Realism (from late Latin reālis — “real”) is considered to be the beginning in the development of modern art. In a strict sense, “realism” is an art movement that faithfully and objectively reproduces reality in all its details, regardless of how beautiful are the objects in the picture. Read more
(Nouveau Réalisme) was given to an innovative movement that arose in France in the 1960s. Let us examine each of these movements in detail and find out how much "new" was the concept of realism at different periods of the contemporary European art.
English neo-realism during the First World War
Artists Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman were apparently the first to introduce the term "neo-realism" into the vocabulary of art. Both painters were members of the London Camden Town Group (1911—1913), which brought together post-impressionists influenced by the creative research of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. The artists frequently gathered at Walter Sickert’s studio in the London Camden area. The Camden Town group included 16 artists, including Camille Pissarro's eldest son — Lucien, the future director of the London Tate James Manson, an art theorist Percy Wyndham Lewis, and set designer Spencer Gore. The main heritage of this art group is paintings depicting the views of everyday London and the characteristic social types of representatives of various classes that arose in the pre-war period, as well as during the First World War.
Harold Gilman. "Mrs. Mount at Her Breakfast", 1917
Walter Sickert. Harold Gilman. 1912. Source
Harold Gilman and his friend Charles Ginner have always been in the thick of European modernist artistic movements. Ginner was born and raised in France and got his standing in everything related to the latest European trends in painting for his British colleagues. The "Мanet and Post Impressionists" exhibition at Grafton Galleries (1910) had a huge impact on London artists, prompting them to the next search for new meanings and methods of their artistic expression. After a joint trip to Paris, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Мatisse have become Gilman’s idols, as well as Ginner’s.
Harold Gilman. Mary L. Harold Gilman (Profile Portrait). 1914
Harold Gilman. Mother and Child. 1918
On the eve of the First World War, Gilman and Ginner felt the need to explore modernity and everyday life through new forms and colours. Their works had characteristic short, vibrant brush strokes and bright colours. Charles Ginner described his intentions and new views on contemporary British art in his manifesto Neorealism published on 1 January 1914 by New Age publishers.
Charles Jeanne. The Fruit Stall, King’s Cross. 1914
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund © Estate of Charles Ginner
As follows from the manifesto, ".. all the great artists, directly communicating with Nature, drew previously unseen facts from it and interpreted them through their own expressive methods — this was a great tradition of realism…" But Ginner felt that some of his contemporaries created works that simply mimicked the innovations of the great realists Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin and Van Gogh: "…academicist artists just … adopt these manners, that’s all they can see in the works by these artists, they make formulae out of them". The neo-realism of Gilman and Ginner challenged formal art: "..This new academicism, which will ultimately destroy art … we must contrast with the young and healthy realistic movement, the new realism
, that is, ‘neorealism'".
Charles Ginner. The Circus. 1913
Leeds Museums and Galleries (City Art Gallery) © Estate of Charles Ginner
The Neorealism manifesto became a kind of preface to the exhibition of both artists in the Goupil Gallery, which opened in April of the same year. Another artist, Robert Bevan joined Gilman and Ginner in their views and principles of neorealism. Gilman presented his views to students at the Westminster School of Art, and then at his own school, which he founded with Ginner. In 1916, Ginner joined the army as a military artist. After the war, he continued his close collaboration with Gilman, sharing a studio on Maple Street with him. Together with Frank Rutter, the founder of the Allied Artists Assotiation (AAA), the English likeness of the Paris Independent Salon, in 1917, they created Art and Letters. It was a modernist quarterly illustrated magazine, conceived by artists before the war, which brought together literature, art and politics.
Robert Bevan. The Weigh House, Cumberland Market. 1914
In 1919, Ginner, followed by Gilman, fell ill with the Spanish flu, an extremely dangerous type of flu, which affected nearly 30% of the world’s population in 1918−1919. In both, the flu soon grew into pneumonia, which caused the death of Gilman, who was very painful since his childhood. As Ginner wrote later, it was "…a big loss for [British] contemporary art movements…", "which owe much to Gilman’s efforts, … whose achievements in painting and whose keen interest in all attempts to unite artists will remain in history".
Italian neorealism and the “New Front of the Arts” group
The next country to host the neorealist movement was Italy. This was most clearly expressed in post-war cinema, as well as in painting.
Poster for the film "Rome, Open City" Source
Neorealism in cinema reflected the economic and moral hardships of post-war Italy, the poverty and despair of ordinary people. The new style was developed among filmmakers, which revolved around the Cinema magazine; this included Luchino Visconti, Gianni Puccini, Cesare Zavattini and others. Neorealism became known throughout the world in 1946 thanks to Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City film, which received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. However, the first film in the new style is considered the debut directorial work by Luchino Visconti Ossessione ("Obsession"), (1943).
A shot from the Obsession film by Luchino Visconti, 1943. Source.
Neorealism in Italian cinema is primarily characterized by a general atmosphere of authenticity, naturalness. American film expert Peter Bondanella defined the following principles inherent in this style:
— a specific social context;
— a sense of historical relevance and immediacy;
— political commitment to progressive social change;
— real field shooting as opposed to studio shooting;
— rejection of classic Hollywood acting clichés;
— the widest possible use of non-professional actors,
— documentary style.
According to the famous Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the Russian movement of the Sixtiers arose precisely because of this cultural trend: "there is no small suffering, no small people — that’s what Italian neorealism taught us again."
Emilio Vedova. The Impact. 1949
In Italian painting, the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti ("New Front of the Arts") was at the origins of the new movement. It was an association of anti-fascist artists of various genres who proclaimed their goal to create new artistic values. In 1946, the Manifesto of Realism was signed by artists and sculptors, whose cultural standard was Picasso’s Guernica. The neo-Cubist style became decisive for the association, one of the main ideologists of which was the Sicilian artist Renato Guttuso. The artists advocated "the classic of the modern figurative tradition, which begins with Cézanne and develops in Fauvism and mainly in Cubism". The artist such as Antonio Corpora, Giuseppe Santomazo, Emilio Vedova, Ennio Morlotti joined the New Front of the Arts.
1941, 198.5×198.5 cm
The main themes of the Italian neorealists' artworks were the life of the post-war country, the struggle of ordinary people for their rights. Artists advocated humanism and equality, the value of simple moments of everyday life, sang the heroism of their people, who desperately resisted fascism during the war years. Their works were characterized by a dynamic composition, expression, saturated colours. The ideas of the New Front of the Arts were reflected in the works by artists from other countries — the Mexican Diego Rivera, the German Fritz Kremer, the Frenchman André Fougeron.
Flower Saleswoman
Diego Maria Rivera
In the following years, disputes between abstractionist artists, who were the supporters of the art free from the need to describe reality, and realists artists, who manifested the artistic expression of tension and contradictions within the society. In 1950, the association broke up because of its internal disputes.
New Realism
of the early 1960s in France
In the early 1960s, a group of artists formed in France, whose intent was to prove the death of art and find the new meanings in material reality. They called themselves the Nouveau Réalisme group, or New Realism — the "new realists" became the third component in the progressive French cultural movements Nouveau Roman (literature) and New Wave (cinema). The New Realists questioned the idea that art should politicize or idealize any subject.
Map of Mars with water and fire
1961, 69×49 cm
The Nouveau Réalism group was founded in 1960 by art historian Pierre Restany and artist Yves Klein during the first collective exhibition at the Apollinaire Gallery in Milan. Pierre Restany wrote an original manifesto for the group entitled "Constituent Declaration of New Realism", proclaiming that "Nouveau Réalisme is the new ways of perceiving reality". This joint declaration was signed on 27 October 1960 in the studio of Yves Klein by nine artists, including Armand, Martial Raysse, Pierre Restany, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tangley, François Dufrene, Raymond Hains, and Jacques de la Villeglé. A year later, Cesar Baldaccini, Mimmo Rotella, Niki de Saint Phalle and Gérard Deschamps joined them. The actionist artist Christo Javacheff also supported the interests of the association.
Jean Tangley
1984, 360×600×600 cm
Following the Dadaists, the "new realists" operated on ready-made objects, making them part of art objects or presenting them in their usual form without embellishment: the garbage heap became an installation, a smashed car — a sculpture, a spot of paint on the wall — a picture. Destruction was a way of creation; parts of objects became parts of new exhibits. Artists used cars, fire, and even weapons to interact with objects and materials in a new way.
The movement sought to destroy the image of the artist as a lonely person working in the studio, creating valuable works of art for privileged galleries or museum spaces. For the members of the association, it became commonplace to collaborate in projects and create or display their work in public places. Often the audience was invited to participate in the creation of works of art, which stimulated a new level of entertainment and the viewer involvement. These actions were concerned institutional criticism and the liberation of the spirit of creativity.
Dedication to New York (fragment)
1960, 203.7×75×223.2 cm
Despite the fact that the New Realism
movement only existed until 1970, its influence is still widespread — perhaps because it offered countless opportunities for self-expression for each artist.
Title illustration: Charles Ginner. Piccadilly Circus. 1912
Author: Rita Lozinskaya
Tags: #neorealism
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Client Success: Mike Terry, Software Developer
Art of Hustle wouldn’t be much were it not for all of its believers and practitioners proving the legitimacy of its theories and principles. Here we take great pleasure in introducing you to one of AOH’s clients, software developer Mike Terry.
Please click Play on the video below to find out more about him, learn why he signed up for coaching, and hear about the results he is generating from putting in that work.
If you enjoyed this story, please consider passing it along using the Share buttons below. Or think about joining the Art of Hustle coaching program by getting more details here.
My name is Mike Terry. I grew up in Los Angeles, and spent about seven years in Boston, first at MIT, and then started my career there in software development. I’m currently living in San Francisco and working hard on building a business.
I’ve always really been a builder and a tinkerer, and I just feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to turn something that has from the time I was very little, really been exciting to me, to a career. That’s been hugely rewarding for me.
I focus a lot on the areas of software development that require massive amounts of data being processed and visualized. We are focused on building full scale landing pages and advertising campaigns for lawyers throughout the US. We’ve been able to generate tons of new businesses for these law firms. We found a system and we’ve been able to scale the system up for them to be able to reliably get their next cases.
Originally, my first startup was called “See the Scene” and we were building data visualizations for the nightlife industry. And quickly thereafter realized that a lot of those challenges also existed in the education space, and the healthcare space, and also in the legal space. And so my skill set and the teams and the techniques that I’ve been working on are really just dynamic and we’re able to focus and drive value for those different verticals. It’s been really fun.
So I started out coaching primarily as somebody who could be my co-pilot in a lot of the strategic decision-making. Professional athletes have coaches, professional business people have coaches. There’s a certain benefit that coaches provide that there’s really no substitute for. You need a support network. You need other minds working together. What I was looking to address when I started looking for a coach was really managing the growth of my business. I started to see a lot of demand for the products and services that I was offering and the team that I was building. And really growth is where the, many of the decision making challenges come. Getting coaching with Anthem, I’ve been able to really have that co-pilot to help me make a lot of these decisions and it’s been tremendous.
I actually came across Art of Hustle through Yelp. It became very apparent that Anthem really understood the needs of a lot of the local businesses and the culture here in the Bay Area. A lot of our initial goals were really focused on some of just advancing the ball forward when it came to getting new customers, when it came to hiring and really being able to delegate some of the tasks. And I think we’ve seen a lot of success. That’s where there’s been huge, huge leaps in terms of just the amount of learning that’s been had.
We use key performance metrics to make sure that the things that we are doing as a business are on track. And that framework I found that it’s given me a lot of peace of mind to really be able to work hard and know that I’m achieving my goals based on what we said what’s possible. And so I’ve really been able to pull in some new customers and really start to drive the revenue side of this. My vision of the next few steps is really being able to scale all that up and scale it up in a systematic way. And the sky’s the limit.
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FDA Approves First GLP-1 Pill, Novo Nordisk’s Rybelsus
Oral Medication Add to favorites
September 21, 2019 by ASweetLife Team
TheU.S. FDA has approved Rybelsus (semaglutide), the first and only glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog in a pill.
“GLP-1 receptor agonists are effective medications for people with type 2 diabetes but have been underutilized in part because they have, until now, only been available as an injectable treatment,” said Vanita R. Aroda, MD, Director of Diabetes Clinical Research, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA and a PIONEER clinical trial investigator. “The availability of an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist represents a significant development and primary care providers, specialists and patients alike may now be more receptive to the use of a GLP-1 therapy to help them achieve their blood sugar goals.”
The approval of Rybelsus is based on results from 10 PIONEER clinical trials, which enrolled 9,543 participants and included head-to-head studies of Rybelsus vs. sitagliptin, empagliflozin and liraglutide 1.8 mg. In the trials, Rybelsus reduced A1C and, as a secondary endpoint, showed reductions in body weight. The most common adverse reactions in the PIONEER trials, reported in ?5% of patients, were nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting and constipation. The types and frequency of the adverse reactions were similar across trials.
“People living with type 2 diabetes deserve more innovation, research and support to help them achieve their individual A1C goals,” said Todd Hobbs, vice president and U.S. chief medical officer of Novo Nordisk. “With Rybelsus, we have the opportunity to expand use of effective GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy by providing adults with type 2 diabetes an oral medication which was previously only available as an injection to help with managing their blood sugar.”
Rybelsus is approved for once-daily use in two therapeutic doses, 7 mg and 14 mg, and will be available in the U.S. beginning in Q4 2019. Initial supply of Rybelsus will come from manufacturing facilities in Denmark; however, future supply for Rybelsus will come from manufacturing facilities in the U.S. In 2015, Novo Nordisk made a strategic investment to build a new manufacturing facility in Clayton, NC to prepare for the future demand for Rybelsus. Additionally, earlier this year Novo Nordisk acquired a tableting and packaging facility in Durham, NC to meet anticipated supply needs for Rybelsus.
Novo Nordisk is working with health insurance providers with a goal of ensuring broad insurance coverage and patient access to the product. A savings card program will be available at the time of launch for eligible commercially-insured patients to keep out of pocket costs down to as little as $10 a month.
The U.S. FDA is still reviewing Novo Nordisk’s new drug application (NDA) for Rybelsus seeking an additional indication to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) such as heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease (CVD). A decision is expected in Q1 2020.
Rybelsus is currently under review by several regulatory agencies around the world, including the European Medicines Agency and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.
Rybelsus is not for use in people with type 1 diabetes and people with diabetic ketoacidosis
Novo Nordisk Drops Oral Insulin Development Projects According to an article published on Seeking Alpha, Novo Nordisk has decided to make some significant changes in its drug development strategy as a result of the 'current payment atmosphere’ in…
FDA Rejects Sanofi-Lexicon Oral Medication for Type… The FDA has denied approval of Sanofi and Lexicon's drug, sotagliflozin, as an add-on to insulin therapy in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. This decision comes just a few…
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Woman, 24, dead, three others in hospital after collision in Eskasoni, N.S.
Published Thursday, November 26, 2020 2:22PM AST
A 24-year-old woman from Eskasoni, N.S. is dead as a result of a single-vehicle collision early Thursday morning.
HALIFAX -- A 24-year-old woman from Eskasoni, N.S., is dead as a result of a single-vehicle collision early Thursday morning.
Shortly after 1 a.m., RCMP received a report of an impaired driver on 74th St. in Eskasoni.
While police were en route, they received a report of a single-vehicle collision on Highway 216. Police say the vehicle matched the description of the vehicle of the reported impaired driver.
Emergency crews attended the scene and found the vehicle in the ditch, and a severed utility pole with lines down.
A 24-year-old woman from Eskasoni was found near the rear of the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The adult male driver, as well as a male and female passenger, suffered serious injuries and were transported to hospital by EHS.
Police have not revealed whether charges are expected. The investigation is ongoing.
Highway 216 remains partially closed for repair of downed lines as a result of the collision.
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Dutch to Deliver Weapons to Indonesia After All
The ruling Labor Party previously opposed the arms sale to the Netherlands’ former colony in Asia.
Nick Ottens June 4, 2013 January 1, 2020
The Netherlands intend to sell naval ship equipment and technology to Indonesia in an arms deal that could be worth €345 million, the government announced on Tuesday.
Last year, the Netherlands canceled a €200 million tanks sale to its former colony after lawmakers had expressed worried about human rights abuses there. Among them was the Labor Party’s Frans Timmermans who is now foreign minister.
The latest deal will not involve the Dutch government. Rather a Dutch company has applied to sell technology for frigates that are supposed to be build in Romania as well as Indonesia itself. Timmerman’s department insists that the delivery meets all legal requirements for weapons exports.
Opposition parties were taken aback nevertheless. Both the liberal Democrats and far-left Socialists accused Labor of changing his position, something Désirée Bonis, its foreign policy spokeswoman, denied. “Indonesia is a friendly nation and a democracy,” she said. “So there’s nothing wrong with this.”
The previous coalition, which included the conservatives besides Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberals, who are still in power, similarly argued last year, however, that human rights in the island nation had “marked improved,” even if there were still “internal tensions” in the Maluku and Papua islands, majority Christian provinces that once aspired to autonomy or independence. It wanted to sell up to one hundred German-made Leopard tanks to the country — which could hardly have been deployed to the Moluccas or Papua given the mountainous terrain and dense forestation there — but the anti-immigration Freedom Party, which otherwise supported Rutte’s minority government, objected because Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country.
Indonesia later bought the tanks from Germany.
Read more: Europe, Netherlands, Western Europe
Koen J. de Jager says:
Probably they forgot ‘bloody Biak’ on Juli 1, 1998.
The report you can find on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbbndM9U4Fs
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edrafferty Uncategorised container, Investment, Marine, Nova Scotia, Novaport, Partners, Ports America, SHIP, Sydney 0
Ports America and Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) have announced an agreement for the promotion, development and management of Novaporte, the marine container facility in the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia. The project will be the first deep-water port on the East Coast of North America to be designed specifically to accommodate the largest container ships in the world, (18,000 plus TEUs). The project is shovel-ready, with all permits in place. NOVAPORTE™ will operate within an officially designated Canadian Foreign Trade Zone designated NOVAZONE™.
Ports America is the largest U.S. terminal operator and stevedore with operations in 42 ports and 80 terminals. With a highly skilled and trained labor force, Ports America has the experience and expertise to manage all types of cargo handling. Handling more than 13.4 million TEUs, 2.5 million vehicles, 10.1 million tons of general cargo and 1.7 million cruise ship passengers in 2015.
See here for the full press release
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The Fairlady Z, Nissan’s latest model of its flagship sports car
In Sports cars 2021 - small, luxury and super sport vehicles
Nissan rolled out the new Fairlady Z, the first remodeling in 12 years, at an online event on Wednesday.
It is the latest model of its flagship sports car. The company expresses hopes that the new model will help turn around its business, which was hit by the coronavirus outbreak. The company is struggling with a weak demand and disruptions in production.
Experts say that it looks like the Fairlady Z offers just about everything everyone has been hoping for. It blends styling highlights from the Z’s long history into one, clean, modern package. And under the stylish skin is a twin-turbo engine at the front, drive wheels at the back, and a manual transmission in the middle.
The prototype inherits many design features from the first generation model, with a V-6 gasoline engine and digital meters on the dashboard. The twin-turbo V6 under the hood is connected to a six-speed manual transmission.
Nissan CEO Uchida Makoto said the sports car represents the spirit of his company, and the prototype is the key model in the automaker’s structural reform. He added he hopes new generations of customers will enjoy the car.
Nissan aims to put the new model on the market as early as next fiscal year that begins next April.
Nissan has globally sold more than 1.8 million units of Fairlady Z since its debut in 1969. But it halted its production in 2000 as it ran into financial difficulties.
In 2002, Nissan resumed the manufacturing of the car as a symbol of its corporate restructuring with support from French automaker Renault.
Coupe cars - new models and photos, New cars 2021 - ultimate models and photos, Nissan - new car reviews - pics - info - specs
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BMW, the final countdown to new Minis
What to Look for When Buying a Used Car Bonnet
| In Used cars search and buy advices
The gas engine that could kill diesels
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Tag Archives: clash by night
Backlots at Noir City: THE THIN MAN (1934) and CLASH BY NIGHT (1950)
As a proud Barbara Stanwyck aficionado, I was thrilled when Noir City 13 reached its halfway point on Wednesday night with a screening of two Barbara Stanwyck dramas from the 1950s–Clash By Night (1950) and Crime of Passion (1957). As both are films that I have seen before (I’ve seen 67 Barbara Stanwyck films–yes, I’ve counted), and given that transportation home gets difficult after about 9:30, I only opted to see the former last night. Regardless, I have two films to write about today, because on Monday we were treated to a showing of one of the greatest and most charming detective stories on film, Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man. This is a movie I have written about several times in the past, and seen on the big screen multiple times, but viewing it at the Castro is an experience all its own.
San Francisco, in all its glory, is a town full of cinephiles. People here know their cinema, and they know how to tell the good from the bad. So when there is a packed house for a classic movie in San Francisco, you know it’s good. The theater was packed solid on Monday night.
Released right on the brink of the Production Code, The Thin Man tells the story of Nick and Nora Charles, a married detecting couple who drink their way through life and try (unsuccessfully) not to get involved in detective cases. But when a series of murders occurs and Nick knows people involved, he can’t keep himself away. Nora is just as essential to solving the murders as Nick is, and this is part of the timeless appeal of this movie.
The Thin Man is famous for its snappy dialogue and witty repartee, and for being one of the first movies to show that a husband and wife can be friends, and not just romantic partners. Nick and Nora spend the movie ribbing and joking with each other, just as good friends would do. Nora is an equal to Nick–she never once stoops below his level nor does Nick ever take the upper hand. Yet their love is never in doubt, and for its refreshing take on relationships and the position of women within marriage, The Thin Man may be considered a truly feminist movie.
On Wednesday evening, as Noir City reached its halfway point, I again ventured out to the Castro to view Clash By Night, a 1950 Barbara Stanwyck drama that again skirts the limits of the Production Code. Based on a Broadway stage play by Clifford Odets, Clash By Night tells the story of a woman who marries one man, but loves another. She is torn between love and duty, and ends up making decisions that she regrets. The two love interests are played by Paul Douglas (the man she marries) and Robert Ryan (the man she loves), and the film also stars a young Marilyn Monroe, playing Stanwyck’s brother’s girlfriend, also coming to terms with issues of love. The brilliance of the story, and also the aspect that comes into conflict with the Code, lies in the fact that there is no clear villain, and the audience struggles right along with Stanwyck in trying to determine which decision is the best. Does she leave her husband, with whom she has a child, in order to follow her heart with Robert Ryan? Or does she keep her marriage together for the sake of her husband and her child? We see her conflict, and we empathize with her.
It is interesting to note the offscreen rapport between Barbara Stanwyck, the consummate professional actress of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and Marilyn Monroe, the up-and-coming starlet who was already showing signs of psychological problems and difficulties on the set. The director of Clash By Night, the great Fritz Lang, was not up to handling Monroe’s tardiness and personal problems, but Barbara Stanwyck stood up for the young actress and protected her. She gave Marilyn acting tips, shielded her from criticism, and seemed to take her under her wing as a sort of protege. The two had come from similar difficult childhoods–both had been foster children, abandoned by their parents and raised with little to no stability. Stanwyck seemed to understand what Marilyn had been through and was continuing to go through psychologically, and their positive chemistry shines through on the screen. Their scenes together are some of the tenderest in the movie, and Marilyn Monroe later said that Barbara Stanwyck was the only actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age who ever showed her kindness.
I will be seeing the classic French thriller Les Diaboliques tomorrow evening (one of my all-time favorite films, and this will be my first time seeing it on the big screen), followed by The Honeymoon Killers on Sunday. Stay tuned for a report!
Tagged barbara stanwyck, clash by night, clifford odets, dashiell hammett, marilyn monroe, noir city, robert ryan, the thin man
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It was announced yesterday that New Brunswick was rated the top international location in terms of environment for the mining industry. While readers will undoubtedly have different reactions, one might be surprise, since in the southern half of the province, with the exception of the potash mines in the Sussex area, does not have an obvious current mining presence. It was not always so, however, and the mining history of the Albert County area is a fascinating story.
Albert County has over the years been home to the mining of precious metals including gold and silver; industrially important materials including lead, zinc, copper, and manganese; building materials including sandstone, gravel, and gypsum; and petroleum products including natural gas, albertite, oil and gas. The mining techniques employed have included conventional underground techniques, open pit, surface collection and a variety of small scale recovery techniques.
The area with the richest and most extensive mining history are the nearby communities of Curryville and Albert Mines. Although copper and manganese were also mined there, the area is best known for two materials: albertite and gypsum. Albert Mines, and the remains from its mining past, are listed in Canada's Historic Places. The Albert Mines listing in Canada's Historic Places notes: "Albert Mines was the site of the first commercial extraction of petroleum products anywhere in the world." Albertite is a shiny black (or occasionally dark brown) crumbly rock that is very rich (more than 50%) in volatile material. It played a key role in the development of kerosene which replaced whale oil for lighting, and some say that the development helped save whales from extinction.
The photo montage (from the listing in Canada's Historic Places) illustrates Albert Mines at the peak of its mining past and currently. Now the site has a variety of tailings piles, and the remains of several buildings.
The former government geologist and inventor, Dr. Abraham Gesner (1797-1864) developed a process for making kerosene from bitumen, and is apparently the discoverer of albertite in 1839. His early experiments found that albertite was best suited for kerosene extraction, and he sought a licence from the government to mine and develop albertite. While albertite was originally found under uprooted trees, a flood in 1850 revealed a huge deposit in Albert Mines. There was a dispute between Gesner and a rival company who had coal rights in the area and claimed that included albertite. The feud got so bitter that guns were even drawn at the mine site on at least one location. The rival company was granted the rights, a court decision viewed in retrospect as incorrect since albertite is distinctly different from coal. Albertite was aggressively mined from 1854 to 1884 at Albert Mines.
Dr. Abraham Gesner, who was both a medical doctor and a professional geologist, had a number of other achievements, including starting Canada's first public museum in 1842 (that went on to become the current New Brunswick Museum). He had a number of links with the Bay of Fundy region, including being born in the Annapolis Valley, being twice shipwrecked early in life, and serving as a physician in the Parrsboro area. The bitter dispute over albertite, and lost court case, cast an unfortunate pall over the latter part of his life.
To visit the location one turns right onto the paved Albert Mines road from Hwy 114 at Edgett's Landing if driving from Moncton towards Fundy National Park. If driving in the opposite direction, from Fundy towards Moncton, you turn left at Cape Station (this is not well marked but it is the first road after leaving a marsh, a small bridge then a slight rise with hay fields on your right). If you have reached Hopewell Rocks you have gone too far. The map shown below will help guide you.
When driving along this road from Fundy toward Moncton, in the community of Curryville, on your left are extensive tailings from the gypsum mining operation. White gypsum stones are obvious from the road. As you proceed further, near a church in Albert Mines, and just before the road takes a steep uphill path, there is a side road on the left, and the site of the Albert Mines complex was here. There are only slight signs of this past, and you may need assistance from local residents in finding the right location.
Some of the best gypsum in the world was mined here in a huge open pit operation (there were other gypsum facilities in the province including one near Hillsborough). The Curryville gypsum facility was operated from 1854 until 1980.
One of the trails in Fundy National Park, Coppermine, travels near the coast ending at the remnants from an early mine. There remains only a pile of tailings, and bits from an old boiler. While you can't remove rocks (or anything) from national parks, if you are lucky you can find a few bits of copper in the tailings (natural copper is greenish, not copper in colour). Even though the mine remnants are not impressive, the trail is an easy and pleasant walk through interesting forests with a number of foot bridges over tiny streams. There are a few vistas of the coast during the return walk (most of the trail is divided so you return closer to the coast than you travel out). The trail head starts just off the parking lot that is on the opposite side of the road from the Point Wolfe campground.
Those wanting to make a comprehensive stop at the important mining locations within Albert County have a number of other stops to consider. One location that you will have to view from afar is Grindstone Island. This was one of the early stone quarry sites in the area, and the location of the lighthouse furthest up the bay. It is a nature preserve, important for bird nesting for a number of species, and is mainly owned by the Sackville parish of the Anglican Church, with the area right around the lighthouse owned by the Government of Canada. You can see Grindstone Island, that is just off the coast from the village of Hillsborough, as you travel along route 114 from Fundy National Park to Moncton.
Something I only learned in researching this column was the manganese mining in the Waterside area, one of my favourite locations (see my other posting on the incredible Waterside Beach). Apparently the mine was active between and 1875-1877, although I don't know the precise location. More interestingly, a non-invasive method of manganese extraction was used in the Dawson Settlement area further up the county. The Virtual Museum exhibit describes the process this way "Bog manganese is not mined but is instead harvested. Underground streams carry manganese up to the surface, the manganese is then deposited at an outlet of the stream on the surface. This manganese then forms into a bog. The manganese harvested from this bog must first be dried before it can be sold." Apparently this was done from about 1897-1901.
Both conventional oil drilling (and natural gas production) and oil shale have been used in Albert County. Several times in the past decades oil wells in the Weldon and Stoney Creek area (near route 114 between Hillsborough and Riverview) have been operational. In fact by 1925 a total of 66 wells had been drilled in the Stoney Creek area. Oil shale refers to sedimentary rock rich in shale oil. Given the larger cost of extraction compared to light oil, it has only been commercially harvested on a limited basis, mainly in Scotland, but that might change with rising prices that might make it economical. Given the current huge debate (a drive through any part of the province will see 'No
Shale Gas' signs) in the province on proposed shale gas production through hydrofracking, it is interesting to consider the province's history in shale petroleum.
There are a number of good sources for additional information online including the Community Memories Virtual Museum exhibit prepared by the Albert County Museum (select the one on Mining in Albert County). As well as comprehensive written descriptions that site includes a number of historical photos. Another good source of information is the listing in Canada's Historic Places. The NBCC historical resources have a nice section on Dr. Abraham Gesner and also one on Albertite. Of course the Albert County Museum should be a stop on any visit to the Bay of Fundy region.
©R.L. Hawkes. Publications wishing to print this story should contact rhawkes@chignecto.ca for permission.
Labels: Albert County, history, science
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Direcci N Del Consorcio De La Comunidad De Trabajo De Los Pirineos Authority Rajasthan State
Active Tenders of Direcci N Del Consorcio De La Comunidad De Trabajo De Los Pirineos in Rajasthan
0 of Direcci N Del Consorcio De La Comunidad De Trabajo De Los Pirineos in Rajasthan found. View complete tender details and tender notices (NIT) for FREE. Get tender corrigendum updates. Download tender documents.
Rajasthan is one of the majestic states of India, rich in colour and covered with desert for 1/3rd of its part. It is also known as the "Land of Kings." The government of Rajasthan is rapidly improvising the structural and economic development of the state.Eproc Rajasthan floats all the related tenders for the growth of Rajasthan's mobility and sustainability for the challenges that come ahead. Apart from 86 organizations from the Rajasthan Tenders Work, we have shortlisted five best organizations that frequently release the tenders for Rajasthan government. Dept. of Watershed Dev and Soil Conservation- Department of watershed dev and soil conservation deals with the drainage, geology, soil, surface condition and land use, groundwater and socio-economic status of the watershed are required to determine runoff and its potential for development as a water resource, moisture conservation, sedimentation, and other measures to be adopted, proper land use planning and other development programme. Till date, they have released more than 300 tenders for in various fields under the process of e proc Rajasthan. Department of Local Bodies-DLB is known as the department of the local body. It comes under the local self-government. This department manages the local authorities of the government. They indulge in town planning and connecting small villages to big towns and bridge the gap between them by enabling education, technology and infrastructure. They have issued more than 300 Rajasthan tenders under the e-proc process. Panchayati Raj Department-Panchayati Raj Department controls and manages the villages and the ground level administration of the state. They mobilize the functioning of rural areas by setting various gram panchayats and also maintain the data of the gram sabhas.Panchayat Department usually issue tenders for the construction of lavatories, street lights, water containers, school construction, community health centres etc. Till date, this department has issued more than 250 tenders in various sectors of village administration under the process of eproc Rajasthan. PWD-PWD stands for the Public Works Department. They carry the functioning of the community works like building roads, creating drainage lines, constructing footpaths, pipeline etc. PWD issues various tenders under this organization for the maintenance of the sanitation department, waste management bodies, septic tanks, roadblocks, pavement, parking lots, parks, electricity board, transportation department and marketplaces. Till date, the PWD department has issued more than 150 tenders for the growth and sustainability under the process of eproc Rajasthan. SSA-Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is a national level literacy programme for school education. It is implemented in every state of India and manages the education system on the ground level. Tenders are usually issued for building and maintenance of school projects, supplying stationery material, providing school uniforms, looking after the school mid-day meal, recruiting the school coordinators and volunteers for various on school and off school programs. There is an excellent opportunity in this organization because of the addition of funds in the education department from the central government. Till date, this organization has released more than 100 tenders under the process of eprocurement Rajasthan. ...Less
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Tony Lucca Releases ‘With The Whole World Watching’ EP Today
Congratulations are in order for Tony Lucca, Team Adam’s finalist on Season 2 of The Voice, whose EP With The Whole World Watching is now available on iTunes today.
The release consists of six new tracks, including first single “Never Gonna Let You Go,” which Tony performed on the Voice stage during the Season 4 live playoffs. If you missed that performance, here it is below.
To celebrate the big day, Tony is connecting with his fans via StageIt for a live webcast and performance today at 5:00 PM PDT (adjust for your time zone). He’ll be playing both new songs and some old favorites. Tickets are “pay what you can,” and you can get yours by clicking here to be taken directly to StageIt.
Tony also has a few incentives for fans during the webcast: the top tipper will receive a guest spot to any of his upcoming tour dates (excepting the Honda Civic Tour dates on which he is opening for Maroon 5), while the second-place tipper will get a free digital copy of With The Whole World Watching, and third place receives a Facebook shout-out.
The new EP shares a name with Tony’s upcoming nationwide tour. The Whole World Watching campaign will see him visit cities from New York to San Diego beginning at the end of July. For more information, including specific cities and show schedule, check out the tour announcement from March.
When Tony returned to The Voice in June, we asked him what fans can expect from that tour, and he told us, “It’s going to be me and my friends Honor By August. I think they’re kind of on the brink of something big as well. They’re phenomenal and it’s going to be a good show between the two acts. Me and my band [will be] playing mostly the new stuff from the new EP, and revisiting some of the old stuff, and again some of the stuff from the Voice catalog, because people seem to appreciate those [songs].”
Download With The Whole World Watching on iTunes now by clicking here. You can get the latest on Tony by visiting his website (tonylucca.com) and following him on Twitter (@luccadoes).
Posted in The Voice Season 2Tagged Season 2, Team Adam, The Voice, Tony LuccaBy Brittany Frederick
← Season 4 Finale Interviews
Artist Update: Tony Lucca →
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RCWIH BioBank Cost Recovery
The Research Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health (RCWIH) BioBank is a biorepository established to support perinatal research programs by providing access to human tissue specimens and associated clinical data which are collected according to the highest ethical standards. Established in 2006 and located in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District, the RCWIH BioBank is a program of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and the Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH)/University Health Network Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Our mission is to support research programs working to:
Minimize fetal and neonatal death and disability
Improve the lifelong health of women and their children
Increase the understanding of placental development, from conception to delivery, and the impact on human health and disease later in life
Provide new insights into the normal and pathological functions of the embryo, placenta, and maternal systems during pregnancy
Expand the therapeutic applications for stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood
The RCWIH BioBank program is represented by the BioBank Director, BioBank Manager and dedicated Clinical Research Associates and Assistants. In addition to the support received from the Research Ethics Board and clinical care team at Mount Sinai Hospital, all of the program’s activities are overseen by the RCWIH BioBank Governance Committee. This committee is comprised of members of the MSH Department of Pathology, the MSH Maternal-Fetal Medicine program in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, investigators and research trainees at the RCWIH, and external advisory members from outside hospitals and the research community. With the collective input from perinatal pathologists, clinicians with expertise in obstetrics, and researchers who utilize the collected specimens and data, the RCWIH BioBank Governance Committee is well-positioned to provide direction and advice on all aspects of the program’s operation.
The RCWIH BioBank is a non-profit organization and operates on a fee-for-service (cost recovery) basis. There is no cost for the donated tissues themselves. The recovery costs that are applied to samples reflect only the time and materials spent by the RCWIH BioBank program, including the costs associated with:
Identifying and recruiting participants
Attending deliveries for tissue procurement
Data collection and preparation of clinical profiles
Sample archival and distribution
For more information about our cost recovery system please contact our office.
By handling all aspects of sample procurement and data collection, the RCWIH BioBank provides researchers with:
Access to fully-characterized human specimens, collected according to Standard Operating Procedures and strict ethical guidelines
Access to a patient cohort with nearly 7,000 deliveries per year, including rare clinical complications of pregnancy
24/7 coverage of high-risk deliveries and clinical trial participants
Accelerated research progress by retrospective access to archived specimens
Customized collection services to meet project requirements
Acknowledging the BioBank
Acknowledgement of the RCWIH BioBank in presentations or publications reporting results generated using RCWIH samples is required as a condition of the 'Material Transfer Agreement'. A suitable acknowledgement is as follows:
"The authors thank the donors, the RCWIH BioBank, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and the Mount Sinai Hospital/UHN Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for the human specimens used in this study (https://biobank.lunenfeld.ca)”.
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“Ndokulandela” music video premieres on Okayafrica
Bongeziwe Mabandla’s new music video presents a stunning visual accompaniment to the underlying spiritual themes of “Ndokulandela”, the first single off the artists’ new album Mangaliso.
Directed by Ian Henderson of Cape Town-based Thinkfilm, “Ndokulandela” was filmed in on location in Macassar on the False Bay coastline. It features art direction and costume by Boys of South Africa (B.O.S.A).
“For me the narrative of the film was an allegorical representation of the underlying spiritual themes present in the lyric,” explains Henderson. “Likho’s character was also intended to suggest a younger Bongeziwe, and at the same time, provide a counterpoint to the older self. The two narratives represented the outer world, and the inner spiritual journey.”
Henderson’s direction was inspired by the themes of spirituality, ritual, devotion and self-sacrifice that are threaded through “Ndokulandela”.
The other-wordly feel of the song, evoked so powerfully by Mabandla’s hypnotic vocals, is enhanced by the video’s atmospheric aesthetic. The muted colours of the performance elements contrast with the nature-inspired hues of the children who are drawn to Mabandla as he stands at the water’s edge in the closing moments of the clip.
Another of “Ndokulandela’s” most striking features are the costumes that B.O.S.A created for the video which conjure up images of an Afro-futuristic world where intricate patterns and symbols still abound.
Mysterious and beautiful, “Ndokulandela” marks yet another highpoint in Mabandla’s career.
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Children’s / Teenage general interest: Biography & autobiography
Stephen Hawking - Masterminds
Paperback (14 Jan 2021)
Hardback (01 Sep 2020) $13.64 $12.04
Hardback (09 Apr 2020) $17.73 $14.33
Meet the S.T.E.A.M. pioneers and discover their fascinating life story and inspirations.
Stephen Hawking tells the story of this key scientific figure - covering his whole journey from his shocking diagnosis at age 21, through to his career at Cambridge, to his ground-breaking work on black holes and his amazing legacy to science today.
Masterminds introduces some of the world's great scientists, inventors and artists, retelling their lives and explaining why their work is important. Clear photographic designs bring a real-life quality to these biographies and major S.T.E.A.M. discoveries.
Provides an understanding of scientific discoveries and presents inspirational lives from a variety of diverse backgrounds.
Includes a timeline of the person's life and shows the ongoing legacy that we can see around us today.
Pub date: 14 Jan 2021
Lisbeth Kaiser, Mart...
Fauja Singh Keeps Going
Simran Jeet Singh, B...
Cerrie Burnell, Laur...
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Having served in the U.S. military and earned a college degree, Joseph never dreamed he would end up homeless. Learn how long-time Applied Materials grantee Housing Trust Silicon Valley helped Joseph find his way home.
Applied Materials Named 2016 Top 100 Military Friendly Employer
by Curtis Geroy
As a leading employer of military veterans Applied Materials was named a Military Friendly Employer by Victory Media for the 10th year.
Reflecting on What Military Sacrifices Have Made Possible
by Patricia Zepeda Vera
Memorial Day is a time to reflect and give thanks to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces who lost their lives in service to their country. The willingness of men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice while defending this country and its ideals makes it possible for us to enjoy a free society; one where the ability to succeed is limited only by one’s own motivation and vision. The military also provides a pipeline for new hires, enabling companies like Applied Materials to tap into their skills to push the limits of science and technology even further.
Applied Named a Top Military Friendly Employer
I’m proud to share that Applied Materials was recognized today for its outstanding support of military veterans and National Guard and Reserve members and has been designated a 2013 Top 100 Military Friendly Employer by G.I. Jobs.
Thank You American Veterans for Your Honorable Service
by April Decker
In the U.S., Veterans Day is observed annually to honor military veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country. In other parts of the world, it is celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. Today’s date marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I, when major hostilities of the war were formally called to an end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
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United Kingdom to help improve the taxation system in Ethiopia
Penny Mordaunt, UK DFIF Secretary and Abraham Tekeste, Ethiopia’s minister for finance and economic cooperation during the signing ceremony Addis Ababa.
Credit : EBC
The United Kingdom and Ethiopia have reached aid agreement yesterday worth about £115 million.
According to media sources in Ethiopia, £35 million allocated to finance the cost of improving the taxation system in Ethiopia. The proposed change to the system aims to transform it to a modern one.
The rest of the fund is to be channeled towards job creation programs in the country.
The job creation program is meant to help unemployed Ethiopians and refugees residing in Ethiopia. Up to 100,000 unemployed Ethiopians and 30,000 refugees will benefit from the program, according to Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation report which cited Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation Minister.
Penny Mordaunt, United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Development, and Abraham Tekeste, Ethiopia’s minister for finance and economic cooperation signed the agreement in the capital Addis Ababa.
United Kingdom’s Department for International Development profile for Ethiopia shows £302 million is allocated for the 2018/19 fiscal year and more than 60 percent of it is seemingly is allocated for Human Development program. UK funds programs in productive safety net, building resilience and sustaining and accelerating health care programs in Ethiopia.
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20 Four-Bedroom Units Sold During Preview at Boulevard 88
Boulevard 88 presents a luxurious experience. It’s architectural design and endless features have already attracted buyers, which during a preview, has sold 20 units.
Considering that the residential development hasn’t even been finished building yet, this is a wonderful surprise for its developers.
Boulevard 88 is located in a prime district, which gave buyers all the more reason to strike while the iron is hot. With the units selling for over $160 million and the average price per square foot working out as $3,350, it’s no doubt that investors recognized potential at the residential development’s preview.
The Boulevard 88 development is designed for those who enjoy luxury at its best and has 154 units altogether. Given that the project will also include the Edition Hotel, which is the first of its kind in Singapore, investors were particularly excited to grab their piece of the pie.
Developed by City Developments Limited (CDL), along with its venture partnering developers, Lea Investments and Hong Leong Holdings, this exciting endeavor can be viewed by appointment only.
Boulevard 88 – The Ultimate Experience in Singapore
The residential development is located along Orchard Boulevard, meeting the popular Cuscaden Road. It features two 28-story towers, which are creatively designed and linked at the top, where you can find a gym, pools, and lounges. This is just one impressive element of the development that presents complete luxury to the condominium’s residents, which will be just as equally impressed with the other amenities offered.
The development is set to be completed by 2022, which means that those who are buying now, can already predict the condominium development’s potential and all it has to offer. Boulevard 88 is also designed for residents that are seeking a relaxing experience and is predicted to particularly be adored by businessmen, professionals, and some of the most elite.
Prices for 2-bedroom apartments, paired with a study starts at $4.4 million, $6 million for a three-bedroom, and $9.6 million for four-bedroom apartments. If you prefer the penthouse, that’s also for sale, at a total of $30 to $32 million. The development also offers three and four-bedroom spacious and modern-designed apartments. Thus far, most units sold were four-bedroom apartments, costing over $10 million each. The remaining included two and three-bedroom apartments. 60% of the buyers include residents from Singapore, with the rest being foreigners from the U.S., China, and Indonesia.
With unit plans being released on a regular basis, Singaporeans are getting excited, in hope to purchase a unit of their own. Although the units are considered pricey, Boulevard 88 was designed to offer more than just a permanent home or temporary stay, it offers a unique experience that will leave residents feeling extraordinary.
On site, the old Boulevard Hotel will be reconstructed. Close by amenities include some of the most luxurious retail stores, the Orchard Boulevard Station, the Orchard MRT Station, and much more.
If it’s not the view that excites buyers and potential residents, then it will definitely be the condominium’s appeal, which boasts with class beyond content.
By Boulevard 88|2019-08-27T23:01:40+08:00August 27th, 2019|Uncategorized|
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from my sketchbook: william frawley
Posted by joshpincusiscrying on 10 October 2007, 12:45 am
I always hated Lucille Ball. I hated “The Lucy Show”. I hated “Here’s Lucy”. And I especially hated “I Love Lucy”.
Except for William Frawley.
I have always been fascinated by William Frawley. Well, maybe not fascinated, but intrigued. Look at him. How did this guy become an actor? And not only was he an actor, by 1951, he had starred in over one hundred movies. He was one of Hollywood’s biggest and most sought-after character actors.
He started in vaudeville, doing musical comedy and was featured in his first film in 1916. His film career continued through four more decades. But, his reputation as a difficult, belligerent alcoholic made him almost unemployable by the early 1950s.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were about to begin shooting a sitcom, a fictional account of Desi’s everyday life as a band leader. The show, “I Love Lucy”, was still in the casting stage when Frawley heard about it and envisioned it as his opportunity to get steady work. Lucille Ball wanted her friend Gale Gordon to play the part of cranky, penny-pinching landlord Fred Mertz. Due to prior commitments, Gordon was unavailable. Frawley auditioned. Lucy knew Frawley from her days as a film actress in the 1940s. Frawley called Lucy regularly, asking about his chances for the Fred Mertz role. Desi thought having Frawley, a Hollywood veteran, on the show was a good idea. However, Desi (and the CBS network) was well aware of Frawley’s reputation as a louse (he was fired from the set of “She’s My Baby” for punching Clifton Webb in the nose) and a drunk. Arnaz immediately leveled with Frawley about the network’s concerns, telling him that if he was late to work, showed up drunk, or was unable to perform except because of legitimate illness more than once, he’d be written out of the show. Contrary to expectations, Frawley never showed up drunk to work, and, in fact, mastered his lines after only one reading. Arnaz became one of his closest friends. Frawley, a huge New York Yankees fan, had it written into his contract if the Yankees made it to the World Series, he didn’t work during the games.
Frawley and his co-star Vivian Vance hated each other almost instantly. Vance (the second choice for Ethel Mertz after Bea Benaderet) was 22 years younger than Frawley and complained that he should be playing her father, not her husband. Frawley said, of Vance, “She’s one of the best things to come out of Kansas. I wish she’d go back”. Despite their contempt for each other, they played a married couple for 175 episodes for nearly seven years. When the run of “I Love Lucy” ended, CBS offered Frawley and Vance a spin-off called “Fred and Ethel”. Even though he openly hated Vivian Vance, Frawley was anxious to work and agreed to the series. Vance said no, vowing to never work with Frawley again.
Frawley landed steady TV work again, playing grandfather Bub O’Casey on “My Three Sons”, but poor health forced him to leave the show. His last TV appearance was as a maintenance man on an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1965.
In March 1966, a sick and frail 76 year-old William Frawley was walking down Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He collapsed right on the sidewalk, was dragged into the lobby of the Knickerbocker Hotel, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. While dining in a Hollywood restaurant, Vivian Vance, upon hearing of Frawley’s death, announced “Champagne for everyone!”
I’ll paraphrase Edward Norton…
“Who would I fight? Frawley. I’d fight William Frawley.”
Filed under celebrity, death, from my sketchbook | 4 Comments | Permalink
I like Wiliam Frawley for his good taste in pleated, high-waisted pants!
Ha! He looks like me!
Pudge's Mom
Hi Josh. All of that information about William Frawley is facinating. But what movie had he just seen? Perhaps it was the film that killed him? Do you think he just came from seeing that awful Batman movie? What else came out in 1966 that was so horrible??? Just a thought!
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Mandy Coates
Assistant Compliance Manager at Node4
Data breaches are still a big problem for businesses. Recent examples show that we should never become complacent when it comes to protecting business data.
The new GDPR rules came into force in May 2018, and with them came the threat of much higher fines for those who breached data protection laws.
Here is a synopsis of some interesting cases and the lessons that we can learn from them:
Further reading: Read our 9 data protection tips for video-conferencing
1. Tesco Clubcard
In March this year, Tesco had to issue new cards to 600,000 Clubcard account holders after unearthing a security issue. The supermarket giant said it believed a database of stolen usernames and passwords from other platforms had been tried out on its websites and may have worked in some cases. No financial data was accessed, and its systems had not been hacked, it added. The supermarket said it had emailed everybody potentially affected, that nobody would lose their points and new vouchers would also be issued.
Lessons learned: A data breach doesn’t just affect the company that the data was stolen from. Cyber criminals can do a lot of damage to other companies with a large breached list simply containing names and emails or other trivial data. While the impact was minimal for Tesco customers, the big risk is that criminals use leaked common password combinations against emails to try to break into other personal accounts, which cause much greater damage.
2. Financial Conduct Authority
Back in February, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) admitted to accidentally revealing personal information of about 1,600 people who made a complaint about them, in an embarrassing lapse for the regulator of Britain's banks and investors. The FCA published names, addresses and phone numbers in a document on its website, in response to a request for data under the Freedom of Information Act. The FCA said it had referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates the use of data, over the breach. The data breach is particularly embarrassing for the FCA, which fined Tesco Bank £16.4m in 2018 for failing to protect customer information.
Lessons learned: No business is immune to data breaches. In every business, there is the risk of human error, a lapse of judgement and so on. It’s about minimising that risk, so making sure that all employees have some level of GDPR awareness training. It’s also important to have an expert in the business who can lead on internal audits to determine risk and mitigate data breaches from occurring.
3. Recruitment companies using AWS
In October last year, two recruitment companies exposed more than 200,000 CVs, subsequently making them publicly accessible. The firms exposed the CVs by setting their "buckets" on their cloud storage services, which was provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) as public. Therefore, those who applied for jobs using these firms had their CV publicly available for anyone to view and download. Shortly after being notified the buckets were made private. Many of the CVs included names, addresses, career histories and phone numbers, all of which can be exploited. Amazon, who provided the web services said that its AWS buckets were secure by default; therefore, the responsibility lies within the companies utilising its cloud services.
Lessons learned: Check your privacy and security settings. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with you to protect your business data, which means taking access management and other security controls seriously. Beyond the settings on your cloud storage services, you’ll also need to consider role-based access control, appropriate management of access by third-parties and contractors, and encryption and data masking for high-risk data. If you have concerns about the security of your data, you could always seek advice from your IT services provider.
Take your minds back a couple of years to when British Airways had a breach of its security systems. The penalty imposed on British Airways was the first one to be made public following the new rules, which made it mandatory to report data security breaches to the ICO. This resulted in an eye-watering £183m fine. The breach took place after users of British Airways' website were diverted to a fraudulent site. Through this false site, details of about 500,000 customers were harvested by the attackers. The breach was first disclosed on 6 September 2018 and BA had initially said approximately 380,000 transactions were affected, but the stolen data did not include travel or passport details. At the time, BA said hackers had carried out a "sophisticated, malicious criminal attack" on its website. The ICO said a variety of information was "compromised" by inadequate security arrangements.
Lessons learned: Huge fines are not the only thing you have to worry about. Under GDPR, authority regulators have to take corrective action against non-compliance, which means fines and publicising the breach. This can be severely damaging to an organisation’s reputation, and brand damage can add to that impact on a business’ bottom line.
How to reduce the risks
In summary, there are a few key actions you can take to reduce the risk of data breaches:
Ensure your board prioritises and takes responsibility for security.
Roll-out GDPR awareness training to all employees. Everybody should have an understanding of data subjects’ rights and your business’s responsibility as a data processor or controller.
Appoint an expert in your business who understands the legal and regulatory requirements around data protection.
Carry out internal audits to determine and mitigate the risks of data breaches.
Put data protection policies, procedures and best practices in place.
If you’re concerned about the data security aspect of your IT services, seek advice from your IT services provider.
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December 21, 2020 by Spencer Hesseltine
There’s something innately festive and joyful about being home for the holidays. Hollywood knows this, too, which is why it took such care to choose the perfect homes for its holiday movies. The following are among the most beloved Christmas houses featured in some the best holiday films of all time.
1. Home Alone: 671 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, IL
Image Source: https://hookedonhouses.net/2009/11/30/inside-the-real-home-alone-house/
Located in the affluent Chicago suburb of Winnetka, the Home Alone house achieved fame when John Hughes released his 1990 hit starring Macaulay Culkin. Constructed in 1921, the multi-story Lincoln Avenue house attracted filmmakers with its timeless appeal. They wanted the home to feel both warm and slightly menacing at the same time. It fit their bill in terms of aesthetics and room for the film’s most outrageous stunts. Since the movie hit theatres, the house has exchanged owners a few times, but it still retains its traditional stately air.
“This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back.” — Kevin McCallister, Home Alone (1990)
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: “Blondie Street” Warner Brothers Studios Backlot, Burbank, CA
Image Source: https://houseandhistory.com/national-lampoons-christmas-vacation-house/
Unlike the other films on our list, the house famously belonging to the Griswold Family in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is located on a Warner Brothers Studios backlot. Created as a set, the entire street is designed to reflect suburban ambience. Homes on the street have also been featured in other films like Lethal Weapon, Pleasantville, and Bewitched. Because the house is a studio property, it can be visited if you sign up for a studio tour. Of course, the house may not be easy to recognize without its telltale holiday lights glowing against a background of snow.
“Dad, you taught me everything I know about exterior illumination.” — Clark Griswold, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
3. A Christmas Story: 3159 West 11th Street, Cleveland, OH
Image Source: https://www.tripsavvy.com/a-christmas-story-house-752559
Though set in Indiana, Ralphie’s iconic home is actually located in Cleveland, OH. Owing to the undiminished popularity of the film, the house has been restored to its film glory and is open to the public for tours and even overnight stays! Set producers ‘cast’ the house for its period 1940s look and expansive front window. The window, of course, played a major role in its display of the risqué leg lamp. Within the house is a wide array of movie memorabilia — actual props featured in the movie’s home and school classroom.
“Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.” — Adult Ralphie from A Christmas Story (1983)
4. The Santa Clause: 17 Chisholm Street, Oakville, ON, Canada
Image Source: https://globalfilmlocations.net/2017/11/25/the-santa-clause-1994-film-locations/
Scott’s home is featured prominently in The Santa Clause, so set designers knew they needed to choose a holiday house with care. They did an excellent job casting the home and neighborhood so that it would resemble an Illinois townhome in winter. Oakville is a suburb of Toronto, which enhances the suburban Chicago feel of the movie. If you ever find yourself traveling 11th Street in Oakville, don’t miss the chance to catch a glimpse of Scott’s iconic home.
“You said you were lactose intolerant.” Sarah, setting out soy milk for Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin/Santa in The Santa Clause (1994)
5. Miracle on 34th Street: 24 Derby Road, Port Washington (Long Island), NY
Image Source: https://abcnews.go.com/lifestyle/stories-homes-favorite-holiday-flicks/story?id=35692008
The Derby Road home featured in Miracle on 34th Street still stands in Port Washington today. The house served as the film’s finale–the longed-for Christmas present of Susan Walker who simply wants a home. Although no tours are offered of the interior today, the house sits just off the street and can be viewed easily from the road. Movie makers understood its charm when they chose it, which is evident from its focal point fireplace and chimney (a must for Santa) and cozy ambience.
“I believe, I believe. It’s silly but I believe.” — Susan Walker, Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
For filmmakers, sets play a crucial role in movies, helping to establish believability. These holiday houses enhance the Christmas ambience that movie makers want to capture on film. And they certainly did with these iconic real estate picks.
Looking for a longed-for Christmas present like Susan Walker’s? Take a look at some of the scene-stealing houses for sale on Offerpad.com to make your holidays merry and bright!
10 Last-Minute Gifts to Complete Your Home
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Home Tech Uganda Blocks Facebook Ahead of Contentious Election
NAIROBI, Kenya — Uganda’s president has blocked Facebook from operating in his country, just days after the social media company removed fake accounts linked to his government ahead of a hotly contested general election set to take place on Thursday.
In a televised address late on Tuesday night, President Yoweri Museveni accused Facebook of “arrogance” and said he had instructed his government to close the platform, along with other social media outlets.
“That social channel you are talking about, if it is going to operate in Uganda, it should be used equitably by everybody who has to use it,” Mr. Museveni said. “We cannot tolerate this arrogance of anybody coming to decide for us who is good and who is bad,” he added.
The ban on Facebook comes at the end of an election period that has been dogged by a crackdown on the political opposition, harassment of journalists and nationwide protests that have led to at least 54 deaths and hundreds of arrests, according to officials.
Mr. Museveni, 76, who is running for a sixth term in office, is facing 10 rivals, including the rapper-turned-lawmaker Bobi Wine, 38. Mr. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has been beaten, sprayed with tear gas and charged in court with allegedly flouting coronavirus rules while on the campaign trail.
Last week, Mr. Wine filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing Mr. Museveni and other top current and former security officials of sanctioning a wave of violence and human rights violations against citizens, political figures and human rights lawyers.
Facebook announced this week that it had taken down a network of accounts and pages in the East African nation that engaged in what it called “coordinated inauthentic behavior” aimed at manipulating public debate around the election. The company said the network was linked to the Government Citizens Interaction Center, an initiative that is part of Uganda’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and National Guidance.
In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said the network “used fake and duplicate accounts to manage pages, comment on other people’s content, impersonate users, re-share posts in groups to make them appear more popular than they were.”
Facebook’s investigation into the network began after research from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab showcased a network of social media accounts that had engaged in a campaign to criticize the opposition and promote Mr. Museveni and the governing party, the National Resistance Movement. After the research was published, Twitter also said it had shut down accounts linked to the election.
Hours before Mr. Museveni’s speech, social media users across Uganda confirmed restrictions on their online communications, with the digital rights group NetBlocks reporting that platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter had been affected.
Uganda blocked the internet during its 2016 elections, and in 2018, it introduced a social media tax aimed at raising revenue and curbing what the government called online “gossip.” The move, which was criticized as a threat to freedom of expression, had a negative effect on internet use over all, with millions of Ugandans giving up internet services altogether.
In anticipation of another shutdown this week, a group of organizations that work to end internet cutoffs worldwide sent a letter to Mr. Museveni and the leaders of telecom companies in Uganda pleading with them to keep the internet and social media platforms accessible during the election.
Mr. Museveni did not heed their call. On Tuesday night, he said the decision to block Facebook was “unfortunate” but “unavoidable.”
“I am very sorry about the inconvenience,” he said, adding that he himself had been using the platform to interact with young voters. He has almost a million followers on Facebook and two million on Twitter.
Striking a defiant note, Mr. Museveni said that if Facebook was going to “take sides,” then it would not be allowed to operate in the country.
“Uganda is ours,” he said.
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