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By: Zachary C. Ashby Dec 12, 2016
Understanding Your Legal Rights After an Annulment
Annulments are a relatively rare way to end a marriage. While many people are familiar with how divorce or legal separation works, people who get an annulment are often confused about what their rights are after their marriage is over.
In many ways, annulments are similar to a divorce. However, a divorce recognizes that a marriage existed at one time. After an annulment, it is legally as if the marriage never happened. That is why Washington State refers to annulments as “declarations of invalidity.”
In order to receive an annulment, the marriage must have been invalid under one of seven categories:
• Age—one or more parties were too young to legally marry at the time of the marriage,
• Bigamy—one or more parties was already married at the time of the marriage,
• Incest—the spouses are closely related to each other,
• Incompetence—one of the spouses was mentally unable to consent to the marriage at the time it took place,
• Duress—one spouse was forced or coerced into marrying,
• Fraud—one spouse defrauded the other about something that was essential to the marriage, or,
• Force—a spouse only married because of threats of physical violence.
If the marriage was invalid due to one of these conditions, then the judge may grant an annulment.
The court that declares a marriage invalid still has the power to make the same type of orders that would be issued in a divorce. For example, the judge can determine child support, create a parenting plan, or divide property. In most cases, however, a judge will not award spousal support.
If any children are born to an annulled marriage, those children are still considered legitimate. The children would have the right to financial support from their parents, and can inherit from them under the rules of intestate succession.
An annulment returns both spouses to their status prior to the marriage. In some instances, this can affect property rights. While couples getting a divorce will generally split their joint assets and debts evenly, an annulment can affect this split. Because the marriage did not legally exist, it may be more difficult for either spouse to claim property that legally belongs to the other. However, since most annulments happen after very short marriages, property issues are often minimal.
Choosing to seek an annulment is often a time-sensitive matter. If the marriage was void at the start but survives for years afterwards, a court may no longer be willing to annul the marriage. For instance, suppose a woman lies about her age and gets married illegally at age 16. While she would have the option to get an annulment shortly after her marriage, she could not remain married for 30 years and then decide to void her marriage. In that situation, a judge would probably require the couple to get a divorce rather than an annulment.
At Pacific Northwest Family Law, our attorneys understand the requirements to annul a marriage and can fully explain your options and rights after an annulment. If you are considering an annulment or divorce, schedule an initial consultation with our office by calling 509-572-3700.
By: Zachary C. Ashby
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BYFROST’S UK DEBUT CONFIRMED FOR BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL
Posted: March 1, 2011 in BYFROST
Formed in 2007 in Bergen, Norway, by guitarists HeavyHarms and R.I.P Meister, BYFROST originally started life as a four-piece, before settling as a power-house trio composed of HeavyHarms on guitars and vocals, R.I.P Meister on five-string bass and HELLISH OUTCAST’s Alkolust on drums. Their music has been described variously as Blackened Thrash and Black ‘n Roll, but whatever term you want to apply to it, the end result is always the same – a neck-breaking head banging experience
The band’s first album “Black Earth”, which included a guest appearance by ENSLAVED’s Arve Isdal, was released to much critical acclaim in April 2010, and demonstrated the band’s ability to skillfully merge cold, dark, riffs with a touch of the melodic. BYFROST’s reputation as skilled musicians coupled with a dynamic stage presence has been consolidated by a series of live dates both at home and abroad, which included appearances at the Hole in the Sky and Karmoygeddon Festivals, the launch of Terrorizer Magazine’s Norwegian Grindhouse venture, and, along with ENSLAVED, at a special concert to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Garage, Bergen’s foremost venue.
In early 2011 BYFROST inked a deal with Germany’s AFM Records, who are set to release the band’s sophomore album before the summer. The new album, to be titled of “Of Death'”, will once again be recorded at the Conclave and Earshot Studios in the band’s home town of Bergen, and will be produced by ENSLAVED’s Herbrand Larsen and VULTURE INDUSTRIES’ Bjornar Nilsen, who had also produced BYFROST’s debut album.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & CONTACT DETAILS
MySpace: www.myspace.com/byfrostmetal
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BYFROST
Twitter: www.twitter.com/byfrostmetal
ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/byfrost
Band Contact: byfrost@live.no
Management: Patricia Thomas Band Management
patriciathomas@btinternet.com
WIN AN EXCLUSIVE MEET, GREET AND GET DRUNK SESSION WITH TROLLFEST AT METALCAMP
TAAKE TO TOUR BRAZIL IN MARCH
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Mexico Doesn’t Need More Guns
Posted on March 29, 2019 April 9, 2019 by Thérèse MargolisIn Crime, Mexico, Opinion, Politics
Photo: Tollebild.com
There are many parts of the U.S. Constitution that Mexico would do well to model its own magna carta after.
The Second Amendment is not one of them.
The heavily debated U.S. constitutional provision that allows for civilians to “keep and bear arms” – part of the 10-amendment Bill of Rights ratified by the U.S. Congress in 1791 – has spurred crucial political divisions, led to the creation of the almighty National Rifle Association (NRA) and its authoritarian lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA), and, at least in the eyes of many U.S. citizens, given birth to a national firearm crisis that has led to more than 40,000 gun deaths 2018.
According to the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, there are today more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, enough for every man, woman and child to own a gun and still have 67 million weapons left over.
The United States has the dubious distinction of being the world’s largest arsenal of privately owned guns, accounting for more than 46 percent of the entire global stock of 857 million civilian firearms, even though Americans make up less than 4 percent of the world’s populations.
With an estimated 1.2 guns for every citizen, the firearm ownership rate in the United States is double that of the next-highest nation, Yemen, with just .5 guns per person.
The end product is a tragic loss of human life, both intentional and unintentional.
Attacks at schools and other public venues have become so commonplace in the United States that, in many instances, they no longer merit front-page coverage.
In 2018, there were 23 reported incidences of school shootings (with 113 people – mostly students and teachers – killed), a figure which works out to a shooting every eight school days.
Easy access to firearms was instrumental in the Las Vegas massacre by lone gunman Stephen Paddock from the Mandalay Bay Resort hotel in October 2017 (death toll: 58), the Pulse nightclub slaughter in June 2016 (death toll: 49), the Sandy Hook Elementary School bloodbath in December 2012 (27 dead, mostly children between the ages of six and seven), and, more recently, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in February 2018.
The list goes on and on, and the urban murder rate in every single U.S. state has increased dramatically in the last five years, in some cases by as much as 113 percent.
The simple fact of the matter is, more guns means more murders, more armed assaults and more accidental firearm deaths.
A 2013 study by the American Journal of Public Health clearly showed that the states with the highest per capita gun ownership were also the states with the highest number of firearm-related homicides.
And that old defense that civilian gun ownership offers personal safety has also been debunked by an FBI report issued in 2015, during which there were 268 “justifiable homicides” by citizens “protecting” their homes from intruders, compared to 489 “unintentional firearms deaths” resulting from civilian accidents with guns in the house. About a quarter of those killed in these unintentional deaths were of children.
The U.S. Second Amendment was born out of fear by war-weary civilians after a bloody Revolutionary War who were afraid that their new government might try to oppress its citizenry through military might, or would be unable to muster enough martial strength to resist an invading army.
That, as many opponents of the amendment now point out, is not a realistic possibility in modern U.S. society.
Nor is it a realistic possibility in Mexico.
Violent crime is rampant in Mexico.
According to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Safety Protection System (SESNSP), last year, there were 33,341 homicides in Mexico (up more than 15 percent from 2017), and the figures so far for 2019 are even more alarming.
The first two months of the year, the number of murders shot up by 14 percent compared to 2018, and the incidence of armed kidnappings went up by even more.
Since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador first took office in December of last year, at least six journalists have been murdered.
All of which begs the question: Why has Mexico’s new, left-leaning Congress of pro-AMLO deputies and senators included in their bill to create a National Guard law to regulate the use of force and monitor detentions, a provision that would allow civilians the right to have firearms in their homes for self- defense and security purposes?
For decades, Mexico has been desperately trying to cull the influx of illegal weapons from the United States, weapons that have fueled a vicious drug war that has taken the lives of at least 170,000 people.
Legalizing home ownership of handguns will only increase the number of firearm-related deaths.
Parts of Mexico are already a lawless no-man’s-land bedlam controlled by warring drug cartels and other criminal organizations.
Adding more guns to the mix will only intensify the violence.
It is the government’s job to defend the public – not through the legalization of a firearm free-for-all, where he who has the biggest gun or he who shoots first determines the state of “justice,” but through a legitimate armed military and/or police force that intervenes to prevent acts of violence.
That is what the new National Guard is supposed to do.
It is only through the reduction of guns – not an increase in their number – and a strong state-run security system that Mexico can begin to weave the fragile textile of national peace and stability in a country that has seen the very fabric of its identity frayed by the inundation of firearms and unrestrained violence.
Mexico does not need more guns in the hands of private individuals.
Tags: American Journal of Public Health, AMLO, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, drug violence, Executive Secretariat of the National Public Safety Protection System, Florida, gun violence, House of Deputies, ILA, Institute for Legislative Action, kidnappings, Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Resort, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Mexican Congress, Mexico, murder, murders, National Guard, National Guard Law, National Rifle Association, NRA, Pulse News Mexico, Pulse nightclub, Revolutionary War, Right to Bear Arms, Sandy Hook, Second Amendment, Senate, SESNSP, Thérèse Margolis, U.S. Second Amendment, www.pulsenewsmexico.com
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Healthbeat / Health / Young men are most at risk of testicular cancer. Police officers ‘too headstrong’ to get checked.
Young men are most at risk of testicular cancer. Police officers ‘too headstrong’ to get checked.
Testicular cancer is most common among men aged 18 to 39. It’s a cancer that men aren’t “too young” to get diagnosed with. Over the past three decades, the rate of this type of cancer has grown by more than 50%.[1]
Although it affects small numbers in comparison to other health issues, it’s important to discuss, especially in communities where the “I’m fine” masculine bravado dominates. Emergency services work, particularly with police and firefighters, the culture is ‘strong is better’ and speaking up it stigmatised.
While there aren’t necessarily higher numbers of police with testicular cancer, the lack of openness and resistance to talking to people is creating a risk factor.
What causes testicular cancer?
The cause of this type of cancer is still widely unknown. It occurs when healthy cells become altered and develop abnormalities. Cancer cells continue to divide and multiply, forming a mass in the testicle.
There are some known risk factors, including abnormal development, family history, race, and age. Yes, it can occur at any age, but it’s most common in young adults. This also means many cases go undisclosed, because the general attitude is that “I’m young, so I’m fine.”
Men who fail to get regular check-ups are at a greater risk of testicular cancer. While there’s no evidence to show that physical injuries (that emergency workers are prone to) increases the likelihood of testicular cancer, it is something to be mindful of. Police officers should get checked if there’s a history of trauma to the testicles. For example, there was pain ‘down there’ after tackling someone to the ground.
Proactivity is the best prevention
At 98%, the survival rate is extremely high. However the real problems occur if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen, pelvis or up into the lungs and liver. For the 30-something police officer, the last thing they’re thinking about is testicular cancer. Men on the front line think of themselves as tough and hold their physical masculinity in high regard.
For men in emergency roles who discover they have testicular cancer, being open with colleagues is essential.
In some cases, when a testicle needs to be removed, this can spur body image issues. It’s important to process these emotions, as it can challenge your perceived ‘worthiness’ to be on the force or out there saving lives. In more severe cases, chemotherapy is necessary, which can directly affect the sense of identity.
Coping with the cancer diagnosis will probably be a greater challenge for front-line workers, for this reason. This is where having adequate health support, beyond the physical treatment, becomes essential. For example, seeing a psychologist on a regular basis to work through identity issues.
The Cancer Council has put together a comprehensive resource that can help you (and others) understand this journey.
Often, life-changing situations like this leads to a sense of empowerment. If there’s one line of work that can benefit from more openness and experiences from people who have gone through, and overcome, personal challenges, it’s policing.
Showing real strength goes beyond just the muscle and capability. It’s being able to overcome tragedy and use your story to help others. It’s why you got into police work in the first place… to leverage your strength and willpower to support others.
That’s the real strength of a man.
Cover like no other
Police Health understands the unique health needs of the police community, because we’ve been looking after them for over 85 years. Whether you’re already a member, or interested in becoming one, call us to find out how to get the most out of our cover and benefits. We’re here to help.
Please note: some articles on this website are compiled from material obtained externally. Although we make every effort to ensure information is correct at the time of publication, we accept no responsibility for its accuracy. Health-related articles are intended for general information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Please consult your doctor. The views expressed in articles are not necessarily those of Police Health.
[1] https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/types-of-cancer/testicular-cancer.html
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Fracking Industry Buying Political Power: Politics, Media, Think Tanks
By Steve Horn, , www.desmogblog.com
| Educate!
Fracking Industry Buying Political Power: Politics, Media, Think Tanks2013-11-202013-11-20https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2013/11/Fracking-Stop-the-Frack-Attack-150x79.jpg200px200px
Fracking Lobby ANGA’s Tax Forms: Big Bucks to Media Outlets, “Other ALECs”
America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) – the public relations arm of the oil and gas fracking industry – has released its 2012 Internal Revenue Services (IRS) 990 form, and it’s rich with eye-opening revelations, some of which we report here for the first time.
Incorporated as American Natural Gas Alliance, Inc., ANGA received $76.7 million from its dues-paying members for fiscal year 2012. Not strictly a lobbying force alone at the state-level and federal-level, ANGA has pumped millions of dollars into public relations and advertising efforts around the country and hundreds of thousands more into other influence-peddling avenues.
The Nation Magazine‘s Lee Fang revealed in a recent piece that ANGA gave $1 million in funding to “Truthland,” a pro-fracking film released to fend off Josh Fox’s “Gasland: Part II.”
On its website, “Truthland” says it is a project of both industry front group Energy in Depth and the trade association, Independent Petroleum Association of America. The “Truthland” website was originally registered in Chesapeake Energy’s office, Little Sis revealed.
Fang also revealed ANGA gave $25,000 to “ASGK Strategies, a political consulting firm founded by White House advisor David Axelrod,” as well as “$864,673 to Edventures Partners, an education curriculum company that has partnered with ANGA to produce classroom materials that promote the use of natural gas.”
In his piece, Fang also points out ANGA has given millions of dollars to Democratic Party-affiliated PR firms, perhaps unsurprising given its new CEO isMartin “Marty” Durbin, nephew of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the U.S. Senate’s Majority Whip.
“The 990 shows that ANGA paid the Glover Park Group over $2.9 million for ‘research/advertising’ and Dewey Square Group $738,957 for ‘grassroots communications.,'” wrote Fang. “Both firms are run by mostly former Clinton administration officials.” ANGA donated another $6,500 to Dewey Square for general operational support.
Donations to Media Outlets
ANGA also gave big to media outlets, a DeSmog review of the 990 reveals. It doled out $165,000 to The Texas Tribune, $100,000 to Bloomberg Businessweek, $50,000 to National Journal and another $25,000 to theEnvironmental Media Association, co-founded by Norman Lear, also the co-founder of the liberal group People for the American Way.
Departing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg – owner and namesake of Bloomberg Businessweek – is also a major financial supporter of fracking, giving $6 million to the Environmental Defense Fund in August 2012 to promote “responsible regulation” in 14 states. He also gave money to EDF’s recently-published controversial fracking climate study.
ANGA also recently became a founding partner of MSNBC.com‘s newly launched website, on whose platform it will regularly publish “native advertisements,” sometimes also referred to as “branded content.”
Bipartisanship, Attacks on Renewables, Money to Green Group
One thing is crystal clear in ANGA’s 990 forms: they “buypartisan.” That is, they donate money to both sides of the political aisle, although the bulk of the dollars flows to the right.
ANGA donated $25,000 to the Democratic Attorneys General Association, while giving nine times as much to the Republican Governors Association to the tune of $225,000. It then tossed another $200,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee, throwing $25,000 more to Third Way, a think-tank of sorts of the corporate Blue Dog Democrats.
Not content with its vast market share of the U.S. utilities market, ANGA gave $100,000 to the “Care for Michigan Coalition,” an industry-funded nonprofitcreated to defeat Michigan’s Proposal 3 in the November 2012 elections. Proposal 3 would have mandated 25-percent of Michigan’s energy portfolio come from renewable energy sources by 2025, known by energy policy wonks as 25×25.
Other major Care for Michigan Coalition donors included Warren Buffett’s BNSF (whose trains carry vast amounts of frac sand and oil fracked from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale), DTE Energy, CMS Energy and the Michigan Manufacturers’ Association.
ANGA didn’t limit its patronage to sworn enemies of renewable energy, though. It also handed $30,000 to the Texas League of Conservation Voters.
Donations to “Other ALECs”
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is by far the most powerful and famous corporate-funded nonprofit that companies and trade associations donate money to, receiving an equal voice and a vote on model legislation passed at its annual meetings. Yet, it’s not the only registered nonprofit incorporated to “educate” elected officials, serving as lobbying forum for corporations.
Enter the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), which I categorized as one of the “Other ALECs” in an investigative series published for TruthOut. ANGA donated $50,000 to NCSL during fiscal year 2012, according to its 990 form, giving another $41,000 to the National Association of Counties and $10,000 to the National League of Cities.
Public Citizen explained in a November 2012 report that lobbyists are increasingly using seemingly innocent state-level and local-level trade associations for politicians’ annual meetings as lobbying venues.
“There is no doubt that corporate sponsors are getting what they pay for: the ears of decision makers whose decisions will have a direct impact on their bottom lines,” Public Citizen wrote in “Access for Sale: A Report on Corporate Funding of Associations of State and Local Government Officials.”
Not to be outdone, ANGA will be sworn in as a dues-paying member of ALEC at its States and Nation Policy Summit set to take place December 4-6 in Washington, DC, according to a memorandum sent out to its members on October 30, 2013.
“He Who Has the Gold Makes the Rules”
If ANGA’s latest 990 forms prove anything, it’s the “golden rule.” Just not the one you’re taught as a kid. That is, when it comes to money in politics, “He who has the gold makes the rules.”
Yet, another proverb also comes to mind: “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.”
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Corporatism Energy Environment Fracking
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Is Peter Pan a villain?
12/06/2014 by Kevin Singer in Uncategorized and tagged Carl Jung, Disney, JM Barrie, myth, Neverland, Pan, Peter Pan, Tor
When it comes to storytelling, who is the villain and who is the hero? Sometimes it depends on point of view.
Take Peter Pan. Originally written by J.M. Barrie, the story of the lost boy from Neverland has been popularized by Disney, on Broadway and on television. We all know the story of Peter Pan, the adventurous, valiant boy who refuses to grow up.
But what if Peter Pan as a character is someone much darker than we want to admit?
Over at Tor.com, Emily Asher-Perrin writes a terrific essay that reassesses this much loved childhood story, and she makes a convincing case that at best, Peter is a scary hero who comes close to being the true villain of the story.
Here’s a summary of her evidence:
–Neverland is a world that caters to his every desire. He’s the dictator of that realm. Whatever he says, goes. That’s a lot of power—maybe too much power—for a hero to possess.
–When Neverland gets too crowded with lost boys, Peter Pan thins out the herd. In her essay, Asher-Perrin uses a single word to describe this: murder. Ouch.
–He cares little for Wendy or her family apart from their ability to amuse him. When bored, he’ll just find another Wendy to take away.
–And then there’s Captain Hook. We’ve always believed he was the villain. But think about it: Peter Pan cut his hand off and fed it to a crocodile. No wonder Hook is pissed.
These are intriguing arguments. But the most compelling piece of evidence (which Asher-Perrin does discuss) is the sum of all this. Peter Pan is basically selfish. He’s a self-involved character who refuses to grow up, and who creates an entire world—Neverland—which is his to rule.
When you look at Peter Pan in this way — as a character whose growth has been stunted — it’s fitting that he loses his shadow. Carl Jung would have a field day with Peter Pan.
And then there’s the fact that in Greek myth, Pan is a hedonistic, wild, goat-like god. He’s all about pleasure, as is our supposed hero, Peter. When you add this all up, you get someone you’d definitely want to keep at arm’s length.
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2 thoughts on “Is Peter Pan a villain?”
cyp says:
Oh and the fact that he is murderous psychopat that kills both his own crew and his “enemies” pirates and indians (although most likely th pirates were originally his own men)
Bassball_Batman says:
Some stories agree, though I can’t remember which ones. I know that is definitely the position that Once Upon a Time takes! Oh how I bet you would enjoy the Once Upon a Time series! Of course Captain Hook is a pirate, not the most savory kind of character; but I do agree that Peter Pan started the entire animosity by his actions. If we pull all theories together and we get down to my humble opinion, Hook and Pan BOTH have a whole lot of growing up yet to do and differences to put aside. “Pan” (2015) is an origin film about Pan and Hook starting off as allies.
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French leave: Britain hooked on gas needle, while Moscow needs machine tools and whiskey
After a threefold fall in external turnover of Tatarstan and Great Britain in 2017, it just began to grow…
Photo: planeta.media
After the sudden cooling in relations between Great Britain and Russia caused by Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal's poisoning scandal, Realnoe Vremya's analytic staff decided to acquaint with the structure of export and import of Russian-British trade. We also studied economic links of the United Kingdom with Tatarstan (it turned out after a threefold fall in external turnover of Tatarstan and Great Britain in 2017, it just began to grow). Oil and gas are the biggest Russian and Tatarstan export sources to Britain – the republic's export to Great Britain accounts for 92,7%. At the same time, industrial equipment trade balance in Russian-British trade is negative for both Moscow and Kazan.
How Rustam Minnikhanov went to England together with ''Russian embassy''
To start with, we will notice that the Russian-British Business Forum last November, which was the third, preceded the ''cold trade war'' with England that is also participating in the sanction war against the Russian Federation. It was from 28 to 29 November and organised by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, trade representative office and Embassy of the Russian Federation to Great Britain with the aid of Russian and international partners to discuss the development of trade and investment relations of the two countries. Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov became one of its key participants besides Boris Titov (who wasn't a Russian presidential candidate but an ombudsman) and Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russian Federation Oleg Fomichev.
His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent took part from the British side. Having arrived in the forum with an obvious business mission to develop cooperation in both trade and join production of companies of Great Britain and Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov claimed that the Republic of Tatarstan, as one of the advanced regions of Russia, ''had a high share of import of cars and equipment of Great Britain, brought several industrial goods, while Tatarstan enterprises and banks having direct links with English partners used the latest British technologies in production''.
Very Tatarstan supplies oil and oil products, plastic and goods made of it, rubber, rubber goods and other products to Britain. In the Tatarstan president's opinion, ''Tatarstan could interest British business by opportunities in such spheres as power engineering and petrochemistry, automotive industry and production of car components, machine building and aviation industry, new materials, innovative development, IT and other high technologies, agro-industrial complex, engineering, medicine, Islamic banking.''
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov became one of its key participants of Russian-British Business Forum in 2017. Photo: rbbf2017.ru
It was said that by late 2017, turnover between Great Britain and Russia would increase by more than 20% and exceed $12 billion with a noticeable trend for diversification of both Russian export and British import. At that moment, Fomichev dreamed the turnover between the two countries – ''if the current dynamic remained high'' – could grow five times until 2022.
It's obvious Sergei Skripal's poisoning scandal could put paid to such plans. So 2017 will become the best year for British-Russian trade, with a positive balance, when the Russian Federation sold goods and services to Great Britain at $4bn, or 1,7 times more than Britain did to Russia. Russian exports to Great Britain grew by 29,4% during the first 9 months in 2017, to US $6,5 billion in comparison with three quarters in 2016. They also started to say that Russian non-resource-based exports to Great Britain were sustainably growing, its volume amounted to US $3,1 billion by that moment (48,5% in exports). As it turned out, to put it mildly, the latter, unfortunately, isn't really so.
Oil and gas – top export sources to Britain
Judging by the latest date of external turnover of Russia and Britain, which Realnoe Vremya's analytic staff studied, the positive balance in 2017 totalled not 4 but $4,6 billion (the difference between the volume of Russian goods sold to Britain and the volume of British products sold to Russia). The total volume of Russian-British trade (exports and imports) made up $12,7 billion, that's to say, 700 million more than it was forecasted by Russian authorities at the forum last November.
The volume of exports to the United Kingdom in 2017 was $8,6 billion. Russia, of course, sells more oil and gas to Britain for $6 billion excluding that feedstock also accounts for other important export sources.
For instance, the Russian Federation sold noble metals for $1,6 billion, where only gold had 1 billion. Inorganic chemical products, rare-earth metals and radioactive elements or isotopes cost $187 million. There was sold wood or charcoal for $123,7m, black metals for $107,7m, copper – for $66,2m, ore and slag – for $59,6m, aluminium – $29m. So resource-based exports accounted for $8,3bn or 95,4% of all exports.
Noticeable categories also had paper and cardboard ($36,5m), fertilisers ($27,2m), some classified goods ($28,3m), alcohol ($22,76m), plastic ($20m).
Russian equipment sold to United Kingdom in 2017 for almost $40m
Nuclear reactors and boilers, which the Russian Federation sold to Britain for $37,8m (9 th place in export volume) is the most important non-tradable category that speaks about the sale of hi-tech products. However, to avoid confusion, we will notice that according to the decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission on 16 July 2012 ''On Establishment of Common Commodity Classification the Eurasian Economic Union's Foreign Economic Activity'', the group No. 84 has not only ''Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Equipment and Mechanical Appliances; Their Parts''. Particularly in 8401-8487, besides reactors, it has steam generators, gas generators, turbines, internal combustion engines, turbojet engines, propulsion units, pumps, fridges, industrial equipment with electric heating, centrifuges, lift trucks, bulldozers, agricultural machinery, etc.
The second big tradable category ranks only 16 th concerning its export volume: optical instruments, photographic, cinematographic and measuring, control, precision, medical and surgical devices and tools were sold for $18m. It has a wide range – from glasses and binoculars to automatic control devices for civil aviation and different oscilloscopes and counters.
E-cars and equipment for $17,2m were exported to England. The range of this export category has quite a long list of goods: engines and electric generators, transformers, electromagnets, accumulators, vacuum cleaners, phones, bulbs, integrated circuits, etc.
The Russian Federation sold produce of the agro-industrial complex to Britain for $35,8 million.
As the Russian Ministry of Economic Development noticed last year, demand for goods of the chemical industry almost doubled (3,7% in export structure), demand for different Russian mineral products increased almost 1,5 times. Demand for metals and goods made of them grew by 15,3% (3,2% in export structure), while the export of noble metals and stones rose almost twice (17,4% in export structure).
Nuclear reactors and boilers, which the Russian Federation sold to Britain for $37,8m (9 th place in export volume) is the most important non-tradable category. Photo: tesiaes.ru
Oil industry also accounts for 92,7% of Tatarstan export to Great Britain
The share of Tatarstan in Russian export to Britain is 2,7%. As well as in Russia, in general, the oil industry accounts for 92,7% of Tatarstan export. In 2017, 457,4m kg of mineral fuel, oil, products of distillation, bitumen for $218,7m were exported from the Republic of Tatarstan to Great Britain in 2017 (a curious fact: British import of oil, bitumen and mineral fuel to Tatarstan also exists, it was $9,3 in 2017).
Other exports of the Republic of Tatarstan are tiny in comparison with oil. Sale of plastic and goods made of it for $13m is on the second place. Tatarstan sold organic and chemical compounds for $2,3m, rubber – for $733,24k, black metal products – for $509,000, wood – for $220,000. Speaking of hi-tech products, in 2017, Tatarstan sold Britain optical, control, precision and medical devices for just $165,800, machines – $113,800, electric appliances – $11,600.
Balance of industrial equipment sale for Moscow is negative
The volume of import to the Russian Federation from the United Kingdom in 2017 was just $4bn, that's to say, twice less than Russian export. Land transport, i.e. cars or trucks, have the biggest share of British import: in 2017, London sold them to the Russian Federation for $744,8m. It includes sale of agricultural tractors, buses and cars, buggies and bicycles and their components.
It's curious but the most expensive tradable goods of the Russian Federation – sale pf nuclear reactors, boilers, equipment and mechanical devices – is 18 times weaker than the same British export category. In 2017, Britain sold nuclear technologies to Russia and Russian companies for $693,3m. In other words, the balance of industrial equipment for Russia, unfortunately, is negative in this sense.
The third biggest import category of Britain is pharmaceutics (medications), which the English sold Russia in 2017 for $592,8m, or the goods whose sum is almost 100 times bigger than the volume of Russian medications sold to Great Britain.
10 times more ''Russian vodka'' sold to the British than ''Scotch whiskey''
Russia is less successful than Great Britain in other hi-tech categories too. London sold us e-cars and equipment, including audio equipment for $271m (to compare, Russia export of electric appliances to Britain amounted to just $17,2m).
The English sold optical, photographic, measuring and other devices for $168 (while Russia sold such products to Britain for just $18,7mn). Britain sold plastics for $165m (Russia did to Britain – $165m).
If we compare alcohol categories, as it's known, relative ''Russian vodka'' was sold to the British for $22,7m, while they sold relative ''Scotch whiskey'' for $250m. Here we can remember a contract at a cost of 76m rubles on purchasing Scotch Whiskey 3YO distillate, which was signed with Scottish Ian MacLeod Distillers Ltd. Tatspirtprom got the first lot of the whisky distiller last December. The distillate will be used to make whiskey named Glen Rivers.
In total, according to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development's data, import from Great Britain in three quarters in 2017 grew by 18,7% in comparison with the analogous period in 2016. It was also said ''due to the revival of industrial production in Russia, demand for British cars and equipment grew (48,9% in import structure) by 21%''. The share of chemical products in the import structure is 34,1%. Food and agricultural feedstock (8,9%) is on the third place in the structure.
After a threefold fall in external turnover of Tatarstan, it just began to grow
British import to Tatarstan in 2017 is $103,8m. So British-Tatarstan trade balance is also positive (which is no surprise considering the biggest leaning in resource export of Tatarstan) and is $132m (so Tatarstan sells $132m goods more than it buys from British producers). The overall volume of Tatar-English trade (both export and import) was $340m.
According to the Tatarstan Statistics Service, it is very and very small. Before the crisis in international relations and sanction war, external turnover of Tatarstan with Great Britain was evaluated at $658m in 2014. In 2015, it reduced 1,7 times to $377,6m. However, in 2016, it was $219,1m, three times less than in 2014.
Oil and gas are major export in both Russia, in general, and specifically Tatarstan Photo: investing.com
So in 2017, Fomichev and Minnikhanov correctly evaluated the dynamics of trade relations by calling it a ''gradual recovery of business activity''. On the other hand, if we compare external turnover of Tatarstan with other European countries, Great Britain is far from being its most important partner. For comparison, turnover with Germany in 2016 was $1,8bn having reduced in 2016 to $1,1bn. The turnover with Italy in 2014 made up $1,9bn by reducing in 2016 to $262m.
Will Britain be able to refuse Russian gas and will Tatarstan producers refuse British equipment?
The key categories of British import – equipment, cars, appliances – are the goods that the Russian Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation wrote about last November when it said that ''due to the revival of industrial production in Russia, demand for British cars and equipment rose''. Equipment and transport in the structure of British import to Tatarstan have 81,3%.
It needs to be remembered that Tatarstan purchased different services from British companies. For instance, last year, Kazan Federal University signed a contract with Scholarly Publishers Association for 14,4 million rubles, with British SciTech Solutions, which was founded in 2013 to facilitate molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) research, for 10 million rubles, with British Stokes & Jolly consulting firm for almost 2 million rubles.
In conclusion, we can say oil and gas are major export in both Russia, in general, and specifically Tatarstan. Non-resource-based categories still don't play not only a key but an important role. And it's unlikely to change in the short run. On the contrary, equipment, industrial products, technologies are the foundation of British import of Russia and Tatarstan, not feedstock. In case of further cooling in relations between the countries, Russian and Tatarstan producers will have to look for other equipment and transport manufacturers. But Britain won't find it easy to refuse Russian gas if we assess the current supply volumes to Foggy Albion.
B Sergey Afanasiev
Analytics 15 January, 09:00 Pandemic plays into hands of secondary car market in Tatarstan
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Roberto de La Vega
The Relationship Between Top Manager Skills, Corporate Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Outcomes
Pamela Sharkey Scott-Externe
After 20 years of professional and executive experience in the investment banking and venture capital industries, Dr. De la Vega decided to pursue his doctoral degree at GEM. Prior to joining GEM, he received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, a master’s degree in finance, and an MBA. Before becoming a full-time academic and joining Universidad Javeriana (Bogota, Colombia) as associate dean for Graduate Business Programs in 2013, he worked in eight different countries around the world.
Purpose This thesis investigates the performance consequences of adopting different entrepreneurial strategies and the impact top managers’ cognitive and social skills have on their successful adoption. Design/Methodology/Approach This thesis explores how top managers’ skills influence a firm’s capacity for Entrepreneurial Orientation adoption and argues that both Entrepreneurial Alertness, closely related to opportunity recognition, and Political Skill, the social competence to lead, manage, and motivate other members of an organization, are critical. . This thesis also looks at the non-financial outcomes of Entrepreneurial Orientation adoption, such as launching more innovative products and implementing more creative strategies, and examines how the different mechanisms used to implement firm-level entrepreneurship affect the complex relationship between entrepreneurship and firm performance. This quantitative research relies on a self-administered web-based questionnaire, answered by 560 top managers from 510 medium-sized companies in Bogotá, Colombia. The questionnaire was built using well-established scales, checked for validity and reliability, pretested to assess comprehension and face validity, and back-translated from English into Spanish. Findings This thesis finds in isolation, Entrepreneurial Alertness partially explains the difference in firm-level Entrepreneurial Orientation, and it also demonstrates that Political Skill not only facilitates achieving a better entrepreneurial posture but also is more important than the top managers’ abilities to recognize opportunities. It also indicates that the relationship between entrepreneurship and firm performance is more complex than previously considered because given the constraints related to managers´ attention, entrepreneurial firms that adopt rule-breaking strategies perform better than those engaged in a sustained product innovation strategy. The findings also show that although Entrepreneurial Alertness is an antecedent to a firm’s capacity to innovate, it is necessary but not sufficient because top managers must be able to lead, convince, and motivate other members of the organization to adopt an entrepreneurial posture. Research limitations/implications This cross-sectional research’s limitation is its reliance on single respondents who were asked to provide their perceptions on the different variables explored, which raises the possibility of both single-respondent and common-method biases. Practical implications This thesis’s proposes practical implications for not only identifying valuable characteristics that should be considered when recruiting top managers but also directing scarce resources and management attention towards maximizing the benefits of firm-level entrepreneurship. Originality/value Unlike most research on Entrepreneurial Orientation that focuses on its relationship with company performance and undermines the importance of top managers’ characteristics, this research centers on top managers’ valuable contribution to an organization’s success. Key Words Entrepreneurial Alertness, Political Skill, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Strategy Creativity, Product Innovativeness
AllConferences
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Currie wins NOMIS Foundation’s Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award
Monday, Feb 18, 2019
by B. Rose Kelly, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Photo by Denise Applewhite
Princeton University’s Janet Currie is winner of the NOMIS Foundation’s Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award, which comes with a research grant of $2-million to support exceptional scientists exploring new and unconventional directions in science.
Currie’s research focuses on health and wellbeing, especially of children. Her project supported by NOMIS will harness big data to better understand children’s mental health.
NOMIS is a private, Swiss foundation that supports scientific endeavors across all disciplines. The foundation favors researchers who participate in interdisciplinary collaborations, apply a broad range of innovative methods and disseminate their work widely. In particular, NOMIS funds research projects led by pioneers who use radically different approaches, apply new expertise or engage novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives.
“I am extremely honored and grateful for this recognition and support from the NOMIS Foundation,” said Currie, the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. “This award recognizes the tremendous importance of child mental health and the social imperative to find a way to use the big data generated by the health care system to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of children with these conditions.”
Currie’s current work focuses on socioeconomic differences in health and access to health care, environmental threats to health and mental health. She co-directs Princeton’s Center for Health and Wellbeing and the Program on Children at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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Concerts Events
The Aces Announce “Let’s Do Better” Digital Tour
Image Credit: Digital Tour Dates
All female band, The Aces kicked off their “Let’s Do Better” Digital Tour this week. The “Let’s Do Better” Digital Tour was created by The Aces to continue the conversation around anti-racism and social justice. The four-day long tour began on Monday and airs daily on The Aces’ Instagram Live. Each day will feature a different guest speaker join to cover topics such as Equality, Reform, and Mental Health.
On Monday, Cristal spoke with David Johns, the Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition about Empowering the Black LGBTQ+ Community. The National Black Justice Coalition is the only civil rights organization on the intersection of racial justice and LGBTQ+ community, they work to highlight the realities of the black LGBTQ+ community and shift policy and practice. They discussed discrimination based on sexual orientation and how the Equality Act can help, sexuality and religion and how to coexist despite having different views and experiences, and education in black communities.
Watch Cristal speak with David Johns (Executive Director, The National Black Justice Coalition) here.
Yesterday’s discussion covered the topic of Justice Reform with Jordan Siev, Partner at Reed Smith Law Firm. During this session, they discussed disparities in the criminal justice system between white people and people of color, the need for criminal justice reform as well as diversity in the criminal justice system, Meek Mill’s case, the creating of the Reform Alliance, and peaceful protesting.
Watch Katie speak with Jordan Siev (Partner, Reed Smith) here.
The “Let’s Do Better” Digital Tour continues today, June 24th, at 12:00 PM PT with Dr. Jess Clemmons, board-certified Psychiatrist to discuss Mental Health and concludes on Thursday, June 25th, at 1:00 PM PT with Jessica Jackson, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Reform Alliance to talk about Prison Reform. Tune in on The Aces’ Instagram live. Also, be sure to check out their sophomore album, Under My Influence, dropping on July 17th.
Calmatic Breaks Down the Creation of Anderson .Paak’s “Bubblin” Visual
Christina Aguilera Connects with Goldlink for Anderson .Paak-Produced “Like I Do”
a dedicated sneaker + sports + music writer who will keep you updated with the latest news. Email: Imajrashed@gmail.com
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Rabbi Kalman Topp
Beth Jacob Congregation, Beverly Hills, CA
Rabbi Kalman Topp is the Senior Rabbi of Beth Jacob, serving in that role since August 2009. Rabbi Topp also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of California, the Executive Board of the Israel-Christian Nexus and is a member of AIPAC's National Council.
Prior to coming to the West Coast, Rabbi Topp served first as Assistant Rabbi and then as a Rabbi in the Young Israel of Woodmere, where he helped the shul grow by more than 200 new families to reach a membership of over 900 families. Rabbi Topp taught widely in the Five Towns-New York area and lectured at the Ateret Seminary, located on the Queens College campus. In May 2008, he was appointed by the Nassau County Legislature to serve as a Human Rights Commissioner in Nassau County on a multi-racial commission that investigates human rights complaints, promotes tolerance and fights all types of discrimination in the county.
After growing up in Kew Gardens Hills, NY, Rabbi Topp studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion (Gush) for two years and then returned to Yeshiva University where he attended the Sy Syms School of Business, from which he graduated as valedictorian. As part of the Gesher program which strives to bridge the business worlds of the U.S.A. and Israel, Rabbi Topp worked in the finance department for Osem Foods International in Petach Tikvah, Israel.
After spending a year as a learning madrich for the inaugural year of Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalayim, he received his ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (Yeshiva University) and earned a Masters degree in secondary education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education.
With a passion for teaching Torah, Rabbi Topp has been a teacher of Jewish studies at the Frisch School (Bergen County, NJ), Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaways (Long Island, NY) and in the Beis Medrash of Bergen County. Prior to his post in Woodmere, Rabbi Topp had the privilege to serve as Rabbi at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Rabbi Topp was a member of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and also served on the Board of Education at the Shulamith School of Long Island. Rabbi Topp has contributed articles to numerous journals and books including a chapter in a book on Character Values entitled Step by Step (Shaar Press, 2012).
Rabbi Topp and his wife, Dr. Jordana, are blessed with 6 children: Rachelli, Tzippora, Ayelet, Yakira, Aharon and Aryeh.
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MILLER: The 1960s – a decade in headlines
Image by IMS
By Robin Miller January 11, 2021 12:31 PM
By Robin Miller | January 11, 2021 12:31 PM
I get accused of living in the past and I’m guilty as charged, if for no other reason than the 1960s. In terms of innovation, star power and diversity there was no other decade like it. Rear-engined cars took charge and something called aerodynamics came into play. And it was also the deadliest decade, as race drivers in USAC, Formula 1 and NASCAR became endangered species.
In terms of capturing the general public’s attention with speed, danger and great characters, there was no other era to match it. Can-Am and Trans Am shared the spotlight, and the heroes of the day raced almost every weekend, all over the map. A.J. Foyt, Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Richard Petty and David Pearson dominated the headlines, while Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren and the Unser brothers drove into that rarified air.
But while F1 and NASCAR were still fighting for recognition, Indy cars stood at the top of the motorsports mountain and the Indianapolis 500 attracted some of the best of those two disciplines. The claim of having the 33 best drivers in the world wasn’t too far off.
So sit back, and enjoy 10 years that changed the game and shaped the future.
* Foyt captured the first of his seven national championships with four wins (all on one-mile dirt tracks) in 12 races as Ward finished 280 points behind, but only competed in 10 races. He missed Langhorne on purpose and Jimmy Bryan came out of retirement to drive his car, but was killed on the opening lap.
* At Indy, a brave rookie named Jim Hurtubise came within an eyelash of breaking the 150 mph barrier and qualified almost three mph quicker than pole-sitter Eddie Sachs by dirt-tracking his roadster at 149.601 mph. The veterans warned USAC officials “Herk” was going to crash, but instead he shattered the IMS track record. In the race, Jim Rathmann and Ward staged a terrific duel for most of the 200 laps before Rathmann prevailed.
* Bobby Grim earned his first and only Champ Car win at Syracuse, N.Y. while Jim Packard captured Springfield, Ill. only to lose his life two weeks later in a USAC midget race at Fairfield, Ill.
Ward was a force throughout the first part of the decade in Bob Wilke’s Leader Card entries. Image by John Mahoney
* Jack Brabham won the second of his three world championships in the final year a front-engined F1 car would ever visit victory lane. Stirling Moss gave Lotus’ Colin Chapman his initial F1 triumph before breaking both legs at Spa in a race that saw Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey lose their lives in separate accidents.
* Rex White won the NASCAR title, and 22-year-old Petty scored his first win on a dirt track in Charlotte and earned $800. Junior Johnson won the Daytona 500, and Herman Beam was black-flagged in one of the 100-miler qualifiers for not wearing a helmet.
* Veteran Tony Bettenhausen, who had been the fastest during Indy practice, was killed the day before qualifying began while testing the car of buddy Paul Russo. The two-time national driving champion never won Indianapolis in 14 tries.
* Foyt outlasted Sachs (they both made late pit stops) by eight seconds to take his first Indy 500 in a race contested by a rear-engined Cooper Climax driven by two-time world champ Brabham. He finished ninth on the lead lap but some people predicted that car would mark the end of the roadster. A rookie named Parnelli led 27 laps before being hit in the face with a piece of metal and wound up 12th but a lot of people predicted he would win Indy many times.
* Jones got his first victory in the season finale at Phoenix, while Lloyd Ruby also got his first at Milwaukee. Al Keller was on the pole at Phoenix, but was killed in the race.
* Foyt won the championship again with George Bignotti, scoring four wins, while runner-up Sachs never finished lower than sixth but had five DNQs or DNS.
* Phil Hill became the first American to win the F1 title by beating Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips, who was fatally injured at Monza. The U.S. Grand Prix was held at Watkins Glen, N.Y. for the first time.
* NASCAR staged 52 races, 20 on dirt, 31 on paved ovals and one road course, as Ned Jarrett racked up 27,222 points to take the title over seven-time winner White. Marvin Panch won Daytona for Smokey Yunick – his lone victory in stock car’s grandest stage. And Curtis Turner was banned from competition by Bill France for trying to start a driver’s union.
He wasn’t No.2 by the time the 1961 season ended… Phil Hill puts the distinctive Ferrari 156 through its paces en route to winning the F1 world championship. Motorsport Images
* Parnelli won the pole at Indy by breaking the 150 mph barrier and led 120 laps in the race before losing his brakes and finishing seventh. Ward led the final 30 laps to put his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy a second time, and teammate Len Sutton finished second to give A.J. Watson’s Leader Card team a rare 1-2.
* Ward beat Foyt for the championship (they each had four wins) on the strength of his Indy win (AJ finished 23rd) as the Leader Card team excelled on dirt and pavement. Bobby Marshman (Phoenix) and Don Branson (Langhorne) notched their first big car wins, and Hugh Randall was killed at the ‘Horne.
* Hill won four of the nine races to become F1 king while Gurney scored his first win for Porsche and Ricardo Rodriguez lost his life in the Mexican Grand Prix.
* Joe Weatherly won the NASCAR title, and Fireball Roberts captured Daytona.
IndyCar, Insights & Analysis
Robin Miller flunked out of Ball State after two quarters, but got a job stooging for Jim Hurtubise at the 1968 Indianapolis 500 when Herk's was the last roadster to ever make the race. He got hired at The Indianapolis Star a month later and talked his way into the sports department, where he began covering USAC and IndyCar racing. He got fired at The Star for being anti-Tony George, but ESPN hired him to write and do RPM2Nite. Then he went to SPEED and worked on WIND TUNNEL and SPEED REPORT. He started at RACER when SPEED folded, and currently writes for RACER.com and RACER magazine while also working for NBCSN on IndyCar telecasts.
Grosjean tipped for Coyne IndyCar seat
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Along the Dog Fence - Guide
Drive to Broken Hill
Broken Hill >> Corner
Cameron Corner
Drive to Cameron Corner
Exploring the Corner
Corner Country Towns
Info & Learning
Accommodation & Provisions
Syd-Melb - Via the Murray
Copyright © Simon Bayliss 2008-20 Simon Bayliss
Last Updated: 21 September 2020 21 September 2020
Visitors: 16366 16366
Sydney - Melbourne Diversion
Getting off the highway and back on the adventure!
Words & Images: © Simon Bayliss
The Homogenous Highway
Over the last twenty years, I have travelled the Hume many times and with each trip the old two-lane highway was slowly morphing into a four-lane dual carriageway.
Back in the day, I was enthused by the new highway and less so with the old road that seemed to pass through every town along the way and did little more than slow my progress getting from A to B; funny how hurried we are when younger.
I longed for the day when I could drive the entire route without these populated speed-humps and in 2013, the last of town bypasses of the Hume was opened and now I could now drive unhindered.
But would I miss driving through the quaint little town of Holbrook and ponder why there was a rather large submarine in the main street despite the nearest ocean being 250km to the east?
The entire Melbourne to Sydney route is now dual carriageway and the many towns along the have been replaced by several conveniently located service centres. No doubt, this is the most efficient way to drive a long distance, but undertaking such a trip often provides a feeling that an essential element is missing.
The highway has become a homogenous experience, as have the big service-centre multiplexes. Lacking any charm, character, or interaction; not to mention proper milkshakes or the iconic flattened ham and cheese 'toastie'. These highways of convenience are really just conduits from one metropolis to another and the ‘designated’ service centres are just mini-metropolises, without any town feeling or experience.
Maybe it is time to head off the highway and reconnect with what travel is really about and add a bit of adventure along the way.
So, with a few extra days to focus more on the journey than the destination, it is easy to leave the maddening highway and super service centres behind, focussing more on the experiences that lay beyond the bounds of the modern highway.
Head to the Hills!
With a love for rivers and a passion for mountains, there is a good option to turn the two hour Albury to Gundagai leg into a one-week adventure by heading east from Albury, following the Murray River up to Corryong, then driving up the Snowy’s to the highest inhabited town in Australia, over to the Snowy Mountains Highway, north to Blowering Dam, onto Tumut, and back on the highway at Gundagai.
** The route up the mountains (Swampy Plains Creek Road) is closed in winter, but the alternate Snowy Valleys Way along Tooma Road via Tumbarumba and Batlow is also wonderful.
Swampy Plains Creek Road
The road is good, but does have some steep, windy and narrow sections, so some caution for larger caravans is essential. Like always, drive to the conditions and the effort will be well rewarded with some spectacular scenery and some great free-camping and picnic spots.
Exit, Stage Right
The departure point from the Hume is Albury, one half of the Albury-Wodonga border town that really identifies itself as one town since the 2007 bypass lessened the great divide of the river Murray.
Being an RV friendly town, Albury offers free RV parking right in the heart of town for up to 48 hours at the SS&A club (self-contained and no pets) or alternatively at the showgrounds a few kilometres out of the CBD (full facilities and pets allowed).
Probably the best option for extending the stay to further explore the region is at the Lake Hume Tourist Park about 15 km east of town. It is also on the planned route up the Murray.
Two Rivers, One Dam, and a Scheme:
As early as the 1860’s, landholders of the Riverina had discussed flood mitigation options but it wasn’t until the early 1900’s that work begun on a solution to better manage the seasonal flows of the Murray and Mitta Mitta rivers.
In 1919, work started on damming the Upper Murray River just downstream from its junction with the Mitta Mitta. The Hume dam, completed in 1936, was the biggest in the southern hemisphere at the time and the resultant reservoir retained water extending 40 km upstream from the dam and covered 20,000+ hectares.
Originally designed to hold 1,500 Gigalitres, Lake Hume’s capacity was doubled in the late 1950’s to capitalise on the increased flow that resulted from the Snowy Hydro Scheme; the increase was primarily due to the tunnelled diversion of the Snowy River to the western side of the Great Dividing Range.
Lake Hume, which was named in honor of the explorer Hamilton Hume, is currently at around 40% capacity and while it may look good, it is considered low... but a lot better than the <10% of a few years back.
Let the Adventure Begin!
The first leg of this adventure begins by crossing the Bethanga Bridge, a 752 metres steel span bridge completed in the 1930’s, over Lake Hume and continuing along the Murray River Road; initially by the eastern side of Lake Hume then tracking the southern bank of the Murray River for 88 km to the first free-camp, Gadds Bend Reserve, a few kilometres downstream from Walwa. (Both Walwa also offers caravan park accommodation).
Gadd’s Reserve is a great place to relax for a day or so, and is in easy reach of both Jingellic and Walwa for some daytime activities.
Rested up and with the mountain air instilling the spirit of adventure, the next leg, only about 45km, continues along the Murray River Road via Tintaldra and onto Towong for some more free-camping just across the river into NSW at Towong Reserve Campground. This makes a great base for Towong as well as the larger and iconic town of Corryong.
Corryong, population 1,200, is the main centre of the Towong Shire and is where Jack Riley, The Man from Snowy River in Banjo Paterson's immortal poem, was born and is his final resting place. (It is generally accepted that the ‘Man’ in the poem was also inspired by a few others from the region including Owen Cummins and Charlie McKeahnie
Heading on Up.
Leaving Towong, or Corryong, the route joins the Alpine Way for 15km before turning on to Swampy Plains Creek Road (set tripmeter to 0) and climbs through every changing sub-alpine and alpine flora for a truly majestic experience. The road winds its way up with a few blind-corners so slow and steady in sections is the way to go.
At about the 57km mark, be sure to stop at Bradleys/O'Briens Hut for a bit of a break to take in the alpine air and a step back in time by experiencing a traditional high-country hut.
Bradleys/O’Briens Hut, 1,550m, was built in 1952 by Jack Bailey before the road was developed and was originally used for grazing - the other facilities like stables and yards were removed some time ago but it is easy to imagine life up here 60+ years ago.
Nowadays, during the warmer months, it is a set-off point for those exploring the Jagungal wilderness area, while in winter it provides a safe and warm refuge for cross-country skiers.
Like many other huts in the High Country, it is built of timber frames, corrugated walls and roof with swan timber floor and a concrete-based stone fireplace.
Up and over:
From Bradleys/O’Briens Hut, the route climbs for few kilometres more before descending down Tumut Pond Reservoir and across the 86m high dam wall before again ascending for spectacular view of the dam and surrounding alpine landscape.
The Tumut Pondage covers 202.7 hectares at capacity and water from it flows to the underground Tumut 1 power station. The water that flows over the spillway continues on down the Tumut River into the Talbingo Reservoir and onto Blowering Reservoir, further along the route to Tumut.
About 8km further on from the Tumut Pondage is Cabramurra, the highest inhabited town in Australia at 1,488m above sea level.
Established for use during the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric scheme in 1954, Cabramurra was built using prefabricated houses trucked in, but in 1974 the town was relocated to it current, less-exposed, location; the original site of the town is where the current lookout is. The town has no private housing with only those working for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority, and their families, living there.
Another unique feature of Cabramurra is that its ski run was the first in Australia to be illuminated to allow night skiing.
It is a unique place and a great place to get a glimpse of life in the high-country, learn about the Snowy Hydro Scheme and even grab a meal at the cafe/bistro.
Three Mile Dam and Kiandra
The camp for the night is about 15km along Goat Ridge Road which joins Link Road and onto Three Mile Dam.
Three Mile Dam offers free-camping, no fee, with facilities including toilets, barbeques and picnic areas. The dam was originally built to provide sluicing water for nearby diggings at Kiandra. Camp areas are unmarked and provide a unique opportunity to stay in sub-alpine woodland, surrounded by Snow Gums.
While camped, be sure to unhitch and visit the historic Kiandra heritage precinct just 7km away at the junction with the Snowy Mountains Highway. Kiandra is unique in three ways, it was Australia's only snowbound gold mining village, was the site of the shortest goldrush (1860), and was where Australian skiing begun.
Back on the Snowy Mountains Highway, it is about 30km to Yarrangobilly Village, a wonderful free camping area on the Yarrangobilly River and a great place to base yourself while exploring the Yarrangobilly Caves. Note: The road into Yarrangobilly Caves is not suitable for caravans so basing at Yarrangobilly Village is recommended.
Yarrangobilly Caves is regarded as one of the most beautiful limestone karst systems in Australia and is an experience for all ages. Karst refers to dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone to form underground caves and drainage systems. Well worth a visit.
With the caves done, it is time to head down to Blowering Reservoir, the destination for the water of the Snowy Hydro scheme on this end of the Snowys; firstly, into Talbingo Reservoir, then Jounama Pondage and finally into Blowering Reservoir. From Blowering dam it continues on to join the Murrumbidgee near Gundagai.
Blowering Reservoir was the site for the world water speed record attempts during the late 1970s by Ken Warby. In November 1977, Warby set the world water speed record of 464.46 km/h (288.60 mph), which bettered the record by 3 mph held by Lee Taylor by a little over 3 mph. Another run was clocked at 317.60 mph, and Warby became the first and only person to exceed 300 mph on water and live to tell the tale.
Blowering Reservoir is a bit quieter nowadays, although still a mecca for water sports, and its shores have some magnificent, easily accessible, free camping at the water's edge; Humes Crossing or The Pines which are about 20km out of Tumut and make a great base for exploring Tumut as well as Adelong and Batlow which is 30km south of Tumut on the western side of Blowering Reservoir.
Nothing Missed, Everything Gained:
Back on the highway, the sense of fulfillment for getting off the highway and into the wonderful country beyond the confines of the highway is the reward.
It reminds us that this is how travel used to be, and by choosing the quickest route we sometimes miss out the best experiences, after all, it is more about the journey than the destination.
Winter Options:
As Swampy Plains Creek Road is closed in winter, the alternate route via Tooma, Tumbarumba, and Batlow, will still provide the adventure through this wonderful region to experience the magical vistas of the northern Snow Mountains.
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© Simon Bayliss (Red Dust Snowtm) 2009-20. All Rights Reserved
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Justia US Law US Regulations Department of Energy 2016 March
Department of Energy - Browse by Department
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
National Nuclear Security Administration
Southeastern Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration
Department of Energy March 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
Jim Woodruff Project
Document Number: 2016-07289
Type: Notice
Agency: Department of Energy, Southeastern Power Administration
Southeastern proposes a new rate schedule JW-1-K to replace Wholesale Power Rate Schedules JW-1-J for a five-year period from October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2021. Rate schedule JW-1-K would be applicable to Southeastern power sold to existing preference customers in the Duke Energy Florida (formerly Florida Power Corporation) service area. In addition, Southeastern proposes to extend Wholesale Power Rate Schedules JW-2-F, applicable to Duke Energy Florida to September 30, 2021.
https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2016/03/31/2016-07289.html
Notice of Extension of Rate Schedules
Agency: Department of Energy
The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy confirmed and approved an extension of Rate Schedules JW-1-J and JW-2-F through September 30, 2016. This short 11 day extension will allow the billing and rate terms to align going forward in the new rate to be proposed effective October 1, 2016 and to be announced in a separate Federal Register Notice.
Record of Decision in re Application of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC
Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) grants the Secretary of Energy the authority to design, develop, construct, operate, maintain, or own, or participate with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and owning new electric power transmission facilities and related facilities located within any state in which the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) operates. In response to an application submitted by Clean Line Energy Partners LLC on behalf of itself and several corporate affiliates (collectively, Clean Line or the Applicant) the Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) announces its decision to participate in the development of approximately 705 miles of 600 kilovolt (kV) overhead, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission facilities and related facilities from western Oklahoma to the eastern state-line of Arkansas near the Mississippi River (the Project). This decision implements DOE's preferred alternative in Oklahoma and Arkansas as described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Line Project (Final EIS) (DOE/EIS- 0486). Clean Line, acting on its own and without the Department's participation, would build additional facilities that would connect to the Project in Texas and Tennessee. Collectively, the facilities built by Clean Line would have the capacity to deliver approximately 4,000 megawatts (MW) from renewable energy generation facilities, located in the Oklahoma Panhandle and potentially Texas Panhandle regions, to the electrical grid in Arkansas and Tennessee. The potential environmental impacts associated with the Project, plus the additional facilities in Texas and Tennessee, are analyzed in the Final EIS. DOE's review included consultations in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). DOE's decision requires the implementation of mitigation measures, and a complete list of these measures can be found in the Mitigation Action Plan (MAP).
Notice of Application From Green Electronics for a Small Business Exemption Regarding Certain Products From the Department of Energy's External Power Supply Energy Conservation Standards
Agency: Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
This notice announces receipt of and publishes an application submitted by Green Electronics for a small business exemption from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) energy conservation standards for direct operation external power supplies (application) pertaining to certain basic models imported by Green Electronics. Specifically, the application requests a one-year exemption from compliance with the standard beginning on February 10, 2016, the compliance date for such standard. DOE is publishing the non-confidential portion of Green Electronics' application and soliciting comments, data, and information concerning Green Electronics' application.
Grande Prairie Wind, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Agency: Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC; Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review of the Atlantic Bridge Project
Golden Pass Products, LLC and Golden Pass Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Golden Pass LNG Export Project
Combined Notice of Filings #1
Combined Notice of Filings
Parrey, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Breadbasket LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Jericho Rise Wind Farm LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Tenaska Energia de Mexico, S. de R. L. de C.V. ; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
DifWind Farms Limited V; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
DifWind Farms Limited II; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
DifWind Farms Limited I; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Eugene Water & Electric Board, Smith Creek Hydro, LLC; Notice of Application for Transfer of License and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Protests
TransCanada Hydro Northeast, Inc.; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Protests
MMP SCO, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
VPI Enterprises, Inc.; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization
Calpine Corporation, Dynegy Inc., Eastern Generation, LLC, Homer City Generation, L.P., NRG Power Marketing LLC, GenOn Energy Management, LLC, Carroll County Energy LLC, C.P. Crane LLC, Essential Power, LLC, Essential Power OPP, LLC, Essential Power Rock Springs, LLC, Lakewood Cogeneration, L.P., GDF SUEZ Energy Marketing NA, Inc., Oregon Clean Energy, LLC and Panda Power Generation Infrastructure Fund, LLC v. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; Notice of Complaint
NextEra Energy Power Marketing, LLC and Northeast Energy Associates, a Limited Partnership v. ISO New England Inc.; Notice of Amendment to the Complaint
Talen Energy Marketing, LLC; Notice of Institution of Section 206 Proceeding and Refund Effective Date
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Amendment to Application
Saddlehorn Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Petition for Declaratory Order
Records Governing Off-the-Record Communications; Public Notice
Energy Resources USA Inc.; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications
Notice of Technical Conference
Quadrennial Energy Review: Notice of Public Meeting
At the direction of the President, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or Department), as the Secretariat for the Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force (QER Task Force), will convene public meetings for the second installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review, an integrated study of the U.S. electricity system from generation through end use. A mixture of panel discussions and a public comment period will frame multi-stakeholder discourse around deliberative analytical questions relating to the intersection of electricity and its role in promoting economic competitiveness, energy security, and environmental responsibility. This document announces that the Atlanta meeting which was originally scheduled for March 31 will now be held on May 24.
Application To Export Electric Energy; Intercom Energy, Inc.
Intercom Energy, Inc. (Applicant or Intercom) has applied to renew its authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Mexico pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.
Application To Export Electric Energy; Cargill Power Markets, LLC
Cargill Power Markets, LLC (Applicant or CPM) has applied to renew its authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.
Cargill Power Markets, LLC (Applicant or CPM) has applied to renew its authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Mexico pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.
Notice of Public Meeting To Inform the Design of a Consent-Based Siting Process for Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal Facilities
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is implementing a consent- based siting process to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In a consent-based siting approach, DOE will work with communities, tribal governments and states across the country that express interest in hosting any of the facilities identified as part of an integrated waste management system. As part of this process, the Department is hosting a series of public meetings to engage communities and individuals and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to managing our nation's nuclear waste. A public meeting will be held in Tempe, AZ on June 23, 2016.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is implementing a consent- based siting process to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In a consent-based siting approach, DOE will work with communities, tribal governments and states across the country that express interest in hosting any of the facilities identified as part of an integrated waste management system. As part of this process, the Department is hosting a series of public meetings to engage communities and individuals and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to managing our nation's nuclear waste. A public meeting will be held in Boston, MA on June 2, 2016.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is implementing a consent- based siting process to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In a consent-based siting approach, DOE will work with communities, tribal governments and states across the country that express interest in hosting any of the facilities identified as part of an integrated waste management system. As part of this process, the Department is hosting a series of public meetings to engage communities and individuals and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to managing our nation's nuclear waste. A public meeting will be held in Denver, CO on May 24, 2016.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is implementing a consent- based siting process to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In a consent-based siting approach, DOE will work with communities, tribal governments and states across the country that express interest in hosting any of the facilities identified as part of an integrated waste management system. As part of this process, the Department is hosting a series of public meetings to engage communities and individuals and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to managing our nation's nuclear waste. A public meeting will be held in Sacramento, CA on April 26, 2016.
Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects and Colorado River Storage Project 2025 General Power Marketing Criteria-Extension of Public Comment Period
Agency: Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration (Western), Colorado River Storage Project Management Center (CRSP MC), a Federal power marketing agency of the Department of Energy, is extending the public comment period on its Proposed 2025 Marketing Plan for the SLCA/IP. This Federal Register notice (FRN) extends the public comment period for the Proposed 2025 Marketing Plan for the SLCA/IP contained in Western's December 16, 2015, FRN.
The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) is implementing a consent- based siting process to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In a consent-based siting approach, DOE will work with communities, tribal governments and states across the country that express interest in hosting any of the facilities identified as part of an integrated waste management system. As part of this process, the Department is hosting a series of public meetings to engage communities and individuals and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to managing our nation's nuclear waste. A public meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA on April 11, 2016.
Cheniere Marketing, LLC; Application for Blanket Authorization To Export Previously Imported Liquefied Natural Gas on a Short-Term Basis
The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application (Application), filed on March 7, 2016, by Cheniere Marketing, LLC (CMI), requesting blanket authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) previously imported into the United States from foreign sources in an amount up to the equivalent of 500 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas on a short- term or spot market basis for a two-year period commencing on June 7, 2016.\1\ CMI seeks authorization to export the LNG from the Sabine Pass LNG terminal owned by Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to any country with the capacity to import LNG via ocean- going carrier and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy. CMI states that it does not seek authorization to export any domestically produced natural gas or LNG. DOE/FE notes that CMI currently holds a blanket authorization to import and export natural gas from and to Canada and Mexico, to import LNG from various international sources by vessel, and to export LNG to Canada and Mexico by vessel and truck, up to a combined total volume equivalent to 1,600 Bcf of natural gas.\2\ CMI is requesting this authorization both on its own behalf and as agent for other parties who will hold title to the LNG at the time of export. The Application was filed under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). Additional details can be found in CMI's Application, posted on the DOE/FE Web site at: http://energy.gov/fe/cheniere-marketing-llc-fe-dkt-no-16-29-l ng-export- previously-imported-fta. Protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, and written comments are invited.
Agency Information Collection Extension
The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection request to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension of its Contractor Legal Management Requirements, OMB Control Number 1910-5115. The proposed collection will require covered DOE contractors and subcontractors to submit to DOE counsel a legal management plan within 60 days following execution of a contract or request of the contracting officer. Covered contractors must also submit an annual legal budget that includes cost projections for matters defined as significant matters. The budget detail will depend on the nature of the activities and complexity of the matters included in the budget. The regulation further requires covered contractors to submit staffing and resource plans addressing matters defined as significant matters in litigation. The regulation requires covered contractors to submit certain information related to litigation initiated against the contractor before initiating defensive litigation, offensive litigation, or entering into a settlement agreement.
Combined Notice of Filings # 1
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-714 and FERC-730); Comment Request
In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting its information collections FERC-714 (Annual Electric Balancing Authority Area and Planning Area Report) and FERC-730 (Report of Transmission Investment Activity) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission previously issued a Notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 80355, 12/24/2015) requesting public comments. The Commission received no comments on the FERC-714 or FERC-730 and is making this notation in its submittal to OMB.
Commission Information Collection Activities; (FERC-556, FERC-606, and FERC-607); Comment Request
In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting its information collections FERC-556 (Certification of Qualifying Facility Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility), FERC-606 (Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information), and FERC-607 (Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission previously issued a Notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 74101, 11/27/2015) requesting public comments. The Commission received no comments on the FERC-556, FERC-606, or FERC-607 and is making this notation in its submittal to OMB.
NextEra Energy Power Marketing, LLC Northeast Energy Associates, a Limited Partnership v. ISO New England Inc.; Notice of Complaint
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Martin Luther’s pandemic advice goes viral — 500 years later
Luther's advice was the subject of a lunch-and-learn session hosted Friday on Zoom by Good Shepherd Church, a congregation in suburban Naperville affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
A statue of Martin Luther in Erfurt, Germany, on June 12, 2017. RNS photo by Emily McFarlan Miller
Emily McFarlan Miller
CHICAGO (RNS) — It has been more than 500 years since German monk Martin Luther’s words went viral, thanks to what was then some cutting-edge technology.
In 1517, Luther’s famed 95 Theses helped spark the Protestant Reformation after they were distributed far and wide with the help of the printing press, the 16th century’s version of social media.
Now his advice from a later letter, written in the midst of a 1527 pandemic, once again is making the rounds.
RELATED: ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton lightens up on social media with viral neon Luther rose
Quotes from the letter appeared on social media as the COVID-19 pandemic upended life earlier this year.
Scholar and retired Anglican bishop N.T. Wright highlighted Luther’s advice in “God and the Pandemic,” published in June. And Christianity Today’s website published the full letter, “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague,” with Luther’s byline, in May.
“We’re all trying to figure out how to navigate a worldwide pandemic,” said the Rev. PJ Malin, pastor of family life and assimilation at Good Shepherd Church in Naperville, Illinois.
The congregation, part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, held a lunch-and-learn discussion of Luther’s letter Friday (Nov. 20) on Zoom.
“This is the first time for many of us, but as we’ve been teaching and preaching, some of the resources we’ve gone back to are Martin Luther, and (we’re) realizing that this isn’t the first time people of faith have gone through this,” Malin said.
Every once in a while, people actually pay attention to Luther’s words, said the Rev. Kurt Hendel, the Bernard, Fischer, Westberg Distinguished Ministry Professor Emeritus of Reformation History at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
And what the reformer had to say in his 1527 letter, later published as a treatise, is “strikingly relevant” today, said Hendel, who spoke at the Friday session.
Luther wrote that letter in the midst of an outbreak of the bubonic plague in Wittenberg, according to the professor emeritus. He was responding to a Lutheran leader in Breslau, who asked whether a Christian ought to leave a city in the midst of a plague outbreak for someplace safer.
In his treatise, Luther wrote:
“Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. … See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”
Luther himself had been ordered to leave the university in Wittenberg, where he taught, Hendel said. He refused. Instead, he and his pregnant wife, Katharina von Bora, a former nun who had learned some nursing skills in the cloister, stayed behind and opened a wing of their home as a clinic.
A 1528 portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Image courtesy of Creative Commons
Those who are responsible for the spiritual and physical well-being of others must not flee an outbreak, but rather stay and care for people in the midst of it, Luther advised. However, they also must be careful not to make matters worse.
Just as Luther recommended that his readers take and administer medicine, Hendel recommended Christians follow today’s science. And just as Luther — in characteristically colorful language — called those who did not take care not to become infected or to infect others “murderers,” the professor emeritus encouraged Christians to wear face masks and to weigh what God was calling them to do in this moment.
“Love for neighbor is the ultimate criterion that Christians must use as they choose what to think and plan and do — not only during a time of pandemic, but in all times, in all aspects of their lives,” Hendel said.
The ELCA has embraced Luther’s message throughout the pandemic.
The largest Lutheran denomination in the United States gave the reformer’s pandemic advice the meme treatment in August on its Facebook page, accompanied by an illustration of the reformer in a blue disposable face mask and the caption, “We pray AND we act.”
And Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, in addition to posting weekly video messages, has posted a selfie on Facebook with a statue of Luther in matching masks.
Her message: “Be like Luther — wear a mask.”
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On his way to prison, Catholic activist advocates for COVID-19 prisoner release
What four strangers of different faiths learned while living together during a pandemic
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Minimized financial expenses for a charitable organization and obtained work permits for foreign workers
A client - a group of individual philanthropists - contacted our firm in the fall of 2018. These were the founders and employees of an international charitable foundation, headquartered in London. The main area of ??activity of the foundation was to help financially disadvantaged elderly people.
Obtaining a work permit was one of the final stages of launching an international charitable network of client in Ukraine.
Our lawyers registered a charitable organization before starting the procedure of obtainment of a work permit. It was headed by a nominee director (one of our lawyers).
The feature is the result of Ukrainian legislation, which does not allow a non-resident to become a head directly.
The restriction did not allow directly to take on projects, since nominee head usually acts only as a signer of documents for obtaining a work permit.
That is why the client wanted:
First of all, obtain a permit for the position of a head, who was a director according to charter. This would allow to open bank accounts for the collection of donations and charitable contributions, as well as make a charitable foundation fully functional. Efficiency in the process was the most critical moment for the client.
After the beginning of activity, to obtain work permits for other foreigners, who were supposed to hold executive positions and ordinary positions in the organization.
Since foreign workers from different positions and with different nationalities / citizenships had to be involved in the activities of Ukrainian charitable foundation, the following factors had to be properly taken into consideration.
The factor of citizenship influenced an ability to work in Ukraine, as well as reside here for a long time. The matter is that a work permit does not give the right to live in our country, it can only be a ground for obtaining the necessary document (a residence permit).
Therefore, all employees were divided into groups:
workers, who had citizenships of countries for which Ukraine had established a visa-free regime that allowed to stay on the territory of country for up to 90 days without interruption (for example, the United Kingdom) and which, in turn, did not require a longer stay due to the need to constantly travel between charitable organizations in different countries;
workers with citizenship as in group 1, but for whom specificity of positions required a longer stay in the country (more than 90 days);
workers with passports of countries, for which Ukraine has introduced a visa regime.
For the first group a work had to be completed during obtainment of a work permit.
But for groups 2 and 3 legal support at the migration authorities was required in order to obtain a status of a temporary resident (a temporary residence permit).
Delimitation by positions also helped in successful completion of the stage of the project. So, for executive staff, who also were founders of the charitable organization, there was an opportunity to obtain a 3-year permit. While ordinary employees could get only one year permit.
Similar terms were also used for the validity of residence permits (in cases, where they were needed). Of course, the documents could be extended for the same term, but frequent extensions could affect the client's plans.
The requirements of relevant legislation on the minimum wage of a foreigner in Ukraine were one of the important aspects of the procedure. While heads-founders could receive a minimum wage (as for Ukrainian citizens), ordinary foreign workers should have received a fivefold salary companring to the minimum wage for Ukrainians.
Considering the fact that the charitable organization operates based on donations, any additional costs should have been minimized. Therefore, the client had to choose only indispensable foreign staff, and the main activities had to be covered by local employees.
Taking into consideration all the nuances, the lawyers of our firm used the following approach:
Obtained work permits in the order, which allowed to start activity first, and then scale it;
Obtained residence permits, which provided an opportunity to live in Ukraine (including families) for a number of employees;
Considered limited amount of finance when signing employment contracts, setting wages and other administrative costs (focusing on their minimization).
What benefit did the client get by contacting us?
Our lawyers provided comprehensive advice on migration, employment and tax legislation. It helped to understand the grounds for obtaining a work permit, as well as to minimize administrative costs (for example, wage payments for certain categories of workers);
Provided that it was necessary to obtain a work permit and residence permit at the stage of registration of the charitable foundation and to enter relevant information in the charter.
For example, our lawyers insisted on changing the position proposed by the client "Head of the Foundation" to the "Director", since the former is not in the classifier of professions. It would serve as a reason for a refusal of the Employment Center and would be necessary re-submit documents for work permit, as well as to make changes to the charter of the charitable foundation;
Helped to obtain work permits, as well as provided further legal support in order to obtain residence permits through these permits.
If you are the head of a charitable organization and want to extend a work permit for your foreigner worker, our lawyers will provide advice. Call the number
What should I do if I haven\'t received an answer after submitting the documents to the Immigration Department?
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Maryland Workers' Compensation Lawyers
A Team of Experienced and Knowledgeable Attorneys Ready to Fight For You
Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Maryland
The basic types of benefits that are available in Maryland are vocational rehabilitation benefits, compensation for funeral expenses, wage reimbursement benefits, medical benefits (i.e. having your medical treatment and physical therapy paid for), and disability benefits which are intended to compensate you for the time that you are out of work as a result of your accidental workplace injury.
These disability benefits are referred to Temporary Total Disability as one, the second is Temporary Partial Disability, the third is Permanent Total Disability, and the last is Permanent Partial Disability. In addition to medical benefits and vocational rehabilitation benefits. If you are filing a workers’ compensation claim or feel you have been denied unfairly, contact a Maryland workers’ compensation lawyer.
Defining a Valid Claim
A claimant will not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if he or she is actually an independent contractor. If you are an employee, by law, an employer is required to maintain workers’ compensation insurance for the benefit of all employees. So, the first analysis is to determine whether you are an employee or an independent contractor.
The other analysis is if you sustained an injury while you were working and the injury was sustained in the scope of the employment as defined by the three-pronged definition necessary for there to be a valid Maryland workers’ compensation case (i.e. that you’re an employee who sustained (1) an accidental injury, (2) arising out of, and (3) in the scope of your employment). If coverage is denied, issues may be filed with the Commission.
In Maryland, there is a claim form that you need to complete. The claim form essentially asks for some basic information: background information, what is being claimed, what parts of your body were injured, what your doctor’s name is, how serious the injuries are, and how the injury occurred. It is preferable to have a Maryland workers’ compensation lawyer complete and return this form to ensure that it’s accurate, that it complies with the statute, and that it fits within the three-pronged definition. This will help to ensure that you receive all of the benefits that you’re entitled to under Maryland workers’ compensation law.
Workers’ compensation & Unemployment Insurance
An individual is not able to receive workers compensation as well as unemployment insurance. In Maryland, if you are making an application for Maryland unemployment benefits, you must be ready, willing, and able to work. When you are filing a claim for workers’ compensation, and you are not able to work and are seeking temporary total disability while you are medically unable to work then you cannot also receive unemployment benefits.
In terms of the potential benefits that a person can get under Maryland workers’ compensation law, some of those benefits involve permanency. Permanency is the permanent impairment to a specific body part. If that is the case, Permanent Partial Disability, under Maryland statute, equates to a certain numbers of weeks of compensation based on the percentage of disability to the injured body part or the body as a whole. The value of a person’s case is determined by multiplying the number of weeks of compensation by 2/3 of the individual’s average weekly wage. So, Permanent Total and the Permanent Partial disability benefits allow you to be compensated into the future for your on-the-job injuries
Determining Level of Impairment
Whenever permanency is at issue, the claimant has a rating done to determine their level of impairment by a doctor of the claimant’s choosing. The rating is established in terms of the percentage of impairment to the injured worker’s body part or whole person.
The employer-insurer (IME) will typically send the person to a doctor of the employer-insurer attorney’s choosing as well. That doctor will perform a rating exam and provides a competing rating—usually a much lower rating. What often happens when settling cases or when going to the Commission for a nature and extent hearing is that the two sides negotiate between the two rating percentages. For example, if the claimant’s doctor says 20% whole person impairment and the IME doctor says 10%, the parties advocate to closer to their percentage rating.
Resolving Permanency Rating
If the permanency issue cannot be resolved then a Commissioner has to decide the case, each party’s attorney argues for their rating to resolve the case. In either case, this final (or agreed-upon) percentage is multiplied by a corresponding number of weeks of compensation for the injured body part(s), which is then multiplied by 2/3 of the average weekly wage to come to the full value for the entire case.
For example, if someone sustains a work-related shoulder injury in Maryland, the total compensable number of weeks is 500 weeks. If the parties agree or a Commissioner finds (at the nature and extent hearing) that the worker sustained a 10% whole person impairment to the shoulder, that translates into 50 weeks of compensation, which is then multiplied by 2/3 of the average weekly wage to get the full value for the case.
Role of an Attorney
The first thing an attorney will do is file a claim and issues with the Commission if there is any dispute as to coverage. Issues can be filed, such as when there is a dispute as to average weekly wage, a dispute as to the amount of the Temporary Total Disability payments, a dispute as to permanency (i.e. nature and extent of injury), or a dispute as to whether or not an injured worker sustained an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of his/her employment. When you file issues with the Commission, the matter is set in for a hearing, the lawyer and client go appear, the attorney for the employer-insurer appears, and the Commissioner makes the decision and resolves the pending issue(s) by entering and mailing an order a number of weeks after the hearing.
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Prisoner No. 34
Wait…Hope
Bear the Ember, Chapter 5
Chapter 4: Sub-Coupe-Taneous
By Stirling Edgewood
Chapter 5: Target Praxis
“Target not acquired.” The message glowed on his computer screen.
He paused, puzzled. He tapped more keys, then an image popped up. It showed a few dim points of light, indicating background stars, but not the red disk he expected to dominate the image.
He rapidly clicked more buttons, and the targeting coordinates popped up on the screen. He opened an electronic celestial observation positioning calculator, punched in the date, time, and geographic location of the telescope, and compared the resulting coordinates to his targeting dataset. They matched. He punched another button, and a 3-D model of the stars and their locations glowed on screen. He hit another button to set them in motion, watching them move gracefully across his screen while a small blue ball representing his planet circled its home star. A line ran from his planet to the star that was the focus of his research, with targeting coordinates scrolling beneath the line as the angles changed. He stopped it at the moment of the observation, the one showing nothing but background stars. The coordinates matched.
“The calculator must be buggy. I’ll to do it by hand,” he said. He opened up an electronic reference manual, pulled out the standard position information and proper motion data, put the equations into a spreadsheet, and ran the calculations for the coordinates. They matched.
“Somebody seriously screwed up the star charts,” he concluded. “Maybe if I take a look at past observations I can recalculate the proper motion and figure out where to point the telescope.”
He searched for the files and queued them up. He started with the earliest available one, copied the coordinates, and for grins, decided to look at the image. A red circle glowed neatly from the center of it. He flipped to the latest one, taken about a year before his disastrous half-star embarrassment and copied those coordinates too. Then he pulled up the image. It looked odd. It was still a red disk on a black background, but it seemed wrong somehow. He flipped back to the earlier image. Then to the newer image. The circle had shifted. The disk in the newer image was lower, and to the right. But he knew the coordinates were calculated to place the star in the exact center of the image.
He pulled up the 50 or so remaining observations between the newest and oldest, taken over a period of years, and flipped through them chronologically. The first 20 looked identical. Then, with each click to a new image, the target shifted gradually toward the right hand corner. He started over from the beginning, feeling puzzled. “Why would the images shift partway through?” he asked. “The early images are on target, which suggests the star charts are correct. But the later ones are off, and getting worse over time.” He paused and thought a bit. “Must be a targeting issue with the telescope,” he concluded. “Stars can’t change direction,” he asserted. “At least, not in any observable way over the course of a few years. Well, I need to adjust the calculation of the proper motion if I want to get accurate coordinates for an observation.”
He pulled up a program used to analyze newly discovered celestial objects and fed in the images. The computer automatically scanned the images, calculated the center of the disk in each, pulled the dates into a database, and ran a curve fit to estimate the proper motion. He punched in the date and time of his observation, and got the coordinates. “I wonder if anyone else might have been looking at this patch of sky recently?” He mused.
“Request: Most recent results for distinct coordinates.” He punched into his computer.
“Coordinates?” came the response.
He fed in the coordinates, but not for where the star chart showed it should be, but rather, the coordinates for where his new calculation estimated it would be.
“Observation conducted 2014589373. Download?”
“That’s within a week of my observation time,” he said hopefully.
He hit the “Yes” button. The computer began to whirr.
“I require a status update on the progress toward observational goals,” came an unpleasant voice from alarmingly close by. He jumped, then looked up to see a round, bulbous face floating over the partition of his work space. In his concentration, he had failed to notice her approach.
“Um, we seem to be experiencing continued issues with data acquisition,” he explained.
“Your performance on this task to date has been substandard,” she said angrily. “I was considering alternative staff for this task, but decided to allow you to rectify past shortcomings. However, this persistent inability to achieve personal objectives has reached a critical juncture. I believe this stems from an inability to communicate in a timely fashion and calls for a formal personnel consultation…” She droned on, but he had tuned her out. The computer had beeped at him, “Download complete.” He looked at the message, wondering what would be in the download. Deciding he had nothing to lose, he plunged forward.
“Actually,” he interrupted her, “the data are in, the observation was a complete success, meeting or exceeding all strategic goals.”
She stared at him dubiously for a moment.
“Show me,” she demanded.
He turned the screen toward her, but a little too far, and it was at an angle where he could not see it. He reached out to pull it back into his view, but she grabbed it firmly. “Show me now,” she commanded.
Nervously, he punched a button to bring up the image. He held his breath. A look of disappointment crossed her face.
“This observation appears to be,” she began, pausing momentarily, then adding, “adequate.”
Not sure what that meant, he sat motionless.
“However, I expect a thorough QA/QC, with a full report on any discrepancies.”
He exhaled with a sigh of relief.
“And this image is crooked. Your targeting is deviating from optimum and must be improved. My expectation is that the follow-up observations next week will be perfectly centered,” she warned.
As she bobbed out of the area, she added, “At least you got the whole star this time.” He turned the screen around and smiled at the off-center, yet still complete, round, red circle that glowed there.
Chapter 6: Black Missed
Prisoner No. 34, Blog at WordPress.com.
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About Private Officer
Mt. Juliet police play host to Private Officer Memorial Service
Mt. Juliet police played host to the Private Officer Memorial Service on Wednesday night.
Private Officer International Nashville Chapter 301 held the service as a way to honor fallen private police and security officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
“In the last year, we had 94 police officers die in the line of duty,” said chapter president Mike Thornhill, chief of security at Cumberland University. “We also had 110 security officers die.”
Several members of the police force, as well as the community, attended the event, which was held the Mt. Juliet Police Department for the second year in a row.
“[Mt. Juliet Police] Chief [James] Hambrick is also a member of our chapter, and we’re thankful to him for letting us use his facility,” said Thornhill. “[State Rep.] Mark Pody has always been a big supporter of ours and so has [state Rep.] Susan Lynn.”
www.lebanondemocrat.com
Jacob Smith • intern@lebanondemocrat.com
From the corporate offices of Private Officer International, dozens of interviews are conducted with general reporters, investigative and research support staff and most major network and cable TV stations along with frequent requests for statistical data, comments or opinions on training, legislative actions, proposed laws or other information relating to private security, public safety, school security and related fields.
The Founder and CEO of our association, Mr. Rick McCann, often sheds light on the new frontier of the private security industry, the challenges of training, low wages and high turn-over rates, the true dangers of working many assignments alone, unarmed and unprepared while cheer-leading the efforts of many private officers who protect life and property while risking their own lives everyday.
Sometimes the media listens and sometimes they only hear and report a small portion of the interview, often twisting the facts to make the story shine a negative light on private security.
But that has never stopped Mr. McCann from continuing his crusade, sounding the alarm or telling the truth about the real life of private security officers in 2015.
Below is one of those positive stories that came out today in the Press Enterprise and written by a reporter in Riverside CA.
He listened and didn’t change the words, the facts or the direction of the interview with Mr. McCann and for that we applaud this reporter for reporting the truth.
Kyle. T Greene
Sr. Vice President
Private Officer International
Dangers of Security Profession Rising
Riverside CA – Security guards aren’t just retirees with tin badges and a walkie-talkie, or over-anxious rent-a-cops, as they often are portrayed in movies. The job can be dangerous – and even deadly, as evidenced by the shooting death of Richard “Big Will” Williamson, who was killed while working at a Grand Terrace skating rink early New Year’s morning.
Williamson, 48, of Riverside, the owner of Big Will’s Security Services, stepped in front of two young men who began firing as 200 skaters were ringing in the New Year. He fired back, was hit and later died.
Statistics from the California Association of Licensed Security Agencies, Guards and Associates show that on average, more than one security guard is killed each week in the United States, and many more are assaulted.
“It’s typically listed near the top of the list of most dangerous jobs,” said Jeff Flint, spokesman for the association. “Unfortunately, it can be very dangerous.”
Eleven American security guards have died on duty already this year, according to Private Officer International, which tracks those numbers.
The organization estimates that 85 security guards died on duty nationwide in 2014. That’s down from 112 in 2012 and compares with 121 sworn police officers who died in 2014, the Officer Down Memorial Page website states.
The number of job-related injuries also is on the rise for private guards, said Rick McCann, the organization’s CEO.
More than 200,000 guards were assaulted on the job last year. The most dangerous working spots are bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, the organization states.
McCann said California is one of the most dangerous states for privates guards – with three deaths already in 2015 – even though it has some of the most rigorous standards for licensing.
To be a security guard in California, an applicant must pass a federal and state background check, then complete 40 hours of training. Additional training is required to carry a baton, tear gas or gun.
Salaries range from $9.50 to $27 per hour, an Internet search shows.
Flint said the main duties of most security guards are to observe and report. They typically are employed at an office building or shopping center with a primary responsibility to protect property.
While only about 10 percent of the private guards in the state are licensed to carry firearms, Flint said, just the presence of a uniformed security guard often is enough to scare away people who are up to no good.
“Their primary duty is to be a visible deterrent and report on activities they observe,” Flint said.
California’s security guards do not have the power to arrest or detain anyone, but they can make a citizen’s arrest, Flint said.
As municipalities have cut their police department budgets in recent years, more businesses are hiring private security firms to guard their properties, he said.
For example, in once-sleepy Hemet, guards now patrol almost every shopping center and strip mall.
“There’s definitely an increase in demand,” Flint said.
McCann said guards also are being asked to do more on the job.
“A lot more businesses are hiring security not to just to observe and report, but to be enforcers, proactive,” he said. “It is a dangerous environment.”
McCann said Williamson should be honored for his action to prevent more injuries the night he was killed.
“He’s really a hero because he was involved in an active gun battle,” McCann said.
CHARLOTTE SECURITY OFFICER KILLED
CHARLOTTE NC JUNE 5 2012 — A private security guard was shot and killed trying to break up a fight outside an East Charlotte restaurant. It happened around closing time, early Tuesday morning at El Paisano restaurant on Albemarle Road. Richard Snyder, 50, died on scene.
“He was just trying to disperse everyone and make sure they got off the property. Just dissolve the disturbance. Unfortunately, he was shot and died,” said CMPD Captain Chuck Henson.
It’s another example of what some are calling a disturbing trend nationally, attacks on security personnel.
“What we’re finding is a lot more security officers are getting involved. They’re being asked to do a lot more,” said CEO of Police Officer International Rick McCann.
McCann says more businesses are hiring their own security.
“A lot of companies, like restaurants and bars, hire their own in-house staff,” said McCann.
“Basically they’re there to keep the peace, break up fights, but they’re not as trained as a
uniformed guard might have been from a security agency.”
According to Private Officer International, 37,000 security guards/bouncers were attacked in 2011. There were 13,700 injuries and at least 114 security guards were killed on the job.
McCann would like to see more officers and bouncers get better training. “The training
requirements needs to be stepped up in most cases,” he said.
CMPD is looking for two men who drove off in a green, two-door truck, possibly a Chevy.
NEWS14CAROLINA
Cumberland University Employees win prestigious awards
Private Officer International announced on June 24 that two employees of Cumberland University in Lebanon TN. were among the award recipients during the 2013 Private Officer Awards ceremony held in Charlotte NC.
Mr. Joe Gray, the Executive Director of Campus Facilities and Safety received the Directors Award for his outstanding leadership in the development of security protocols and procedures on campus as well as his involvement and continued support of security officer training and the safety of students, staff and visitors to the campus. Mr. Gray was also recognized for his personal involvement with the Nashville regional private security and law enforcement chapter of Private Officer International.
Mr. Michael Thornhill is with Citadel Security Services and serves as Director of Campus Security. He received a Directors Award for being instrumental in the development of professional standards for security on campus and for his key role in being a founding member of the Nashville regional private security and law enforcement chapter of Private Officer International. Mike is an 18 year veteran of private security and was the recipient of the 2012 Private Officer International Founder’s Award.
The Directors Award is awarded annually by the Board of Directors of Private Officer International to those employed in or otherwise advancing the private security and public safety industry through their leadership, support and overall involvement in protecting life and property.
About Us Private Officer International
Private Officer International is a private security-police member based association, national training school, media and news source and statistical data clearinghouse.
POI also offers regional chapters, officer assistance, and award, counseling and mentoring programs.
Private Officer International employs a full time news staff, 24hr help desk, and offers weekly industry radio shows, digital magazines, breaking news alerts and a new professionally produced TV program!
Our sister company, Armour College is an accredited, unique, public safety curriculum on-line and campus based public safety college.
LEBANON DEMOCRAT NEWSPAPER
Lebanon TN.
Cumberland’s head of security is making a name for himself in the security industry.
Private Officer International, an organization serving the private security community and law enforcement, recently awarded Mike Thornhill the organization’s 2012 Founders Award for his work toward growing the organization in Tennessee.
Thornhill, director of security for Cumberland University, helped found the Nashville chapter of POI in April. There are now 30 members of the chapter, and the chapter actively reaches out to members and potential members through social media.
Thornhill discovered POI when he decided to advance his skill set.
“I was hungry for more training,” said Thornhill.
While investigating resources on the Internet, Thornhill discovered POI and began listening to radio broadcasts by the organization’s founder, Rick McCann.
The organization fit Thornhill’s needs, so he joined and soon became a lifetime member.
To Thornhill, the training offered by POI is a key benefit of the organization.
“In the state of Tennessee, to be an unarmed security officer, all you have to do is have 8 hours of training,” said Thornhill. “A police officer goes through about 400-plus.”
POI helps fill that gap by offering training and seminars for members.
“Every other month, we have a guest speaker,” said Thornhill. “The months we don’t have a guest speaker, we have training.”
Training offered has included active shooter, report writing and laws.
“(Security officers) need to know the legalities, because if they don’t approach the situation in the right manner, they can be arrested for breaking the law, just like anybody else,” said Thornhill.
Additionally, security officers face safety hazards. This year alone, 98 security officers have been killed in the US, according to Thornhill. POI also offers assistance to families of security officers and law enforcement officers killed or injured on the job.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re a member of our organization or not,” said Thornhill. “I just want security officers to know that we’re here for them.”
For more information about POI, call 615-839-4278 or email poinashville@mail.com.
Mall cops: Alleged kidnapper escorted, not reported
By Lisa Provence | lisa@readthehook.com
Published online 2:11pm Tuesday Nov 27th, 2012
In print issue #1148 dated Thursday Nov 29th, 2012
That a two-year-old child may have been briefly kidnapped by a stranger at a shopping mall is shocking enough. That police weren’t notified until six hours after the private security force at Charlottesville Fashion Square escorted the man from the property has created a firestorm.
The public first learned of the Saturday, November 24, alleged attempted abduction the following afternoon when Albemarle County police issued a press release seeking help in finding a light-skinned, glasses-wearing black male approximately 6’3″ tall and weighing between 220 and 235 pounds.
According to the release, the two-year-old girl was walking with her parents near Kay Jewelers between 2pm and 2:30pm when the suspect picked up the child from behind. Her father ran after the man, who released the toddler.
“The suspect did not get far with the child,” says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson, noting that any time a stranger puts hands on and picks up a child, that’s an attempted abduction. “That is a felony offense.”
What’s creating discomfort among parents and outrage in online forums is that Fashion Square security removed the suspect from the property without getting a name– or contacting police.
“That’s a difficult one,” says Johnson. “We work with security. Normally, they would hold the suspect, and we would make the arrest.”
The girl’s parents contacted police around 8pm that evening, says Johnson.
Simon Properties, which owns Fashion Square, is mum about why its security contractor did not call police.
“This incident is now a police matter and, of course, we are fully cooperating with their investigation,” says Simon spokesman Les Morris in a statement released November 26, two days after the event. “Every piece of information that we have in our possession as well as witness reports have been turned over to the police for their follow-up.”
“It’s very bizarre to escort someone from the property and not notify police,” notes Rick McCann, the CEO of Private Officer International, a security and law enforcement training association. “It’s required by law because it’s a felony.”
McCann says he can conceive of only two scenarios under which law enforcement shouldn’t be called: that a company policy forbade it or that the security guard was threatened with a weapon. More likely, he asserts, it was a bad judgment call along with a shockingly low training threshold for private security guards.
He points out that in Virginia, unarmed guards are required to garner just 24 hours of training in order to have authority to arrest someone on private property and transport a suspect to the nearest magistrate. For armed security, the level is 40 hours, and that also seems too low to McCann.
“It’s troubling,” he says.
“The mall is a city within a city,” continues McCann. “If a suspicious person is reported, mall security is dispatched.” If shoplifting or trespassing or a fight occur, that also falls into the hands of mall security. Says McCann: “That’s a lot of responsibility for 24 hours of training.”
The expert expresses little surprise that Simon Properties and its security contractor, Pennsylvania-based AlliedBarton, which employs more than 55,000 people, are not releasing more information.
“The bottom line is liability because they could be sued by the parents,” says McCann. “They had a duty to act.”
This would not be the first uncomfortable incident at the mall. Two years ago, Fashion Square officials shut it down for an hour after an alleged brawl and subsequently issued a statement pointing to public buses as the means by which youthful participants had arrived.
In the more recent case, police are reviewing surveillance video in hopes of identifying the alleged abductor, says the police spokesperson.
“If we found him, we’d release it because we want to identify the suspect,” says Johnson, who declines to comment on online chatter about the man’s mental health.
“We want to use this to make the public more aware and alert during the holiday season when the stores are crowded,” says Johnson. “Keep your packages together, and keep your children with you.”
DAILY PROGRESS
Posted: Monday, November 26, 2012 10:23 pm | Updated: 11:30 pm, Mon Nov 26, 2012.
K. Burnell Evans
ATTEMPTED CHILD ABDUCTION
Albemarle County VA
Private security did its job over the weekend in escorting a man off Fashion Square mall property where he grabbed a 2-year-old girl before her father wrestled her away, legal experts and industry analysts said Monday. But that doesn’t explain why authorities weren’t notified until more than five hours later, when the girl’s parents called police. By then, the man was long gone.
Now, authorities are urging parents to be on heightened alert as investigators seek clues with little to go on but a vague description of a light-skinned black man standing 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing 220 to 235 pounds. He wore glasses and a gray hooded sweatshirt.
“We want everyone to be a little more aware and a little more cautious and vigilant over their children,” said Albemarle County police spokeswoman Carter Johnson.
Security officers responded to the parents’ cries between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday near Kay Jewelers, where the man seized the child as she walked slightly behind her parents. The girl’s father pulled her from the stranger’s grasp. Security officers gained control of the man, then released him, police said.
Authorities learned of the incident when the parents called at 8 p.m., police said. Neither the private firm tasked with providing security at the mall nor the mall’s management company, Simon Property Group, notified police, Johnson said. “Obviously, we would have liked to be contacted immediately,” Johnson said.
Angry customers took to Fashion Square’s Facebook page to protest a two-line release issued Monday by Indiana-based Simon, which bills itself as the largest real estate company in the world. “This incident is now a police matter and, of course, we are fully cooperating with their investigation,” said Simon spokesman Les Morris. “Every piece of information that we have in our possession as well as witness reports have been turned over to the police for their follow-up.” The company did not elaborate.
Security guards observed Sunday at the mall wore uniforms bearing the logo of AlliedBarton Security Services, a Pittsburgh-area private security giant that employs more than 55,000 people nationwide, according to its website. “We are currently cooperating with the police during the investigation and have no further comment,” said AlliedBarton Vice President Alan Stein.
The primary duty of private security officers responding in an incident like Saturday’s is to safeguard the people involved, then to protect their clients’ interests, analysts and legal experts said. “We have to kind of break out the part we’re upset from, that they let the guy go, from the thing that would have actually caused harm to the child, the guy that they removed from the situation,” said Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association President J. Lloyd Snook III. “It’s a question of moral responsibility versus legal liability.”
As unarmed officers, the guards at Fashion Square lack the limited powers of arrest that armed security officers possess, said Neadie Moore, licensing manager at the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the state agency charged with regulating private sector security workers,
State code requires unarmed guards to complete 18 hours of training and undergo a criminal background check before they are certified.
Armed guards undergo 40 to 42 hours of training. Shoppers should have a reasonable expectation of safety while they are on mall property — that is why the guards are there, Snook said.
But conflict between company and client policies can be burdensome to contracted security officers facing snap decisions, said Rick McCann, a 38-year law enforcement veteran and founder of Private Officer International, an industry association. “The directions [officers] get can be conflicting, and that’s why it’s so important for the security company and the other company to be prudent in their requirements of the officer,” McCann said. An untrained or undertrained guard could be cowed by the very real danger and responsibilities they face, he said. Many guards also fear liability, he added. For instance, could they be sued if they acted to restrain someone without the powers and authority accorded to an armed guard? “As a guard, you hear a lot about these [lawsuits] and the word gets around,” McCann said. “Still, I am a little bit shocked to hear that [the security officers] let the person go.”
The characteristics of the incident — occurring in the middle of the day in a public place during one of the busiest shopping days of the year — suggest the man might have done something like this before and might try again, said Dr. Jeffrey Fracher, a forensic psychologist practicing in Albemarle. “The fact that they were thwarted means they are going to be unsatisfied,” Fracher said. “These are the situations that keep me up at night.”
No security cameras captured footage of the incident, Johnson said. Detectives are combing through in-store surveillance footage to see whether the man had been following the family. So far, Johnson said, police have no leads.
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https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2018/01/28/houston-rockets-james-harden-phoenix-suns-28-points/
James Harden puts up 28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists in Rockets win over Suns
James Harden was spectacular in the Rockets’ Sunday afternoon win over the Phoenix Suns, finishing with a near triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
Rockets practice interviews: Tidbits from Thursday, Dec. 10
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas and five-time All-Star guard John Wall met with the media following Thursday's training camp practice at Toyota Center in downtown Houston.
The interviews were conducted just prior to the team's flight to Chicago, where the Rockets will face the Bulls in a pair of preseason games on Friday and Sunday nights. All-Star guard James Harden will not be with the team due to his stringent COVID-19 testing protocols, which were implemented after his delayed arrival at training camp.
In Harden's absence, Silas said the starting lineup for Friday's preseason opener at the United...
Best moments from James Harden's 2019-20 season
The Rockets were in a fight for playoff seeding most of the season until it came to an abrupt suspension. James Harden was one of the leading forces on the team along with Russell Westbrook. Harden averaged an incredible 34.4 points per game for his 61 games played but at the beginning of the season was even more outstanding often putting up 40-point games.
Here are the best moments from James Harden's 2019-20 season:
If coronavirus worsens, Fertitta opposes NBA games without fans
The NBA reportedly issued a memo Friday night to its teams asking them to prepare to play games without fans in attendance, should it be necessary due to the ongoing U.S. coronavirus outbreak.
In an interview earlier the same day, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta made it clear that he's not a fan of that concept.
In comments to CNBC, Fertitta said he would rather suspend or postpone games for a period of time, rather than play them without fans.
Fertitta said:
I don’t think you ever want to play games in front of...
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https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2018/05/24/chris-paul-injury-game-6-status-rockets-mike-dantoni-warriors-nba-playoffs-western-conference-finals/
Mike D'Antoni gives uninspiring update on Chris Paul's Game 6 status
When Houston Rockets star Chris Paul came up lame with an apparent hamstring injury late in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, it immediately resulted in massive concern.
While the Rockets were fortunate enough to go on and defeat the Golden State Warriors 98-94 to grab a crucial 3-2 lead Thursday, Paul’s status heading into a pivotal Game 6 is now very much up in the air.
After the game, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni spoke with the media about Paul’s injury, and as The Athletic’s Anthony Slater revealed, he didn’t sound optimistic on the point guard’s status.
Mike D'Antoni on Chris Paul's Game 6 status: "We'll see. He'll be evaluated. If he's there, great. If he isn't, we've got enough guys." Doesn't sound optimistic.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 25, 2018
Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press also followed this up by revealing D’Antoni said Paul is “worried” about the injury.
Obviously, the exact injury is unknown at this point, but hamstring injuries can linger and if it’s anything even remotely serious, it could keep Paul out for more than just one game.
Over the 15 playoff games played thus far, Paul has averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists. He’s stepped up in some key moments while playing in his first-ever Conference Finals series as well.
We’ll keep you updated on any additional updates that come on Paul’s status.
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Posts Tagged ‘Richard Glossip’
Urgent Action: Richard Glossip, Oklahoma
Posted: September 18, 2015 in Death penalty, USA
Tags: Death penalty, death row, Oklahoma, Richard Glossip, USA
UPDATE: 8 October. Richard Glossip has been given an indefinite stay of execution (Oklahoma)
We attach an urgent action on behalf of Richard Glossip with whom visitors to this site will be familiar with. He has won a temporary stay of execution. His legal team has presented new evidence to the appeal court. The evidence against him is weak as we have pointed out before and relies partly on a plea bargain by the man who committed the actual murder. Oklahoma is a hard line state as far as the death penalty is concerned.
We hope you can find time to write. See also this month’s death penalty report.
Glossip Urgent Action
Glossip execution deferred
Posted: September 17, 2015 in Death penalty
Richard Glossip’s execution has been deferred by two weeks only hours before he was due to killed. This was an urgent action by Amnesty International and members of our group have written to the Oklahoma authorities. You can read the full report in the New York Times here.
There is no physical evidence linking Glossip to the scene and a major part of the evidence is a plea bargain by Sneed who admitted to the murder but escaped execution by implicating Glossip.
Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty and this case reveals one of the reasons: flimsy evidence combined with a plea bargain means the likelihood of a wrongful conviction leading to a man’s death with no prospect of putting it right in future if fresh evidence appears.
The group is holding a vigil against the death penalty on 17 October in Salisbury starting at 12.45. Further details here and on Twitter soon.
September minutes
Posted: September 13, 2015 in Group news, meetings, Salisbury
Tags: "Human rights", Death penalty, Iran, John Glen MP, Magna Carta, North Korea, Oklahoma, Reggie Clemons, Richard Glossip, Salisbury, vigil
The minutes of the September meeting are now available thanks to Lesley. We discussed North Korea, the death penalty (see separate post on this), the forthcoming vigil on 17 October and agreeing to write to John Glen concerning his failure to reply to our letter of 5 August.
Urgent Action: #Oklahoma #USA #deathpenalty
Posted: September 8, 2015 in Death penalty, Urgent action, USA
We attach an urgent action on behalf of a man called Glossip (52) who is due to be executed on 16th of this month. The case against him is circumstantial and seems quite flimsy. He has been on death row since 1998 – around 17 years. If you can find time to write or email, that would be appreciated. Full details are here: Case file (pdf)
There is also a web site the accuracy of which we cannot warrant:
See also USA death penalty site with further information and a petition [You will find it on their Facebook page and there is a wealth of statistical information on the site as well. There is a permanent link to the site at the bottom of this site]
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« Bush Administration Ignores Reality
An Achievement That Would Restore Bush’s Reputation »
In new terrorism fight, Britain shows the way
August 18, 2006 by Haviland Smith
[Originally published in the Baltimore Sun.]
Enormous pressure has been placed on al-Qaida since the fall of 2001. Our Afghan invasion cost it heavily, but more important, through our relationships with cooperative foreign intelligence services, we have been able to put al-Qaida under relentless pressure. Many of its top people have been killed or captured. Its communications and finances have been identified, monitored and disrupted, and its target countries have greatly increased their terrorist countermeasures. All of these things have weakened the terrorists and strengthened us and our friends.
This has resulted in a basic change in al-Qaida’s structure. Instead of the cohesive, centralized organization that dispatched a team of highly trained and effective terrorists to the United States to perpetrate the horrors of Sept. 11, it has become far less centrally controlled. The Sept. 11 plot, based, trained and funded from overseas, was a counterterrorism nightmare. Catching a homogeneous, dedicated group like that is extremely difficult. The new, homegrown terrorists are a different matter. Confronting them will require a new approach, and the U.S. might do well to look to the British model for answers.
In some ways, al-Qaida has franchised its activities to independent groups overseas, like a terrorist version of McDonald’s. The pressure we have put on its command structure has made that necessary. Although it might not tell any individual franchise what to do and when to do it, it is certainly supportive of their terrorist plans.
What is different about these new groups is that they are mostly homegrown. That means that their members are often second- or even third-generation citizens of their adopted countries. Depending on where they live, but particularly in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, they are politically, socially and economically isolated. Their hopelessness in the face of such isolation pushes them into ghettos. The most disaffected of them will tend to be the most susceptible to fundamentalist Muslim blandishments and thus more likely to become jihadis.
As beginning jihadis, they will not be as well-schooled as the original al-Qaida jihadis who trained for extended periods in the Afghan camps. More important, they will not have the same level of security consciousness as their better-trained colleagues. In short, they are far more likely to be second-rate jihadis who run sloppy operations using poor tradecraft and thus be more vulnerable to the security services arrayed against them.
Early reports from Britain indicate that MI-5’s first tip about the cell came from a member of the High Wycombe Muslim community who did not share the liquid bombers’ fundamentalist fervor and reported them as “suspicious” to the authorities. MI-5 is said to have then initiated technical operations against cell members and infiltrated or recruited an agent inside the cell.
As new organizations mature, they tend to change. This can be true of an Internet startup or of a terrorist organization. Once the excitement of the revolutionary moment has passed, human nature takes over. This may come quickly or take decades, as it did in the Soviet Union. Petty jealousies play increasingly important roles and management can become arbitrary. Members of the group can become disaffected and vulnerable to recruitment by hostile elements.
In human terms, there is no reason that this dynamic should not surface in fundamentalist Muslim terrorist groups. It may already have. There is also no reason why Muslims without animus toward the West should not continue to inform Western security services of unusual behavior in their communities. If this can happen in Britain, where large numbers of Muslims feel isolated and hopeless, it should be even more the case in America, where our history of acceptance of immigrants should minimize Muslim fundamentalism and encourage those who would help us with this struggle.
MI-5 has done a terrific job on this case. America’s problem is that the FBI, though an excellent law enforcement organization, is absolutely clueless on counterterrorism.
It is a shame that when we had the opportunity to do it right during the intelligence reorganization process after Sept. 11, we didn’t have the sense to follow the British model and establish a domestic intelligence service like MI-5. With proper legislative and judicial oversight, such a service is hardly a threat to civil liberties, and has the personnel, structure and operational philosophy to make major strides against the terrorism that preoccupies us all.
Haviland Smith retired as a CIA station chief in 1980. He served in Europe and the Middle East and as chief of the counterterrorism staff.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
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Shangri-La Dialogue: Europe Navigating Asia Amidst a US–China Standoff
Veerle Nouwens
Commentary, 20 June 2019
Asia, China, International Security Studies, European Union, France, UK, Global Security Issues, International Institutions, Law and Ethics, Maritime Forces, Europe, Pacific
This year’s Annual Shangri-La Dialogue set the stage for confrontation between China and the US. The now former US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan launched Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, while China upped its participation by being represented at ministerial level for the first time since 2011. The message of both protagonists was clear – neither the US nor China is backing down. European actors will need to carve out their niche, assuming they know why they want a greater defence engagement in Asia.
At this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan affirmed the US’s commitment to its Indo-Pacific ‘priority theatre’, while General Wei Fenghe, China’s Defence Minister and first-ranked State Councillor, echoed familiar Chinese party-line declarations of ‘win-win’ cooperation if China’s interests were respected. Yet, there were no heated exchanges, despite the two sparring partners’ vastly different perspectives of the region’s future geopolitical order.
Neither the US nor China wants to see military conflict erupt against an already tense backdrop of disputes over unequal trade, state-sponsored illegal acquisition of technology, and influence operations. This is not to say that sharp exchanges between China and the US were avoided. The US underscored that China’s behaviour, and particularly its use of a ‘toolkit of coercion’, must stop. And, while the US seeks to continue to cooperate with Beijing, Shanahan pointed out that it will only do so if Beijing plays by internationally established rules. Wei, in turn, noted that China’s defence spending was appropriate and its activities in the South China Sea were entirely in self-defence, but warned that ‘we will surely counterattack if attacked’. Great power rivalry was clearly on display, and the battle of visions for the region’s future presented by the two major powers of Asia has only just begun.
Against the backdrop of major-power competition, increased defence and security engagement by European powers in Asia is a noteworthy development, with French Defence Minister Florence Parly, the EU’s High Representative Federica Mogherini and UK Secretary of Defence Penny Mordaunt all underscoring their commitment to the region.
However, to deliver on that promise, interested European countries will have to first understand that their objective should be to work with Asian countries in partnership, as opposed to viewing the region only in the context of their relationships with the US and China. Secondly, the Europeans need a vision. Shanahan noted that the US has ‘more than a strategy – we have a plan’. To be sure, this plan would have resonated better had the US not withdrawn from various multilateral arrangements and included new solutions to the challenges that lie ahead. Nevertheless, there is at least momentum in the US strategy’s development.
The clear and strong performance by Parly, who presented France’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy, was an exception amongst the European discourse – not only in its delivery, but also in its substance, by setting out five priorities for France’s engagement in the region. These include a robust assertion that France is a Pacific country with a permanent military presence in the Indo-Pacific, which will be used to sail ‘more than twice a year in the South China Sea’. France also noted the convening and facilitating role it played in Europe, with European offices and UK helicopters having joined France as it sailed through the South China Sea on previous occasions.
The speeches by Mogherini and Mordaunt also signalled that their security engagement and defence presence in the region would continue to grow. However, both speeches lacked a strategic framework for engagement – despite offering a great deal to the region in traditional and non-traditional defence and security terms.
Key underlying themes ran as a thread through all of the European speeches: respect for the international rules-based system and the rule of law, the enforcement of international standards, the importance of multilateralism, the need to support fundamental global values, and partnership with the region. However, for these objectives to be met, the UK and EU alike will need to present coherent strategies for the region. They will need to understand how small and middle powers in Asia see their future, both in terms of their own national capability development in defence and security (whether civilian or military) and in terms of the regional balance of power and how European powers fit into this.
This is, of course, already a point of discussion in many bilateral and multilateral formats between Europe and the Asia-Pacific. However, at a time when strategic communication is crucial in signalling intent in an already contested region, European states looking to increase their engagement would do well to lay out a clear vision. Being a ‘reliable partner’, as Mordaunt underscored numerous times, and the very brief outline of the UK’s many security contributions to the region – past, present and future – came across as insufficient. Nor do they do justice to the commitment the UK has already outlined in the Pacific by opening three new posts, or existing commitments to ASEAN post-Brexit, its Commonwealth members in the region and the upgrade of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the signing of a Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (DCMOU), a strengthened bilateral defence partnership with Japan, and upholding the rules-based international system in the wider region. Of course, it is to be noted that Mordaunt has only just taken up her role, and perhaps wanted to strike a different tone from her predecessor Gavin Williamson.
Likewise, Mogherini, speaking on a panel concerning Korean security, was perhaps faced with a limited scope to outline her broader security ideas, which would surely be built on various elements of the EU’s global strategy (with four strategic partnerships in Asia), its maritime security strategy, its deepening relationship with ASEAN towards a strategic partnership, and of course the Enhanced EU Security Cooperation in and with Asia Council Conclusions of May 2018, amongst others. These are all valuable building blocks of the EU’s engagement in the region, but again, do not equate to a singular strategy on the region. Mogherini noted progress in EU–ASEAN defence relations with the creation of new military adviser posts in EU delegations and ongoing joint military engagements with 11 Asian countries. This is a welcome step in signalling to Asian countries that the EU is increasingly engaging in defence matters in Asia. However, ending on the EU’s support for a ‘new regional security architecture’ in Northeast Asia, as outlined at the end of the speech, seemed out of place given the preceding mention of significant challenges that lay ahead in solving the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the continued lack of interest in the region to model itself on the European Union.
At a time when Asian states, like Singapore in Southeast Asia, urge both Beijing and Washington to find peaceful solutions to their disputes, and leave smaller countries out of the crossfire, the engagement of European middle powers is helpful in strategic hedging. However, European countries will have to do what major powers don’t – which is to understand what role the region would like them to play, and not vice versa. This will also have to be embodied with national strategies that keep existing regional security architecture and institutions squarely in focus, while understanding where their engagement could add most value. That engagement, despite the appeal of headline-grabbing policies like the deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth and joining the US in conducting Freedom of Navigation operations, may not be the policy of choice if lasting impact and capacity building is the desired outcome.
Instead, the UK, EU member states and the EU institutions would be well placed to help countries in the region develop their maritime domain awareness (MDA) capabilities – through helping build data collection, fusion and analysis tools, provide comprehensive and long-term maritime security and MDA trainings appropriate to local maritime security contexts, and build greater capacity in maritime law enforcement agencies and other relevant institutions involved in ensuring legal finish to maritime crime in the region. Indeed, the maritime security challenges of Asia are numerous, from modern slavery and human trafficking to illicit wildlife trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and from drugs smuggling to piracy and armed robbery at sea, as well as the need to tackle transnational organised crime networks that utilise and exploit global maritime corridors. Furthermore, capacity building around Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, cyber security and border management would likewise be helpful.
However, these efforts must be coordinated between EU actors and like-minded states to avoid duplication of efforts, rest on thorough needs assessments across the region, and be sustainable in their long-term impact on the ground. European countries should not simply view Asia writ large, or specific countries, as a region to engage with on the sideline of a grander China strategy. While this is to some extent already being done, it remains to be seen how the EU and European countries alike will fuse the many ongoing activities into a regional strategy that can be communicated clearly and succinctly. How these strategies will strike a balance between China and other Asian countries remains to be seen. Minister Parly noted with confidence that ‘we believe we can chart our own way, avoid confrontation, and carry a distinctive voice’. Perhaps, but this has yet to be proven.
BANNER IMAGE: US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan hosts a multilateral meeting with Asian nations at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2019, Singapore, May 31, 2019. Courtesy of Lisa Ferdinando/U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
The views expressed in this Commentary are the author's, and do not represent those of RUSI or any other institution.
Veerle Nouwens is a Research Fellow at the International Security Studies Department of the Royal United Services Institute, focusing on... read more
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Unsung Artists: October 2018
Welcome back to Unsung Artists! We’re right in the middle of autumn and as expected from this season, a lot of slower songs and ballads are coming out in K-pop. Still, ballads won’t be all you’ll find in this segment for the month of October: there are jazzy tunes, EDM and of course hip-hop. Let us know what you’ve thought about these songs in the comment section and don’t forget to tell us your favourite tunes of the past month!
Nu’est W, “I Don’t Care”
Kicking it off we have Nu’est W, who released their song “I Don’t Care” on October 1st. Autumn is generally a season for slow ballads, so Nu’est W’s choice to come out with such a fresh and cutesy mid-tempo song in early October is quite unusual. Sadly the song lacks originality and the prominent presence of Baekho and Ren’s falsettos in the choruses feels rather redundant. This is probably why JR’s lower tone on his parts makes a pleasing contrast.
Nothing’s particularly original in this aegyo-filled MV. The excessive usage of pastel pink and baby blue should be adding a sense of cuteness, but (most likely due to post-production issues) ends up adding too much brightness and hurting the eyes. There’s no storyline to the music video, and the members are just playing around with themselves and acting cute for the camera. This kind of concept has been amply used in K-pop, leaving only so much to say about it.
Soyou, “All Night”
As a member of Sistar, she was known to be one of the sexiest girls in K-pop. On her own, she is one of the undisputed Queen of Ballads. This time, Soyou brought out her sexiness on her own in “All Night”. In this jazzy song, Soyou manages to showcase both her signature husky falsettos and her lower register. The song’s genre matches Soyou very well. If anything, the song ends a little too abruptly. Maybe adding a piano outro could have helped with this.
The music video’s plot is quite confusing. Soyou spots her love interest in a bar and successfully seduces him — there’s even a scene where Soyou’s flaunts her bare back. Nothing seems confusing up at this point, but the singer apparently can transform herself into a Russian Blue cat. This certainly adds mystery to her seductive character, but doesn’t add much to the plot itself. Another quite puzzling aspect is the fact that during the rap part of the song she runs away in order not to be seen dancing by her love interest, with no apparent reason.
Green and reds are dominant colours in this music video. It’s no secret that red is the colour of seduction, and overall, the colours have been used appropriately throughout the video. The atmosphere of the scene where Soyou is singing in the bar slightly reminds me of a very popular music video of an equally sexy young solo artist, but due to its immense popularity worldwide, it can perhaps be considered kind of a homage.
Crush, “none”
In this song, Crush reminsces over an ex-lover and their relationship who eventually came to an end. The song’s production is kept as minimalistic as possible, with only some guitar riffs, a piano and a beat that is almost like a heartbeat. Crush’s voice is as delicate as it can be and manages to express magisterially the pain and sorrow a break-up brings without belting: rather, he whispers.
The music video is very pleasing, aesthetically. Everything is black and white, which works very well with the mood of the song and its genre. There are several rain and water shots that not only go very well with the sad atmosphere, but also inevitably remind of fall, the season we’re in. Other than being on his own and pensive, reflecting on his past love story, there are also some flashbacks of Crush and his ex-lover.
“none” was one of the best songs released this month. Everything works very well: from its incredibly classy minimalistic production to the simple yet aesthetically pleasing music video. Crush’s talent in expressing emotions so well with his singing is once again the cherry on top.
Lee Hongki, “Cookies”
As FT Island’s vocalist, Hongki is known as a rocker. This time he takes on a whole different genre–siding with BtoB’s Ilhoon, he came out with an EDM song, “Cookies.” Given the song’s positive message, I think it’s impossible not to smile while listening to it. One could argue that the song is a bit too cheesy, but the lyrics fit the instrumental very well. Hongki and Ilhoon’s voices are an unexpected match that works incredibly well. EDM’s a genre which is slowly declining and heavily produced choruses with repetitive melodies are going out of fashion, but “Cookies” is catchy and easy to sing along.
Once again, the music video has a plot which is not developed in an extremely clear way. Apparently, Hongki is an alien who knows how to levitate and can also use telekinesis to move objects and people around him. Nothing’s explained in detail, but at the end of the music video, he is seen on a spaceship, probably returning to his own planet after lifting the spirits of humans on Earth. In this video, Hongki is seen doing some basic dance steps, which is a side of him he’s never showed before in his band.
Stray Kids, “I Am You”
On October 22nd, Stray Kids released their latest music video “I am YOU”. Once again the group’s sound leans towards R&B and hip-hop. There is an evident contrast between the rough voices of the rappers and the mellow timbres of the vocalists. But while each rapper has a very distinct style, the vocalists are harder to tell apart. This might be partly because of the post production effects applied to the vocals of the song.
The music video isn’t particularly elaborated, but it’s full of nice dance shots. The dance is probably the best part of the music video and the members of Stray Kids are perfectly synchronised in their moves. “I Am You” might not be Stray Kids’ most outstanding work to date, but it is a good song and strengthens their image as talented hip-hop idols.
(Youtube [1][2][3][4][5], images via Amoeba Culture, FNC Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Pledis Entertainment, Starship Entertainment)
Tags: Crush, Lee Hong Ki, Music Review, NU'EST, Soyou, Stray Kids, Unsung Artists
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Exciting plans to plant 7,000 trees announced
SGN Natural Gas has announced a major initiative to plant 7,000 trees in the heart of its new network area in the west of Northern Ireland.
The company is providing 4,000 trees in the initial phase of the project. The wooded wonderland will be located on approximately 2.5 hectares at Crom in Co. Fermanagh. An additional 3,000 trees will be planted in the network area by the end of 2022 and as a result, SGN Natural Gas will have planted a new tree for every domestic gas meter installed by that date.
IndiWoods, the woodland consultancy which has planted over one million trees in Northern Ireland during the past 16 years, is overseeing the exciting project. Preparatory work is already underway and the first phase of planting will resume at Crom in the autumn.
Tree planting is recognised as one of the most engaging, environmentally friendly activities that people can take part in to protect the planet. Trees provide shade and shelter for wildlife, prevent water pollution and reduce soil erosion to name but a few of the benefits. Trees can also help fight climate change by purifying the air and releasing oxygen through carbon capture.
A new Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland is currently being developed which will run until 2050 and take account of the UK government's commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by that deadline. Offsetting energy-related emissions is expected to form part of the approach, and by planting a new tree for every domestic gas meter installed, SGN Natural Gas is contributing to the realisation of this target.
Danny O’Malley, Director of SGN Natural Gas, said the company was committed to enhancing biodiversity in its network area and supporting the creation of new natural habitats that are accessible to local communities.
He said: “We're extremely pleased to be gifting a total of 7,000 trees to help create a native woodland in the heart of our network area.”
“Woodlands can be enjoyed by so many as both a recreational and educational resource, bringing together people of all ages and encouraging healthy outdoor activities from walking to bird watching which can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being as well as the rich environmental dividends delivered for our countryside.”
Mr. O’Malley added: “The Crom estate, located on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, is one of the most tranquil and picturesque places in Northern Ireland; it is also one of the most important conservation areas. We are both privileged and excited to be embarking on this new initiative in partnership with IndiWoods and look forward to our tree planting resuming later in the year, subject to government and public health guidance in relation to COVID-19 allowing all such activity to continue safely for everyone.”
Carolyn Trimble from IndiWoods inspecting one of their newly planted woodlands with Sennen, her Springer Spaniel.
Carolyn Trimble of IndiWoods said the initiative was to be welcomed, pointing out that the Woodland Trust has indicated Northern Ireland needs to significantly increase tree planting. It is the least wooded area in the UK (8%) and native woodland accounts for just 3%. The conservation charity recently published its Emergency Tree Plan which sets out how the UK can rapidly increase tree cover to help reach net-zero carbon emissions and tackle the declines in wildlife.
She explained: “Northern Ireland would need to plant 2,000 hectares of trees a year to hit an existing target of 12% cover by 2050. In 2018/2019 only 240 hectares were planted in Northern Ireland. IndiWoods is committed to planting native woodlands throughout Northern Ireland and welcomes the opportunity to plant trees on behalf of SGN Natural Gas. Native woodlands enhance our lives in so many ways including providing valuable wildlife habitats, enhancing our landscape and combatting flooding, all in addition to storing carbon and producing oxygen.”
“Tree planting keeps us physically fit and active and surrounding ourselves with trees and nature reduces anxiety and stress, a fantastic boost for our mental well-being. IndiWoods is looking forward to planting native Irish trees in beautiful Fermanagh in the autumn and we are excited to be part of this fantastic initiative.”
As a direct result of tree planting already carried out on other projects, IndiWoods has increased and improved the habitats throughout Northern Ireland for an abundance of species such as owls, birds, otters, bats, red squirrels, pine martin, bees and many more small mammals, flora and fauna.
Natural gas is seen as a pathway to an affordable, gradually decarbonised future that can deliver significant environmental benefits for everyone in Northern Ireland as we all ultimately move to a target net-zero carbon environment by 2050. As natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel available, conversion to this energy source will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as offer a more efficient fuel option to businesses, the public sector and domestic consumers alike.
Bringing natural gas to the west of Northern Ireland marks the culmination of one of the most significant energy infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the province. Representing an investment of over £250million, the project has the potential to meet the energy needs of up to 40,000 homes and businesses across Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry~Londonderry over the next 40 years.
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The Shape of Data
Exploring the geometry behind machine learning, data mining, etc.
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Interacting with ML Models →
LSTMs
Posted on June 4, 2016 by Jesse Johnson
In past posts, I’ve described how Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) can be used to learn patterns in sequences of inputs, and how the idea of unrolling can be used to train them. It turns out that there are some significant limitations to the types of patterns that a typical RNN can learn, due to the way their weight matrices are used. As a result, there has been a lot of interest in a variant of RNNs called Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTMs). As I’ll describe below, LSTMs have more control than typical RNNs over what they remember, which allows them to learn much more complex patterns.
Lets start with what I mean by a “typical” RNN. In my post on RNNs, I mentioned three basic types of operations in the computation graph: 1) Outputs from nodes (which may be earlier or later in the network) can be concatenated into higher-dimensional vectors, for example to mix the current input vector with a vector that was calculated in a previous step. 2) Vectors can be multiplied by weight matrices, to combine and transform the concatenated vectors. 3) A fixed non-linear transformation can be applied to the output from each node in the computation graph.
The limitation with the RNNs defined by these three operations stems from the fact that while the weight matrices are updated during the training phase, they’re fixed while each sequence of inputs is processed. So each step in the input sequence is combined with the information stored from earlier steps in the same way each time. In some sense, the network is forced to remember the same things about each step in every sequence, even though some steps may be more important, or contain different types of information, than others.
An LSTM, on the other hand, is designed to be able to control what it remembers about each input, and to learn how to decide what to remember in the training phase. The key additional operation that goes into an LSTM is 4) Output vectors from nodes in the computation graph can by multiplied component-wise. In other words, the values in the first dimension of each vector are multiplied together to get the first dimension of a new vector. Then the second dimensions of the two vectors are multiplied, and so on.
This is not a linear transformation, in the sense that you can’t get the same result by concatenating the two vectors, then multiplying by a weight matrix. Instead, this is more like treating one of the input vectors as a weight matrix that you’ll multiply the other output vector by. But unlike the weight matrices in a typical RNN, this “weight matrix” vector is determined by a computation somewhere else in the network, so it’s determined when the new data is processed, rather than fixed throughout the evaluation phase.
This “weight matrix” vector is in many ways not as impressive as one of the built-in weight matrices in a typical RNN. It’s equivalent to a matrix with the values of the vector along the diagonals, and the rest of the entries equal to zero. So it can’t do anything fancy to the other vector. Instead, you should think of it as a sort of filter that decides what parts of the other vector are important. In particular, if the “weight matrix” vector is zero in a given dimension then the result of multiplication will be zero in that dimension, no matter what the value was for that dimension in the other vector. If it’s close to 1, the output value is exactly equal to the value of the other vector in that dimension. (And a non-linear transformation is often applied to make sure the “weight matrix” values are very close to either 0 or 1.) So the “weight matrix” vector chooses what parts of a second vector get passed on to the next step. Because of this, the nodes in the computation graph where a “weight matrix” vector gets multiplied by a data vector is often called a gate.
An LSTM uses this fancy new fourth operation to create three gates, illustrated in the Figure below. This shows the inside of a single cell in an LSTM, and we’ll see farther down how this cell gets hooked up on the outside.
The LSTM cell has two inputs and two outputs. The output at the top (labeled out) is the actual RNN output, i.e. the output vector that you will use to evaluate and train the network. The output on the right (labeled mem) is the “memory” output, a vector that the LSTM wants to record for the next step. Similarly, the input on the bottom (labeled in) is the same as the input to a standard RNN, i.e. the next input vector in the sequence. The input on the right (also labeled mem) is the “memory” vector that was output from the LSTM cell during the previous step in the sequence. You should think of the LSTM as using the new input to update the value of the memory vector before passing it on to the next step, then using the new memory value to generate the actual output for the step.
When a new input vector comes in through the bottom of the LSTM, it is multiplied by the weight matrix , which puts it into the same form as the memory vector. We want to combine this with the memory vector using gates like we described above. So the input vector is also concatenated with the previous cycle’s memory vector, and this is multiplied by three different weight matrices: controls what the cell “remembers” about the input, controls what the cell “forgets” from memory and controls what part of the current memory is output at the top. The results of each multiplication are fed through a non-linear transformation that I didn’t include in the Figure.
Then these vectors are fed into gates, defined by our new network operation (indicated by a circle with a dot in it) as shown in the Figure. The middle gate filters the memory vector from the previous step and the bottom gate filters the transformed input vector. These two gated vectors are then added together to produce the memory vector for this step. In addition to becoming the memory vector that is sent to the next step in the LSTM, the memory vector is also filtered by the top gate to produce the actual output from the LSTM.
The key step in this process is how the memory vector and the transformed input vector are independently gated before being added together. In the simplest setup, each of the “weight matrix” vectors would have all their values 0 or 1, and these would be complementary between the two gates, so that each dimension gets the value from one or the other. The values, which are calculated from both the current input and the current memory vector, would thus determine which of the dimensions in the memory vector should be passed on to the next step, and which should be replaced with the corresponding value from the transformed input vector. But in practice, the network gets to “learn” whatever behavior is most effective for producing the desired output patterns, so it may be much more complex.
Speaking of which, lets quickly look at how an LSTM is trained, using the idea of unrolling that I described in my previous post. As you probably picked up from the discussion above, we hook up an LSTM externally by adding an edge from the right memory out, back around to the left memory in. This is shown on the left in the Figure below. This edge is a bit unwieldy to draw, wrapping around behind the cell. But once you unroll the network, as on the right of the Figure, it forms a nice, neat, horizontal edge from each step in the LSTM to the next.
As with a standard RNN, you can use unrolling to understand the training process, by feeding the whole sequence of inputs to the network at once, and using back propagation to update the weight matrices based on the desired sequence of outputs.
Note that LSTMs are fairly “shallow” as neural networks go, i.e. there aren’t that many layers of neurons. In fact, if you ignore the gates, there is a single lonely weight matrix between the input vector and the output vector. Of course, there are a number of ways one could modify an LSTM to make it more flexible, and a number of people have experimented with “deep LSTMs”. But for now, I’ll leave that for the readers’ imaginations, or maybe a future post.
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5 Responses to LSTMs
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mirriam ndunge says:
educative.
Dahabina Omar says:
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Researchers Find Simple, Cheap Way to Increase Solar Cell Efficiency
January 3, 2014 ScienceBlog.com
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found an easy way to modify the molecular structure of a polymer commonly used in solar cells. Their modification can increase solar cell efficiency by more than 30 percent.
Polymer-based solar cells have two domains, consisting of an electron acceptor and an electron donor material. Excitons are the energy particles created by solar cells when light is absorbed. In order to be harnessed effectively as an energy source, excitons must be able to travel quickly to the interface of the donor and acceptor domains and retain as much of the light’s energy as possible.
One way to increase solar cell efficiency is to adjust the difference between the highest occupied molecular orbit (HOMO) of the acceptor and lowest unoccupied molecular orbit (LUMO) levels of the polymer so that the exciton can be harvested with minimal loss. One of the most common ways to accomplish this is by adding a fluorine atom to the polymer’s molecular backbone, a difficult, multi-step process that can increase the solar cell’s performance, but has considerable material fabrication costs.
A team of chemists led by Jianhui Hou from the Chinese Academy of Sciences created a polymer known as PBT-OP from two commercially available monomers and one easily synthesized monomer. Wei Ma, a post-doctoral physics researcher from NC State and corresponding author on a paper describing the research, conducted the X-ray analysis of the polymer’s structure and the donor:acceptor morphology.
PBT-OP was not only easier to make than other commonly used polymers, but a simple manipulation of its chemical structure gave it a lower HOMO level than had been seen in other polymers with the same molecular backbone. PBT-OP showed an open circuit voltage (the voltage available from a solar cell) value of 0.78 volts, a 36 percent increase over the ~ 0.6 volt average from similar polymers.
According to NC State physicist and co-author Harald Ade, the team’s approach has several advantages. “The possible drawback in changing the molecular structure of these materials is that you may enhance one aspect of the solar cell but inadvertently create unintended consequences in devices that defeat the initial intent,” he says. “In this case, we have found a chemically easy way to change the electronic structure and enhance device efficiency by capturing a lager fraction of the light’s energy, without changing the material’s ability to absorb, create and transport energy.”
The researchers’ findings appear in Advanced Materials. The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Maojie Zhang synthesized the polymers; Xia Guo,Shaoqing Zhang and Lijun Huo from the Chinese Academy of Sciences also contributed to the work.
Categories Earth, Energy & Environment, Technology Post navigation
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2 thoughts on “Researchers Find Simple, Cheap Way to Increase Solar Cell Efficiency”
M Henri Day
Positive to see this type of cooperation between ministerial level entities in the United States and China. Hopefully, we shall soon be witness to such cooperation in space exploration as well !…
That being said…. That being said….That being said….That being said….That being said….That being said….That being said….That being said….
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4-Word Review: Where fantasy meets silliness.
A touring stage company in some unnamed European city during the 18th century is putting on a production of fictional character Baron Munchausen’s fanciful life when it gets interrupted by an elderly man (John Neville) insisting that he is the real Baron and who then takes center stage to narrate his adventures from his perspective. Unfortunately an army of Turks are also invading the city at the same time, which forces him to escape via a hot air balloon made of women’s undergarments. With him is a young stowaway named Sally (Sarah Polley) and together they try to round up a group of elite men with unique abilities, which they will use to team up against the Turks and hopefully win back the city while also meeting many odd characters and going through a myriad of zany, mystical scenarios.
The film’s dazzling production ran 24 million over budget only to then bomb at the box office but the intoxicating special effects almost make it worth it while it also remains kid friendly with action sequences that are pleasantly cartoonish and innuendos that are too subtle for them to catch. The balloon made of women’s underwear is great and as well as watching the trio get swallowed up by a giant sea monster whose head resembles that of an island. I also liked the angel of death scenes and wished those had been played up more. Even the little things like seeing a tiny grain of sand slither its way down the thin glass tube of an hourglass is fun. The colorful sets are dazzling and the whole thing gets saturated with a visual flair that is quite impressive.
Although she has complained in subsequent interviews about her experience working in this film and dealing with director Terry Gilliam Polley’s presence adds a lot with a performance that is completely on-target the whole way. She’s one of those child characters that is cute without it being forced, which is a major feat in itself. Robin Williams is hilarious as a giant floating head in a part that was intended for Sean Connery who I don’t think would have done it half as well. I also got a real kick out of Oliver Reed as a jealous god and Uma Thurman as his stunning wife Venus, which is technically her film debut, but due to budget delays this came out after two of her other films had already released.
The only real complaint about the movie is the plot or lack thereof. I loved the creativity, but after a while it starts to become dizzying and senseless. Gilliam’s other films like Time Bandits, which like this movie is part of his trilogy of imagination, at least had a discernable story that sucked you in and in Brazil it made great satirical jabs at modern day society, but here we get none of that. It becomes silly and surreal for no reason, which when factored in with its giant production cost and manpower turns it into a supremely wasted effort. Don’t get me wrong it’s amusing and engaging enough to be entertaining, but when it’s all over it is also quite forgettable.
Runtime: 2Hours 6Minutes
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Available: DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube
Posted in 80's Movies, Action/Adventure, Campy Comedy, Movies Based on Novels, Movies for the Whole Family, Surreal/Fantasy
Tagged Entertainment, John Neville, Movies, Oliver Reed, Review, Robin Williams, Sarah Polley, Terry Giliam, Uma Thurman
Fedora (1978)
4-Word Review: Old actress stays young.
This Review Contains Spoilers!
Barry ‘Dutch’ Detweiler (William Holden) is a struggling film director looking to make a big splash by trying to convince a reclusive Greta Garbo-like actress (Marthe Keller) to come out of retirement and star in his next big picture. He however, has trouble getting into contact with her as she resides on a secluded island estate in Greece. Finally after giving his script to her plastic surgeon (Jose Ferrer) he is able to meet her, but finds things to be on a strange side as she looks almost ageless and living with an authoritative Countess (Hildegard Knef) and personal secretary (Frances Sternhagen) who treat her like she is a child and refuse to let her out of their sight. As Barry investigates further he unravels the dark secret that the three share and the shocking reason why Fedora never seems to age.
Based on a short story by actor-turned-author Tom Tryon this was director Billy Wilder’s second-to-last film and as legendary as he is it was surprising to me why this film has never been released to DVD despite the fact that all of his other ones have. However, after viewing it the reason became clear as this is a real dud and a great director’s worst movie. The plot is poorly thought out and leaves a bundle of loopholes. In fact the believability is so low that it’s hard to get into it at all and the big twist that occurs near the middle where Fedora’s secret is exposed, which is that the old, ugly Countess is the real Fedora while the woman masquerading as the young looking one is really her daughter, is not surprising as I had suspected it from the very beginning. The acting and melodramatics are so much on a goofy soap opera level that the studio ended up dropping the film from its distribution when test audiences were found laughing in all the wrong places.
The island residence used to represent Fedora’s secluded home appeared rather old and rundown and the interiors were a bit cramped and not looking as luxurious as one would expect for a rich actress and Holden’s character is able to invade the place a bit too easily. I also thought the idea that the young Fedora would be constantly seen wearing white gloves to supposedly to cover up how young looking her hands were and thus tip people off that she really wasn’t an old woman at all didn’t make any sense as the daughter had already made three movies under the guise as being the old Fedora and it is impossible to believe that she would have been allowed to wear gloves through all of those roles.
The part where the Holden’s character gets knocked unconscious is equally stupid. For one thing he is not taken to a hospital, but instead back to his seedy hotel where he lies in bed for a whole a week before finally, miraculously regaining his consciousness. However, if a person is knocked out for that long a period it almost inevitably leads to a coma and how where they able to feed him and give him water? A hospital could’ve hooked him up to an IV that a dingy hotel wouldn’t have, which most likely would have had him dying from dehydration long before he makes his magically recovery and for someone who was hit over the head so violently you would expect some bruising, swelling and cuts and yet Holden wakes up without a single scratch on him!
The plastic surgery angle is another mess. Supposedly the whole reason Fedora got her daughter to pretend to be her is after she had some experimental surgery done on her face that became botched and made her too ugly to look at and yet one can see far worse plastic surgery disasters by observing many of today’s actresses attending your average Hollywood gala. Since the movie gets so over-the-top with its melodrama anyways they really should have made her face much more grotesque and thus given the viewer and film a lasting image.
Initially Marthe Keller was expected to play both the young and older Fedora, but when it was found that she had an allergic reaction to the old age makeup that was used Knef was then hired to play the part of the countess. Since their voices did not sound similar German actress Inga Bunsch dubbed for both of them, but her excessively deep voice gets really annoying to listen to.
After watching this film I came to the conclusion that Wilder had fallen into the same trap as his famous Norma Desmond character from Sunset Boulevard as he seems to be clinging too much to sentiments and a filmmaking style from a bygone era that no longer has relevance and unfortunately embarrasses himself in the process.
Studio: Lorimar
Posted in 70's Movies, Drama, Movies Based on Short Stories, Movies with Nudity, Obscure Movies
Tagged Billy Wilder, Entertainment, Hildegard Knef, Inga Bunsch, Marthe Keller, Movies, plastic surgery, Review, William Holden
Christmas Vacation (1989)
4-Word Review: Christmas at the Griswold’s.
It’s the season to be merry and to celebrate Clark (Chevy Chase) gets a tree that is too big for their house and his hopes of installing a backyard pool are dashed when his holiday bonus check doesn’t arrive. Meanwhile their home gets crammed with in-laws including his hillbilly cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) who never ceases to be obnoxious and crude.
I first saw this movie upon its release and didn’t much care for it, but upon second viewing I found it a bit more appealing. The humor isn’t exactly sophisticated or original, but manages to be amiable enough to be entertaining. Some of my favorite moments were just the small things like the way Clark angrily kicks the toy Santa in his front yard when he can’t get his outdoor Christmas lights to work or even the goofy reindeer glasses that Clark and Eddie drink eggnog out of. Clark’s innuendo filled stammering when aroused by a beautiful young saleslady is nothing new, but always funny especially with the way Chase does it. The running dialogue is full of amusing lines and good enough to spring up Quote-a-long film showings of this picture at many chain theaters including the Alamo Drafthouse Theater here in Texas.
Even though it has acquired a fervent cult following and been judged a ‘classic’ by some it still has its fair share of issues. For one thing they had too many in-laws over to fit into that mid-sized house and I wondered where they all slept and showing Rusty their teenage son sleeping in the same bed with his teenage sister seemed to border on the perverse. The film also has a frustrating tendency to not follow through with all of its gags including the part where Clark falls through the floorboards of his attic and into the top bunk bed of son’s bedroom below, which I’m sure would’ve caused a lot of issues, but we’re never shown it. The virtually plotless script by John Hughes, which relies solely on rapid-fire gags becomes a bit derivative and tedious by the final half-hour and is saved only by a funny squirrel attack as well as an S.W.A.T. team ambush. I also felt a bit uncomfortable laughing at a cat getting electrocuted, which the studio was going to cut, but then left in when it proved popular with test audiences
Young Juliette Lewis is cute and my favorite of the rotating Audrey’s. Beverly D’Angelo is the hottest MILF out there and I was a little shocked at the way she seems to grab Chase directly on his crotch during the S.W.A.T scene. I liked the veteran cast that made up the grandparents, but outside a few cryptic lines by E.G. Marshall they are essentially wasted especially Doris Roberts and Diane Ladd who play the two grandmothers and don’t have more than a few lines between them. Quaid is a scene stealer, but he gets a bit crude in spots. It’s fun seeing Mae Questal best known as the voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl in her final film role as a daffy, elderly aunt and I also enjoyed Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Griswold’s neighbors. They are portrayed as being this annoyingly pretentious, trendy yuppie couple, but the truth is I started to sympathize with them as their house continually gets damaged by Clark’s mishaps and I would have ended up being even more outraged and confrontational than they were had I been in their spot.
Released: December 1, 1989
Rated PG-13
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Available: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube
Posted in 80's Movies, Christmas Movies, Cold Climate/Wintertime Movies, Cult, Farce, Movies that take place in Chicago
Tagged Beverly D'Angelo, Chevy Chase, Entertainment, John Hughes, Juilette Lewis, Movies, Randy Quaid, Review
Elves (1989)
4-Word Review: This elf isn’t friendly.
Kirsten (Julie Austin) feels Christmas has become too commercialized and dreads the season only to find out something that will make her hate it even worse as her evil Grandfather (Borah Silver) who has Nazi ties has apparently selected her to breed with an elf in order to create a superior human race. Now she must work with Mike McGavin (Dan Haggerty) an out of work department store Santa to not only evade her grandfather and his men, but also the elf that now runs wild.
Despite the title there is actually only one elf and it’s not a very good looking one at that. Not only does his appearance resemble the character in Troll, but you never actually get to see an entire body shot of him. You will only see close-up shots from the chest up or close-ups of his tiny feet or hands that look to be that of a puppets. This was most likely because they didn’t have the budget or talent to create a full body suit for someone to wear, but the effect lessens the horror, which isn’t too high to begin with. His hands are so tiny that it would have been impossible for him to shoot a gun let alone hold one, which he does do in one scene anyways, and it also gave me the belief that with his small stature he couldn’t have been that threatening and one could’ve easily just have kicked him away and been done with it.
Haggerty, who most will remember from the 70’s TV-series Life and Times of Grizzly Adams actually does pretty good in an otherwise thankless part. I almost felt that if he would just do away with his trademark mountain man look more parts might open up for him and he wouldn’t be subjugated to having to do this crap, but in any event his presence is the only reason I’m giving this 1 point instead of 0. The rest of the cast flunks including the bad guys with their fake sounding German accents and the bland females with the only exception being Deanna Lund as the hateful mother who has a nude scene, which isn’t bad.
The story is farfetched, convoluted and ultimately boring. The special effects are unimpressive and the action poorly paced leaving way for long intervals where nothing seems to happen. It looks like it was shot on video and then transferred to film, which only accentuates its cheap production values. Outside of a pretty good bathtub death and a shot of an elf fetus inside the womb this film as little to offer or recommend and should not be put on anyone’s Christmas list unless they’ve been really, really bad.
Released Date: December 10, 1989
Director: Jeffrey Mandel
Studio: Action International Pictures
Posted in 80's Movies, Christmas Movies, Cold Climate/Wintertime Movies, Horror, Low Budget, Movies with Nudity, Obscure Movies, Slasher/Gore
Tagged Dan Haggerty, Deanna Lund, Entertainment, Movies, Review
Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
4-Word Review: She’s got babysittin’ blues.
After being stood up on a date high school senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) decides to take one last babysitting job. It is for the Anderson family and their two children: 7-year-old Sara (Maia Brewton) and her 15-year-old brother Brad (Keith Coogan), who secretly has a crush on Chris. Things start out okay, but then her best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) calls stating that she is stranded at a rundown bus station and needs Chris’s help to get home. Despite her better judgment Chris decides to pack up the kids into her mother’s station wagon as well as Brad’s friend Darryl (Anthony Rapp) and takes them into the city to save her friend only to end up dealing with one disaster after another.
Shue’s presence, in her first starring role, is what really makes this movie work. She is not only beautiful, but shows perfect comic timing and despite the fact that she was already 24 at the time of filming still looks like a teen albeit on the very mature side. The kids though aren’t as good and although they do grow on you a bit as the movie progresses it would’ve worked better had she been babysitting a family of mutes. The Brad character is too bland and clean-cut, his friend Darryl is too obnoxious and the young Sara, who wears a stupid looking, winged, metal helmet for almost the entire movie comes off like an annoying little brat.
Miller’s Brenda character is the most irritating as she is ditzy and airheaded to the extreme and her scenes come off as forced humor at its worst. Since all the calamity starts when they get a flat tire I thought they could’ve used a different motivation for driving into the city, like going for ice cream or to a movie and cut the Brenda character out completely since it ends up being the film’s weakest part.
Although the setting is in Chicago and most of the scenes were filmed there a few of them weren’t including the frat house party, the restaurant scene and Anderson’s residence which were all done in Toronto. Either way it tends to paint Chicago in an unflattering light by playing up its urban stigma and for a film that seems squarely aimed at the preteen crowd it has some surprisingly edgy elements including 17-year-old prostitutes, a story thread dealing with a Playboy centerfold and even a few F-bombs.
However, on the whole it’s quite funny and entertaining; much funnier than I was expecting. I even found myself sitting on the edge of my seat in a few places including the scene where they have to walk across some ceiling rafters to escape from the bad guys as well as a tense, well-filmed climatic segment done on the glass roof of a skyscraper. The segment where Chris narrates her babysitting adventures to the background music of a blues band is great and her line “Don’t fuck with the babysitter!” which she states to an intimidating gang leader is classic.
In many ways this is quite similar to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but better. The comic scenarios aren’t quite as over-the-top, the adults aren’t so painfully stupid and the main character is thankfully not as smug. Like in Ferris there is also an amusing moment shown after the end credits, which I found to be just as funny.
Released: July 1, 1987
Director: Chris Columbus
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Available: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video
Posted in 80's Movies, Adolescence/High School, Cold Climate/Wintertime Movies, Farce, Movies that take place in Chicago
Tagged Elisabeth Shue, Entertainment, Keith Coogan, Maia Brewton, Movies, Penelope Ann Miller, Review
Class of 1999 (1990)
4-Word Review: The teachers are robots.
The year is 1999 and American high schools are running rampant with drugs and gang warfare. In an attempt to try to regain some control administrators have hired on a company run by Dr. Bob Forrest (Stacy Keach) who has created teachers who look human, but are actually robots capable of exerting extreme punishment on those students who get out-of-line. A Seattle high school is chosen as a venue to test these robots out with Miles Langford (Malcolm McDowell) being the only human instructor made aware of these other teacher’s identities. At first things go well and civil behavior from the unruly teens is attained, but then the teachers get out-of-control where even their creators are unable to rein them in, so it is up to some rebel teen students lead by Cody (Cody Culp) to fight them off and stop them.
This is a sort-of sequel to writer/director Mark L. Lester’s earlier Class of 1984 and in many ways on a low budget scale it’s alright. I watched this film with my Cinema Terrible group here in Austin where we get together each month to watch two really bad movies. Usually everyone spends the time making fun at what they are watching, but this film surprisingly kept them quiet and captivated, which no one had initially expected. Lester has directed 33 of these types of films since 1971 and he knows how to deliver. His product certainly isn’t on an Academy Award winning level, but for those looking for some cheap non-think entertainment with a fast pace and decent effects then this ain’t too bad.
The best element of the film is John P. Ryan, Pam Grier and Patrick Kilpatrick as the three teacher robots. Ryan especially owns the screen during all of his scenes and the part where he takes some difficult students one-by-one over his knee and gives them a nice long, hard spanking is without question the best moment of the whole movie. Grier though is good too and during the climatic sequence she runs around essentially topless with her chest ripped open and her computer parts exposed, which I found to be well done. McDowell is the only one of the familiar names who is wasted and apparently only worked 2 days on the production.
The film’s biggest issue is that it has no sense of humor despite its over-the-top campy premise. The teen cast show minimal acting ability and their characters come off like walking, talking clichés. In a lot of ways this film would have been better had the evil teacher robots been portrayed as ‘the good guys’ and instead of being annihilated at the end by the students they were the ones who eradicated all of the mouthy, crude and disrespectful teens, which some would consider to be much more of a ‘happy ending’.
Director: Mark L. Lester
Studio: Vestron Pictures
Available: DVD, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube
Posted in 90's Movies, Action/Adventure, Adolescence/High School, Low Budget, Movies with Nudity, Sci-Fi, Thrillers/Suspense
Tagged Entertainment, John P. Ryan, Malcolm McDowell, Mark L. Lester, Movies, Pam Grier, Review, Stacy Keach
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
4-Word Review: This thing is weird.
Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is part-time rock band singer who has invented a mechanism that he calls the oscillation overthruster that allows him to travel through rocks and other solid matter. He is somehow able to do this by tapping into the realms of the 8th dimension, but upon doing so he also attracts the attention of some aliens lead by Lord John Whorfin (Jon Lithgow) who wants to steal the device and use it for their own nefarious needs. Buckaroo, who is able to recognize these aliens who otherwise look human to everyone else after being zapped by some electronic component through a telephone receiver by a group of other aliens, gets a group of fellow geeks together to help fight the evil Whorfin and his men before it is too late.
In a lot of ways this film is a refreshing change-of-pace and it is not surprising that it has attained such a strong cult following. Most films with such an offbeat concept end up selling out and becoming quite formulaic and conventional with only a few odd elements thrown in for good measure, but this movie is completely weird in all facets and truly lives up to its campy over-the-top title. I loved the off-the-wall banter, ridiculously silly, but still quite entertaining special effects and characters that are uniformly warped. The comic book look is great and the story gets increasingly more absurd as it goes along. You have to tune out your logic and conventional movie mode to get into this and enjoy it, but the humor and chuckles are there if you let it.
Unfortunately the pace as well as the beginning become a bit too off. I found things to be completely confusing at the start that I really couldn’t understand what was going on for the whole first half-hour. The film seemed to jump from one outlandish scene and character to the next without any cohesion and the result was quite off-putting. It wasn’t until about 45 minutes in that I was able to finally get into the groove with it, but more of a background to the characters and a set-up would have helped greatly. There are still enough memorably unique moments to make it worth it including my favorite the Banzai Team March, which was filmed at the Sepulveda Dam in the San Fernando Valley and shown over the closing credits.
Weller is in fine form in the lead and seems much more at ease with this role than he was in Robocop where he came off as being miscast. Lithgow is a hoot as an over-the-top villain speaking with a heavy Russian/German accent. I also enjoyed Matt Clark as the Secretary of Defense who acts as if he is above all rules of protocol until finally being put into his place by a little kid with a rifle.
The closing credits listed a follow-up title that was supposedly going to be a sequel that unfortunately was never made due to the film’s production company going out of business, which is a shame as this thing had strong potential of becoming a major franchise. W.D. Richter who has an impressive screenwriting resume does well in his directorial debut and it’s an equal shame that he only helmed one other movie at this point as he shows potential to being uniquely talented in that position.
Director: W.D. Richter
Available: VHS, DVD, Amazon Instant Video
Posted in 80's Movies, Campy Comedy, Cult, Offbeat, Sci-Fi
Tagged Buckaroo Banzai, Entertainment, John Lithgow, Lord John Whorfin, Matt Clark, Movies, Peter Weller, Review, W.D. Richter
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
4-Word Review: My heart is full.
Beatrice Hunsdorfer (Joanne Woodward) is a single-mother raising two girls while living in the poor side of Staten Island. She is an extremely self-centered, emotionally frail woman who’s bitter about life and alienates everyone that she meets. Ruth (Roberta Wallach) is her rebellious teenage daughter who recognizes her mother’s flawed personality and tries to distance herself from her. Matilda (Nell Potts) is the quiet, introspective daughter who takes in all the chaos while escaping by concentrating on her school science projects particularly the one involving marigolds, but as things progress Beatrice’s mental state becomes more erratic and threatens to tear their lives completely apart.
Actor Paul Newman directs on a tour-de-force level. Absolutely everything comes together while still keeping it on a subtle, visual level. The opening sequences gives the viewer a clear picture of the family’s strife and divergent personalities without ever having to go into any type of verbal backstory, which is great filmmaking at its finest. Although filmed in Bridgeport, Connecticut one still gets a good feeling of a poor inner-city neighborhood with the house that was chosen for the setting looking authentically cluttered without appearing staged. The variety of settings has a cinema verite feel while also remaining true to Paul Zindel’s script. Yet Newman’s greatest achievement is the fact that he creates a wholly unlikable main character that the viewer ends up still feeling quite sorry for and the climactic scene inside the school’s auditorium becomes emotionally wrenching.
Woodward excels in a difficult role and creates a character that becomes permanently etched in the viewer’s mind. Her brilliance comes through from the very beginning with the way she chews her gum while trying on some wigs and her never ending stream of caustic remarks runs the gamut of being rude and insensitive to darkly humorous. Although she was nominated for best actress with the Golden Globes and won the award at the Cannes for her work here she really should have been given the Academy Award as well.
Wallach, who is the daughter of Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, is terrific in her film debut and has some memorable moments not only when she has a seizure, but also later when she plays a caricature of her mother for a school play. Potts, who is Newman’s and Woodward’s daughter, is quite good too especially with her stunning clear blue eyes and facial expressions.
Judith Lowry, who made a name for herself in her later years playing cantankerous old ladies, is outstanding as an old woman who rents a room from Beatrice. Although she frustratingly never says a word her moments are still unforgettable especially with the way Newman focuses on her wrinkled face and toothless mouth as she sips drinks or even hobbles her way to the bathroom.
Zindel’s story was originally a stage play and in fact Carolyn Coates who is cast as Mrs. McKay here played the Beatrice role in one of the stage versions. Most teenagers from the 70’s and 80’s will recognize Paul Zindel’s name as the author of ‘Pigman’, which was required reading in many high schools during that era. Yet I liked this story, which is based loosely on his experiences while growing up, even better and it’s a real shock that it has never been released on an American DVD as it definitely should be!
Director: Paul Newman
Available: DVD (Region 2)
Posted in 70's Movies, Adolescence/High School, Drama, Dry Humor, Movies Based on Stageplays, Movies that take place in the Big Apple, Obscure Movies
Tagged Joanne Woodward, Judith Lowry, Movies, Nell Potts, Paul Newman, Paul Zindel, Review, Roberta Wallach
Who is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
4-Word Review: Paranoid songwriter self-destructs.
Georgie Soloway (Dustin Hoffman) is a successful songwriter who has written dozens of chart topping songs for different bands and yet feels alone and guilt ridden. He lives in his swanky Manhattan penthouse feeling paranoid after a man by the name of Harry Kellerman starts calling his friends and saying malicious things about him, which risks jeopardizing his career and reputation. He tells his problems to his psychiatrist (Jack Warden) while also searching for Kellerman, but makes no headway.
Story-wise the film is a misfire as Herb Gardner’s script has no discernable plot and a main character that doesn’t grow or evolve. Even if taken as a collection of vignettes it doesn’t work and it becomes more like a pointless one-man soliloquy instead. The final revelation of the mysterious Kellerman is not all that surprising or worth sitting through. Why the filmmakers thought viewers would be interested in watching a man essentially self-destruct for two hours is a mystery and it is as boring as it sounds. Besides it is hard for the average person to feel sorry for someone who seems to have it all and loaded with money and thus makes the character’s problems and issues seem quite minute and his perpetual whining overly monotonous.
The only thing that saves it is Ulu Grosbard’s creative direction. I enjoyed some of the surreal elements particularly those done during his sessions with his psychiatrist as well as a scene showing Georgie running through a long lighted tunnel that seems to have no end. The final segment done on a single-jet airplane is captivating especially as it flies through the clouds and watching two skiers’ glide through the snow from a bird’s-eye perspective has an equally mesmerizing effect. I also loved the way the film captures the New York skyline during a visual taken from the plane as it swoops over the city and a scene done in the early morning hours in downtown Manhattan without seemingly a single car driving on the street gives off a strangely unique feeling.
Barbara Harris, who doesn’t come on until the second half, is a scene stealer as an insecure actress who bombs at her audition, but then refuses to leave the stage. It was good enough to get her nominated for the Academy Award that year, but she lost out to Cloris Leachman and as much as I love Cloris Barb really should have won it as she is the one thing the enlivens this otherwise flat film and had her character been in it more this would have been a far better movie. David Burns, who died from a sudden heart attack while performing in a play three months before this film’s release, is touching as Georgie’s father.
Grosbard and Hoffman teamed up again seven years later for Straight Time, which is far superior and more worth your time to watch.
Director: Ulu Grosbard
Studio: National General Pictures
Available: VHS, DVD
Posted in 70's Movies, Movies that take place in the Big Apple, Movies with Nudity, Offbeat, Psychological, Surreal/Fantasy
Tagged Barbara Harris, David Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Enterainment, Herb Gardner, Movies, Review, Ulu Grosbard
Cruising (1980)
Posted on December 8, 2014 | 1 comment
4-Word Review: Cop infiltrates gay underground.
A serial killer is attacking gay men who frequent New York’s S&M bars and young cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is chosen to go undercover as a gay and infiltrate these ‘leather clubs’ in order to bring out the killer. However, the job requirements demand that he must be completely isolated from the rest of the force and not carry a gun, which eventually causes a strain on his personal life particularly in his relationship with his girlfriend Nancy (Karen Allen).
The film, which is loosely based on actual events that occurred during the late 70’s and captured in Gerald Walker’s novel of the same name, was considered quite controversial at the time of its production. Protestors who felt the film accentuated the gay stereotype tried to create loud noises during filming and even shine reflective lights on the actors in an attempt to mess up the scenes. In retrospect it is hard to imagine that director William Friedkin is in anyway homophobic as just ten years earlier he did the brilliant adaptation of The Boys in the Band, which remains to this day one of the better films dealing with gay issues. The story certainly does wallow in ugly elements, but also makes the point to describe this as an extreme subculture and not reflective of the gay lifestyle as a whole, which in my opinion made the film seem more enlightening to New York’s gay underground of a bygone era and less propaganda as its critics ascertained.
To some degree I liked the explicit uncompromising approach, but after a while it became one-dimensional and predictable. The scenes of the killings are unnecessarily prolonged and some of the segments showing large groups of men having sex at a bar come off as overly-stylized and looking reminiscent of a homoerotic scene from a Fassbinder film.
Friedkin does manage to add a few unique touches including having a well-built black man wearing nothing but a jock strap enter the room during police interrogations and violently slap suspects who he felt weren’t telling the truth, which according to one of the film’s advisors was an actual technique used by police at the time. The way the movie captures the monotony and frustrations of investigating a complex case such as this and leaving open that there may have been more than one killer is also well done and helps elevate this a bit from the usual formulaic cop thriller.
Pacino gives a gutsy performance including one scene showing him tied up in bed naked during some kinky S&M play, but the character’s motivations are confusing particularly the way he so quickly accepts this difficult assignment that most others would be very reluctant to do. The fact that his experiences ends up affecting him psychologically isn’t compelling since that becomes a foregone conclusion right from the start.
Paul Sorvino is perfect as the police captain. His gray hair dye was a little overdone, but his limp was great. Allen has a good moment at the end when she tries on Pacino’s leather hat and coat that he brought home with him and Joe Spinell makes the most of his small role as a corrupt cop who harasses gays only to end up patronizing gay bars on his off hours. You can also spot Powers Boothe in an early role as a hankie salesman and Ed O’Neil as a police detective.
The idea of exposing the dark side of police life is no longer original or interesting and the film’s shock value has lessened through the years and thus failing to leave any type of lasting impression or message.
Director: William Friedkin
Studio: United Artists
Posted in 80's Movies, Gay/Lesbian, Movies Based on Actual Events, Movies Based on Novels, Movies that take place in the Big Apple, Movies with Nudity, Mystery, Police Drama
Tagged Al Pacino, Entertainment, Joe Spinell, Movies, Paul Sorvino, Review, William Friedkin
Can't Stop the Music (1980)
Cops and Robbers (1973)
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
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Democratic Congressional Candidate Abused His Ex-Wife, Reportedly Not Dropping Out
Paul Blest
According to divorce records obtained by The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier, South Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Archie Parnell abused his ex-wife.
According to the divorce records, Parnell’s ex-wife Kathleen said that on October 21, 1973, she locked herself inside of a friend’s apartment to protect herself from Parnell. To get inside, Parnell broke the glass door with a tire iron and then forced his way into the apartment. Parnell then made “further accusations” of his ex-wife, which she denied, and then he “repeatedly” hit her, “with such force as to cause her acute physical injury.” Later that night, she said, Parnell assaulted her again.
In her divorce filing, Parnell’s ex-wife argued that she was “entitled to an absolute divorce on the ground of physical cruelty,” and she requested a restraining order against Parnell. The judge granted Kathleen a divorce in March 1974; later, the Post and Courier reported, she obtained the restraining order.
Following the discovery of the allegations, which was reportedly made by his own aides, campaign manager Yates Baroody resigned. “As soon as I discovered them, I immediately resigned from the campaign and advised Archie he should withdraw from the campaign immediately,” Baroody told the Post and Courier. “He has no business running for Congress and he never did.”
On Monday, Parnell issued a vague statement to the Post and Courier where he admitted that he “became violent with other people, including my formal wife,” but didn’t indicate that he planned on dropping out:
“This campaign has always been about the people of the 5th district, my home, but never about me,” Parnell said in a statement. “Forty five years ago, while still a college student, I did something that I have regretted every single day since. In response to actions I feel unnecessary to specify, I lashed out and became violent with other people, including my former wife, which led to a divorce and monumental change in my life.
“These actions were inexcusable, wrong and downright embarrassing,” Parnell added. “Since then, my life has been changed by a remarkable woman, two amazing daughters, a forgiving God and a career that has taught me to cherish what I have.”
South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Trav Robertson and CNN commentator Bakari Sellers, who endorsed Parnell, also called on him to exit the race. “Politically, it’s one less chance for Democrats to take back the House, but who cares when it comes to issues such as domestic violence?” Sellers told the Post and Courier. (The Post and Courier reported that even if Parnell does withdraw, it’s too late to remove him from the June 12 Democratic primary ballot.)
Parnell nearly scored a huge upset in a special election in South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District last year, and is running for the same seat again in November. Prior to the divorce records being made public, Parnell was seemingly headed for a rematch with incumbent Greg Norman, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put the district on its list of targeted seats in February. (The Post and Courier said that efforts to contact the DCCC were unsuccessful.)
Last month, Norman whipped out a loaded gun at a meeting with constituents.
News editor, Splinter
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Homeboy Sandman's new album Don't Feed The Monster, is a collaboration with producer/MC Quelle Chris. It's also his most vulnerable and poignant work to date. Having grown up in Queens, New York, hip-hop was part of everything in life. This deep-rooted connection to the culture is evident when listening to his style of rhyming- bold, classic & deeply respectful. On Don't Feed The Monster, he pulls back any pretense to show his most honest truth - a process that he needed both artistically and spiritually. "I was having a hard time and this record saved me thank Quelle and thank God and shout to Gabor Maté," he said about the new album.
https://store.rattlebackrecords.com 843563131640
Label: MELLO MUSIC GROUP
Don't Feed The Monster
Artist: Homeboy Sandman
Copyright © rattlebackrecords
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Daily Archives: July 16th, 2018
Brewers’ first baseman Jesus Aguilar will pull double-duty during the All-Star break as he will not only be one of five Brewers players on the National League squad, but he will also be a participant in the Home Run Derby.
Aguilar becomes the ninth Milwaukee Brewer to be in an All-Star Game Home Run Derby. The other eight: Ryan Braun, Jeromy Burnitz, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Carlos Lee, Richie Sexson, Greg Vaughn and Rickie Weeks.
Here are a handful of stats you may not know about Brewers players in the ASG Home Run Derby:
Vaughn was the first participant in 1996. The ASG Home Run Derby started in 1985.
Vaughn is the only Brewers participant in the event who did not hit a home run in the event. He had zero HRs in the only round he was a participant in ’85.
Fielder and Sexson are the only Brewers to have participated in more than one event; Fielder was in three (2007, 2009 and 2011) while Sexson was in two (2002 and 2003).
Fielder is the only Brewer to win the event. He did it in 2009.
Five different Brewers lost in the semi-finals in the event: Sexson in 2002, Lee in 2005, Braun in 2008, Hart in 2010 and Fielder in 2011.
Burnitz is the only other Brewer player to make it to the finals (other than Fielder in 2009) in the event. He lost to Ken Griffey Jr. in the finals in 1999.
Miller Park hosted the ASG and Home Run Derby in 2002. Jason Giambi won the event that year.
Adding up all the home runs hit by Brewers players in the Home Run Derby, it’s no surprise that Fielder has the most cumulative home runs with 35 in three years. He is followed by Lee with 15, Braun and Burnitz with 14, Hart with 13, Sexson with 11, weeks with three and Vaughn with zero.
Two Brewers, Burnitz in 1999 and Fielder in 2011, did not hit a home run in at least 10 games after the All-Star game after participating in the Home Run Derby that year. Burnitz did not hit a HR until the 15th game after the Home Run Derby; it took Fielder 13 games after the Home Run Derby in 2011 before he hit his first HR after the event.
Posted in: Baseball | Tagged: All-Star Game, Brewers in the Home Run Derby, Home Run Derby, Prince Fielder, Richie Sexson
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City Furniture is setting an example of how small companies can make a big difference protecting the environment. City Furniture has stores in south Florida with pride in its small local community business origins. The company currently has 108 trucks in its fleet used to deliver furniture. The company is committed to converting its fleet to clean compressed natural gas (CNG). Thus far, 94 trucks have been converted. The company has invested $1.5 million in transitioning to CNG, which includes an on-site CNG fueling station. This clean technology transition at City Furniture is occurring without the use of government funding. City Furniture has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 50 Greenest Fleets in America, ranking #24 in the year 2017. City Furniture has six showrooms that are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. Their distribution center in Tamarac features a state-of-the-art recycling center, where 95% of waste is recycled. In April, City Furniture announced pre-ordering five Tesla Semi trucks, which will make it the first furniture retailer in the U.S. to go electric. The type of leadership provided by City Furniture is truly inspiring and a great example of what a small company can accomplish making our communities cleaner, safer and more sustainable.
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October 5, 2020 by Tim Gardner
Dir: Ol Parker
I’m a little sad to say this sequel is really not very good at all. I didn’t particularly love the first one, in all honesty, I watched it somewhat ironically with a friend but it was entertaining enough for my self-imposed irony to largely wear off by the end. Not so with this sequel, it feels like someone asked for a basic idea for a lucrative sequel and then put that first draft into production with no adjustments.
Serving as both a prequel and sequel simultaneously, this film follows Donna’s (Meryl Streep) daughter Sophie reopening the hotel after her death, while also expanding on how Donna came to the island and acquired a trio of lovers.
If you take away the foundation of the first film’s (and stage musical’s) story and the music of ABBA, this film would be empty, the shallowest pit of underdeveloped narrative and character I’ve had the misfortune of seeing in a very long time. Neither narrative not character were the strongest points of the first film, but it had ABBA’s greatest hits, and the one and only Meryl Streep. Without those treasures to rely on, this needed to bring more of the basic fundamentals of a good film to the rescue, yet they’re also conspicuously absent.
There was an opportunity to develop the backstory of Meryl Streep’s Donna in a way that would build on the first film and add to the character meaningfully. Sadly that doesn’t really happen. I didn’t think anything in this film added to my appreciation of the character from the first much at all, it almost undermined the idea of a strong independent single mother who’d raised her daughter and built her business, I like Lilly James but I couldn’t say I much cared for young Donna.
I understand the dilemma, they have to make the difficult and unavoidable choice to either use ABBA’s less popular songs that only the biggest fans will know and appreciate, or reuse some hits from the first film, yet for some reason, they do both, as if that’d mitigate the issue. There are at least 5 songs brought back from the first film, because “you’ve got to play the hits”. Then, there are an equal number of songs that I had never heard before in my life until I saw this film.
Lily James is great casting as young Donna (or young Meryl Streep if you prefer to think of it that way) and her singing voice is lovely, she’s Lily James, everything about her is lovely, but the character as presented feels so superficial and didn’t do anything much to showcase James’ acting abilities. Cher is also great casting and it’s obvious that they were incredibly pleased to have nabbed her for the role. From both a musical and acting perspective she’s a brilliant choice, a huge draw for their target demographic, but once she appears it’s impossible to ignore the fact that her extensive plastic surgery means her face shows so little emotion the character comes across as cold even when the whole point is that she’s meant to be turning over a new warmer leaf.
Costing a bit more than the first film to make, this took nearly half the amount at the box office, though still providing huge returns on the investment as the production cost was very modest by modern blockbuster standards. If it weren’t for the huge success of the first film and the appeal of ABBA, this film’s foundations would be savaged, the story is endlessly contrived and underdeveloped. Audiences largely knew what they’d be getting, and it delivers on the campy musical promise, but doesn’t even attempt to offer much of a story beyond unnecessarily ‘fleshing out’ the specific details referred to in the first. It has nearly nothing to offer someone who hasn’t seen the first film and isn’t a die-hard fan of ABBA, except the performances of some superb actresses, and sadly, that’s not enough to make this remotely rewatchable for me.
An inevitable third film is in production. Based on the box office returns of the first two it’s no surprise they’d want to make another, though it’s not coming from a creative perspective because there are complex characters whose depths need further exploration, it’ll just be to continue the predictable story arc. I can with complete certainty predict the tale they’re going to tell, another simultaneous prequel and sequel, showing how Sophie handles being a new mother intercut with the comparable experience of Donna raising Sophie. They’ll throw a huge amount of money at Meryl to get her to appear again for added legitimacy, though in this film she’s little more than a cameo, and now that the younger version of the character is established a cameo may be sufficient, providing Lily James does return.
As to what songs they’ll use, maybe you can guess a few, but the rest will be mere padding, apparently including newly written songs for the band’s reunion, thereby further losing what covered over the cracks in the first film and plugged gaping holes in this second, the well-known and beloved ABBA hits. Trading on the huge popularity of the franchise so far it’ll likely be a success financially but difficult to make anything but a dismal failure creatively.
This entry was posted in Film and tagged comedy, featured, film, golden globes, movie, movies, music, review. Bookmark the permalink.
Super Saturday Review: Captain Marvel
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Home News African and Caribbean Africa Seeing Major Economic Growth
African and Caribbean
Africa Seeing Major Economic Growth
Economies throughout Africa are now improving, giving the continent a boost out of the poverty with which it has been stricken for much of recent history. In fact, the gross domestic product itself is growing quickly according to a new report released by the African Development Bank. The report states that among African countries, approximately one out of three now possesses GDP growth rates that exceed 6 percent.
As the GDP improves throughout the continent, Africans are now better able to start businesses thanks to decreasing costs. Over the course of the last seven years, the expenses of building a new business have dropped by over two-thirds. In addition, the delays associated with creating a new business have been cut in half. The result is that Africa is developing a larger middle class, with approximately 350 million inhabitants of the continent making anywhere from $2 to $20 on a daily basis. Overall, these improvements have reduced the proportion of Africans living in poverty to 39 percent in 2012 from 51 percent in 2005.
GDP Improvements Resulting from Private Sector Growth
Last year, Africa’s per-capita GDP rose to $953, and the middle-class countries in Africa increased in number to 26 on a scale that reaches 54. The improvements are benefiting these countries as a whole, but the private sector is a primary source of the positive changes being seen. The news of private sector growth has been made public by the Annual Development Effectiveness Report released by the African Development Bank. To a large degree, these improvements have contributed to a better environment for business and enhancement of economic governance throughout the continent.
Improvements throughout African society are already being seen as the economy responds to the changes. For example, more investors are putting money into the continent, and trade is on the rise as well. In fact, foreign investment has multiplied by a factor of five since 2000. Experts predict numerous improvements for the future. Infrastructure quality, a major factor in economic success of countries, is in the works in many African nations. Citizens are also seeing better access to finance that builds businesses and improves lifestyles. Ultimately, these developments translate to an increased ability for Africa to compete with other countries on the global market.
Intra-African Trade Will Lead
As African infrastructure improves, trade between countries on the continent is likely to increase and become a major contributor to growth. African countries that cooperate economically within their region will see major benefits for the future. In the past, poor development of the continent’s infrastructure has inhibited Africa’s ability to ramp up its production and distribution and accumulate wealth. This was partly due to low investment in infrastructure compared to other countries, such as China. At present, Africa only invests about 4 percent of its total GDP to the development and maintenance of infrastructure, falling far behind the 14 percent invested by China for its own infrastructure. Now, more African countries are recognizing that while infrastructure does demand significant costs initially, it can pay off in terms of economic growth over time.
Challenges to Come
At this point, Africa’s future is continuing to look brighter. However, according to the African Development Bank, the continent still has a long way to go in some respects. For example, income inequality is still rampant in many parts of Africa. In the coming years, leaders will need to address these inequalities so that people throughout the continent will be able to benefit. In addition to assisting developed urban areas, these actions will also serve individuals and businesses in disadvantaged areas, communities in rural areas and states that are still economically fragile.
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Five Highlights from President Obama’s Trip to Kenya
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The concept was cutting edge in 1996. Please visit, but keep in mind the site was built as we traveled using Microsoft’s Front Page and that we have left it vintage for historical and sentimental reasons. It was a dream come true.
That dream in 1996 evolved into the project we called Blondins’ Assignment America. On September 30, 1996, we left our home in Boyne City, Michigan. What might be the world’s largest field trip and hands-on learning experience began in Cleveland, Ohio, with science, rock and roll, and natural history. It progressed to marine life in Maine, the story of independence and immigration in New England, and national history and heroics in Philadelphia. It then intensified during our two-week stay in Washington, D.C. during an election cycle, and never slowed as we headed south to Florida and then West. To give you an idea how ambitious we were, here is a list of places we visited in just the first month and here is an article about our first 10 weeks.
At that time high-speed Internet was rare. Google did not exist. Yahoo, Netscape and AltaVista were early players but wireless was still a dream, so we connected wherever we could for email and uploading web pages using dial-up. Dial-up, you say? We would walk into 7/11s, Laundromats, local businesses, libraries, and even museums with local access numbers (you might have to Google that one), our laptop and a 50-foot phone cord. Strangely enough, after telling our story about school via the Internet, most people agreed to share their phone line. It was always a challenge but we met fascinating people in the process.
Familes, Technology and Education
We received a fair amount of press at the time, which led to a U.S. Department of Education invitation to be featured speakers at a conference called “Families, Technology and Education.” Our paper was called, “People Make Dreams Come True, and Technology Expands the Possibilities: An Educational Journey across the United States.“ Pretty cool — and still relevant.
While the 90s may seem like the middle ages technologically, our Power Point presentation played well to a crowd of 400-500 educators from around the country. It included a pretty sophisticated video on animal and plant life our children produced in Big Bend National Park.
Fast forward 20 years. We have accessed the Internet in some remote areas of the world with just a wi-fi code — and the ability to ask for it in a foreign language.
Travel sometimes feels too easy now. There was very little infrastructure in place in 1996 so when we landed in a new place, the local visitors center was our go-to source for information. Now we maneuver at will using a phone.
The past 20 years have propelled us from dial-up to ubiquitous wireless, from folding maps to GPS-guided navigation, and from limited cell access to smart phones more powerful than the laptop we used. Then, we used a 1.2 MP Kodak camera; now, we take high-resolution images on phones. It’s brilliant.
Today we are still using current technology to live an untethered lifestyle, but we know firsthand what a wild trip technology has taken in 20 years. We felt like pioneers in 1996 and now the planet hosts millions of travelers instantly documenting their adventures to the world. The variations of our story are endless – and now, like then, technology can make dreams come true.
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Long Island Native Resident Pays Homage to Local Community in Latest Novel
Sep 27, 2017 | Art
Author Jeannie Moon releases “Then Came You”, Book One in the Compass Cove Series, published by Tule Publishing Group
LONG ISLAND, NY, September 27, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ — Jeannie Moon, released “Then Came You,” the first book in her new Compass Cove series, on September 26, 2017. Inspired by her experience growing up in Long Island, Jeannie Moon exposes readers to the charm of Long Island’s small towns and the diverse personalities of its residents, through the fictional town of Compass Cove in “Then Came You.”
Jeannie Moon — the author of fifteen published novels — drew inspiration from her surroundings to create an authentic story that masterfully captures the nuances of Long Island’s small towns, its people and their sentiments like few authors can. Moon has always been strongly tied to her community: born and raised in Huntington, she’s currently a librarian in the Smithtown School District, president of Long Island Romance Writers, and alumnus of Long Island University-Post, and St. John’s University (Queens).
“I’m a native. I know the island. I know the people, especially the towns that dot the north shore. Unlike many, I never entertained leaving. I work here, raised my kids here, and plan to stay. No one thinks Long Island has small towns, but it does. I grew up in one, and I wanted to share what’s unique and wonderful,” says Moon.
“Then Came You,” is a romantic fiction set in a relatable environment. The novel follows the story of Mia DeAngelis, a college librarian looking to overhaul her life, better care for her family, and to find the sense of community she’s been missing. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets retired football player-turned-coach Adam Miller. Despite their intense differences, what follows in a heartwarming story of overcoming unforeseen challenges, and taking a direct hand in creating one’s own happily ever after.
“This is a warm and lovely comfort read that will make you fall in love–not only with Mia and Adam, the endearing leads, but with the town of Compass Cove!” says New York Times bestselling author, Virginia Kantra.
Jeannie Moon is available for media interviews and features. To schedule an interview, please contact her publicist, Danielle Barclay at [email protected].
For more information on Jeannie Moon and/or her books, visit jeanniemoon.com.
“Then Came You” Synopsis
Mia DeAngelis knew it was time to make a change. Wanting to provide a better life for herself and her ten-year-old nephew, Ben, she took a chance and moved to the small town of Compass Cove. Now, the college librarian is adapting to a new job, a new town, and living with her feisty seventy-eight-year-old grandmother. Mia is determined to make it all work, hoping the coastal hamlet gives both her and Ben the sense of community, family and belonging they both want so much.
About Jeannie Moon
Long Island author Jeannie Moon has always been a romantic. She is a bestselling author of emotional contemporary romance for Tule Publishing and PenguinRandomHouse. Her stories feature alpha heroes with hearts of gold, whip-smart heroines who are willing to fight for their happily ever after, and strong bonds between families and communities.
Active in her local writers group, Long Island Romance Writers, and its parent organization, Romance Writers of America, Jeannie feels strongly about the power of love to provide hope and happiness to readers. A vocal advocate for the genre, Jeannie is available to speak on how romance empowers women, and the positive messages YA romances send to teens. Jeannie has also presented workshops on writing genre fiction, developing strong characters, and time management for writers.
Jeannie’s upcoming release, Then Came You, is the first book in her Compass Cove series which is set on the north shore of Long Island.
For more information, visit Jeannie’s website at www.jeanniemoon.com.
Infant Baptism By Catholics Vs Scripture; Evangelical Outreach Ex Catholic Dan Corner Takes Issue With The Catechism Of The Catholic Church
What Would Jesus Say About Today’s Christianity, The Catholic Church Scandal And American Mega Ministers – Terry Christian Issues Statement
Local Artist Juan Enrique Velazquez to Compete at 3rd Annual Graffiti Arts Festival on Saturday, March 14, 2020
Special Needs Kids, Real Life Angels And Charlotte’s Web Are Topics In New Installments Of ‘Tuesdays With The Angels’ By Award Winning Author Jody Sharpe
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ThinkingOregon
June 29, 2020 by whmacken2013 - 0 comments
Why do Republicans want to undermine Oregon’s public schools?
Oregon’s traditional brick-and-mortar public school system is under stress and needs support. So what did the Republicans propose coming into the special session that started on June 24? They wanted to make it easier for students to transfer from their district’s brick-and-mortar public schools to virtual public charter schools, taking State School Fund dollars with them.
Oregon law provides that a school district may deny a parent’s request to shift their child to a virtual public charter school if more than 3% of the students who reside in the district are enrolled in virtual public charter schools not sponsored by the district.
Senate Republican leader Fred Girod (R-Stayton) proposed raising that 3% figure to 8% to allow more students to abandon their district’s schools. “Given this pandemic, people are going to want an alternative, and that alternative is going to be virtual schools,” Girod said.
Not only would this have potentially siphoned millions from already stretched district budgets, but research on virtual charter school performance outcomes across the country generally paints a distressing picture. In other words, Oregon’s traditional public schools clearly have their problems, but the virtual public charter schools are even worse.
The desire of some parents for school choice is understandable, but numerous studies have concluded that full-time virtual charter schools are not the right option for many K-12 students. The fact is many K-12 virtual charter schools are like tribute bands, just a facsimile of real education.
“Current online charter schools may be a good fit for some students, but the evidence suggests that online charters don’t serve very well the relatively atypical set of students that currently attend these schools, much less the general population,” the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University said in a report. “Academic benefits from online charter schools are currently the exception rather than the rule.”
In the same vein, a report from the Colorado-based National Education Policy Center (NEPC) concluded, “There is…little high-quality systematic evidence that the rapid expansion of (virtual charter schools) the past several years is wise. Research has …consistently found that students enrolled in full-time virtual schools have performed at levels well below their face-to-face counterparts.”
A Fordham Institute study of virtual charter schools reached similar conclusions. “Online schools offer an efficient way to diversify—and even democratize—education in a connected world,” the study said. “Yet they have received negative, but well-deserved, attention concerning their poor academic performance, attrition rates, and ill capacity to educate the types of students who enroll in them.”
As most educators and parents learned in the widespread switch to online schooling spurred by COVID-19, it has been a worst-case outcome for most students. “There’s a sense that this has been an unmitigated disaster,” Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times, said in a June 28, 2020 Innovation Hub interview.
A recently published study published in Educational Researcher examined the effects of attending a virtual charter school on student outcomes. “We find the impact of attending a virtual charter on student achievement is uniformly and profoundly negative,” the authors wrote in a Brookings article.
The study authors concluded that “virtual charter schools are ill-equipped to take on a more prominent role” in light of the COVID-19 crisis. “Based on their dismal track record, policymakers should instead focus on greater oversight and accountability for these schools. Perhaps the worst policy response during the COVID-19 crisis is to promote these schools…”
Thankfully, Girod’s proposal didn’t go forward as a bill in the special session. It would be a shame if it rears its ugly head again.
Oregon’s Public Virtual Charter Schools Don’t Compute
COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime
Too Many Schools Leave Learning to Chance During the Pandemic
Oregon Connections Academy: Still a Virtual Calamity
Alternative Schooling in Oregon: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?
June 25, 2020 by whmacken2013 - 1 Comment
Is State School Fund money being misused by some Oregon virtual public charter schools?
If an Oregon child attends a regular brick-and-mortar public school or the school’s online program, parents cover any outside extra-curricular expenses. But if a child attends an Oregon virtual public charter school there’s a chance parents will get a kick-back of up to $2,000 per year for personal use.
That’s not right.
Virtual public charter schools don’t collect tuition from their students. Instead, the schools are supported by money diverted from the state’s traditional brick-and-mortar public schools. The Oregon Department of Education distributes State School Fund money to each school district that sponsors a charter school; the district keeps a portion and passes on the rest to the charter school.
Oregon law provides that a sponsoring district must pass on to its charter school at least 80 percent of its per-pupil grant for K-8 students and 95 percent of its per pupil grant for grade 9-12 students.
Marcola SD 79J in Lane County, for example, sponsors the virtual public charter school, Teach-NW. The State School Fund gave the district $2,348,684.27 for the 2018-2019 school year to support the sponsorship and the district passed on most of that money to Teach-NW.
But Teach-NW didn’t spend all the money.
Instead, the school set aside $2000 per student for “allotments” which parents were allowed to spend in support of their child’s education. A family with three children at Teach-NW, for example, got access to extra allotments totaling $6,000 each year.
According to Teach-NW, “Allotments can be used to cover academic materials such as textbooks, school supplies, curriculum materials, approved instructional programs (i.e. music, dance), enrichment experiences, educational subscriptions, educational fees, tutoring services, some athletics fees and equipment, field trips, and internet expenses as approved by the student’s Educational Facilitator (assigned teacher).” Families can access the money through a debit card or request reimbursements from the school.”
Some parents say the $2,000 allotments are a key factor in enrolling their children at Teach-NW. Other parents deny the allotments are a factor in enrollment decisions. But as satirist and cultural critic H. L. Mencken put it, “When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.”
The practical effect of this arrangement is that parents who choose to send their children to Teach-NW, rather than their local brick-and-mortar public school or their school district’s online program, get a substantial extra financial package. And it’s all paid for with taxpayer dollars.
That’s wrong.
Bolton’s Blather: The decline and fall of political biographies
When Dean Acheson wrote “Present at the Creation,” a memoir of his years at the State Department, he was hailed as “probably the most consequential American diplomat of the twentieth century” and his book was applauded as “…a must-read book not only for historians, but also for anyone interested in national policy, diplomacy, or military strategy.”
“As Truman’s Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953, he became the primary spokesman for America’s leadership in the world and for the creation of the post-World War II international system that exists today, a reviewer wrote in Foreign Policy. “Present at the Creation is an insightful, absorbing and even occasionally humorous insider’s guide to how that system was created.”
Compare that with the reception of “The Room Where It Happened,” a memoir by John Bolton, who spent 453 days as President Trump’s national-security adviser. “John Bolton’s Epic Score-Settling – a scathing account of the President’s ‘stunning ignorance,’ incompetence, and corruption,” announced the New Yorker. “Bolton Spills the Beans,” declared the Dispatch. “John Bolton Dumps His Notes and Smites His Enemies,” wrote the New York Times.
How times have changed.
Bolton was apparently appalled by what he observed, but not appalled enough to go public with his concerns and resign in disgust. And certainly not appalled enough to forego a lucrative book advance.
Instead of offering readers a sweeping perspective of momentous occurrences, too many of the Trump books are just hatchet jobs, spiteful tell-alls written by peevish, self-aggrandizing, hangers-on. And too often they commit the cardinal sin of not even being well written.
“The book is bloated with self-importance, even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton not being able to accomplish very much,” Jennifer Szalai wrote of Bolton’s book in the New York Times. “It toggles between two discordant registers: exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged….(The account) has been written with so little discernible attention to style and narrative form that he apparently presumes an audience that is hanging on his every word.”
A librarian noted last year that she had found no less than 51 books about the Trump presidency, excluding self-published works, if you start counting with The Truth About Trump in May 2016.
Former press secretary Sean Spicer wrote just one Trump book, The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President. Cory Lewandowsi, Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, and David Cay Johnston have each written two Trump books.
“Eventually, perhaps there will be nothing more to say about the President’s competence or lack thereof,” the librarian said. “At that point, it’s unclear what will happen to this ballooning literary phenomenon. A bubble bust situation seems possible.”
And unlike Present at the Creation, most of the Trump screeds will likely be soon forgotten. Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault-Newman is surely one of those, as is Full Disclosure by Stormy Daniels and Michal Avenatti.
That will also likely be the fate of many Trump books still to come, including one by Trump’s niece, Mary L. Trump. Her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” is set to come out on July 28.
This book is being pitched as a revealing missive that, according to Amazon, “shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.”
I can’t wait.
I suppose the next book after Mary Trump’s will be “Life with me and mine,” by Arabella Rose Kushner. Put your order in now.
When a COVID-19 vaccine is found, give it to me first.
Karen Zimmerman
Karen Zimmerman, 74, died on April 14, 2020 at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. Two of her four children were by her side.
Bobby Rutledge, 77, died April 1, 2020; Robert Rykken, 83, died May 8, 2020; Merle and Delores Tofte, 87 & 85, died March 16, 2020.
All Oregonians, all died from COVID-19, all older adults.
They fit a pattern.
People 65 years old or older account for 80% of COVID-19-related deaths in the United States to date, according to the CDC. It’s not just their age that’s relevant. Older people are more likely have underlying health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, lung conditions, diabetes and cancer. These complications, not just age, dictate the mortality of older adults.
The mortality of COVID-19 patients is just 0.3% for patients in their 40s, according to research by Imperial College London published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. Mortality rose to 1.25% of those in their 50s, 4% of those in their 60s, 8.6%, of those in their 70s and 13.4% of patients 80 and older.
“These early estimates give an indication of the fatality ratio across the spectrum of COVID-19 disease and show a strong age gradient in risk of death,” the research concluded.
Not only are older adults more at risk, but as treatments have improved fewer young people are dying. In late March, Americans over age 75 made up about half of all weekly deaths while Americans under 45 made up between 4-5%, according to the CDC. People over 75 now make up about two-thirds of deaths while those younger than 45 make up less than 2%.
With these kinds of numbers, it only makes sense that when a successful vaccine is developed it shouldn’t be given away willy-nilly or first come-first served. It should be given first to those most at risk, older adults. I’m 76, so that includes me and my older folks cohort. Right?
So many demands: Seattle’s CHAZ agenda
Think the people holding hostage the six-blocks of Seattle known as CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) are just a ragtag bunch of activists putting on a street festival with no real agenda except a vague push for social justice?
Not so.
They’ve created a website and, like everybody with a gripe these days, they’ve posted on it a 1354-word “list of demands” by The Collective Black Voices at Free Capitol Hill.
They’ve got a lot of demands, at least 35 by my count. They include:
Eliminate 100% of the funding for the Seattle Police Department and the attached criminal justice apparatus and abolish both.
Redirect all the former Police Department and criminal justice money to: free public housing; public education to decrease class size and increase teacher salaries; naturalization services for undocumented immigrants; general community development.
Defund all Seattle Police employee pensions.
Disallow the operations ICE in Seattle.
In the period between now and the dismantlement of the police department, ban any use of armed force, including guns, batons, riot shields and chemical weapons.
Abolish youth jails and an under-construction juvenile detention center.
Provide reparations to victims of police brutality.
Retry all People of color currently serving a prison sentence for violent crime by a jury of their peers
Decriminalize all acts of protest; give amnesty to all protesters generally.
Release any prisoner currently serving time for a marijuana-related offense and expunge the conviction.
Give all prisoners currently serving time the full and unrestricted right to vote.
Abolish all imprisonment.
Empty the Seattle Police Department’s “Lost and Found” and return the items to citizens.
De-gentrify Seattle.
impose rent controls
Restore city funding for arts and culture. Americans to protest.
Provide free college to the people of Washington.
Prohibit the Seattle Police from performing homeless sweeps.
Require that hospitals and care facilities in Seattle employ black doctors to help care for black patients.
Give significantly greater focus to the history of Black and Native Americans in Washington State’s education curriculum.
Require that anti-bias training be a legal requirement for all jobs in education, medicine and the mass media.
Remove all monuments to historical figures of the Confederacy in Seattle and the State of Washington.
They even demand that “the people of Seattle seek out and proudly support Black-owned businesses.”
A section of the website titled “Commentary from International comrades” has not attracted much reaction either, though “K. Tulin” from Leningrad says, “You must attract new people from all over America, but for this you must have an idea of the future that will appeal to most Americans. You must read the works of Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx and Lenin!”
It’s not clear whether the CHAZ participants are finding the time to do the recommended reading.
As extreme as some of the demands may appear, Charlie Warzel, an Opinion writer at large for the New York Times, argues that large scale public support for Black Lives Matter activism wasn’t evident for a long time either. “And yet, there conversations didn’t disappear off the internet when they left the front pages,” he wrote recently. “They continued, despite portrayals to discredit the movement as a violent fringe and specious claims that ‘systemic racism is a myth’ perpetuated by the media and so-called social justice warriors.”
Calls to “Defund the Police,” in particular, need to be recognized as real “calls for a complete remaining of what they see as a corrupt, broken system,” Warzel argues.
Ironically, some Republicans in Congress are arguing that budgetary burdens imposed on states because of Covid-19 and the social unrest accompanying Black Lives Matter protests justify more, not less, funding of police in states. “In the wake of everything that’s happened with George Floyd’s murder, we can’t afford not to have EMTs, we can’t afford to not have police officers on the street,” said Rep. John Katko (R-NY).
It’s hard to tell what the CHAZ site’s occupiers or the general public really think about all these demands because the principal media don’t ask. They should.
June 5, 2020 by whmacken2013 - 0 comments
Heading down a perilous path: New York Times journalists vs. Sen. Tom Cotton
UPDATE: Sunday, June 7, 2020: JOURNALISM’S RETREAT –
James Bennet, editor of The New York Times’ editorial page, resigned today in the aftermath to the furor over publication of a controversial opinion piece by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). Bennet’s resignation was announced by the Times’ publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Bennet initially defended the piece’s publication, saying ” It would undermine the integrity and independence of The New York Times if we only published views that editors like me agreed with, and it would betray what I think of as our fundamental purpose — not to tell you what to think, but to help you think for yourself.” Sulzberger, had also initially defended the column’s publication.
Bari Weiss, a staff editor and columnist for the opinion pages of the Times, described the whole dispute as a “civil war”. “The civil war inside The New York Times between the (mostly young) wokes (and) the (mostly 40+) liberals is the same one raging inside other publications and companies across the country,” she tweeted.
“The dynamic is always the same,” Weiss added. “The Old Guard lives by a set of principles we can broadly call civil libertarianism. They assumed they shared that worldview with the young people they hired who called themselves liberals and progressives. But it was an incorrect assumption. The New Guard has a different worldview, one articulated best by @JonHaidt and @glukianoff. They call it “safetyism,” in which the right of people to feel emotionally and psychologically safe trumps what were previously considered core liberal values, like free speech.”
Weiss’ tweets set off a deluge of responses, some supportive, some critical:
#MeToo Barbie, MD
Um…pretty sure the “safetyism” that Black people want is physical safety. You know, since they keep getting shot by the cops. It’s fragile white people who are demanding emotional safety from having to confront their own racism.
1/ Call it “safetyism” if you wish, but they’re seeking safety from arguments that run counter to their preferred narratives, which are a mix or leftist/progressive/intersectional views. I think “coercive leftism” is a more accurate label.
@Jyrkface
OF COURSE, @bariweiss sees people criticizing the NYT for pushing the idea that protesters should be shot, and considers the criticism an attack on the first amendment
@kbk3n3
Safetyism is actually just an excuse to control and manipulate people instead of growing up and dealing with opinions different from their own.
“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
― Salman Rushdie
“Running this puts black @nytimes writers, editors and other staff in danger,” New York Times opinion columnist Roxane Gay tweeted.
The “this” Gay was referring to was an op-ed written by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas that appeared in the Times on June 3, 2020. Running under the headline, “Send in the Troops,” Cotton argued that federal troops were needed to stamp out “anarchy” caused by the protests sweeping the United States that recalled “the widespread violence of the 1960s.”
“Some elites have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, calling it an understandable response to the wrongful death of George Floyd,” Cotton wrote. “Those excuses are built on a revolting moral equivalence of rioters and looters to peaceful, law-abiding protesters…The pace of looting and disorder may fluctuate from night to night, but it’s past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Gay wasn’t the only Times journalist to decry the paper’s publication of Cotton’s Op-Ed. Multiple other staff retweeted her message, with some adding comments.
“As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this,” tweeted Nicole Hannah-Jones, creator of “The 1619 Project,” a New York Times Magazine effort that aims to reframe America’s history by focusing on the consequences of slavery.
“Running this puts Black @nytimes staff in danger and it’s fucking dumb as shit. I stand with my colleagues,” tweeted Times reporter Kyle Buchanan.
Then, like a thundering herd, as though they’d signed a loyalty oath to lazy thinking and the progressive branch of American politics, more than 800 New York Times staff members signed a letter protesting publication of Cotton’s Op-Ed, according to a story in the paper.
The whole affair is reminiscent of when Bari Weiss, a staff editor and columnist for the opinion pages of the New York Times, found herself at the center of a social media feeding frenzy for sending a positive but carelessly worded tweet. The furor was described in a 2018 Quillette article by Jamie Palmer, “Fundamentalists vs The New York Times.”
The News Guild of New York, a news professionals union, jumped into the fray, too. “Though we understand the Op-Ed desk’s responsibility to publish a diverse array of opinions, we find the publication of this essay to be an irresponsible choice,” the Guild said in a statement. “Its lack of context, inadequate vetting by editorial management, spread of misinformation, and the timing of its call to arms gravely undermine the work we do every day.”
Even the Times’ Public Editor, Gabriel Snyder, piled on. “The problem with this idea of the Times as an open forum for views of all stripes — no matter how abhorrent — is that by opening the door to all “operative opinion” (as a member of the Opinion section described it to me a couple of years ago), the Times becomes a platform for those who are hostile to its core values and at direct odds with the New York Times Company mission to “seek the truth and help people understand the world,” Snyder wrote.
Initially, editorial page editor James Bennet strongly defended the paper’s publication of the senator’s opinion piece. “We published Cotton’s argument in part because we’ve committed to Times readers to provide a debate on important questions like this,” he wrote in the paper’s Opinion Today newsletter. ” It would undermine the integrity and independence of The New York Times if we only published views that editors like me agreed with, and it would betray what I think of as our fundamental purpose — not to tell you what to think, but to help you think for yourself.”
Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger also defended publication of Cotton’s piece. “I believe in the principle of openness to a range of opinions, even those we may disagree with, and this piece was published in that spirit,” he wrote in an email to the staff. “But it’s essential that we listen to and reflect on the concerns we’re hearing, as we would with any piece that is the subject of significant criticism. I will do so with an open mind.”
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger
Then the paper’s leaders put their tails between their legs and caved to the internal criticism.
During a virtual town hall with the paper’s staff, Sulzberger changed his tune, saying Cotton’s piece was “contemptuous” and “should not have been published.”
Bennet even bowed to the hurt feelings claims of some of the paper’s staff, “I just want to begin by saying I’m very sorry, I’m sorry for the pain that this particular piece has caused,” he said.
Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy added that the paper would, as a result of the dust-up, reduce the number of Op-Eds we publish.” She blamed a “rushed editorial process…that did not meet our standards” for the piece’s publication, adding, “As a result, we’re planning to examine both short-term and long-term changes, to include expanding our fact-checking operation and reducing the number of Op-Eds we publish.”
Now that’s a healthy response to controversy, cut back on publishing citizen opinions on the news of the day.
As a former newspaper reporter, I have to ask, is this what things have come to at one of America’s most influential newspapers? Woke reporters essentially arguing that opinions that offend them or cause them hurt feelings should not be published. Fragile reporters insisting that they be safe from uncomfortable ideas, that free speech endangers them. Public Editors, of all people, arguing that outside opinion writers need to be stifled if their perspective differs from the standard liberal view.
Going down this road is a perilous trip.
Sulzberger and Bennet took the appropriate stance at the outset. It’s far better to give exposure to controversial views and let the public debate them.
In the past, the paper has made a point of taking a strong stand on encouraging public debate on controversial issues.
“The purpose of the Op. Ed. page is neither to reinforce nor to counterbalance The Times’s own editorial position,” an introduction to the paper’s opinion pages stated 50 years ago. “The objective is rather to afford greater opportunity for exploration of issues and presentation of new insights and new ideas by writers and thinkers who have no institutional connection with The Times and whose views will very frequently be completely divergent from our own.”
The purpose of the Op-Ed page is “to create an environment of collegial combat among different points of view dealing with consequential questions.,” the introduction said. “…articles are are meant to push readers into considering points of view just outside their comfort zone.”
So much for adhering to these lofty principles today.
The Oregon Employment Department fiasco: Gov. Brown needs to look in the mirror.
In blasting the bungling at the Oregon Employment Department, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown needs to look in the mirror.
The fact is the Oregon Employment Department has been a dysfunctional mess for years under three Democratic administrations.
On May 31, 2020, Brown fired Kay Erickson, Director of the Employment Department, after an uproar over delayed payment of unemployment benefits to thousands of struggling Oregonians.
“In the middle of this pandemic, the continued delays from the Oregon Employment Department in delivering unemployment insurance benefits to thousands of out-of-work Oregonians are unacceptable,” Brown said in a statement.
Brown neglected to point out that it was she who named Erikson Director in Aug. 2016, effusively praising her at the time as “an innovative and collaborative leader.”
She also failed to point out that in January 2016 she had also fired the previous director, Lisa Nisenfeld, who had been appointed in September 2013 by another Democratic governor, John Kitzhaber.
Nisenfeld had also taken over a dysfunctional agency that had lost the trust of the Legislature and wasted money on problematic software projects.
In November 2013, The Oregonian reported the Employment Department poured nearly $7 million into development of a failed software project before scrapping the project altogether.
A July 2013 state assessment of the Employment Department had uncovered distrust, dysfunction and “warring factions” led by the agency’s top deputies, as well as multiple failures in the department’s IT department.
“The Information Technology department of the Oregon Employment Department (OED) is in need of leadership, governance, priority setting, methodology, contract administration, and appropriate HR practices,” the assessment said.
The 2013 assessment also lambasted IT governance. “When the (2008-2009) recession hit, multiple projects were added to the IT workload, senior managers left with poor hand off and no continuity with regard to IT sponsorship work,” it said. “These projects were not prioritized and IT was left relatively unsupported.”
Then there’s the fact Oregon received $85.6 million in one-time modernization funds from the U.S. Department of Labor way back in 2009, when Democrat Ted Kulongoski was governor.
The upgrade was supposed to solve problems associated with the use of computers that were running systems dating back to the Reagan administration and earlier. Although subsequent audits have warned that the Employment Department remained woefully unprepared for a spike in jobless claims, most of that federal money remains unspent.
Brown has been governor since February 2015. It’s time to stop blaming everybody but herself and fellow Democratic governors for the fiasco at the Employment Department.
It’s 2021, time to stop pandering to “oppressed” college students
Want to see where identity politics is taking us?
The mob is not the rest of us
Enough! No more presidential shrines
Unemployment compensation: Oregon pays well, but too many states lag far behind
Geri Lawhon on Unemployment compensation: Ore…
Tamsin on The Nov. 14 “March for T…
Sarah Kang on Is State School Fund money bei…
Gabe Green on Oregon Connections Academy/Ore…
DoYourHomework on Guest Opinion: Gov. Brown’s Co…
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‹ November 18: Lady Cathorne’s Diary (1681) • November 20: The League of Evangelical Students ›
November 19: John L. Burns
19 November, 2014 in Uncategorized by davidtmyers | No comments
Two Heroes of Gettysburg Attend a Presbyterian Church
The High Water Mark of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, had been fought that July of 1863. Attending just four months later in the same town of Pennsylvania, was President Abraham Lincoln for the dedication of the new National Cemetery in that town. The president wasn’t the main speaker that day of dedication. But he delivered a short pithy message which he thought was a failure, due to its brevity, but which turned into an immortal address which the world will long remember.
One of the residents of Gettysburg Lincoln wanted to meet, after the presentation, was local and later national hero John L. Burns. The latter was the only civilian who grabbed his old War of 1812 flintlock, and exchanging it for a more modern weapon from a wounded Union soldier, joined in the fighting of the Confederate army on July 1, 1863. His fame immediately after that brief stint in battle, at which he was wounded three times, caused his name to be on every lip, including that of President Lincoln.
It was on November 19, 1863 that the President of the United States met John Burns at the home of attorney David Wills. The latter had been responsible more than any one else for setting aside the plots of ground which later on became the National Cemetery of Gettysburg. Wills was also a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of Gettysburg on Baltimore Street. Together, John Burns and Abraham Lincoln, along with David Wills, walked south down Baltimore Street to the building of the Presbyterian Church to attend a patriotic service held there that evening. It was reported that the seventy-one year old Burns slept through much of the service, but Abraham Lincoln was able to be present for most of the service, before duties called him back to Washington, D.C.
A century later in 1962, the church building was replaced with another building, and all the furnishings with it, with the exception of “the Lincoln – Burns Pew” which can still be seen in the new church at the same location.
Words to live by: There are “heroes” in church history who have been mentioned in great advances of the Lord’s kingdom and church. In point of reference, this very historical devotional is all about Christian, and more specifically Christian Presbyterians who have been used of the Holy Spirit to advance the Kingdom of Christ in various periods of time and places. It is as we acknowledge these men and women of the Presbyterian faith that we are more fully appreciate the progress of the church in general, and our local church in particular. So, as you look at your church of your choice, who among them can be found who have in the past or present been instrumental in advancing the cause and kingdom of Christ? After you identify them, why not go up to them and thank the Lord for their spiritual gifts which have been used for God’s glory and His cause? It will both praise the Lord and encourage their hearts to know that someone has remembered them for all their hard work.
Tags: Baltimore Street, David Wills, National Cemetery, Presbyterian Church
Westminster Today
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TechDrake
Xbox One Receives Another Official Price Cut From Microsoft
It’s been barely three weeks since Microsoft announced a $50 price cut which brought the standard 500 GB Xbox One model down to $300. In the wake of its E3 2016 press conference, Microsoft has now announced another price drop for the standard edition, bringing the console down to $280.
It’s important to note that Microsoft is calling it as a promotional price drop, which will last until October 1. The price drop is obviously in preparation for the launch of Xbox One S in August. The slim variation of Microsoft’s current-generation console was announced during the company’s E3 2016 press briefing and will cost $300 for the 500 GB standard model. In that regard, it becomes obvious that buyers will have no reason to purchase the older model over Xbox One S, unless there’s a difference in cost.
Xbox One S comes in a 40 percent smaller “robot white” box, with support for 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays, 4K video and HDR video. It also comes with a redesigned wireless controller, and the addition of Bluetooth support, making it usable with Bluetooth-enabled Windows 10 PCs and tablets without any additional hardware.
Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed the long-rumored Project Scorpio, announcing that a more powerful version of its Xbox family will launch in holiday 2017. More details will follow in the months to come.
E3 2016, Microsoft, Xbox One, Xbox One S
Saqib Mansoor
The odd man in the group who hates chocolate, cheese, and having to work on Sundays.
The Last Guardian Collector’s Edition Announced
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Trailer Beams with Pride
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Apple Tech News
Apple announces iPhone 4S – 8MP camera, A5 processor, no 4G
By Terence Huynh on October 5, 2011
The iPhone 4S has been announced. Sadly, that was the only big major announcement that Apple made at its press conference today. No iPhone 5, and no 4G. But just be happy that its underwhelming announcements had something right – a brand new iPhone.
The iPhone 4S has the same body as the iPhone 4, but features a dual-core A5 processor with stunning performance and graphics, and a brand new antenna design that will switch between sending and receiving data and will support both CDMA and GSM networks, making it one of the few phones that is truly global.
The camera has been radically improved with increased specs. 8-megapixel camera with 60 percent more pixels than the previous generation, and a better, custom-design lens with f/2.4 aperture. It also has a better image processor that takes better photos and faster with 0.5 seconds between shots. It also gave Phil Schiller, the guy on stage promoting the camera, a time to attack its competitors.
“I don’t know what Droid Bionic users need to do between pictures, maybe go get coffee,” he said.
Anyway, the iPhone 4S will support iOS 5 and will also have a new voice control interface known as “Siri”. Currently in beta, it allows a user to say a natural command such as “Where is home?” and it will find it for you. It can also pick up data from Wikipedia and WolframAlpha. The fact that it can process natural language is pretty amazing in itself as typically voice commands require a specific set of instructions and interpretation on how to pronounce something.
The iPhone 4S is available in Apple Stores on October 14 with preorders starting October 7. Launch countries will include the United States, United Kingdom and Australia – yes, you read that correctly. The subsidised pricing has not been announced by the carriers as of yet, but Apple’s own unlocked pricing is AU$799 for 16GB, $899 for 32GB and $999 for 64GB.
The iPhone 4 has been reduced to 8GB and will be sold for US$699 while the iPhone 3GS remains on sale with a lower price of US$449.
Correction: this article wrote October 17 as a pre-order date. It’s not, it’s October 7. Yeah, this is what happens when you have to write something early in the morning. Apologies – editor.
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February 25, 2014 feature
Spatial order increases cooperation in quantum prisoner's dilemma game
by Lisa Zyga , Tech Xplore
Simulations of the quantum prisoner’s dilemma game in a spatial cellular automata formalization for an “unfair” scenario (in which A players can use quantum strategies but B players can only use classical strategies) show rich maze-like structures. Credit: Alonso-Sanz. ©2014 The Royal Society
Although we know that cooperating with others usually brings about the best results for everyone, oftentimes being uncooperative can be more beneficial to an individual who takes advantage of others who do cooperate. One of the most well-known tools for investigating cooperation is the prisoner's dilemma game, in which players receive different pay-offs depending on whether they and their partner decide to cooperate or not. In this game, a player receives the highest pay-off when she chooses to defect while her partner all-too-trustingly cooperates, and consequently receives the lowest pay-off.
In a new study, Ramón Alonso-Sanz, a researcher at the Technical University of Madrid, has developed and analyzed a spatial formulation of a quantum version of the prisoner's dilemma game. He found that spatial order increases cooperation compared with the original version of the game.
"Cooperation is not a 'rational' choice in the simple prisoner's dilemma game," Alonso-Sanz told Phys.org. "Thus, whatever mechanism that may help to explain the persistence of cooperation is always celebrated."
The game is played on a grid—or "cellular automaton"—with multiple players. There are two types of players, A and B, who alternately occupy the spaces of the grid like white and black spaces on a checkerboard.
Each player interacts only with his four adjacent partners (up, down, left, and right), all of whom are the opposite type of player as him. In each round, a player's pay-off is the sum of the pay-offs from these four interactions. (Pay-offs are 5, 4, 2, and 1 for DC, CC, DD, and CD, respectively, where C = cooperation and D = defection, with the first letter representing the player's choice and the second letter representing the choice of his partner.)
A cellular automata-like implementation of the prisoner’s dilemma game. The lattice on the left show the initial set-up of alternating A and B players. The second and fourth lattices show the choice of each player to either cooperate (0) or defect (pi) at the first and second iterations of the game, respectively. The third and fifth lattices show the total pay-off values of each player (the sum of four interactions with a player’s nearest neighbors) at the first and second iterations, respectively. Credit: Alonso-Sanz. ©2014 The Royal Society
In the next round, the player adopts the strategy used by the most successful of the four players in the spaces diagonal to him (all of whom are the same type as him) or his own strategy—whichever received the highest pay-off in the previous round. Following this "imitation of the best" strategy, the game evolves over multiple iterations.
When Alonso-Sanz performed classical simulations of this spatial prisoner's dilemma game, he found that defection spread quickly. Even when beginning the game with a scenario where all but one A player chose to cooperate, the results showed that that one player's choice to defect spread to all of the other A players. In a 6x6 grid, every A player chose defection after only four iterations of the game.
But the game evolves very differently when quantum entanglement is incorporated. When players can use quantum strategies, a player's defective choice does not spread through the game space, even though it may offer the highest payoff. This is because quantum entanglement changes the probabilities of the pay-offs. Whereas defection spreads in the classical version of the game, in the quantum version defection actually fades and instead mutual cooperation among all players emerges.
"The parameter pay-offs (e.g., 5,4,2,1) are of course unaltered," Alonso-Sanz explained. "What varies are the accessible probabilities, and consequently the mean (or expected) payoffs."
Although intriguing, this difference between the classical and quantum versions of the prisoner's dilemma game is not unexpected. In 1999, researchers found that classical and quantum formulations of the prisoner's dilemma game have different pairs of strategies that are in Nash equilibrium, meaning that the strategies of both players are the best response to one another. In the classical version, mutual defection is the only pair of strategies in Nash equilibrium. Even though both players would receive a larger payoff if they both cooperated, mutual cooperation is not a pair of strategies in Nash equilibrium because either player could do better for herself by choosing to defect.
However, in the quantum version, mutual cooperation is in Nash equilibrium. That is, when two players both choose cooperation, neither player can do better by choosing to defect instead. The current study demonstrates how this equilibrium easily emerges in a spatial formulation of the prisoner's dilemma game.
By making some modifications to the game, Alonso-Sanz found some other interesting results. In an unfair situation in which A-type players can use quantum strategies but B-type players are restricted to classical strategies, the A players rapidly take advantage of the B players. However, when the quantum A players are given a memory and forced to take into account the outcomes of several previous iterations, they actually choose worse strategies than the classical B players. This game results in both kinds of players receiving lower pay-offs than they would otherwise receive.
Overall, the results here are similar to the results from Alonso-Sanz's previous work on a game called Battle of the Sexes, which deals with coordination. As in the case of the prisoner's dilemma, a quantum formulation of the spatial Battle of the Sexes game evolves in a manner notably distinct from that of its classical counterpart: specifically, it leads to a more homogeneous distribution of coordination rather than clusters of coordination. Within the context of these spatially formulated quantum games, researchers may better understand how cooperation and coordination materialize in a society of competitive individuals.
Generosity leads to evolutionary success, biologists show
More information: Ramón Alonso-Sanz. "A quantum prisoner's dilemma cellular automaton." Proceedings of The Royal Society A. DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0793
Ramón Alonso-Sanz. "On a three-parameter quantum battle of the sexes cellular automaton." Quantum Information Processing. DOI: 10.1007/s11128-012-0496-2
Ramón Alonso-Sanz. "A quantum battle of the sexes cellular automaton." Proceedings of The Royal Society A. DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2012.0161
Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society A
© 2014 Phys.org. All rights reserved.
Citation: Spatial order increases cooperation in quantum prisoner's dilemma game (2014, February 25) retrieved 15 January 2021 from https://techxplore.com/news/2014-02-spatial-cooperation-quantum-prisoner-dilemma.html
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Google, Harvard unveil Android medical research app
Reactive video playback that you control with your body
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Economics, Politics & Rights
Net Neutrality: Toward a Stupid Internet
Raymond C. Niles November 20, 2008 PDF In Winter 2008
The Internet is an achievement of historic importance, arguably rivaling or exceeding the invention of the printing press in its capacity to spread human knowledge and entertainment to the farthest corners of the globe. With the introduction of his printing press in 1450,1 Gutenberg took the books from the hands of cloistered monks and put them into the hands of those who would challenge the orthodoxy of the Church—and into the hands of those who would build the free society that has produced the industrial and technological marvels we enjoy today.
In the same manner, the Internet takes encyclopedic knowledge from the libraries and puts it into the homes of people all over the earth. It delivers images of artworks from the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to our homes. It makes the wares of locally owned boutiques available to a world of customers. It facilitates discussions between distant scholars and enthusiasts on every possible subject. And, as did the printing press, it can lead to great cultural and political change, by spreading truths that censored media around the world cannot speak. The Internet promotes the open exchange of ideas and information in an unprecedented way.
What makes this open exchange of ideas and information possible? According to some, the answer is something called “net neutrality.”
“Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online,” claims one website. And, say its advocates, net neutrality—and thus the Internet itself—is in grave danger:
The big phone and cable companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to gut Net Neutrality, putting the future of the Internet at risk. . . . The consequences of a world without Net Neutrality would be devastating. Innovation would be stifled, competition limited, and access to information restricted. Consumer choice and the free market would be sacrificed to the interests of a few corporate executives.2
Such claims naturally catch the attention of people who value innovation, competition, and information. And anything that threatens to thwart the free market is certainly cause for alarm. But what exactly is net neutrality? Does it really protect these crucial values? If so, how? And if not, might it actually assault them? To answer these questions, we must first specify the exact nature of the Internet.
What Is the Internet?
Anyone who uses the Internet understands on some level what it is: a means by which computer users around the world can exchange data, usually via websites and email. But, for our purposes, we need a deeper and broader understanding of the Internet and how it came to be.
In the 1960s, MIT professors conceived of the Internet as a means to connect geographically distant computer networks via a robust communications system that could function even if portions of it were destroyed. Their innovative solution entailed dividing data being sent across the network into “packets,” each packet with routing instructions to direct it to its destination over any available path. Therefore, if one portion of the network was damaged, the “data packet” could follow its routing instructions to its destination over an undamaged portion. The first actual interconnection of networks, or “Internet,” was deployed in 1969, enabling four different research institutions to transmit information to each other.3
Other important developments followed. In the 1970s, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) in order to facilitate the transmission of data packets between computers using different operating systems.4 And in 1991, Tim Berners-Lee, a computer programmer at the European Center for Particle Research (CERN) in Geneva, unveiled the World Wide Web, a system of Web pages, written in hypertext markup language (HTML), that could be accessed by means of hypertext transfer protocol (http://) addresses. HTML provided a common language by which Web pages could be written and read; http provided the means to access those pages.5 By enabling computer users to easily communicate with each other—to send emails and to post and retrieve data in the form of Web pages—these men created the technology that powers the global Internet as we know it today.
Most of the code involved in these developments is “open source,” meaning that the individuals and companies that created it have released it into the public domain. By doing so, they have relinquished their right to control and exclusively profit from the use of their creations. In this respect the Internet is free; the coding languages and communications protocols that make the Internet possible belong to no one and are therefore available for free use by anyone who has the requisite physical means—the computers and the data transmission lines that connect the computers to each other.
But these physical means are not free. The specialized computers (servers) that a Web content provider, such as Google, uses to make its content available on the Web must be purchased and maintained by that content provider, and are therefore its rightful property. The computer that a Web surfer uses to access websites such as Google and to check his email must be purchased and maintained by him (or by his parents, a school, an employer, etc.) and is therefore his (or someone’s) private property.
Likewise, the cabling, computers, satellites, wireless transmitters, and other equipment used by an Internet service provider (ISP) to connect Web surfers to online content is purchased and maintained by that provider and is therefore its rightful property. By providing the requisite data transmission lines, ISPs make the Internet possible. By expanding and improving their infrastructure, ISPs improve the online experience of their customers: Internet users who once suffered incredibly slow dial-up data transmission rates of 300 bits/second now enjoy DSL and cable speeds of 2.3 million bits/second—thanks to ISPs investing in their infrastructure.6 (And Internet users soon will see even greater gains in data transmission speeds: Verizon is rolling out a new fiber optic cable network that can deliver data at speeds of 50 million bits/second,7 at an estimated eventual cost to Verizon of $140 billion.)8 Internet service providers build and maintain their networks because they can profit by charging Web content providers and Web surfers for access to their lines. Their infrastructure is rightfully theirs to use, dispose of, and profit from as they see fit.
To summarize, the Internet comprises two types of things: public domain ideas, such as the TCP/IP protocol and HTML coding language; and private property, such as personal computers, servers, and fiber optic cable.*
Bearing in mind the essential history and general nature of the Internet, let us examine the notion that claims to protect it.
The Nature of Net Neutrality
Net neutrality advocates such as Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig liken the Internet to a “commons”—to “public property,” akin to state-owned highways and municipal parks.9 They call for the Internet to be treated as if it were “public property,” managed by the government in accordance with the “public welfare.” On these grounds, they advocate that the Internet remain a “neutral platform” where “the network owner can’t discriminate against some [data] packets while favoring others.”10 Plainly stated, net neutrality is the idea that the Internet is “public property”; thus, the government must ensure that online content is delivered in a “neutral,” non-preferential fashion.
But delivered by whom? To hold that the Internet is a “commons” or “public property” is to evade its actual nature; the Internet is a network of privately owned personal computers, servers, and cable. Ignoring this fact and pretending to themselves that the Internet is “public property,” proponents of net neutrality seek government control over private property—specifically that of Internet service providers.
In order to achieve net neutrality, its advocates hold that the Internet must remain, as they put it, a “stupid network,” meaning unregulated by an intelligence that might favor the transmission of some content over other content.11 But because data is transmitted through the private property of ISPs—the expensive cables, computers, and other infrastructure that make the Internet possible—what they actually advocate is denying ISPs the right to manage their own property. The “stupid” Internet that net neutrality advocates desire is one in which ISPs must, under threat of government force, remain largely passive with regard to how data flows through their lines and over their networks. An ISP’s role, according to net neutrality advocates, is to pay for and then provide a “stupid network” of “dumb pipe” (i.e., bandwidth capacity) to customers, who can use it however they please.12 Fearing the decisions that ISPs might make with respect to their own property, net neutrality advocates seek to impose their conception of how the Internet should work—via government force.
In essence, beneath their calls to preserve “economic innovation” and “free speech online,” net neutrality proponents advocate government control of the privately owned infrastructure that makes the Internet possible. To what types of controls will adherence to net neutrality lead, and how will these affect Internet service providers and their customers?
Net Neutrality in Action
Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already begun to abide by the principles of net neutrality in its regulation of the Internet, and Congress is threatening to incorporate these principles into legislation.
In 2004, then FCC Chairman Michael Powell proposed that his agency adopt certain principles toward the achievement of a “neutral” Internet.13 Those principles, as officially adopted in 2005, state:
To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice. . . . to run applications and use services of their choice. . . . to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network. . . . to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.14
By declaring that consumers are “entitled” to an “open” and “interconnected” Internet, the FCC is declaring ISPs to be rights-less public servants who must pay for and build Internet infrastructure—and then turn it over to Web surfers and FCC bureaucrats for them to use and abuse as they see fit. These FCC principles are clearly in keeping with the net neutrality principle that the private property of ISPs be, in effect, collectivized and regulated so as to be kept “stupid.”
To grasp the implications of this, consider the first official regulatory action taken by the FCC toward enforcing the principles of net neutrality: its August 1, 2008, decision against Comcast, the nation’s largest Internet service provider.15
The FCC’s action against Comcast stems from an accusation by the group Free Press and Public Knowledge that it was “secretly degrading peer-to-peer applications.”16 “Peer-to-peer” is a method of file transfer developed by Bit Torrent to facilitate the rapid downloading of large video files, such as entire movies, from various websites.17 Such downloads consume a vast amount of an ISP’s bandwidth—its capacity to deliver content to its customers. For instance, another ISP, AT&T, reports that a mere 5 percent of its customers consume 50 percent of its capacity, most of which consists of video downloads achieved by technologies such as Bit Torrent’s peer-to-peer.18 Free Press and Public Knowledge accused Comcast of identifying bandwidth-consuming Bit Torrent data packets and slowing their progress through its network in order to free up capacity for the vast majority of its users.
Comcast’s policy toward the peer-to-peer data packets made economic sense: A small minority of its customers was consuming much of its bandwidth by downloading large movie files with Bit Torrent’s technology, thereby reducing data transfer rates for the majority of customers who used Comcast’s service primarily for Web surfing and email. By identifying peer-to-peer data packets and slowing, or “de-prioritizing,” their passage through its network, Comcast made available more capacity for the majority of its customers and avoided raising its rates in order to foot the cost of the infrastructure improvements that would be required to accommodate peer-to-peer file transfers as they grew in popularity. Given that these peer-to-peer file transfers were being made on its property, Comcast had the right to do so.
But neither property rights nor sound economics is the concern of the FCC or the net neutrality advocates who applauded its decision. According to the FCC, Comcast’s actions violated the principles of net neutrality because they unfairly “discriminated” against the Bit Torrent data packets. As such, the FCC rejected Comcast’s right to make decisions regarding the use of its own property: It ruled that its data management practices were illegal and ordered it—and by implication, all other Internet service providers—to stop de-prioritizing Bit Torrent data packets by January 1, 2009.19
By denying Internet service providers such as Comcast the right to manage their own property, the FCC is, as net neutrality advocates would have it, taking the “intelligence” out of the Internet. An ISP such as Comcast has a strong incentive—profit maximization—to create the best possible Internet experience for as many of its customers as it can. Responding to pressures on its capacity, Comcast managed the flow of data on its network to ensure that the downloading activities of some of its customers did not slow down access to websites and email for the majority of its customers. As net neutrality advocates would have it, and as the FCC ordered it, Comcast can no longer single out bandwidth-intensive Bit Torrent downloads, which means that, in order to avoid additional infrastructure costs that would raise its rates across the board, Comcast must—as it has announced it will do—indiscriminately de-prioritize all bandwidth-intensive data.20
By forcing an Internet service provider to treat all data “neutrally,” the FCC and net neutrality advocates prevent that ISP from instituting policies, offering services, and using technologies in accordance with its judgment of the relevant facts. Consequently, the ISP cannot offer the policies, services, and technologies that it thinks would be beneficial to its customers and therefore profitable to the ISP. For instance, in order not to “unfairly discriminate” against movie downloads, Comcast may also slow down other types of data transfers for which speed is essential. Certain “real-time” applications such as streaming video (e.g., YouTube), telephony services (e.g., Skype), and multi-player gaming require that data packets stream smoothly without interruption. In order for these applications to stream smoothly, and therefore function as intended, an ISP might give their data packets priority over those of movie downloads or email, for which smooth streaming is not essential. Whereas an unregulated ISP might see to it that customers who need smooth streaming get it, an ISP shackled by bureaucrats wielding net neutrality cannot.
And by denying an Internet service provider its right to manage its property, net neutrality throttles its incentive to invest in new bandwidth. If an ISP is forced to turn over a large portion of its bandwidth to a small portion of its customer base, its overall capacity is not being used profitably, and it therefore has much less incentive to increase its capacity by investing in the expansion of its infrastructure. It could partially defray the enormous cost of increasing its capacity by raising rates across the board, but this would come at the risk of losing customers. Better yet, it could charge customers who have high bandwidth requirements, such as movie downloaders, premium rates. But although some net neutrality proponents would allow an ISP to charge some customers premium rates—that is, “nondiscriminatory” FCC-approved rates—other proponents would ban the practice completely. In either case, the ISP would be unable to charge market-clearing prices for the heavy consumption of bandwidth capacity, and the cost of that capacity would be borne by both it and its customers, who would suffer increased costs and degraded service.
Denying Internet service providers such as Comcast their right to profitably manage data packets traveling over their networks on the grounds that their networks are “public property” is morally outrageous and, for those who value the Internet and its possibilities, stupid—in the traditional sense. By making an ISP’s property less profitable, net neutrality will have the obvious effect of reducing its incentive to increase its bandwidth capacities by investing in more property. And net neutrality will destroy innovations that could profit ISPs and customers alike. For example, an unregulated ISP could easily provide a hospital on its network with an extremely high-bandwidth and smooth-streaming connection enabling a surgical specialist from a remote corner of the globe to oversee a rare and dangerous surgery via high-definition video conferencing.21 But net neutrality principles neither allow the ISP to prioritize the data packets required for that purpose nor allow the ISP and hospital to agree on a premium rate for such a mutually beneficial service. By violating property rights, net neutrality kills the incentive and means for Internet service providers to improve the quality of their service and to innovate.
Unfortunately, the requirement that all data packets be transported in a “nondiscriminatory” manner is only one of the government controls influenced by net neutrality that threatens Internet service providers and their customers.
Proposed legislation would prohibit Internet service providers from charging different prices for different online content.22 For instance, an ISP might charge $5 extra per month for access to Google on the grounds that visits by its customers to Google’s website account for a large percentage of its bandwidth usage and thus its infrastructure cost. No ISP currently levies such fees but, for fear that an ISP might one day find it profitable to do so, net neutrality advocates seek to preemptively ban the practice on the grounds that it constitutes “unfair discrimination” against certain types of content. On the heels of the requirement that data packets be treated equally, such legislation would further reduce an ISP’s ability to manage its own property in a manner profitable to it and its customers.
In all likelihood Internet service providers would not find it profitable to “discriminate” against certain types of content by charging extra for it. Customers who expect their Internet access to be “open” and “neutral” would likely balk at such an idea and leave a provider that levied such fees for a competitor. (And if the government keeps its hands off the Internet, there will be competition.) But ISPs may well find it profitable to charge extra for particular content, a standard practice in other mediums, such as the cable and satellite television services that charge for premium channels and pay-per-view events. If certain online content were inherently bandwidth intensive, ISPs might charge for it in order to recoup the cost of the infrastructure necessary to deliver it to its customers. And, along the lines of broadcast television, ISPs might even provide free limited access to online content to customers who did not mind the limitation and were willing to tolerate some degree of advertising. But whereas the desirability of such arrangements is rightfully a matter for ISPs and their paying customers to decide in the free market, net neutrality advocates and FCC bureaucrats seek to preemptively settle the matter with government force.
Most of an Internet service provider’s customers are Web surfers accessing online content via personal computers. But ISPs also serve Web content providers such as eBay and Amazon, providing the transmission lines through which those companies’ millions of customers access the content housed in their servers. Not surprisingly, in order to prevent ISPs from charging different Web content providers different rates for bringing their sites to the Web, net neutrality advocates also seek to regulate this relationship. Under proposed federal net neutrality legislation, all content providers, regardless of their size, must be permitted to connect to the Web at the same “nondiscriminatory” rates.23 Fearing that market conditions might one day result in them paying more for access to the Web than their competitors, such major content providers as Google, YouTube, and Yahoo! support net neutrality and the “level playing field” it would provide.24 All of this would come at the expense of ISPs, which would have to defer to the FCC regarding the maximum rates they could charge and who would be unable to negotiate lower rates with certain Web content providers when it would be profitable to do so. A “level playing field” would come also at the expense of competition among Web content providers. A small future Google competitor might be unable to afford the “non-discriminatory” rates set by the FCC. In a free market, such a competitor could negotiate a special rate with a local ISP so that both would profit: The Web content provider would have the financial breathing room provided by the savings while the ISP might have the certainty of an extended-year contract with the content provider. Under net neutrality, an ISP’s right to negotiate with its customers to mutual benefit is not recognized because an ISP’s right to its property is not recognized.
Further diminishing an Internet service provider’s profits, and therefore its incentive to expand and innovate, is a provision to force ISPs to carry content that competes with other products and services it offers. The FCC has already fined one ISP for prohibiting a competing voice-over-Internet telephone service to use its Internet lines, ruling not only that the Internet provider had to carry the competing service, but also that it could not charge an extra fee for doing so.25 This flagrant violation of an ISP’s right to use and dispose of its own property is analogous to forcing Ford to provide space in its showrooms for Toyota, without charging its competitor anything over and above its own floor space costs. In such a scenario, in addition to losing showroom space that could be used for showcasing one of its own vehicles, Ford would be forced to aid its competitor—at no cost to Toyota. Needless to say, Ford’s incentive to build large new showrooms would be impaired by the knowledge that it would have to hand over floor space in those showrooms to its competitors. Likewise, forcing an ISP to transmit the data of its competitors reduces its incentive to invest in bandwidth.
An ISP has the moral right to prohibit its competitors from using its infrastructure, and its customers have the moral right to seek service elsewhere if they disagree with that policy. Under net neutrality, these rights are not recognized, because its masterminds, advocates, and implementers evade the fact that the physical elements of the Internet are private property.
The Government Morally Must Stay Out of the Internet
With the exception of open source code and public domain content, every part of the Internet is private property: property owned by someone. The content of websites is owned by its authors. The servers that house those websites are owned by hosting companies. The personal computers that access those websites are owned by Web surfers. And the data transmission lines that make all of this possible are owned by Internet service providers. Each of these parties has the right to use and dispose of his property, including the right to deal with the other parties by mutual agreement to mutual benefit. Net neutrality denies that the Internet is private property and therefore denies that its owners have these rights.
As shown, net neutrality forcibly prevents Internet service providers from using their property in a profitable manner. If an ISP were left alone to manage the transmission of data packets across its property, it could profitably improve the speed of its network, it could profit from charging more for more bandwidth consumption, and it could profit from providing special services to certain customers, such as smoothly streaming high-definition video feeds. But because none of these things is possible under net neutrality’s rules, the property of Internet service providers is worth considerably less to them in terms of its profit potential. Accordingly, their incentive to expand and improve the infrastructure on which the Internet relies is greatly diminished.
Net neutrality also hinders competition among Internet service providers. By making the transmission of Internet data less profitable, net neutrality reduces the incentive for new ISPs to enter the market. And because new ISPs would be shackled by the same regulations as their established competitors, they would be less likely to find a way to compete, achieve profitability, and grow their business. Were it not for net neutrality, a start-up ISP might compete against Comcast by configuring its fledgling network to favor Bit Torrent’s peer-to-peer data packets, thereby earning it the business of serious movie downloaders without having to match or exceed Comcast in expensive infrastructure. But because ISPs cannot “discriminate” among data packets, the start-up would have one less means of gaining entry into the marketplace. And the extent to which there is currently little competition among Internet service providers is the extent to which government has established legal telecommunications and cable monopolies and regulated the wireless spectrum. If there is little choice in Internet services in a given market, it is likely a function of government regulation—not a lack thereof. The key to competition in the Internet is less regulation, not the added regulation entailed by net neutrality.26
And because of the foregoing, net neutrality reduces the overall quality, speed, and capability of the Internet. If its advocates and their federal enforcers have their way, an ISP’s customers will suffer slower speeds so that other customers can use disproportionate capacity for which they are not paying their share. If net neutrality’s principles are enforced, customers who desire, and would pay for, special priority service will be unable to obtain it. And in neither instance will customers have viable alternatives, for net neutrality creates a “level playing field” on which all Internet service providers are equally hamstrung.
Much could be said about the stupidity of net neutrality. But, setting aside the fact that it will thwart competition and retard the Internet, we must recognize first and foremost that net neutrality violates the rights of private property owners—specifically Internet service providers. The fact that Internet access is a profound value does not justify government force against the ISPs that make it possible, any more than the fact that books are a profound value justifies government involvement in Barnes and Noble’s pricing, displaying, and stocking of books. The property of Internet service providers is theirs; as such, they have the moral right to use and dispose of it as they please, regardless of what their customers, FCC bureaucrats, and net neutrality advocates have to say about it.
Unfortunately, net neutrality is a small part of a wider effort to erode property rights in America. As with eminent domain, zoning laws, and the like, net neutrality holds that it is moral to violate the rights of property owners for the “greater good.” Net neutrality holds that the benefit of a “neutral” Internet to all of its users justifies the use of force against those who own and maintain its backbone. It does not.
America morally must recognize the rights of Internet service providers to manage their property as they see fit. We must undo the relatively few controls already placed on the Internet, repudiate net neutrality, and keep the government’s stupid hands off this brilliant private property.
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About Raymond C. Niles
Raymond C. Niles is a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and assistant professor of economics & management at DePauw University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University and an MBA in Finance & Economics from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Prior to embarking on his academic career, Niles worked for more than fifteen years on Wall Street as senior equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs, Schroders, and Citigroup, and as managing partner of a hedge fund investing in energy securities. In addition to numerous articles in scholarly and popular publications, Niles has contributed book chapters to The Morality of Finance, and the recently published book, Coronavirus and Economic Crisis, edited by Peter G. Earle, and published by the American Institute for Economic Research.
View all posts by Raymond C. Niles →
Reason or Faith: The Republican AlternativeBubble Boy: Alan Greenspan’s Rejection of Reason and Morality
Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Alan Germani and David Veksler for their valuable contributions to this article.
* The writings, artworks, proprietary software, and other intellectual creations available online that are not in the public domain are the private property of their respective creators.
1 “Johannes Gutenberg, The Invention of Movable Type,” http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/gutenbergmovable.html, accessed on November 11, 2008.
2 “Save the Internet .com,” http://www.savetheinternet.com/=faq?gclid=CO6GiKP7oZUCFQNvHgodAm2skQ, accessed on November 22, 2008.
3 Internet Society, “A Brief History of the Internet,” Introduction, http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Introduction, accessed on November 25, 2008.
4 Ibid., Initial Concepts, http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Initial_Concepts, accessed on November 25, 2008.
5 “Who ‘created’ the Internet? It’s a tangled web,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 20, 2000, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/nett20.shtml.
6 The median speed in the United States is 2.3 million bits/second (2.3 megabits/second). Communication Workers of America, “National Study of Real-Time Internet Connection Speeds Shows U.S. Falling Further Behind Other Advanced Nations,” August 12, 2008, http://www.cwa-union.org/news/national-study-of-real-time-internet-connection-speeds-shows-u-s-falling-further-behind-other-advanced-nations.html.
7 “Verizon FAQs FIOS Basics,” http://www22.verizon.com/content/ConsumerFios/faqs/faqs.htm, accessed on November 10, 2008.
8 Robert E. Litan and Hal J. Singer, “Unintended Consequences of Net Neutrality Regulation,” Journal on Telecommunications & High Technology Law (2007), http://www.criterioneconomics.com/docs/litan_singer_revised_March_2007.pdf, p. 3.
9 Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World (New York: Vintage Books, 2002), pp. 20, 23.
10 Ibid., p. 37.
11 Ibid., pp. 38–40.
12 “Net Neutrality: Speed Bumps on the Information Highway,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2006, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/18/NET.TMP.
13 “Preserving Internet Freedom: Guiding Principles for the Industry,” remarks of Michael K. Powell, chairman, Federal Communications Commission, February 8, 2004, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/CSD5428.pdf.
14 Policy Statement, F.C.C. 05-151, August 5, 2005, http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/FCC-05-151A1.pdf, emphasis removed.
15 Comcast Corporate Overview, http://www.comcast.com/corporate/about/pressroom/corporateoverview/corporateoverview.html, accessed on November 9, 2008.
16 Formal Complaint of Free Press and Public Knowledge Against Comcast Corporation for Secretly Degrading Peer-to-Peer Applications, F.C.C. 08-183, August 1, 2008, http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-183A1.pdf. Lawrence Lessig is a member of the Advisory Board of the group Free Press and Public Knowledge: http://www.publicknowledge.org/about/who/advisors.
17 For details on BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer file transfer technology, see http://www.bittorrent.com/dna/faq/, accessed on November 25, 2008. Bit Torrent’s method can transmit all types of large files in addition to video, such as games, software updates, and audio.
18 “Video, rich Web content threaten Internet capacity and flat-rate access,” The Industry Standard, November 11, 2008, http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/11/11/video-rich-web-content-threaten-internet-capacity-and-flat-rate-access?page=0%2C0.
19 Formal Complaint of Free Press and Public Knowledge Against Comcast, paragraph 55, page 33.
20 “Comcast to slow down heaviest ’Net users to DSL speeds,” August 21, 2008, http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080821-comcast-to-slow-down-heaviest-net-users-to-dsl-speeds.html.
21 See “The Haptic Workbench,” http://www.ngi-nz.co.nz/applications/haptic.html, accessed on November 22, 2008. By making remote surgery untenable or extremely expensive, net neutrality will kill people who would otherwise have received life-saving surgery.
22 Internet Freedom Preservation Act, S.215, January 9, 2007, http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/s215-110-20070109.pdf.
23 A typical example is the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, S.215.
24 “Net Neutrality or Government Brutality,” The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, July/August 2008, http://www.fee.org/pdf/the-freeman/Summers.pdf, p. 13.
25 “FCC Fines N. Car. Provider $15K For Blocking Vonage,” March 3, 2005, http://www.networkcomputing.com/channels/networkinfrastructure/60405195.
26 The so-called “last mile” problem of providing physical Internet capacity to homes and businesses will be solved by recognizing property rights to the rights-of-way that lie underneath and above city streets. For a full discussion of this idea applied to the build-out of electric transmission infrastructure—and by implication to the build-out of telecommunications infrastructure for Internet bandwidth—see Raymond C. Niles, “Property Rights and the Crisis of the Electric Grid,” The Objective Standard (Summer 2008), https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-summer/property-rights-electric-grid.asp.
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Madden NFL 19 – PC
August 10, 2019 ThePirateBay Torrents 0
Madden NFL (known as John Madden Football before 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl–winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator. The series has sold more than 100 million copies, and influenced many players and coaches of the physical sport. Among the game’s realistic features are sophisticated playbooks and player statistics, and voice commentary that allows players to hear the game as if it were a real TV broadcast. As of September 2013, the franchise generated over $4 billion in revenue.[1]
Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins conceived the series and approached Madden in 1984 for his endorsement and expertise. Because of Madden’s insistence that the game be as realistic as possible, the first version of John Madden Football did not appear until 1988. EA has released annual versions since 1990, and the series’ name changed to Madden NFL in 1993 after EA acquired the rights to use NFL teams and players. Despite Madden’s retirement as a broadcaster in 2009, he continues to lend his name to and provide expertise for the game.
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Home / Popular psychology / Body Language Bible, The: The hidden meaning behind people’s gestures and expressions
Body Language Bible, The: The hidden meaning behind people’s gestures and expressions
Judi James
Human beings judge each other subconsciously in less than three seconds, based on body language alone.Filled with fascinating psychological insights, plus a whole raft of down-to-earth quick-fix tips, The Body Language Bible takes the reader through the minefield of self-marketing and image: how to read it and how to project it.
Body Language Bible, The: The hidden meaning behind people's gestures and expressions quantity
Categories: Communication studies, Popular psychology
We live in an image-conscious society where looking the best tends to win over being the best. Human beings judge each other subconsciously in less than three seconds, based on body language alone.Filled with fascinating psychological insights, plus a whole raft of down-to-earth quick-fix tips, The Body Language Bible takes the reader through the minefield of self-marketing and image: how to read it and how to project it. In her inimitable straightforward style, Judi unravels the secrets to interpreting our movements and what we are really saying with our body language, whether consciously or not. She teaches you what we mean with our movements, how to interpret them and then shows you how to get what you want, whether you’re doing business, making friends or falling in love. The Body Language Bible is an intriguing read, providing a unique mix of body language and communication psychology (voice and the impact of words).
Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World
Layla Saad
Well Gardened Mind, The: Rediscovering Nature in the Modern World
Sue Stuart-Smith
This Too Shall Pass: Stories of Change, Crisis and Hopeful Beginnings
Julia Samuel
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
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Home TRACK NEWS NASCAR Cup Series Returns to Sonoma Raceway in 2021
NASCAR Cup Series Returns to Sonoma Raceway in 2021
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race will return to Sonoma Raceway on June 6, 2021, the series announced today as part of its full 2021 season schedule release.
NASCAR unveiled dramatic changes to its schedule for 2021, including the addition of three new tracks and six total road-course events. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be the 16th race on the 36-race schedule. The June 6 date moves the event slightly earlier than prior years, as the event has typically fallen on the third weekend in June. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will span 90 laps on the full 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course.
The 2020 NASCAR race weekend at Sonoma Raceway was relocated due to COVID-19 restrictions, marking the first time the Northern California NASCAR event had been cancelled or delayed since its debut in 1989.
“NASCAR in Sonoma is the perfect way to kick off summer, and we look forward to bringing all the color and excitement back to Wine Country next June,” said Sonoma Raceway President and General Manager Steve Page.
Sonoma Raceway is dedicated to hosting a safe event for attendees and its surrounding communities, and will work closely with local and state officials regarding safety guidelines.
Deposits for tickets and camping for the 2021 Toyota/Save Mart 350 are now being accepted. All 2020 Toyota/Save Mart 350 ticketholders will be contacted by Sonoma Raceway regarding 2021 tickets in the coming weeks. For more information, visit www.SonomaRaceway.com or call 800-870-RACE (7223).
— Sonoma Raceway —
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NASCAR Executive Jill Gregory Named EVP and GM at Sonoma Raceway
Phoenix Raceway to Allow Limited Fans for Spring Race Weekend
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The mirage of low interest rates
Cheap mortgages are powering the market but are beyond the grasp of many buyers
National Issue /
By Erin Hudson
Record-low interest rates have created an unprecedented opportunity for homebuyers. That’s the party line in the residential industry. But that’s not how things are playing out on the ground.
Many buyers have little chance to secure the cheap financing that headlines and marketers often claim is fueling the residential market this year.
“If you’re not a wealth management client, most people who want to take advantage of the historically low rates don’t know where to turn,” said Jim Fried, a Miami-based mortgage broker, referring to how banks often reserve favorable loan terms for clients with significant deposits.
“It’s a very difficult process. Extremely difficult. Extremely difficult,” he said. “People don’t realize it.”
Fried’s not alone in talking about the challenges of home financing. But as the national housing market continues its historic climb, many brokers and housing economists are focused on the positive, overlooking the struggles of many buyers trying to qualify for home loans.
“You’re really just relying on growth in the high end,” said Joel Kan, head of industry forecasting at the Mortgage Bankers Association, noting that mortgage applications for the biggest loans have grown significantly during the pandemic. “Just like any ramp-up, it may run out of steam.”
Though the housing market is continuing its run — with record-high home prices and rising sales — its recovery is uneven. In September, mortgage credit supply, which reflects the accessibility of mortgage financing, hit its lowest level in about six years, according to MBA.
“Lenders are being cautious,” Kan noted. That’s particularly true in major cities, where banks are tightening lending guidelines for jumbo loans — those too large to be sold to government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
It’s never been more expensive to buy a home in the US
Mortgage lenders tighten screws on NYC home buyers
3.7M renters may lose their homes due to eviction: Census Bureau
Though the industry insists some urban markets are invincible, economists are beginning to worry as the pandemic stretches on and some homeowners flee for the suburbs.
“There is a risk that the longer the pandemic goes on, home values may actually drop in those places,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, pointing to Manhattan and San Francisco as examples. “And that is not something a lender wants to be giving a mortgage for.”
Big city bust
JPMorgan Chase is the most high-profile example of betting against New York City.
In early November, the bank limited jumbo home loans in Manhattan to 70 percent of the sales price, down from 80 percent previously, according to a report by Bloomberg. (A few days later, the bank’s head of consumer lending told investors that the bank is still bullish on other housing markets across the country, and was even loosening some lending criteria as home prices rise.)
Jumbo loans dominate major urban markets, where housing is more expensive. The median sale price of existing homes across the country was $311,000 in September, according to the National Association of Realtors, while the median sale price in Manhattan last quarter was $1.1 million, according to a Douglas Elliman report.
Now, Manhattan homebuyers borrowing from Chase must pay at least 30 percent of the purchase price upfront. A down payment of 30 to 35 percent became the norm during the initial months of the pandemic, according to mortgage brokers. That translates to a down payment of at least $330,000 on a median-priced Manhattan home.
A spokesperson for Chase said the increased down payment requirement for Manhattan jumbo loans is “temporary” and a result of economic conditions in the borough. Unemployment is twice that of the rest of the nation, and a recent report on key-card access data from Kastle Systems International found that nearly 87 percent of New York City office employees continue to work from home.
Manhattan, which was already facing an oversupply of luxury condos, saw a 46 percent year-over-year drop in transactions last quarter. And as the pandemic drags on, failing retailers and restaurants threaten to depress home values.
Realtor.com’s chief economist, Danielle Hale, said the shift in lending standards stems from homebuyers ditching urban markets for the suburbs, leading to greater price growth in the latter. She said the trend is playing out in the most populated cities in the country.
“It makes sense that lenders are mindful of that and adjusting that lending criteria to that trend,” said Hale.
New York isn’t alone. A Federal Reserve survey of loan officers last month found that banks are tightening standards for most home loans across the board — especially for qualified jumbo mortgage loans.
Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, one of the largest nonbank lenders in the country, said he is following bank guidelines on loans of more than $1 million. This translates to loan-to-value ratios of about 70 to 75 percent.
“[In] downtown city areas, there is some concern,” Ishbia said. “There is a little bit less demand. … The prices are going down a little bit, or not going up as fast as the rest of the market.”
Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School, said it amounts to a flipping of the script for notoriously tight housing markets.
“The large megacities, they were the disproportionate success stories,” she said.
Before the pandemic, the biggest risk facing these cities was the lack of affordable housing, which was starting to slow growth in places such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. But as the pandemic and remote work have changed the desirability of these cities, Wachter expects prices there to drop significantly.
“New York is going to suffer, unfortunately,” she said.
Not every city (yet)
Metropolises where single-family homes dominate aren’t faring as badly.
Sales volume in Los Angeles last quarter was up about 14 percent year-over-year, according to the latest report from Douglas Elliman. And so far, lenders don’t appear to have any concerns with the city, where vertical living is far from the norm, according to Mark Cohen, a mortgage broker based in L.A.
“This market’s strong. Values are coming up because people are spending money on houses,” he said. “There’s a hot demand for houses because people want to have room.”
But Michael Nourmand, an L.A.-based residential broker who runs his eponymous firm, said he has run into problems with lenders when he has “move-up buyers” — clients looking to trade up to a more expensive home. Lenders often bar them from having a contingency on selling their old house.
There are ways around that, but they come with a cost. “When you don’t fit in the box, you’re going to pay a higher interest rate,” Nourmand said.
The most difficult aspect of Covid-era home lending in L.A. concerns verifying borrowers’ income, which has been complicated by this being an unusual year for many Angelenos. Cohen noted, for instance, that many people in the entertainment industry saw their income disappear for a few months earlier in the year.
“They love people who are employed,” said Nourmand. “So what I mean by employed is a Disney executive with a W-2.”
Fried, the Miami mortgage broker, recounted an instance where a lender put the kibosh on a loan after taking more than two months to review it. For another client, he had to produce three years of tax returns. Other clients have been asked for a certified letter from an accountant detailing how much they will earn in 2020.
But apart from the delays and additional scrutiny, he said, there haven’t been major changes in home lending because with few homes on the market, their values have remained high.
“The concept of a softening residential market has not yet made its way into the underwriting to a complete degree,” he said. “The lack of supply is really, really holding things up.”
Single-family home sales surged more than 70 percent year-over-year last quarter in Miami Beach and the nearby barrier islands. There were also major annual gains in sales volume of homes in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Zillow economist Matthew Speakman doesn’t believe tighter lending criteria will dampen buyer demand. He noted a significant uptick in L.A. and Miami properties selling above asking price in September.
In L.A., 33 percent of September sales were above ask, compared to 21 percent a year earlier. In Miami, the number increased to 8 percent from 5 percent, according to Zillow.
Even in New York City, some lenders are confident that once the pandemic ends, values will recover.
“We know the New York City market very, very well, which is why we are not pulling back on our guidelines,” said Alan Rosenbaum, CEO of nonbank lender GuardHill Financial. He believes that an effective vaccine will bring values in the city back to pre-Covid levels and appreciating as before.
“We’re the contrarian,” he said. “The big banks aren’t lending. We are.”
What does all this mean for homebuyers? They have to fit a very particular bill to take advantage of the current rate environment.
Lenders are generally looking for several years’ worth of tax returns; a steady, salaried job in the same industry for at least two years; a high credit score; and highly liquid assets, mortgage brokers say.
But that’s a tall order when nearly 6.8 million people are out of work.
The disparity between homebuyers who can and cannot secure cheap financing may seem minor as the housing market continues its upward run. But some economists and industry insiders are sounding alarm bells that differing access to credit exacerbates stark inequality in America.
“If you lost your job during this recession, you’re not going to get approved for a loan,” said Redfin’s Fairweather. “The people that are able to take advantage of low rates [are] the people who have the best credit histories; they have the highest incomes.”
This reflects what Wharton’s Wachter described as a K-shaped economic recovery, in which the wealthy bounce back more quickly than lower earners.
But others argue that tightening the screws is what responsible lenders should do.
“You can’t have it both ways,” said Ishbia of UWM. “To change those rules puts you back in the ’07, ’08 world [of reckless lending], and that’s not what anyone would want or is interested in.”
Hale, of Realtor.com, agreed, noting that lenders’ additional scrutiny of borrowers means those who do get loans during the Covid era are going to be “higher-quality, better-qualified buyers.”
Wachter noted that an uneven recovery in the housing market poses broader problems.
“What we’ve seen in my research is that the inability to buy into a community with jobs is keeping mobility down and keeping people from moving to markets where there’s job growth,” she said. “That’s going to hurt the overall economy.”
MBA’s Kan agreed. “You need the lower end of the market to move up eventually,” he said.
Contact Erin Hudson
interest ratesMortgage Rates
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Angelenos paying almost three times as much of income on mortgages
7083 Hollywood Blvd, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90028
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Post Mortems
Watchmen's Jean Smart Talks Laurie's Heroic History, 'Defense Mechanisms' and That Big Blue... Memento
By Kimberly Roots / November 3 2019, 7:00 PM PST
Courtesy of HBO
High Maintenance Not Returning for Season 5 at HBO
Insecure to End With Season 5 on HBO
Warning: This post contains spoilers from Watchmen Season 1, Episode 3.
We hope you were paying attention during Laurie Blake’s transmission to Mars in Sunday’s Watchmen, because Jean Smart‘s monologue in the futuristic booth sketches out a big chunk of the comic-book story on which the HBO series is based.
“One of the crew guys, at one point, he said to me, ‘You did a lot of exposition!,'” Smart tells TVLine. “Yeah, thank you, I noticed.” She laughs. “You think? Geez.” (Go here for a full recap of the episode.)
The Designing Women alum was a total newbie to the Watchmen-verse when she accepted the role of Laurie Blake, an FBI agent who was once a masked superhero but who now makes a living catching incognito vigilantes. “I still keep going back to the book and thinking, ‘What was that relationship? Who did that? Who said that? When was that?,'” she says.
Read on as Smart walks us through Laurie’s entrance into Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen, which is packed with the aforementioned backstory, as well as a few cheeky asides to those familiar with the graphic novel. And yeah, we asked about that fleeting scene with the blue… apparatus. (Which, by the way, Lindelof attributes to episode co-writer/supervising producer Lila Byock. “No pun intended, I don’t think I would have had the balls to come up with that one myself,” he says.)
TVLINE | I have many more important and deeper questions, but I have to know: Is that a giant, blue vibrator she pulls out of that case?
Yes. Well, it is actually… it’s a dildo, OK. [Laughs] In the version I saw, they didn’t linger on it too much.
TVLINE | No, it was very quick.
I don’t know what people are going to think, but yeah, I thought, “Oh God, OK.” I’m lucky now that one of my kids is 29, and one of my kids is 11, and the 11-year-old will never even watch it, because she’s not remotely curious to watch anything I do. And the 29-year-old is old enough that he won’t care. He’ll be mildly grossed-out, but he won’t be scarred for life.
TVLINE | I appreciate your answering my juvenile question.
No, not at all! That was the first thing I asked Damon [Lindelof, showrunner] when I talked to him on the phone. I said, “Let’s get this out of the way right now before I say yes.” Because I’m just really digging this script, and then I’m going, ‘Oh really? Is that where this is going?” He said, “No. Don’t worry over it.” [Laughs]
TVLINE | I love it. We see Laurie come in and she’s so self-assured in her job and in her scenes with Angela, but she’s a much different person when she’s in that booth. What can you tell me about the defenses she’s built up?
She’s very guarded, you know? I mean she has such negative — ambivalent, at best —but negative feelings about her past, and her childhood, and her parents, and things that you would not ever really completely get over, I think. I think she always thinks that she’s much more together than she actually is, you know? She has such anger and disdain towards these masked vigilantes, and the fact that she’s ironically now putting them behind bars. It is interesting. Again, I always think about anybody who’s got that kind of sense of humor, that kind of real wiseass sense of humor…it’s a defense mechanism.
TVLINE | Do you think she misses the good ol’ days with Nite Owl and the rest of the heroes?
Oh, I think she misses the fun part of the good old days. I think she misses, you know, the two men in her life. But I think she’s convinced herself that that was all kind of ludicrous, and now that what she’s doing is important. When she says, “I eat good guys for breakfast,” she’s putting “good guys” in quotation marks. She always thinks that she’s got things figured out more than anybody else around her. She realizes almost immediately with Angela that that’s not the case, that she’s met somebody who can come right back at her. Like that scene in the mausoleum. [Laurie] thought she was totally intimidating this woman, and Angela’s reaction [made her think], oh that didn’t work. Damn. Whoa. Now what? [Laughs]
TAGS: HBO, Jean Smart, Watchmen
GET MORE: Interviews, Post Mortems
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Tech Stocks To Buy 2020
Carlos Terenzi · in Guides, Crypto News
The tech bull market is expected to continue in 2020, driven by the advent of 5G networks that are expected to push chipmakers and smartphone manufacturers to new heights. Below are three tech stocks you should pay attention to in 2020.
Elastic: An Internet of Things Tech Stock
ESTC is the ticker for Elastic N.V, an internet of things stock which trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It is a tech stock that has seen its price go up with the recent favoritism shown toward technology stocks and the growing internet of things industry. Market movers are found in technology and internet sectors within companies providing unique value opportunities. Major players in technology services like Microsoft and Google have found that, and Amazon did too. Elastic is following in their footsteps, so to speak, with technology that connects devices and servers at magnitudes and speeds that power the modern internet. For those looking ahead at trends, this is one way of investing in an internet of things iot company.
Internet of things iot is a fairly recent term that has to do with connecting systems that build off of each other algorithmically. With internet of things emerging technologies int the global market, iot stocks to watch have become a popular analyst write-up. Elastic is usually in there as a prominent iot stock and tech stock to buy. As with all things, before bying any stock—tech stock, iot stock, or virtual stock, you need to do your own research.
Let’s get back to Elastic and its prominence as an iot stock. There are other iot stock choices on the market, but few that have built up revenue like Elastic. The others are giants like Amazon and Microsoft which have iot products in the dozens.
This analyst describes Elastic’s iot solutions and business models as, “The Elastic Stack consists of four products, including Kibana, Elasticsearch, Beats, and Logstash. Elasticsearch is a real-time search and analytics engine. Kibana provides the user interface and visualization layer for data stored by Elasticsearch.” Elasticsearch is a keystone tool for startups, emerging markets and players, and is one of the most successful iot products in recent history.
ESTC shares, as a tech stock, had a fairly good ride in first half of 2019 but has since seen its stock price depreciate rapidly, in the face of growing concerns that the company may have breached federal securities laws. Sometimes, with emerging technologies, companies will scrape against laws of this type. This may be the case as these companies move into new countries and emerging markets.
As this analyst points out, “First, Elastic is hands-down one of the fastest-growing companies in the software sector. It’s no longer all that small, either – at a ~$400 million annual revenue run rate, a >60% y/y top-line growth rate is impressive.”
As you see, from a tech stock, in the software sector, its year over year growth is remarkable and its grown to take in a large yearly revenue from supplying dynamic technology search on various iot offering and internet protocols.
Silently, the company has been refreshing its main product line as it prepares for the Internet of Things (IoT). Cisco acquired Leaba Semiconductor in 2016, and the company has developed Cisco Silicon 1, which is crucial in the IoT world.
The silicon 1 is at the heart of a pluggable optical router which can move 10.8 terabytes of data per second. The chip will connect with “OpenRoaming,” a new standard that can log devices to Wi-Fi services automatically.
Cisco also recently bought Exablaze, making it its sixth acquisition this year. Exablaze low-latency routers are built with field programmable gate arrays.
The latter has been performing quite well in the stock market.
Even though naysays are quick to compare Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) with the likes of Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), IBM, and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) which all missed the mobile revolution, the company’s recent product announcements show it’s taking the lead in the networking arena.
Given its wide array of software and hardware products, Cisco has a pivotal role to play in determining how fast the 5G wireless market takes off.
The future of 5G and edge computing lies in IoT, drones, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality phone apps, and remote health care, some of the areas Cisco has well covered. No wonder CSCO stock right now makes excellent 5G stocks to buy.
Another thing set to bolster CSCO stocks is the opportunity Cisco has to upgrade data centers. If you didn’t know, “internet cloud” is made up of data centers the size of warehouses.
Upgrading of 400G technology is expected to start by mid next year. In July this year, Cisco acquired Acacia Communications, who happens to be the maker of 400G devices. Also, earlier this year, Cisco bought Luxtera an optics device maker.
According to analysts, the company is well-positioned as corporate buyers shift to software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN).
When we look at the financials, since the new CEO took office in 2015, the company has been managed for income instead of big capital gains.
Cisco’s dividend has almost doubled. Over the past three years, the tech stock has been averaging 15% gain per year, which is in line with other S&P 500 stocks.
PRLB – A 3D Printing Tech Stock
In 2017, the global 3D printing market was valued at $8.08 billion, according to research conducted by Verified Market Research. The figure is projected to reach $49.74 billion by 2025.
Lately, the 3D market has slowed down, negatively affecting companies like 3D Systems and Stratasys that put so much money into research and development of new 3D-printing devices as well as carrying out several acquisitions when the market for 3D printers failed to match the high expectations leaving the companies sitting on loads of inventory.
With so many investors losing money in the 3D-printing space, it’s hard to find anyone who has any tolerance for high valuations in the industry.
However, one company stands out in the space; Proto Labs, Inc (NYSE: PRLB), rather than developing 3D printers, the company uses a mix of prototyping equipment including 3D printers and traditional molding and machining equipment.
This allows the company to operate as something like the FedEx office for businesses.
By not having to sit on inventory and also leaning on the high margins that are associated with offering unique services, Protolabs can turn around metal and plastic prototypes in less than 24 hours, saving customers time instead of them having to wait for weeks.
The quick turnover has been attractive, playing a pivotal role as the company has almost tripled the number of unique product developers it has assisted in the past six years.
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Five NFL Draft Fits for Devonta Smith
Victor Oladipo Continues to Defy NBA Odds, Here’s How
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Home/College Football/Best of College Football: Week 9
College FootballNCAA
Best of College Football: Week 9
Want to give the author direct feedback? Follow @brian_kohler19 on Twitter for more insight. In addition, become a real fan and check out The Athletes Hub apparel.
How Different These Divisions Look
From 2011 to 2016, Florida State and Clemson were among the top teams in the ACC. Both teams finished in the top 3 in the Atlantic division each year, and one of them represented the division in every ACC Championship Game since 2009. Their games were usually close affairs, with the exception of a 51-14 Seminole victory in 2013.
Since then, there has been a gap growing between the programs, and it has never been more evident than during Clemson’s 59-10 win over Florida State where the Tigers were ahead 28-0 at halftime, and 52-3 after the third quarter. It was the worst home loss in Florida State history, and this Clemson senior class is the first group to go 4-0 against the Seminoles. The changes in the ACC Atlantic don’t end there.
Louisville has finished at least tied for third in the division every season since joining the ACC in 2014, but they have yet to win a conference game this season after falling to Wake Forest 56-35. Syracuse, who has never finished higher than fourth in the division, is sitting in third place after beating North Carolina State 51-41. The Orange are behind Boston College by half a game (3-2 conference record against 3-1), but this is unfamiliar territory for both teams. Boston College hasn’t been this talented since Matt Ryan was their quarterback in 2007 when they finished 11-3. It’s unlikely either team will catch Clemson for the division crown, but they are talented enough to possibly make it interesting down the stretch.
Meanwhile, in the Pac-12, Washington State pulled off a 41-38 win against Stanford to take control of the North Division in that conference. The Cougars haven’t won a conference championship since 2002 when the conference was still the Pac 10, and there was no conference championship game to play. Even then, they were co-champions with USC; it was 1997 when Washington State last won the Pac 10 outright. After finishing in the bottom two of the Pac 12 North four straight seasons, the Cougars have put a few good years together and now control their own destiny. Their home game against rival Washington in the last week of the season will likely decide who hosts the conference championship.
How Far Can Kentucky Go?
The 12th-ranked team in the country was a seven-point underdog on the road against an unranked team, and didn’t score an offensive touchdown until the final play of the game and escaped with a victory. Kentucky escaped with a 15-14 win against Missouri after a pass interference penalty on the final play gave the Wildcats an untimed down, which they converted into a touchdown. They are now 7-1 and tied with Georgia for first place in the SEC East going into their game next week.
The winner of that Georgia-Kentucky matchup will clinch the SEC East and a birth in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Kentucky has a legitimate shot to make the playoffs, but the offense will need to improve in order to do so. Although they are ranked 20th in rushing, the Wildcats are currently 84th in scoring offense and an abysmal 124th in passing yards. The strength of this team lies in its elite defense, where they rank 2nd in the country in points allowed, and 12th in yards allowed per game.
The Wildcats have beaten some talented teams such as Florida and Mississippi State, and the only blemish on their record so far was an overtime loss against Texas A&M. If Kentucky does manage to beat Georgia (Georgia has won 19 of the last 21 matchups), they wouldn’t have a tough remaining schedule until the conference championship game, likely facing Alabama there.
It will be interesting to see where the committee ranks Kentucky when they release their official rankings on Tuesday, and even more so if the Wildcats can manage to defeat Georgia. We do know that Kentucky will have a winning record against SEC opposition for the first time since 1977, and if their offense can step up and get something going, they could potentially get so much more.
Comeback of the Week
Heading into Week 9, Oregon State was 1-6, with their lone win coming against Southern Utah. They had lost 22 straight road contests, along with five straight games this season, including a 49-7 loss to Cal last week, and were ranked 128th in the country in scoring defense. It didn’t seem as if anything would change this week, as Colorado scored on the first play of the second half to give the Buffaloes a 31-7 lead.
ESPN win probability gave Colorado a 99.8% chance to win the game right before Oregon State scored to make it 31-10. In response, they scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and even had a chance to win the game after scoring with just 29 seconds left in the game, but the extra point was blocked, keeping the score at 34-34. Colorado had a chance to win in regulation as well but missed a 53-yard field goal.
In overtime, Beavers QB Jack Coltello rushed for his second 1-yard touchdown of the game and the Oregon State defense held Colorado at the seven-yard line to preserve the win. It’s still unlikely they’ll make a bowl game, and it’s possible they won’t win another game all season, but Saturday afternoon may just give the Beavers some momentum heading into their matchup against USC.
Best Games of Week 10
(12) West Virginia at (15) Texas
(6) Georgia at (11) Kentucky
(14) Penn State at (5) Michigan
(1) Alabama at (4) LSU
Temple at (9) UCF
(18) Utah State at Hawai’i
Three Stars of Week 9
Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle
1. D’Eriq King, QB, Houston
28/40, 419 Yds, 5 TD; 12 Att, 132 Yds, 2 TD
For the second straight season, King led Houston to a win over an unbeaten South Florida team, only this time the result was never really in doubt. Although he did throw 2 interceptions, the USF defense had nothing to slow him down (like we predicted last week), as he accounted for 7 of Houston’s 8 touchdowns on the day, as well as 551 of the 682 total yards. The big plays happened throughout the game as Houston scored twice in every quarter, with the shortest touchdown from King coming at 15 yards. He also still leads the nation in touchdowns scored (39 total) and is top 20 in passing yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, and QB rating. There would be no surprise in King getting some Heisman consideration if he can keep up his current level of play.
Don Feria/AP Photo
2. Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State
40/50, 438 Yds, 3 TD
Speaking of players who should be in the Heisman conversation, Mike Leach was insistent on his QB being there, and he isn’t too far off. Minshew leads the country in passing yards per game and currently sits 3rd in passing touchdowns. This week, Minshew led Washington State on a scoring drive in the final 1:04 of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 28-17, then did it again with 1:25 left in the game to give the Cougars a win over Stanford. Two of his three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, and he was able to spread the ball around all game, completing passes to 10 different receivers. He will face a stiff test next week against Cal, who has the 10th-ranked pass defense in the country and just held Washington QB Jake Browning to 148 yards.
In 2015, Louisville pulled Matt Colburn's scholarship offer 48 hours before National Signing Day.
Today, the Wake Forest RB got his revenge
pic.twitter.com/fymPWsb0Lj
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 27, 2018
3. Matt Colburn, RB, Wake Forest
20 Att, 243 Yds, 3 TD
Wake Forest needed a big game against Louisville after crushing defeats against Clemson and Florida State, and Colburn led the way to a 56-35 win over Louisville. He scored on runs of 74, 56, and 12 yards while averaging 12.1 yards per carry throughout the game. It was a career day for Colburn, who wasn’t the leading rusher on this Wake Forest team going into the game. We will see how he gets used next week against Syracuse with the Demon Deacons other leading rusher Cade Carney. It’s safe to say Colburn enjoys playing against Louisville after they pulled his scholarship offer in 2015. His previous career high before this game included 134 yards against Louisville last season.
Brett Rypien, QB, Boise State: 20/34, 399 Yds, 5 TD
Taylor Cornelius, QB, Oklahoma State: 23/34, 321 Yds, 5 TD (2 Rush)
Eric Dungey, QB, Syracuse: 27/38, 411 Yds, 4 TD (1 Rush)
Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: 23/34, 448 Yds, 5 TD (1 Rush)
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson: 20/37, 314 Yds, 4 TD
Dexter Williams, RB, Notre Dame: 23 Att, 142 Yds, 3 TD
Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB, Vanderbilt: 26 Att, 172 Yds, 3 TD
Pooka Williams Jr, RB, Kansas: 11 Att, 33 Yds; 7 Rec, 102 Yds, 2 TD
Zack Moss, RB, Utah: 26 Att, 211 Yds, 3 TD
Tyleek Collins, WR, UNLV: 9 Rec, 170 Yds, 4 TD
Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State: 10 Rec, 222 Yds, 2 TD
John Hightower, WR, Boise State: 8 Rec, 182 Yds, 3 TD
KD Nixon, WR, Colorado: 13 Rec, 198 Yds, 2 TD
Image Credit: Elliott Hess/UK Athletics
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60 'Firsts' Hip-Hop Milestones
20 Rap Songs That Sample Aretha Franklin
Best Rihanna Duets in the 2000s
Lil' Kim's Most Notorious Beefs
5 Best Songs on JAY-Z’s ‘Vol 2…Hard Knock Life’
BoomBox Staff
Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Jay-Z's third album truly launched the Brooklyn MC into hip-hop's upper echelon. Jay had been doing his thing on a mass level since 1996s Reasonable Doubt, but that album wasn't exactly a strong seller, and while his sophomore album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was a platinum-seller, the shiny singles "Sunshine" and "The City Is Mine" earned more scoffs from serious hip-hop fans than praise.
But in 1998, Jay turned a corner. Vol 2...Hard Knock Life proved that Jay could get the streets while dominating the charts. "Hard Knock Life" became a major hit that fall, following "Can I Get A..." (originally on the Rush Hour soundtrack) as did "Money Ain't A Thang" his team-up with Jermaine Dupri that was initially on Dupri's Life In 1492 and included as a bonus track on ...Hard Knock Life.
Released on Sept. 29, 1998, Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life was packed with standout tracks and monster hits. We picked our five favorite tracks.
"Can I Get A..."
Prod. Irv Gotti and Lil Rob
One of Jigga's jiggy-est anthems turned into one of his most successful singles. Originally on the Rush Hour soundtrack, it provided a showcase for Roc rapper Amil and a soon-to-be-star in Ja Rule. And it showed that Jay could deliver a crossover hit without going super corny.
"Nigga What, Nigga Who" Feat. Amil
Prod. Timbaland
In 1998, every major hip-hop star seemed to be reaching to work with the hottest producers and rappers from different regions and Jay linked up with Virginia-bred hitmaker Timbaland (who also happened to be the hottest producer in the game at the time) for this classic.
"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"
Prod. Mark 45 King
It became a monster hit for Jay and as such, one of the most overplayed tracks of the 1990s. A lot of people scoff at Mark the 45 King's famous Annie sample, but at the time it was slightly groundbreaking to hear a showtune on a gritty street anthem. It set the stage for Jay's late 90s/early 00s chart dominance.
"Reservoir Dogs" feat. The LOX, Beanie Sigel, Sauce Money
Prod. Rockwilder
Despite the obvious gloss all over ...Hard Knock Life, Jay managed to get his gritty moments on here without ever sounding like it was self-conscious. And it was an excellent showcase for a vicious up-and-comer in Beans.
"Money, Cash, Hoes" feat. DMX
Prod. Swizz Beatz
DMX and Jay-Z were the two biggest rappers in the game by late 1998, and this was an epic collaboration and another highlight for the Ruff Ryders sound and superproducer Swizz Beatz.
Worst to Best: Every JAY-Z Album Ranked
Filed Under: Jay-Z
Categories: Hip-Hop
Maxwell on 'Rigorous, Rewarding' 2018 Tour, New Album Plans
2021 The Boombox, Townsquare Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Posted on March 28, 2017 March 28, 2017 by The Bloc
Tomi Lahren is More Controversial Than Ever
By Monica Pizzo
Tomi Lahren, a woman known for her controversial remarks, has recently become even more so. She came out … as pro-choice.
The poster girl for young conservative Republicans created an uproar throughout her fan base after Friday’s installment of The View where she stated, “I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well.”
After her controversial comments, anti-abortion activists spoke out against her, saying she could not hold her conservative beliefs while also being pro-choice. They also believed she was contradicting previous comments about abortion, but this isn’t the case.
According to The Washington Post, this isn’t the first time Lahren displayed her moderate views on abortion rights. Lahren stated abortion is a difficult choice and it was not her “top issue” in a segment three months ago about Lena Dunham’s comments on the subject. She also stated Dunham “kills the legitimacy of the feminist movement” and the pro-choice movement should be about rare and safe abortions, rather than sounding like “straight up baby-killers.”.
Also, The New York Times did a segment on her where she said she is not against gay marriage, is pro-choice and said organized religion is “about hierarchy, power, control and greed.” However, Lahren said moments later that “the institution of religion is important.”
No matter these previous remarks, she still had to defend herself and her beliefs on Twitter after a social media outbreak following the show. She wrote in a tweet March 22, “We aren’t meant to agree on everything. We are Americans, not Stepford wives. Start the conversation. Listen to understand, not just respond.”
Because of her comments regarding abortion, TheBlaze has permanently suspended Lahren from her show. In a recent tweet, she said, “So I’ve got some ‘me’ time tonight. Anything good on TV,” hinting at the supposed split.
Lahren usually speaks quite robustly about the freedom of speech and how it is incredibly important to our society. She stood by this belief when she came out as pro-choice.
Republicans speak relentlessly about how liberals quiet those who have beliefs that differ from their own, but in an ironic twist, they did just that to one of their most outspoken advocates. That is not only hypocritical, but counterproductive.
In this political climate, we need to work together to bring about a change. This only furthers the split between the two sides of this political debate. However, it also opens the doors to the idea that not all people need to share the same beliefs. Respect is necessary and imperative to a peaceful society, but unfortunately, it was not seen here.
Featured Photo Credit: Courtesy of Tomi Lahren’s Facebook page.
Monica Pizzo is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at mpizzo@terpmail.umd.edu.
This entry was posted in:Bloc Blogs, Events, Politics
Tagged with:College Park, planned parenthood, Pro-choice, Pro-life, TheBlaze, tomi lahren, University of Maryland
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WWWD
(Step) Moms Panel
Ten new films announced in the Toy Story Cinematic Universe
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Woody, Toy Story 3
EMERYVILLE, CA — Since 1995, we’ve thrilled to the adventures of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends. The Toy Story movies have taught us about friendship, loyalty, love and trust.
But more than that, the Toy Story films teach us this: no matter how many times you think the story is over, they can always think of one more! And we’re not just talking about the gritty live-action reboot that’s already been announced.
This is the end. No, this is. No, this is.
Most of us thought the original Toy Story was a nice, self-contained adventure. Then Toy Story 2 came along, and was in many ways even better — but again, it provided a clean ending to the saga. We were worried about Toy Story 3, but it was a powerful and wonderful movie. And it finished up the series completely. No need for another movie at all.
Until this year’s Toy Story 4, where Woody, Bo Peep, and some psychopath name Forky gun down crowds at a county fair. (Disclaimer: we’ve only seen the previews, and we weren’t paying very close attention.) And now it seems that there is no end to the Toy Story movies.
Expanding the TSCU
Pixar Studios has now confirmed that at least ten new films are in the pipeline for release over the next several years, in what they are calling Phase II of the Toy Story Cinematic Universe.
Three of the films will be a trilogy of prequels. (The original Toy Story is now officially called “Toy Story Episode 4: A New Hope.”) These three films are tentatively titled Toy Story: Origins, Toy Story Reloaded, and Toy Story Revolutions. Mixed in with the prequels will be origin stories for most of the characters. (We’re most looking forward to “HAMM: A Toy Story Story“.)
Finally, the “Woody Saga” will continue with Toy Stories 8, 9, & 10, which would be 5, 6 & 7 under the current numbering scheme. Uncle Walt’s Insider will of course provide more details as they become known.
Which character’s origin story are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!
Need more Uncle Walt’s in your life? Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook, FOLLOW us on Twitter, and tell everyone you know (plus a few strangers) how wonderful (and humble) we are!
Cover photo: Posters for the current and future Toy Story films. Posters by Disney/Pixar; Question mark by Mouser font via GIMP.
June 27, 2019 by Marty in Other
Park Weather
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Tomorrow’s Headlines
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A word from our founder
Your Questions – His Answers
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Home Top Trending Coronavirus vaccine trials stalled in the US
Coronavirus vaccine trials stalled in the US
Coronavirus vaccine trials were stalled after a participant developed a neurological issue
While a number of coronavirus vaccine candidates across the globe are successfully moving on with their human trials phase, the trials in the United States have been put on hold. Pharma giant AstraZeneca has confirmed that a patient in the United Kingdom has suffered from a rare neurological condition during the UK trial. After the incident, health experts have voice about the safety of the vaccines. Two of the volunteers in the United Kingdom have suffered a serious neurological illness.
The study has been paused twice so far and the second time was done earlier in September, 2020. AstraZeneca informed that the first volunteer in question had received one dose of the vaccine and after that he had developed an inflammation of the spinal cord and this condition is known as transverse myelitis. It is a rare condition and causes an inflammation on the spinal cord and some of the symptoms include a number of degrees of weakness, autonomic dysfunction and sensory alterations.
The company said that it had not confirmed about the diagnoses in the second case. However, people who are familiar with the matter have said that the condition of the second participant has also been said to be the transverse myelitis. Mark Slifka, the vaccine expert at the Oregon Health and Science University says that if there are two such cases, then that might not be a good sign for the company. If a third case pops up in this case, then that would result in an end of it.
After a short break, trials of the vaccine have resumed in Brazil, Britain and South Africa, but they continue to remain paused in the United States. Reports say that about 18,000 people have received the vaccine made by AstraZeneca. A number of other companies are also in the human trials stage for the coronavirus vaccine. The trials in the US continue to be stalled.
Coronavirus astrazeneca
Coronavirus neurological
Coronavirus vaccine trials
vaccine trials
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Stadiums at Bay Area to be converted in to mass COVID-19 vaccination centres
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A continually-run D&D campaign, since 1982.
Our Game
How is The Game unique?
Your Character
Philosophy of The Game
1 – Origins
2 – Next Generations
3 – The Exodus
4 – Balston
Gary Con 2019
Gary Con Bios
Map of Shemar
Game Report # 1
What is the premise? The plot? The story?
While the Northern Hordes that have gathered in the Burned Lands of the North are “primitive, uncivilized, and savage,” they have been given common cause and have fallen under the command of the One, known only as “The Arrivor”. The greatest Evil to ever threaten the Earth now looms over the world.
The world has produced many Evils, in many forms, that have threatened the forces of Light. But the forces for Good have always prevailed. Until now. In the middle of the second century (S)ince the (F)oundation of the Balstonian Empire (266 SF), there was a “disturbance”. Prophets, Seers, Diviners, and Oracles from across the Realms “sensed” the existence of a new Dark Force and the depths of its powers were stultifying. But they could see no more. What was it? Who was it? Where was it? Had it arrived or was it in the process of arriving? The answers to these question remain shrouded in mystery and protected by sinister forces. And so this new, penultimate Dark Enemy became known only as “The Arrivor”. Yet even without a physical presence, the new Dark Lord is able to gather and unite his Servants like never before. The Hordes gather for war in the North; the forces of Darkness work relentlessly to prepare for their final War which will overwhelm the known world.
And it is up to the Party of the Pendant to stop Him.
The Party of the Pendant (named for the distinctive pendants they wear) is an international band of heroes dedicated to fighting for Light and against the Shadow in all its forms. For five hundred years, the Party has waged a constant battle against Evil in its many forms and saving the world on numerous occasions. From its headquarters in Pendant Estate, on the eastern shores of the island of Shemar far to the south, the Party of the Pendant accepts good-aligned peoples from across the world who wish to join the adventuring group.
Check out our mini-doc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdAwX8JB66E
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Mega Duck
The Mega Duck (also known as Cougar Boy) is a handheld game console that was produced by Hong Kong-based Welback Holdings through its Timlex International division and came on the market in 1993. The cartridges are very similar to those of the Watara Supervision, but slightly narrower with fewer contacts (36 pins, whereas Supervision cartridges have 40). Conceptually, the electronics inside the Supervision and the Mega Duck are also very similar. The position of the volume controls, contrast controls, buttons, and connectors are virtually identical. However, the LCD of the Supervision is larger than the Mega Duck's. The Cougar Boy came with a 4-in-one game cartridge and a stereo earphone.
Manufacturer: Timlex International
Developer: Welback Holdings
Media Medium: Cartridge
CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz
Memory: 16 KB
Sound: 8Ω 200 mW
Display: 160×144
Bomb Disposer
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Rangers Transactions
Missing Ryan Callahan
By Brian Anderson May 19th, 2017
When Ryan Callahan departed from the New York Rangers in 2014, he took certain skills with him that the Rangers desperately need back. Don’t get me wrong, trading him at the time and not signing him to a massive contract that overpaid him was the right move but looking back on this past season, he really could have made a difference. There are just certain parts of Callahan’s game that this Rangers group miss.
Don’t kid yourself by watching this year’s playoff performance. The Rangers were physical and really gave it to the Montreal Canadiens. Yet in the regular season, they were about an average team in hits per game. People will tell you that the physical side of hockey is slowly dying with enforcers disappearing as hockey becomes more of a finesse game. But physicality still is a big part of this game and it is not going away. Physicality is how Matt Martin of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ryan Reaves of the St. Louis Blues make their money. Physicality was and still is a big part of how two top five teams in hits per game got to the conference finals in the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators.
Callahan, when healthy, brings a force to the lineup. He can overwhelm opposing defensemen in corners and battle his way to the front of the net. This Rangers lineup from top to bottom only has one player that can and will get into the dirty areas. That player is Tanner Glass. Last time I looked, he is now an unrestricted free agent and probably will not be re-signed. Physicality can change momentum in a game and if Callahan was still on this year’s team, it could have made a real difference throughout the season.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (54) and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan (24) during the NHL game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena.
Ryan Callahan – Heart and Leadership
In a must-win Game 6 against the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers came out flat and eventually lost the game. They showed some heart in the third period but not enough to get the win. This team lacks an inspirational leader. Ryan McDonagh is a good leader and captain on the backend but it cannot just be him all the time. His assistant captains need to step up more with their play and show the younger players how to get it done. Granted, I am not in the locker room day to day but their lack of intensity is evident. This is where the Rangers really miss Callahan.
His known leadership and aggressive style of play would set the tone for the team and show them the urgency not only in Game 6 but other regular season games that are must win. He has shown in the past, either wearing a Rangers or Tampa Bay Lightning uniform, how to set an example on the ice or in the room. It is something this Rangers team lacked all year and it came back to bite them in Game 6.
Ranger fans were in love with Callahan until he asked for an absurd amount of money that the Rangers realistically could not pay. He gave the club a great return in Martin St. Louis but they could use Callahan right now. This team needs a physical forward and a great leader on and off the ice. It is just something else the Rangers need to address this offseason.
Rangers Archives
Ryan Callahan
Ryan McDonagh
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Delivery By Drones
Tess Murray
Uber, a $120 billion ride-hailing company has recently announced that they are aiming to turn Uber Eats, it’s delivery program until a drone run process.
They’ve got plans to replace human drivers to airborne drones, and aim to have the plan in action by 2021. This isn’t the first time that Uber has launched a new project that faces legal and technological issues.
Uber is still trying to figure out it’s flying taxi service. A network of flying drones will most likely face similar obstacles that make the idea that it will be ready in 2021 slightly too ambitious.
But whenever it may be ready – what does this entail for Uber? It was once seen as company that made drivers into a profession, and is now trying to reduce it’s network of drivers.
If it actually comes into play, rather than telling a delivery men which apartment number to buzz and tipping them, we’re going to have to go down the stairs or the elevator, and try to figure out how to open some robot’s storage case.
As far as things go, it sounds like we’re much better off keeping things traditional, and allowing delivery men to stay apart of the economy.
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B.C. records deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic, 13 deaths in 24 hours
Published Wednesday, November 25, 2020 10:04AM PST Last Updated Wednesday, November 25, 2020 6:19PM PST
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provides an update on COVID-19 on November 23, 2021: (Province of B.C. / Flickr)
VANCOUVER -- British Columbia added 738 cases of COVID-19 to its total Wednesday, as well as 13 more deaths from the disease.
The 13 fatalities is the most B.C. has ever recorded in a single 24-hour period.
There have now been 29,086 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. since the pandemic began and 371 deaths.
B.C. currently has 7,616 active cases of the disease, including 294 people who are in hospital, 61 of whom are in intensive care.
The new numbers came at a news conference from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The pair also announced a correction to data on new cases released in recent weeks. Among the changes was a reduction in the total number of cases reported on Tuesday. While health officials reported 941 new cases - a new record - there were actually 695, Henry said.
"I know we had a dramatic increase in the daily numbers," the provincial health officer said. "That was a result of some of these data coming in at a different time."
Henry apologized for the changes, which she said were the result of "challenges with a data system" in the Fraser Health region. She provided updated totals for that region for Nov. 17 through 24, as well as updated overall totals for some of those days.
"It's always complex when we have many data systems trying to feed into a single report on a daily basis," Henry said.
The changes mean B.C.'s record for new cases in a day is 835, which should have been the total reported for Saturday, Nov. 21. B.C. initially reported 713 for that day.
The total for other dates in that range have also been revised, with no other days topping 800 cases.
Before November, B.C. had never recorded more than 400 cases in a 24-hour period.
Wednesday's update included no new outbreaks in the provincial health-care system, as well as the end of an outbreak at Royal Columbian Hospital.
That means there are 57 ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in B.C. health-care facilities, including 52 in long-term care and assisted-living homes, as well as five in acute care.
Most of the new cases B.C. is recording continue to be located in the Lower Mainland. Wednesday's update included 443 new cases in Fraser Health and 169 in Vancouver Coastal Health.
Elsewhere in the province, there have been 70 new cases recorded in Interior Health, 35 in Northern Health, and 21 in Island Health.
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Thomas Jefferson.
State trust lands were granted to states by Congress upon their entrance to the Union to provide support and revenue for vital public institutions, most commonly for public education. This practice dates back to the earliest years of the United States after the Revolutionary War. The origins of state trust lands can be traced to the rectangular survey system established by the 1785 General Land Ordinance and the 1787 Northwest Ordinance; these ordinances divided the public domain into 36-square mile “townships” that were further divided into 36 “sections” of one-mile each. These two important land management ordinances provided a policy framework guiding the disposition of the federal estate to facilitate settlement of the West and the establishment of new states in the Union.
State trust lands represent the priority that the early American government placed on education. Trust land conveyances embodied the Jeffersonian vision for the young democracy and the belief that an educated citizenry was a prerequisite to a robust and functioning democracy.
“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” –Thomas Jefferson
Historically, the original grants of state trust lands to newly entered states were the conveyance of the central parcel of each surveyed township (section 16), which would be reserved for the support of schools.
Indeed, it was envisioned that the community’s school would be built in that central section, recognizing the importance and centrality of education for each township that would eventually be settled in the new states. This captured the post-revolutionary aspiration of townships as the primary unit of government, with populations organized around small, agrarian communities. The early federal government was famously “land rich and cash poor,” and therefore developed policies by which land management and disposition advanced the core values of the young nation. By providing state trust lands conveyances to support public institutions, Congress provided a means for state governments with little, if any, tax base to fund public education and other important institutions.
Map of the United States showing acquired territories from 1841 Goodrich Atlas.
Ohio was the first state to formally receive a trust land conveyance of this nature from Congress in 1803. Other states would follow, and would receive section 16 of every township as part of their land grant from Congress. Once western states began to gain entrance to the Union, the trust land conveyance was expanded to include sections 16 and 36, and later to include sections 2 and 32 as well. This was largely in recognition that the landscape of the West was arid, rugged, and less suited for farming.
Over time, the the Enabling Acts and state constitutions eventually became more and more restrictive, and culminated in the recognition that a legal “trust” was created with Congress’ conveyance of state trust lands to the newly formed state. Arizona was one of the last states to receive a grant of state trust lands, and as such, has some of the most restrictive provisions governing management of state trust lands.
These restrictions on trust land management are commonly referred to as the “trust responsibility,” which is comprised of several themes relating to management and use. First, it has been held that the lands are legally held in trust by the state for specific beneficiaries. Second, the state, as the trustee, has a fiduciary obligation to manage the lands for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust grant. Lastly, the fiduciary duty of trust land managers operates as a constraint on the discretion of the state, requiring that trust lands be managed for the best interests of the trust.
If you are interested in more details on the fiduciary mandate, trust responsibility, and history of state trust lands in the United States, the report “Trust Lands in the American West: A Legal Overview and Policy Assessment” contains greater depth of information.
Arizona was granted sections 2, 16, 32, and 36 out of each township to be held in trust for public beneficiaries, primarily public schools.
Furthermore, the state trust established with the conveyance of state land grants is considered a perpetual, intergenerational trust. As such, the obligations of trust land managers apply not just to the current beneficiaries of the trust, but also to future generations. This has been interpreted to require trust land managers to look beyond the more simplistic mantra of maximizing revenue and to invest in management portfolios that reduce risk over the long term and support sustainable strategies to maintain a healthy trust corpus (the land holdings) for future generations.
This eye to resource management that considers future generations of beneficiaries provides trust land managers with the flexibility of considering non-monetary forms of values associated with trust lands. In recent years, the Utah State Supreme Court recognized the obligation of the state to consider and preserve a host of values connected with Utah state trust lands, including scenic, historic, and archaeological values. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals also found that, in the case of Colorado, accounting for beauty, nature, open space, and wildlife habitat values connected with trust lands were appropriate considerations within the context of trust land manager’s decisions.
It is, therefore, not a stretch to think that considerations of the critical watershed functions of the Verde River and its tributaries, and the value they provide to rural communities and the downstream metro area of Phoenix, would not be out of place in state trust land management in Arizona.
To read more about the management of state trust lands in the ever-changing landscape of the American West, read “State Trust Lands in the West: Fiduciary Duty in a Changing Landscape.”
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Renewables turn tables on National Grid
Last week National Grid admitted its complete failure to predict the rapid advance of small-scale renewables. Four years ago it estimated that 0.5 gigawatts would be installed by 2021. Already, the total is 11GW, and an extra 13GW is now considered likely. That’s an under-estimate by a factor of nearly 50. Accordingly, National Grid has now slashed its forecast for the building of big block power stations by more than 50%. More…
And now eight new battery storage projects are to be built around the UK after winning contracts worth £66m to help National Grid keep power supplies stable as more wind and solar farms are built. EDF Energy, E.On and Vattenfall were among the successful companies chosen to build new lithium ion batteries with a combined capacity of 200 megawatts (MW), under a new scheme to help National Grid to balance supply and demand within seconds. More….
Thanks to the wonderful No2Nuclear Power for these items.
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Home Bird's Eye View
by Tara McCarthy
Playful geometric shapes, textured layers, carved lines and vibrant colours are employed to examine things" from a different angle. Emerging artist Jesse Devost's exhibit, Neighbourhood, is on display at Arts Underground until April 29."
Emerging artist Jesse Devost examines things from a different angle.
"I find quite often when you go to a town, it looks so cohesive, but then if you look at an aerial photo of it or look at it on Google Earth, the perception of it is so different," he says.
That topographical approach has been applied to his mixed-media paintings in the artist's first-ever exhibit, Neighbourhood, at Arts Underground.
"I'm sort of skirting the line between a completely abstract work that is open to a wide range of interpretations, and something that is extremely literal," he says to describe the show.
A range of works, from large to small, employs playful geometric shapes, textured layers, carved lines and vibrant colours. Each portrays a sense of place – some with grids of charted areas depicting residential pockets and others with sprawling surfaces and implied settlements.
"I think from this view you can really see the relationship between where things are in a landscape," Devost explains, glancing around the gallery at the works.
"There are a lot of areas where there might be something like a settlement, or a road or house or some sort of human footprint. And then there's a lot of areas where there isn't. I tried to get bits of both in each painting to see how they contrast with each other."
While painting has been a pursuit of Devost's only over the past few years, cartography dominated his life professionally for about a decade.
He admits that the works in Neighbourhood are largely unplanned, but combine concepts of map-building with learned and discovered artistic techniques.
"When you're making maps of things, you're doing what's actually out there. But when I'm doing these, I'm making them up and I'm having fun with it and trying to play around," he says.
"Once the ideas came, I sort of learned what I needed to do to get what I wanted."
Furthermore, his artistic process includes experimentation, mistakes and constructive corrections that contribute to the final product.
A piece, titled "Subdivision Development [Igloo] Morning", includes tiny clear dots glazed directly onto the canvas, which Devost explains are bits of bubble wrap. Stamps made of potatoes, masking tape, plastic wrap and pixilated photocopies are other tools of his, along with a wedge of rubber to apply the thick layers of acrylic paint to the canvas.
The scratched, scraped and smooth surfaces evoke an antique aesthetic, and the layering is reminiscent of paper-mâché. A brilliant hue of red, in a piece titled "Alone In Traffic", demonstrates Devost's use of stamping and introduces a sense of whimsy.
"When I started I had no idea what to do, so I learned a couple of techniques and took a couple of courses with some local artists to learn some really basic stuff," Devost says.
"Obviously, it's a bit of a frightening thing when you do something creative because it really reflects more of who you are, and then you're putting it on display for other people and opening it up to their opinions.
"But I really enjoy that; I find that interesting and I like knowing what other people think about things."
Each piece in Neighbourhood was developed in Devost's basement over the last six months after he successfully applied for a spot on the Arts Underground schedule.
And his reasoning for taking his artwork from personal to professional is twofold: "I think I'm one of those people where when I do things, I want to do something with them.
"The other thing is that, if I'm going to make a lot of paintings, I've got to get them out of the house somehow, too," he remarks with a laugh.
Jesse Devost's exhibit, Neighbourhood, is on display until April 29 at Arts Underground.
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Home | Succes Stories | Case Study: Britain’s Got Shredders
Case Study: Britain’s Got Shredders
Set-A-Side Storage, the British film and TV set storage specialist uses a WEIMA WL 20 single-shaft shredder to deal with unwanted wood.
When watching The Voice, The X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, many viewers don’t think about what actually happens to the sets when the series comes to an end. Instead of simply leaving them in the studios until the next season is filmed, they are often dismantled and taken to storage. That’s what specialists like Set-A-Side Storage from Oxfordshire in England are for.
Andy Beales, owner of Set-A-Side Storage, talks about the beginnings of his company: “For about 25 years, I worked for various TV production companies, such as BBC and ITV, in London as a prop master for films and television series. It was my job to see what could be done with the props before the next series. At that time, there was no place to store the sets. So, I founded Set-A-Side Storage to provide that space. I continued working as a prop master until my company grew bigger. When I left television, we had a contract with BBC and took care of the storage of all their sets. And other production companies like Channel 4, Universal Films, Warner Brothers and Disney quickly became our clients.”
The X-Factor
Site manager, Steve Gardiner, with a judge’s chair from “The Voice”
For television programs, the production companies work cyclically. The sets are used for about three months and stored for the remaining nine months of the year. However, the film studios, especially the American ones, work differently. After shooting is completed, the film is edited in the USA. If scenes need to be shot again, they return to the UK. That’s when they need the original set. At Set-A-Side Storage they can look through the sets and decide which parts are needed for the shoot. After shooting is finished, the set is then returned to Oxfordshire and stored.
But even then, it can happen that customers drop by the storage specialist again. Company founder Beales explains: “Before a new season of X-Factor, the producer comes to us with the set designer and stage manager to go through all of their props. At the end of the series, just before Christmas, they bring everything back. Then in the new year, they come over to sort out and dispose of what they don’t need anymore.”
Steve Gardiner (left) and Andy Beales
Unwanted props are made of a variety of materials, for example chicken wire, fiberglass, plastic or carpet. However, the majority of the backdrops are still made of wood. At first Set-A-Side started recycling unwanted materials by simply separating them. “Disposing of the wood became more and more expensive and since this is part of our service, we put quite a lot of money into this process. We tried different options, such as a small mobile shredder that we took to different locations. But in the end we decided to do the disposal properly,” says the former prop master.
WEIMA shredder and accessible chip bunker
In 2016 the team decided to invest in a shredder. Beales and his partner first learned about shredders and then visited three companies that import the machines. “We chose a WEIMA shredder from Fercell because the machine fit our requirements perfectly and because Fercell was always helpful and could answer all our questions.“
Once the choice of shredder had been made, Beales and his team studied how they could set up the area around the machine to create an efficient system for feeding the material into the shredder. With the help of Fercell, they were able to find a tailor-made solution: The shredder is powered by a three-phase power generator and fed by a JCB. The wood chips end up in a container and are finally sent to a company that recycles the material for energy.
Unwanted sets before shredding
“The machine crushes everything we put in. Whether it’s a 12-foot tree, telegraph poles, railway sleepers…”
Large sets are shredded as well
“In the long run, it’s all about how we grow. With the WEIMA shredder we can expand the company even further”, comments Beales. “The machine crushes everything we put in. Whether it’s a 12-foot tree, telegraph poles or railway sleepers – it simply shreds everything. The process takes only a few seconds. In minutes, an entire stack of wood can be turned into space-saving wood chips,” explains Steve Gardiner, site manager at Set-A-Side.
Robust and powerful: WEIMAs WL 20 single-shaft shredder
The WEIMA WL 20 shredder is affectionately called “Chippy“
The shredder selected by Set-A-Side Storage is a WEIMA WL 20 single-shaft shredder. In the wood processing industry, where high output quantities are required, Set-A-Side is optimally equipped with the WL 20. With the 2,000 mm wide V-rotor and the WAP gearbox with outputs of up to 110 kW, wood waste of all kinds can be shredded without any problems.
The shredded wood is transported into the bunker via conveyor belt
The material is fed through a hopper and falls in front of a hydraulically operated ram, which transports the material horizontally to the rotor. The material is then shredded between the rotor and the fixed stationary counter knives. The chips can be conveyed by a screw, an extraction system or a conveyor belt. Set-A-Side has opted for a conventional conveyor system with a discharge height of 2.5 m. This transports the shredded wood into the chip bunker. In order to protect the chips from contamination, the Set-A-Side team built a scaffolding with plastic sheeting to allow easy access to the bunker.
Would Beales consider buying another machine from WEIMA? “Yes, I would. We put the shredder to the test a lot and it has never let us down.”
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Typhoons Goni and Atsani
Home/Posts/NATURE/Natural phenomena/Typhoons Goni and Atsani
The ninth and tenth typhoons of the year spun in the vicinity of Japan, in August 2015, as you can see in this VIIRS satellite image.
This natural-color image mosaic is based on data collected during two orbital passes of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP. The instrument captured Typhoon Goni, visible to the west, at 0410 Universal Time (1:10 p.m. local time) on August 24, 2015. It captured Typhoon Atsani, visible to the east, less than two hours earlier at 0230 Universal Time (11:30 a.m. local time).
Typhoons in the western North Pacific can happen at any time of year, but activity tends to pick up during the summer months.
A tropical cyclone is called a typhoon if the storm is located in the Northwest Pacific Ocean—west of the dateline—and has maximum sustained winds of at least 119 kilometers per hour (74 miles per hour). When this image was acquired, Typhoon Goni was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 204 kilometers (127 miles) per hour; Typhoon Atsani was a Category 1 storm with winds measuring 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, according to UNISYS.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using VIIRS data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Kathryn Hansen.
source earthobservatory
By Agis F|2017-07-18T15:07:44+03:00Aug 25, 2015|Categories: Natural phenomena|Tags: Typhoon|
Giant Iceberg approaching South Georgia island
500m Tall Reef discovered
5 Cyclones across the Atlantic Ocean
Sep 17, 2020 | 0 Comments
How to Survive Falling into Quicksand
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Danica Has Another “Journeyman” Season
November 21, 2016 - by Leon Hammack - Leave a Comment
Date: Nov. 20, 2016
Event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Finale (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 30th/19th (Running, completed 266 of 268 laps)
Point Standing: 24th (689 points)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports in overtime (Chevrolet)
Champion: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Danica Patrick and the No. 10 TaxAct Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) scored a 19th-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Patrick started Sunday’s race from the 30th position. After jumping up to 25th on the initial start, she faded back to 32nd before the caution flag waved for the first time at lap 26. She noted the car’s handling was “tight center and loose off,” so crew chief Billy Scott called for a four-tire stop with wedge and air pressure adjustments.
Fast work by the No. 10 TaxAct Chevy pit crew put Patrick in the 28th position for the lap-31 restart. While she went a lap down to the leader on the following long green-flag run, Scott called for Patrick to take the wave-around when the caution flag waved again at lap 79, which put her back on the lead lap in 24th.
Patrick noted brake issues early in the race, but the team was able to pull tape to help alleviate the problem. She continued to run inside the top-30 and noted the car was “just unstable” with 100 laps to go.
As the laps wound down to less than 40 to go, Patrick was scored in the 25th position, and when the caution flag waved with 10 laps to go, she was 27th. After a lengthy red flag for officials to clean up the track after a multicar incident, Patrick took the green flag running 21st. In the closing laps, she was able to pick up two spots and finish 19th.
“Today was another reminder of why you don’t give up,” Patrick said. “We’ve had some tough races this year, but my guys have never given up. I’m so proud of everyone on the No. 10 TaxAct Chevy team for all of their hard work all season. They put in so much effort every single weekend. The tough days are character building, and they’ve definitely made us stronger as a team this year, and I know we’ll carry that strength into next season.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday by finishing third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 13th.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Always a Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 22nd in his final Sprint Cup start.
Jimmie Johnson won the season-ending race to score his 80th career Sprint Cup victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Homestead.
Kyle Larson finished .466 of a second behind Johnson in the runner-up spot, while Harvick, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were seven caution periods for 33 laps. Eight drivers failed to finish the 268-lap race, which went into overtime and finished one lap beyond its scheduled distance.
Johnson won the 2016 Sprint Cup championship, the seventh of his career, outdueling fellow Championship 4 drivers Logano, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Johnson’s seven career championships tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the series leaders in titles.
The 2017 season kicks off Feb. 18-26 with the traditional Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The 59th Daytona 500, the first points-paying race of the season, is scheduled for Feb. 26and will be broadcast live on FOX.
Taggeddanica patrickhomestead-miami speedwaystewart-haas racing
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The Wharton School Press Bookstore features books by Wharton School professors and Wharton School Press authors.
Russell Ackoff
Russell L. Ackoff was Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of management science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He authored over 20 books and 250 articles, and has conducted research for more than 300...
Raphael Amit
Raphael (“Raffi”) Amit is the Marie and Joseph Melone Professor and a Professor of Management at the Wharton School. Dr. Amit founded and leads the Wharton Global Family Alliance (WGFA), a unique academic-family business partnership established...
Shellye Archambeau
Shellye Archambeau is the former CEO of MetricStream, Inc., a recognized global leader in Governance, Risk, and Compliance. She was recognized as one of the Top Women of Influence in Silicon Valley in 2008, she was named...
Jeffrey Babin
Jeffrey A. Babin is Associate Professor of Practice & Associate Director of Engineering Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania, and founder and Managing Director of Antiphony Partners, LLC, a strategy consulting firm that helps companies create...
Dominic Barton
Dominic Barton is the global managing partner of McKinsey. He is based in London and leads the firm’s focus on the future of capitalism and the role business leadership can play in creating long-term social...
Megan Beck
Megan Beck is the Chief Robo and Product Officer at OpenMatters, where she leads the firm’s investor and business research, publications, and curriculum initiatives. She is a former associate at the Wharton SEI Center for...
Neil Bendle
Neil T. Bendle is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada. He holds a PhD from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, and an MBA from Darden. He...
Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and internationally bestselling author of Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst. He’s a world-renowned expert on social influence, word of...
Josh Bernoff
Josh Bernoff, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, is one of America’s most frequently quoted research analysts.
Eric T Bradlow
Eric T. Bradlow is the K.P. Chao Professor, Professor of Marketing, Statistics, Education and Economics and Faculty Director of the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative.
Bill Breen
Bill Breen is a founding member of the team that launched Fast Company, which gained an avid following among businesspeople and won numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. As senior editor, he...
Lawton Robert Burns
Lawton Robert Burns, Ph.D., MBA, is the Chair of the Health Care Management Department, the James Joo-Jin Kim Professor, a Professor of Health Care Management, and a Professor of Management in the Wharton School at...
Peter Cappelli
Peter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources. His recent research examines changes in employment relations in the U.S. and their...
Dennis Carey
Dennis Carey, a vice chairman of the global executive search firm Korn Ferry, has recruited some of the most successful Fortune 500 CEOs in American business. He is the founder of the CEO Academy, an...
Ram Charan is a business adviser who has worked with executives and directors of many companies, including DuPont, GE, Novartis, Verizon, and RBS Group (Brazil). He has served on the Harvard Business School faculty, teaches...
Farai Chideya
Farai Chideya is a reporter, political and cultural analyst, educator, and is a fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, studying newsroom diversity and editorial protocols during the 2016 election. She...
Peter Conti-Brown
Peter Conti-Brown is assistant professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is author of the book The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve, and received a...
Colin Crook
Colin Crook is senior fellow of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Advisory Board, member of Rein Capital, editorial board member of the journal Emergence, and has served on numerous National Academy committees...
Paula Davis
Paula Davis, JD, MAPP, is the Founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute, a training and consulting firm that partners with leaders and organizations to help them reduce burnout and build resilience at...
Timothy Davis
Timothy Davis is the John W. and Ruth H. Turnage Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law. He has co-authored a casebook on sports law, and co-authored The Business of Sports Agents, published...
George S. Day
George S. Day is the Geoffrey T. Boisi Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He founded the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School, where he is presently...
Stuart Diamond
Stuart Diamond is one of the world’s leading experts on negotiation. He has advised executives and managers from more than 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, and taught 30,000 people in 45 countries, from country leaders...
Angela Duckworth, PhD, is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She has advised the White House, the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. She...
Brian Dumaine
Brian Dumaine is the founder and editor in chief of the New York media company High Water Press and a contributor to Fortune magazine, where for three decades he has held various writing and editing...
N. Jeremi Duru
Professor N. Jeremi Duru is Professor Law at the Washington College of Law at The American University and teaches sports law, civil procedure, and employment discrimination, and he is among the nation’s foremost sports law...
Ezekiel J. Emanuel
Ezekiel J. Emanuel is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of...
Peter Fader
Peter S. Fader is the Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, Fader co-founded Zodiac, a predictive analytics firm that was acquired by Nike...
Paul Farris
Paul W. Farris is Landmark Communications Professor of Business Administration at The Darden Graduate Business School, University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1980. Previously he was on the faculty of the Harvard Business School...
Marshall L. Fisher
Marshall L. Fisher is the UPS Professor of Operations and Information Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and codirector of the Fishman-Davidson Center for Service and Operations Management. Dr. Fisher co-founded 4R...
Cassandra Frangos
Cassandra Frangos, EdD, joined Spencer Stuart’s Leadership Advisory Services team in 2018, where she focuses on collaborating with Fortune 500 leadership teams on executive assessments, succession planning, leadership development, and top team effectiveness. Previously, she...
Stewart D. Friedman
Stewart D. Friedman is the Practice Professor Emeritus of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1991, he founded both the Wharton Leadership Program and the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project. While...
Adam Galinsky
Adam Galinsky is the Chair of the Management Division and the Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and has published...
Dan Gardner
Dan Gardner is the New York Times best-selling author of books about psychology and decision-making and a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His books have been published...
Dawn Marie Graham
Dawn Graham, PhD, LP is the Career Director for The MBA Program for Executives at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania where she partners in setting strategy and supporting the EMBA students in...
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. He is one of TED’s most popular speakers, his books have sold millions of copies, his...
Daniel Greenberg
Daniel Greenberg is a founding member of the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachusetts. His books include Free at Last, Kingdom of Childhood, A Clearer View, The Pursuit of Happiness, Legacy of Trust, Words in...
Mauro F. Guillén
Mauro F. Guillén is the holder of the Zandman Endowed Professorship in International Management at the Wharton School. He served as Director of the Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies between 2007 and 2019....
Robert E Gunther
Robert Gunther is coauthor or collaborator on more than 20 books, including The Wealthy 100 and The Truth About Making Smart Decisions. He has appeared on CNBC s Power Lunch, NPR s Morning Edition, and...
Catharine Findiesen Hays
Catharine Findiesen Hays was the founding Executive Director of the Wharton Future of Advertising Program, a leading research center bridging practitioners and academia through 2010. She earned her graduate degrees at The Wharton School of...
Witold Henisz
Witold Henisz is the Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management in Honor of Russell E. Palmer, former Managing Director at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. His research examines the impact of political...
Kartik Hosanagar
Kartik Hosanagar is the John C. Hower Professor of Technology and Digital Business and a Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Kartik’s research work focuses on the digital economy,...
Lawrence G Hrebiniak
Lawrence G. Hrebiniak, Ph.D is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Strategy Group. Professor Hrebiniak was a member of...
Dan Hunter
Dan Hunter is an international expert in internet and intellectual property law, in artificial intelligence and cognitive science models of law, and in legaltech and legal innovation. He serves as executive dean of the Faculty...
Robert P. Inman
Robert P. Inman is the Richard King Mellon Professor of Finance, Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy, and Professor of Real Estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Managing...
Barbara E. Kahn
Barbara E. Kahn is the Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She served two terms as the director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing...
Michael Kearns
Michael Kearns is Professor and the National Center Chair in the Computer and Information Science department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he has secondary appointments in Economics and the Wharton School. He is also the...
Paul R Kleindorfer
Paul R. Kleindorfer was the Paul Dubrule Professor of Sustainable Development and Distinguished Research Professor at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, and the Anheuser Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science at the Wharton School of the University of...
Steven Krupp
Steven Krupp is the CEO of Decision Strategies International, a firm devoted to helping leaders become more strategic, and organizations more adaptive, in the face of uncertainty. Dr. Krupp advises premier global organizations and has...
Howard Kunreuther
Howard C. Kunreuther is the James G. Dinan Professor, Professor of Decision Sciences and Business and Public Policy at the Wharton School, and co-director of the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at The...
Richard A. Lambert
Richard A. Lambert is Miller-Sherrerd Professor of Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches finance and accounting in the MBA, Executive Education, and doctoral programs. The recipient of several...
Adam J. Levitin
Adam J. Levitin is Agnes N. Williams Research Professor and Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He spearheaded the Congressional Oversight Panel’s foreclosure prevention efforts during the financial crisis.
Charlene Li
Charlene Li is a Principal Analyst at Altimeter, a Prophet company, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Open Leadership. She is also the co-author of the critically acclaimed, bestselling book Groundswell, which...
Neng Liang
Dr. Neng Liang is Professor Emeritus, and President of International Association of Chinese Management Research (IACMR). Between Year 2002 and 2016, he served as the Director of the Executive MBA Programme, Associate Dean of Faculty,...
Barry Libert
Barry Libert is Chairman and CEO of OpenMatters and a former Senior Fellow at the Wharton SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management. Libert is also an angel investor, board member, and has been a...
Kent Lineback
Kent Lineback has spent more than twenty-five years as a manager and executive and, before that, several years as a consultant and a creator of management development programs. He has collaborated on several books, including...
Gordon G. Liu
Gordon G. Liu is a PKU Yangtze River Scholar Professor of Economics at Peking University’s National School of Development, and Director of the PKU China Center for Health Economic Research. He sits on China’s State...
Leonard M Lodish
Leonard M. Lodish is Professor of Marketing and Samuel R Harrell Professor Emeritus in the Marketing Department of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was the Founding Vice Dean for Wharton’s San Francisco...
Annamaria Lusardi
Annamaria Lusardi is the Joel Z. and Susan Hyatt Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She has taught at Dartmouth College, Princeton University, the...
Ian C. MacMillan
Ian (Mac) C. MacMillan is the The Dhirubhai Ambani Emeritus Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was the academic director of the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Center. Mac...
Saadia Madsbjerg
Saadia Madsbjerg, coauthor of Making Money Moral, is a global leader in the field of sustainable and impact investing. She is a former Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation. She led the foundation’s financial innovation...
Richard C. Marston
Richard C. Marston is currently James R.F. Guy Professor of Finance and Director, George Weiss Center for International Financial Research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a recipient of the...
Stacey McMorrow
Stacey McMorrow is a health economist with extensive experience using quantitative methods to study the factors that affect individual health insurance coverage and access to care as well as the impacts of state and national...
Robert Meyer is the Frederick H. Ecker/MetLife Insurance Professor of Marketing and codirector, Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His work has appeared in a...
Katy Milkman
Katy Milkman is a behavioral scientist and professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of her career, she has worked with or advised dozens of organizations on how to...
Olivia S. Mitchell
Dr. Olivia S. Mitchell is the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, as well as Professor of Insurance/Risk Management and Business Economics/Policy; Executive Director of the Pension Research Council; and Director of the Boettner...
Ethan Mollick
Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship, with a special emphasis on how to give everyone more opportunities to...
Christine Moorman
Christine Moorman is the T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University where she is a member of the marketing area. Professor Moorman’s expertise lies in examining...
Howard L Morgan
Howard was Professor of Decision Sciences at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Professor of Computer Science at the Moore School at the University of Pennsylvania from 1972 through 1985. He has...
Mario Moussa
Serguei Netessine
Serguei Netessine is Vice Dean for Global Initiatives and Professor at the Operations, Information and Decisions Department at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He lived and worked in Russia, USA, France and Singapore. Prof....
Keith E Niedermeier
Keith E. Niedermeier is the Director of the Undergraduate Marketing Program and an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He previously spent five years as an Assistant Professor...
Bill Novelli
Bill Novelli is the former CEO of AARP, a membership organization of 36 million people age fifty and older. He is the author of 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America.
Emilio Ontiveros is Founder and President of Analistas Financieros Internacionales, S.A., and President of Tecnología, Información y Finanzas, and Escuela de Finanzas Aplicadas (subsidiaries of AFI Group, a consultancy). He has served as Professor of...
Mark V. Pauly
Mark V. Pauly is the Bendheim Professor, Professor of Health Care Management, and Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. One of the leading health economists...
Phillip Pfeifer
Phillip E. Pfeifer is the Richard S. Reynolds Professor of Business Administration at The Darden Graduate Business School and teaches Quantitative Analysis courses in Darden’s MBA classrooms. Pfeifer’s research focuses on direct marketing and decision...
Michael L. Platt
Michael Platt is a scientist known for asking some of the most challenging questions in 21st century neuroscience—and conceiving innovative ways to find the answers. He focuses on applying insights and technology from brain science...
David S. Pottruck
David S. Pottruck is the Chairman of HighTower Advisors, a wealth management firm that he helped launch in 2008. He serves on the Board of Directors of Intel Corporation and, in addition, he is on...
Alexander B Van Putten
Alexander B. van Putten is an adjunct faculty member at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he has been teaching graduate students since 1993. He is actively involved with Wharton’s executive education...
Jagmohan Raju
Professor Jagmohan S. Raju is the Joseph J. Aresty Professor; Executive Director, Wharton Co-Sponsorship of Indian School of Business; Professor of Marketing, and the Vice Dean of Wharton Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania....
Ananth Raman
Ananth Raman is UPS Foundation Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and specializes in supply chain management. He has taught courses on various aspects of Operational Excellence — supply chain management, technology and...
David Reibstein
Dr. David J. Reibstein is the William Stewart Woodside Professor and Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Dave has been on the Wharton Faculty for more than two decades. He was...
David Robertson joined the faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. He is a Professor of Practice and teaches Innovation and Product Development in Wharton’s undergraduate, MBA, and executive education...
Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin, coauthor of Making Money Moral, is a pioneer, innovator, change-maker, and global thought-leader. For over two decades, Dr. Rodin led and transformed two global institutions: The University of Pennsylvania and The Rockefeller Foundation....
Aaron Roth
Aaron Roth is the class of 1940 Bicentennial Term Associate Professor in the Computer and Information Science department at the University of Pennsylvania, where he co-directs Penn’s program in Networked and Social Systems Engineering. Roth has...
Daniel L. Rubinfeld
Daniel L. Rubinfeld is professor of law at New York University and the Robert L. Bridges Professor Emeritus of Law and professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the coauthor of Microeconomics and Econometric...
Alex Salkever
Alex Salkever is a writer, futurist and technology leader. He is the co-author of Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Tech Is Winning The Battle To Control Your Brain – And How To Fight Back (2016)...
Sheryl Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook and international best-selling author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Prior to Facebook, she was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations...
Lele Sang
Lele Sang is Global Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A former journalist and editor, she has worked for the Beijing News and Caijing Magazine covering business and politics and has...
Paul J. H. Schoemaker
Paul J.H. Schoemaker is a pioneer in the field of decision sciences, among the first to combine the practical ideas of decision theory, behavioral economics, scenario planning, and risk management into a set of strategic...
Maurice Schweitzer
Maurice Schweitzer is the Cecilia Yen Koo Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Gregory P. Shea
Gregory P. Shea, PhD, president of Shea and Associates, Inc., consults, researches, writes, and teaches in the areas of organizational and individual change and leadership. He is adjunct professor of management at the Wharton School...
G. Richard Shell is the Thomas Gerrity Professor, Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics and Management and Chairperson of the Legal Studies & Business Ethics Department at the Wharton School of the University of...
Kenneth L. Shropshire
Kenneth L. Shropshire is the CEO of the Global Sport Institute and the adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport at Arizona State University. He is also the David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies...
Jeremy J Siegel
Jeremy J. Siegel is the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Siegel received his Ph.D. from M.I.T. and taught for four years at the University...
Nicolaj Siggelkow
Nicolaj Siggelkow is the David M. Knott Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a Co-Director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at Wharton. He studied Economics at Stanford University and earned an...
Harbir Singh
Harbir Singh is the Mack Professor, Professor of Management, Co-Director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management, and Faculty Director for the Huntsman Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His research...
Jitendra Singh is the Saul P. Steinberg Professor Emeritus of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Kent Smetters
Kent Smetters is the Boettner Chair Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Besides being a professor in Business Economics...
Brian Solis is a principal analyst at Altimeter Group, a Prophet company. He is also an award-winning author, prominent blogger/writer, and keynote speaker. A digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the...
Cassie A. Solomon
Cassie A. Solomon, president and founder of The New Group Consulting, Inc., coaches leaders and consults to organizations on the design and implementation of strategic change. She instructs executives at Wharton’s Aresty Institute of Executive...
Christian Terwiesch
Christian Terwiesch is the Andrew M. Heller Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Professor in Wharton’s Operations and Information Management department, co-director of Penn’s Mack Institute for Innovation...
Philip E. Tetlock
Philip E. Tetlock is the Leonore Annenberg University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and holds appointments in the psychology and political science departments and The Wharton School. He has published roughly 200 articles in...
James D. Thompson is the co-founder and director of the Wharton Social Entrepreneurship Program and Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Social Policy and Practice of the University of Pennsylvania. His current areas of...
Sarah E. Toms
Sarah E. Toms is executive director and co-founder of Wharton Interactive. She is a demonstrated thought leader in the educational technology field, fueled by a passion to find and develop innovative ways to make every...
Karl Ulrich
Karl Ulrich is the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the CIBC Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an appointment as Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He leads...
Michael Useem
Michael Useem is the William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management; Faculty Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and McNulty Leadership Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His...
Susan M. Wachter
Susan M. Wachter is Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is codirector of the Penn Institute for Urban Research and was...
Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering at Silicon Valley. He author the of Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Tech Is Winning the Battle to Control Your...
Kevin Werbach
Kevin Werbach is a leading expert on the legal, business, and public policy aspects of the network age. He is a professor of legal studies at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he currently...
Alyssa F. Westring
Alyssa Westring is the Vincent de Paul Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business. She earned her PhD in organizational psychology from Michigan State University in 2007. As Director...
Patti Williams
Patti Williams is the Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She examines ways consumers’ emotional responses influence consumption and persuasion and her research has been...
Collin D. Williams, Jr.
Collin Williams Jr. is an educator, author and researcher addressing race and other diverse issues through the lens of sports. As a director of leadership & education for the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality...
Yoram (Jerry) Wind
Yoram (Jerry) Wind is the Lauder Professor Emeritus of Marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the founding Director of the Wharton SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management, the Wharton...
Rodney Zemmel
Rodney Zemmel, senior partner at McKinsey and managing partner for New York, Boston, and Stamford, serves clients on growth strategy, performance improvement, and value creation through mergers and acquisitions. He has experience across a range...
Z. John Zhang
Professor Z. John Zhang is the Tsai Wan-Tsai Professor and Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Director of the Penn Wharton China Center. He earned...
Christoph Zott
Christoph Zott is professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship at IESE Business School. His current research centers on business model design and innovation, corporate renewal, entrepreneurial strategy and leadership, social entrepreneurship, and the creation of...
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WWRN
World-Wide Religious News
La. Gov. on Teaching Creationism in School: 'What Are We Scared Of?'
Katherine Weber ("The Christian Post," April 17, 2013)
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal recently said that he believes creationism, evolution, and intelligent design should all be taught in the state's public schools so that children may be "exposed to the best facts."
La. Senate Approves Bill Promoting Critical Analysis of Evolution
Louisiana's state senate unanimously voted to pass a landmark academic freedom ...
New Orleans School Board Votes to Ban Creationism in Schools, Textbooks
A school district in Louisiana has banned any reference of creationism in ...
Teen Activist Continues Fight Against Creationism in La. Classrooms
Zack Kopplin, a 19-year-old political activist who for the past five years has ...
Christian Science Teacher Fired Over Creationism to Head to Ohio Supreme Court
A 20-year Ohio middle school science teacher who was fired in 2011 for teaching ...
Creationist Offers K to Disprove Book of Genesis in Court
An expert in creationism has recently announced that he will reward ,000 of ...
"I believe all our children should be exposed to the best science," Jindal, a Republican, recently told NBC's Hoda Kotb when asked if he believes public schools should teach creationism.
"Bottom line, at the end of the day, we want our kids to be exposed to the best facts. Let's teach them about the big bang theory, let's teach them about evolution ... I've got no problem if a school board, a local school board, says we want to teach our kids about creationism, that people, some people, have these beliefs as well, let's teach them about 'intelligent design,'" Jindal added.
"I think teach them the best science. Give them the tools so they can make up their own mind, not only in science, but as they learn about other controversial issues, such as global warming or climate change. What're we scared of?"
Gov. Jindal, who is also the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, went on to reference the Louisiana Science Education Act, a bill signed into law in 2008 which allows teachers to "create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."
The act also allows "supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner."
Teachers may also supplement additional texts relating to creationism and intelligent design.
Those critical of the LSEA argue that it allows teachers to teach creationism in lieu of science in public school, and is therefore a conflict of church and state.
Currently, political activist Zack Kopplin, 19, is spearheading a campaign which encourages the state to repeal the LSEA.
Kopplin previously said that he believes "creationism confuses students about the nature of science."
Those who support the LSEA argue that it allows teachers coming from a variety of religious backgrounds to freely discuss different theories and controversial issues in the classroom, without reprisal.
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Founder Shares
On June 26, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain offering costs in consideration for 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). Up to 750,000 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares would represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. On August 10, 2020, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of Michelle Gill, Lachy Groom, Gautam Gupta, Trina Spear, and Laura de Petra, and 30,000 Founder Shares to Pierre Lamond. On August 20, 2020, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option and an aggregate of 375,000 Founder Shares were forfeited by the Sponsor for no consideration accordingly.
The initial shareholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30- trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 3,150,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $2.00 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.3 million.
Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the Initial Business Combination.
Sponsor Loan
On June 26, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company borrowed approximately $163,000 under the Note, and fully repaid the Note on August 20, 2020.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into private placement warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month, commencing on date the Company’s securities are first listed on the New York Stock Exchange, (the ‘listing date’) for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of the Initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. The Company incurred $10,000 for expenses in connection with the Administrative Support Agreement from the listing date through September 30, 2020, which is reflected in the accompanying unaudited condensed statements of operations.
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The entire disclosure for related party transactions. Examples of related party transactions include transactions between (a) a parent company and its subsidiary; (b) subsidiaries of a common parent; (c) and entity and its principal owners; and (d) affiliates.
Name: us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsDisclosureTextBlock
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Our Licence
Call (08) 6406 2020 Enquire Online
Is asbestos banned in Australia?
Home » Is asbestos banned in Australia?
In Australia, asbestos cement materials were first manufactured in the 1920’s. These materials were commonly used from the mid-1940’s until the late 1980’s; and during the 1980’s, asbestos cement materials were phased out in favour of asbestos-free products.
From 31 December 2003, the total ban on manufacture, use, reuse, import, transport, storage or sale of all forms of asbestos came into force throughout Australia.
Why is asbestos dangerous?
Asbestos becomes a potential risk to health if fibres are suspended in air and breathed into the lungs. Breathing asbestos fibres into the lungs can cause a range of diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
When did we start to learn the dangers of asbestos?
History shows that the dangers of asbestos fibres were discovered as early as the late 1800s/early 1900’s in Britain. In 1906, the British Royal Commission confirmed the first cases of asbestos deaths in factories, and recommended better ventilation and other safety measures.
Australia soon followed suit, introducing similar ventilation laws in 1911. However it was not until 1935 that reports began emerging of respiratory issues facing workers in the James Hardie factory in Perth, and a link between lung disease and asbestos dust was considered.
Australia’s major asbestos mine in Wittenoom, Western Australia began operation in 1940, and four years later, warnings over dust levels began to arise. Unfortunately for workers, no real action was taken, and during the period of 1961-1965 there were more than 100 cases of lung disease recorded from workers at this mine. This number increased steadily and records show that by 1975 Wittenoom mine had recorded 27 deaths.
Still asbestos continued to be mined and used across the country. By 1985, the number of deaths of asbestos mine workers was into the many hundreds, and it was in this year the first successful common law claim for compensation as a result of asbestos-related disease occurred in Victoria. Asbestos use was on the way out.
As Australians became more aware, the removal process began in earnest. Homes were knocked down, major renovations took place, and public buildings were re-built without any asbestos products.
While the use of asbestos gradually diminished, the Australia-wide ban on the manufacture and use of all types of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials took effect on 31 December 2003.
Dealing with asbestos today
In Australia, it is illegal to import, transport, store, supply, sell, install, use or re-use any product that contains asbestos; and a licensed asbestos removalist must carry out the removal of asbestos. For an inspection, or to find out more information on asbestos removal from your home, contact AARCO on (08) 6406 2020 or email sales@aarco.com.au
Is asbestos banned in Australia?2017-06-202018-02-03http://www.aarco.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/aarco_logo_full-colour_2.pngAARCO Asbestos Solutionshttps://www.aarco.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/jwd1275_aarco_blog-image-2.jpg200px200px
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Headed Back to School?
There's plenty of financial help out there if you know where to look
by Jean Chatzky, AARP The Magazine, August/September 2014 | Comments: 0
En español | It's one of the questions I get asked most often: Do you save for your children to attend college or for your retirement? The answer is the latter — because there's plenty of financial aid for college but no financial aidfor retirement.
But what if it's you who wants to go to school? The number of graduate and postgraduate students ages 50 to 64 has been climbing steadily, from 625,000 in 2007 to as many as 750,000 in 2011 — a 20 percent increase, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Adults "assume because they're not a 17-year-old or they're working, they won't qualify for aid," says Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com.
Here's how to make the most of your options.
Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Submit this just as you did when your children were in school. It's best to try to exhaust your opportunities for federal aid before turning to the more expensive private market. The most common types of federal aid — Stafford and Plus loans — are available to you. Pell and Supplemental Education Opportunity grants are restricted to students without bachelor's degrees; and if you're going to school as an undergrad, you're not eligible for a Parent Plus loan.
Take it seriously
For most types of federal financial aid, you need to be enrolled at least half time in a degree or academic program. "You can't just go back and enroll in continuing education or take one class at a time," says Karen McCarthy, senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Seek a tax break
You may be eligible for an annual $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit. Another break, the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, is worth up to $2,000 per year, but you can't take it in the same year you take the American Opportunity credit. Taxpayers under a certain income level can deduct student-loan interest. Bonus: You don't have to itemize.
Open a 529 account
If one or more 529 savings accounts have money that your children didn't need, change the beneficiary to yourself. If you know in advance that you're heading back to school, open a 529 for yourself. That may get you a state tax deduction as well as the chance to earn some tax-free growth.
Get a scholarship
Some scholarships are specifically aimed at older students. Try StudentScholarshipSearch and Fastweb to find them. You'll be prompted to enter a birth date to find the ones that are age appropriate.
Jean Chatzky, best-selling author, journalist and money editor at NBC's Today, is AARP's financial ambassador.
— With additional reporting by Arielle O'Shea
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Laparoscopic Morcellator Review Should Be Included in ‘Cancer Moonshot’ Lawmaker Says
A U.S. lawmaker is calling on the Obama administration to include a review of morcellator cancer risks as part of its ambitious “Cancer Moonshot” initiative.
In a letter sent last week to Vice President Joe Biden, Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick urged the administration to include medical device reviews and monitoring as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
The request comes after concerns emerged in recent years about a risk of undiagnosed cancer being spread by medical devices used during minimally invasive laparoscopic hysterectomy and uterine fibroid report.
Known as power morcellators, the devices are designed to allow the surgeon to cut up and remove the fibroid or uterus through a small incision in the abdomen. Although morcellators were rapidly adopted by hospitals nationwide after they became available, they have now been largely abandoned by the medical community since it was discovered that they pose an unreasonable risk of upstaging hidden cancers that are contained within the uterus. This may disseminate the contained cancer throughout the body, greatly reducing life-expectancy and overall quality of life for women.
“While it is critically important we support the development of innovative new devices and drugs to treat cancer, it is just as important to take this opportunity to implement meaningful reforms to make medical devices safe,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “Unfortunately, for decades, a medical device known as a laparoscopic power morcellator proved tragically unsafe, spread cancer throughout the body of those it was designed to help, and led to the death of hundreds, if not thousands, of women.”
Although laparoscopic procedures reduce the risk of infections and shorten recovery time, the FDA has estimated that about 1 in 350 women who undergo hysterectomy or myomectomy for uterine fibroid removal may have unsuspected uterine sarcoma. Morcellators may pose a serious and potentially life-threatening risk of these women, advancing leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma or other uterine cancers to an advanced stage that is difficult to treat and life-threatening.
The Cancer Moonshot program was announced in January, during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. The goal is to combine the knowledge and skills of the medical industry, federal regulators and scientists to look for new cures and treatments for cancer. The name is a reference to the program NASA launched to put a man on the moon.
Rep. Fitzpatrick wrote that by including medical device review and monitoring into the program, it could prevent thousands of unnecessary cases of advanced stage cancer, helping to achieve the program’s goals.
In December, Rep. Fitzpatrick urged the FDA to conduct a criminal investigation into how certain hospitals, like Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rochester General Hospital, and the University of Rochester Medical Center, used laparoscopic power morcellators and whether they adequately warned women about the potential risks.
The agency responded in late March, acknowledging his request, but saying that they could not reveal whether there was a criminal investigation currently proceeding against those, or any other, medical facilities.
Morcellator Cancer Lawsuits
The letters come amid a growing number of laparoscopic hysterectomy cancer lawsuits being pursued against Ethicon, Karl Storz and other manufacturers of power morcellators, alleging that women and the medical community were not adequately warned about the potential risks associated with electing the minimally invasive procedure.
The litigation emerged after the FDA first highlighted concerns about the link between uterine morcellation and cancer in early 2014.
After concluding that there is no way to make the devices safe for women, Johnson & Johson’s Ethicon unit issued a morcellator recall in July 2014, and announced that they would no longer manufacturer or sell the devices. The company controlled about three quarters of the power morcellator market. A number of other manufacturers still sell the devices despite the FDA warnings.
Since October 2015, all Ethicon morcellator lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system have been consolidated as part of a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation, which is centralized before U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil in the District of Kansas. Settlements have already been reached in a large number of cases.
Tags: Cancer, Congress, Leiomyosarcoma, Morcellators, Uterine Fibroid Removal, Uterine Sarcoma
Hysterectomy Morcellation Cancer Lawsuits
Power morcellators used during a laparoscopic hysterectomy or uterine fibroid surgery may cause the spread of aggressive cancer.
Top Morcellation News:
FDA Issues New Guidelines, Safety Communication On Use Of Power Morcellators (2/26/2020)
Morcellator Use Tied To Increased Risk Of Death In Women With Uterine Sarcoma: Study (9/30/2019)
CDC Weighs New Guidelines For Gynecologists For Detecting Uterine Cancer (5/11/2018)
Power Morcellator Uterine Cancer Risks Raised In FDA Review (12/18/2017)
Power Morcellator Cancer Problems Highlight FDA Post Marketing Surveillance Failures: JAMA Editorial (7/3/2017)
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Malcolm B “Mac” Wiseman dubbed “The Voice with a Heart” has recorded over 800 songs and was instrumental in the founding of the Country Music Association. He was born May 23, 1925, in Crimora, Va. As an infant he contracted polio and spent much of this childhood indoors listening to old country records on the family’s phonograph. After deciding to pursue a career in music, he attended the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Virginia with help from the National Foundation for infantile Paralysis, which would later become the March of Dimes. In 1946, Wiseman joined Molly O’ Day’s band, where he developed a love of classic country. In 1948, he joined Lester Flatt and Scruggs as a member of their Foggy Mountain Boys. In 1949, he joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys where he played the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. In 1949 he left the band for a solo career. In 1951, Mac released his first single, “Tis Sweet to be Remembered” which became a career-making song. He then went on to record other classics, including “Ballad of Davy Crockett.” Mac was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2014 he was inducted into Country Music of Hall of Fame in Nashville.
nationally known artist
The Skillet Lickers
In 1926, talent scout Frank Walker recorded a group of musicians from the Atlanta area that have since been declared “Country Music’s First Supergroup”. Walker took the ever popular Gid Tanner from Dacula, Riley Puckett from Alpharetta, Clayton McMichen from Altoona and Fate Norris from the Dalton area, and dubbed them “The Skillet Lickers”. Each member filled a very important role in the group. Gid Tanner was the “cut up” or the entertainer of the group. McMichen was the polished musician while Puckett was considered a singer’s singer. Norris kept the rhythm steady. Other musicians such as Lowe Stokes, Bert Layne, Ted Hawkins and Gordon Tanner contributed to their early success, as well. The Skillet Lickers seemed to have struck a nerve with rural Americans. They recorded songs that were already known, many of which were already in public domain. The Skillet Lickers performed and recorded those old songs with an all-new energy that no one, even to this day, could match. For five years, the Skillet Lickers proved to be one of Frank Walker and Columbia Records’ biggest success stories for their “rural” or “hillbilly” classification of music. Their success also had an influence on other legendary musicians like Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Bob Wills, Merle Travis, Hank Williams and many others.
In 1924, Columbia Records Artist & Repertoire talent scout, Frank Walker, came to North Georgia asking himself, “who can I record from this area?”. Fiddlin’ John Carson’s recording of Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane with Okeh records was starting to sell in Atlanta and Frank wanted to get in front of the coming wave. Frank asked Gid Tanner, who was already a regional celebrity through live performances, if he would come to New York and record some songs. Gid replied that he would if he could bring along a blind guitar player by the name of Riley Puckett. Frank agreed and in March of 1924, Tanner and Puckett recorded numerous songs that proved to be successful.
Before this, there was no well-defined “country music” industry. Radio was still in its beginnings. WSB in Atlanta was only 2 years old. Nashville was just another city in the south. Record companies were recording orchestras and classical music as well as “big band” type songs. The music industry was still driven by sheet music and “tin pan alley” song pluggers.
Walker saw a new market, a market for a type of music he enjoyed. He wanted to record music that people already knew. He dubbed this brand of music as “familiar tunes old and new”. Once Gid Tanner and Riley Puckett’s recordings began to have success, he simply repeated the process, finding other popular artists in other areas to record and sell. This business model not only allowed him to discover some of Country music’s greatest pioneers, but also laid the foundation for the country music industry that is still intact today.
In 1926, Walker recorded a group of musicians from the Atlanta area that have since been declared “Country Music’s First Supergroup”. Walker took the ever popular Gid Tanner from Dacula, Riley Puckett from Alpharetta, Clayton McMichen from Altoona and Fate Norris from the Dalton area, and dubbed them “The Skillet Lickers”. Each member was already very popular in their respective hometowns as well as the entire region of North Georgia. Each member filled a very important role in the group. Gid Tanner was the “cut up” or the entertainer of the group. McMichen was the polished musician while Puckett was considered a singer’s singer. Norris, also an entertainer, never took much of a lead role, but kept the rhythm steady. Other musicians such as Lowe Stokes, Bert Layne, Ted Hawkins and Gordon Tanner contributed to their early success, as well. The Skillet Lickers seemed to have struck a nerve with rural Americans. They recorded songs that were already known, many of which were already in public domain. The Skillet Lickers performed and recorded those old songs with an all-new energy that no one, even to this day, could match.
For five years, the Skillet Lickers proved to be one of Frank Walker and Columbia Records’ biggest success stories for their “rural” or “hillbilly” classification of music. Their success also had an influence on other legendary musicians and superstars that would follow across all genres of Country music. People like Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Bob Wills, Merle Travis, Hank Williams and many others were influenced and followed the path these men had cut before them.
Over 90 years later, the Skillet Licker name, music, and tradition has been handed down and continues to live on through four generations of Tanners. Gid’s grandson, Phil and great grandson Russ have kept the name, as well as the music, going for almost a century, and show no signs of slowing down.
pioneer artist
Laura Boosinger
While enrolled at Warren Wilson College in the mid-1970s, she met David Holt and began a lifelong friendship with her mentor. Laura began playing and performing with Holt and numerous other players around the Asheville area. In 1984 she took over David Holt’s chair in the Luke Smathers Band. She learned the mountain swing style that the Smathers brothers created after hearing swing music on the radio in their formative days. Laura has also played music with Josh Goforth, with whom she has toured extensively in the US and Scotland as well as David Holt and the Lightning Bolts and the Midnight Plowboys. Laura has recorded numerous solo albums and is instrumental in maintaining the tradition of shaped note singing from the Christian Harmony in workshops at MerleFest and Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week at Mars Hill University and annual singings across the region. Proficient in instruments including banjo, guitar, and autoharp, she also teaches multiple instruments and offers vocal coaching. She has vast experience teaching residencies in Southern Mountain Music to public school children of all ages. In her role as Executive Director of the Madison County Arts Council she helps administer the Junior Appalachian Musician program to elementary and middle school students in Madison County, NC.
sidewoman and regional musician
Don Gibson was one of the most influential forces in the country music industry from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Few people around the English speaking world fail to remember Don’s two best known compositions, “Sweet Dreams” which became one of Patsy Cline’s most indelible hits, and the Ray Charles classic single “I Can’t Stop Loving You”. His third unforgettable country classic, “Oh, Lonesome Me” was later a crossover to rock and rockabilly band playlists. Don’s own recordings of these songs and over 510 others were enormously accomplished and successful. Don once said “I consider myself a songwriter who sings rather than a singer who writes songs.” That perspective is affirmed by the staggering evidence of his cross genre appeal and relevance which continues to this very day. Don Gibson, the Sad Poet, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973, an honor he shares with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffet and Johnny Cash. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
Phil Jamison
Phil Jamison is nationally known as a dance caller, old-time musician, and flatfoot dancer. He has called dances, performed, and taught at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas since the early 1970s, including close to forty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. For eighteen years (1992 – 2009), he served as the Dance Stage coordinator at MerleFest. Phil's flatfoot dancing was featured in the film, Songcatcher, for which he also served as Traditional Dance consultant. Over the last thirty years, Jamison has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and his recently-published book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance (University of Illinois Press, 2015) tells the story behind the square dances, step dances, reels, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. Phil teaches mathematics as well as Appalachian music and dance at Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, North Carolina, where for twenty-five years, he coordinated the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering.
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Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/2003/09/rape-may-be-most-common-rural-areas/)
Rape May Be Most Common in Rural Areas
By: Karen Shugart | September 21, 2003
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(WOMENENEWS)–As a rural outreach coordinator in Alaska, Amy Maio has seen the effects of geography and isolation on women who have been sexually assaulted.
Maio, who works at Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies, or AWARE, in Juneau, recently counseled a woman whose boyfriend had raped her five-year-old daughter. The woman, who had moved three years before to a village only reachable by small plane, had believed her new family and community would protect and support her.
She was wrong.
“She found that her boyfriend’s entire family was supporting him,” said Maio. “They either didn’t believe she was telling the truth, or they didn’t feel what he had done was such a bad thing.”
Gossip about the assault spread through the community, and when word spread that the woman had fled to Juneau for help, she decided she couldn’t return to her village. She returned to her own family, far from Alaska.
Counterpoint to Federal Statistics
An April report by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in Enola, Penn., which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, found that sexual assault outside cities and suburbs is possibly more prevalent but less likely to be reported, contrary to federal statistics showing higher assault rates in urban areas.
The report, “Unspoken Crimes: Sexual Assault in Rural America,” studied the work of several crime researchers and interviewed sexual-assault counselors across the country “to cast new light on the deep-seated social codes and the often isolated and insulated rural conditions that have made rural populations neither easy to serve or easy to reach.”
In many rural areas, if a woman parks her car at a rape-crisis center or sheriff’s office, word can quickly spread through the community, according to the report. The judge, the sheriff, the doctor at the emergency room may all know the assailant or the victim.
And, the report says, rural areas often have “unwritten cultural rules that dictate secrecy of personal problems . . . One underlying value in many rural communities stresses the importance of family reputation over personal justice and, sometimes, over personal safety.”
Karen Baker, project director at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, said the report’s results didn’t surprise her. “It confirmed what we had already been hearing anecdotally,” she said.
In some remote areas, the report concluded, attitudes toward sexual assault even “may appear relatively accepting.”
Such factors resulted in lower reporting rates, which curb funding levels, which in turn hobble a crisis center’s ability to provide services, according to the report.
Alaska’s Rape Rates Double the National Average
While rural areas overall may have lower reporting rates, Alaska’s rates are more than double the U.S. average.
Alaska, where 90 percent of the state cannot be reached by a road system, in 1999 reported 83.5 rapes per 100,000 females compared to a U.S. average of 32.7 per 100,000 females, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.
The rates for Anchorage (62.8 per 100,000 females), where more than half the state’s population dwells, compared to the state rate (83.5 per 100,000 females) suggest that rural areas disproportionately shoulder the burden of higher rates of rape, according to the report. And data from the Alaska State Troopers suggest rural areas have the highest rates of sexual assault.
Alaska’s rates may be higher than the norm for rural areas, but even those statistics don’t reflect the complete picture, Maio said.
“A lot of the women just choose not to go forward with reporting it, just because the community is so small,” said Maio, the Juneau counselor who must take a 20-minute ride on a small prop plane to reach the closest community she serves and a 40-minute flight on Alaska Airlines to reach the most far flung. “They don’t want to ostracize themselves.”
Numerous Obstacles to Reporting Assaults
While Alaska has the highest rate of rapes, problems reporting sexual assault aren’t limited to the far reaches of that state. Across the landscape of America, women far removed from urban areas experienced distinctive obstacles when dealing with and reporting sexual assault, according to the report.
In Greenville, Miss., Our House Inc., a domestic-violence shelter recently became the only rape-crisis center in an eight-county area, said Felecia Thomas, public-awareness coordinator for the shelter.
In Meridian, Miss., the town’s rape crisis center, Wesley House Community Center Inc., has struggled 15 years for acceptance as a resource in the community, said Nell Grissom, the center’s executive director. “When I first started this program, it was completely rejected,” said Nell Grissom, the center’s director. “It’s getting so it’s accepted, but we have a long way to go.”
She added, “Some people will always be in disbelief. It’s hurtful.”
And in Hannibal, Mo., Ellen Reed, the director of AVENUES, a crisis center that covers seven counties, said it’s tough to discuss sexual violence in socially conservative communities where traditional gender roles are still the norm.
“We are certainly reaching more survivors than we ever have,” said Reed, whose organization has four satellite shelters in northeast Missouri. “But it’s tricky. It’s difficult talking about these issues in areas that are rural and closed and very resistant to anybody that might challenge the status quo.”
“A lot of that has to do with a real resistance on the part of law enforcement, prosecution and social services to be open enough to talk about sexual violence to grasp the dynamics that are happening,” Reed said. “If we are going to talk about the true dynamics of sexual issues, the gender issues, the gender oppression behind that, the conservative community is really going to backlash against that.”
Law Enforcement Plays Crucial Role
The report concludes that relationships with law enforcement are vitally important in rural areas. Small police and sheriff’s agencies tend to have more political influence and fewer financial resources, both factors that can be obstacles in addressing sexual assault.
Mira Frosolono-Gray, project manager for the Rural Sexual Assault Curriculum Development Project at the University of Arkansas’ Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock, said rural areas often lack a “large tax base there or foundations or corporations to contribute to a police department, so they have a lack of resources.”
“Many don’t even have a training budget,” said Frosolono-Gray, whose program uses federal grants to train rural law enforcement to handle victim trauma and collecting evidence.
Law-enforcement officers seem generally receptive to the training, she said, sometimes leaving with plans to put new sexual-assault policies into effect.
By building relationships with law-enforcement agencies, as well as working with other community agencies, churches and schools, rural advocates may reach more women who have been assaulted and gain a more adequate picture of the extent of the problem.
Rural women need more resources to deal with sexual assault, Reed concluded.
“The type of pressure that social structures in rural areas put on women and children . . . they simply do not have the social freedom, the economic freedom to get services,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to be dependent on more populated areas. We need to be reaching out to them.”
Karen Shugart is a journalist in Georgia.
“Unspoken Crimes:Sexual Assault in Rural America”
(Adobe PDF format):
http://www.nsvrc.org/rural_booklet.pdf
Federal Bureau of Investigation–Uniform Crime Reports:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
Rural Womyn Zone:
http://www.ruralwomyn.net/
Send a Kamala Harris, RBG or AOC Action Figure for the Holidays!!
By: Editors at Women's eNews | December 1, 2020
What better Gift to Give for the Holidays, while supporting Truth in Journalism and Feeding the Homeless!!
Is Justice Gender-blind?
By: Phyllis Chesler | November 15, 2020
Women are less violent than men but when a woman is violent, she is seen as even more dangerous than a man.
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Western Tanager Life History
Explore Birds of the World to learn more.
NestingTree
Western Tanagers breed in open coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous woodlands up to about 10,000 feet elevation in western North America. These birds are especially common in forests of Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and lodgepole pine. They also breed in riparian woodlands, aspen forests, oak and pinyon-juniper woodlands. They usually favor open woods including wetlands, forest edges, and burns as well as suburban parks and gardens. Occasionally they foray into relatively dense forest. During migration, Western Tanagers frequent a wide variety of forest, woodland, scrub, and partly open habitats as well as human-made environments such as orchards, parks, gardens, and suburban areas. Their winter habitat in Middle America is generally in pine-oak woodland and forest edge.Back to top
During breeding season, Western Tanagers eat mostly insects—especially wasps, ants, termites, stinkbugs, cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, crane flies, dragonflies, caterpillars, scale insects, and sawflies. Before swallowing dragonflies, they clip the insects’ wings and occasionally also the head and legs. They also eat fruit, especially during fall and winter, when it may dominate the diet. Fruits eaten include hawthorn, wild cherries, elderberries, blackberries, mulberries, and serviceberries. Buds, for example those of greasewood bushes, occasionally add variety. Winter stragglers have been seen eating seeds at feeders. Back to top
Nest Placement
Western Tanagers usually nest in relatively open areas of the canopy. Females just arrived on the breeding grounds move constantly through the canopy as if evaluating possible nest sites.
Nest Description
Female Western Tanagers do all of the nest building—though their mates keep a close watch on the process, which takes roughly four or five days. The female lays out a foundation of large twigs, initially forming a floor and creating a scaffold, into which she weaves and molds longer, finer branches and roots to form a sturdy cup. She then lines the nest’s interior with finer fibers. Construction materials may include twigs, stems, grasses, rootlets, bark strips, mosses, and pine needles, with lining of finer rootlets, horsehair or cow hair, feathers, grasses, and other soft plant fibers. The final product has a hastily assembled look: a loosely woven, open, flat bowl with a relatively small cup for eggs.
Nesting Facts
Clutch Size: 3-5 eggs
Egg Length: 0.8-1.0 in (2-2.6 cm)
Egg Width: 0.6-0.8 in (1.5-1.9 cm)
Nestling Period: 11-15 days
Egg Description: Blue or bluish green, sometimes almost white, and sparsely spotted with gray-brown.
Condition at Hatching: Helpless, eyes closed; head, back, and wings well covered with long, dense, white to pale-gray down.
Western Tanagers spend most of their time quietly, methodically plucking food from twigs, branches, flowers, and foliage in the upper portions of forest trees and shrubs. They also scan for insects, perching motionless except for side-to-side movements of the head before sallying out flycatcher-fashion to nab prey on the wing. They are swift flyers with rapid, powerful wing-beats and can hover for a few seconds at a time. After returning to their breeding areas, males establish territories with nonstop singing, especially at the borders of their territory. Both males and females chase away intruders. A male Western Tanager stays close to his mate during nest-building and egg-laying; the pair is almost always together when she’s not sitting on the nest, and he sometimes feeds her at or near the nest. Back to top
Western Tanagers are common and their numbers increased between 1966 and 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at about 11 million individuals, with 68% spending part of the year in the U.S>, 32% in Canada, and 75% in Mexico. They rate an 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. This species uses open habitats and edges over forest interior and does not require large forest patches to breed. It has therefore fared better than other species in response to forest fragmentation. Because Western Tanagers are closely associated with Douglas-fir forests of the interior West, management practices in these forests will be important to them. Back to top
Although they don’t typically eat seeds, Western Tanagers may eat dried fruit, freshly cut oranges, and other fresh fruit at bird feeders. If you live in a wooded area within this bird’s range, providing moving water or a birdbath or pond may help attract them to your yard.
Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds, Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, USA.
Hudon, Jocelyn. (1999). Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Lutmerding, J. A. and A. S. Love. (2019). Longevity records of North American birds. Version 1019 Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2019.
North American Bird Conservation Initiative. (2014). The State of the Birds 2014 Report. US Department of Interior, Washington, DC, USA.
Partners in Flight (2017). Avian Conservation Assessment Database. 2017.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, J. E. Fallon, K. L. Pardieck, Jr. Ziolkowski, D. J. and W. A. Link. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, results and analysis 1966-2013 (Version 1.30.15). USGS Patuxtent Wildlife Research Center (2014b). Available from http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/.
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.
Bullock's Oriole
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family:Cardinalidae)
Varied Bunting
Dickcissel
Common Feeder Birds: Quick Info on Food Preferences
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Denver Daily Camera: "Opera Colorado puts music at forefront of 'Carmen'" directed
"But the orchestra's more immediate presence does not mean that the production will not have its own high concept. Stage director Kathleen Smith Belcher makes her debut in Denver with her first "Carmen." (She is the wife of baritone Daniel Belcher, whose performances in Denver and Central City last year were enthusiastically acclaimed.)While the action still is set in Spain, it is updated to the time of the Spanish Civil War."There is a lot of violence and brutality inherent in the story," Belcher said, "and I thought that there would be a heightened urgency of those elements in this setting."Thus, the soldier Don Jose, the jilted lover of the titular gypsy who eventually kills her, is in General Franco's army. When he runs away with Carmen to the gypsy camp, the gypsies are understood to be counter-revolutionaries.Belcher also frames the action in Don Jose's memory from prison after he is arrested for Carmen's murder (which is the last event in the original libretto), showing him there when the overture turns to his associated "fate" theme." -Daily Camera
Read full story.
Kathleen Belcher
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Google's Alphabet Move: Marketing Mistake or Trend-Setting?
by Melissa Parrish // Thursday, August 20th, 2015 – 12:05 am
"Marketer's Note" is a weekly column informing marketers about the rapidly evolving digital marketing technology ecosystem.
This week, it is written by Melissa Parrish, executive director of AdExchanger Research.
Google is rarely out of the news, but thanks to the coverage over the last couple of weeks I’ve found myself thinking about the behemoth more for its brand equity and power than for its digital platforms and marketing technology.
The company’s financial restructuring under a new holding company entity called Alphabet Inc. is fascinating – and not just because we’re all trying to read between the lines and figure out what the real motivation was. Even though Google’s move is primarily geared to the business community, rather than the everyday Internet user, from a marketing point of view the rollout is marked by a few things that would be considered rookie mistakes in the hands of all but a few special companies.
First, the name was already taken – online and off. On Facebook, Alphabet has official company and product pages, as well as parody pages, so it looks like it’s covered there. On Twitter, however, it appears to be the parody account. The twitter handle @alphabetinc was already taken by a small company in Jakarta (that hadn’t tweeted a thing in a year and a half until Google’s announcement). So, as TechCrunch points out, Google’s parent had sat on @aIphabetinc – with a capital “i” instead of an l – but as I write this, Twitter has suspended that account, presumably because it looks like it’s trying to spoof a legitimate Twitter user.
Second, there’s the URL – abc.xyz. By now, everybody knows that BMW owns alphabet.com. There was a time when a company would change its name just to get a .com – see this article from Forbes in 2006 bemoaning the rise of web companies with no vowels in their names in order to secure a .com URL – but clearly this isn’t an issue for the new Alphabet Inc. What interests me most about this whole thing though isn’t whether or not it’s going to try to get BMW to give up a brand and URL it has had for almost 20 years; it’s what we’ve learned about the people interested in Alphabet Inc.
There were numerous reports that traffic to alphabet.com soared more than 5,000% after Larry Page’s announcement. But why? His blog post clearly states the new URL, so either a ton of people didn’t read the whole announcement, or they read about it from other media coverage. And then those people did something that would’ve been totally remarkable a decade ago (or two years ago if you’re my parents): They typed alphabet.com directly into their browsers. They didn’t go to google.com and search for “Alphabet Inc.” or “Google Alphabet” or even “Alphabet.com.”
Those searches would have clearly revealed that alphabet.com wasn’t where they wanted to go. So allowing for the obvious fact that people who are interested in Google news are likely more tech-savvy than the general population, can we extrapolate that the days are over when our friends and family would go to google.com and type “facebook” into the search bar instead of just typing facebook.com into the browser?
From a search visibility standpoint, Alphabet was largely undiscoverable in its first week of existence. As of early this week, about half the searches I conducted on various browsers resulted in no organic search link on the first page. (I did see some paid ads.) That makes sense, of course, because it’s a brand-new website without a lot of content. It also means that Alphabet’s marketers don’t freak out the way every other marketer would if their new brand started with zero search engine mojo.
And finally, what about that wacky .xyz domain? Alphabet gave itself a name that was already taken both online and off and then created a site at a URL that both doesn’t contain its name at all and uses a gTLD that almost nobody’s ever used before. A mistake in anybody else’s hands to be sure, but it becomes a trend in Alphabet’s: The guy who owns .xyzreports that prior to the announcement he was fielding about 3,000 requests for .xyz domains every day. Now it’s up to 20,000.
So what’s the lesson here? Don’t worry about your company name? Grab whatever URL is available? Keep your paid search budget low? I think it’s more basic than that: Power lets you push boundaries in ways that would doom a smaller brand, so it’s important to not follow their lead.
Well, that and: Register your [brand].xyz URL before a domain squatter does.
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Aristotle, whose name means “the best purpose” in Ancient Greek,[7] was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice, about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki. His father Nicomachus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. His mother, Phaestis, came from a wealthy family. They owned a sizable estate near the town of Chalcis on Euboea, the second-largest of the Greek Islands.
Both of Aristotle’s parents died when he was about thirteen, and Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. Although little information about Aristotle’s childhood has survived, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Plato’s Academy. He probably experienced the Eleusinian Mysteries as he wrote when describing the sights one viewed at the Eleusinian Mysteries, “to experience is to learn” [παθείν μαθεĩν]. Aristotle remained in Athens for nearly twenty years before leaving in 348/47 BC.
His departure
The traditional story about his departure records that he was disappointed with the Academy’s direction after control passed to Plato’s nephew Speusippus. It is also possible that he feared the anti-Macedonian sentiments in Athens at that time and left before Plato died. Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor.
In Lesbos
After the death of Hermias, Aristotle travelled with his pupil Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos. Together they researched the botany and zoology of the island and its sheltered lagoon. In Lesbos, Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermias’s adoptive daughter or niece. She bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias.
In 343 BC, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander. Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During Aristotle’s time in the Macedonian court, he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings: Ptolemy and Cassander. Aristotle encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest and Aristotle’s own attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous example, he counsels Alexander to be “a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants”.
By 335 BC, Aristotle had returned to Athens, establishing his own school there known as the Lyceum. Aristotle conducted courses at the school for the next twelve years. While in Athens, his wife Pythias died and Aristotle became involved with Herpyllis of Stagira, who bore him a son whom he named after his father, Nicomachus.
This period in Athens, between 335 and 323 BC, is when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. He wrote many dialogues, of which only fragments have survived. Those works that have survived are in treatise form and were not, for the most part, intended for widespread publication; they are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students. His most important treatises include Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, On the Soul and Poetics. Aristotle studied and made significant contributions to “logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre.”
His Death
Near the end of his life, Alexander and Aristotle became estranged over Alexander’s relationship with Persia and Persians. A widespread tradition in antiquity suspected Aristotle of playing a role in Alexander’s death, but the only evidence of this is an unlikely claim made some six years after the death. Following Alexander’s death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens was rekindled.
In 322 BC, Demophilus and Eurymedon the Hierophant reportedly denounced Aristotle for impiety, prompting him to flee to his mother’s family estate in Chalcis, on Euboea. He was said to have stated: “I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy”– a reference to Athens’s trial and execution of Socrates. He died on Euboea of natural causes later that same year, having named his student Antipater as his chief executor and leaving a will in which he asked to be buried next to his wife.
His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and government. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
The asterisk (*) denotes that these works are considered spurious.
Logical writings
Categories (Owen) (trans. O. F. Owen) (1853)
On Interpretation (trans. O. F. Owen) (1853)
Prior Analytics (trans. O. F. Owen) (1853)
Posterior Analytics (Owen) (trans. O. F. Owen)
Topics (trans. O. F. Owen) (1853)
The Sophistical Elenchi (trans. O. F. Owen) (1853)
Physical and scientific writings
Physics (Aristotle) (or Physica)
On the Heavens (or De Caelo)
On Generation and Corruption (or De Generatione et Corruptione)
Meteorology (or Meteorologica)
On the Cosmos (or De Mundo, or On the Universe)
Parva Naturalia or Little Physical Treatises is a collective term for the following seven works rather than a work in its own right.
On Sense and the Sensible (trans. J. I. Beare) (1908))
On Memory and Reminiscence (trans. J. I. Beare) (1908)
On Sleep and Sleeplessness (trans. J. I. Beare) (1908)
On Dreams (trans. J. I. Beare) (1908)
On Prophesying by Dreams (trans. J. I. Beare) (1908)
On Longevity and Shortness of Life (trans. G. R. T. Ross) (1908)
On Youth and Old Age, On Breathing and On Life and Death
On Youth and Old Age (or De Juventute et Senectute)
On Life and Death (or De Vita et Morte)
On Breathing (or De Respiratione)
On Breath (or De Spiritu) *
History of Animals (trans. D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson) (1910)
On the Parts of Animals (trans. William Ogle) (1912)
On the Movement of Animals (trans. A. S. L. Farquharson) (1912)
On the Progression of Animals (trans. A. S. L. Farquharson) (1912)
On the Generation of Animals (trans. Arthur Platt) (1912)
Opusculum (Little works)
On Colours (or De Coloribus) *
On Things Heard (or De audibilibus) *
Physiognomics (or Physiognomonica) *
On Plants (trans. E. S. Forster) (1913) *
On Marvellous Things Heard (or Mirabilibus Auscultationibus, or On Things Heard) *
Mechanical Problems (or Mechanica) *
On Indivisible Lines (or De Lineis Insecabilibus) *
Situations and Names of Winds (or Ventorum Situs) *
On Melissus, Xenophanes and Gorgias (or MXG) * (The section On Xenophanes starts at 977a13, the section On Gorgias starts at 979a11.)
Problems (or Problemata) *
Metaphysical writings
Metaphysics (trans. W. D. Ross) (1908) (or Metaphysica)
Ethical writings
Nicomachean Ethics (or Ethica Nicomachea, or The Ethics)
Great Ethics (or Magna Moralia) *
Eudemian Ethics (trans. Joseph Solomon) (1915) (or Ethica Eudemia)
Virtues and Vices (or De Virtutibus et Vitiis Libellus, Libellus de virtutibus) *
Politics (or Politica)
Economics (or Oeconomica) *
Aesthetic writings
Rhetoric (or Ars Rhetorica, or The Art of Rhetoric or Treatise on Rhetoric)
Rhetoric to Alexander (or Rhetorica ad Alexandrum)*
The Poetics (or Ars Poetica)
Works outside the Corpus Aristotelicum
The Constitution of the Athenians (trans. Fredrick G. Kenyon) (1921)
His influence
Along with his teacher Plato, he is considered the “Father of Western Philosophy”. Aristotle’s views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Some of Aristotle’s zoological observations found in his biology, such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were disbelieved until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, studied by medieval scholars such as Peter Abelard and John Buridan. Aristotle’s influence on logic also continued well into the 19th century.
He influenced Islamic thought during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology. Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as “The First Teacher”. And among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply “The Philosopher”. His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics, such as in the thinking of Alasdair MacIntyre and Philippa Foot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Aristotle
Homonymous, synonymous, polyonymous, heteronymous, paronymous
The ways in which the necessary is spoken of
What soul is
The kinds of rhetoric art
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Moto C launched in India with Android Nougat
Unknown 6/03/2017 06:11:00 PM android 7.0, budget, mediatek, Moto, New, news, Nougat
Finally, the new Lenovo Moto C has been launched in India. This time, Moto C is available at offline retailers across over 100 cities in India. It is available in different colors like Pearl White and Starry Black. Moto C had been launched in the last month with two variants- a 3G version (priced at Rs 6200) and a 4G version (starting at Rs 7000), both with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Although in India, Lenovo has launches a new Variant of Moto C whose specs include 1GB RAM and 16GB storage. It is priced at Rs 5,999.
Let's get into the phone's features. it has 5-inch FWVGA (480x854) display. This smartphone is powered by 1.1 GHz MediaTek MT6580m 64-bit quad-core Cortex A53 SoC processor. As mentioned earlier, the new variant comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32GB via MicroSD card.
In the photography department, there is a 5MP rear camera (1.4 microns, 74°lens, Burst mode, Panorama, HDR, Beautification, Video: 720p (20fps)) and a 2MP front camera (1.0 microns, 63°lens, Fixed Focus, Burst mode, Beautification, [email protected], [email protected]) with front LED flash.
Lenovo Moto C runs on Android Nougat 7.0 and is packed with a 2350mAh battery which is removable. The company claims that you can watch a movie or two on a single charge. For connectivity, it has Micro USB, 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth version 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Dual SIM which supports 4G VoLTE in India.
Kailash Sadhikar
An engineering undergrad student who loves all things tech. He has a soft spot for Android.
Moto C launched in India with Android Nougat Reviewed by Unknown on 6/03/2017 06:11:00 PM
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Caroline Sumpter
Caroline Sumpter grew up in Issaquah, Washington and currently lives in Arlington, Washington. She has been working with metal creating sculptures and jewelry for over twenty years. She received her Art degree from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington and has participated in jewelry and metalsmithing programs offered at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, Washington. She launched her design and fabrication business in 1995 creating site specific art and objects for interior and exterior spaces.
Inspired by the natural world, plants and animals, her two and three dimensional work explores ideas of beauty and harmony, transition and change. She specializes in forged and fabricated steel. She has permanent installations of work at various locations around the Seattle area including the Washington Park Arboretum visitors center, Elliot’s Oyster House in Seattle, and the city of Arlington, Washington.
Metal & Stone Jewelry
Jewelry For Sale
Garden Art For Sale
© 2023 by Caroline Sumpter. Proudly created with Wix.com
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Grant Scheme Winners 2018
ANFASA Magazine
ANFASA Magazines | Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020
Maverick Africans: The Shaping of the Afrikaners
The Murder of Ahmed Timol
War Party: How the ANC’s Political Killings are Breaking South Africa
Death Flight
The Berlin Shadow
The Terrorist Album: Apartheid’s Insurgents, Collaborators, and the Security Police
Unspeakable: The Autobiography
Undeniable: Memoir of a Covert War
Advantage Play: Technologies that Changed Sporting History
Copyright Articles
Copyright Advice
Publishing and Writing Tips
Minutes of the 2017 Annual General Meeting
JSTOR Portal
Dawn Kennedy got her first writing job at age 19 as a film reviewer with the Bristol Post. After graduating with an honours degree from Bristol University in English Literature and Philosophy she traveled in Asia for three years before settling in Cape Town, South Africa. Since living in Cape Town she’s worked as a journalist in many different capacities: Feature writer for the Cape Times; Arts writer for The Sunday Independent; Features Editor of Oprah magazine and Editor of Sync ‘Up, and Co-Editor of 021 magazine. Over the years, she has written freelance articles on both hard and soft news topics. Dawn’s great passion in life is for narrative journalism – where news, features and creative writing collide. Her book project entitled ‘Saving South Africa’s Cycads’ is both a thriller and a botanical love story that explains the value and rarity of South Africa’s cycads and their threat from poachers.
Dr Mzukisi Qobo was born in Langa and grew up in Khayelitsha. He is a recognised thought leader on political economy, leadership issues, and global politics. Mzukisi has spoken to audiences both in South Africa and abroad. He has also advised executives in the mining and financial services sectors on regulation, policy, and stakeholder engagement. Until recently he lectured international political economy at the University of Pretoria. Previously he worked at the Department of Trade and Industry where he was chief director responsible for developing South Africa’s trade policy. Mzukisi is currently a Senior Research Associate with the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria. Mzukisi is co-author of The Fall of the ANC: What Next? He is currently working on a book on Transformational Leadership in South Africa, with a grant support from ANFASA. Mzukisi’s columns appear fortnightly in the Business Day. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick, UK; MA from the University of Stellenbosch; and BA from the University of Cape Town.
Dr Gwinyayi A. Dzinesa is a senior lecturer in the department, with research and teaching interests in comparative government; African peace and security; Democracy, Governance and Peacebuilding; International Relations and International and Regional Organizations. He graduated with a DPhil from the University of the Witwatersrand. Prior to joining Rhodes, Gwinyayi served as: a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa; Senior Researcher at the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town; Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the Wits University; Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Africa’s International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand; Visiting Scholar at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and as a Research and Publications Officer at the Centre for Defence Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. He is co-editor of Region Building in Southern Africa: Progress, Problems and Prospects, (Zed Books, Wits University Press, 2012) and Peacebuilding, Power and Politics in Africa, (Ohio University Press, Wits University Press, 2012) and has researched and published widely on peace, security and development issues in Africa. His book project ‘Swords into Ploughshares: Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration’ is a critical comparative reflection on the DDR histories of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Pierre de Vos is the Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance at the University of Cape Town. De Vos studied at the University of Stellenbosch, Columbia University (New York), and the University of Western Cape, where he held a professorship. De Vos has published widely on issues of constitutional law, from the enforcement of social and economic rights, non-discrimination law and citizenship rights. He is the co-editor of the leading textbook on Constitutional Law in South Africa, entitled “South African Constitutional Law in Context”. His blog,www.constitutionallyspeaking.co.za, offers constitutional perspective on social and political issues of contemporary South Africa and is widely read and syndicated on the Daily Maverick, one of South Africa’s leading online news platforms. He is chairperson of the Board of the Aids Legal Network and a board member of Triangle Project. His project ‘Forget about forgetting: Memory and the intepretation of South Africa’s Constitution aims to engage in a difficult sometimes painful but brutally honest engagement with his own apartheid past, to link these discussions and reflections with analysis of the previous provisions of the South African Bill of Rights and thus to promote a better understanding of the bill of rights among politicians, judges, lawyers and informed members of the public.
David B. Coplan is Professor Emeritus in Social Anthropology at the University of The Witwatersrand. He has been researching and writing about South African performing arts and media since 1976. He is the author of numerous publications, including most notably In Township Tonight! South Africa’s Black City Music and Theatre (1986), revised, enlarged and published in a second edition in 2007. Prof. Coplan is also a specialist in the ethnographic history and performance culture of the Basotho of southern Africa. His related works include In the Time of Cannibals: the Word Music of South Africa’s Basotho Migrants (Chicago 1994), and the film Songs of the Adventurers (Constant Spring Productions 1986). Prof. Coplan appears frequently on South African radio and television as an arts, culture, and media commentator. He has also written extensively for the popular press and a general readership beyond academic publishing. Prof. Coplan lectures frequently on media issues at scholarly conferences, to the general public, and to the private sector. He will be producing a book on the popular premier Jazz venue in Mellville Johannesburg called the Bassline. His book entitled “Music makes the new Johannesburg: Last night at the Bassline a multimedia tribute” will be a multi-voiced narrative of musical life and achievement in Johannesburg under democracy.
Mpumi Bikitsha was born in Langa, Cape Town on the 25 October 1945. She is a widow with three chidren and 5 grandchildren and enjoying a busy retirement. She holds an Honours degree in Social Anthropology, having majored in Psychology and Social Anthropology from UCT. She moved from Cape Town to Johannesburg in 2000. Her last job before retirement in 2005 was with the National Research Foundation. It is here that her love for research was revived. The inspiration to take up the project on African Choral Music Composers has been kept alive with an undying passion and an undeterred spirit. Work towards what she perceives as the second volume to the current is already underway. This project is getting more and more exciting and challenging, a challenge that needs to be taken on.
Dr. Dale T. McKinley is an independent writer, researcher and lecturer as well as political activist, based in Johannesburg. He is a long time social and political activist and has been involved in social movement, community and political struggles for over three decades. Dale holds a PhD. in Political Economy/African Studies from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), USA. He occasionally lectures at university level and is a regular speaker at various civil society and academic social and political conferences and events. Dale is the author of three books and has written numerous book chapters, research reports, journal/magazine and press articles on various aspects of South African and international political, social and economic issues/struggles. Additionally, he is a regular columnist for the South African Civil Society Information Service and contributor to the South African print media as well as regular commentator on radio and television. Dale has been (and remains) actively involved in several political and social movements. Picking up from where he left off in his 1997 book on the ANC.This book project ‘ANC in power: A critical analysis of 20 years of democracy’ seeks to provide a critical political biography on the ANC in power since 1994 until the present.
Busisiwe Ndlovu is currently employed by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) based in Eshowe KwaZulu Natal as a programme Coordinator, She works with a group of 87 community based counsellors specialising in door to door HIV counselling and testing and TB screening. She is studying Communication Science with UNISA as well. Busisiwe has been passionate about writing since she was a child and intended to study Journalism. Unfortunately her father felt that Journalism is not suitable for a girl. This is the first time she writing formally and is very excited. Her book project ‘Silenced’ tells a story of a 13 year old girl who was raped, her tongue cut out and eyes gouged out. This book looks at the events that followed in her family, the stigma in the community and how the perpetrator’s family suffered.
Daluxolo Maloantoa is the Features Writer at AfriPOP! Magazine. After being awarded a scholarship by The Sowetan newspaper, Herdbouys McCann Ericksson to study at the AAA School of Advertising, he qualified as a copywriter in 2002. He has worked for a leading advertising agency in Johannesburg for five years. In 2007 he took up the opportunity to embark upon an exchange programme to England. While in England he studied for a Community Media certificate with the Community Volunteer Service Media Clubhouse. He became arts journalist with Ipswich-based youth magazine IP1 magazine and began covering South African arts-based news for London-based South African newspaper SA TIMES and the Big Issue magazine in Cape Town. Upon his return to SA in 2011 he took up his current position of Features Writer at AfriPOP! Magazine and continue to make contributions to UK-based newspaper SA TIMES and the website Southafrican.com. His book project ‘Gateway to a new world: Profiles of eminent mission education schools in South Africa’ aims to cover the development of mission education in South Africa and its purpose as a breeding ground for the new breed of African leaders, and subsequently a new African nationalism, whose consequence was the development of the ideological underpinning of a century-long political offensive that would finally lead to the demise of racialism in South Africa.
Catherine Hunter Shubane grew up, and schooled in Lesotho and Swaziland and has lived in South Africa since then. Currently she designs, writes and delivers organisational development programmes in range of contexts and subjects. Throughout she emphasises the close links between past influences, and relationships, to anything we do and the richness of working in a diverse environment. A political activist in the eighties she spent the first two decades of her career in the field of Mathematics education, teaching, teacher-training and developing materials. Catherine is the mother of two adult daughters, and she swims and plays the guitar for fun. Her book project for which she won the Anfasa award entitled ‘Nkomati’ , tells the true story of a soldier in apartheid South Africa’s military intelligence who passed on to the ANC information on the SADF’s support of Mozambique’s rebel movement RENAMO
Suren Pillay is Associate Professor at the Center for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. He has published on issues of violence, citizenship and justice claims. With Chandra Sriram he is co-editor of the book, Truth vs Justice? The Dilemmas of Transitional Justice in Africa (London: James Currey, 2011) He has an Mphil, and a Phd in Anthropology from Columbia University in New York. Suren is currently completing two book manuscripts- a study of state violence in the period of late apartheid; and a study of citizenship, violence and the politics of difference in post apartheid South Africa. His current research also focuses on experiments in cultural sovereignty in postcolonial Africa in the sphere of knowledge production in the humanities and social sciences. Suren has been a visiting fellow at Jawarhalal Nehru University, India, the Makerere Institute for Social Research, Uganda, the Center for African Studies, Univ. of Cape Town, and the Center for Social Difference, Columbia University. He is a previous editor of the journal Social Dynamics, blogs for Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), and has published widely in the press
Leon de Kock is Emeritus Professor of English at Stellenbosch University and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg. He is the author of several books, including Civilising Barbarians (1996), a study of missionary imperialism, the novel Bad Sex (2011), and three volumes of poetry. His literary translations include Marlene van Niekerk’s blockbuster novel Triomf, Ingrid Winterbach’s The Road of Excess, and Etienne van Heerden’s In Love’s Place. He has published more than 60 academic articles and book chapters in a career spanning over thirty years, and he is a public commentator who regularly writes for newspapers and periodicals both in South Africa and further afield. His AGSA project is entitled “Losing the Plot: Postapartheid Writing and the Fiction of Transition”. The work seeks to offer the first book-length study of postapartheid South African writing. Importantly, this study places great emphasis on the growing importance and uptake of what some people call “creative nonfiction”, especially in what he call the “forensic mode” of heightened social analysis, a kind of diagnostic exploration and probing of the South African social body.
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This new system includes improvements to the remote defrost feature that is perfectly presented in Nissan's film, as well as superior functionality and greater connectivity. Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles, Nissan Europe said: "The new Nissan LEAF 30kWh is a great example of Nissan's pioneering and innovative spirit. We constantly strive to push the boundaries of what is possible with zero emission technology - going further so our customers can go further." The one-minute-long film also highlights the reliability and durability of the new Nissan Leaf 30kWh. Nissan say that the popular electric vehicle undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it is capable of withstanding even the most challenging driving conditions. Nissan also offers a specially engineered Nordic Pack which includes a battery heater to counter effects of the extreme low temperatures. The Nissan Leaf 30kWh has a potential range of 155 miles, allowing it to travel further on a single charge than any of its rivals, including the Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen Golf GTE, and pure-electric BMW i3. We can help you choose your New Car Its larger capacity battery doesn't mean any interior space is sacrificed, and the Leaf also includes a number of safety features such as six airbags, ABS, hill-hold, and electronic traction control. Take advantage of the government scheme that saves up to £5,000 on a new electric (plug-in) car before it expires on March 1 2016." }
Nissan breaks the ice with new Nissan Leaf 30kWh
2016-02-16 16:13:45.0 By Chris Greener electric cars
Sick and tired of spending precious time on deicing your car on a cold morning? The new Nissan LEAF 30kWh may just be the car for you.
In a new video released by Nissan, the all-new Nissan is shown to melt away 65mm thick ice, with the model's climate control used to escape from the block of ice in breathtaking Norefjell, Norway.
Europe's best-selling electric vehicle now delivers up to 155 miles of driving range on a single charge, 25% further than before, and comes with the latest evolution of the NissanConnect EV infotainment system on Acenta and Tekna trims.
This new system includes improvements to the remote defrost feature that is perfectly presented in Nissan's film, as well as superior functionality and greater connectivity.
Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles, Nissan Europe said: "The new Nissan LEAF 30kWh is a great example of Nissan's pioneering and innovative spirit. We constantly strive to push the boundaries of what is possible with zero emission technology - going further so our customers can go further."
The one-minute-long film also highlights the reliability and durability of the new Nissan Leaf 30kWh. Nissan say that the popular electric vehicle undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it is capable of withstanding even the most challenging driving conditions.
Nissan also offers a specially engineered Nordic Pack which includes a battery heater to counter effects of the extreme low temperatures.
The Nissan Leaf 30kWh has a potential range of 155 miles, allowing it to travel further on a single charge than any of its rivals, including the Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen Golf GTE, and pure-electric BMW i3.
Its larger capacity battery doesn't mean any interior space is sacrificed, and the Leaf also includes a number of safety features such as six airbags, ABS, hill-hold, and electronic traction control.
Take advantage of the government scheme that saves up to £5,000 on a new electric (plug-in) car before it expires on March 1 2016.
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Art Leonard Observations
Posts Tagged ‘discrimination against same-sex couples’
Michigan Claims Court Issues Split Ruling on State’s Public Accommodations Law
Posted on: December 13th, 2020 by Art Leonard No Comments
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray issued an opinion on December 7 in Rouch World v. Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Court of Claims Case No. 20-000145-MZ, holding that the state’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), which, among other things, prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers because of their sex, cannot be interpreted by his court as banning sexual orientation discrimination, because the state’s Court of Appeals rejected the argument that sexual orientation discrimination is covered by the Act in a 1993 ruling.
On the other hand, finding that there is no Michigan court ruling on whether the ELCRA’s sex discrimination ban can be applied to discrimination against transgender people, Judge Murray followed the Supreme Court’s June 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731, which interpreted the federal ban on sex discrimination in employment to apply to claims of discrimination based on transgender status.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she would appeal Murray’s ruling as to sexual orientation discrimination, while the business that faces a gender identity discrimination claim announced that it would appeal that ruling.
Murray’s opinion concerned discrimination claims against two businesses. Rouch World, an events venue that rents space for weddings and other celebrations, refused to book an event for a same-sex couple, citing the owners’ religious objections to same-sex marriages. Uprooted Electrolysis, which provides permanent hair-removal treatment, turned down a transgender person seeking their service as part of her transition, also citing religious objections.
In both cases, the rejected customers filed complaints with MDCR, which began investigations pursuant to its Interpretative Statement 2018-1, which states that the ELCRA can be interpreted to cover such claims. In both cases, the businesses subsequently filed suit in the Court of Claims, arguing that the Department does not have jurisdiction over sexual orientation and gender identity claims, and even if it did, that their religious objections privileged them to deny the services. The plaintiffs asked the court to put an end to the investigations.
Judge Murray explained that the ELCRA does not define the word “sex” as used in the provision applicable to claims of discrimination by “a place of public accommodation,” which includes businesses selling goods or services to the public. In 1993, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in Barbour v. Department of Social Services, 497 N.W. 2d 216, that “harassment or discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation is not an activity proscribed by the Act.” That decision is binding on trial courts in Michigan. Judge Murray explained that “whether Barbour’s reasoning is no longer valid in light of Bostock v. Clayton County, and cases containing similar reasoning, is a matter for the Court of Appeals, not this court.” Consequently, Attorney General Nessel, herself an out lesbian who helped persuade the Department to issue Interpretative Statement 2018-1, will appeal this part of the ruling to the Court of Appeals.
On the other hand, Murray found no prior opinion by a Michigan court addressing the question of whether gender identity discrimination claims are covered by the ELCRA. Lacking such authority, Michigan courts will look to decisions concerning other statutes with similar language as well as federal rulings for interpretative guidance. This brings the Bostock decision into play.
Significantly, the Michigan Supreme Court recently vacated a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in a case under the ethnic intimidation statute for reconsideration in light of Bostock. In that case, People v. Rogers, 331 Mich. App. 12, vacated, 950 N.W. 2d 48 (2020), the Court of Appeals ruled that the ethnic intimidation statute’s listing of sex does not cover hate crimes against transgender people. The Michigan Supreme Court told the Court of Appeals to reconsider that ruling in light of Bostock, a clear signal that the Michigan court is prepared to treat the Bostock decision as a persuasive precedent for interpreting the state’s sex discrimination laws.
“Following the Bostock Court’s rationale,” wrote Murray, “if defendants determine that a person treated someone who ‘identifies’ with a gender different than the gender that he or she was born as, then that is dissimilar treatment on the basis of sex, and they are entitled to redress that violation through the existing MDCR procedures. Nothing in the ELCRA would preclude that action.”
The bottom line of Judge Murray’s decision is that the Department does not have jurisdiction of the sexual orientation discrimination claim against Rouch World unless the Michigan Court of Appeals decides to overrule its old Barbour decision, but that the Department does have jurisdiction to investigate Uprooted Electrolysis’s denial of service to a transgender client, at least so far as interpretation of the ELCRA goes. Of course, the Supreme Court’s remand in the ethnic intimidation case is likely to persuade the Court of Appeals that it should also reconsider Barbour in light of Bostock.
The court refrained from ruling on the religious exemption claims, stating that issue “has not been sufficiently briefed to resolve at this juncture.” The question of federal constitutional religious exemptions from compliance with state or local anti-discrimination laws is now before the U.S. Supreme Court in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which was argued on November 4 and will be decided sometime in 2021. It is likely that many state agencies and courts dealing with religious exemption claims by civil rights defendants may delay ruling on such claims until the Supreme Court rules in Fulton.
Judge Murray ended his opinion by stating, “This is not a final order as it does not resolve all of the pending issues in this case.” This cryptic remark implies that Uprooted Electrolysis may not immediately appeal the court’s determination that the ELCRA applies to the transgender discrimination claim, since its religious exemption claim has not yet been ruled upon. However, the declaration that the MDCR does not have jurisdiction over the sexual orientation claim against Rouch World seems final as to that complaint, so Attorney General Nessel may be able to appeal that ruling.
Federal Court Enjoins Michigan Policy Requiring Faith-Based Adoption Agencies to Certify Same-Sex Couples as Suitable Adoptive or Foster Parents
Posted on: September 28th, 2019 by Art Leonard No Comments
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker ruled that a faith-based adoption and foster care agency should not be endangered with loss of its license to function as a certified child placement agency under contract with the state of Michigan while a lawsuit proceeds challenging the state’s current interpretation of its non-discrimination law resulting from the settlement agreement between the state and some same-sex couples in a separate case. Buck v. Gordon, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165196, 2019 WL 4686425 (W.D. Mich., Sept. 26, 2019).
The ruling follows a complicated series of events and is based on a detailed review by the court of the systems and procedures in place for adoption and foster care in Michigan.
According to Judge Jonker’s opinion, a Michigan regulation and the federal law under which financial assistance is channeled to Michigan to support the state’s adoptive and foster-care system requires that people seeking to be certified as qualified to be adoptive or foster parents not be subjected to discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity, among many prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Because some of the private agencies under contract with the state to provide these services are “faith-based” agencies whose religious views would prevent them from certifying single people or same-sex couples as qualified, and the state legislature did not want to see such agencies abandon the field, the state enacted a statute in 2015 allowing faith-based agencies to refer applicants to other agencies to perform the evaluation process and issue the certifications if the agency’s religious beliefs would prevent them from being able to certify an applicant or couple.
Some same-sex couples challenged this “religious freedom” statute as violating their constitutional rights in Dumont v. Gordon, Case No. 2:17-cv-13080 (E.D. Mich., filed Sept. 20, 2017). The state defended the statute, and St. Vincent Catholic Charities, a long-time faith-based provider of such services, was drawn into the case, because the same-sex couples had approached St. Vincent and were referred elsewhere for their home study and certification. After out lesbian Dana Nessel was elected Attorney General, during a campaign in which she criticized the state law which, which she said was authorizing discrimination against LGBT people, she changed the state’s position, and her office negotiated a settlement under which the state undertook to enforce the anti-discrimination rules without any exception for faith-based agencies.
St. Vincent, whose contract with the state covering adoption services expires September 30, 2019, was warned that unless it dropped its policy of referring same-sex couples to other agencies, its contract might not be renewed, which would mean not only the loss of state money but the loss of its status as a contracted services provider, which meant it could no longer function in the adoption placement service. Its contract for foster care services runs through September 30, 2021, so is not in immediate danger of non-renewal.
In this lawsuit, St. Vincent and some of the foster and adoptive parents who have worked with it in the past brought suit challenging the state’s action, seeking the protection of the statute that was challenged in the earlier case, and a declaration that any requirement for St. Vincent to drop its objection to examining and certifying same-sex prospective adoptive or foster parents would violate the 1st and 14th Amendments. In addition to naming state officials, the lawsuit names the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, as federal non-discrimination regulations are also implicated. As a result, the lawsuit also rests on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
As Judge Jonker describes the system, although St. Vincent routinely refers same-sex couples to other agencies for certification, once an individual or couple are certified to be adoptive or foster parents, they may adopt or foster through St. Vincent. St. Vincent has placed children with same-sex couples, and opens the various supportive services it provides to adoptive and foster families of such couples. The only issue as to which there is disagreement between St. Vincent and the state, according to their Complaint, is the issue of evaluating the prospective parents and certifying them.
Judge Jonker concluded that in light of these facts, St. Vincent should be entitled to a preliminary injunction while the case is being litigated, with the pressing deadline of September 30 for renewal of their current contract as an adoption service provider looming just days after the injunction was issued.
The first essential test for injunctive relief is whether St. Vincent is likely to be successful in their claim of a constitutional violation. Finding that this test was met, the judge said that this case is not covered by Supreme Court precedents holding that no religious exemption is required when a challenged law is neutral with respect to religion and is of general applicability, of which the leading case is Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). Taking account of the historical background to the challenged policy here, the judge found that “the historical background, specific series of events, and statements of Defendant Nessel all point toward religious targeting.”
Reviewing the sequence of events described above, he found that “the 2018 campaign for Michigan Attorney General and General Nessel’s statements create a strong inference that the State’s real target is the religious beliefs and confessions of St. Vincent, and not discriminatory conduct.” He based this conclusion on St. Vincent’s allegation that it “has never prevented a same-sex couple from fostering or adopting a child.” If St. Vincent was required to accept applications from same-sex couples and carry out its evaluation, it would be put to the task of stating whether the couple should be certified to be adoptive or foster parents, a determination that it would want to make in accord with its religious principles, which would mean denying the certification. Instead, St. Vincent makes referrals of such couples to other agencies, knowing that those agencies will certify the couples if they meet the objective criteria specified by state regulations.
Furthermore, he appointed out, under the system in Michigan, children who need an adoptive or foster placement are referred to contracted agencies through the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) and, he found, “St. Vincent has actually placed children though the MARE system with same-sex adoptive parents.” Once a prospective couple has been certified, St. Vincent avows, they are treated the same as any other certified couple with regard to all its adoption and fostering placements and services.
“The State is willing to prevent St. Vincent from doing all this in the future simply because St. Vincent adheres to its sincerely held religious belief that marriage is an institution created by God to join a single man to a single woman,” he wrote. “Because of that religious belief, St. Vincent says it cannot in good conscience review and certify an unmarried or same-sex parental application. St. Vincent would either have to recommend denial of all such applications, no matter how much value they could provide to foster and adoptive children; or St. Vincent would have to subordinate its religious beliefs to the State-mandated orthodoxy, even though the State is not compensating them for the review services anyway.” St. Vincent makes referrals of single folks and same-sex couples to other agencies to avoid being put into this quandary.
The court notes that until Attorney General Nessel took office, the state had been defending this practice in the prior litigation, and Nessel’s rhetoric during the campaign convinced the judge that the settlement of the Dumont lawsuit and the agreement to enforce the non-discrimination policy against all contracting agencies showed that the new policy is targeting religion even though it appears neutral on its face.
Judge Jonker determined that this is a “strict scrutiny” case because it targets religious belief, and that under this demanding test, the new policy is likely to be held unconstitutional. He also found that this case was materially distinguishable from the Philadelphia case decided by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 922 F.3d 140 (2019), because of differences in the facts: the Catholic agency in Philadelphia was refusing to deal with same-sex couples at all, while St. Vincent refers them to other agencies for certification, and once they are certified, will place children with them and provide supportive services.
The court also determined that the balance of harms as between issuing or not issuing the injunction weighed in favor of issuing it, against both the state and the federal government, because of the possibility (remote, it would seem) that the Trump Administration would cut off funds to a state that has passed a law allowing faith-based agencies to abstain from providing some services based on their religious beliefs. As to the public interest, the court found that it is in the interest of the public not to shut down any adoption or foster care agencies in light of the significant number of children in Michigan that need placements and the supportive services that St. Vincent provides, including to same-sex couples and their adoptive or foster children.
The court rejected the state’s argument that these issues had already been decided in Dumont in favor of applying the non-discrimination policy to all agencies. The judge pointed out that Dumont was settled by the parties after Nessel changed the state’s position. There was no judgment on the merits by the court, so there was no final judgment determining the underlying legal issue and no reason to find the issue res judicata.
The court’s use of the Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling in rendering this decision is noteworthy. In Masterpiece, the Supreme Court refrained from ruling on the underlying constitutional question whether a baker has a 1st Amendment right to decline to produce custom wedding cakes for same-sex couples, instead ruling for the baker based on the Court’s detection in the record of overt hostility to religion by some of the members of the Colorado civil rights commission that was deciding that case at the administrative level. Since then, several lower courts have focused on the Supreme Court’s “hostility to religion” language, and Judge Jonker does in this case, finding that Nessel’s “hostility to religion” expressed during her election campaign feeds into the question whether the state’s current position targets religion, even though the policy is facially neutral, applying the non-discrimination policy to all adoption and foster care services, not just faith-based ones.
Judge Jonkin prefaced his opinion with a careful statement about what was not at issue. “This case is not about whether same-sex couples can be great parents,” he wrote. “They can. No one in the case contests that. To the contrary, St. Vincent has placed children for adoption with same-sex couples certified by the State.” To the judge, this case was about whether St. Vincent can continue to operate in a way consistent with the religious creed to which it subscribes, or whether it must violate those religious beliefs if it is to continue providing adoption and foster care services.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty of Washignton D.C. provided legal representation to the plaintiffs and St. Vincent. Michigan’s Department of the Attorney General represented the state defendants, and the U.S. Justice Department represented the federal defendants. The plaintiffs in Dumont v. Gordon, Kristy and Dana Dumont, were represented as amici by attorneys from the ACLU and pro bono counsel from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
Although this was just a ruling on a preliminary injunction, it signals quite clearly that Judge Jonker’s final ruling on the merits is likely to go the same way. The State could appeal the ruling to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Jonker, who is the chief judge for the Western District of Michigan, was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007.
TWO MORE LGBTQ-RELATED CONTROVERSIES DROP OFF THE SUPREME COURT DOCKET
Posted on: January 10th, 2018 by Art Leonard 2 Comments
As the Supreme Court’s 2017-18 Term began in October, it looked like a banner term for LGBTQ-related cases at the nation’s highest court. Petitions were pending asking the Court to address a wide range of issues, including whether LGBTQ people are protected against discrimination under federal sex discrimination laws covering employment (from Georgia) and educational opportunity (from Wisconsin), whether LGBTQ people in Mississippi had standing to seek a federal order to prevent a viciously anti-gay religiously-motivated law from going into effect, and whether the Texas Supreme Court erred in holding that Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), did not necessarily require a municipal employer to treat same-sex married couples the same as different-sex married couples in their employee benefits plans. The Court had already granted review in a “gay wedding cake” case from Colorado (Masterpiece Cakeshop, which was argued on December 5), and another petition involving a Washington State florist who refused to provide floral decorations for a same-sex wedding was waiting in the wings.
But the hopes for a blockbuster term have rapidly faded. In December, the Court declined to hear the employee benefits case and the Title VII employment discrimination case. And now in January, the Court has declined to hear the Mississippi cases, Barber v. Bryant and Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant, and the Wisconsin case, Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District, has settled, with the school district agreeing to withdraw its Supreme Court petition. It may be that the only LGBTQ-related issue that the Court decides this term is the one it heard argued in December: whether a business owner’s religious objections to same-sex marriage or his right to freedom of speech would privilege him to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. An opinion expected sometime in the coming months.
On January 8, the Supreme Court refused to review a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Barber v. Bryant, 860 F.3d 345 (5th Cir.), petition for rehearing en banc denied, 872 F.3d 671 (2017), which had dismissed a constitutional challenge to Mississippi’s infamous H.B. 1523, a law enacted in 2016 that protects people who discriminate against LGBTQ people because of their religious or moral convictions. The 5th Circuit had ruled that none of the plaintiffs – either organizations or individuals – in two cases challenging the Mississippi law had “standing” to bring the lawsuits in federal court.
H.B. 1523, which was scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2016, identifies three “religious beliefs or moral convictions” and protects against “discrimination” by the state anybody who acts in accord with those beliefs in a wide range of circumstances. The beliefs, as stated in the statute, are: “(a) Marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman; (b) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage; and (c) male (man) or female (woman) refers to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth.” Among other things, the law would protect government officials who rely on these beliefs to deny services to individuals, and would preempt the handful of local municipal laws in the state that ban discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity, so that victims of discrimination would have no local law remedy. Mississippi does not have a state law banning sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination, so H.B. 1523 in relation to private businesses and institutions was mainly symbolic when it came to activity taking place outside of the cities of Jackson, Hattiesburg and Oxford, or off the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.
Two groups of plaintiffs brought constitutional challenges against the law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, where the case came before Judge Carlton W. Reeves, the same judge who ruled for plaintiffs in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage a few years earlier. He issued a preliminary injunction against implementation of H.B. 1523 on June 30, 2016, the day before it was to go into effect, finding that it would violate the 1st Amendment by establishing particular religious beliefs as part of the state’s law. The plaintiffs also challenged it on Equal Protection grounds. Judge Reeves refused to stay his preliminary injunction, and so did the 5th Circuit.
The state appealed the grant of preliminary injunction to the 5th Circuit, where a unanimous three-judge panel ruled on June 22, 2017, that the district court did not have jurisdiction to issue the injunction because, according to the opinion by Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, none of the plaintiffs could show that they had suffered or were imminently likely to suffer a “concrete and particularized injury in fact,” which was necessary to confer the necessary “standing” to challenge the law in federal court. In the absence of standing, he wrote, the preliminary injunction must be dissolved and the case dismissed.
The plaintiffs asked the full 5th Circuit to reconsider the ruling en banc, but the circuit judges voted 12-2 not to do so, announcing that result on September 29. The dissenters, in an opinion by Judge James L. Dennis, bluntly stated that “the panel decision is wrong” and “misconstrues and misapplies the Establishment Clause precedent.” Indeed, wrote Judge Dennis, “its analysis creates a conflict between our circuit and our sister circuits on the issue of Establishment Clause standing.”
Judge Dennis pressed home the point by citing numerous cases from other circuits which, he held, would support allowing the plaintiffs in this case to seek a preliminary injunction blocking the law from going into effect. This gave hope to the plaintiffs that they might be able to get the Supreme Court to take the case and reverse the 5th Circuit, since one of the main criteria for the Supreme Court granting review is to resolve a split in authority between the circuit courts on important points of federal law.
However, on January 8 the Court denied the petitions the two plaintiff groups had filed, without any explanation or open dissent, leaving unresolved important questions about how and when people can mount a federal court challenge to a law of this sort. In the meantime, shortly after the 5th Circuit had denied reconsideration, H.B. 1523 went into effect on October 10.
A challenge to H.B. 1523 continues in the District Court before Judge Reeves, as new allegations by the plaintiffs require reconsideration of their standing and place in question, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s June 2017 ruling, Pavan v. Smith, 137 S. Ct. 2075, whether the law imposes unconstitutional burdens on LGBTQ people seeking to exercise their fundamental constitutional rights.
Two days after the Court announced it would not review the 5th Circuit ruling, the parties in Whitaker, 858 F. 3d 1034 (7th Cir. 2017), involving the legal rights of transgender students under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, announced a settlement. Under their agreement the school district will withdraw its cert petition.
The Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear a similar transgender student case last March, Gloucester County School Bd. v. G. G. ex rel. Grimm, but that case was dropped from the docket after the Trump Administration withdrew a Guidance on Title IX compliance that had been issued by the Obama Administration. Since the 4th Circuit’s decision in Gavin Grimm’s case had been based on that Guidance rather than on a direct judicial interpretation of the statute, the Supreme Court vacated the 4th Circuit’s ruling and sent the case back to the 4th Circuit for reconsideration. See 137 S. Ct. 1239 (Mar. 6, 2017). That court, in turn, sent it back to the district court, which dismissed the case as moot since Grimm had graduated in the interim.
Ashton Whitaker is a transgender boy who graduated from Tremper High School in the Kenosha School District last June. His case would have given the Supreme Court a second chance to address the Title IX issue. Whitaker transitioned while in high school and asked to be allowed to use the boys’ restroom facilities, but district officials told him that there was an unwritten policy restricting bathroom use based on biological sex. He sued the district under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. U.S. District Judge Panela Pepper (E.D. Wisconsin) issued a preliminary injunction on Whitaker’s behalf in September 2016, and refused to stay it pending appeal. See 2016 WL 5239829 (Sept. 22, 2016).
On May 30, 2017, the 7th Circuit upheld Judge Pepper’s ruling, finding that even though the Trump Administration had withdrawn the prior Title IX Guidance, both Title IX and the 14th Amendment require the school to recognize Whitaker as a boy and to allow him to use boys’ restroom facilities. The school district petitioned the Supreme Court on August 25 to review the 7th Circuit’s decision, even though Whitaker had graduated in June.
In the meantime, Judge Pepper ordered the parties to mediation to attempt a settlement. Whitaker’s graduation in June undoubtedly contributed to the pressure to settle, and the parties asked the Supreme Court several times to extend the deadline for Whitaker to file a formal response to the petition as the negotiations continued. According to press reports on January 10, the case settled for $800,000 and an agreement that the district would withdraw its petition.
The settlement and withdrawal of the petition leaves the 7th Circuit’s opinion standing as the first federal circuit court ruling to hold on the merits that Title IX and the 14th Amendment require public schools to respect the gender identity of their students and to allow students to use sex-designated facilities consistent with their gender identity. However, lacking a Supreme Court ruling on the point this decision is only binding in the three states of the 7th Circuit: Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, the same three states bound by another 7th Circuit last year holding that employment discrimination because of sexual orientation violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
January January January January January January January January January January January January 2014 2013 2012
Arthur S. Leonard, a professor at New York Law School since 1982, edits the monthly newsletter Lesbian/Gay Law Notes, and is co-author of Sexuality Law (Carolina Academic Press) and AIDS Law in a Nutshell (West Publishing Co.). He writes on legal issues for Gay City News (New York), and serves as a trustee of the Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services of New York.
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Ronda became known as "the Eagles' Nest". There was deliberate irony in the name.
By John Gil
Somewhere along the way, Ronda became known as "the Eagles' Nest". There was deliberate irony in the name. On the one hand a simple, mildly poetic reference to its perch high in the mountains above its famous gorge; on the other an ironic reference to its inhabitants' reputation for canny ferocity.
They may have had their reasons, for before we get too misty-eyed about supposed lost golden ages when the world was a quieter, safer place where the sun shone, peace reigned, and front doors could safely be left unlocked all night, we should remember that as far back as history can take us, our ancestors' pre-eminent consideration in choosing the site of any permanent settlement was the ability to defend it. Not from wild animals, which were little more than a nuisance, but from other human beings. They lived on their nerves - forever on their guard for the next attack. They chose high, inaccessible ground, from which they could stare out over the landscape and monitor the approach of sinister strangers. And all strangers, by definition, were sinister.
The site chosen either by the Iberians or the Bastulo Celts for the settlement that would one day become Ronda was perfect. (This was all a long time ago and no-one can be sure.) Rocky, protected by Nature like a favourite child, and so easily defended that even the most nervous members of the tribe could get a good night's sleep. Naturally the Romans, whose paranoia was unparalleled but understandable, given their penchant for treating non-Romans with brutal disdain, liked what they saw and were determined to have it. Even the stoutest fortress is only as invincible as its defenders, and the Iberians, damned forever by the historian Strabo as "unable to hold their shields together", proved no match for the determined invaders, who most certainly could. The supposed Iberian stronghold was easily taken, and rapidly "Romanised".
It is a euphemism as mealy-mouthed as today's "collateral damage", but in the wake of its "Romanisation" the town received its first recorded name: Arunda. Less a name, really, than a description, since the word means simply "surrounded by mountains". Although it does not appear in the historical record until Roman times, it is possible that its use extended as far back as the settlement's Iberian or Celtic founders.
The remains of Acinipo.
Arunda was not the Romans' most important town in the area. That distinction rested with its close neighbour, Acinipo, "Land of Wines". This, too, had begun life as a tiny Iberian settlement, but had fared well by establishing a lucrative trade with the itinerant Phœnicians. But Acinipo was destined to disappear, and Arunda to flourish beyond its dreams.
Despite the relative strength of Acinipo, Arunda steadily grew to prominence in its own right. Both Pliny the Younger and Ptolemy mentioned it in their writings, associating it firmly with the Bastulo Celts, though of the two, only Pliny had direct experience of Roman Spain.
Many of the Roman buildings were destroyed or clumsily adapted by later occupants, particularly the Moors, but excavations have uncovered considerable evidence of the town's liveliness in the Roman period. It is said that chariot races were once held on the flat ground beyond its defensive walls, though the name of no local Ben Hur became celebrated enough to survive into legend.
It took the disintegration of their empire to dislodge the Romans. During the vicious civil war involving Sertorius, Pompey and Julius Caesar, Sertorius, for reasons which are not entirely clear, attacked and all but destroyed the place, although in 45BC a temple was built there to commemorate the decisive victory of Caesar over Pompey's sons, Gnaeus and Sextus.
After the Romans, the deluge. In the lawless years that followed their collapse, Arunda and Acinipo were both flattened and pillaged. By whom and why has long since ceased to matter. The Byzantine Greeks, looking in their turn for somewhere to safely pitch their tents, discovered the ruins of both towns. Since they were in ruins, their supposed invulnerability should have been immediately exposed as a myth, but hope never kow-tows to experience. Being Greek, it was natural for the newcomers to sow the seeds of confusion. The remains of Acinipo were in markedly better condition than those of Arunda, and that was where they decided to put down their roots. But perversely, they renamed Acinipo as Runda. The Visigoths, who ousted the Greeks, had no time for such verbal obfuscation. They moved everybody out of Acinipo/Runda and demolished it, leaving the original Arunda in proud and nominally unchallenged isolation. But Acinipo was not entirely forgotten; its ruins are today referred to as Old Ronda - Ronda el Viejo.
Then came the Moors. They did not go in for chariot racing and other such frippery but, like their predecessors, they knew a solidly defensible site when they saw one. Ronda's heyday was about to dawn.
It was taken in the year 713 by Abd al-Aziz, son of the Moorish general Musa Ben-Nusayr. In 132BC, the Roman commander Scipio had ordered the building of a castle, in the town. This had long been destroyed, but al-Aziz ordered the construction of a new fort on its ruins and gave the town a new name - the hopelessly unwieldy Izna-Rand-Onda (the town of the castle). The Moors divided southern Andalucía into five distinct districts, known as coras, and made Izna-Rand-Onda the capital of the cora of Tacoronna.
They were turbulent times. The Moors were continually fighting among themselves, and the volatile ethnic mix in the mountains was a sure recipe for rebellion and conflict.
Within a century the Umayyad Caliphate had crumbled, and the land was shattered like a plate dropped onto concrete into dozens of taifas - independent tuppenny-ha'penny kingdoms, each with its own comic opera monarch. In Izna-Rand-Onda, an opportunist named Abú-Nur seized control and founded the Kingdom of the Banu Ifrán, which corresponded roughly to the old cora of Tacoronna. Incredibly, he survived in relative peace and productive prosperity for forty years - a period of time known before that date as "eternity". And, as befits a king, he renamed the town yet again. It was to be known henceforth as Madinat Ronda.
Abú-Nur's tenure was a time of much expansion and rebuilding. The town's defences were much improved, and the gates of Almocábar in the south and Xijara in the east were created.
Sadly, he was unlucky with his heirs. How often that song has been sung down the centuries. His son, Abú Nasar, was a comparative weakling, and it wasn't long before the ruthlessly ambitious king of Seville, al-Muthadid, had him assassinated, along with the kings of Arcos and Morón, so that he could add their kingdoms to his burgeoning portfolio. In 1066, while the English were busy fighting the Norman invaders on the sands somewhere near Hastings, Madinat Ronda became the jewel in al-Muthadid's crown. Given to eulogising himself and his conquests in execrable verse, which his fawning courtiers fell over themselves to hail as works of genius, al-Muthadid wrote: The best fortified, you are the best gem in my kingdom. Oh, Ronda mine! There is no reason to believe that the piece has lost anything at all in the translation.
His pen was stilled 35 years later when, in 1091, Ronda (it is time to use its modern name) changed hands again. The Christian upstarts were becoming steadily more irritating, and the thirty or so squabbling Moorish kings stretched across Andalucía could not, between them, organise a night of revelry in a tavern. They needed help. To put the infidels once and for all in their place, they imported from Africa a fearsome army of thugs called the Almorávids. It was a classic own goal. The thugs arrived, took one look around, and immediately concluded that under the Iberian sun, their Moorish brothers had become decadent, effete buffoons. In no time they had swatted the lot of them like flies and taken complete control.
It didn't last. The Almorávids were accused in turn of all manner of corruption and immorality and the Almohads, a new breed of fighters dedicated to restoring family values, arrived in the peninsula in 1146, determined to repair the damage. Within fifty years they were in charge of virtually all of what remained of Moorish Spain.
But History was on the move. The Christian tide was flowing, and the Moors became steadily more isolated and entrenched. The king of Jaén, Muhammad Ibn al-Alhamar moved his court to Granada and founded the Nasrid dynasty -the last great dynasty of the Moorish era. Ronda formed a significant part of the western reaches of the Nasrid kingdom, and its last Moorish governor was the ill-fated Hamet el Zegri.
The Christian reconquest of Spain was a far more complex affair than is generally perceived. Never a straightforward Arab versus Christian struggle, it involved centuries of unlikely alliances of convenience, where the cross and the crescent were as likely to fly side by side as to face each other across the field of battle. But as the 15th Century moved inexorably to its end the writing was plainly on the wall - and the writing was in Castillian Spanish. The Moors were losing their grip, and the end of their long tenure was in sight. The most decisive year was undoubtedly 1485. Across the length and breadth of Andalucía their towns fell to the Christians like skittles in a bowling alley.
Even Ronda was unable to halt the onrushing tide. Making much use of new and terrifying weapons - gunpowder and the cannon - the Christians mounted a ferocious assault on the citadel. Neither natural cliffs nor man-made ramparts were a match for their deadly missiles. Nor did it help the Arab cause that most of their troops, led by Hamet el Zegri, had gone to the defence of Málaga after reports, probably deliberately planted disinformation, that the Christians intended to concentrate their attack on the port. An inexperienced interim governor, Abraham al Haquim, was left in charge of Ronda.
The water supply to the town was cut, leaving only whatever could be raised from the old water mine ( Casa del Rey Moro). Even that was lost when, on Friday 13th of May, despite fierce resistance by its Moorish defenders, the mine was taken.
Hamet el Zegri, belatedly recognising that he had been duped, attempted to return and save the day, but it was too late. Inside Ronda, his punch drunk lieutenant, Abraham al Haquim, was out of his depth. After a week-long siege, he and the town capitulated.
El Zegri denounced Haquim and the people of Ronda as traitors who had betrayed their brothers and dishonoured their country, but it was impotent rage. Ronda was gone forever. El Zegri died in battle near Málaga a couple of years later, a bitter and broken man.
In Ronda, bloody reprisals by the victors on the vanquished might have been expected, but if history is to be believed, King Ferdinand instead offered the surrendering Arabs their lives in return for their immediate abandonment of the city. Most surprisingly of all, those prominent citizens of Ronda who had formally arranged its surrender were not instantly betrayed and beheaded, but were escorted to the town of Alcalá de Guadaira in the province of Seville, and given houses and land which had been confiscated from unfortunate Jews by the Inquisition. Their own houses and property in Ronda were in turn distributed among the incoming Christians.
Where the now destroyed octagonal defensive tower had stood, Ferdinand ordered a church to be built and dedicated to the Holy Spirit, Espiritu Santo, since the town had fallen to his forces on the feast of Pentecost.
Ronda rapidly developed into three distinct sections.
The original citadel became known prosaically as La Ciudad - the town. To the west of this, considerable expansion and development took place in the area now called El Mercadillo - the street market. This area was and is linked to the original city by a number of bridges spanning the famous ravine that divides the present town in two. It is the "modern" area, containing the bull ring as well as the main shopping zone. Finally, as a means of avoiding the trading tax imposed on merchants bringing goods into the city itself, another small market developed to the east of the old medieval gates of La Ciudad. In time it became a permanent feature and acquired the name of Barrio de San Francisco.
In 1570, Ronda's few remaining Moors were expelled after an alleged uprising. Anyone seeking evidence of the somewhat delayed wrath of Allah might point a soothsayer's finger at the earthquake of 1580 which destroyed many of Ronda's buildings, including its main church, which has only been partially rebuilt. The loss profoundly and permanently altered the physical aspect of the town.
When Pedro Romero Martínez, a sometime carpenter born in Ronda on November 18th 1754, decided to abandon his chisel and follow his father and grandfather into the altogether more exciting and dangerous world of the bullring, he could not imagine that he was laying the foundation of the town's tourist-fuelled affluence two centuries hence. For the whole story behind Ronda's famous bullfighting industry,
Ronda suffered another major re-shaping during the Peninsular War, though this time the destruction was man-made, and did not require the assistance of an earthquake. On February 10th 1810, Joseph Bonaparte, who had reluctantly allowed himself to be declared King of Spain by his headstrong brother Napoleon, took his troops into the town and settled them down for the winter. When they left two years later they blew up the castle and other defences.
In the 19th century Ronda was still isolated from the coast. The journey from Ronda to the coast for both goods and people could only be made safely under the guidance of 'Caballerías' (chivalry men or horse men). Naturally the people of Ronda were asking for a road, so by 1877 they built one suitable for horse drawn vehicles for 20 km down to a point near the current entrance to the Sierra de las Nieves park. Mr Henderson's Railway reached Ronda in November 1892 and a road to the coast not until 1939. Read about the history of the Ronda Road.
Wilful destruction of what we would now call the infrastructure returned in the early days of the Civil War (1936-39), the targets being mostly churches. Ronda's sympathies were fiercely Republican, and with the Catholic Church perceived as allies of Franco's rebels, violent outbursts of anti-clerical feeling were sadly common. As Málaga and Ronda became steadily more isolated, frustration and resentment increased. Ronda fell to the nationalist forces of General Varela on September 16th 1936. Prominent Republicans who had not fled to Málaga became the victims of brutal reprisals. Daily courts martial took place in the casino, followed by immediate public executions.
Some who escaped formed guerrilla bands and lived as bandits in the mountains for years afterwards. Even as late as 1952, buses passing through the hills were regularly accompanied by armed Civil Guard protectors.
By the 1960s, Ronda was already beginning to attract tourists.
By the 1960s, Ronda was already beginning to attract tourists. Its association with Pedro Romero and the origins of bullfighting, helped immeasurably by the enthusiasm of Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles, and the opening of the new road suitable for modern coaches in 1980 rapidly made it one of the most popular non-coastal destinations in Spain. Its almost unique separation into its two distinct halves - ancient and modern - connected by its celebrated bridge across the famous gorge and its unchallenged reputation at the heart of all that is Andalucían, and therefore Spanish, seem set to keep it near the top of the list for a long time to come.
Hostals & Hostels
Bullfighting History
El Burgo Walk
Mr Henderson's Railway
Main sites
Stroll around Ronda
Videos of Ronda
Goyesque Feria
Wines & Wineries
Hotel Reina Victoria
http://www.esp.andalucia.com/provincia/malaga/serrania_de_ronda/ronda.htm
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In re Quality Systems, Inc. Securities Litigation
Court: United States District Court, Central District of California
Case Number: SACV13-01818
Judge: Hon. Cormac J. Carney
Case Contacts: Gerald H. Silk, Avi Josefson
This is a securities fraud class action on behalf of purchasers of Quality Systems, Inc. (“QSI” or the “Company”) common stock during the period from May 26, 2011 through July 25, 2012, inclusive (the “Class Period”), alleging claims pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against QSI; the Company’s founder and Chairman, Sheldon Razin; its Chief Executive Officer, Steven T. Plochocki; and its Chief Financial Officer, Paul Holt (collectively, “Defendants”).
Lead Plaintiffs Have Settled the Action for $19 Million
The Court-appointed Lead Plaintiffs, Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and City of Miami Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement Trust, have reached a settlement of this action for $19,000,000 in cash with Defendants that resolves all claims in the action.
If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected and you may be eligible for a payment from the settlement. The Class consists of:
all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired QSI common stock during the period from May 26, 2011 through July 25, 2012, inclusive, and were damaged thereby, except for certain persons and entities who are excluded from the Class by definition (see paragraph 18 of the Notice).
Please read the Notice to fully understand your rights. Copies of the Notice and Claim Form can be found on the Case Documents page. You may also visit the Settlement website, www.QSISecuritiesSettlement.com, for more information about the Settlement.
Following a hearing on November 19, 2018, the Court entered an Order granting Plaintiffs’ motions for final approval of the Settlement and for attorneys’ fees and expenses; entered a Final Judgment approving the Settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate; entered an order approving the Plan of Allocation for the proceeds of the Settlement; and entered an order awarding attorneys’ fees and expenses.
On October 25, 2019, the Court authorized the initial distribution of the Net Settlement Fund to eligible Court-Approved Claimants. The initial distribution to eligible claimants occurred in December 2019. A second distribution of funds to eligible class members took place in August 2020.
QSI develops and sells practice management software to medical and dental providers, including software related to scheduling and billing. Throughout the Class Period, QSI portrayed itself as a high-growth company, repeatedly touting its record growth in revenue and earnings, and robust pipeline of business that contained hundreds of millions of dollars of software sales that the Company sought to realize within the next six to eight months. QSI also repeatedly issued bullish annual guidance to investors, stating that it was confident that it would achieve annual growth rates in earnings per share (“EPS”) well in excess of 20%.
Lead Plaintiffs allege that, in truth, Defendants knew and recklessly disregarded that QSI’s growth was materially slowing. Lead Plaintiffs allege that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants were privy to real-time data concerning the revenues and earnings of each of QSI’s operating divisions, and QSI’s guidance was continuously updated based on that real-time data. Accordingly, Lead Plaintiffs contend that Defendants knew and recklessly disregarded that the fiscal 2012 guidance calling for earnings growth of as much as 33% was directly contradicted by the reality of QSI’s performance.
On May 7, 2012, the Company announced that it was experiencing delays in closing sales, which raised investor concerns about the Company’s fiscal 2012 performance. Following this announcement, QSI’s stock price declined 17% over the next two trading days, falling from a closing price of $36.99 on May 6 to a closing price of $30.99 on May 8, on very high volume.
A few days later, on May 10, 2012, QSI revealed that its ability to generate earnings had materially slowed in fiscal 2012. Specifically, QSI announced that it would report EPS of between $1.27 and $1.30 for fiscal 2012 – or as much as 36% below its guidance. Following this announcement, QSI’s stock price immediately declined 6%, falling from $32.09 to $30.12 on May 10, on extremely high volume.
Then, before the market opened on July 26, 2012, Defendants announced that the Company’s EPS had materially declined from the year-ago quarter, and withdrew QSI’s highly favorable fiscal 2013 guidance. That disclosure caused the price of QSI stock to decline from $23.63 per share to $15.95 per share on July 26, 2012.
On April 7, 2014, Lead Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws (“Amended Complaint”). In June 2014, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint, which Lead Plaintiffs opposed. In October 2014, the court granted the motion to dismiss. In January 2015, the court denied Lead Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration. Following Lead Plaintiffs’ appeal of these decisions, on July 28, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s order and remanded for further proceedings.
Following the Court of Appeals’ decision, Lead Plaintiffs and Defendants began formal discovery. After substantial document discovery and settlement negotiations, including before mediation before Gregory P. Lindstrom, Esq., of Phillips ADR, a nationally recognized mediator, the parties reached an agreement to settle all claims in the action for $19 million.
On November 19, 2018, following a hearing, the Court approved the Settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate and approved the Plan of Allocation for the proceeds of the Settlement.
Other Cases of Interest
Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division John C. Browne, Gerald H. Silk, Adam Hollander, Abe Alexander, James M. Fee, Katherine M. Sinderson,
Biomarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Northern District of California Jonathan D. Uslaner, Jeroen van Kwawegen, Avi Josefson
Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.
Western District of Wisconsin Avi Josefson, Katherine M. Sinderson, Jai K. Chandrasekhar, Matthew Traylor
Converium Holding AG (U.S. Action)
Southern District of New York Avi Josefson, Lauren McMillen Ormsbee
Cobalt International Energy, Inc.
Southern District of Texas Gerald H. Silk, Avi Josefson, Jonathan D. Uslaner
Northern District of California Jeremy P. Robinson, Jonathan D. Uslaner, Hannah Ross, Avi Josefson, Michael D. Blatchley, Will Horowitz, Alexander T. Payne
American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation
Eastern District of New York Avi Josefson
Rayonier Inc.
Middle District of Florida Avi Josefson, Jonathan D. Uslaner
Citigroup Inc.
Southern District of New York Avi Josefson, Hannah Ross, Gerald H. Silk
Ryder System, Inc.
Southern District of Florida Salvatore J. Graziano, John Rizio-Hamilton, Adam H. Wierzbowski, Avi Josefson, Hannah Ross, Michael D. Blatchley, Brenna Nelinson, Matthew Traylor
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Birmingham City University School of English
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Institute of Creative and Critical Writing
School of English Home Page
Dr Izabela Hopkins
School of English
izabela.hopkins@bcu.ac.uk
Izabela is involved in a number of research projects with a focus on eighteenth-century theatre and literature, in addition to pursuing her own research in the literature of the American South.
Izabela obtained her MA in Literature: Politics and Identity from the University of Worcester. Her doctoral thesis explored reconstructions of whiteness in the literature of the American South from 1890 until 1920. Her areas of expertise and interest include Southern literature of the end of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, southern gothic, plantation fiction, literary theory, race theory, cultural theory, diaspora and psychogeography.
Izabela is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has taught at Birmingham City University and the University of Worcester. She has taught a variety of undergraduate modules, including critical approaches and contexts, modernism and postmodernism, gothic literatures, and literature in film adaptation.
Izabela has published articles in the Mississippi Quarterly and South Central Review. She has also researched and published in the field of pedagogy, on the applicability of games to teaching literature. Games for English Literature offers practical and flexible games scenarios that can be used to enhance teaching literature, both at further and higher education levels, by fostering and promoting student engagement.
PhD English. Birmingham City University. Thesis title: So many others: reconstructions of whiteness in the literature of the American South, 1880-1920.
MA English. University of Worcester.
BA English Philology. Marie Curie Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland.
Izabela’s research interests are in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American literature with a particular emphasis on whiteness and identity politics. Her work explores the interdependence between conceptions of the self and environment, both natural and imagined.
Off Whiteness: Place, Blood, and Tradition in Post-Reconstruction Southern Literature, Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press (2020).
Games for English Literature, Libri Publishing (2016). A collaboration with Professor David Roberts.
‘Beyond Coincidence: Scottish Inflections in Thomas Nelson Page's Gordon Keith and Red Rock: A Chronicle of Reconstruction’, South Central Review 33.3 (2016).
‘Passing place, or the elusive spaces of Southern whiteness in Thomas Nelson Page’s Red Rock: A Chronicle of Reconstruction and Ellen Glasgow’s The Deliverance: A Romance of the Virginia Tobacco Fields, Mississippi Quarterly 67.2 (2016).
‘Games and the teaching of literature’, HEA Innovative Pedagogies Series. A collaboration with Professor David Roberts, available on HEA website.
‘“Chocolate covered Broccoli?” Games and the Teaching of Literature’, Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education 22.2 (2015). A collaboration with Professor David Roberts.
‘A whiter shade of pale, or the monster within’. Against the Grain - Reimagining in the Humanities and Arts. Inaugural issue of HARTS & Minds 1.1 (Spring 2013). University of Bristol.
Staff Home Page
The Curzon Building
4 Cardigan Street
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Email: english.admissions@bcu.ac.uk
Email: english@bcu.ac.uk
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Trump, Sanders and health care
By Daniel Weintraub • Feb 16, 2016
By Daniel Weintraub
In the days before last month’s Iowa caucuses, the Washington Times quoted a stay-at-home mom from Dubuque who wasn’t yet sure how she was going to vote. But the woman had narrowed her choice to a final two: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders.
How could she be torn between the only billionaire in the race and the man who says, over and over, that billionaires are the root of all our country’s problems?
Trump, the New York real estate mogul, and Sanders, the senator from Vermont (by way of Brooklyn), are both appealing to a large segment of the population that’s fed up with business-as-usual in Washington and on Wall Street, and they want change. They may not know what kind of change they want. But they know they don’t want more of the same.
In fact, if you read the transcripts of their campaign speeches, sometimes it can be difficult to tell which is from Trump and which is from Sanders.
Both men rail against the influence of special interests and big money contributors on the political process, and accuse their opponents of being beholden to their donors.
Sanders and Trump both oppose free trade. They say the North American Free Trade Agreement, negotiated by former President Bill Clinton, sent U.S. jobs to Mexico, and they say the Trans Pacific trade agreement pushed by President Obama would be a bad deal for U.S. companies and workers. Both also believe that immigration has depressed wages for middle class Americans.
To be sure, Trump says he wants smaller government and lower taxes, while Sanders is for the opposite. But both support an activist federal government that wields its power aggressively to try to solve the problems that frustrate American citizens.
It’s that issue – power – that seems to unite the two candidates’ supporters. These voters feel as if the government and the economy have been rigged against them, and they want someone to do something about it.
So maybe it’s not a surprise that even on the issue that has most sharply divided Democrats and Republicans in Washington for the past eight years – health care – Trump and Sanders have remarkably similar takes.
Sanders is a longtime supporter of a government-run, universal health care system. He wants to transition Obama’s Affordable Care Act to a single-payer, “Medicare for All” program that would do away with insurance companies and have the federal government contract directly with doctors and hospitals to care for everyone. Under his plan, the federal government would use its power as the sole purchaser of prescription drugs to try to force pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices.
Trump used to be an open supporter of government-managed health care, and advocated such a plan when he briefly toyed with running for president in 2000. Now he says he is no longer for single payer. But in a Republican debate last year he praised the health care system in Scotland, which is run by the government. And last month, Trump started bashing the pharmaceutical companies and, like Sanders, embraced the idea of using the government’s clout to drive down drug prices.
It’s difficult to predict where all of this might lead. But given that Sanders and Trump are each currently drawing support from large swaths of their party’s voters, it suggests that the public may hold the private sector as responsible as the government for the problems they see in health care. And voters might be more open to radical change in the system than either party’s leaders in Washington seem to believe.
by Daniel Weintraub, California Health Report
<h1>Trump, Sanders and health care</h1> <p class="byline">by Daniel Weintraub, California Health Report <br />February 16, 2016</p> <p><strong>By Daniel Weintraub</strong></p> <p>In the days before last month's Iowa caucuses, the Washington Times quoted a stay-at-home mom from Dubuque who wasn't yet sure how she was going to vote. But the woman had narrowed her choice to a final two: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders.</p> <p>How could she be torn between the only billionaire in the race and the man who says, over and over, that billionaires are the root of all our country's problems?</p> <p>Trump, the New York real estate mogul, and Sanders, the senator from Vermont (by way of Brooklyn), are both appealing to a large segment of the population that's fed up with business-as-usual in Washington and on Wall Street, and they want change. They may not know what kind of change they want. But they know they don't want more of the same.</p> <p>In fact, if you read the transcripts of their campaign speeches, sometimes it can be difficult to tell which is from Trump and which is from Sanders.</p> <p>Both men rail against the influence of special interests and big money contributors on the political process, and accuse their opponents of being beholden to their donors.</p> <p>Sanders and Trump both oppose free trade. They say the North American Free Trade Agreement, negotiated by former President Bill Clinton, sent U.S. jobs to Mexico, and they say the Trans Pacific trade agreement pushed by President Obama would be a bad deal for U.S. companies and workers. Both also believe that immigration has depressed wages for middle class Americans.</p> <p>To be sure, Trump says he wants smaller government and lower taxes, while Sanders is for the opposite. But both support an activist federal government that wields its power aggressively to try to solve the problems that frustrate American citizens.</p> <p>It's that issue – power – that seems to unite the two candidates' supporters. These voters feel as if the government and the economy have been rigged against them, and they want someone to do something about it.</p> <p>So maybe it's not a surprise that even on the issue that has most sharply divided Democrats and Republicans in Washington for the past eight years – health care – Trump and Sanders have remarkably similar takes.</p> <p>Sanders is a longtime supporter of a government-run, universal health care system. He wants to transition Obama's Affordable Care Act to a single-payer, “Medicare for All” program that would do away with insurance companies and have the federal government contract directly with doctors and hospitals to care for everyone. Under his plan, the federal government would use its power as the sole purchaser of prescription drugs to try to force pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices.</p> <p>Trump used to be an open supporter of government-managed health care, and advocated such a plan when he briefly toyed with running for president in 2000. Now he says he is no longer for single payer. But in a Republican debate last year he praised the health care system in Scotland, which is run by the government. And last month, Trump started bashing the pharmaceutical companies and, like Sanders, embraced the idea of using the government's clout to drive down drug prices.</p> <p>It's difficult to predict where all of this might lead. But given that Sanders and Trump are each currently drawing support from large swaths of their party's voters, it suggests that the public may hold the private sector as responsible as the government for the problems they see in health care. And voters might be more open to radical change in the system than either party's leaders in Washington seem to believe.</p> <p> </p>
This <a target="_blank" href="https://www.calhealthreport.org/2016/02/16/18970/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.calhealthreport.org">California Health Report</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
A revolution is coming in medicine
Would managed care really be better for kids with special needs?
Diabetics account for nearly 1/3 of hospital stays
The ACA and women's health
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Between 1900 and 1940, a literary movement known as modernism flourished in the western world. Despite the genius of this era’s authors, their decision to call the movement “modern” was one that did not age well, and can largely be blamed on the popularity of opium at the time. Modernism replaced the writing style of realism, which had been popular in the 1800s. The object of realism was to tell stories as accurately as possible. In contrast, modernists wrote with the goal of giving the reader heartburn, and writers often completed their final drafts on hotel towels (many typewriters suffered because of this).
A classic trademark of modernist work was the use of words as punctuation. This created lengthy monologues known as streams-of-consciousness; which would later be dammed and used to power Christmas lights. Stylistically, some authors would repeat particular words as something they called "insistence", but their spouses called "nagging". Today, these literary devices are considered experimental genius, as well as a pain in the ass. Modernism came to an unfortunate end in 1940 when President Roosevelt passed a bill that increased literacy among Americans.
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Jane Willan Books In Order
Publication Order of Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery Books
The Shadow of Death (2018) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Hour of Death (2018) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Jane Willan is an author who focuses extensively on mystery novels. She has written books in the Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn mystery series, a book series that expresses her background in the religious field.
Willan is based out of Massachusetts and is a parish minister. She has been serving churches around the United States for years and particularly served the Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ before moving back to Massachusetts.
Willan had lived in the Boston area as a science editor and worked on a biological research project at Harvard for a brief moment of time. She studied at Hiram College in Ohio and eventually moved on to Boston University where she got her Master of Science degree from.
But she found a higher calling and in 2003 became ordained to work as a pastor. This led to her serving her first church in Iowa not long after that. She is a graduate of the Vanderbilt Divinity School and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the school.
Jane Willan continues to work hard on her writing as she consistently writes creative and valuable sermons for her parishioners. She enjoys spending time with her husband and loves literature, a point that has led her to work on creating some unique mystery novels.
The Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn mystery series is the main series that Jane Willan works on. The series focuses on two figures who serve their faith at the Gwenafwy Abbey. They and the others at the abbey focus heavily on prayer and on helping people to reflect upon their lives. They also work hard on the farms at the abbey where the vegetables and cheeses that they produce are sold to people all around the community.
The series takes place in Wales around a beautiful abbey. The island scenery and beautiful rolling meadows of the area are highlighted well in Willan’s series.
But while the local area is peaceful, there lies a darker side in the whole affair. Even as the police in the local area are conflicted over how certain crimes take place, Agatha and Selwyn are often willing to help. It is through their faith and their strong skills for finding answers that the two work hard to find the answers to many of the mysteries and questions that people around the area have.
The characters are also intriguing for who they are and how they act. Sister Agatha enjoys the peaceful life and loves to help others, but she has her own secrets that often surprise and amaze people. She is also interested in writing and particularly enjoys mysteries, but she often finds it hard for her to get the inspiration that she needs for getting a good story up and running.
Meanwhile, Father Selwyn cares very much about the needs of his community and is always in touch with his faith, but he always has concerns about the abbey’s budget. He often has worries about how well the abbey is able to afford some of the functions it is capable of working with.
The two figures work together to solve crimes and mysteries in their local area. They know that the peaceful setting that they are in might be disrupted after a while, but it will become easier for them to keep their places in check and peaceful when enough work is placed into finding ways to solve problems.
The Shadow of Death (2018)
The Shadow of Death is the first book in this series. Agatha is trying to find some ideas for a novel that she wants to write while Selwyn is looking to help with promoting the cheeses produced by the farmers at the abbey. But one day, the world of the abbey is turned upside down as the sexton of the abbey is found dead near the cheese storage space. Although the local police force believes that the case is a simple accident or possibly just a natural death, Agatha thinks otherwise. She believes that the person was murdered.
Although Agatha has not had much experience in managing mysteries outside of learning from many classic mystery novels and even from listening to some of her favorite mystery novel podcasts, Agatha is looking to find a solution and to see who could have killed the sexton. She, Selwyn and the many other nuns of the Coventry are looking to find out who the killer could be. They are also trying to restore the image and name of the abbey and to help a person who has been falsely accused of murder.
O Holy Fright (2018)
The second book in Willan’s series is entitled O Holy Fright. The book is about the death of the local art society’s president. The book takes place around the Christmas season. While everyone is getting ready for this exciting time of the year, there are some big concerns coming about as the death of the art society president has surprised people all around. Soon after that, one prominent artist in the area has her dog kidnapped while she is also being threatened and is even run off of the road in her car at one point. But soon, it appears that a relative of the art society president might be responsible for everything that is happening.
But as time moves along, the mystery becomes truly fishy. There are concerns that anything could happen as another person is soon found dead. Agatha and Selwyn are both looking to find the killer before Christmas can come along. Better yet, they are trying to find the killer because they can become possible targets.
Where To Buy Her Books
Jane Willan’s books can be found through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Booksamillion and Indiebound. Her books are available in digital editions so people can read them anywhere while on the go. With her stories being gripping and suspenseful with many unique twists and turns coming about, people will surely want to have her books on the go as it will be hard to put them down anywhere.
Book Series In Order » Authors » Jane Willan
In her mid thirties Enid Blyton went through some crisis in her life which included the death of her father. This troubled her emotionally and she began to show signs of instability. She started post marital affairs and in 1941 divorced her husband to marry Kenneth Fraser, a man she had met while she was still with her first husband. However she remained in her second marriage for the rest of her life.
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Daiichi caps layoffs drive by melding NJ ops into one smaller HQ
After a rash of layoffs in its U.S. operations, Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo plans to consolidate its R&D and commercial operations in a new facility in Basking Ridge, NJ.
Last year, the company went through one round of administrative job cuts in the spring and then announced 1,000 to 1,200 layoffs for its commercial operations at its Parsippany, NJ, headquarters, in its U.S. salesforce in the field, and in other HQ functions.
Those cuts were due to wrap up at the end of last month, and now, the company says it’s going to shrink its real estate footprint, too.
The Parsippany headquarters and commercial operations will join up with the R&D division that’s now set in Edison, NJ. About 650 to 700 employees will make the move, spokeswoman Kim Wix told the Daily Record.
The relocation is part of Daiichi’s cost-cutting efforts, the company said in a statement, but it’s also designed to bring the commercial and development staffs into one building so they can work more closely together.
“Uniting our New Jersey-based personnel into a single location not only makes us more efficient, but it will also further strengthen collaboration among teams working across the entire life cycle of our medicines,” said Dr. Glenn Gormley, chairman and president of Daiichi’s U.S. business.
The consolidation in the U.S. is just part of the Japan-based company’s retrenchment worldwide. Last month, it said it would shut down a plant in its home country. Production at the drug ingredient facility was due to stop by month’s end, and the company did not disclose the fate of its 150 employees. Back in December, Daiichi shuttered its antibody subsidiary in Germany, dubbed U3. The company had bought U3 back in 2008 for €150 million, to get its hands on a cancer drug candidate and other potential meds. The drugs hadn’t made much progress since, and Daiichi decided to transfer that R&D to its biologics facility in Tokyo, where the candidates could be watched more closely.
The cuts are part of a companywide reorganization as Daiichi faces generic competition for its $2.6 billion blood pressure drug Benicar. To fill the looming gap, the company is shifting toward specialty drugs–such as its new clot-fighting pill Savaysa and constipation drug Movantik, marketed with AstraZeneca ($AZN)–and away from primary care meds. Benicar’s $2.6 billion in 2014 sales accounted for more than one-quarter of Daiichi’s revenue that year.
The company has its work cut out for it, however. Savaysa faces a rough road as the fourth drug in a next-gen anticoagulant market that already includes heavyweights Xarelto from Johnson & Johnson and Bayer; Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa; and Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Eliquis. Analysts figure Daiichi’s entrant can get up to $220 million in sales by 2019, but that’s not nearly enough to bridge the Benicar gap.
Meanwhile, the company paid $200 million in 2014 to sign on with AstraZeneca on Movantik marketing and last September snapped up a license to sell AZ’s FluMist Quadrivalent vaccine in Japan.
By Tracy Staton
Source: Fierce Pharma
The deal will enhance Merck’s expertise in developing and manufacturing mRNA for its customers for use in vaccines, treatments and diagnostics applicable in Covid-19 and various other diseases.
Goodbye pill, hello science: Pfizer debuts redesigned logo with double helix
It’s the first significant visual redesign for Pfizer in 70 years since the company began using the blue oval background. The tagline outlining Pfizer’s purpose, “Breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” remains the same.
Fujifilm triples down on viral vector manufacturing with new $40M Boston site
The massive growth of gene therapy research and development over the last few years has boosted demand for viral vectors, the engineered viruses used to deliver therapeutic genes into patients’ bodies. Tokyo-based Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies is stepping up to meet that demand.
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Article from BTNews 1 JUNE 2015
CRUISE NEWS JUNE 2015
It has been a very newsworthy couple of months regarding ships as the UK cruise industry reaches out towards two million annual packages. It has not made it yet (1.7m is predicted for this year) but there is much new capacity being very publicly unveiled, and the established stars are also doing well in the publicity stakes.
See also CRUISE INTELLIGENCE below
The Queen named Britannia in March; Anthem of the Seas made its debut just a few weeks later and BTN in this issue introduces Explorer of the Seas following a major refurbishment.
Liverpool set new standards for city hospitality when it hosted Cunard’s three Queens last week. It was a joyous homecoming for the line which was founded 175 years ago by a Canadian gentleman from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sir Samuel Cunard would have been proud of Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria as they steamed in line astern past the magnificent Cunard Building (once the company headquarters) and the much newer Liverpool Cruise Terminal. The weather was perfect and the crowds enormous. The TV and newspaper coverage was enormous, worldwide.
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Riverside Walk offered fantastic views of the ships and overlooks the small cruising dock facility. The single ship berth is far too short for QM2, 1132ft long, the ship extending over 300ft at the sharp end.
Cunard’s first ship Britannia departed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Boston via Halifax on 4 July 1840. On 30 January 1968 Franconia made the last Cunard departure from Liverpool to New York, the company saying that the service had been “suspended”. 4 July this year will see QM2 leaving once again for New York.
For the record Queen Mary docked on Sunday morning (24 May) facing downstream, a tricky manoeuvre according to Captain Christopher Wells, and spent the day being viewed by massive crowds on the quayside.
Those on board were able to disembark and take in some of what Liverpool has on offer including The Beatles Experience, Museum of Liverpool, and the Merseyside Maritime Museum on the Albert Dock.
The ‘City Explorer’ bus, hop-on-hop-off, ran just by the terminal and provided a one hour tour of the city including the Cavern Quarter, both the Metropolitan Catholic Cathedral, "Paddy's Wigwam", and the more traditional Liverpool Cathedral, in Gothic style by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designer of Battersea Power Station and the obsolescent red telephone box. The South John Street shopping complex provided a background to “The Crossing”, a 3D sound rendition of the relationship of Liverpool and New York. The quayside (Riverside Walk) offered a wide promenade, the City of Liverpool providing plenty of music and entertainment. For the locals, and the not so locals, the occasion provided a fine (free) day out.
The Sunday evening included a VIP dinner in the Todd English restaurant on board QM2 for the Lord Lieutenant of Lancaster, Lord Mayor of Liverpool and 100 VIP guests including Michael (Lord) Heseltine, who led the regeneration of Liverpool in his time as a Cabinet Minister and is now a Freeman of the City. The Three Graces, the Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building formed the backdrop for a 'light' show. A massive firework display followed.
The Monday will be remembered for a long time, QM2 leaving her berth at 10:45 to join Queen Elizabeth sailing in from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and Queen Victoria from Guernsey. The ships then passed The Three Graces, the Red Arrows did a flypast.
By 14:30 “Mary” was on her way to Guernsey and with “Elizabeth” docking at the terminal. How much smaller she seemed. “Victoria” moored in the Mersey opposite, the Mersey Ferries providing a tender service for her visiting passengers. Late on Monday evening “Elizabeth” left for Southampton, allowing “Victoria” to dock. It was not until late Tuesday afternoon that Victoria departed, Southampton bound too, followed by a flotilla of small boats. Sadly the party was over.
As noted Queen Mary 2 is due to return on 4 July, American Independence Day, to re-enact the first transatlantic crossing from Liverpool to the New World in 1840 – with 400 of her passengers embarking in the city for the journey to Halifax, Boston and New York.
Andrew Struthers, Cunard Commercial Director, hosted a press conference at the Crowne Plaza hotel on the quayside. “175 years is a very special milestone, and we’re delighted we’ll be embarking 400 people to cross the Atlantic. It will be the first time people will have been able to embark at Liverpool to cross the Atlantic for nearly 50 years.
Sadly however, the facilities at the Cruise Terminal do not allow for a full ship turnaround. But Liverpool will continue to be a very special part of Cunard and long may we continue to come to Liverpool in years to come.
“Until there are substantial improvements to the capacity of the terminal, it’s very difficult for Cunard or any other cruise company to consider big ship turnarounds.”
“That shouldn’t dismiss the fact that what an amazing occasion it’s going to be again on July 4.”
But he added: “If there were bigger facilities, or the opportunity came up again, then of course we’d look at it, because Liverpool and Cunard are inextricably linked.”
To be fair to Liverpool noises are being made regarding a development of the docking facility.
Liverpool is now a tourist city.
Some say this is because of The Beatles, but Cunard would argue that it was Sir Samuel who started it all off.
Large cruise ships now visit the Mersey but it is usually one at a time, and just for the day, no overnights, nor as a turnaround port. Cunard seems willing to return on a more permanent basis.
Mr Struthers made his point.
Perhaps Sir Paul’s words can be rewritten:
“Yesterday all the ships were turned away.
Now it looks like they might come to stay.”
www.cunard.co.uk www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/one-magnificent-city
For the monthly cruising supplement (See "Billion Dollar Cruise Ship" BTN 4 May issue) reported on the spectacular naming ceremony for Anthem of the Seas. It was a 48-hour (Monday-Tuesday) extravaganza with the Wednesday a sort of day of rest before returning to the Southampton dockside for the arrival of Explorer of the Seas, she having just taken part in a 40-day, US$100m bow-to-stern full revitalisation.
Just to put it all in perspective Explorer of the Seas was the second of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s (RCCL) Voyager series in 2000, at 137,000 tonnes, the world‘s largest cruise ship at the time with a 3,100-bed passenger capacity. Anthem, 2015, is 167,000 tons and 4,100 souls.
RCCL got it more less right with “Explorer” but after 15 years a midlife update offered the chance for the latest ideas and technology to be added, the most ambitious being 81 new Virtual Balcony Staterooms – an innovative design concept unique to Royal Caribbean which offers expansive real-time views of the ocean and destinations from an inside cabin. We are told you will not be seasick if the ship has any motion, your balcony video view will go up and down but your brain is even cleverer not noticing the movement. (In any case there is a very sophisticated stabilising system fitted).
Highlights of Explorer of the Seas’ revitalisation include 24 new Panoramic Ocean View Staterooms, offering floor to ceiling wraparound panoramic windows. All the cabins (the Americans like to call them staterooms, which sounds posher) have been re-carpeted and flat screens added. There are 1,557.
For the Southampton cruising season coffee and tea making machines have been added to the cabins (staterooms if you like). She in in New Zealand during our winter. They appreciate tea as well. But will they be put away when back in the US market, or are we going educate the Yanks? One American tradition does remain for the European season. Any extras have an 18% tip added.
Two innovations copied from later Royal Caribbean ships are bound to be popular. A 40ft FlowRider surf simulator and a 220sq ft outdoor cinema screen showing first-run movies, big sporting events and giant video game challenges.
Done away with is the printing of all those unwanted photographs and the search. The print-on-demand Focus Photo Gallery makes it very easy. The art gallery is now spread throughout the ship displaying original works.
Revamped restaurants and bars include Giovanni’s Table traditional trattoria, Chops Grill steak house, Izumi Japanese cuisine, R Bar and The Tavern sports bar.
The Card Room (tables for cards and complimentary board games), The Diamond Club, NextCruise and Star Lounge are all new.
Stuart Leven, Managing Director, UK & Ireland for Royal Caribbean International, said: “We’re on a mission to change holidaymakers’ expectations and just as Anthem of the Seas sets sail this week on her maiden voyage, a newly refurbished Explorer of the Seas arrived in Southampton today. We are constantly working to bring the innovation of our newest ships to existing ships across the fleet, ensuring that every ship is our best ship.”
Finally we are assured of the same wi-fi installation as Anthem of the Seas, certainly the quickest experienced to date at sea, and in fact faster/as fast as BTN’s office. Two weeks in the Med with a teenage grandson. We will be reporting on a family friendly ship.
Sailing for her first European season from Southampton, Explorer of the Seas will provide a range of new and interesting itineraries to destinations including the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Canaries. www.rccl.com
CRUISE INTELLIGENCE
CARNIVAL is making a return to Europe for 2016 with Vista which it says is its largest and most innovative ‘Fun Ship’ to date. From a unique suspended cycling experience called SkyRide and the innovative Family Harbour staterooms and suites featuring a “family concierge” to cruising’s first IMAX Theatre, Carnival Vista promises fun for the whole family. “Carnival is the number one cruise line for families carrying more than 700,000 children annually and Carnival Vista will build upon our leadership position in this area with incredible outdoor attractions and engaging indoor spaces specifically designed with families in mind,” said Christine Duffy, President of Carnival. www.carnival.co.uk
CRYSTAL CRUISES has a new owner. Genting Hong Kong (GHK) has completed the acquisition of the luxury operator from Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), and says it plans to have a new ship in service for 2018. Crystal launched its 5-star package with the Crystal Harmony in 1990, sister ships Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity joining the fleet in 1995 and 2003, respectively. Since Harmony’s sale in 2005, the line has very successfully operated global itineraries but clearly it needed an owner with ambition. Established in 1993, GHK is part of the Genting Group, a global hospitality and leisure company. GHK wholly owns Star Cruises and is a major shareholder of Norwegian Cruise Line. www.crystalcruises.co.uk
P&O is really pushing the hugely popular Strictly Come Dancing themed cruises in 2015. Guest judges joining later this year will be none other than Strictly's pro dancer and household favourite Anton Du Beke and former judge Arlene Phillips. Anton will be guest judge on Azura’s 14-night Baltic Escape from Southampton 20 June, while Arlene will now be joining Britannia’s 14-night Canary Islands cruise on 25 July, again from Southampton. As one of Strictly’s most popular professional dancers, Anton has been with the show since the series started in 2004 and will be returning to the BBC line-up for 2015. Arlene has also been a part of the Strictly family since its launch and most recently has been giving her expert views on BBC2's It Takes Two. www.pocruises.com
STAR CLIPPERS, the tall ship sailing specialist, has announced that it has started building a fourth vessel to add to its fleet of graceful square-riggers; its first new-build since the launch of Royal Clipper in July 2000. The new vessel, yet to be named, will be the biggest and most ambitious Star Clipper to date and will be launched in the second half of 2017, carrying 300 passengers; measuring 8,770 tons and powered by more than 6,350sq m of sails. There will be a watersports platform in the stern for use when the ship is at anchor and a variety of cabin grades, including 34 suites with balconies and four luxurious owners’ suites. Incorporated is a swimming pool. A restaurant in the light-filled atrium will accommodate all passengers for open-seating dining. www.starclippers.co.uk
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A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High around 50F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Rain likely. Low 39F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
DOYLESTOWN >> A generous donation from Carol and Lou Della Penna to Doylestown Health on December 1, 2020, launched a challenge match campaign that has ended with nearly $1.7 million in new gifts and pledges to the health system.
'HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AND SAFE:' Wolf Administration stresses safey, efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine
The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year finished the regular season with 13.5 sacks. He is deemed healthy to play Saturday despite a rib injury.
Metzger Wickersham Now Accepting 2021 Scholarship Contest Entries for PA High School Seniors
By Metzger Wickersham
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Metzger Wickersham is hosting its 9th annual "Road to Safety Scholarship Contest" this year with the goal of promoting safer driving habits, especially among young drivers. Pennsylvania high school seniors who will attend college or university after graduation can enter the contest from now until Friday, April 16th, 2021. Multiple first-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected by members of the law firm. Scholarship prize values will be $1,000, $750, and $500, respectively.
To enter the Road to Safety Scholarship Contest, applicants must create a creative project that explains the dangers of unsafe driving behaviors, such as texting-and-driving, drunk driving, and speeding. Creative projects can take the form of videos, songs, mixed media presentations, posters, paintings, dances, and much more. A full set of contest rules can be read at https://www.mwke.com/about-us/road-to-safety-scholarship-contest/.
To submit an entry, all applicants must use a 2021 Entry Form, which can be loaded as a Google Doc by clicking this link.
Entries are being accepted by Metzger Wickersham in four ways:
Submitted directly by using the 2021 Entry Form
Digitally by sending an email to road2safety@mwke.com or using Google Drive, Dropbox, or another file-sharing service
Mailed and addressed with Attn: Road to Safety Scholarship Contest, PO Box 69200, Harrisburg, PA 17106
Delivered to the law firm's main office at 2321 Paxton Church Road, Harrisburg, PA 17110 (advanced notification requested to ensure compliance with coronavirus safety standards)
Winners will be selected based on the effectiveness of the message, as well as the project's overall creativity. Members of Metzger Wickersham will announce the winners, which will include one or more applicants for each scholarship prize tier, shortly after the contest concludes.
For additional information about Metzger Wickersham and the Road to Safety Scholarship Contest, inquiring parties can visit https://www.mwke.com/.
Board of Supervisors reject Newtown Shopping Center settlement agreement
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Capital Market October 23, 2020 Last Updated at 15:38 IST
Domestic equity benchmarks ended with decent gains after a volatile trade on Friday. Auto stocks were in demand while pharma shares corrected. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 127.01 points or 0.31% at 40,685.50. The Nifty 50 index gained 33.85 points or 0.28% at 11,930.30.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.59% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.71%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1689 shares rose and 1026 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.
Coronavirus Update:
India reported 695,509 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 117,306 deaths while 6,948,497 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 41,640,295 with 1,136,495 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index rose 2.90% to 8,092.20. The index had slipped 0.41% in the past two sessions.
Bharat Forge (up 6.50%), Maruti Suzuki (up 4.36%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.67%), Ashok Leyland (up 3.09%), Tata Motors (up 2.51%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.29%), Eicher Motors (up 1.14%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.66%) and TVS Motor Company (up 0.59%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Nestle India (down 0.19%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.54%) and JSW Steel (down 1.43%) will announce their quarter earnings today.
HDFC Asset Management Company fell 2.05% to Rs 2310. The company's net profit fell 8% to Rs 337.9 crore on 8% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 456.2 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20.
The fund house's market share stood at 13.6% as on 30 September 2020 as against 14.5% as on 30 June 2020 and 14.7% as on 30 September 2019. The company's quarterly average Assets Under Management (QAAUM) was Rs 3,75,500 crore as of 30 September 2020 compared to Rs 3,76,600 crore as on 30 September 2019.
Biocon fell 2.79% to Rs 417.50 after the company's consolidated net profit fell 23% to Rs 195.4 crore on 11.33% rise in net sales to Rs 1744.8 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Net profit for Q2FY21 was impacted due to higher R&D expenses at Rs 148 crore (versus Rs 104 crore in Q2FY20) up by 42%, forex losses and higher staff & other expenses. EBITDA margin fell to 23% in Q2 September 2020 compared with 27% in Q2 September 2019.
Ambuja Cements slipped 3.01% to Rs 246.20. The cement major's consolidated net profit jumped 50.5% to Rs 803.50 crore on 1.5% increase in net sales to Rs 6,169.47 crore in Q3 September 2020 over Q3 September 2019. On a standalone basis, net profit rose 87.66% to Rs 441 crore on 9.62% increase in net sales to Rs 2802 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. The company registered a strong volume growth of 8%, supported by positive price. Total operating cost per ton has declined by 8% on a year on year basis, on account of lower input costs and efficiency programs.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals tumbled 4.11% at Rs 970. The drug maker reported 35.4% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 333.37 crore on 17.4% rise in net sales to Rs 1457.1 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. EBITDA margin improved to 31% in Q2 September 2020 from 28% in Q2 September 2019.
Coforge lost 3.34% to Rs 2374.05. The IT firm reported a 47.40% growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 122.20 crore on a 9.14% increase in net sales to Rs 1,153.70 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q1 June 2020. EBITDA jumped 20.2% to Rs 217.20 crore in Q2FY21 as against Rs 180.60 crore in Q1FY21. EBITDA margin improved to 18.8% in Q2FY21 from 17.1% in Q1FY21. Consolidated PAT margin stood at 10.5% in Q2FY21 over 7.6% in Q1FY21. The company recorded $201 million order intake in the quarter leading to $489 million of firm business executable over next twelve months.
Delta Corp rose 2.11% to Rs 111.50 after the company said that its subsidiary, Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, will acquire up to 45% stake in Waterways Shipyard for consideration not exceeding Rs 15.50 crore.
Bharti Infratel lost 2.07% to Rs 192. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit dropped 24% to Rs 733 crore on 5.9% increase in net sales to Rs 1,766.40 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. EBITDA declined 3% year-on-year to Rs 1,836 crore, representing an operating margin of 49.7%.
Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) jumped 6.84% to Rs 163.90 after the company said its board approved raising Rs 1500 crore through preferential issue of equity shares to Flipkart Group at Rs 205 per share. With this infusion, Flipkart Group will own 7.8% equity stake in ABFRL on a fully diluted basis.
L&T Finance Holdings rose 0.85% to Rs 64.90 after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 52.2% to Rs 265.12 crore despite a 5.5% fall in total income to Rs 3508.91 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20. The company's provisions and write-offs increased by 25.8% to Rs 604.52 crore in the second quarter compared with the same period last year.
Music Broadcast hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 21.35 after the private FM radio broadcaster announced bonus issue of non-convertible non-cumulative redeemable preference shares (NCRPS) for every ten shares held by non-promoter shareholders. The issue price will be Rs 100 per share, including a premium of Rs 90 and face value of Rs 10. The total issue size will be worth Rs 90 crore, and the coupon rate for the same will be 0.1%.
Music Broadcast, posted a net loss of Rs 6.49 crore in Q2 September 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 18.51 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net sales tumbled 52% to Rs 30 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Continued cost control led to faster improvement in profitability, the company said.
IDBI Bank added 1.28% to Rs 39.70 after the bank reported a standalone net profit of Rs 324.40 crore in Q2 September 2020 compared with net loss of Rs 3,458.84 crore in Q2 September 2019. Total income fell 7.54% to Rs 5,761.06 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 6,231.02 crore in Q2 September 2019.
The bank's provisions and contingencies slumped 89% to Rs 581.15 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. On the asset quality front, the ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 25.08% as on 30 September 2020 as against 26.81% as on 30 June 2020 and 29.43% as on 30 September 2019. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 2.67% as on 30 September 2020 as against 3.55% as on 30 June 2020 and 5.97% as on 30 September 2019.
The US Dow Jones futures were currently up 89 points, indicating a mildly positive start to equities on Wall Street today.
Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Friday as investors monitor coronavirus developments. COVID-19 infections in Germany have risen to a record while Spain's health minister said that the spread is 'out of control' in certain parts of the country. Hospitalisations related to the virus have reached a two-month high in the US.
In Europe, the U.K. and European Union (EU) ramped up daily talks on Thursday regarding a post-Brexit trading arrangement between both the parties.
The US stock market finished higher after fluctuating in and out of the unchanged line throughout the session on Thursday, 22 October 2020. The gain was largely supported by better than expected economic data and the prospect of more fiscal stimulus to support a pandemic-damaged U.S. economy.
US House speaker Nancy Pelosi said a deal on new coronavirus aid was "just about there", despite continued opposition from the Republican-controlled Senate. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported progress in talks with the Trump administration for another round of financial aid and said legislation could be hammered out "pretty soon". However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow cautioned "significant policy differences" remained, which were unlikely to be resolved before the November 3 election.
The US leading economic index climbed by 0.7% in September after surging up by a revised 1.4% in August, the Conference Board reported on Thursday, suggesting the U.S. economy could be losing momentum heading into the final quarter of 2020. However, the continued increase by the leading economic index was driven primarily by declining unemployment claims and rising housing permits.
The existing home sales in the US soared by 9.4% to an annual rate of 6.54 million in September after jumping by 2% to a revised rate of 5.98 million in August, reflecting record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers, the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday.
US initial jobless claims fell to 787,000 in the week ended October 17th, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week's revised level of 842,000, a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed.
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During almost 20 years of their existence, soloists, conductors, concert halls, festivals, continents, composers, scores and concepts changed but not their spiritual platform – the recent 20th and the current 21st-century music. The milieu from which the Music Biennale Zagreb (MBZ) – as the Ensemble’s program and conceptual nucleus – stemmed, had, interestingly, never seriously considered founding an institutionalized ensemble that would support and continue its unconventional, and sometimes even avant-garde pulse between the festivals. It is possible that in the musical abundance of the 1980s it was enough to hear the contemporary sound on stage once every two years, while during the war and post-war years there was no incentive for this initiative. But there was in 2001 – Biennale was just around the corner with a ready repertoire, and Zagreb was full of experienced (and young) musicians. For that particular occasion, the temporary resident ensemble was established, but it was so wonderfully good that the MBZ’s spark lit the fire and the fate has bestowed on it permanence and stability. It stopped being merely “temporary”, and a short while later it took the name Cantus (a Latin word for singing). Its mission was set. They “… insisted on an approach in which the presentation of the occasional avant-garde music is not a goal in itself, but merely the foundation on which interpretation is built.” (Trpimir Matasović, 2009).
Berislav Šipuš
artistic director, conductor
Ivan Josip Skender
The violinist Ivan Novinc has been a concertmaster of the Cantus Ensemble since its very founding in 2001.
He has received several awards at national competitions as a soloist or a member of the Porin Quartet for which he has played first violin since 1998.
He was an assistant concertmaster of the Zagreb Philharmonic from 2002 to 2006, and has been the concertmaster of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra since 2004. He founded a duo with the pianist Srđan Čaldarović in 2006. He has been a member of the Zagreb Soloists since 2016. He became an assistant professor at the Music Academy in Zagreb in 2010.
Ivan Novincconcertmaster
Martin Draušnik is a versatile musician whose field of activity ranges from solo performances and recitals through numerous chamber ensembles all the way to being a concert master of various orchestras, both chamber and symphonic. He has been working at the Music Academy in Zagreb since 2010, first as an assistant and then an assistant professor (from 2016).
He graduated in violin from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Maja Dešpalj-Begović, and continued his education at the University of Music in Freiburg in the class of Latica Honda-Rosenberg. He then went on to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart in the class of one of the world’s most famous violinists, Ingolf Turban. Eventually, he extended his education to viola, graduating in it from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Aleksandar Milošev.
In 2007, he successfully auditioned for the associate concert master of the Zagreb Philharmonic, and in 2011 became the concert master of this orchestra. In parallel, he has also been the concert master of Munich’s I Virtuosi di Paganini Ensemble, which is under the artistic direction of Ingolf Turban, since 2005 and regularly performs with them. After a long pause, he revived the Chamber Studio Ensemble of the Zagreb Philharmonic in 2012 and became its concert master and artistic director. He is a guest concert master of the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, Rijeka Opera Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists and Cantus Ensemble, and occasionally also the Zadar Chamber Orchestra and Varaždin Chamber Orchestra. He is one of the founders of the Porin String Quartet, and has also founded the Zagreb Trio in 2010. He has been the first violin of the Croatian String Quartet since 2016.
Martin Draušnikviolin
Eva Machviolin
Violist Tvrtko Pavlin graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Ante Živković in 2001. As a student he played in the symphony orchestra at the Bayreuth Youth Festival (in 1999). He is a soloist and chamber musician (Zagreb Chamber Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Cantus Ensemble) and has been a permanent member of the Zagreb Philharmonic since 2004.
Tvrtko Pavlinviola
Aleksandar Jakopanec graduated in viola from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Milan Čunko (with whom he also took additional classes), and later continued his education at Columbus State University, Schwob School of Music.
In addition to working for the Zagreb Philharmonic, he is also a principal player in the regional No Borders Orchestra and one of the permanent members of the Acoustic Project Ensemble. He is the co-founder of the Croatian String Quartet, a winner of the Darko Lukić Festival, with which he recorded (and produced) a double album Moje djetinjstvo (My Childhood) containing five string quartets by Stjepan Šulek.
He has collaborated with almost all orchestras and ensembles in Croatia, and has been a permanent member of the Zagreb Soloists, Croatian Baroque Ensemble and Varaždin Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed at many festivals and events in the country and abroad. He is the artistic director of the international AmadeusFest chamber music festival in Bjelovar.
As a soloist, Aleksandar has performed with the Zagreb Soloists, Camerata Split, Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces and Varaždin Chamber Orchestra.
Along with his primary instrument, he also plays the viola d'amore, mainly early music, and banjo as part of the orchestral score. He also writes music and arranges it in a variety of musical expressions.
Aleksandar Jakopanecviola
Jasen Chelfi graduated in the class of Professor Andrej Petrač in 2001. During the course of his studies he has collaborated with Valter Dešpalj, Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Isserlis, Silvio Sondeckin, David Gregorian, Vladimir Perlin, Leslie Parnas, Phillip Muller and Boris Piergamienszczikow and Mario Brunello. He has been a member of the Zagreb Philharmonic since 2002, at first as an assistant principal cellist and as of two years ago as the principal cellist. As a soloist and with the Philharmonic, he has performed in numerous concert halls – Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Tokyo Opera, Mexico City Opera, Konzerthaus in Lucerne, Mozarteum in Salzburg and many others. He has won a number of awards for his solo appearances and performances with chamber ensembles.
Jasen Chelfivioloncello
Zita Draušnik graduated in cello from the Music Academy in Zagreb under Valter Dešpalj. She continued her studies under Reinhard Latzko at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where she received her MA with honors in 2013.
She was a laureate of numerous international cello competitions (Concertino Prague, David Popper Competition in Budapest, Liezen Competition in Austria, Alpe-Adria Competition in Gorizia, Italy etc.). Her great success came in 2007 when she won the second prize at the Johannes Brahms International Competition held in Pörtschach, Austria. That same year, she also won a special prize at this competition – a recital at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad Festival in Geneva. In 2008, at the Holland Music Sessions International Festival she was one of the chosen young musicians who were presented to the public through a series of concerts titled New Masters on Tour that was held in prestigious European centers, such as Dr. Anton Philipszaal in The Hague, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam etc. In 2006, she represented Croatia at the Eurovision Competition in Vienna. She was a member of the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra from 2010 until 2014. She has been a permanent member of the Zagreb Philharmonic since 2015, and an assistant principal cello since 2017. She is a member of the Slavenski Trio and the Croatian String Quartet. Zita has been teaching chamber music at the Music Academy in Zagreb since 2018.
Zita Draušnikcello
Nikša Bobetko obtained his BA and MA degrees in double bass from the Music Academy in Zagreb and also studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
He has performed as a soloist at recitals and with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces. He is a member of the Zagreb Philharmonic. As a chamber musician, he often collaborates with the cellist Mihovil Karuza as well as the Porin and Sebastijan String Quartets. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed both in Croatia and abroad. He released several CDs. In 1997, he received the Vaclav Huml Award of the Croatian Music Institute.
He is a professor at the Music Academy in Zagreb.
Nikša Bobetkodoublebass
Antal Papp graduated in double bass from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Maria Ivelja. After his studies, he started working at the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra.
In 2009, he moved to Freiburg where he began studying at the Hochschule für Musik under the esteemed Professor Božo Paradžik and soon after began working at the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg (Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra). He has collaborated with many orchestras such as the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Lucerner Sinfonieorchester, Sudwestdeutschen Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Württembergischen Kammerorchesters Heilbronn and Zagreb Soloists.
He has a keen interest in chamber music.
Antal is a member of the Zagreb Philharmonic since the 2016/2017 season.
Antal Pappkontrabas
Marko Mihajlović, during his studies, became a part-time associate of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and still regularly collaborates with both. He was concurrently also a member of the biNg Bang Ensemble and for the next ten years they performed at major world festivals for percussions, received the award for the best student percussion ensemble in the world at the PASIC Festival (Nashville, USA, 2004) and recorded a CD for the Equilibrium Records. That same year he also received the Rector’s Award. His collaboration with the Zagreb Soloists and his ongoing collaboration with the Cantus Ensemble also began during his studies. After graduation, he worked at the Vatroslav Lisinski Music School in Bjelovar as a percussion teacher. He became the
first timpanist of the Orchestra of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb in 2007. He also plays in the Acoustic Project Ensemble and has founded the percussion quartet Boomerang. Since
2015, he has been part of the violin-marimba duo with Eva Mach.
Marko Mihajlovićudaraljke
Percussionist Hrvoje Sekovanić graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb, in the class of Ivana Bilić. As a student he won the second (2004) and the first (2006) prize at the National Competition of Music and Dance Students. He was a member of the acclaimed biNg bang percussion Ensemble whom the Percussive Arts Society proclaimed the world`s best student percussion ensemble at the time. He has collaborated with the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) Symphony Orchestra in which he is a head timpanist since 2013. He collaborates with the chamber orchestras from Varaždin, Zadar, Rijeka as well as the Croatian Chamber Orchestra. He played timpani at the Croatian National Theatre Opera in Rijeka, where he also taught percussion. Since 2013 he is a member of the Cantus Ensemble.
Hrvoje Sekovanićudaraljke
Srebrenka Poljak, the permanent pianist of the Cantus Ensemble, obtained her BA and MA degrees in piano from the Music Academy in Zagreb under Zvjezdana Bašić, and also attended master classes under Leon Fleisher in Jerusalem that had significantly shaped her musical identity. She is a distinguished chamber musician and regularly collaborates with many Croatian and international musicians. She has held over 80 recitals in famous concert halls around the world with the violinist Stefan Milenković. As a member of the Zagreb Piano Trio she has won a number of awards and accolades (First prize at the TICC 2000 in Trondheim, second prize and the award for the best piano trio in Heerlen in 1999, the Darko Lukić and the Ivo Vuljević awards). As a soloist and orchestral musician she has performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Varaždin Chamber Orchestra and Zadar Chamber Orchestra. She works as a senior artistic associate at the Music Academy in Zagreb.
Srebrenka Poljakklavir
Mirjana Krišković’s music education started with piano lessons, but later on she realized that harp was her instrument of choice. In 2007, she graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Diana Grubišić – Ćiković, and became the solo harpist with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra right after graduation. Ms Krišković has been a permanent member of the Cantus Ensemble since 2008. She has performed solo (especially with the Zagreb Soloists and the Cantus Ensemble) or with renowned artists and chamber ensembles on numerous occasions. Her performances with the famous Croatian orchestras and ensembles include appearances at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Osor Musical Evenings, Music Biennale Zagreb. She regularly records for the Record Library of the Croatian Radio.
Mirjana KriškovićHarfa
The latest member of the Cantus Ensemble, the flute-player Ana Batinica, earned her master’s degree from the Music Academy in Zagreb under Professor Renata Penezić in 2012, and completed a specialist course under Professor Mario Caroli at the Conservatoire de La Musique et de La Danse in Strasbourg in 2014. She attended master courses under eminent flute-players such as E. Pahud, A. Adorjan, A. Liberknecht, D. Formisan, P. Gallois, P. Bernold and others. She has received numerous professional and music awards in Croatia and abroad including the first prize at the International
Competition “Giovani Musicisti“ in Treviso, the second prize at the flute competition in Golbey (France) in 2013 as well as the Premio Ghigi fellowship at the Summer Gubbio Festival in 2012. In 2015, she received the Myrna Brown International Scholarship by the National Flute Association (US) and had the honor of performing in a solo recital in Washington D.C. She is a permanent member and
the first flute of the Zagreb Philharmonic, Cantus Ensemble, Zagreb Flute Ensemble, PurPur Orchestra, and has given solo performances with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Zagreb Youth Orchestra,
Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zagreb Soloists and Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra. She is also an active chamber musician.
Ana Batinicaflauta
Oboist Branko Mihanović graduated in oboe from the Music Academy in Zagreb in 1976 as well as from the Freiburg State Conservatory of Music in 1978 (under Professor Heinz Hollinger). He has won numerous awards and accolades. He has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras (Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic, Slovakian Philharmonic, Orquestro sinfonica Simon Bolivar, Sacramento Chamber Orchestra, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists etc.) and conductors (such as M. Horvat, P. Dešpalj, P. Kogan, U. Lajovic, M. Letona, N. Bareza, G. Guererro, F. Krommer, A. Kolar etc.) and has performed in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, Venezuela, US etc. He has acquired extensive experience as a chamber musician for the Zagreb Woodwind Trio, Musica viva Ensemble, Croatian Baroque Ensemble, Croatian Chamber Octet, Musica da camera Ensemble, Zagreb Wind Ensemble. In 2001, he substituted collaboration with all of Zagreb’s orchestras with a professorship at the Music Academy in Zagreb. He was the director of the Croatian National Theater Opera in Zagreb from 2005 to 2011.
Branko Mihanovićoboa
Iva Ledenko obtained a master’s degree in oboe from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Branko Mihanović and Assistant Professor Dario Golčić. In July 2019, she completed a two-year specialist course in oboe at the Conservatory for Music and Dance in Strasbourg in the class of Professor Christian Schmitt. She attended masterclasses held by eminent oboists and pedagogues (Christian Schmitt, Giorgi Gvantseladze, David Seghezzo, Seung Eun Lee, Matthias Arter). Throughout her schooling, she won all first prizes at regional and national competitions. She participated in the activities of the CEI Youth Orchestra on their tour in Italy and Germany (2007) and has collaborated with numerous orchestras and ensembles in Croatia (Orchestra of the Croatian National Theater Opera in Zagreb, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Croatian National Theater Opera in Split, Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, Zadar Chamber Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Cantus Ensemble, Choir of the Croatian Radiotelevision, Mostar Symphony Orchestra, Glazbene staze Ensemble) and abroad (Warsaw Soloists/Concerto Avenna). In 2011, she performed at the Croatian Music Institute as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces.
Iva Ledenkooboe
The clarinetist Danijel Martinović graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb under Josip Nochta in 1990. He received several awards and accolades during his studies, and has held numerous solo concerts in Croatia and abroad since. He is currently a member of the Opera Orchestra of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb. He is also a co-founder and a member of the Zagreb Wind Ensemble (1991) and the Cantus Ensemble (2001) with which he regularly performs in the country and abroad. He collaborated with both ensembles in the making of several CDs and recordings of numerous compositions by Croatian composers.
Danijel Martinovićklarinet
Fagotist Žarko Perišić po završetku studija na Muzičkoj akademiji u Zagrebu u klasi prof. M. Kobetića, nastavlja usavršavanje u Salzburgu, na Visokoj školi za glazbu Mozarteum – u klasi prof. M. Turkovića i prof. R. Gallera. Surađuje s brojnim orkestrima te komornim ansamblima diljem Europe i svijeta (Izraelski radio orkestar, Izraelski komorni orkestar, Simfonijski orkestar Tel Aviva, Salzburška komorna filharmonija i dr.). Od 1997. godine predaje fagot na Akademiji umjetnosti u Novom Sadu te surađuje s Vojvođanskim simfoničarima kao solo fagotist. Od 2004. godine predaje fagot na Muzičkoj akademiji u Zagrebu, a od 2011. do 2016. radi kao docent za fagot i komornu glazbu na Umjetničkoj akademiji u Sarajevu. Djeluje kao solo fagotist Simfonijskog orkestra HRT-a s kojim održava i solističke koncerte.
Žarko Perišićfagot
Matko Smolčić graduated in bassoon from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Žarko Perišić. Throughout his education, he attended courses held by artists from various musical fields, such as bassoonist Sergio Azzolini and Bence Bogányi, oboist Guy Porat, violinist Catherine Mackintosh etc. In 2019, he won the Young Artist of the Year award given by the International Classical Music Awards jury composed of music critics and media company editors from 17 European countries. Since 2014, he has extensively performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician at various music festivals in Croatia and abroad, including the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Korkyra Baroque Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Next Generation Festival in Switzerland, Wien Modern, Vaduz Classic and Olive Classic where he was also a resident artist in 2019. He has collaborated with numerous orchestras and ensembles. Marko has been the principal bassoonist of the Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein since 2017 and a solo bassoonist of the Zagreb Philharmonic since 2018. In 2020, he became an assistant at the Music Academy in Zagreb.
Matko Smolčićfagot
Bank Harkay finished his elementary and secondary music education in his hometown of Subotica under Professor Mihaly Zillih, and graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb in 1992 under Professor Prerad Detiček. He achieved great success at many competitions entered during his studies. He attended masterclasses held by Professor Hermann Baumann in Vienna (1989) and in Valen (Germany, 1990), and had also obtained his MA under Baumann in Essen (1993–1995). He is a soloist with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, and has been collaborating with the leading Croatian chamber ensembles, such as the Zagreb Soloists and Varaždin Chamber Orchestra.
Bánk Harkayrog
Trumpeter Vedran Kocelj (b. 1977) finished elementary and secondary music education in his hometown of Dubrovnik. He graduated in trumpet from the Ljubljana Music Academy in the class of Stanko Arnold. He has attended masterclasses with John Wallace, Bo Nilsson and Ed Carroll. Kocelj won the first prize at the competition of young musicians in Slovenia in 1999, and was one of the semifinalists at the International Competition in Toulon in 2000. That same year he passed the audition for the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra that was conducted by Pierre Boulez and went on a 12-concert European tour with them. His solo performances with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Baroque Ensemble, Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zadar, Varaždin and Zurich Chamber Orchestras were well-received, especially his collaboration with the world-famous Hungarian trumpeter Gábor Boldoczki. As a chamber musician, he is playing in the Croatian Bass Quintet with which he has performed in Croatia, Italy, Switzerland and China. He is a permanent member of the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and is regularly recording for the Croatian Radio and Television. His recording of Concertino for trumpet, strings and tympani by Boris Papandopulo is especially memorable.
Vedran Koceljtruba
Mario Šincek, the trombone-player of the Cantus Ensemble, received his first music lessons from his father Vjekoslav, and finished primary and secondary music school in Varaždin under Professor Stjepan Rukljić. He continued his studies in trombone at the Music Academy in Zagreb. Already in 1998, during his second year of study, he passed the audition for a permanent position at the Croatian National Theater (HNK) Opera in Zagreb which he held until 2003, when he was employed by the Zagreb Philharmonic where he can still be seen and heard. His music interests are wide, which is a reason for his active interest in trombone-related instruments, so one can often see him performing on bass trumpet or euphonium. It was with euphonium or tenor tuba that he has accomplished his greatest achievements in chamber music as a member of the XL Tuba Quartet, resulting in numerous tours across the United States, Asia and Australia. He is also a member of the Ad glorian brass ensemble, as well as a soloist accompanied by orchestras or organ. As a soloist or chamber musician he has given a substantial number of first performances; he also arranges music, especially for brass wind instruments, and has recorded five CDs of classical music for chamber ensembles. He worked as an assistant at the Music Academy in Zagreb from 2006, and since 2012 he is as assistant professor at this Academy.
Mario Šincektrombon
Istvan Matay graduated in bassoon from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He attended many solo, chamber and orchestral courses during his studies. In addition to studying, he also participated in the activities of numerous chamber ensembles, such as the Symphony Orchestra of the City of Miskolc, Eger and Debrecen and the Miskolc Opera Orchestra. In 1996, he became a solo bassoonist of the Croatian National Theater Orchestra in Osijek. He performs as a soloist with the Osijek Chamber Orchestra, is a member of the Osijek Woodwind Trio and teaches bassoon at the Franjo Kuhač Music School. In 1998, he moved to Zagreb and took the position of solo bassoonist of the Croatian National Theater Opera Orchestra in Zagreb, with which he also held several solo concerts. He has collaborated with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Croatian National Theater in Rijeka and Maribor Philharmonic, Croatian Baroque Ensemble. He is a member of the Zagreb Bassoon Quartet.
Istvan Matayfagot
Croatian Composers' Society
The Croatian Composers’ Society is the only association of music professionals in Croatia. It brings together over 300 regular (composers, musicologists and music writers) and 8,000 associate members (copyright owners).
This reputable artistic organisation significantly influences Croatia’s music scene thanks to its knowledge, creative and organisational potential as well as to its close collaboration with similar bodies, ensembles, institutions and individuals from all over the world. Its only aim is to develop the music scene and to contribute to the recognition of Croatia’s music, both nationally and abroad.
Cantus Ensemble Concert Cycle
Cantus Ensemble in Schoenberg Center
Koncertni ciklusa Cantus Ansambla / 31. MBZ
Cantus cycle| Cantus overseas| Cantus@hr|
kontakt@cantus-ansambl.hr | www.hds.hr
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Chinese Takeout: Volvo May Start Importing China-built S60L to the U.S. by Late 2015
Steve Siler
The U.S. could be about to get another Volvo model, and this one will not be born in the land of moose, breakfast herring and aquavit, but rather, in China.
According a report in Reuters, a Volvo executive speaking on the condition of anonymity said that the China-built, long-wheelbase S60L, would be imported to the U.S. as soon as the end of next year. We could get up to 10,000 per year if all goes as planned, according to the source. Long-wheelbase luxury mid-sizers such as the BMW 535Li and the Audi A6L are popular in China as livery cars, but seldom are they exported to other markets. We’re not sure who, if anyone, in the U.S. actually asked for the S60L, but apparently it’s coming.
Clearly, the S60L is the tip of the spear, as currency fluctuations between the euro and dollar are being cited as one of the reasons Volvo is pushing to export China-built cars to America. “The dollar and the yuan have the best relationship, a more stable relationship than the euro and the dollar,” the Reuters source said.
2015 Volvo S60 Research: Prices, Options, Specifications, and More
Auto Shows: Volvo S60L Plug-in Hybrid Concept
Instrumented Test: 2015 Volvo V60 T5 Drive-E
The elephant in the back of the room, of course, is the matter of quality. Today, Chinese-built smartphones, televisions and other electronic gear are in the mainstream, but will Americans pony up the coin for a Chinese-built Swedish car? Volvo and its parent company Geely could be using the S60L, which we saw in plug-in hybrid form at this year’s Beijing auto show, as a low-consequence test of its mettle when it comes to exporting China-built cars to the U.S.
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Why Don't We See More of Andy Cohen on The Real Housewives of New York City?
October 1, 2018, 9:01 AM ET
The famous New Yorker says he stays "as far away as possible."
By Laura Rosenfeld
Unseen Moment: Andy Cohen Joins the Ladies
Andy Cohen lives and works in the Big Apple, so you would think we'd see more of him out on the town with The Real Housewives of New York City. He is good friends with the ladies, after all. However, Andy hasn't really appeared in the series in all of its 10 seasons, although he did hang out with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in the Hamptons in Season 6 (clip above).
Andy sat down with Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, Tinsley Mortimer, and RHONY executive producer Lisa Shannon to look back on 10 years of the show at the Tribeca TV Festival on September 23, and he explained why we haven't seen much of him in all these seasons. "I stay as far away as possible," he said. "I want you guys to be in your moment."
But that doesn't stop other New Yorkers from excitedly coming up to the Housewives, not always realizing that they're filming. "I think it's amazing to see the faces when we walk in as a group," Dorinda said during the event. "It's almost like people don't realize we're real."
Where Do Things Stand Between Andy Cohen and Carole Radziwill After That "Full of Sh--" Remark?
Of course, the RHONY ladies are real, and being a real person in your daily life can pose some challenges when you become a Housewife. "You realize you have this platform and this ability to affect people. And [fans] really think they know you, and they hug you," Dorinda shared. "You have to become a lot more self-aware. The frivolity of life goes out the door. I used to walk my dog Lucy in my pajamas, and then people started taking pictures of me. I thought, 'There goes that. No more walking the dog in my pajamas.'"
Never change, Dorinda! We love you, pajamas and all.
Andy found himself in the middle of some major RHONY drama during the Season 10 reunion. Check it out, below.
Is Andy Cohen Scared of Bethenny Frankel?
Dorinda Medley
Sonja Morgan
Tinsley Mortimer
Andy Cohen Reflects on the Passing of Dennis Shields
The New York Housewives Reveal Biggest Regrets
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Appeal of Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Conviction
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of the sexual assault conviction of disgraced comedian and TV icon Bill Cosby.
The legal team for Bill Cosby claims that when the court allowed the testimony of reputed victims that were not part of the 2018 case against him, the resulting testimony was unfairly prejudicial to the comedian. The five other women were not a party to the main case but were allowed to air their claims in court that Cosby sexually assaulted them, according to ABC 6.
Cosby’s attorney — and the actor’s wife, Camille — have called the five outside accusers gold diggers and liars who had no business testifying in the case. Attorney Kevin Steele, for instance, claims that the five were coached because their stories are all too similar.
“It is unusual, to say the least, that defendant has been repeatedly … accused of engaging in sexual conduct with unconscious or otherwise incapacitated young women,” Steele wrote to the state’s highest court.
In 2018, the star of The Cosby Show was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia home in 2004. The 83-year-old comedian has thus far served two years in jail.
It appears that the high court took the case to resolve the issue of allowing reputed victims who are not a party to the case to testify in trials. Prosecutors say that bringing in a parade of accusers who are not a party to the main case helps show a history of criminal actions to prove their contentions against the accused. Defense attorneys, though, claim that bringing in people not connected to the case only tends to act like character assassins against their clients. The high court seems keen to come to some ruling on just when it is appropriate to hear about someone’s past when they are on trial for a criminal act.
“The issue is really intriguing because it forces defendants to spend time fighting shadows of uncharged, sometimes unrelated accusations that never really became formal criminal charges,” said Philadelphia defense lawyer William J. Brennan. “It’s very distracting. You should focus on what you’re criminally charged with.” Brennan added that such testimony “pollutes the air for the jury.”
Pennsylvania Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, who on Tuesday heard a case arguing that the 2020 election mail-in voting provision violated the Pennsylvania’s constitution, has in the past criticized what he called “mini-trials on collateral testimony” in comments made in a case in 2017. His negative characterization of these “prior bad act” accusers seems to signal that he will want to tighten the practice. And all this cold bode well for Cosby’s appeal of his conviction.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
CrimeEntertainmentPoliticsAndrea ConstandBill CosbyCamille CosbyThomas SaylorWilliam J. Brennan
Joe Biden Angry at Republicans: 'For God's Sake Wear a Mask'
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Merritt Island Teen and Dog Killed in Crash By SEO Admin on March 19, 2012
Florida Today-March 19, 2012-According to the article a 19-year-old Merritt Island man was killed Friday night when his truck overturned in a two-vehicle crash that occurred on North Banana River Drive on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida. Florida Highway Patrol stated a 69-year-old woman was driving northbound around 9:22 p.m. Friday on Banana River Drive when a dog ran into the street. The teen from Merritt Island was traveling south, was killed after the woman attempted to veer around the dog and crossed the double yellow line. The womans 2003 Jaguar struck and killed the dog and also hit the teens 1984 Chevy pickup truck causing the truck to overturn and land on its roof. The teen died at the scene of the accident. The passenger of the truck was taken to Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cape Canaveral, Brevard Florida The crash remains under investigation and charges are still pending.
For more information on Automobile Accidents Click Here: http://www.brevardlawyer.com/html/auto-accidents.html
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National Parks (UK and Republic of Ireland)
The UK has fifteen National Parks; ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland and we adore them all for their own unique beauty. From the water of the Lake District and the Broads to the mountains of the Cairngorms and Peak District and all the different landscapes between, all of the national parks are protected to ensure their beauty lives on for future generations to enjoy.
The Republic of Ireland has six national parks. The first park created in Ireland is Killarney found in Kerry county in 1932, and since then five more national parks have been created and the most recent ones being Ballycroy in Mayo county.
Loch an Eilein II - Cairngorms
Loch an Eilein comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means 'Loch of the island'. An extremely beautiful sheet of water, reflecting the magnificent pines of Rothiemurchus Forest in which it lies. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the loch was used mainly for two things. On the banks of the loch there is a limestone kiln where the lime stone was collected from a rockface looking over the loch. Also loggers used the connecting river to float logs down to the wood-treating factories downstream. Rob Roy and other cattle rustlers used the loch, and one side of the loch is called 'Thieves Way'.
National ParkNational Scenic Arealandscapetreesforestlochwaterreflectionsclouds
From Cairngorms and East Coast
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Sri Lankan CB takes over private bank
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has taken over Seylan Bank, the second largest commercial bank in the country.
The decision was made because of increased deposit withdrawals and suspected liquidity problems, the central bank said in a statement.
"The difficulties of Seylan Bank PLC presented a potential danger to the stability of the financial system," the statement added.
The central bank appointed Bank of Ceylon, a government-owned lender, to ensure that Seylan Bank's business operations
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Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1950 > December 1950 Decisions > G.R. No. L-2728 December 29, 1950 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. JORGE BARREDO
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JORGE BARREDO, CRISOLOGO BANDELION, and SALVADOR FALCIS, Defendants-Appellants.
Antonio J. Beldia, Laurel, Sabido, Almario & Laurel, Lumen R. Policarpio and Pedro P. Colina, for Appellants.
Assistant Solicitor General Guillermo E. Torres and Acting Solicitor Jose Capangyarihan, for Appellee.
1. CRIMINAL LAW; ROBBERY WITH HOMICIDE; CONSPIRACY; IT MAY BE CONCEIVE OF AND ENTERED AFTER INCIPIENT OF THE ACT. — At the beginning the appellants may not have entered into conspiracy to commit the robbery in the house of the victim engineered by one of them on their way to that house, they must have learned of the evil design and conspiracy to rob and entered into it. This is shown by the fact that after of the house had been shot, two of the robbers broke into the house and ransacked it. and although one of them remained below while the robbery was being committed, the latter evidently was stationed there to act as a guard and thereafter willingly accompanied the other members of the gag to rob the house of anther victim and received his share of the loot.
2. ID.; ID.; AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE OF NOCTURNITY WHEN NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. — Where the accused did not purposely seek the nighttime to commit the robbery and did they take advantage of it, believing that irrespective of the time of day or night they could with impunity carry out their plan, especially since they were not known to the inmates of the house, nocturnity may not be considered as an aggravating circumstance.
Jorge Barredo, Crisologo Bandelion, and Salvador Falcis are appealing from a decision of the Court of First Instance of Capiz convicting them of robbery with homicide under paragraph 1 of Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, and sentencing them each to reclusion perpetua, to indemnify the heirs of Jaime Boday in the sum of P2,000 plus the amount of P125, value of the articles subject of the robbery, and to pay the costs.
From a careful review of the record we find the following facts.
On September 17, 1947, at about 11 o’clock in the evening, Jaime Boday and his wife Trinidad Punsaran, sleeping in their house in the barrio of Parian, municipality of Sigma, Capiz, were awakened by the barking of their dog. Jaime, fearing that his carabao may have broken loose from its corral, opened the door of the house, taking with him the bamboo pole or bar locally known as tranca, used to bolt or secure the door from the inside, and went down to the corral, presumably behind the house, to investigate. Finding things to be in order, he was on his way back to the house when he must have noticed the presence of some people in the front yard. Still carrying the bamboo bar in his hand he approached the group headed by Rafael Deita who trained his flashlight on Jaime. Rafael then fired at him, hitting him in the upper part of the right thigh. The wounded man cried out in pain, fled from his assailant, and hid himself inside his growing palay. Rafael Deita and two of his companions followed him but failing to find him, the three returned in front of the house.
Upon hearing the shot and fearing that something had happened to her husband, Trinidad opened one of her windows, looked out, and addressed the group below asking why they had shot her husband who had done them no wrong. One of the men in the group told her to keep quiet and to make no cry for help, otherwise they would kill everybody inside the house. Almost immediately, several of the group entered the house, some forcibly opening the door which she tried to keep closed, others clambering up the window. She was ordered to produce all her valuables and money and when she denied having anything of value, they ransacked the house and found and confiscated money amounting to P28, a ring valued at P8, a necklace worth P15 and clothing valued at P100. Among the things they confiscated was a flashlight which, together with the flashlight carried by Rafael Deita, they used to light up the inside of the house in order to find the valuables they were after. From the light of the two flashlights Trinidad was able to recognize inside the house Rafael Deita, Aproniano Rico and two of the defendants — Jorge Barredo and Salvador Falcis.
After the marauders had left, Trinidad heard the shouts for help and the groans of her husband out in the rice plantation. She went to his aid after notifying his brothers and other relatives, they took him to town and eventually to the hospital where he died from his wound on October 9, 1947.
After the band had wounded Jaime Boday and committed robbery in his house, the members proceeded to the home of an old woman Bibiana Lachica, and after entering the house and maltreating her, they also carried away some of her valuables.
The mastermind in the commission of these two robberies, Rafael Deita, was killed by the Constabulary on October 30, 1947, when he not only resisted arrest but also attacked the peace officers.
For the robbery in the house of Bibiana Lachica, Aproniano Rico was accused in criminal case No. 587. He was found guilty and duly sentenced and we understand that he appealed to the Court of Appeals. For the same robbery, the herein appellants Crisologo Bandelion, Salvador Falcis and Jorge Barredo together with some of their companions were also accused in a separate criminal case No. 607. Crisologo was excluded from the complaint and utilized by the prosecution as a witness but according to the trial court, once on the witness stand, he changed the story he had previously told the prosecuting attorney and practically testified for the defense. In that criminal case No. 607 Jorge Barredo pleaded guilty and he was duly sentenced.
The evidence for the prosecution in the present case consists in part of the affidavits of the three appellants, wherein they admitted the commission of the robbery particularly in the house of Trinidad Punsaran together with the shooting of Jaime Boday and their presence in or around the house including the amounts of money given to them by Rafael Deita as their share of the loot, namely, P5 to Bandelion, P4 to Barredo and P2 to Falcis. At the trial, however, all three appellants repudiated their affidavits, claiming that they were not given voluntarily but were the result of torture to which they had been subjected by the Military Police. After considering the circumstances surrounding the preparation and ratification of said affidavits by the respective affiants, we agree with the trial court that the statements contained therein were made and given voluntarily and freely.
It is true that these three appellants were confined and kept under the custody of the Military Police but their affidavits were not prepared by said peace officers. Appellant Crisologo Bandelion was taken before the Justice of the Peace Platon Patiño and it was this judicial officer who questioned him, had his statements reduced to writing, and later read and explained the contents of the affidavit, Exhibit A (its translation is marked Exhibit A-1) to him before he signed it. And as to Jorge Barredo and Salvador Falcis, they were taken to the office of the provincial fiscal and it was Assistant Fiscal Conrado O. Honrado who questioned them, reduced their statements into writing and later read and explained their contents to them before they signed the same. Under such circumstances, there is reason to believe that the contents of the three affidavits of the three appellants herein were given freely and voluntarily. Furthermore, as pointed out by the Solicitor General, as may be gathered from their affidavits the affiants took care not to implicate themselves too deeply in the commission of the robbery in the house of Trinidad Punsaran. For instance, Crisologo Bandelion says that he did not go up the house but remained below, perhaps thinking that by limiting his participation in that respect, his guilt was less. Jorge Barredo and Salvador Falcis also stated in their affidavits that they did not go up the house of Trinidad Punsaran but remained below.
What really happened as regards the movements of the appellants that evening before reaching the house of Trinidad Punsaran, as may be gathered not only from their affidavits but also from their own testimonies, may be stated as follows:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
Early in the evening of September 17, 1947, Jorge Barredo and Salvador Falcis who seem to be good friends agreed to attend the prayer to be said for the dead in the house of Benjamin Baldonado. On their way to that house they met Crisologo Bandelion whom they invited to join them. The three later met Rafael Deita with several companions — Alfonso Capapas, Leopoldo Vallademosa and Roque Celino. They indulged in some drinking. Then they all proceeded toward the house of Benjamin Baldonado. Upon reaching it, Rafael Deita instructed his companions to wait for him for he was going up to see whether the affair or celebration there was lively enough and worth attending. When he rejoined his companions below he told them that the affair upstairs was rather tame and unexciting and invited them to a supposed dance at Parian, at the same time calling two more men — Benjamin Baldonado and Aproniano Rico from the house. The nine men started on their way to Parian where they were supposed to attend the dance.
Appellant Bandelion noting that some of their companions were armed asked Rafael Deita the reason for it, and he told him to keep quiet. Once in the yard of Jaime Boday, Rafael opened a bag and from it he drew a rifle which he gave to Jorge Barredo. As to what happened there inside the house has already been stated based mainly on the testimony of Trinidad Punsaran.
Counsel for appellant Crisologo Bandelion contends that it was illegal to include his client in the complaint for the reason that he had previously been excluded at the instance of the provincial fiscal to be utilized as government witness. It is sufficient answer to this contention that the exclusion of Crisologo from the complaint was done in a separate case, criminal case No. 607. It has nothing to do with criminal case No. 664 (present case) involving a different robbery although committed on the same day.
We find that the guilt of the appellants has been established beyond reasonable doubt. It is possible that at the beginning the appellants herein may not have entered into conspiracy to commit the robbery in the house of Trinidad Punsaran engineered by Rafael Deita, but on their way to that house, they must have learned of the evil design and conspiracy to rob, and entered into it. After Jaime, the owner of the house, had been shot, Barredo and Falcis were among those who broke into the house and ransacked it. They were identified by Trinidad. As to Bandelion, although he remained below while the robbery was being committed, he evidently was stationed there to act as a guard. From there he willingly accompanied the other members of the gang to rob the house of Bibiana, and afterwards received his share of the loot.
The Solicitor General submits that the appellants herein had voluntarily surrendered themselves to the authorities, and that this mitigating circumstance compensates the aggravating circumstance of dwelling, leaving the other aggravating circumstance of nighttime which requires the imposition of the maximum penalty, namely, death. But under the circumstances already stated regarding the manner the three appellants joined the conspiracy and giving them the benefit of the doubt, we are willing to find that they did not purposely seek the nighttime to commit the robbery. Neither did they take advantage of it. Taking the view most beneficial to appellants, we may say that when they finally agreed to commit the crime of robbery which appears to have been previously planned by Rafael and some of his companions, they were already on their way to or near the house to be robbed. Presumably, the convenience or advantage of committing the crime with the aid of darkness did not enter into their calculation. They probably thought that irrespective of the time of day or night they could with impunity carry out their plan, especially since they were not known to the inmates of the house.
Finding no reversible error in the decision appealed from, except that the amount of indemnity for the death of Jaime Boday is increased from P2,000 to P6,000 the same is hereby affirmed with costs.
Moran, C.J., Pablo, Bengzon, Padilla, Tuason, Reyes and Jugo, JJ., concur.
Moran, C.J., Mr. Justice Paras and Mr. Justice Feria voted to affirm with modification as to civil indemnity.
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